How Green Becomes Wood

"Thanks, Mama." Xander settled down in the living with his homework and got to work. It took him about forty-five minutes to complete the project. It would have taken him longer had he had complete trust in his partner, but he'd suspected something like this would happen and had worked toward ensuring that if it did, he'd have some done already. When he finished, he explained the project to Daizi and accepted her feedback for everything.
 
Daizi listened carefully to the explanation, providing feedback and praise when warranted. It was well done, and she told him so, and she complimented his choice to take it all on his own rather than giving up over it.
 
Daizi smiled down at him, tugging his sleeve back, "I'll get you when dinner is ready."

The next day, Milo turned in his project, pleased for it to be over with. He and Austin had done well, he thought. There definitely had been worse group projects, certainly. He gave the other teen a little awkward nod after submitting it and then scurried to his seat.

At home, Daizi fretted secretly over the culmination of nearly two months of work approaching rapidly. Secretly throughout the day she called everyone involved to go over the plan with them. After school, she pulled the twins aside to talk through what she needed from them. Sally was going to pick her and Ivy up before Dark came downstairs, they needed to call her when he left the house, then she'd come back with Ivy. While with Sally, they'd set the first clues Dark would find outside of the house, but then Cooger would take over placing them because the clue leading to his apartment was second to last.

When they got the call Dark was at a certain clue, Daizi requested the twins head to a specific park with Ivy, so they could give him a clue themselves. They, of course, received full details. The dress she'd be wearing to dinner had been sent to Sally's, so Dark wouldn't risk seeing it.

Everything was ready. It was in place. And she could barely sleep that night. Waking up was even more tenuous: she needed to be up and getting Ivy ready for a confusing morning without waking Dark, and had to go around hiding things in their home.

After it was all set up, and Sally phoned, Daizi stood anxiously at the side of the bed and listened to the deep, steady breathing of her husband, sleeping like the dead. As they approached this day, with everything which had transpired over the past two weeks, she was worried he'd stop sleeping again, and if he was awake it would've ruined everything. But, graciously, he slept. Not for much longer, though.

It was 9:30 a.m., or just after, and Dark didn't know it yet, but he had a very long day ahead of him, and it was time he got up. Crawling back into bed, she knelt above him, rolling him easily onto his back, and then caressed his face and hair. "Goose," She whispered against his mouth before pressing her lips to his, "Wake up, darling."

When he didn't stir, she gently shook him, keeping her face close to his, wanting to be romantic even though, frankly, nobody was particularly sweet first thing in the morning. She'd cope with it. What was very, very human for her, would come across as ethereal to him. She had been up for hours. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, focusing on the shape of his wife kneeling above him.

"Mmph... Spider?" He murmured as her thumb caressed his cheekbone, utterly confused.

"Good morning," She whispered, her voice soft and playful, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"What time is it?" He squinted, starting to reach out for his phone before dropping onto his back, "Are Ivy and the twins not awake yet? We can, I just need to brush my teeth, first."

Daizi laughed, kissing him anyway, "No, babe, I'm not asking for that. I need you to do something else for me."

He squinted, reaching up with one hand and brushed his fingers through her beautiful hair, "And what is that?"

"Find me."

"What?"

"I'm taking Ivy out today," She told him, sitting back, but allowing his hand to remain on her waist, "Just for a little while. And you're going to find me. Breakfast is on the table, and a surprise for you."

A tiny, dopey grin crossed his face as he watched her, sleep still heavy around his eyes, "I am dreaming."

"Then it's a good dream." Daizi purred, bringing the back of his hand to her mouth before getting out of bed and swayed to the door, stopping just inside the frame, "Goose?"

"Yes?"

"Don't keep me waiting." With that, she shut the door and blushing went downstairs where Ivy was waiting. She texted Sally that they were ready to be picked up, and went in the kitchen to help finish up breakfast before Sally arrived, knowing and hoping Dark wouldn't immediately follow her down.
 
Xander turned his project in with Daizi's signed statement, and the teacher easily agreed to give him full credit for the entire project. That was a fantastic boost to his grades! And his so-called partner would find out after class when the teacher asked to speak with him. It was a grimly good day.

Alec and Emma turned their project in, as well, and they also scored really well! Alec gave Emma a thumbs up and promised to contact her about meeting up next week. They had a big weekend ahead of them.

