Work Text:
Some days, James will spend time in their garden. The man, surprisingly, has a very green thumb, and Q takes to watching him from the window or from his shed. James tends their garden well, and except for the year with the sudden, early frost, they almost never lose many plants to the elements.
They have both flowerbeds and a vegetable garden; in fact, they're able to grow a fair amount before the winter sets in (mostly root vegetables, but they can manage squash and eggplant too). James in the garden is a gorgeous sight. He has pale blue, faded denims and heavy boots he wears, and if it's too cool for just an undershirt (or no shirt), then he has a thin jumper that's stained with mud and grass from long hours outside.
It's a perfect time to see how much he's still in shape. His muscles ripple under the thin fabric as he digs, plants, tends, harvests, picks. Sweat beads on his brow and soaks his shirt. Q always teases him that he smells like a dead goat when he gets that sweaty. James always shoots back that Q loves it… Q can't really argue with sweaty James, especially when the man drags him into the shower to wash up.
Sometimes Q makes lemonade and brings it out or ice water. He treasures James's smiles when he does: blue eyes bright with exertion, lips twitching in his favorite half smile. Often times James will down half the glass in seconds before wiping his mouth with the back of a dirt covered hand. Q will then pull out his handkerchief and wipe some of the grime away while James just watches him silently. They don't talk. They just share the space and air and silence.
The very first year they live in the cottage, James picks the first sunflower that blooms and brings it to Q. The younger man is hunched over his workbench as he finishes up the ‘super roomba’ as he later dubs it. He turns to find James at his elbow with the brightest sunflower he's ever seen. “It's beautiful. Is it from our garden?”
James grins. “It's the first one of the season. I wanted you to have it.”
It doesn't seem like much, thinking back on the moment, but Q still feels a rush of warmth and affection and love when he recalls that particular memory. He sets the flower down carefully on the window sill. “So I can see it while I'm working. And when it dries, I can keep it still.”
He turns to thank James, but the man is already gone, back to working in the dirt.