How Green Becomes Wood

When Dark arrived at Cooger's homestead, he found the gate, which was almost always open, was locked shut. Parking, he got out of the car and came to look at the gate.

"Can I help you, stranger?" Cooger asked, stepping down to his side of the gate with his arms crossed. Daizi hadn't asked him to do this part, only for the gate to be locked, with a lock she provided, but he couldn't resist. "I ain't never seen you in these parts before."

Squinting at his friend, Dark said, "I am quite alright, just working on my breaking and entering."

"That's what it looks like. Do I need to get my shot gun?"

"Certainly not." He replied, rolling his shoulders back, "I have two keys, I presume one of them fits this lock."

"That would make sense to me."

"But I do not have any clues."

"'Fraid not."

They stared at each other for a few moments, and then Dark took out the one that came in the birdseed, "I am going to try this one, out of respect to Millie." He glanced back at the white guard goose making her rounds, "I should have saved her seed."

"You had seed?" Cooger asked with a low whistle, breaking the character he had set for himself for absolutely no reason, "Shoot, don't let her hear that, she'll never forgive you."

The birdseed key worked, and Dark unlocked the gate and pushed it over, "You should stand back so I do not run you over."

"If you run me over, you ain't never finding your wife," Cooger teased, standing to the side so Dark could drive the rest of the way in.

~~

"After this, whatever and whenever you need," Daizi promised, adjusting how she held the flowers so she could hug Sally with one hand, so, so incredibly grateful her friend decided not to move away, "I'll tell you how it goes when I can."

With that, she went inside to prepare to meet her husband. There was still a tiny bit of decorating she needed to do, but some of her other friends had pulled together to do the bulk of it for her.
 
Sally watched to make sure Daizi got in alright and then headed off for her own home. True love was such a beautiful thing to see! And she wished Daizi the best. She doubted Daizi would need the extra well-wishes, but they wouldn't hurt.
 
"So, what now?" Dark asked, when he parked his car actually in the driveway, this time, "There was no further clue with the lock."

"Now," Cooger said, gesturing to his front door, "You go inside."

"...Is she here?" Dark asked, walking quickly towards the door, "I still have one key, left." Stopping to pet Hank before opening the door, he was just about to ask why she would do all of this just to end it here, but as soon as the door was opened, his eye landed on a few of his own suits, draped carefully over the dining room table, kept in clear garment bags to protect them from cat hair. Along with them was a small bottle of his favourite cologne, his hair tools and products, and an open tray of his favourite cufflinks and rings. He looked over them for a few moments, and then turned to Cooger, who stood with his back against the wall, unable to hide the grin on his face. It was nice to see his friend so amazed.

"Cooger..." He said, slowly, turning back around, "What is going on?"

"You have to get dressed. She made sure to give you options."
 
The twins had long since gotten home, and they were continuing with Ivy's usual routine. Xander idly texted Milo and Sloan each a picture of the ducks at the pond and described Ivy's reaction to said ducks. Alec was on the phone with Becky, and the pair were chattering excitedly about different things including future dates with people they likes, and Becky talked to Ivy whenever she heard Ivy make a noise, delighted by her.
 
Suddenly, this was even more momentous than he already believed it to be. How had he not noticed she removed these? He opened up one of the bags and began sorting through it, a faint tremble in his hands, "Cooger," he repeated, "What is this?"

"You'll see, pal," Cooger replied.

"Okay, but what is she doing? I mean," He held one of his favourite shirts in his hand and took a shallow breath. A few times, before, she had surprised him and made sure he had something nice to change into before their date, but options? After all of this? This was big, certainly. This was really, really big.

"I can't tell you that."

"I know." He replied, and turned back to deciding what he was going to wear. Once he decided, he went into Cooger's bathroom to change, style his hair, and accessorize. After getting dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror, and thought two things: he looked good, and he looked like he was going to a wedding. None of the clothes Daizi had picked were anything less than formal. Closing his second cufflink, he went back out to Cooger's living room.

Cooger was standing there, a little box in hand, a warm, excited smile on his face. "You look really good, dude. She'll love it."

"Thank you," He answered, the look in his friend's eyes nearly giving the game away. There was no way this wasn't deeply important, "Is that for me."

The box was handed over, and without any more clues to rely on, Dark used the final key he had, the very first one he had received. And he opened the box up to find the remainder of the puzzle. While he had been getting dressed, Cooger had cleared the table, so Dark set up there, and set to work solving it. He had fifty pieces, and even though Cooger was pretty sure he wasn't meant to, he sat down and joined him. Daizi had been waiting long enough, he thought.