Then came The Day. THE day! They did what they could to help Daizi, and even if he wouldn't admit it, even Xander was excited to see how this all went down. They settled down to breakfast after making certain everything was perfect.

Sally pulled up right on time and texted Daizi to let her know that she had arrived and was ready and waiting. She even had the doors open so that Daizi could put Ivy right into the car.
 
As soon as Sally was there, she hugged Alec goodbye and thanked them both, even though she suspected she wouldn't be gone. Dark would solve the first cues fairly quickly. Her final instruction before she left the house was simply, "Try to get him not to rush through breakfast. Nothing will go wrong if he does, but he needs to eat."

After she left their bedroom, Dark dropped back down in bed, confused and tired enough that, briefly, he did believe it was just a dream. It was a lovely way to wake up, anyway, and he lay back, one hand on his chest, staring at the stained glass top of his canopy bed, thinking it through sleepily. It wasn't until he had come near to dozing back off that it sharpened in his mind.

That was strange. Find me? Sitting back up, Dark got out of bed with a stretch, quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and went downstairs, still in his pajamas to investigate.

"Daizi?" He called, not realizing she had already left until he went into the kitchen and was met with breakfast, a wax-sealed envelope, and his sons. He ran one hand through his hair, looked at the two of them, and after turning to look around the rest of the room asked simply, "Do you know where your mother went?"
 
Last edited:
Alec looked up from his plate. "Mama? She went out with Ivy," he said casually. "She said she'll be back later."

Xander grunted as he chased a bite around his plate. "But she made breakfast first. That's what's important."

Alec pointed out Dark's plate. "You should eat!"
 
"...I see." Dark said, sitting down suspiciously at the table. It was the First of September. He had every single relevant date memorized. This one was unfamiliar. Before taking any bites of his breakfast, he drank the coffee set out for him. It was still hot, and freshly made, so she hadn't been gone for very long. After eating some of his breakfast, he carefully wiped his hands on his napkin, and after taking one more suspicious look at his children, he opened up the letter. Almost immediately, a puzzle piece fell out, which he picked up between his two fingers, turning over in his hands. It was all black, whatever picture it formed was a mystery, but so was everything else this morning. Again, he glanced sideways at Alec and Xander before turning his attention to the letter.

It read, in Arabic, and certainly not Daizi's handwriting, although he could tell it was her words:

Good morning, Goose. I hope you don't mind the early start, you've got a big day ahead of you. And I just couldn't wait. You've got to find me, darling, I already miss you terribly. But I'll wait for you. I've got Ivy with me, now, so you don't need to worry about her, but by the end of today, it'll be just us two. But for now, eat your breakfast, drink your coffee, get dressed, and when you're ready---go where we kept empty, until we filled it with colour, and with you, and with me. Where we sneak out of and always clean. It wasn't the most complicated of that day's puzzles, but it was only the first one, and she wanted to give him something easy after being freshly woken up.

A small bit of delight came into his eyes, pushing out a bit of the confusion. He turned the letter over to make sure there wasn't anything written on the back and then brought it closer to his face--it smelled like her perfume. God, she was clever. Setting the letter down, he looked again at his children, "She is sending me on a scavenger hunt today?"
 
"Maybe," they said in a chorus with identical smirks that reminded anyone who saw that though they may be very, very different people, they were still identical twins with an identical sense of mischief.

"Make sure you eat up before you leave," Alec encouraged. "You have plenty of time, and you're going to need the fuel."

"But ask us no questions," Xander warned. "We'll flat-out lie to you."
 
Dark shook his head slightly, and obeying the letter, ate his entire breakfast and finished his coffee before getting up. He carefully folded up the letter and put the puzzle piece in the pocket of his sweatpants, easily able to guess it'd be important. Although, even if the letter hadn't instructed him to eat, he would've. Daizi took the time out of her day to cook him breakfast, he was going to eat. Then, he went upstairs, got dressed, combed his hair and beard a little extra nicely, and found a small enough bag that he could carry unobtrusively to keep the puzzle pieces and letters in, so he didn't risk losing them.

