GROW

Title: Sprout
Summary: A bored Mikey finds Leo gardening…
Rated: G
Dis: I don't own TMNT.
Series: 2k12

.

.

.

Mikey yawned, stretching his limbs and then barely catching his comic before it fell into the water below his tire swing. Breathing a sigh of relief he easily maneuvered from lounging on the tire to standing on solid concrete. He tossed his comic onto what they considered the couch and resting place in the lair before going out to find his brothers. He heard Donnie in his lab and the thought of bugging him sounded uber fun but then Don might go on about what it was he was doing, use big words, and… Mikey already found himself zoning out just thinking about it. It wasn't because he didn't always understand what Don said, it was just SUPER BORING!

Raph wasn't playing his game or beating up the punching bag. Mikey also didn't see Spike so either Raph was feeding him in the kitchen or off walking in the sewers with his buddy. Mikey found himself sometimes jealous of Spike, because Raph treated the pet a lot better than he did Mikey… And hit him a lot less too. Maybe he should get a cat? Mikey then remembered the incident with Mittens a while back and decided against that.

A noise in the dojo had Mikey making the trek upwards and there he found Leo, kneeling on some newspapers, hands stained with dirt. Curious, Mikey stepped forward and observed as Leonardo carefully deposited dirt into various containers from a clay pot to a washed out coffee tin. Mikey watched as Leo rummaged inside a plastic bag and pulled out various packets.

"Hello, Mikey," said Leo.

Michelangelo had been super quiet! How had Leo heard him?

"Sup, Bro? What'chu doing?"

"Planting some seeds. This is the one place in the lair that gets the most sunlight. Master Splinter thought it would be a good idea to grow some fresh vegetables before winter came."

"What do you have?" asked Mikey, taking a seat.

"Tomatoes, peppers, onions, and that long one over there have some carrots. Splinter said it was a good idea since we've been eating a lot of junk food lately."

"Hey! I had peppers on my pizza the other day," said Mikey in defense.

"True," said Leo with a smile. "But now we will have the options for other things."

"What's this?" asked Mikey, holding up another packet. "Flowers?"

Leo shrugged. "April bought the stuff. Might as well plant it, right?"

"Maarryyygolds," said Mikey, sounding it out. "Marigolds! Nice! Can I help?"

"You can be in charge of the flowers. First, put some dirt in that coffee can over there."

Mikey did that, then placed the appropriate amount of seeds into the dirt, covered them, and then watered them. His hands were just as dirty as Leo's when he was done and he then laid out on the front of his shell and watched the dirt with a careful eye: which began to twitch after a few moments.

"Nothing is happening!"

Leo chuckled, dusting off his hands.

"You need to give it time to grow, Mikey. It's just a seed and soon it will grow into a green sprout, and then finally a flower."

"Oh."

"Let's put these over here and maybe we can get Don in on this and put some lights together to shine down on the plants."

For a few days, Mikey would wake up and check on his flowers. Leonardo soon figured out that the flowers were Mikey's thing so he left them alone, instead tending to his vegetables. Don had fashioned some lights together so that the plants could get florescent lighting even at night. Splinter was happy that Michelangelo found something to do other than watch TV and read comics. Raphael teased them at first, until Splinter pointed out that Leo was also growing some lettuce for Spike, after that Raphael had offered awkward thanks before walking away.

Then, one morning, Mikey checked on his flowers and gave a squeak of delight. He shouted for Leo who came running in looking wary and on guard. Mikey proudly held up his coffee can and inside it were three, green sprouts.

"LOOK!" Mikey peered inside the can, blue eyes practically glowing. "They're growing!"

"Yes," said Leo with a chuckle as he examined his trays. "Look, Mikey! Here, there are some onions coming up and our peppers too!"

"This is so sweet!"

Weeks passed and as Mikey's flowers bloomed, the vegetable garden grew. It became a family activity. Raph and Don helped Leo with watering and when the lair started to cool even more at night they started picking the healthy looking vegetables. However, Mikey started to notice that his blooms were wilting and he turned his sad eyes to Leo one morning when his flowers had almost completely wilted.

"Leo! They're dying!"

"Marigolds have a short blooming cycle, Mikey."

"But…" Mikey looked down at his plant dejectedly. "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," said Leo, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "These flowers aren't meant to last that long. If you want, we can read up. I bet there are plants out there whose flowers come back year after year."

"Really?" asked Mikey.

"Really," said Leo with a smile.

"These ones are still okay," said Mikey, fingers sliding over the delicate blooms. "Do you think that next year we can get more than one flower, too?"

"Yeah," said Leo. "Don is already talking about making a better gardening system for next year."

"Yeah," said Mikey with a grin. "Don't want Raph's shell squishing the tomato plants during practice again, do we?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," said Leo with a roll of his eyes.

Then, year after year, well into their adulthood: the turtles continued to garden. Michelagelo had what many gardeners called a 'green thumb'. Yes, so his thumb is actually green, but it seemed that once he got the hang of gardening whatever he touched; be it a seedling or a dying geranium, he always knew how to make it come to life. There was always something blooming in the lair. Now, he almost lovingly petted the lavender plant he'd been working so hard to grow. A door opened behind him and he smiled as Leo came to stand beside him.

"Beautiful, Bro," said Leo.

"Yeah," said Mikey. "Thanks for showing me all those years ago."

"The tomato plants are looking a little sad."

"Did Raph knock into them again?" joked Mikey, earning a chuckle.

"No, just looking a little wilty is all."

"I'll take a look. We all know how Miwa can be if she doesn't get her fresh tomatoes."

"She still scares you after all these years, Mike?" asked Leo with a chuckle.

"No." Michelangelo grinned stepping away from his flowers. "In fact she helped me with the flowers this year. She's hoping to teach our future nephew or niece my skills. Right now it's her HORMONES that scare me."

Leo chuckled again before heading out toward the separate part of the lair that housed their garden.

"Well then c'mon, Bro," said Leo.

"Right behind you, Leo."

END