Work Text:
Watching from a distance as Lauriam worked in the small garden outside the home they had established as theirs within the Land of Departure, Xemnas took stock of the sight laid out before him. Lauriam had been working on the garden since around 8 am and it was now almost noon, but Lauriam made no clear intention to leave his garden until he was finished weeding the garden. Xemnas had twice already brought Lauriam a large glass of water, and judging by the looks of it he’d be asked to grab another soon. Not that he minded, he was glad Lauriam was attentive to this sort of thing.
Lauriam definitely looked like he had been working in the garden all day, not that there was anything wrong with that. He was wearing a worn shirt and some pants that had definitely seen better days, and was currently pulling weeds from a patch of carnations, wearing thick leather gloves to avoid the sting of some of the weeds.He was covered in dirt, and grime, and he was maybe the most beautiful thing Xemnas had seen in his entire time in the Land of Departure. Something about Lauriam’s diligence, doing what he loved even after everything that's happened, and everything on his mind, that’s what beauty was.
The garden was kept in pristine condition, Lauriam would go out once every two weeks to weed, and performed daily maintenance as necessary. It wasn’t particularly large, but it was enough. There were climbing roses on the lattice fence they’d recently put up as a marker for their mostly rectangular, in shades ranging from vibrant pink to a soft pastel. In two corners next to each other there were lilac bushes in full bloom, acting as shade for the bleeding-hearts growing underneath them. Grass gave way in parts in between the two bushes to some raised beds growing tomatoes and cayenne peppers, some flowers were kept in pots, Lauriam had filled a few clay pots with marigolds that he had placed on the fence posts to the entrance gate, deeming them as Xemnas’ flowers, and pruned them all diligently. Irises were put in the rockbed next to the house, and throughout the rest of the yard were rose bushes in the pink, red and white variety. A small stone walkway was lined with burgundy and mauve carnations, and chrysanthemums were placed sporadically around in the grass itself.
A weeping willow cast dappled shade on the area where Lauriam was tending to, a small sectioned off area of pink roses that almost–but not quite–matched his hair, and a small strelitzia that Xemnas wasn’t entirely sure how Lauriam managed to grow in the climate they were in, but it didn’t matter in the long run. Xemnas never asked about the importance of strelitzia, but he knew it meant something important to Lauriam. He figured Lauriam would tell him when he wanted to, if he wanted to, and it wasn’t his place to pry without need, there had been too much prying and mistrust for them both before, and now wasn’t the time or reason for it.
Lauriam finished pulling a weed and wiped his gloves on his pants before looking up and half-smiling at Xemnas. It had become less rare to see a smile other than the smug smirk he did, even if he denied it fervently. It was nice to see Lauriam’s calm, more reserved smile.
“The garden looks wonderful,” Xemnas commented, making gestures to the recently groomed and preened area as he walked over to where Lauriam was kneeling, before extending a hand out to help Lauriam up.
“My what a charmer you’ve become,” Lauriam joked as he took Xemnas’ hand and rose up. “Are you taking lessons or something?”
“No, simply admiring your work,” Xemnas said as he pulled Lauriam into his arms. They stood there for a little bit, staring at Lauriam’s handiwork. Once again he felt himself overcome with emotion at looking at the handiwork here, the pride and joy and affection for such delicate blossoms under a large tree. It felt special, and important that Xemnas was here, able to share the tenderness of the moment, and be allowed and included in something Lauriam cherished so much.
“Okay, enough of that for now, until I get cleaned up,” Lauriam pulled away, wrinkling his nose at the dirt that got smudged on Xemnas’ shirt. Xemnas chuckled and nodded, pulling away completely. Their proximity didn’t matter much anyways, they had an entire space to share together and that was plenty.