Then, he went to the nursery, where, as he expected, he found another letter. Inside was another puzzle piece, which he tucked securely into his bag. This letter read:

These past two years have been the most unpredictable, painful, and beautiful year I've ever had, and I'm so grateful to have spent it by your side. I don't think I'd have been able to survive them, were it not for you. It's been a blessing all on its own to be a mother, and one I would value regardless of the circumstances, but being able to raise children with you, and watch how you have risen to the challenge time and time again astounds me every single day. I stand amazed as I hear your patience, your empathy, your kindness: as delighted as I am to be a mother, my heart overflows at being able to witness you be a father. We've come so far together in only two years, Goose. Not even two years--We're still a few months off December. Thank you for bringing our sons home, and thank you for being a wonderful father to them, and to our daughter.

After leaving here, go to where your creativity flows best and you bring forth life from the remains of what was.

Also inside of this letter was a key, but it was unclear what it would unlock. So, he tucked it into his bag, and went to his shed.
 
Last edited:
The twins watched Dark leave and then started cleaning up the kitchen. One down, so many more to go! But he'd get this without a problem.

~~

"You are so incredibly romantic, Daizi, Darling," Sally sighed mournfully. "I am so tempted to steal this idea for myself!
 
As he walked to his shed, the letter in the nursery ran through his mind. It must have been such an immense amount of work, and she was using it to tell him how much she loved him. It was a bit too early in the morning for him to know how to reckon with the emotion that drug up in him, and he was grateful for the tasks.

This time, on his desk in the shed, there was a locked box. His instinct was to take out the key from the nursery until he got closer and saw it was a combination lock, the key he had was for later. Fascinating. He sat down in his chair, and lifted it, turning it over in his hands as he examined all sides of it, as well as tugging gently on the lock to make sure it was, in fact, locked. With a little exhale, he sat back, and looked around his shed. Since the letter from the nursery didn't have any closes he could spot--although he took it out again to double check--he figured the combination was likely a date he knew. He doubted it would be his birthday, since he didn't care much for it, and "0101" was a terrible passcode anyway. Their wedding anniversary had the same problem--1101, or 0111. Daizi's birthday also seemed unlikely, she'd see it as a level of vanity. Ivy's birthday seemed like a possibility, because he had just been in the nursery. 1013. It didn't open the box. 1310. Still nothing. With a frown, he tried 2028, her birth year. Then 1215 and 1512, the date he brought the twins home. Theoretically, it could be the twins' birth year, but that seemed more nebulous. He tried it anyway. 2019, their wedding year made sense, but it, too, didn't open the lock.

Drumming his fingers on the desktop for a few moments, then stood and walked around the shed, until his eyes landed on the carnival. It didn't look like it always did. Most of it was the same, but some of the figures had been altered. He lifted one. It was rudimentary. The cutwork wasn't nearly as smooth, cutting too deeply in some places, the paint had faded and chipped off in a few places. But it was a version of himself from many, many years ago. With his other hand, he lifted an old version of Tarot and looked at the two in his hands. He had kept these for lifetimes, literally, but hadn't looked at them or thought about them in many years. Daizi had remembered where they were, and set them out.

Swallowing hard, he brought them over to his desk, wondering if he should give them a fresh coat of paint, or if he should leaved them aged as they were, set them down carefully, and picked up the box. 2005. The year they met. When all he had was a pocket knife to carve with, and whatever wood he could steal from the theatre department.

The box opened, and he took out the letter. Unsurprising, now, was the puzzle piece, which he tucked away, but the box included a portable blacklight. Immediately, he shone it onto the letter, and pale purple letters shone, Close, Goose. Right idea, wrong execution. He put the blacklight away and opened the letter:

You're the most creative man I've ever met. Would you hate me if I admitted, after all these years, sometimes I sneak into your shed to see what you've been working on? I don't think I've ever spoiled anything for myself, but I take so much pride in your work. And you make me feel special, you're the first person to ever make me feel special. You sculpt me and lay me down in graphite, and make me someone greater than I am. When I am in your eyes and your hands, I get to taste sacrality.

And your passion, darling! Your dedication. Oh, my love, how do I express to you how remarkable you are? How brilliant? One day, your art will be displayed somewhere. You've invented a world to lose yourself and take comfort in. Sometimes, I turn the dial on your carousel to hear the calliope, and I think: that's the sound of my man's heartbeat.