It didn't take long for Dark to recognize the puzzle's final image was his favourite wedding picture of them, the one hung up in their dining room. He had guessed as much from some of the pieces. But now, he was in one of his best suits, at the end of a scavenger hunt, solving a picture of himself and his wife, and his heart squeezed at the sight of it. She had done so much for him.

When it was completed, he sat back and stared at it for a few moments and then up at Cooger. Then, as he had many times before that day, when he didn't know what the next step was, he hit it with the blacklight.

My darling, you're so close. No riddles, now, my love. Find me where you proposed, I'll be waiting.

Dark swallowed, looking down at the page, "Of course," he murmured under his breath, and stood, ready to just hurry there. Cooger, though, put one hand on his shoulder, stopping him just long enough to say,

"Have fun."

They stared at each other for a few moments, Dark knowing Cooger knew exactly what he was walking into, "I will."
 
The twins sat with Ivy watching a movie they'd already seen. Alec was coloring in his sketchbook, and Xander was working on his accounts, making certain he kept up to date on his business affairs.

"Think they've made it to the restaurant yet?" Alec asked. "Mama is going to knock Ba's socks off in that dress. She's going to knock the socks off every guy and a few girls who see her."

"Probably not yet, but soon," Xander said, double-checking his math. "Do you think it's a good business move to go into debt for a sewing machine rather than save up until I can afford it all in one go?"

"You're asking the guy who went into debt over a hobby," Alec reminded him.

"Oh. Right. How's that going?"

"One payment left!"

Xander looked over his figures again, musing to himself. "I could turn out higher quality stuff with one, but what if my business takes a dip and I end up not being able to pay it off? Ba and Mama would save me, but I don't think relying on your parents to bail you out is good business sense."

Alec snickered. "No, probably not. Why not save up two-thirds and then buy it? You'll most likely be able to make up the last third even if your business dips."

Xander considered and nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. Maybe I can get a good used one, too."
 
Dark and Cooger hugged each other goodbye, being close enough to be comfortable with it, and feeling like it was necessary. Then Dark got into his car and drove to the restaurant. More of a cafe, really, a place they'd go to on their lunch. After parking, he stood outside of it for a few moments, and then walked in.

The first thing he noticed was how the upstairs loft was blocked off with heavy curtains. He supposed it was where he needed to go, which was confirmed when an employee walked up to him and confirmed his name before gesturing he go up the stairs. At the top of them, he pulled the curtain back and stepped inside, only to be met with a single table, and the artifically darkened room was lit by candles and fairy lights. Somewhere hidden in the room, a speaker played soft, romantic music. In the middle of it, Daizi was waiting, and she stood, crossing the room to her husband as he strode quickly to her.

"Well," She breathed, "You found me."

Exhaling sharply and unconciously at the sight of her, at the way her hair fell delicately over her shoulder, the way the bodice hugged her, and at how the motion of her skirt accentuated her walk, he fumbled for a few moments for words, only managing to put his hands on her waist as they approach. At his touch, she reached up, draping her arms around his neck.

"Daizi..." He breathed, gazing down at the crooked smile on her face, "...How?"

"It took you long enough," She whispered as she stretched up onto her toes. Electricity jumped from her skin to his as she gently pressed her lips to his, pulling away after only a moment, coy and beautiful in his embrace.

"What is this?" He asked, admiring how the fairy lights reflected in her eyes.

"Not yet, darling. We still need to have dinner." She pulled out of his grasp, causing him to stumble, and taking one of his illustrated hands in hers, led him to sit down across from her. As he sat, she presented him with the bouquet of flowers, and he held them as if he had never seen anything like them before in his life. Then he looked up at her, too stunned and confused and touched to form words.

"I would've ordered you a rose and earl grey tea," Daizi told him, smiling at him as if this were casual and normal, as if there weren't tears creeping into her eyes, "But I didn't want it to get cold. And it's dinner time, so I ordered wine."

"They," He shook his head slightly, taking a few quick, shallow breaths, "They do not serve wine, here."

"I brought some in," She replied, "The menu is the same, though, I wasn't going to ask the kitchen to make something new. But I did already order, for us. I know what you like."

"Daizi," He breathed, his heart and mind racing, overwhelmed with a hundred emotions he could, and a hundred emotions he could not, name.

