How Green Becomes Wood

"Tradition is really the only reason, I suppose. I don't think it would've been any different if it was passed down to the sons, or to the eldest child regardless of sex... But I think it's nice to have something 'for us.'" She said, trying to figure out both her own feelings on it and what the original meaning of it was, "I don't actually know how far back the recipe dates, but women didn't even have the right to vote in Egypt until 1956. And still, back home, we don't have the same liberties men do, and it's complicated and not the sort of 'unimportant stuff,' you probably need right now."

~~

"The plus side with him is that he was so quickly head over heels for Tarot, he sort of diverted girls my way. None of them stuck, clearly, but he would set me up with women who otherwise would've never given me the time of day." He chuckled, "That's why those four and a half years they were broken up were hell. I mean. It was for other reasons, because they were both miserable, and he became--Well." He chuckled, crouching down to check the pipes Lex was working on, and seeing they looked about decent, asked, "Well, should we give it a test flush?"
 
"Mmm," Xander agreed, slurping slightly as he ate/drank the gloopy soup. Part of him wanted to bolt it down as fast as he could. The other part told him to take it slow and savor it for as long as possible. He tried to think of other unimportant things to talk about, which usually was not something that came easily to him, but to his surprise, a question came to him! It was a dumb question usually asked on those "get to know you" meetings, but he was too surprised he'd actually thought of one to not ask it. "If you could live anywhere, and I mean anywhere, that's not somewhere you've already lived, where would you want to go?"

~~

Lex turned on the water and gave it a try. "Look at that, it works!" she crowed over the sound of rushing water. "Nice. That was surprisingly easy. You know, relationships never really stuck for me, either. They weren't all miserable failures, especially once I got a little old and wiser, and I'm still even friends with some of my ex's, but they just didn't stick for me, either." She smiled at him. "Lifetime bachelors, eh? Constant sources of exasperation. Right, speaking of exasperation, what's next on our list in here?"
 
Daizi hummed as she thought about Xander's question. He had specified live anywhere, not visit anywhere, which changed her answers a bit. "That's difficult, because there's a lot of places I'd like to live, but because of either my situation, or just the realities of modern life, or because I need to take Dark's opinions into account... But if I could ignore all of that... I think I'd like to live in Germany's Black Forest or the Hallerbos Forest in Belgium... although that one is full of tourists, now. I'd like to live there in a beautiful and strange tower. Or in New Zealand, I guess. My dream of living in a tower in some dense forest is hampered by the fact I am a mortal human woman... What about you?"

~~

"I feel like now I'm at an age where when people learn I'm still single and have never been married, people wonder what's wrong with me. But that's alright, you know, because I've got a big family, and I'm friends with just about everyone, so I don't really begrudge a fling in place of a partner. It's less stress, anyway." He stepped back to look at the bathroom holistically, "I suppose we could try moving the bathtub in, but that I still have concerns about getting it in here with just the two of us. After that... We may want to wait until we've got the tile. But I may be able to run and pick it up. Unless you want to make changes to the lights in here."
 
"The Black Forest is real?" Xander asked in surprise. "I thought it was made up for those brother stories. Grim Tales? Whatever they're called. Same with Hallerbos. I thought it was just a candy." He didn't realise he was confusing "Hallerbos" with "Hasbro" toys and "Haribo" candy. "Me... I kind of always wanted to live on a prairie. I don't know if prairies even exist anymore. Or maybe somewhere over in Mongolia with the... steps or plains or whatever they're called."

~~

"It's probably for the best to wait until later for the tub," Lex agreed, looking around musingly. "Guess that can wait a bit longer. The walls are up now, just got to get the tub and surround in there and the tiles. I think the lights are good, but speaking of lights, I'm having some trouble with a couple of the sockets in the living room and one in the bedroom closest to the living room. I'm guessing they're related purely based on their proximity, but do you mind giving them a look?"
 
"It is. I've always wanted to visit... Dark has seen pictures, and he says it's always shadowy, which he adores, and it's in the mountains, it's wonderful. I think in a different world, Dark, Cooger, and myself all would have lived in it. Near enough to travel to town if we needed or wanted to, but far enough in to be isolated... Prairies still exist, they're just built on, if I had to guess, except in places where the land has been preserved... It sounds like you like wide open spaces."

~~

Cooger stretched and exited the bathroom, "Not at all. Just point out to me which ones they are, I'll try to see what I can do."
 
Xander shrugged and finished off his soup before answering. "I dunno. I like how it looks, lots of room to move and easier to see what's coming, but I've never actually been somewhere like that. It looks cool in movies. I like forests, but it's harder to see what's coming."

~~

Lex took him around, showing him the problem outlets and problem-solving with him. She stayed out of his way unless it looked like he could use a hand, but kept up a pleasant conversation between grumbling about ill-kept houses.
 
"I think that's a big difference between you and Dark," Daizi commented, "You want to be able to see what's coming. He wants to be certain nobody can see him coming. I couldn't see people coming in either place, but forest floors tend to be littered with fallen leaves, which crunch underfoot, so I think it'd probably be easier for me to hear someone coming. But I've not been to a grassland like that, either... Have you ever been to the ocean?"
 
"Nuh-uh," Xander said. He picked up the crackers, having forgotten about them and started crunching on them. "I don't like slimy things, and the ocean seems to be filled with slimy things. Algae and seaweed and stuff. Slippery, too. Sounds cool to look at, though."
 
"We were talking about maybe this summer driving east to see a little ocean town, renting a condo or something for a week. I don't know if we'll go through with it, because Ivy is so little, and Alec gets nervous being away from home, but I think it could be nice. I love the sound of the ocean. You'll sleep better than you ever have before if you open the window, down on that shore."
 
