Neil Watts did not like gardening, not one bit. Being outside in the sun was just horrible, hot and sweaty, and it made people smell disgusting. No no, Neil much preferred staying inside with his technology, away from all bugs and sunshine.
And yet here he was, knee-deep in topsoil, sweating under the blistering sun and working his butt off. All because Eva had called him to complain that her garden was being overrun by weeds. Normally he would have brushed it off, but she sounded so distraught, and he knew how important her garden was to her...
"Just pull the little weeds that look like grass, here, like this-" Eva demonstrated, pinching one of the nuisance plants near the base and twisting it up out of the dirt, roots and all. She tosses it into a nearby bucket, before turning and working on the other side of the decently sized garden. Well, at least this didn't look too difficult... She's even loaned him a sunhat and gardening gloves, nothing else, at least he'd had the foresight to grab a pair of old jeans instead of his good pants. He was so gonna be covered in dirt and grime by the end of the day.
Neil grabs one of the weeds near him, quickly pulling it up. Only for the danged thing to snap at the base, leaving the root system still buried in the soil. He begrudgingly digs the roots out, tossing them both into the bucket. Ugh, how did Eva make this look so easy? All the freaking weeds keep breaking no matter how hard he tries, not that he'd ever let Eva know, though. Had an image to upkeep, after all.
...Just sitting here in silence with nothing but plants and sunshine was boooring though, glancing over at Eva, an idea dawns on him. Being careful not to laugh, he gently tosses all the pulled weeds over, letting them land on the rim of Eva's sunhat. Soon he's amassed a tall pile of the tricky plants, and Eva was none the wiser.
Hey, he was getting pretty good at this. Suddenly, Eva turns to him, about to say something. She's interrupted by a shower of weeds, falling out of her hat into her lap and all around the general vicinity in a circle. She's shocked for a moment, mouth hanging open with whatever words she was about to say lost in the chaos. He bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach as Eva narrows her eyes at him.
Without warning, she grabs a fistful of weeds and chucks them at Neil, causing him to fall backwards onto his back in the dirt, still laughing.
"Okay, just for that, you can go pick weeds in the tomato patch!" Eva huffed, pointing over at the towering tomato plants near the back of the garden. He slinks away, still chuckling slightly, but only after she makes him gather up all weeds he'd tossed at her.
This wasn't so bad, at least under all these leaves Neil was now shaded from the sun. He was starting to get better at not breaking the small plants, too. Once he got a big enough pile, Neil scooped them all up and turned around to toss them into the bucket. While he's doing that, he straightens up to stretch, his head getting brushed gently by the tomato leaves. Oof, crouching over like this was really hurting his back, how did Eva survive-
With a yelp, Neil jumps away from the tall plants, rubbing the back of his stinging neck.
"EVA, SOMETHING BIT ME!" Neil cries, eyeing the tomatoes suspiciously.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention; the ladybug larvae like the tomatoes, just try not to bug them." Eva calls from across the garden, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS, IT HAS NO RIGHT TO ATTACK ME LIKE THIS!" Neil shouts back in reply. Dangit, that really hurt, son of a b*^$%! How can something so small cause so much pain?!
"Are you dying?" Eva turns slightly towards him, pausing in her work as she looks him over.
"YES!" Neil whines, pouting slightly. The pain had subsided by now, but Neil felt like playing it up a bit.
"What a shame, I'll attend your funeral." She says in a monotone voice, turning away again to continue pulling weeds. Neil raises a hand to his chest in mock offence.
"Ouch, that's harsh, Ms. Rosalene." Neil huffs, slouching his shoulders in defeat. Utter failure, typical. "Can I at least snack on these cherry tomatoes while I work?" He eyes the bright red totally-a-vegetable delicacies.
"If you're willing to fight the bugs, be my guest... Oh, and toss me a few too, will you?" Permission granted, Neil edges forward under the plant canopy for a second time. It's easy to spot the ripe tomatoes against the green leaves, and Neil picks as many as he can carry. Divvying the fruits of his labor in half, he eats a few and crawls back out from the plants. Without thinking, Neil just throws half of the tomatoes over at Eva, only realizing his error when she yells in surprise.
"Whoops-" THWAP! Neil falls backwards onto his butt, felled by a single well aimed cherry tomato to the forehead.
"These are FRUITS, Neil, NOT AMMUNITION!" Eva huffs, grabbing her portion of tomatoes off the ground and dusting them off. Neil had a feeling this was going to be a long day.
...
An hour later, all the weeds are gone. Eva went inside and grabbed some ice cold lemonade, before the both of them laid down on the grass to relax. After a long day of work, it was the perfect refreshment for the two doctors. Despite the fact he was covered in dirt and sweat, Neil was happy. Eva was too, her overalls covered in grass stains and more dirt than the garden at this point.
It was nice, laying here in the sun. It was actually making him feel pretty sleepy, his eyes dropping slightly. Looking over, Neil's heart nearly skips a beat. The sun was making Eva's skin practically glow with a golden light, her hair cascaded across the grass and eyes closed with a gentle expression. On the bright side, he was so sweaty it hid how much he was blushing.
Around them was a sea of wild flowers, swaying slightly in the breeze. That gave him an idea... Sitting up slowly so as to not make any noise, Neil sets to work. Weaving as many flowers together as he could, Neil makes as intricate a flower crown as he can, despite his rusty abilities. Blues and whites and purples, all soft petals and pastel colors. Finally satisfied with his handiwork, Neil gently places it on Eva's head.
She startles slightly, blinking up at him with confusion. "Oh-" Eva raises a hand to the flower crown, sitting up slowly. Neil grins at her, already weaving more flowers together. She watches him work for a long moment in silence, before attempting to make her own flower crown.
It falls apart in her hands, and Eva frowns in disappointment. Neil happily shows her how to make a proper flower crown, memories of his own failed creations when he was a kid playing through his mind. Soon, they have a whole assemble of crowns made, both of them wearing several piled up on their heads.
Being outside still sucks, Neil thinks to himself. But maybe it wasn't so bad, if Eva was there with him.