How Green Becomes Wood

"Of course," Dark agreed. He wanted to make a joke about buying Xander a step stool, but generally tried to avoid teasing people about things they couldn't control. So he went down the hallway to the linen closet and reached up to get the toolbox. The linen closet wasn't deep, and was mostly full of blankets and sheets, as well as their winter coats and towels, except for the tool box at the top. It was certainly high enough that Xander would have needed a step ladder, but Dark was easily able to reach up and grab the box.
 
"Thanks," Xander said, taking the box. "You're way better than a stool." Then he quickly - but gently so it wouldn't smack Dark - closed the door. "I'll come get you later when I need to get another high thing!"

He already had figured Dark would be able to open the door easy enough, so he skedaddled with the toolbox and dashed straight into his room, snickering. It wasn't much of prank, but it was something to keep Dark on his toes.
 
Dark blinked, a bit surprised by this turn of event. He wasn't really stuck. At least not, stuck stuck, but there wasn't a door knob on the inside, only on the outside. Because it wasn't designed with the expectation someone would be inside, and it was a bit cramped because of the racks. Silently, trying to find a way to get the door back open, he decided for safety reasons, he should install doorknobs on the inside of all of the closets, in case his daughter ends up shutting herself inside of one. If he put it in and, what, around the height of his knee? That seemed about right. If he put it there, she'd be able to reach it.

He fished his phone from his pocket and called Daizi, knowing that she was a light sleeper and never had her phone set to silent, because then the messages would be missed forever. It did take trying to call her twice, but eventually she answered, and when he told her the situation, the sound of her laughing could be heard all the way from her bedroom.

After only a few minutes, a slightly groggy Daizi walked right past the linen closet and she knocked on the twins' door, "Did you lock Dark in the closet?" She asked.
 
Xander was a bit surprised Dark had had to call Daizi to rescue him. Apparently, he hadn't been stuck in as many closets as he had. He hid it, though, and infused his voice with a tone of innocence. Probably too innocent considering it was him. "Locked in the linen closet? How did he manage that? Does that door even have a lock?"

"No, I don't think it does, but it doesn't have a handle on the inside," Alec said, looking up from his library copy of The Color of Magic. "Is he really stuck in the closet?"
 
She laughed again, leaning against the door frame. She tugged her shirt down a bit, because she had accidentally grabbed one of Dark's workout shirts rather than one of his loose fitting "band you've never heard of" shirts, and it was riding up, "No, I'm sure he could get out if he really tried to, but he's afraid of breaking the door. It's one of those handles where the, uhh... sticky-outy bits of the lock actually go in and out, the handle isn't just decoration, so he's worried about pushing too hard and breaking something. Which is ironic. So he's not exactly stuck, just cautious. Although it's not like he's got a lot of space in there."
 
"Well, well, well, how silly of him to get himself into a situation where he can't get out," Xander said, keeping his voice as mild and bland as he possibly could. "Poor, poor fellow. He really should think twice before climbing into those situations."

Alec snickered at his brother. "You just locked him in because he made you feel short."

"No, I allegedly locked him in because he scared me," Xander protested. "And then he goes waking up his poor, pregnant wife who just wants a bit of rest."

"Do you want me to go get him out, Daizi?" Alec giggled.
 
"No, no," She giggled, knowing perfectly well he could hear them, "It'll be fun for all of us if he just kicks the door down. You two haven't gotten to really learn how strong he is yet... But then it'd be such a pain to clean up and install a new door, so it's probably for the best he doesn't... And I know, waking me up, of all people! The one who carries the flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone," She stretched out her words, being as dramatic as she could be, "I think he's just lonely and needed attention. But!" She grinned, "We can use this to our advantage, certainly, and only let him out if he agrees to our demands... So we just need demands."
 
"I have a demand!" Alec chirped. "Blueberry pancakes for dinner!"

"Nah, common, he always makes the batter too runny or too thick," Xander complained, grinning. "I think we should be more inventive with our demands. How about he has to agree to making a specific item for his carnival?"


Alec shook his head. "His carnival is far too special. How about if he agrees to do our chores?"

