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esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: M-21 wants to know why Frankenstein and Muzaka care for their garden.
Notes: Muzaka never left verse. After M-21 joined.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,634
Total word count: 22,651
Status: Work in progress
Frankenstein hummed as he guided his plant's stem back towards its stick, making sure it would stay there. "Now, I'm sure you want to go there, but you'll eventually fall if you do," he murmured to it. Muzaka was on the other side of the garden, watering his plants and flowers.
Movement caught the corner of Frankenstein's eye, and he turned towards it. M-21 was standing by the garden door, watching him and Muzaka, his brow a little furrowed.
"Morning," Frankenstein greeted, straightening.
"...Morning," M-21 replied, studying the garden.
Frankenstein dusted his hands clean of soil. "Is there something you want to ask?" If there wasn't, he was sure M-21 would have walked away already.
And it was telling just how much trust he and Muzaka had already gained when M-21 didn't back off immediately, still looking around. "Why...do you bother with this?"
"What do you mean?" Frankenstein asked. Muzaka was listening in, Frankenstein could tell from how his movements had slowed, but he wasn't joining into the conversation just yet.
"They're just going to die, aren't they? Either the birds or animals will dig them up, and even if they survive, they'll just die in the winter." M-21 was frowning as he said it.
Frankenstein hummed, turning M-21's words over in his head, picking his own words. "While that may be true, some of these are vegetables I'm growing to use in our meals, while Muzaka's chosen flowers to attract bees and other wildlife. And some plants don't die in winter, but go dormant, waiting for spring again to grow once more."
"And then," Muzaka said, walking over and turning the hose off, "even if the plants weren't food or somethin' for the animals, we'd probably plant other things anyway. We like watching somethin' we've helped encourage to grow when there was nothin' there before."
Frankenstein nodded. "There's a certain pride that comes with seeing something flourish under your care." It didn't take long after they settled somewhere that Muzaka was looking for flowers to add to their garden; for Frankenstein, it depended on how long they were intending to stay that would decide what he planted.
M-21 wasn't looking at either of them, still focused on the garden. "Yeah. All right," he muttered.
Mm? M-21 didn't add anything else after than, turning around and going back into the house.
Muzaka watched him leave and then went over to Frankenstein, draping an arm around his shoulders. "Do you think he got it?" he murmured close to Frankenstein's ear.
Frankenstein turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "If he wants to help in the garden, or grow something of his own, there isn't really that much to 'get'." Some plants were fussier about where they were planted and how much water they required, but he was sure M-21 would be able to follow a routine with them.
Muzaka blinked at him, and then snickered, briefly tightening his arm around Frankenstein's shoulder. "He wasn't just askin' about the garden, Frankenstein."
He wasn't? Frankenstein frowned, replaying the conversation back. "But what else..."
...Ah.
What else could they have been talking about, where they'd looked after something that could have died without their help?
Of course.
Frankenstein looked over, but he couldn't see M-21 inside.
"I suppose I was a little too focused on the garden to realise M-21's true question," Frankenstein said wryly. He was more used to Muzaka's direct approach.
"Nah, that just means you were being honest about your feelings."
"I hope he feels the same way." M-21 did make quick assumptions about people's intent. Frankenstein shook his head, exhaling. "We'll find out soon enough - we should get started on breakfast."
"Heh, yeah."
Together, they went back inside.
*
Frankenstein had sensed M-21's presence nearby while he and Muzaka worked in their garden over the next week, but M-21 didn't approach again, only watching at a distance.
Muzaka squinted up at the sky, not turning on the hose just yet. "Should rain today."
Frankenstein nodded, double-checking the weather report. "Later in the afternoon, so a sprinkle should suffice for now."
"Hmm, yeah." Muzaka turned to turn on the hose, and smiled. "Mornin'!"
"Morning," M-21 said from the garden door. He opened his mouth, then hesitated.
"Do you need something?" Frankenstein said, putting his phone away.
M-21 gave one short nod. "I was wondering..." He pursed his lips.
Frankenstein waited. If he prompted M-21 now, he could drive him away instead.
