How Green Becomes Wood

"Sure, go ahead. It's only fair I guess." He shrugged, taking steps back to give Xander space to test it out, "At least guys like you and me can fit in normal showers. Go on a trip with them sometime, Dark will bitch the entire time about how the showerhead in the hotel is too low."
 
Xander snickered and bounced the ball a few times before taking a shot. He missed, but only just barely. Retrieving the ball, he commented, "He could always just sit down. Or try taking a bath in one of those tiny tubs I think are made for Asian folk they're so short and shallow. Or maybe just small children." He took another shot and missed again, this time to the other side. He didn't mind. He was getting a feel for where the basket was, so a few misses was to be expected. His third shot made it in.
 
"I think he just kinda bends awkwardly. I'm pretty sure he'll have to use a massive cane one day, and Tarot is convinced he's going to get blood clots and die," he chuckled, "I'm never getting married, and it's probably a good thing, because I hear that married couples just spend all day fussing over each other's health." He watched Xander's attempts, giving some praise when he finally made the basket in.
 
Xander paused in his next throw and glanced toward where Alec stood cautiously spreading chicken feed out and watching the chickens with a look of utter fascination and no small amount of respect. "I have no idea what that's like," he grumbled. He tossed the ball, and it bounced off the rim. He caught it before it hit the ground and tossed it again. It swooshed it without even tapping the rim. "Right, so, how do you start a game of two-player basketball?"
 
"Dark and I normally just play horse, but instead of having to stand perfectly still to shoot and taking turns, we still dribble the ball and try to take it from each other. Any time you miss a shot, you get a letter, and the first person to get all five letters loses." Cooger explained, getting the basketball and shooting from about where Xander had been. Being familiar with the hoop, he didn't need to take a few tries to get it in, but unlike Xander's, his shot hit the rim before falling in.
 
Xander stepped forward and caught the ball. "Alright," he agreed. "That seems fair." He dribbled the ball back to where he was and gave another shot, once again sinking the ball with nothing but net. Solo basket tossing was his own personal sport since no one ever played against him, and he was quite good at it. Playing with another person was something he was not used to, however, so he knew this was likely going to be the last easy basket he was going to get.
 
"Okay, okay," Cooger nodded, going for the ball, "That one's on the house." Standing closer to the net than Xander was, he made a shot and it went in, this time without hitting the rim, just to even the score, and then the game began for real. Very quickly, Cooger discovered the problems inherent in challenging a teenager while being middle aged and a bit out of shape, but at the same time, he was himself large enough that he could often, when he had the ball, bull past Xander. The problem came when he was really trying to set up to shoot, he always expected Xander to be able to get the ball away from him, so the first shot he made bounced off the rim, missing the hoop entirely, because he didn't aim it properly.
 
For his part, Xander was quick, agile, and easily able to outpace Cooger, but he couldn't block the older man or really get around his blocks. They were close to the same height - something Xander had difficulty believing he was so used to being around Dark and Daizi - but Cooger was all-around bigger and wider. Xander caught the ball as it bounced off, dribbled it a few steps, then spun on his toes and tossed, sending the ball in a graceful arc toward the net. It would go in if Cooger didn't block it.
 
When Xander made his shot, Cooger jumped to try to knock the ball off course, but although his fingers gently grazed the ball, all he managed to do was make it hit the rim and then fall in, rather than being a clean shot.

He swore, retrieved the ball, and tried to get to an open space to take his shot. Hearing a distance meow, he grumbled, "Shut up Hank, you can't do any better."
 
The play continued, and Xander managed to make the next shot but missed the next two. Playing with another person was an interesting experience for Xander, and his competitive side quite liked it. Thanks to his time in Judo, he now had much better control over that competitive side, which had been really hard at first, but now that he wasn't feeling as aggressively determined to win all the time, it left him free to actually enjoy the game. He still wanted to win, of course, but it wasn't such a bad thing to lose.
 
The next few shots Cooger made successfully, but the game was long, and he was starting to sweat. For a good while, he and Xander were tied, but he couldn't quite keep up with the teen. He was good at keeping Xander from shooting, and blocking his shots, but since he was slower it was easy to steal the ball from him.

Finally, when both of them had H-O-R-S, Cooger took his final shot. It rolled around on the rim for three full rotations before tumbling off and bouncing on the ground, not going through the hoop.

Cooger swore, panting, and then turned to Xander said, "Good game, kid. Beat me fair and square."
 
Xander grabbed for the ball but missed, and it went rolling on its merry way. He turned to grin at Cooger, doing his best to hide his own panting. "That was pretty good for an old man," he teased. "We'll have to do this again some time." He straightened, immeasurable proud of himself. He'd done it! He'd beaten Cooger at the game he'd suggested!

Alec caught the ball and walked it back. "Congratulations on getting the ball through a metal ring that's holding perfectly still," he told Xander dryly. "I don't know how you do it."
 
"For an old man!" Cooger scoffed, putting his hands on his hips, "and you've been out of diapers for how long? A year? 6 months? Please..." He shook his head, and then turned to Alec, "Alright then, son, if it's so easy, you show us how it's done. 'Cause last I heard, you threw out your shoulder when you tried to make a basket."
 
Alec stared at Cooger. "Me? Really?"

"Come on," Xander urged, stepping out of the way and waving Alec forward. "Come on, just be careful. You got this!"

Alec chewed his lip doubtfully but nodded. Shrugging, he stayed where he was, farther back than either Cooger or Xander had thrown from, and took up a stance like he remembered the boys in the gym doing as they practiced. He took great deliberation in his throw, taking so long Xander was practically fidgeting, but finally sent the ball up and over their heads in a lovely arch, aiming straight for the hoop.

"No," Xander murmured in disbelief.
 
"I swear to god." Cooger grumbled, watching the ball fall perfectly in the hoop. He felt suddenly bested by both teenagers.

Then, as he watched the ball bounce lightly on the ground, he picked it up and tossed it to Xander to toss to Alec and said, "I bet you twenty bucks you can't do it again."
 
Xander almost dropped the ball when Cooger tossed it to him he was so surprised, but he tossed it to Alec. "I'll get in on that."

Alec fumbled the ball awkwardly, as stunned as Xander looked, but he tired to hide it. "I don't think I need to-"

"Come on!" Xander urged. "Just once. I won't ask again."

Alec sighed but nodded. "Okay. Once more." Unnerved but trying to focus, he set himself up again and tried to copy what he'd done before exactly. Once again, he tossed the ball in a nice arch toward the hoop.
 
Cooger washed blankly as the ball swished neatly into the hoop, "I'm going to walk into the sea," But true to his word, he took out a twenty dollar bill and held it out to Alec, "You may be wondering Cooger, don't you mean the lake? We're landlocked. No, I mean I am going to walk until I reach the sea and then walk into it."

To save his ego, he picked up the basketball and took a shot--blessedly, it went in, so he didn't need to begin his long march to the water. Elsewhere, Daizi's water had just broken. And Cooger said, "Come on, let's do something that won't make me rip what's left of my hair out my head."
 
Alec smiled as he took the money from Cooger, and then two crumpled fives and a mumbled, "I owe you," from Xander. "Thank you. Perhaps this will teach you not to gamble." In truth, he was as shocked as Xander and Cooger that he'd made the shot not once, but twice! He wasn't going to say anything, and he certainly wasn't going to push his luck by trying it a third time.

"Har, har, har," Xander said blandly to Alec. "Right, Coog, what are we doing next? Other than charting the shortest route to the ocean."
 
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