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"It sounds better in real life. It's not quite captured in a recording, especially because on a white noise machine, it's right by you, right? But there's some distance between yourself and the waves when you're actually there, so it's quieter. I think it's lovely. And Alec would probably enjoy hunting for seashells." The thought of this lit up her face, "Could you imagine how many he'd try to bring home? I can imagine his pockets full of sand, and then Dark having a heart attack over the sand in the car, and then a month later you'd come downstairs and fuss at him because you'd still be finding sand in your closet. And Dark would chase all three of you around with sunscreen the entire time, I'm sure."
 
"I don't think I've been looking forward to it... I mean, if we went through with it, then I would be, but it's also just exciting to think about. This isn't exactly the family I anticipated I'd have, when I realized I did want to have children after all, but it's the one I want. And I want to do things with all of you. Or with some of you, as individuals. We never really do anything just the two of us, do we?"
 
Xander blushed, still awkward when it came to talking about them as a family. He felt they were one, but it was still new to him. Fresh, sensitive, but good. He pulled on the blankets a little before saying, "No, I guess not. Not much we have in common, really, I guess."

~~
Once they'd finished doing the smaller repairs, Lex checked the time. "School should be getting out soon, but we have a bit of time. Toby's riding his board home. You want a drink?" She moved toward the kitchen, inviting Cooger to follow. "We can sit on the back deck."
 
"I don't know if that's true." She replied, crossing her legs at the ankle and hanging her head at a weird angle, a little habit of hers when she was really tuned into the conversation, "I think last year was a bad year to get to know me. I don't know if you've noticed, but I cry a lot less than you'd expect me to, given what you saw of me." Daizi teased, and then more seriously said, "but you and Dark get along, because you have a lot in common with him. And Dark and I get along, clearly," this was emphasized by the way she lightly tugged the chain she hung her wedding ring on, "I liked you even when you were argumentative with me, right when you were brand new here."

~~

He squinted up at the sky, vaguely judging the time, then he turned to her with a little grin and said, "Ah, shoot. Why not? At some point I've gotta head over there because my nephew being sick means Tarot has made the best damn soup I've ever had in my life, but I know her well enough to know she made enough. She's got a whole code about it. I just hope your back deck is in better shape than the rest of the house."
 
"True, you do cry less," Xander agreed. "I'm glad someone liked me. I didn't always like you, but I guess you're alright." He smirked just a little, deliberately downplaying what he thought of her just to tease her a bit.

~~

"Believe it or not, but the porch is the best damn structure of this building," Lex said, opening the fridge. "I think it'll outlast the house. Once I get the house in better shape, I'm going to make the backyard something worth looking out over. What would you like? I've got water, orange juice, red juice, green juice, blue juice, Pepsi, and Coke."
 
"I'm an acquired taste," Daizi agreed with mock solemnity, "and it's amazing how different you are when you can feel normal, in whatever way feels like normal to you. I do wish your first year with me I had been able to be... what I consider to be myself, because I think I probably went a little crazy for a minute there, but... I'm glad you managed to warm up to me, and find me at least... vaguely palatable." She grinned at him, so glad Ivy was napping so she didn't have to split her attention between them.

~~

"You ever watch Scrubs? They had a whole few episodes where the main character had nothing but a deck and some land he had owned." Cooger said, leaning against the kitchen's entryway, "And how'd you know my favourite flavour is 'blue'?"
 
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Xander snickered a little at that. "It took a bit, but I guess I learned to live with the weirdness. It'd be weirder if it wasn't weird anymore. Couldn't deal. This is better."

~~

Lex poured him a glass and handed it over. "I dunno. You seemed like the type of person who could appreciate a good blue drink," she smirked. She got herself water and led the way out back onto the wooden porch that looked out over the backyard. The porch itself was massive and, as promised, incredibly well-built. There was even some seating built along one of the rails, and two lawn chairs sat looking out over the wilderness that was the yard. Indications of former landscaping showed through here and there, but most of it was lost in a tangle of overgrown plants and weeds. Some of the plants were bravely blooming, but most didn't seem to have space to breathe. It was both epic and a little sad looking.
 
"I think it's easier to cope with. I grew up in a family that really had strong expectations for who we were supposed to be, and weren't always kind when you stepped outside of that, and I think there's a difference between sharing your child's dream and trying to dictate it." Daizi replied, and then laughed lightly, "Xander, I would love you even if you started to wear a polo shirt and khakis everyday, and decided you wanted to become an accountant because it was a nice, sensible job."

~~

"If I had to guess, you go for red." He commented, following her out onto the deck, "It is a very nice porch. I don't know who built it, but it must have been a different contractor than who built the rest of the place. Although, from what I've heard about the previous owner, she was very concerned with appearances, so I guess I can imagine her splurging a little on the deck to keep up appearances. The garden though that's..." He took a sip of his drink, "I hope you don't mind me commenting on it, because this definitely isn't your doing, you haven't been here long enough to be at fault for it."
 
Xander stared at Daizi, feeling sickened by the mere thought. "Polo shirts and khakis?? An accountant?" he wheezed. "I think I'd rather jump off a cliff for a nice quick death instead of a long, drawn out one. Death by a million papercuts," he groaned. "But... Thanks. I think."

~~

"Red's a good choice," she agreed with a nod. She settled down into one of the lawn chairs and relaxed, feet stretched out before her. "Yeah, it's a mess. I'm no gardener, but even I can see there's some kind of possibility here. Somewhere. I'm kind of hoping to get some kind of expert help to get it sorted out later."
 
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