How Green Becomes Wood

"Are you trying to set our husbands up on a playdate?" Daizi chuckled, "I'm not sure how well that will go down."

~~

Sloan was inside, making polite conversation with an adult, but when she saw Alec she excused herself and walked over to him, quickly agreeing to the game, although she couldn't promise how skilled she'd be.

Of course, Marwan also agreed, and then all that was left was so assign goalies. Sloan absolutely refused to take that position, it was the only one that involved hands and even though this game was just for fun, she didn't want to risk spraining a wrist, they were too important for her own sport.
 
"I have my doubts as well, but it is worth a try," Sally said brightly. "Excuse me. I will let you know what happens." She slipped away to go tell Dark that Daizi had agreed to brunch on Friday. Then she suggested, "Why not on Thursday you go out yourself? A bit of time to refill your creative juices, if you will. Jack could show you a lovely hiking path."

~~

Alec agreed to play goalie for his side, and Peter agreed with only a little reluctance to play goalie for Hassan's side. Xander suggested Slaon join his side, two brothers and a friend against a father and son and a, well, stranger to them, but it was the best they could do.

Peter was a pretty decent player. He played a fair amount in the UK and Australia as that was a more popular sport there and it was pretty common to kick a ball about. It wasn't enough to be a "professional" player, but it was enough to not look like a complete noob.
 
"I am glad she agreed to go, although I suppose I am not too surprised." Dark replied, pleased Daizi would have time to talk with her friend. It didn't seem a sure thing she'd be able to open up in a public place, but even if she didn't, it would be good for her to simply spend time with her friend. At Sally's next suggestion, Dark looked warily at her, "Were you plotting with Daizi the way I plotted with you?"

"You were plotting with Sally?" Cooger asked.

"We are trying to get Daizi help."

Nodding in complete understanding and support, "Plot away."

~~

Sloan gladly played on the twins' side. She wasn't awful, but it definitely wasn't the sport she was trained at. Marwan was around on Peter's level but, true to his boasting, Hassan was good. Surprisingly, he wasn't a jerk about it. Instead, when he saw the less experienced players screw up, he was excited and encouraging. More than anything else, he was just excited to get to play.
 
"Of course I was. It was a good reason to come over here and talk to you about plans," Sally said cheerfully. "Neither of us think you will agree, of course, but perhaps if you do agree to do something you are uncomfortable with, it might inspire her to do something far more serious?" She raised her brows at him with a little smile.

~~

Xander was starting to get the hang of it, but he was still not great. Judo had a surprising amount of footwork and a large amount of body awareness, so he was able to at least no land on the ground every few seconds, but controlling the rolling sphere was harder than it had first seemed, especially with multiple people involved.

Alec was... Alec. He did his best and was clearly having fun, but he managed to only stop the ball once, and it was by accident.
 
Dark looked blankly at Sally for a few moments, "I really do not know if going on a hike with your husband will be a grand gesture so inspiring she decides to return to therapy."

~~

Hassan did his best not to express delight at how easy it was to score and then decided to trade out with Peter, just because he started to feel a bit bad at how easy it was for him to score. He was not as good of a goalie as he was as a forward, but he still had been playing the game for most of his life, so he still was by no means bad.
 
"As do I, but it is a good first step," Sally replied calmly, taking his bland response in stride.

~~

Peter happily joined the group out in the field and chased the ball around, getting into a playful fight with Sloan over the ball. He would have done the same with Xander, but Xander's aversion meant that the second Peter started pressing into his personal space, he backed up and let Peter have the ball without much effort. Xander was not an aggressive football player by any means, but he did travel with the ball decently well.
 
"I am not sure I follow your logic." Dark replied. Jack was... fine. He didn't dislike him. When they spent time as just the two of them grilling the fish he didn't hate it. But he had absolutely no interest in spending a full day alone with the man.

~~

When Xander easily gave up, Hassan just saw it as an easy way for his team to get more victories and didn't think much more about it. Sloan fought over it a bit more, but still lost to Peter because he had more experience in this particular sport than he did. They continued to play until Yasmin came to the railing of the porch and said they should start heading back to the AirBnB before it got too dark out.
 
Sally laughed and shook her head. "Never you mind, Dark, dear. Never you mind." She turned away. "I need to get back to Daizi. Marvelous party, by the way."

~~

"Not an awful game," Xander remarked.

Alec grinned and offered Hassan a handshake. "Thank you! That was a lot of fun. And thank you, Uncle Marwen! That was so fun."