"Not yet!" She chided, reaching across the table to hold his hand, "We need to eat dinner, first. You need to tell me about your day."

"You know how my day went."

"And I need to tell you about mine."

"Are you dying?" He asked, squeezing her hand, "Please tell me you are not dying."

She laughed softly, bringing the back of his hand to her lips. In a way, that was payback. When he proposed, she had an identical fear, "No, no I am not dying."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise, Goose."

God, her smile was intoxicating. He never stopped to marvel how someone who couldn't see anything could look at him like that. How did she do that? "You are not dying."

"No."

"You are wearing the necklace I gave you for shabka," He noted, another part of his brain endeared to how it traced the graceful lines of her neck, and how it drew the eye just above somewhere tantalizing.

"I am," She replied, as an employee brought the wine and two glasses to the table, pouring it for them. "Tell me about your day, Ghalib. I want to know how you enjoyed it."

"Oh, do not do that," He argued softly, a bit of tease creeping into his voice.

"Don't do what?" She took a sip of wine, her lipstick leaving an imprint of her lips on the rim.

"Say my name as if you do not know what it does to me."

"Ghalib... tell me about your day."
 
If Xander had known what was happening, he likely would have imploded. Thankfully, he had no idea what was happening. At least, not the details. He was busy reading aloud to Ivy and hoping she would fall asleep to the history of the Lipazzaner horse.

Alec was in the shower, also having no idea what was going on, though he did allow himself to think about it more than Xander did because he found the romance in the idea.
 
With great effort, Daizi managed to get Dark talking about his scavenger hunt. Despite knowing exactly where and when he had gone all day, she listened to him with her chin in her hands, enthralled by his version of events. Going into it, she had no idea what would be difficult for him, and what he'd find easy. She laughed when he told her about his phone call with the aunties, and sighed with delight at his account of feeding the ducks with their children.

"I wish you had been there to hear how hard Ivy-Qadira was laughing," Dark said, as the waiter brought their food out, "I thought she might cease to breathe."

"We can go again," Daizi promised.

"We will have to," He smiled at her. His heart wasn't racing anymore, he was just... with the woman he loved. Nothing else in the world mattered, or even existed to him, in that moment. Underneath the table, she rubbed one of her legs against his, "You look enthralling, Spider."

"Thank you," She answered, a faint blush spreading over her face.

"I do not believe, if I traveled to the utmost end of the earth, and watched a supernova take over a starless sky, I would find it more awe inspiring." He reached out to hold her hand again, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

Adoration was heavy in her husband's voice, it poured out of him like fog, and sitting there in shared, loving silence for a few moments, Daizi said, "Goose?"

"Yes?"

"You can say it. It's okay."

"You are beautiful." He didn't need to question what she meant, and he wasn't going to give her a chance to change her mind, "You are the most beautiful person I have ever met. You throw me to the ground, darling." Forcing herself to sit in the feeling and take the compliment, she squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. From the look on her face, it still wasn't easy to hear, yet he couldn't withhold from saying, one last time, "You are beautiful."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"I'm just..." She turned her head away, her voice catching in her throat, "I'm so happy. You make me so happy, Goose. Happy to the point I don't know what to do with all of it."

"You make me happy, too." He replied, meaning every word of it. "How long did it take you to plan all of this?"

"Two months." She answered, "Or, just short of it. I started working on in after the fourth of July."

"That is incredible," He said, his smile failing him as he learned another detail of the scope of all of this. It didn't even really seem something he was worthy of, but--

"You deserve it. You deserve more than this, really."

Daizi thought he was worthy of it. And the high esteem she held him in made him truly believe that he did, because he valued her too highly to doubt her opinions.

Again, they fell into perfect silence, but this time it was broken by Daizi laughing softly to herself, which Dark joined in. They had shared maybe one glass of wine each, and Dark was much too large to get drunk off of wine without consuming an abhorrent amount, but all of this: the love, the solitude, the adventure, the lingering mystery of why--it was intoxicating. They may as well have been drunk.

Swearing softly, Dark grinned at her in a way anyone would be able to see, "It is distressing how much I love you, Daizi. I think you are probably the most perfect person alive."

"That can't be true, because then what does that make you?" She asked, but it was a question with no answer.

"Do you know what my favourite part of today was?" Dark asked, kissing her knuckles before sitting back to finish his dinner, "It was how through every note I received from you, I heard your voice in my ear. It was like you were with me all day, pulling me along. Flirting with me."