"Could I try...?" M-21's gaze went over the garden. "Unless it's too late to grow anything now." His shoulders sank.
Frankenstein beamed at him. "It's never too late. We have spare seeds, and you can choose what you want to try growing first." Something small and would sprout quickly would be good for M-21, so he wouldn't be discouraged, hmm. But maybe it would be better if it took longer, if this was truly about M-21's own growth, and sometimes progress wouldn't be seen for a while yet, even after all the work had been done to cultivate it.
Well. It would all depend on M-21's choice anyway.
*
M-21 stared at the plant pot on his windowsill. His plant pot. That Frankenstein had given him, but he'd chosen the flower that was supposed to grow from it.
It would take two weeks to sprout, Muzaka had said. And that was fine. It wouldn't grow, not for him. All M-21's hands were good for was killing, and even then, he sometimes couldn't manage that.
He'd wanted to try growing something like Frankenstein or Muzaka, but now that the pot was in his room (to keep it away from birds or anything else that might dig it up), he knew it was a mistake. It wouldn't grow. He would just be keeping a pot of soil and a dead seed in his room.
Nothing would happen.
*
Every morning, M-21 checked the pot. Every morning, he snorted after he did, because there wasn't anything different. Of course there wasn't.
He watered it anyway.
Then he could say he'd tried, and still failed.
*
Was he giving it too much water? Too little? Had he put it in the wrong place and it was baking under the sun?
M-21 couldn't tell unless he dug the seed out, and he stared at the soil. It would confirm he'd failed but... Maybe he hadn't? Maybe it was still growing.
He held onto that thought for a second before turning away.
No. It would be dead. He just...didn't want to stare at its pitiful shell, if he could even find it amongst all the soil.
*
A week passed, and nothing. Sometimes the soil was drier than normal, but that was it. That was just the sun drying it out.
He was wasting his time. M-21 knew it.
Nothing would come of it.
But.
M-21 stared down at the soil.
He'd done this much, so he could see the rest of it through.
*
Would it be exactly be two weeks? When did the timer start? As soon as it was put into the soil, or after it had been watered? Adding more water wouldn't make it grow faster, or else Frankenstein and Muzaka would have told him.
And why was he caring about the flower when it was just going to die anyway? If it even lived.
Which it wasn't.
Two weeks would pass and he would have nothing to show for it.
Just dirt.
*
M-21 woke up and turned over, checking on the pot like he alw-
The breath caught in his throat and he bolted upright, staring at his window.
There was something there. Something that hadn't been there the night before.
He threw off his covers and stumbled out of bed, because he was just imagining it, right? There wasn't-
There was.
A light green sprout in the centre of the pot, right where he'd planted the seed.
It had grown.
It had grown because of him.
Would it need more water, now that it was growing? Did he need to do anything else?
M-21 watered the soil like he usually did, making sure he didn't hit the plant in case that killed it.
*
New thoughts had settled by the time M-21 had finished getting ready. Maybe the flower hadn't grown because of him. It just seemed like it because he'd been watering it and watching it the entire time.
The others would have sprouted as well, he was sure of it. And he could prove it.
Frankenstein and Muzaka weren't outside yet, the sky only starting to lighten, and that was fine. M-21 went into the shed where they stored all their seeds and...
And...
M-21 stared at the neat, labelled rows of boxes on the table. They were all still seeds. He peered into them, and they didn't show any signs of growth at all.
Just seeds.
Then... The flower had grown because of him...?
*
The sprout was still there when M-21 went back to his room. Not dead.
Alive.
Because of him.
He'd done this.
M-21 picked up the pot, holding it in his arms as he sat down, leaning back against the wall. It had grown so much in a few hours? Or was it always like that, and he just hadn't seen it while it was hidden?
Was this what Frankenstein and Muzaka meant, that they just enjoyed looking after something? That they did it because they wanted to, not because they needed or wanted something back from him?
They just wanted to see him grow.
That was it.
M-21 didn't move from his spot for a while, just watching the sprout he'd helped, like he could see it growing right before his eyes.
So I had a bigger emotional response to seeing my seeds sprout than I expected, aha.
