The boys had just got home from the garden store not too far away from where they lived, with bags full of different types of flowers (already grown because Shane was too impatient to sit around waiting for the seeds to bloom into flowers), along with a watering can and some soil to help them stay alive; as the last thing either of the boys wanted was a garden full of dead and forlorn flowers.
Before Ryland had even stepped foot into their house Shane was in the back garden waiting to get started. It was the perfect weather to do gardening; the sun was out and high in the sky, there were a few pure white, fluffy clouds floating around, but not enough of them to cover the light blue sky that matched Ryland's eye colour perfectly. They didn't bother to put on any songs as the singing of the birds was their music for the time being. It was the perfect spring day.
The day started off by them digging out the hardened, unusable soil and changing it for the new, softer soil. They then made a few holes; all aligned with each other, and began planting the array of flowers. After a few hours of nonstop work (well nonstop if you don't count the small lemonade break they took), they finally finished the garden. It looked so beautiful and serene. There was colour everywhere you looked, but there wasn't too much, it was just enough.
The smell of the fresh flowers was one of Shane's all-time favourite smells. It reminded him of all the times him and Ryland travelled down to the flower meadow to drown in the immense amount of flowers. They spent hours there when they were younger, doing all types of things; dancing, singing, creating flower chains and flower crowns, having picnics, relaxing, laughing, crying, loving, hating, arguing, making up and making out. They did everything there.
They hadn't been there in a while, maybe a little over six months, but not because they didn't enjoy it anymore, but because life had been too busy for them these past few months. Though they made a deal that when they finally got settled into their new place, they were going to go to the meadow at least once a month, no matter what. It didn't matter if they were crazy busy or not busy at all, they were going to go.
It may seem so minuscule for an outside for it was only a flower meadow, but to the boys it wasn't only a flower meadow, it was their home away from home. It was such a big part of their childhood and teenage years, and they weren't going to let that slip away now that they were adults. And maybe six months wasn't that long of a time, but it felt like a life time to them. And Ryland swore he was beginning to get 'meadow withdrawals'.
"My colourful boy in his colourful garden," Ryland whispered, wrapping his arms loosely around Shane's waist from behind, as they stood in the middle of the garden watching the sun begin to set. They never realised how long they had been out till now. It seemed like days were beginning to pass by quicker and quicker lately.
Shane remembered complaining about how long the days seemed when he was a teenager and how he wished they would hurry up and pass, but now, not even ten years later, he was beginning to wish they would slow down for he would be old and grey before he realised. He knew it was still a long way away, as he had only recently turned twenty, but at the rate his life seemed to be going at, he would be in his seventies by next week.
Shane had always been like this, worrying about how quickly life was going, even though it really wasn't. He was too sentimental and that was his problem- not to say Ryland wasn't sentimental, because he most definitely was- but Shane was always trying to remember every little thing he did in his life, and by doing that, he realised how much time has gone and began to panic. He was worried there wasn't enough time left and that there was so much more he could have done before. He would overthink far too much.
Whereas Ryland didn't think time was going by any faster than usual, it had always been the same to him. He didn't stress about the little things like that, he just took them as they came and appreciated everything as it happened. He didn't dwell on the things he could have or should have done, as that time had already passed and there was nothing he could do to change it. They were similar in most ways, but of course they experienced life differently, as they should. They were two different people who think about life in two different perspectives.
Shane was just the type of person who liked to be doing things constantly, afraid he would run out of time to do all the things he wanted to do, and Ryland liked to just sit back and breathe for a while as he watched the world pass by. And there was nothing wrong with that. Both ways were perfectly fine to do. All it meant was Shane would worry a little bit more about things than Ryland would.
It was quite perfect that they were the way they were, really. Shane got Ryland to go out more and experience life in a different light, and Ryland got Shane to relax and take a breather for a while, to appreciate the littlest things in life- and not to say Shane didn't already do that, but he learned to appreciate them even more with Ryland.
They had learned to show each other the world through each other's eyes and in their perspectives at such a young age, which was pretty remarkable. They wouldn't be the person they are today if they didn't have each other; Shane would be constantly out trying to explore everything the world had to offer and not take any breaks to really sit back and think about the world and the people in it, and Ryland would be taking too long of a break to think about those types of things, and he wouldn't have the time explore enough of the world.
Their differences contrasted each other in just the right way, making them able to live their lives in the way they both wanted and needed.
They waited outside till the sun completely set before heading inside to cook up some dinner and spend the rest of the night in the living room, binge watching shows on Netflix. They managed to watch an entire season before Ryland fell asleep with Shane, who was pretty much half asleep too, tucked peacefully in his arms. Shane didn't want to disturb Ryland so he decided they would camp out on the couch for the night- which probably wasn't the best idea as they were bound to wake up with back pains, but they were both clearly far too tired to care about that right now, so that was where they slept that night.
