How Green Becomes Wood

"Are you ready to go?" Cooger asked, leaning over to pop the door open for him, "I hope Tarot's not worried, but I don't know when she expected you home. Dark said he called her."
 
"Yeah. Thanks," Xander said. "I feel a bit better." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, realizing that what he'd said was true. He did feel a little better. Not enough to ask to head back to school, but better.
 
"Fresh air cures all sortsa ills," Cooger nooded, continuing the drive home. "That's what my Nana Lucy always said."

When they finally reached home, Cooger parked in the driveway and let Xander out, saying he'd probably stop by for a little bit after his work at Lex's was finished for the day, then, after making sure Xander got in safe, drove one driveway over to get to work. Inside of the Wahid-Dark-Cunningham home, it smelled even more strongly of spices, which was undercut by a unique, earthy smell, and Daizi was singing in the kitchen, "But, oh, I guess I got my wish. Anything, anything, anything but this. If I make it to the morning, I should've come with a warning, if I make it to the stage I'll show you what it means to be saved."

Evidently, she hadn't heard Xander come inside.
 
Xander touched the salt, took off his shoes, and stored his bag at the bottom of the stairs before wandering into the kitchen, sniffing. He listened to Daizi sing for a bit before announcing his presence. "I'm home."

Lexington had left a note on the door telling Cooger to let himself in. She was wrapped up in working on the bathroom and didn't want to have to crawl out of whatever corner she was in just to open the door.
 
"Hi, habibi," Daizi said gently, turning around to face him. She had only jumped slightly when he came in, "I hadn't heard you. Dark told me you aren't feeling well," he hadn't lied to her, it was in her tone, "so I'm making you soup. It won't be ready for a little while yet, and I've got a variety of medicines out on the counter for you, I'm not sure if you need any of them. How are you?"

Cooger did precisely as he was told, joining Lex in the bathroom, "I've got good news and bad news."
 
Xander took a deep sniff. "The soup smells good." He glanced at the lineup of medications on the counter. "I don't think I need any meds. I'm just..." He hesitated, trying to figure out the right words. "Stressed. Tired. Overthinking. Assuming. Mostly tired."

"Oh yeah?" Lex grunted from the floor where she lay on her back trying to get the fittings right for where the sink was supposed to go. "Alright, bad news first!" She paused to use the bandana wrapped around her wrist to wipe her forehead. "This old pipe's corroded and fighting me."
 
"I understand." Daizi said, turning to stir the soup before lying the spoon down, "You should go rest. I'll get you when this is ready. Or I'll bring you some. Here," she went amongst the medicines and pulled out a small cotton drawstring bag, "For under your pillow. It's full of dried lavender. It's not medicinal, but it is peaceful. I was going preemptively place it there, but I didn't want to go into your room without permission."
 
"Oh. Thanks." Xander took the bag, feeling a little awkward yet pleased at how much she respected boundaries he hadn't even thought he might need to place. He sniffed the bag cautiously. "It smells nice." Hesitantly, reached out and gently tugged her sleeve, trying not to put her off balance.
 
Smiling warmly, she tugged his sleeve back, then said, "Go rest. And let me know if you need anything, okay? I'll keep Ivy down here so she doesn't bother you when she wakes up."

~~

"Your new tile might be haunted." Cooger said, throwing down a towel so he could kneel behind her, "But, the good news is, my guy found tile in the exact colour and style you like. It's just from this dilapidated old place that, I guess, looked like it was probably the inspiration for the house next door. When they got inside, it still had shoes in the hall and clothes in the closet."
 
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"Okay." Xander made his way upstairs, grabbing his backpack as he went. He tucked the lavender under his pillow and sat against the wall writing in his journal for a bit. It started out rather dreary but then ended on a lighter note. At least they'd talked. At least they'd tried. At least he'd not given up. Mostly thanks to Alec helping, but he'd actually talked instead of leaving. That was a step in the right direction, right? Then he put the journal away and curled up in bed, pulling the blankets up over his shoulders. He really was tired. It felt good to close his eyes. Just for a bit.

~~

Lex gave the pipe a smack, and it finally did what she wanted it to do. "There we go!" She tilted her head to see Cooger better and grinned. "I don't mind haunted. As long as whatever spook comes along with the tile doesn't break a bunch of stuff and lets me get a decent amount of sleep, we'll find a way to get along."
 
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Some time later, but still an hour or so before even Alec came home, Daizi came upstairs and knocked gently on Xander's door, trusting it would be quiet enough that it wouldn't wake him if he was still sleeping but loud enough that, if he was awake, he'd hear it. "Can I come in?" She asked, "It's just me."

~~

"That's the spirit," Cooger chuckled, sitting back and watching Lex work, "Pretty soon with that, you won't need me at all. Then what'll I do?"
 
Xander sat up and groggily rubbed his eyes. "Come in," he called, shaking himself awake. He hadn't meant to fully fall asleep, but he didn't regret it.

~~

Lex chuckled and finished with the piece she was working on. "Find another project to work on in this house. I don't think it'll be hard. Oh, I have the toilet and the bathtub out in the garage, and as much as I might like to pretend that I can, I can't get them inside by myself."
 
"I brought you your soup," She said quietly, stepping in carrying a tray where she had carefully stacked the bowl, with saltine crackers spread beside it, and a cup of tea. "You've never had it before, this is the one Dark and Cooger talk about. The one only I know the recipe of, and only make when people are sick." She set the tray down on the bedside table, and then adjusted Xander's blanket, without touching him, like she was tucking him in, "It doesn't have to be a physical sick. It'll still make you feel better."

