How Green Becomes Wood

"You look good," Dark said, admittedly amused to see how his sweatshirt absolutely dwarfed his son. "Yalla, we have to say goodbye to your uncle."

Daizi crept outside, feeling like she was sweating as she held her toddler close to her chest, and seeing this Dark stepped away from his sons to help guide her, because they both knew how imperative it was Ivy stay sleeping. "Do you want me to start the car so you can get her situated?" He whispered.

"No, I want to say goodbye too, she'll be okay," Daizi replied, so Dark just gestured for Alec and Xander to come over to say goodbye to Cooger.
 
The twins tiptoed away from the car and Daizi, doing their best to not wake up Ivy. They didn't say a word until they reached Cooger. Xander offered a handshake, during which his sleeve fell down and tried to engulf Cooger's hand, too. Alec gave Cooger a hug and told him it was the best birthday party ever.
 
Cooger couldn't help but laugh good-naturedly at the sight of his nephew, "Looks like you faced punishment for your actions after all, kid. Let me know if you need me to send a rescue diver in after you." Then he hugged Alec and thanked the two of them not only for coming, but for being so playful and for making it so fun. Then he gave his brother a fierce hug goodbye, and the pair of them spoke in quiet tones to each other before they laughed and shoved each other away. Afterwards, Cooger went to meet Daizi at the car to say goodbye to her more gently and helped hold the car door open to do what he could to help Ivy be transferred into the car. Thankfully, she stayed asleep, and as they shut the car door as quietly as possible, Cooger and Daizi breathed a sigh of relief and hugged each other goodbye again, while Dark came back to the car after saying a quick goodbye to Lex.
 
"Hardy har har," Xander said dryly, but he wasn't immune to the comedy of the situation he was in. Still, he had a facade to uphold!

The twins climbed into the car with care and buckled up. It seemed Ivy was too tired to even bother stirring, much to everyone's delight.

Lex leaned on the porch railing, watching the others leave and how Cooger interacted with them. He was so sweet and perfect it was ridiculous. It really was.
 
Cooger stood in his driveway for a few moments, waving as his family drove off, and wanting to make sure they left safe. Then he turned back to Lex, and taking off his hat he said, "So, it looks like it's just us, now." One of the cats in the windowsill pawed at the glass and meowed, "...And the cats."
 
"I'd say that was quite the successful birthday," Lex smiled. Most of her hair had managed to retain its curl, but some had gotten hit by water and was hanging a bit flatter now. She didn't mind as she leaned over the rail, smiling at Cooger with her eyes glittering in a tired but happy way, her own hat dangling in one hand. "Do the cats get to come out of jail now?"
 
Lex laughed and tossed her head. "Flattery will get you everywhere," she teased. Then she straightened up and went to the stairs where she held out a hand to him. "Come on. Let's take care of the felines. Then you have gifts to open. Unless you want to save them for tomorrow?"
 
"They need to be fed, and they need water," Cooger said, shutting and locking the front door behind him after making sure Hank was inside for the night. He set his hat on the kitchen counter and said, "The ones with the red collars have special dietary needs so I need to seperate them out and get them into the guest room. There's only three of them. Two of them are diabetic, so they need their insulin shots, and the third... Well he doesn't have any teeth."
 
"Aw, poor guy," Lex sympathized. She set to work filling all of the water bowls and making sure they were clean, first. Then, once she was sure the ones with dietary needs had been separated out, she fed the others and took a moment to sit and tell them they were good kitties. Throughout this, her hat ended up with Cooger's, and her boots and jacket by the front door. One of the kitties was fascinated by her hair, and not in a fun way, so she pulled it back in a curly ponytail. She looked natural in his space.
 
Cooger took care of feeding the special-needs cats, and once they were all fed and properly medicated, he opened the door to let them out. Looking at her belongings sat causally as though it was where they belonged and the sight of her casually handling one of the many foster cats, he sighed softly and hoped he had been quiet enough that she wouldn't notice him watching her just yet. He wanted to enjoy this moment.
 
Lex curled one leg under herself as she sat down and let one of the insistent kitties climb up into her lap. She stroked his ears and told him he was a silly boy before kissing the top of his head. She felt someone watching her and looked up to see Cooger watching her. She didn't think much of it, assuming he was just observing how she was handling the cats, and gave him a smile before turning her attention back to the cats as a second one plunked itself in her lap.
 
"You don't know how hard it is to find someone she likes," Cooger told her, seeming like he was looking for something in her face, "being a divorce lawyer will do that. But she liked you immediately."
 
Lex leaned back a little so she could turn to look at him more comfortably. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting that. I liked them quite a bit, too, although we are going to eventually tell your dad about the Jersey thing." She tipped her head curiously. "What would you do if she didn't like me?"
 
"Tell her I'm 40 and keep dating you," Cooger answered without hesitation, "Knowing my mom likes you will make it easier for my dad to accept the Jersey thing." He stood up with a soft grunt and extended a hand to her, "The couch is probably more comfortable."
 
Lex grinned and scooted the cats off her lap so she could accept his hand and stand. "Your parents care about you a lot, and maybe you didn't go the route they wanted for you, but they sure are proud of you. That makes me like them."
 
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