Summary: M-21 wants to know why Frankenstein and Muzaka care for their garden.
Notes: Muzaka never left verse. After M-21 joined.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,634
Total word count: 22,651
Status: Work in progress
Frankenstein hummed as he guided his plant's stem back towards its stick, making sure it would stay there. "Now, I'm sure you want to go there, but you'll eventually fall if you do," he murmured to it. Muzaka was on the other side of the garden, watering his plants and flowers.
Movement caught the corner of Frankenstein's eye, and he turned towards it. M-21 was standing by the garden door, watching him and Muzaka, his brow a little furrowed.
"Morning," Frankenstein greeted, straightening.
"...Morning," M-21 replied, studying the garden.
Frankenstein dusted his hands clean of soil. "Is there something you want to ask?" If there wasn't, he was sure M-21 would have walked away already.
And it was telling just how much trust he and Muzaka had already gained when M-21 didn't back off immediately, still looking around. "Why...do you bother with this?"
"What do you mean?" Frankenstein asked. Muzaka was listening in, Frankenstein could tell from how his movements had slowed, but he wasn't joining into the conversation just yet.
"They're just going to die, aren't they? Either the birds or animals will dig them up, and even if they survive, they'll just die in the winter." M-21 was frowning as he said it.
Frankenstein hummed, turning M-21's words over in his head, picking his own words. "While that may be true, some of these are vegetables I'm growing to use in our meals, while Muzaka's chosen flowers to attract bees and other wildlife. And some plants don't die in winter, but go dormant, waiting for spring again to grow once more."
"And then," Muzaka said, walking over and turning the hose off, "even if the plants weren't food or somethin' for the animals, we'd probably plant other things anyway. We like watching somethin' we've helped encourage to grow when there was nothin' there before."
Frankenstein nodded. "There's a certain pride that comes with seeing something flourish under your care." It didn't take long after they settled somewhere that Muzaka was looking for flowers to add to their garden; for Frankenstein, it depended on how long they were intending to stay that would decide what he planted.
M-21 wasn't looking at either of them, still focused on the garden. "Yeah. All right," he muttered.
Mm? M-21 didn't add anything else after than, turning around and going back into the house.
Muzaka watched him leave and then went over to Frankenstein, draping an arm around his shoulders. "Do you think he got it?" he murmured close to Frankenstein's ear.
Frankenstein turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "If he wants to help in the garden, or grow something of his own, there isn't really that much to 'get'." Some plants were fussier about where they were planted and how much water they required, but he was sure M-21 would be able to follow a routine with them.
Muzaka blinked at him, and then snickered, briefly tightening his arm around Frankenstein's shoulder. "He wasn't just askin' about the garden, Frankenstein."
He wasn't? Frankenstein frowned, replaying the conversation back. "But what else..."
...Ah.
What else could they have been talking about, where they'd looked after something that could have died without their help?
Of course.
Frankenstein looked over, but he couldn't see M-21 inside.
"I suppose I was a little too focused on the garden to realise M-21's true question," Frankenstein said wryly. He was more used to Muzaka's direct approach.
"Nah, that just means you were being honest about your feelings."
"I hope he feels the same way." M-21 did make quick assumptions about people's intent. Frankenstein shook his head, exhaling. "We'll find out soon enough - we should get started on breakfast."
"Heh, yeah."
Together, they went back inside.
Frankenstein had sensed M-21's presence nearby while he and Muzaka worked in their garden over the next week, but M-21 didn't approach again, only watching at a distance.
Muzaka squinted up at the sky, not turning on the hose just yet. "Should rain today."
Frankenstein nodded, double-checking the weather report. "Later in the afternoon, so a sprinkle should suffice for now."
"Hmm, yeah." Muzaka turned to turn on the hose, and smiled. "Mornin'!"
"Morning," M-21 said from the garden door. He opened his mouth, then hesitated.
"Do you need something?" Frankenstein said, putting his phone away.
M-21 gave one short nod. "I was wondering..." He pursed his lips.
Frankenstein waited. If he prompted M-21 now, he could drive him away instead.
