#anyway!! cute little gardening fic ^_^. im gonna make egg pasta as Hannibal tells me in detail how to make the best sauce. And!! Hes gonna s

[hyperionshipping]

Backyard Garden

a/n: wowo! I did indeed write a whole fic instead of sleeping at a decent time. I had fun though!

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It was a particular hot day, and though it wasn't out of the ordinary for Hannibal to spend a day home instead of being out, it was rare he wasn't doing something in his own home. The summer heat seemed to have other plans, and Hannibal was currently enjoying the cooling breeze of the A.C.

Despite this, just outside in the back, Elias was filling his watering can. He turned the spigot off, and picked up the water can, carefully hauling it towards his small garden. Hannibal had been happy to let him start a small garden, and Elias had been vigilant with watering and tending to the plants in it. Currently, he was watering the celery. Some were ready to be picked. He made sure the celery got extra water. Celery was something that could always use more water. He then moved to the cucumbers. The fencing he made for the cucumbers to climb was very DIY, and it showed. But, it worked.

He put the water can down to carefully weave the leaves and plant itself through the holes of the fence. "I think this should have been taller. You are growing so much!" Elias told the plant as he watered it. Halfway through, he had to refill the watering can. Next came the radishes. Elias didn't like radishes, but Hannibal had picked the seeds out when they were shopping earlier when Elias started to plan the garden out. He squatted down, "I think there are some here ready to be picked. Are you early?" he got back up and watered them.

The last plant that needed to be watered was the tomatoes. Elias with the help of Hannibal had planted four tomato plants. And they were growing wildly. Elias fanned himself as he stood by one plant. He needed a drink. Looking at the tomato plant, he pulled a few yellowing stems off, stuffing them in his pocket to throw away when he was done. He picked up the watering can once again, and finally finished watering the small garden.

After dropping the watering can back in its spot, he stepped into the cool house and immediately made a beeline to the fridge, moving around a few things to find the pitcher of juice he had. He poured himself a glass and chugged it. He placed the glass in the sink, making a note to clean it after.

He went searching for a pot, alerting Hannibal, who looked over. "Looking to cook, Elias? It's a bit hot for a large meal, don't you think?" Elias shook his head, pulling a pot out, and putting it to the side.

"No, not cooking right now." Elias pulled a smaller pot out, and then put it back. "Can I use this?"

"What for?"

"Just to hold something." Elias picked the pot up, showing to it Hannibal, who had walked closer to the kitchen. "This one."

"Yes, you may. I assume you're going to hold something food related?"

"Uh huh." Elias nodded, walking past him, arm wrapped around the pot. He opened a drawer, grabbing a knife. Hannibal just watched him, not saying anything.

***

Elias first came in with a few cut pieces of Celery. He placed them on the table. Then it was the cucumbers. "Hannibal! Look! Look, at these. 3 big ones." Hannibal smiled at how enthusiastic Elias was.

"They look good."

"Yeah! They're gonna be good. Have one!" Elias ran back out, and disappeared again for a little. While he was out, Hannibal took the cucumbers and moved them to the fridge.

Elias was quickly back in with a small handful of radishes. "I didn't know if these were ready or not, so they're kinda small." Hannibal watched Elias put them by the sink. "I'll clean my cup in a second. You don't see it there." Hannibal took a radish in his hand, and looked at it. It was a bit small, but Elias was happy.

"They look fine to me. Sometimes homegrown vegetables aren't as big or grand as the ones in the market. That is what makes them unique, though."

"Yeah! You have to eat all this radish, though. I'm not gonna. Or give it away. Anyway, I need to finish up." Elias was back out one last time to pick tomatoes.

There was a good amount of tomatoes to pick. Some were riper than others. The pot was filled quickly with a mix of regular tomatoes and cherry ones. Elias popped a cherry tomato in his mouth as he brought the pot inside. He made sure to throw away the part of the tomato plants he'd pulled off before going inside, however.

"Hannibal," Elias said, putting the pot on the counter. "Come look at this. This is crazy!" Hannibal made his way back to the kitchen, looking at the full pot. He laughed a little.

"Elias, did you pick every tomato?"

"No! These were just mostly ready ones. There's still tomatoes growing out there."

"Well, I guess we just have soil the tomatoes must love."

"I guess!" Elias grabbed a tomato and put it aside, turning his back to Hannibal as he searched for a cutting board. "What are we gonna do with all of them? I can't eat this many sandwiches." Hannibal thought for a moment.

"Well, we could can a few. Or I could make tomato soup to freeze for later." Elias nodded as Hannibal talked, grabbing a cutting board and placing it on the counter. He grabbed the tomato he put to the side, and started to wash it off.

"Can you teach me how to make a tomato sauce? You made pasta one time, and that's what I really remember." Elias turned the water off. "I mean, I know 'tomato sauce' kinda sounds easy, but your recipes are all so fancy."

"Well, it is a bit hot to cook a sauce right now, Elias. To make a good one, it needs to cook for a while." Elias looked at him for a moment. "I suppose, though, it wouldn't hurt to have some sauce on hand. Or to eat some pasta."

"Awesome!" Elias smiled at him, "can I eat first? I'm gonna make a tomato sandwich. Do you want one?"

"I'm fine," Hannibal grabbed the pot of tomatoes. "You eat. I'll wash the tomatoes we need, and then I'll teach you how to make a basic pasta sauce."

"Can I make the pasta? Please let me make the pasta."

"You can. But it'll be a few hours."

"Right, right yeah. Few hours got it. Whatever." Hannibal shook his head a little as Elias cut his tomato into slices for a sandwich. He knew Elias was more excited to just make the pasta than learn the best way to let a sauce simmer and what spices to add and when, but that was fine.