The soup itself was a dark green, with a slightly strange consistency, but smelled wonderful.

~~

"I can help you with the toliet, I may need to wait until my nephew is better for the bathtub to get an extra set of hands," Cooger said, "I don't want to promise too much and throw out my back. It'd push back a helluva lotta deadlines. But I'll see how heavy it is and if I think the two of us can manage it."
 
Xander blinked in surprise, staring at the soup. It didn't look that good, but the smell was amazing! "This is the special soup? You made me the special soup?" he asked, barely able to believe his eyes. "Why?"

~~

"That's fair," she agreed cheerfully. She stood and brushed off her tattered jeans. She was wearing another black tank top with a faded band logo. This one for Evernecance. "Let's go test it out!" She glanced back as she led the way. "Something up with your nephew?"
 
"Because it will make you feel better." Daizi replied simply, "I can't promise it'll cure you, or that you'll feel better permanently. But it'll help."

~~

"Yeah, he's got a fever, I guess. That's what his dad told me, anyway." Cooger said, standing with a grunt and following after her, "He wasn't acting like a kid with a fever, but Dark doesn't lie to me, so if did, there's a reason, and I'm not gonna pry." He gestured to her tanktop, "Your shirt reminds me of high school. I was never that into them, but Dark and Tarot were hardcore emo. Obviously."
 
Xander carefully picked up the bowl and spoon, humbled that Daizi would make this for him. "Thank you," he said quietly. He braced himself, suddenly terrified he'd hate it, but took a sip. It was like an angel crying on his tongue. An Egyptian angel from long, long ago. One that had traveled the sandy deserts just to give him this bowl of life. He sighed quietly and nearly hugged the bowl.

~~

"That sucks. Hope he feels better soon." She tugged lightly at her shirt as if she'd forgotten what she'd put on and then opened the garage door. "They're kind of hit-and-miss for me as a band, but I'm a sucker for Amy Lee's voice. I'm a bit more rock and punk, but now and then you get an itch for something you don't usually lean toward, you know?" Lex led him toward a mostly opened box. "I got it out most of the way and then figured why bother getting it out entirely when I can't get it by myself? It's a single piece, not a two-piece like most commodes, otherwise, I could get it alone."
 
The sound of that sigh was a very familiar one to her, and she didn't address it. She knew he'd like it, because everyone did, and she didn't make it for her own ego. "It was no trouble," was what she said instead, sitting down lightly on the edge of the bed. "What do you need to feel comforted?" She asked, after a moment, "I can't hold you like I can Alec or Ivy or Dark. And that's okay, you aren't any of them. What makes you feel better?" Then, during a long pause, she added, "It's okay if you don't know. I won't stop trying to figure it out."

~~

"It is pretty. But I think you either have to be super introspective or shallow enough to think you're introspective for their music to really hit for you," Cooger said, going into the box and helping to lift the toilet, "Or dramatic, I guess. It's good music for feeling like you're really different and misunderstood. But I was really into Metallica, then, which, thankfully, Dark also really took to. Introducing him to our music was a blast, I basically got to invent his music taste for him, he knew very little of it. Like he had heard music, even Western music, but he didn't speak English and the western stuff wasn't all that accessible to him because of a bunch of reasons, so I sorta taught him right."
 
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Xander took another bite or sip - it was a strange consistency so he wasn't sure which it was - as he considered his answer. "I don't know," he admitted. If it was Alec, well, Alec always seemed to know what he needed. He could take a hug from Alec, or music. What could Daizi do to comfort him. He hesitated before carefully asking, "Maybe just... talking, I guess? About anything unimportant."

~~

Lex grunted as she helped move the toilet and then finished unwrapping it before they headed into the house. "Metallica, eh? That's a good band. I'm a bit more of a Dorothy or Halestorm style, myself, but I can appreciate talent! Hang on. We need to go more to the left." She dropped the subject for a moment as she tried to get the toilet into the right position. "There, got it!"
 
"Unimportant," Daizi repeated, as she realized that suddenly, because of that request, all she could think of were important things. And a certain rugby team from the 70s. But that wasn't good conversation on a day like this, after a week like this. "Dark's going to be thrilled when he comes home and smells this. Now you understand why he's made such a fuss over the fact I firmly stick to only making it when someone is feeling poorly."

~~

"I thought it would make me look cool and attract girls, because I was this edgy 'bad boy' who listened to hard rock. But I was always standing next to my 6'8 friend with an accent, eyes that look golden in the sunlight, and a traumatic past. I was set up to fail." He laughed at himself, and cheered, mostly from relief, when they got the toilet where it needed to be. "Now we actually have to hook it up."
 
Xander gave a slight nod and abandoned the spoon. It was easier to drink it straight out of the bowl. "Yeah. This tastes like a special soup. Real special. How come only females get to learn it? Besides tradition."

~~

Lex laughed and shook her head as she knelt down and started hooking up the pipes. "That's even worse than me with my sister! She's still a looker now, but back in high school before her husband tamed her, she was a knockout! I'm the older sister, but I always felt like I was in her shadow. I think I got asked out more, but only so they could try to get info on my sister and how they could get with her. Oh well. Least looks like you got a good friend out of it, and my sister and I patched things up."
 
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