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Jyushimatsu watched Choromatsu closely from his hiding spot in the bushes. From here he had a perfect view of the entire backyard, including the patch of garden that took up a big corner of the backyard and where Choromatsu was currently kneeling. It sounded like he was talking quietly, though even as he strained to hear Jyushimatsu couldn’t quite make out what he might be saying.
He kept perfectly still for a long time. His surprise attack wouldn’t work if he was caught rustling in the bushes. Instead he waited, unmoving, until he was certain he had the perfect opening. Then, slinking as silently and stealthily as possible, he slithered out of the bushes and along the grass with surprisingly snake-like swiftness.
Jyushimatsu tiptoed ever-so-quietly across the yard, step by careful step, eyes never leaving Choromatsu. The older brother seemed completely unaware that he wasn’t alone, carrying on with whatever he’d been doing this whole time. Now that Jyushimatsu was drawing closer it sounded like he was...telling a story?
Didn’t matter. Jyushimatsu stayed focused, creeping closer and closer to Choromatsu, and then…
“GOTCHA!!” Jyushimatsu lunged at Choromatsu, wrapping his arms around him and nearly knocking him to the ground.
“ACK!!” Choromatsu screamed, so startled that he dropped the book he’d been holding. Once the initial panic wore off, he gave an agitated huff and turned his head enough to glare at Jyushimatsu. It wasn’t easy to do while bound in Jyushimatsu’s vice-like hold. “Please, Jyushimatsu, don’t do that to me. I almost had a heart attack.”
“Sorry, Nii-San!” Jyushimatsu loosened his grip and pulled back, giving his older brother a bright smile. “I was just playing around.”
“Just...don’t do that again, alright?” Choromatsu asked with a sigh. It was hard to stay annoyed at Jyushimatsu sometimes, but he really wasn’t a fan of being tackled like that. He picked up his book and brushed off the cover, grateful it hadn’t incurred anything worse than a little dirt on the front--he took pride in keeping his books in pristine condition.
Jyushimatsu rolled back into a crouching position, rocking slightly on his heels. “What were you doing?”
“Oh, nothing,” Choromatsu responded airily, hugging his book discreetly to his chest and hoping a vague answer would be enough for Jyushimatsu. “Just reading.”
“Out loud?” Jyushimatsu questioned.
Damn. There wasn’t a good cover for that.
“Well…” Choromatsu hesitated, cutting a glance toward Jyushimatsu, who watched him imploringly. “If I tell you the truth, will you promise me that it will stay between us? No telling our brothers or I’ll never hear the end of it. I have enough stupid nicknames thanks to them as it is.”
“Ohh.” Jyushimatsu pressed a sleeve-covered hand to his mouth, his expression a little more serious than usual now. “I promise, I won’t say anything.”
Choromatsu searched Jyushimatsu’s face for signs of insincerity before finally relenting. “Well...somewhere I learned that talking to plants might help them grow, so I thought I’d try reading to my garden. It sounds so stupid now that I say it out loud, but…”
Choromatsu’s voice trailed off when he noticed the way Jyushimatsu’s eyes were now shining. “No way, really? That’s so cool!” he exclaimed.
“Well, it’s probably not true, but I thought I’d give it a try just for fun…” Choromatsu went on.
“I’m sure it’ll work!” Jyushimatsu enthused, beaming. “I bet the plants loved hearing your story, Choromatsu! Oh, I wonder if singing to them would work the same way? Wouldn’t that be great?! We could even ask Karamatsu-Niisan to play his guitar…!”
Choromatsu shook his head slightly, just a little overwhelmed by Jyushimatsu’s enthusiasm but also relieved to have evaded any ridicule for this endeavor. He couldn’t help smiling a little though. “We’ll see, Jyushi. Like I said, I’m sure this won’t even work, but we can give it a go anyway.”
“Cool!!” Jyushimatsu bounced in place eagerly, and Choromatsu’s smile grew more. Sometimes when he wasn’t in the mood for it, Jyushimatsu’s abundant energy could be annoying, but right now he found it infectious.
“Alright, alright.” Choromatsu laughed a little, then set his book aside and picked up his watering can before standing up. “Anyway, I need to water the tomato plants and pull some weeds. Do you want to help me?”
“Yes!” Jyushimatsu agreed quickly, springing to his feet too. “I’ll do the weeding!”
“Then I’ll do the watering. This should make the job go a lot faster.”
The two set to their tasks, Jyushimatsu overzealously attacking the weeds that sprouted between the rows of plants while Choromatsu more delicately tended to the tomatoes. He carefully watered the plants, being cautious not to give them too much--just enough to adequately saturate the soil below. He smiled to himself as he inspected the plants, noting that the tomatoes were now slowly but surely starting to grow. Tiny green tomatoes sprouted along the vines, just a few, but enough to spark his excitement. Weeks from now they’d be big and bright red and beautiful, ready to be harvested and eaten...he could almost taste one now.