"Could I try...?" M-21's gaze went over the garden. "Unless it's too late to grow anything now." His shoulders sank.
Frankenstein beamed at him. "It's never too late. We have spare seeds, and you can choose what you want to try growing first." Something small and would sprout quickly would be good for M-21, so he wouldn't be discouraged, hmm. But maybe it would be better if it took longer, if this was truly about M-21's own growth, and sometimes progress wouldn't be seen for a while yet, even after all the work had been done to cultivate it.
Well. It would all depend on M-21's choice anyway.
M-21 stared at the plant pot on his windowsill. His plant pot. That Frankenstein had given him, but he'd chosen the flower that was supposed to grow from it.
It would take two weeks to sprout, Muzaka had said. And that was fine. It wouldn't grow, not for him. All M-21's hands were good for was killing, and even then, he sometimes couldn't manage that.
He'd wanted to try growing something like Frankenstein or Muzaka, but now that the pot was in his room (to keep it away from birds or anything else that might dig it up), he knew it was a mistake. It wouldn't grow. He would just be keeping a pot of soil and a dead seed in his room.
Nothing would happen.
Every morning, M-21 checked the pot. Every morning, he snorted after he did, because there wasn't anything different. Of course there wasn't.
He watered it anyway.
Then he could say he'd tried, and still failed.
Was he giving it too much water? Too little? Had he put it in the wrong place and it was baking under the sun?
M-21 couldn't tell unless he dug the seed out, and he stared at the soil. It would confirm he'd failed but... Maybe he hadn't? Maybe it was still growing.
He held onto that thought for a second before turning away.
No. It would be dead. He just...didn't want to stare at its pitiful shell, if he could even find it amongst all the soil.
A week passed, and nothing. Sometimes the soil was drier than normal, but that was it. That was just the sun drying it out.
He was wasting his time. M-21 knew it.
Nothing would come of it.
But.
M-21 stared down at the soil.
He'd done this much, so he could see the rest of it through.
Would it be exactly be two weeks? When did the timer start? As soon as it was put into the soil, or after it had been watered? Adding more water wouldn't make it grow faster, or else Frankenstein and Muzaka would have told him.
And why was he caring about the flower when it was just going to die anyway? If it even lived.
Which it wasn't.
Two weeks would pass and he would have nothing to show for it.
Just dirt.
M-21 woke up and turned over, checking on the pot like he alw-
The breath caught in his throat and he bolted upright, staring at his window.
There was something there. Something that hadn't been there the night before.
He threw off his covers and stumbled out of bed, because he was just imagining it, right? There wasn't-
There was.
A light green sprout in the centre of the pot, right where he'd planted the seed.
It had grown.
It had grown because of him.
Would it need more water, now that it was growing? Did he need to do anything else?
M-21 watered the soil like he usually did, making sure he didn't hit the plant in case that killed it.
New thoughts had settled by the time M-21 had finished getting ready. Maybe the flower hadn't grown because of him. It just seemed like it because he'd been watering it and watching it the entire time.
The others would have sprouted as well, he was sure of it. And he could prove it.
Frankenstein and Muzaka weren't outside yet, the sky only starting to lighten, and that was fine. M-21 went into the shed where they stored all their seeds and...
And...
M-21 stared at the neat, labelled rows of boxes on the table. They were all still seeds. He peered into them, and they didn't show any signs of growth at all.
Just seeds.
Then... The flower had grown because of him...?
The sprout was still there when M-21 went back to his room. Not dead.
Alive.
Because of him.
He'd done this.
M-21 picked up the pot, holding it in his arms as he sat down, leaning back against the wall. It had grown so much in a few hours? Or was it always like that, and he just hadn't seen it while it was hidden?
Was this what Frankenstein and Muzaka meant, that they just enjoyed looking after something? That they did it because they wanted to, not because they needed or wanted something back from him?
They just wanted to see him grow.
That was it.
M-21 didn't move from his spot for a while, just watching the sprout he'd helped, like he could see it growing right before his eyes.
So I had a bigger emotional response to seeing my seeds sprout than I expected, aha.