Chapter 3 Let it Grow

If there was a prize for staring at your bedroom ceiling, Larry would've won it ten times already. For most of the day after he had that run-in with Iggy and Roy, he couldn't take his eyes off the ceiling. He also couldn't move from his bed, as he was sorely lacking in willpower. He wanted to stay here forever. As far as he was concerned, that's exactly what he was going to do.

So, without moving a single mechanical muscle, Larry continued staring at the ceiling. Like it normally did throughout most of the past few weeks, his mind focused on Tec. Specifically, on the last words Tec said to Larry in his last email. The AI would be willing to do it all again if he was given the opportunity… Iggy had said those words too, and both messengers clearly meant for those words to bring Larry some form of comfort.

Well, they didn't. And honestly, Larry had no idea how they could. Was it nice that Tec had formed a bond with Larry that was that strong? Yes. In fact, it was more than nice; it was downright beautiful. But some good that bond was doing now. Larry felt as though his heart had shattered into more pieces than there were stars in the galaxy. This pain, this raw, horrific, agonizing pain… nothing would make it go away. Nothing COULD make it go away.

"Larry?"

For the first time in the last three hours, Larry turned his head away from the ceiling. "What do you want, Roy?"

Roy stepped further into the room. Larry noticed he had a book in his hand, which was already strange. Roy didn't like reading; he didn't hate it, but he would more often than not do ANYTHING else. As such, he wasn't the type of person to carry books around. Because of this, Larry's curiosity was piqued.

And with that curiosity came a boatload of disappointment when Roy lifted the book to his face to read through one of the pages. The title was Ways to Help Your Child Deal with Grief. That… that left a sour taste in his mouth. Partly because he saw that as a jab against his level of maturity, but also because… well, who in their right mind would think any interaction from here on out was going to end well?

"Larry…" Roy turned the page, lifting his iconic pink shades up so that he could read the words better. "I think…" he closed the book and cleared his throat. Larry noticed a look of uncertainty in his eyes. "I think I have ways to help you."

Larry didn't respond at first, just looked up at the ceiling. The silence lingered, still yet no less heavy. You really don't."

"No, I think I do." Roy walked over to the bed and took a seat at the foot of it. Even though Larry wasn't looking into his older brother's face, he could feel the uncertain and lack of confidence emanating off of him. "I… I think this is something you need to talk about." Larry heard the fluttery sounds associated with pages turning. "According to this book, talking about your feelings is a good way to…"

"I don't want to talk about this," Larry said. His mind flashed back to the time when he woke up in the lab, where Iggy had given him similar advice. And maybe it would help, but… "Talking won't change anything."

"It could change your point of view."

"It really won't." Larry pulled the covers up over him. "Tec's gone. Nothing that anyone can do or say can bring him back." Larry paused. All at once, he started wondering if this whole display made him pathetic. After all, he hadn't known Tec for very long. Hell, one could argue that Tec really wasn't even a real person. So why was Larry so torn up about this?

The answer to that question was it didn't matter. The fact was he was still hurt, and that hurt wasn't going to go away.

Roy, after a round of silence, let out a sigh. "Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, I can't force you." He scooted closer to the bed. "But at least try to let me do other things for you."

Larry blinked. "Other things?" As he asked that, he lifted himself up from his lying down position. Doing so allowed him to see that Roy was smiling.

"Yeah," Roy said. "There are a lot of ways for us to cope with this." He extended his hand. "If you just give me a chance, I'm sure I can do you a world of good."

Larry raised an eyebrow as he thought about this. That… that seemed close to impossible. It seemed ludicrous and ridiculous. And yet… it appealed to him greatly. While he didn't want to talk about his feelings, he would also readily admit that he didn't want to fight them forever. If there was one thing… ONE measly thing that could help him with this pain… wouldn't it be worth a try?

Without another word, Larry put his hand in Roy's. Roy smiled as the two of them rose out of bed and made their way toward the door.

…

Within thirty minutes, the two Koopalings found themselves in one of the castle courtyards. What really intrigued Larry about this was that there were two little trees in two little pots situated in the center of the courtyard. Larry looked over at his brother, his mind filled with questions and confusion. Roy just flashed him a smile.

"Planting trees is a really good way to help with grief." He walked closer to the pots. "It's a fun activity, and helping nurture another form of life can distract you from loss."

Larry didn't say anything. He just looked at the tree, his mind filled with all sorts of emotions. Maybe Roy was right, maybe there was value in planting a tree. But… eh, Larry wasn't much of a gardener. He didn't usually care for living things either; he tried taking care of a guinea pig was he was five, but accidentally dropped them in a way that ended up killing them. That had been SO painful to go through, especially at such a young age, and it made Larry swear he would NEVER try taking care of something again.

But… well, Roy seemed confident about this. He seemed so sure that it would help, and he also seemed genuinely excited. If Larry were to guess, he would wager that Roy felt excited about the prospect of planting the tree. So… wouldn't it be kind of a dick move to turn this down?

Without any words, Larry walked over to one of the pots and picked it up. Roy, who was all smiles, picked up the other one. "Okay! Now…" Roy got his phone out of his hammerspace. "How to plant trees…" He looked and scrolled through his phone before showing Larry the site. "These are the instructions. Think you can follow them?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Great." Roy looked toward one end of the courtyard. "You plant your tree on that side, I'll plant it on the other side!" The two Koopalings went to opposite sides of the yard, and it was only once they did that Roy realized something. "Oh. Wait. We need gardening tools…" he paused before chuckling and scratching the back of his head. "I guess I was so focused on the trees that I didn't get the tools."