"I like this improvised setup," Peter said cheerfully. "We should do this again sometime."
 
"Thank you." Dark replied, glad to let the conversation drop. While patting his friend on the shoulder, Cooger gave Sally a well, at least you tried look before the pair of them went off their own way.

"How'd it go?" Daizi asked when Sally came back around.

~~

"It was fun! And I told you, didn't I? I'm a good forward! Maybe we'll be able to play again before I go home!"

Marwan chuckled, putting one hand on his son's shoulder to steet him towards the door, "It was a good game, and thankfully you probably tired him out."

"I'm not five, Baba!"
 
"Exactly as we both expected and not as I dared to harbor hope for," Sally reported. "Not surprising. I actually could not come up with a convincing reason beyond, 'it will help recharge your creative juices.' Not particularly convincing, is that?"

~~

"I still have no idea what a forward is, but you are very good at kicking around a ball of air," Xander said, straightfaced. "Sleep well."

"See you later, Hassan!" Alec called with an enthusiastic wave.
 
"Not after he spent the past few months meticulously carving a rocking horse," Daizi replied, "Why did you want him and Jack to have a day out together anyway?"

~~

"Bye!" Hassan said, waving while he rejoined his family and they began making their goodbyes to the other guests.
 
"It would be nice if your husband got out more, and my husband needs some time out, as well," Sally said simply. "You both treat it as if I have an ulterior motive beyond I think it would be nice if they went out and attempted friendship."

~~

"I need to give Milo a ride home," Xander told Peter and Sloan. "I gotta go find a parental figure to tell."
 
"Honestly, Sally?" Daizi said with a wry smile, "Dark likes Jack, in his own way, but it's a difficult battle to get him to be friends with anyone. We have been going to the same market since we moved here and it was only this year I finally convinced him to say more than the obligatory hellos, thank yous, and goodbyes to the shop keeper. His tacit acceptance of Jack, for him, is quite impressive."

~~

"Do you need us to help look? I mean they can't be hard to find." Sloan asked, holding one hand above her head to indicate height.
 
"Oh, I know," Sally sighed. "It's more for Jack than Dark, though I certainly hope it would be good for Dark."

~~

Xander snorted. "Nah, just letting you know in case you have to bounce before I get back. Thanks for coming. It's been cool."
 
"Is Jack still struggling to make friends here?" Daizi asked sympathetically, "It'd be easier to get him to spend time with Cooger. My husband is a good man. I'd go as far as to say he's a great man. But he's not friendly, I'd hate to force Jack into a miserable afternoon."

~~

"It's been a fun time," Sloan replied, "better than I thought it'd be."

Milo wandered up to Xander, a slightly confused look on his face, "Are you ready to go?"
 
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"It could be. It appears people are getting ready to leave," she noted. "Perhaps we should move closer to the door so it is easier for them to tell you goodbye."

~~

"I can be if you're ready, or I can hang out if you're not," Xander told Milo.
 
"Good idea. I can't believe the party is over already... Although, for her, it's for the best. I'm really proud of how well she did." Daizi sighed, walking towards the front door so she could make quiet goodbyes as the guests left. Soon, Dark joined her also, knowing he also should see his guests out. Zeinab had taken it upon herself to force food on any guest she could coerce into taking some home with them.

~~

"No, it's good, I don't want to make you drive at night," Milo replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Thanks again for offering."
 
Sally, Jack, and Peter hung back as the others left, quickly cleaning up as much as they could. Jack picked up all the obvious trash. Peter cleared away the dishes and helped Amty Zeinab hand out food. Sally got a start on wiping everything down and doing the dishes.

~~

"It's cool," Xander assured him. He glanced at Sloan. "Want someone to walk you home? I can do that before we head out." He walked toward the house to tell his parents where they were going.
 
Cooger also stayed around to help clean up. He took it upon himself to start breaking down the rented tables and chairs in the backyard so they could be returned. Once that was ready, he busied himself wherever he could find a place to, knowing his friends had a long train of goodbyes to get to before either of them could begin to pick up.

~~

"Nah, it's just across the street," Sloan replied, amused and flattered by his offer, "I'll head out with you both, though, I'd hate to be the last guest at a baby's birthday. Feels a bit weird."
 
"Alright, cool." Xander managed to sneak in and whisper to Dark where he was going. Then he waved to Milo to join him, and he slipped out when the line allowed. "Not a bad party," he said as they walked out. He waited for Sloan to make sure she was alright. When she was close, he remarked to Milo, "What had you all muddled a bit ago?"
 
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