At the end of the letter were coordinates, and he supposed he was going to need to leave the house.

~~

"It's been really stressful, honestly," Daizi grinned at Sally, and tapped her hand repeatedly against her chest, "My heart's been going like this all week. Especially today. He was adorable when I was waking him up."
 
Last edited:
The twins had finished cleaning the kitchen, but they were both still there. They'd been watching out the window for Dark's return, and as soon as they saw him walking toward the house, they both dashed to the living room to pretend they'd been reading the whole time. No big deal! They even had the books right-side up.

~~

"Jack's first words are always, 'close the curtains,'" Sally remarked dryly. "In all our years of marriage, we have never once managed to give the other a romantic morning. We have both tried! And discovered that we are the worst type of morning people."
 
When Dark came inside, he looked at the pair of them, "I think she is sending me out of the house. I am going to check. I suppose you will both be alright and are fully aware of this?" He was trying to be dry, because he knew absolutely they had been watching, even if they had been acting sly about it, but it was so obvious in his face how touched and excited he was about this. His wife had set up a scavenger hunt for him. He had an unknown number of loving letters ahead of him.

~~

"I wish I could lie and say the same to make you feel better, but we've had a good few." Daizi chuckled, although 'few' underestimated it, "I feel a bit guilty, he thought I was waking him up for... something else. I should've expected that misunderstanding."
 
"Oh, yeah, we're good," Alec told Dark with a nod.

Xander gave him a lazy wave. "Go on and have a fun adventure out there."

~~

"Now that is something we have never had. The books and movies make it seem so romantic but in reality? Morning breath can be turned into a biological weapon and is certainly a mood killer," Sally said with a tiny huff. "However, that means we have had some truly lovely evenings!" She glanced at Daizi. "And if you tell me you get both, then I shall truly and officially be utterly jealous of you."
 
With a nod, Dark went to the computer and pulled up the coordinates, to make sure it was somewhere he needed to drive through. It seemed like it corresponded to a grocery store, and one a little bit away. He had absolutely no idea why Daizi would send him there, so he spent awhile going over the clues he had to see if there was somewhere else he should head to instead, but he couldn't find another option, even after going back to his shed and rooting around.

As he was going downstairs, het pet Enkidu goodbye, but noticed paper attached to his collar, "What are you hiding from me?" He asked his dog, rubbing his sweet face with both hands before taking the letter and opening it up:

Enkidu doesn't have an actual clue, I just felt badly about leaving him out. Follow the instructions on your most recent clue: I have really enjoyed raising him with you, though. He's a good boy, and our first child, in a way. I love you, Goose. Find me.

It still came with a puzzle piece, which he put into his bag. Then, he said goodbye to his sons, grabbed his keys, and went to his car where, to his surprise--although it made sense, after thinking about it for a moment--Ivy's car seat had been removed. It was just a shock to see an empty backseat for the first time in ten months.

Setting his GPS to the coordinates, he began the drive.

~~

"We just brush our teeth first," Daizi laughed, "It's not... great, for keeping the mood going, but it's better than the alternative. He offered that this morning, actually. From the sound of his voice, his eyes were barely open, and he basically said, 'okay, but... i have to brush my teeth.' He's adorable..." She chuckled, reaching behind her to touch Ivy's knee. In Dark's car, she was always behind the passenger seat, so Dark could assist her at stoplights when it was just the two of them in the car (which, admittedly, didn't happen often), and so he could more easily see her in the rearview mirror, but in the brief time she'd be in Sally's, it made sense to have her so Daizi could reach her. "I'll lie to you about our evenings, if you prefer it."
 
The twins watched Dark leave, made certain he was absolutely gone, and then Alec texted his mother to let her know. Then Xander told Enkidu he was a very, very good boy.

~~

Sally shook her head at Daizi in amusement but did not actually begrudge her one bit. Her relationship with Jack was not one that could be called "firey," but it had its own passion, one that suited them. It might not be full of scavenger hunts and romantic mornings, but they always made certain to take a day once a month to be with just each other and to enjoy. Sometimes "fun things" happened, and sometimes they just sat and watched a sunset together or talked about anything other than work, home, or childrearing. Sometimes, she wished she had Dark and Daizi's wild burn, but then she remembered the times she and her own husband shared, and the wish faded. She loved what she had.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top