For the rest of dinner, they chatted idly, made drunk by Aphrodite rather than Dionysus, but as their dinner came to an end, Daizi knew there was something more important she needed to say before it came to dessert. "Goose?" She said, catching his attention with his tone. Then, she shook her head, "Ghalib."

"Yes?"

"I love you. And I mean, I really, really love you. I think that--No, I know that without you, I wouldn't have made it this far. I would've burnt out somewhere, or worse, diminished myself to fit some sad life that was never meant to be mine. But you don't expect me to reorder myself, or slice of pieces of myself to fit a mould you had in mind. You just love me, and encourage me, and every morning, I get to wake up to the solid sounds of your breathing. Ivy's laugh is beautiful. And the first cry she ever made transformed me instantly. But when my eyes flutter open in the morning, and I hear you in bed with me: that is my favourite sound. Because it means I get to spend another day by your side." Again, her voice caught, and she tipped her face downwards.

"Daizi... do you promise everything is okay?" Dark asked, moving his chair closer to her side of the table so he could touch her on the back.

"Yes, I promise," She replied, looking up at him tearfully, "And I really mean that. I told you, you make me deliriously happy. We've had a hard few years, haven't we?"

"Yes, we have."

"But we've stayed strong together," She said, failing to keep back a whimper, "and now we have absolutely everything we could dream of. And when I wake up to the sound of your breathing, there is so much for me to look forward to. Ghalib, you are the most important person in my life. And with every trial I go through with you, I only love you more. You have been through so much, Goose," She cupped his cheek with one hand, "but every day, you wake up, and you do what you know you must do, and it is so admirable it hurts. You are so strong, and so courageous, and being your wife is... I don't have words, baby, for how much that means to me. I love you more than oxygen." She stroked his beard, gasping softly as she felt his arms wrap around her, holding him tightly with his other hand as she felt his back tremble, "I've told you before, if something kept us apart, I'd take our children somewhere safe, and I'd burn the sky until I had you back in my arms. I've told you before, we've been chasing each other through all of time, because our souls were put on this earth to love each other. I yearned for you before I knew there was a you."

"And you have me," He told her, absolutely confused on where this came from, but deciding to just feel it with her, "You have every ounce of me."

"And you have all of me," Daizi told him passionately, her chest heaving when he wiped away her tears. "Ghalib, you're my best friend. I spent all day telling you that you are the most wonderful father I've ever met, and that watching you with our children warms me to the absolute depth of my soul. And I've spent all day telling you how creative you are, how passionate, and how much everything you do--Oh, Goose, darling, you're everything to me. How am I supposed to tell you what you mean to me?"

"You do not have to," He said, kissing her forehead, cheek, and shoulder.

"I do have to!" She cried and laughed, "I've spent two months planning, but now I don't know what to say!" She sniffed, pulling away from him, and fishing in her purse for the ring box, "Darling, after everything we've been through, all of our pain, and all of the stress, and fear: It's left me loving you more than I thought possible. I thought I had already reached the absolute heights of love for you, but I hadn't. Because every day I fall more deeply and more passionately in love with you. Every day I admire you more. And because of that, I wanted to ask..."

When Daizi slid out of her chair to kneel before him, getting it correct and getting on only one, Dark inhaled sharply, and murmuring something incomprehensible, gently took her by the upper arms, wanting to lift her up. It didn't seem right for her to kneel before him. Who was he to be knelt before? She was a goddess, she shouldn't be kneeling! But when she wouldn't budge, he slid down to face her, unknowingly recreating their last engagement.

"Ghalib Marzuq Dark," she opened up the ring box, "Will you marry me?"

Dark laughed through his tears, "Daizi," he sniffed, touching the back of her head, "We are already married."

"I know, but I want to do it again," She grinned, melting against his touch, "I love you so much, I want to marry you again, and again. It'll be our ten-year anniversary in November, renew our vows with me. Marry me again. Will you marry me again?"

"Yes," He answered, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of joy he felt, not knowing how a man like him could feel this happy. "Yes, of course." Barely constraining himself until after she had slipped the ring onto his finger, he kissed her intensely, rocking her backwards so her back was nearly on the ground, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I get to propose to you, next time," He murmured, "It is my turn, next time."

"I'm going to marry you until I don't have any more space on my fingers," She murmured, falling against him.

Eventually, and with great effort, they got themselves under control, and sat in their chairs again, laughing and sniffling, and happy beyond what words could tell. And they shared dessert, and texted the twins and their friends and family a picture of the ring on Dark's finger to announce he said yes.
 