Jyushimatsu yanked an especially stubborn weed from the ground, one so deeply-rooted it almost made him stumble backwards when he finally freed it. Satisfied, he dropped it onto the pile of weeds he’d already gathered on the ground next to him, then glanced up toward Choromatsu. His brother wore a peaceful smile as he meticulously examined his tomato plants, checking for dead leaves among the bright green ones in case he needed to prune them. He’d done that a couple of times now, and when Jyushimatsu had asked if he could try snipping off the dead leaves, Choromatsu had refused to relinquish his hold on the shears for fear that he’d be too reckless with them. It had seemed unfair, but Jyushimatsu could understand his defensiveness--he was as protective of his garden as he was his book collection, maybe even more so.
“Say, Choromatsu-Niisan.”
“Hm?” Choromatsu peered up from his plants, blinking in surprise. He’d zoned out and forgotten he wasn’t alone out here for a minute.
“You really like gardening, don’t you?” Jyushimatsu asked.
“Yes, I do—but what makes you ask that now?” Choromatsu straightened up and tugged off his thick gardening gloves.
“I guess I was just wondering...why do you like it so much?”
“Oh…” Choromatsu paused thoughtfully. He knew the answer to that, but he wasn’t quite sure how to word it at first. It wasn’t as simple as just saying “because it’s fun” which was how Jyushimatsu felt about baseball—there was a lot more than that.
Jyushimatsu waited patiently as Choromatsu collected his thoughts, and at last he started to speak.
“I guess you already know part of the reason,” he began. “I started gardening because I thought a hobby would help me handle my anxiety better, and I was already interested in it. I did an herb garden at first, and enjoyed it so much I decided to try something bigger--that’s when Mom suggested I use a patch of the backyard for my garden, so I could try growing flowers and vegetables too. And it just took off from there.”
Choromatsu paused thoughtfully, then went on, “It’s like, how to describe it...when I’m working in my garden, it’s easy to let the rest of the world fall away. I’m not thinking of job-hunting or people judging me or any of the other worries that are always in the back of my mind. It’s like I’ve found my true happy place, where I can just be myself and be carefree for once. And, well...it also makes me really proud to see a plant I took care of myself start to grow. Like my tomatoes--it’s amazing to me that a little seed I planted myself is now actually growing fruit! I don’t know...it probably sounds a little silly, but I guess the fact that I can grow real food like this makes me feel a little like I’ve accomplished something, and that feels really nice.”
It felt a little weird, openly confessing this, and part of Choromatsu expected Jyushimatsu to either laugh or blow it off. But the reaction he got surprised him.
“That’s not silly, Choromatsu-Niisan!” Jyushimatsu insisted, shaking his head vehemently. “I think it’s good that it makes you feel like that! It’s your hobby, so it should make you feel good, shouldn’t it?”
Choromatsu wasn’t sure what to say at first, so Jyushimatsu spoke up again. “Just like baseball makes me feel good! When I’m able to hit a ball out of the park, I feel amazing! And when I’m racing around that diamond at top speed, I feel unstoppable! And even if I don’t win, that’s okay, because I don’t play to win--I play because I love it and it makes me happy. And I’m glad you found something that makes you feel the same way, Choromatsu!”
“Wow, I….thank you, Jyushimatsu.” Choromatsu felt a little stab of guilt over how dismissive he’d always been of Jyushimatsu’s own hobby as being just a sport. Baseball was something that brought a lot of joy to him, just as gardening did for Choromatsu, and more to that he was really able to get how much this hobby meant to Choromatsu too. Jyushimatsu understood more than Choromatsu ever gave him credit for.
“You’re welcome! Oh, also!” Jyushimatsu’s smile stretched even wider. “Thank you for letting me help you out in your garden, too! I know you like to have quiet time to yourself out here and that this is your project, but I really like getting to work with you and pull weeds and stuff! It’s fun to hang out with you when you aren’t being grumpy.”
“Hey! Watch it,” Choromatsu responded scoldingly, but he couldn’t stay annoyed for long. “But anyway...I like getting to hang out with you too, Jyushimatsu. It’s nice we can share this hobby together.”
Jyushimatsu bobbed his head in agreement. Choromatsu peered upward then, at the bright blue sky overhead. “It’s getting warm out. I’m just about done out here, anyway. Want to go in for some iced tea?”
“Sure thing!” Jyushimatsu responded, scooping up his pile of weeds to throw away. His yellow hoodie was now streaked with dirt, but he didn’t seem to care.
As Choromatsu held open the back door and led them into the house, Jyushimatsu glanced at him and asked, “Choromatsu-Niisan?”
“Yes?”
“Since we have this hobby in common, maybe you wanna try baseball with me?”
“I don’t think so.”
Jyushimatsu laughed, and Choromatsu cracked a smile. “It was worth a try!”