"Better, but half of the time he does our chores anyway when he gets in a cleaning mood," Xander pointed out. "Maybe a dinner of all of our favorites? What do you think, Daizi?"
 
"He does get into cleaning moods..." She smiled, being unable to hide her deep love for her husband and his quirks, even when torturing him, "A dinner of all of our favourites sounds lovely. Although maybe that's her talking, I never used to be so interested in food. But seeing as I am, I find the terms agreeable," She also knew it would be something he would not hate doing, "Okay. Let's go tell him our conditions."

She slipped away from their room, pulling her shirt back down again, and then knocked lightly on the closet door, "Hello, Goose~! We decided we'll let you out if you agree to our terms!"

"I heard," Dark replied, grumbling, although it was absolutely put on, "Remind me why I came to you for help?"

"Because you never learn."
 
Xander and Alec scrambled up to follow Daizi, standing behind her in the hall.

"Surely you can't be surprised that she's utterly vindictive after you woke her up," Alec called cheerfully. "You could have called me for help."

"You lost your phone," Xander pointed out.

"Oh, right," Alec mused.

Xander called, "So, dinner! All of our favorites! And your promise to fulfill before that door opens."
 
"I promise! Although not tonight, we do not have the ingredients." Dark replied from inside of the closet, "and I called her because I thought she would be loyal to me. We took a vow."

"I never made any vow about this!" Daizi laughed, putting her hand against the door to indicate to the twins not to free him yet.

"You still seemed safer than Alec, who is loyal firstly to his brother!" He protested, "and I agreed to your terms, so will you please release me?"

"Not yet," She replied, quickly. This, apparently, was her ultimate goal. Everything with the twins was only to get a little extra out of it, "You have to admit that you're the one who broke the goose lamp!"

"I already told you, Enkidu knocked it off the counter, and it was five years ago!" Dark replied, sounding a bit actually annoyed.

"No, you hated that lamp from the moment I brought it home! I know it was on purpose, and I have known from the beginning!" Daizi replied, pressing against the door with her shoulder, "From the beginning!"

"I do not know why you cannot trust me on this, Spider."

"Don't you dare! I know it wasn't Enkidu, because he was just a puppy, there was no way he could jump that high!"

"He was a puppy, puppies are energetic!"

"You said it was in too many pieces for it to be glued back together, and his little paw pads weren't cut at all! Admit it and I let you out!"

"Fine!" Dark replied, and even though he couldn't be seen, it was obvious he had thrown his hands up, "but it was on accident! Truly! I was trying to dust it, and then I saw Enkidu was about to chew on an electrical cord, and I put it down too quickly, and it fell, and it broke, and I said he did it!"

Daizi opened the door, "I knew it. Thank you for finally admitting it. Never lie to me again, you idiot. I always know."
 
Xander and Alec stared at Dark.

"You blamed a puppy for your misdeeds?" Alec clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I am ashamed. I would have thought you'd be better than that."

"Yeah, not even I would blame a puppy," Xander agreed.

"Perhaps we should put him back in so that he can reflect on his actions?" Alec suggested.

Xander tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Nah, it's enough that he knows that we know, I think. Let us let him go now that Daizi has procured a vow to never lie again."

"Very lawyerly of you," Alec grinned.

"Thanks, I've been practicing it. Come on, let's go tell Enkidu that his name has been cleared. Good job getting him to tell the truth!"

They scampered off down the hall, cackling.
 
"Okay, to be fair," Dark argued, holding out his hands, "I only dropped it because I was trying to stop him from electrocuting himself, so it is partially his fault!"

"Oh sure it is," Daizi replied, mostly just amused she had finally gotten his confession, and she grinned at the sound of the twins cackling as they scampered off.

"I am very sorry."

She rolled her eyes and then pushed herself against him, forcing him to wrap her up in his arms, "I forgive you. And now come rest with me for real, you said you were going to, didn't, and then woke me up."

"Okay," He agreed, and the two of them went off to relax together.