Larry sniffed. "I guess you could say you missed the forest for the trees."

"The forest for the trees?" Roy blinked. "But we only have two trees; how can we make a forest out of that?"

Larry sighed and shook his head. "Never mind." He sighed. "Just… where can we find the tools?"

"Uh…" Roy scratched the back of his scalp. "That, I don't know."

"Well then, it's a good thing we're here!"

Blinking, both Larry and Roy looked toward the courtyard's entrance. Bowser and Wendy stood there, and they had all the stuff one could possibly need for gardening. Mulch, watering cans, and most importantly, gardening tools.

"How did you…"

"Roy told us about the trees," Wendy said as she stepped into the courtyard. "And… well, we wanted to help you guys prepare."

"And help us prepare you did!" Roy went over and got some tools from Wendy. "Thank you so much, guys!"

"Of course!" Bowser turned to Larry. "Well, what are you waiting for, Larry? Come get your stuff?"

Practically dragging himself across the courtyard, Larry got his tools from Bowser. He looked down at the tiny shovel in his hands. This small, insignificant-looking thing was going to help him plant something as tall and grand as a tree? Well, that was a feat that he was interested in seeing.

So, as Wendy and Bowser took seats on the courtyard bench, Roy and Larry got straight to work. And, he had to admit, digging into the ground with the shovel was satisfying. So was getting the tree out of the pot and placing it in the ground before covering its roots with dirt. It was a very tranquil activity to be sure; no flashy lights, no twists or turns, and most importantly, no bullshit. It was just Larry, the ground, and the tree. And unlike when he lost his guinea pig, Larry managed to feel pretty happy caring for this living thing.

But… not nearly enough so that he felt significantly better. Sure, planting the tree did help distract him from his thoughts about Tec, but only for a brief period. By the time the tree was completely in the ground, even though Larry felt satisfied about what he managed to accomplish… he still felt horrible. Not so much that he would call planting the tree a waste of time, but… yeah.

"Okay!" Roy stood up, his entire front covered in dirt. Wiping the dirt off, he turned to Larry and gave him an approving nod when he saw his tree. "And hey! You did a pretty good job, Buddy!"

"You both did a pretty good job," Bowser said. He chuckled. "I'm sure that by the time these babies are full grown, they're going to bring the whole courtyard together."

"Possibly," Larry said. He looked at Roy's tree. He then looked at his own. It was really cool. The tree looked nice. But… but he should feel better about this. And he just… didn't.

"Larry?" Wendy got up from the bench and walked over to him. "Are you okay?"

All eyes fell on him, making him feel squirmy and uneasy in addition to his horrible mood. "Uh…" He hesitated, mostly because he didn't know how to word his point.

Roy came over while wearing a furrowed brow. "Larry? Did planting the tree help?"

All at once, guilt set in. While he felt uncertain about how to word this point before, the fact that voicing it would lead to immeasurable disappointment for Roy didn't sit right with Larry AT ALL. He had gone out of his way to help him, even going out of his way to read a book! That was a pretty big deal for Roy! He had read something for the sake of Larry feeling better, so the fact that he didn't…

"Larry?"

Realizing the silence was saying more than his words, Larry sighed. "It did help me, but… not as much as it could've."

Roy, Wendy, and Bowser exchanged looks. The sight of those looks made Larry want to bury himself. He shimmied his foot, refusing to look anyone in the eye. He tried to apologize, but the words got caught in the middle of his throat.

Thankfully, Roy seemed to understand Larry's position, as he sighed and wrapped his arm around him. "That's okay, Larry. These things take time."

"I know. I know they do. I just…" Larry bit his lip. "You went above and beyond to help me, Roy, and I will always be grateful for that reason alone. But it just… wasn't enough."

"That's fine, Larry; believe me, it's perfectly fine." Roy adorned a contemplative look. "Hmm. So if planting trees didn't help, maybe we could try something else." He got the book out of his hammerspace and flipped through it before his face lit up. "Ooh! Group meditation!" He smiled as he looked around at his present family members. "We already have the group! All we need is the meditation!"

Larry sucked some air through his teeth. "Yeah… I don't want to do that. I think that would just be… weird."

Roy's face fell, but thankfully Bowser was there to pick up the slack. "That's okay, Larry." He blinked, looking at his second-youngest son with curiosity. "But then, what do you want to do instead?"

Larry paused before sighing. "I don't know…" A silence filled the courtyard before it was broken by Wendy of all people.

"Maybe you should do some hero work?"

Larry blinked. Hero work? That was… oh man, he hadn't done hero work for the past two weeks. He had always been too low energy, too lethargic and saddened. Would hero work be the best choice given those facts? Would it actually help?

"I don't know…"

"Larry, I think it would be nice. You'd be helping other people and fighting bad guys. Not only is that fun, but it could be the exact type of therapy you need." She smiled, her eyes glittering. "I could even call Peppy and Lilac and have them help you! If you three work together, then I think that would do you a world of good!"

Larry thought about this. "You do make some good points." He paused. "But…"

"But what?" Wendy asked, starting to look a little disappointed.

Larry thought about this some more. Hero work was fun. He definitely enjoyed doing it under normal circumstances. And there was so much one had to do when it came to hero work, so many different moving parts. If he were focusing on those elements, he wouldn't have any time to think about Tec. So… maybe this was what he needed?

"You know what? Sure. I'll do some hero work."