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Roderich Edelstein was many things. A proficient musician, hopelessly aristocratic, and increasingly he was becoming a creature of habit. He liked to take his time waking up in the morning, slipping in and out of consciousness until he worked up the will to get out of bed. He liked to perk up everyday, with a warm cup of coffee, sitting at the wrought iron table in his greenhouse. He liked taking in the scenery, letting his gaze roll over the colorful blooms and glossy leaves that filled every nook of the space. But most of all, he enjoyed watching Vash work.
Ever since the two started dating, Roderich no longer had to hire a gardener. Vash was more than willing to wake up early and get his knees dirty. Which was good for Roderich, considering that most mornings he’d rather eat glass than leave the cozy comfort of his bed. The fact that he got to watch Vash work up a bit of a sweat also didn’t hurt. Wearing a pair of faded jeans, old maroon tshirt, and a pair of gardening gloves, Vash worked at the soil around some potted ferns, occasionally digging out weeds with a trowel. His expression wasn’t quite happy, but some of its usual harshness was replaced with an almost serene contentment. It looked good on him.
As if he could tell Roderich was thinking about him, Vash turned and furrowed his brow. The two locked eyes. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m keeping an eye on you.” Roderich replied, pausing briefly to finish the last of his coffee. “Purely for the plants’ benefit of course.”
Vash raised one of his eyebrows. “Of course.”
“Oh don’t give me that look.” Roderich feigned indignance. “The plants are delicate, Vash, I’m just making sure you’re using the proper form to handle that trowel.”
This caused Vash to roll his eyes as he stood and brushed some of the dirt off his knees. “And what exactly is the ‘proper form’?” The last two words mocking Roderich’s accent.
“Well, in order to show you that I’ll just have to get a little closer.” Roderich said, getting up from his chair and making his way across the greenhouse.
“No, please don’t get up on my account.” He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Besides, I'm done with this anyway.” He continued, gesturing to the fern. “I just have some watering left.”
As Vash cleaned up the weeds and began filling the watering can from the nearby tap, Roderich, unfazed by Vash’s words, made his way closer and leaned up against one of the plant shelves.
“So…” Roderich continued as he looked at the greenery around him. “What’s your favorite?”
“My favorite what?” Vash said, not looking up from the watering can.
“You know. You come down here almost every morning. Surely one of these plants is your favorite?”
Vash briefly flicked his eyes to Roderich, before focusing even more intensely on the watering can. “Don’t have one.” Vash said, agitation creeping into his voice. His cheeks flushed slightly pink as if embarrassed.
Now that’s interesting. Roderich thought. Why would he lie about that?
Vash wasn’t open about his feelings, but he wasn’t actually very good at hiding them. Roderich took a moment to ponder. Perhaps he enjoyed the rose bushes but thought admitting it would put his masculinity at stake. Or maybe he was afraid that liking Edelweiss was too sentimental, since it was their shared national flower. Perchance he thought grass was very interesting, and didn’t want to seem boring. Regardless, Roderich knew there was something Vash wasn’t telling him, and decided that neither of them were leaving this greenhouse until he had the answer.
So Roderich reached out and lovingly rubbed Vash’s upper arm, effectively getting his attention. “I have a confession to make.” Roderich said, schooling his face into as serious an expression as he could muster. He could feel Vash’s arm muscles tense, as he waited in anticipation for what Roderich could possibly have to say.
“I don’t actually know the proper form for handling a trowel.”
A pause.
“Oh fuck off Rod.” Vash said, trying to sound exasperated, but unable to hide his amusement. He tried to keep his scowl, but the corner of his mouth threatened to mutiny as it occasionally twitched upward.
“This is serious Vash, I just couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d told this wicked lie.” Roderich continued. “I mean, could you imagine? Lying to the person I care the most deeply about. It would be unthinkable for me to carry on with such a ruse.”
“You’re really laying it on thick, you know that right?” He replied flatly.
“I know dear, but you realize it’s only because I want to know what’s going on in that head of yours.” As he said this, Roderich took a step closer and brought his hand up to run his fingers through Vash’s hair.
Vash hummed at the touch, not looking directly at Roderich. “Fine, but you have to promise not to laugh.”
Removing his hand, Roderich put his palms up in surrender. “You have my word.”
With a deep sigh, Vash made his way over to one of the plant shelves by the table Roderich was sitting at earlier. Gesturing to it, Vash said, “I have a soft spot for the succulents.”
Roderich had to step forward to get a better look. The shelf was full of little individually potted plants. Succulents of all different shapes and sizes were arranged eclectically. Almost artistically. Some looked like a single large flower with pointed ends, others hung down like thick vines, and there were a decent number of little cacti. In fact, a fair number of these plants looked prickly to the touch.
Honestly, Roderich was surprised. Out of all the plants Vash worked on, these were the ones he spent the least time with. He’d thought that with all the time Vash spent fertilizing flowers, pruning bushes, and weeding well… everything, that he’d pick something that he put a lot of work into.
Seeing Roderich’s confusion, Vash continued.
“A lot of people think they’re simple to take care of. They don’t need a lot of water and they can thrive almost anywhere as long as it’s warm.” Vash reached out and touched one of the plants fondly. “But I don’t think simple is the right word. ‘Self-reliant’ is better. They don’t ask for a lot, just a bit of water to help them grow. But that also means it’s really easy to leave them somewhere and forget about them.”
Roderich began to realize where this was going.
“I’m aware I’m not always the easiest person to get along with. I’m stubborn and I don’t like to ask for help, and I’m, well… prickly.” He glanced meaningfully at the cacti. “So I figure, if I can remember to take care of these plants, give them the little things they can’t provide for themselves, it’ll remind me to take care of myself too. That maybe relying on someone else sometimes isn’t the worst thing in the world.”
Vash finally brought his eyes up to meet Roderich’s. Blush spreading from his cheeks to the rest of his face.
“So there.” He finished. “What do you think?”
“If you like the succulents because you think they’re like you, then you forgot something.”
“Yeah?” Vash cocked his head, confused. “What’s that?”
“Well I mean, they’re pretty adorable little plants, ja?”
This was the final nail in the coffin for Vash’s complexion, as he got red all the way to the tips of his ears. Roderich interrupted Vash’s sputtering by bringing Vash’s face to his chest and giving him a kiss on the forehead. A moment passed before Roderich felt a set of arms encircle his middle. The only sign Vash was still capable of speech was a softly murmured “Idiot”.
“Well, you’ve convinced me.” Roderich paused to pull away and give Vash a peck on the lips. “I think I might also have a soft spot for the succulents.”