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Qrow sighed as he scooped the dirt into the hole, burying the sprout’s roots inside. He didn’t know if what he was doing would help or not but he had to try. Summer had loved flowers, had kept them all through the house and in the garden she kept around it. There hadn’t been any in the house since her death though and the garden had long since been overrun with weeds. It was his hope to fix that a bit though. He certainly didn’t have the kind of skill with plants that she did but he knew enough to pluck the weeds and plant new ones in the ground. Whether or not they survived past that was up in the air but he was hoping it wouldn’t be him keeping them going.
He didn’t know if the garden would help or harm but he was praying that it would help Tai hold onto Summer in a healthy way. (He ignored the little voice in his head that called him a hypocrite, it sounded too much like Raven and he didn’t care to listen to her anymore anyways.) He finished up the plot in the front of the house and brushed his hands off, sighing as he pushed up to go inside, checking to make sure the house wasn’t about to burn down from the oven. He didn’t do much cooking but he could manage a few things from time to time and today he’d decided to surprise Tai with some bread when he got home.
Something to help soften the shock of the garden, especially if Tai took it badly.
Zwei danced around his feet as he started prepping something for the two of them to eat. Ruby and Yang had already gotten home from school and spent some time helping him outside before Qrow had sent them off to stay with a friend. They’d wanted to stay of course, but he’d rather they be away when Tai got home. His reaction would be more honest if he didn’t have to keep a mask on for the girls and Qrow wanted to know if the garden was truly liked or not. Qrow was so focused on trying to keep his anxiousness under control, trying to make sure that it didn’t set his semblance off that he started when Zwei started barking excitedly, Qrow set the stove to finish the stew while he calmed his heart. He turned to meet Tai in the living room, the man’s blue eyes wide and a little stunned. Qrow took his hand, pulling him over to the couch for him to sit and taking his bag from him to place on the table.
“Tai?” Qrow asked worriedly when Tai remained silent for too long.
“The garden…” Blue finally focused on him, though he couldn’t tell if the brawler was angry or not. “Did you?”
“Well. Not just me. The girls helped some too.” Qrow hid a wince, still unsure if Tai was okay with what they’d done or not. “We thought, well, I thought but the girls agreed, that maybe, possibly, having the garden again might help? It’s not going to be Summer’s garden again, it never will be but. It’ll be a way for us to keep her around.”
Tai’s eyes traced the face in front of him, found the lines of anxiety, the crinkles of worry, the light of hope, and he smiled. It was small, soft, but heartfelt and warm as he reached out, pulling Qrow into a hug. “Thank you.”
Qrow sighed, relieved as he curled closer. Tai adjusted so they were both comfortable and they settled in. Qrow knew they’d have to get up soon when the timer went off but for now, they could stay together curled on the couch.