You guys are so weird, was Xander's reply. Ring looks good. Congrats.

Alec replied with a gushing message of excitement and joy for them. He also mentioned that they would all be in bed and asleep before their parents got home.

Sally's response was about the same as Alec's, but without mention of where she'd be. She begged to be involved in some small way with the renewal ceremony and again congratulated them.
 
The only messages they read that night were those from their children, just to make sure there weren't issues.

"He's the weird one," Daizi chuckled, resting her head on Dark's shoulder, no longer sitting on opposite sides of their table. "I'd choose this over paradise. I'd choose you over paradise."

"You are paradise," He replied, combing his fingers through her hair, "What is after this?"

"You take me home with you."

Dark sat back, a playful glint in his eyes, "You send me on a full day adventure, you propose to me, and then you want us to just eat dinner and go home?"

"Well, what do you suggest?"

After they finished eating, thanking the staff profusely and helping to clean up where they could, Dark walked Daizi to the car and just drove around for a little while before finding a secluded little field where it was just them, the stars, and their little speaker, feeling like they were in their 20s, locked in their sordid, secret romance.

Later than expected, they came back home, and shared a loving and intimate evening. Come morning, they awoke in a warm puddle to the sounds of Ivy's cries.

Prying themselves off each other, Dark pulled on pants to go get her. Daizi lay in bed for a moment longer, overcome with a sense of peace, and then dressed herself, waiting in bed until Dark brought Ivy in to be nursed.

"Let me go make you breakfast," He murmured, kissing her temple and went downstairs to cook.
 
The twins stayed in bed (well, in their room) longer than usual to give their parents time together for as long as they could before they made their entrance into the day.

"Good morning!" Alec called cheerfully, leading the way as Xander followed behind, ready to shut his eyes.
 
Daizi and Dark were fully dressed downstairs, just finishing up their breakfast together. The energy in the room was especially sweet and light, but they weren't doing anything they didn't usually do. For some reason, Dark looked younger. Not significantly, but the creases in him had been smoothed out a bit.

"Good morning," Daizi said brightly, turning slightly in her chair, "Did you sleep well?"
 
"Yes, very well," Alec said, coming to fetch his breakfast. "How about you? You got home late!"

Xander eyed Dark uncertainly. There was something different about him. He couldn't put his finger on it. Did he dare ask? No, he didn't think he did. Instead, he followed Alec to get breakfast.
 
"We did," Daizi agreed, "We slept well, but we also got home late. I thought we were going to home later, but Dark suggested we stay out a bit later, since there didn't seem to be a need to rush home."
 
[I know it's a typo, but it was a mistake I would 100% make in real life, so I'm taking it as being on purpose.]

Alec gave her a puzzled look as he sat down next to her. "If you were already going home later, then why did you need the suggestion to stay out later?"

"It's a goof, goof. She meant they were going to get home sooner," Xander drawled. "As long as you two kids had a good time."
 
"That's exactly what I meant," Daizi laughed lightly, "Like I said, we got home late. But it was a worthwhile reason to be home late."

"Now we have two months to plan a vow renewal," Dark commented, taking a sip of coffee and looking at the bouquet of flowers they had set up.
 
"Is it going to be like a wedding or a bit more low-key?" Alec asked. He spotted the flowers and grinned. "Oh! You stopped by Tristan's place! That's a good flower color combination for you two."

"Forget the flowers, what's the vow renewal going to look like?" Xander asked.
 
"Well, we only talked about it a little bit," Daizi replied, grinning at Dark with her chin in her hand, "I don't think we're going to do a huge event with a wedding party and bridesmaids and all of that. And we decided very quickly we're going to put on our invitations that we do not expect or want gifts from our guests."

"Besides that, we have not come to many conclusions regarding it. You two have knowin about it for longer than I have," Dark pointed out, but the excitement for it glinted in his eyes.
 
"I know one thing for certain," Alec stated. "It is going to be a loud, boisterous, joyous occasion!"

"And you should probably kick out any minors after a certain hour," Xander remarked.

"Because, of course, we're going to be a part of at least part of it," Alec stated.

"But then you lot can be full-blown adults with your adult behavior once we're out of the way," Xander finished.

Alec tapped his cheek thoughtfully. "That place that Peter got for that party a while back. It was not obscenely far from here, and it had lots of room. That would be a good place for the party. I don't think we could fit it in this house."

"Even if the house was designed for giants," Xander smirked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top