How Green Becomes Wood

"Y...yeah, I am alright," Dark answered, furrowing his brows, "I am, but I feel like I should not be. It is strange. And I think, if I did not have PTSD, or they did not trigger me, typically, but I was not high, I would not understand the adoration. They were very cool. But I do not think they would have been if I were sober."

Cooger heard Xander's comment and snapped and pointed at him, "Come back next year!" Then he turned back to Lex and said, "Yeah if it happened more than once a year it'd get real old. As it is there are a lotta good reasons not to fire them ever, but it's not like it's easy to avoid seeing them, and just watching in our yard means we aren't financially supporting it, so I think it's okay."
 
"Yeah, I understand that," Alec agreed, in no hurry to leave Dark's hug. It was safe here, even if he was high, because Dark was still Dark. Just a bit looser.

"I'll consider it a plan!" Xander called back. He stood up and started cleaning up. The fire had burned down to only coals, so that could be left, but there was still a little food left despite his best efforts. He started packing up, not in a hurry, but moving along.

"I think that sounds fair," Lex agreed. She got up and brushed the grass off her shorts. "Hey, Xander, let me give you a hand with that."
 
"I am really tired now, I think," Dark sighed, "I should help clean up. And we need to bring Ivy's little pack-n-play inside. She's so special."

Cooger pushed himself to his feet, "I'll bring some stuff inside. I want to go check on Tarot, see if she needs any help." He gathered some things that needed to be brought inside and then put them away before going to find Daizi, who was in the nursery, rocking Ivy.
 
"If you're tired, you don't have to clean up. We can get it," Alec assured him. He gently pulled away and stood up to stretch. "Xander, can you help me with the pack-n-play?"

"Sure," Xander agreed. He looked at a marshmallow and realized... he really didn't want any more marshmallows right now. So he went to help Alec carry in the playpen.

Lex wasn't sure where everything went, so she ended up taking the food into the kitchen and everything else she deposited as neatly as possible in the first open space she found. That done, she took another walk around to make sure everything was inside before going to check on Dark.
 
"I think... it is... the drugs." Dark said, rubbing his face, "but it feels wrong to do nothing. So I can help with something, I am sure. I am sure." He shuffled around, finding something he could help with so he felt productive.

After spending the right time with Daizi, Cooger went back downstairs and began putting what Lex had brought in away properly.

Upon seeing Lex, Dark turned towards her, slowly and less energetically than before, "I hope you had fun, Lex, it was fun that you came by. More fun than staying in alone, right?"
 
Lex smiled at Dark, glad to see he seemed to be coming down a bit. It was unnerving to see anyone like this, but especially Dark. "Far better than being alone. Thank you for inviting me over. I had fun."
 
"I did not want you to be next door and feel like you were missing out," Dark said, then squeezed his eyes shut, "I think the party is over, though. But you should not walk alone."
 
"I'll be alright," Lex tried to assure him. She didn't want him walking from her house home alone even if it was just a few feet. "You should stay here with your guest, yeah?"
 
"Are you sure?" Dark asked, carefully looking at Lex. "Do not sneak off, though."

When Cooger was finished cleaning up, he came back outside, catching the end of their conversation. "Oh, are you leaving?"
 
"He's very cautious," Cooger said cheerfully, sticking his hands in his pockets, "Do you want me to walk you home? I don't mind, I'm staying over here tonight."

Dark looked at his brother, grinned wryly, and said, "Clever idea. I am going to check on my wife. Do you want to say goodbye to her? I can send her down."
 
"Sure," Lex agreed. She didn't mind walking alone, but she wanted to not worry the still semi-drugged giant. "I wouldn't mind the company. If Daizi's not busy, I'd lime to say bye, but I don't want to disrupt her."
 
"I will go find her," Dark said, leaving them alone for a moment. After awhile, he came back outside with Daizi.

"I wanted to say goodbye," Daizi said, walking up to Lex, "I had to put Ivy to sleep. It was great you came over, even though I know it wasn't the plan."
 
"Thanks for having me over. Well, letting me stay after I let myself get invited over," Lex said, touching Daizi's elbow briefly to let her know where she was. "I had a lot of fun, and it was nice to get to know you guys a little better." She glanced at Dark. "As well as see some new sides. Oh, and I have your gate ready. Shoot me a text when you're ready for me to drop it by like tomorrow or day after... whenever you've recovered."
 
"My husband is very welcome to invite people over, even in this state," Daizi replied lightly, although it made Dark scoff. "We'll let you know when we're ready."

"I could get the gate now, I am very strong," Dark said confidently, but then yawned, and shut his eyes, feeling a bit dizzy, "Maybe tomorrow."

"I think we should go and lie down," Daizi said, rubbing Dark's back.

"Are you ready to go home, Lex?" Cooger asked, already heading towards the side gate so his friends didn't need to be hosts much longer.
 
Lex double-checked, but she hadn't brought anything except herself, so she gave a quick nod. "Yep, I'm ready," she assured him, following him to the gate. She looked up as she walked around through the gate and pointed up. "You can just barely see the moon through the smoke. Give it a pretty spooky aura."
 
He looked up at the sky, his hands in his pockets, "I love it when it's like that. Sorta ominous. I'm not a spooky guy like my friends are or anything, but I think I learned some appreciation of it from them. That glow around the moon? That's what they made Ivy's middle name."
 
"Is that what it means? That's cool." Lex watched the moon as well as she could while walking, but she eventually had to watch where she was going. When they arrived at the walkway to her house, she paused, looking toward the door. She turned toward Cooger and started to say something, to ask him a question, but she looked at him closer, her expression calm but closed as she changed her mind, and the question changed to a statement. "I had a good time tonight. I'll see you around, eh, Cooger?"
 
Cooger looked back at her, seeing her expression, but not sure what exactly what it meant. He stood there with her, "I, uh, had a good time too. We'll have to hang out more sometime. When we aren't sorta babysitting my brother." He paused, shifting his wait to one hip, "I'll see you around."
 
"We should. Shoot me a text sometime when you aren't working," Lex smiled. Her phone dinged the ringtone for her son, and she pulled it out to glance. "Ha. What'd I tell you?" She turned the phone so Cooger could see the slightly blurry photo of the bottom of a skateboard and a pair of legs. "Fantastic pics, but it looks like he won something. Thanks for walking me home." She turned and walked to her door, letting herself in and closing the door. She almost looked back but didn't.
 
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