The next day, Sunday, was far more restful and soothing than their busy adventure the day before. At breakfast, Dark tossed Xander a bottle of ibuprofen, figuring he was probably a bit sore from his ride, but nothing of note happened. Then Monday came, and Daizi was back to work, just like nothing had happened, and the week went by normally, and Tuesday afternoon, while she was working, Dark was sitting at the dining room table, attempting to make a list of all of the things they still needed for the baby.
 
Xander walked in and cleared his throat. "Hey. I was wondering... Nah, nevermind." He turned and walked out.

"No, go back! Ask him!" Alec urged in a whisper, shooing him toward the doorway.

"He's busy!" Xander hissed back. "I don't want to interrupt him."

"He's always busy," Alec reminded him. "Go on!"

Xander reluctantly returned and stood shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, I was wondering, if you're not to busy," he said, not looking directly at Dark.

"Be brave!" Alec whispered from the doorway. "You can do it."

"I was wondering if you'd want to play a game of chess. With me," Xander mumbled awkwardly, looking at the floor more than at Dark.
 
Dark set down his notepad, surprised at the question, and smiled a bit, pleasantly surprised, "I would love to," he said, "do you know how to play? And you do not need to worry if I look busy, almost nothing I do over the summer cannot be done at a later date."

Considering he brought Alec for moral support, this was clearly something Xander had been thinking about for some time, and it brought some warmth into his chest: this angry fifteen year old, who less than a year ago wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, came to ask if they could spend time together. The fact Xander was nervous made him feel a bit guilty: clearly he was not very approachable, but then he had never tried to be approachable before, so it only made sense, "I have a nice set, I made it myself."
 
Last edited:
"I know a little bit," Xander said, holding up one hand to indicate a tiny amount.

Alec leaned into the doorway and held out a small book. "I got a book! I can help." He paused. "Er, I mean... I'm not here." He disappeared back around the doorway.

Xander hooked his thumb toward his brother. "He'll prompt me if I get stuck. Does that seem fair?" He still felt awkward. He'd thought that maybe he could possibly be part of the problem as to why Dark didn't spend much focused time with either of them, and Alec had suggested chess after hearing Dark mention it once. So, he thought he'd try to break the trend of waiting for Dark to suggest and make the first move. After all, Dark had gone well out of his way with the horse riding trip. Surely Xander to get out of his comfort zone enough to suggest a game he barely knew anything about.
 
"Two against one, when one has a book, does not seem fair," Dark replied, closing his laptop and tucking his capped pen away in his pocket, "I could always just teach you instead. I am no master, Daizi always beats me, but I know the game passing well, and I do not pretend she is not smarter than I am. Or more cunning, at least."

He leaned slightly to the side, catching sight of Alec, "I can teach both of you, if you would like."
 
Xander shrugged. "Ah, come on. Don't you at least want to test me before you offer to teach me?" he suggested, grinning.

Alec smiled and gave Dark a tiny wave. "I'm just here to watch. I am not that interested in learning. I'm sorry. I would like to see your chess set! If I may? I'll stay out of it."
 
"I suppose it is good to have a starting place," Dark replied, amused. It came as no surprise that Xander hardly knew the game, but still wanted to try to win first, before being taught. To Alec, he said, "If you only want to watch, you will certainly see the set, but regardless I would have no qualms about showing it to you. I am always proud of my work."

He went into the living room, and from one of the shelves near the TV, pulled a medium sized wooden box, which he sat down on the coffee table by the couch. He turned the lid to the side, and from it emptied the black and white chess pieces, and then unfolded the lid itself to reveal the pieces, which remained firmly attached to the board beneath it, "Do you know how to set up the board?" He asked, handing the white pieces to Xander. Naturally, he assigned the black ones to himself.
 
Xander hesitated a moment before he started setting out the pieces. He did the front row of pawns first, and then started working on the back row. He got it nearly right. Alec leaned forward and whispered in his ear when he had a knight where the bishop should be and the queen and king backward. He quickly swapped them and gave a satisfied nod.

"Your chest set is beautiful!" Alec said. He stood behind Xander, leaning over the back of the couch to watch. "How did you get the colors?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top