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Stiles know exactly three things about gardening: it involves plants; he sucks at it; Derek looks hot while doing it. Which is why he’s completely mystified Derek keeps taking him to the garden centre and not Lydia or Isaac, who both actually know stuff about how to grow plants. The only thing Stiles contributes to these shopping trips is picking out the newest member of their garden gnome family. He mostly just trails after Derek, pushing their cart.
Not that Stiles minds. He loves watching Derek cradle little plants in his strong hands, inspecting their petals and leaves and the dirt they’re growing in. He thinks it’s hilarious when Derek tests the soil, sniffing all the dirt and always getting some stuck on his nose. The best part though, is that he always manages to get a rise out of Derek with one simple question.
They’re standing in the middle of the green house. Derek is gently caressing the petals of a pink flower Stiles doesn’t know the name of.
‘You know what I don’t get?’ Stiles begins.
‘What?’
‘Why we don’t just tile the whole garden over? Or just have grass everywhere?’ Stiles finishes. He sets his jaw so he won’t accidentally laugh when…
Derek whirls toward him, eyes wide, cradling the pink flower like he’s protecting it from Stiles’ evil words.
‘We are not tiling over our garden,’ Derek snaps.
A lady one aisle over stops and gasps, like she agrees with Derek and can’t believe Stiles dared to say such a sacrilegious thing in the middle of a green house.
‘But it would be so much easier,’ Stiles whines.
‘First of all, no it would not; grass and tiles have to be maintained just as much as flowers and shrubs do. Second, if we tiled it over there would be more chance of flooding since it’ll take longer for the water to sink into the soil—‘
‘So we use grass.’
‘Third, the bees need our help. The bee population is rapidly declining and they need flowers to pollinate and make their honey, so they can make more baby bees.’
‘Bees sting,’ Stiles pouts. It’s getting harder not to laugh. Derek is such a nerd.
‘You’re not allergic, so deal with it. Finally, I like gardening. I like coming here and picking out new plants and decorations. I like watching our garden go from empty to colourful and alive. I like picking flowers I helped grow and make them into little bouquets for our table.’
Stiles is leaning on the shopping cart, elbows on the handlebar, chin in his hands. He loves this part of Derek’s speech of why he wants a garden the best; Derek gets so excited and riled up that he gets romantic.
‘I like taking breaks and drinking iced tea or lemonade you made with you. I like it when you make fun of my hat.’
Stiles can no longer suppress his laughter at that. Derek’s gardening hat is ridiculous. It looks like something an eighty year-old lady from the English countryside would wear. It’s made of straw, and the brim is almost two hand widths wide.
‘And I love it when I’m done and we sit on the porch or on the grass and you make me tell you what every plant is and why I put the plants in the place I put them.’ Derek sighs and rubs a hand over his face. ‘And I just realized you asked that question just to get a rise out of me.’
‘Yep,’ Stiles says, popping the “p”. He leans in to press a quick kiss at the corner of Derek’s mouth. When he pulls back Derek is shaking his head and the tips of his ears are red.
‘I’m making you carry the bags of soil,’ Derek huffs, but there’s a smile tugging at his lips.
Stiles grins. Totally worth it.