The noon heat blistered on the small town garden, baking the red walls.
Syed leant back in the deckchair and fanned himself with the crossword he could not finish.
Christian, stripped to the waist, the bib of his dungarees hanging down, grunted theatrically as he stopped digging and plunged the spade into the earth beside him.
"Why am I doing this Sy? Isn't it too hot to move it? It might die."
"Not if we give it plenty of water. It's your fault, you shouldn't have planted it there anyway. I told you big things should go at the back."
Christian's laugh was almost as dirty as his earth covered hands.
Syed whacked him on the bottom with his newspaper.
"Stop it."
Christian heaved the rose bush, it's fat red blossoms dripping petals onto his hair, and plopped it into it's new position. As he pushed down the soil around it with his heel, Syed watched him, mesmerised, his eyes tracing a bead of sweat that trickled slowly from the nape of Christian's neck down to the base of his spine.
Christian turned and raised an eyebrow.
"You've gone very quiet. Why aren't you nagging? It's unsettling."
Syed laughed. "Just admiring the view. Anyway, hurry up, I want you to build a raised bed."
Christian frowned, "Whose Ray? Why am I building him a bed. Is he some bloke you've met at work?"
Syed started to shake with mirth and spluttered. " RAISED, you cloth eared dunderhead. To grow vegetables, honestly Christian I wish you'd go and get your ears syringed."
" Oh." he gave Syed a wry, embarrassed grin. " Well, I worry. You know what a little minx you can be. OW!"
Syed tried to leap out of the deckchair heroically, but fell back and had to struggle out, getting tangled in the canvas.
"What have you done? Let me look."
Christian dolefully held out his hand, a tiny spot of blood from a rose thorn gleaming on the end of his finger.
"Christian that's just a tiny prick."
"Those are words I've never heard before."
"Prima Donna." Syed took his hand and sucked at the blood slowly.
They stood in the sun for a while, their eyes locked together, until Syed gave his finger one final kiss and asked.
"Better now?"
Christian nodded, smiling gratefully.
"You always make me better."
Syed slipped his arms around his waist, breathing in the salt sweat of him.
"Well, you remember when you were a nurse in a former life? I was the young doctor who adored you."
