Mr and Mrs Hamato

Chapter 12 - Dream a Little Dream Of Me

Dianne gasped as Donnie swung the both of them through the air with the assistance of his tech-bo. The two had a little bickering earlier, Donnie being adamant that Dianne refrain from using her portal for safety reasons. So now, the poor girl clung to him for dear life. Halfway through she wondered why he didn't use his jetpack. Donnie gave some pathetic excuse, in reality, he enjoyed having the girl in his arms. 

The purple ninja landed delicately on the glass roof of the Botanical Garden. The pair watched silently as a giant corpse flower mutant-man ushered his garden crew out, bidding good night to his precious plants before clicking the lights off. Donnie waited for the last of the humans below to shuffle out and once they were out of sight, a metal arm extended from his battle shell to cut a hole for him and Dianne to drop in.

"He plays classical music for his plants? That's some dedicated botanist." Dianne snickered and hummed to Paganini's La Campanella. Donnie shuffled closer, pulling lightly on her arm so she spun right into his plastron, "Careful, we don't want to trigger his security measures." Dianne looked confused, "Why would he have security measures for a botanical garden?"

"Eh, he's kind of crazy about this place, and plants. The last time we were here the Foot-clan messed up our night of fun and decided to summon the garden hoard." Donnie bent downwards to a control panel and yanked it open to fidget with the wires. "They waged war on my brothers and me and the Foot-clan. We went home covered in foul corpse flower juice." he continued and cringed at the memory. 

"What's the garden hoard?" Dianne asked innocently while watching Donnie with keen interest. "Yup! Didn't you see the garden security guards earlier? That my darling is the garden hoard."

Donnie fiddled with the last wire. He pointed at Dianne to watch the hall in front of them. Striking red lines appeared crisscrossing along the length of the hall. Laser lights. A few seconds later the lasers became disabled. The purple genius pumped his fist in celebration. "Damn..." Dianne whispered in an impressed tone. 

The purple genius sighed as the classical music faded to a timeless classic, Dream a Little Dream of Me by Ella Fitzgerald, "I know, right? The security feed is looped so they won't even know we're here!" he bounced on his heels like a child getting candy. Grabbing Dianne's hand, he leads her down the hallway. She blushed furiously though she did not complain. 

The couple walked slowly, both seeming to take in the scenery and the peace. Dianne was engrossed by the different plants in the garden. She fancied orchids mostly. Donnie smiled fondly at all the times he let her drag him to the different orchids so she could inspect them close. "Ouu, what's this one?", she pointed at a yellow orchid, banded with black striped. 

"That's a Brassia Orchid," he continued explaining, "Brassia orchids are distinguished by their spider-like sepals and interesting color patterns. These fragrant orchids boast numerous blooms with 8 to 12 flowers blooming from a single bulb. Brassia orchids love moisture and prefer bright, diffused light."

When he finished, he found Dianne staring at him. "Ah, shit! Sorry, Dianne. I didn't mean to ramble and bore you." 

She blinked twice and chuckled "Bore me? Donnie, I love you hear you explain these things." Donnie looked like he did not believe her so she gently rubbed his hand with her thumb. "I really do, Don." That was all he needed from her. Right after that, he found the courage to drag Dianne to the next exhibition of orchids, "These here are Encyclia orchids. Also known as 'cockleshell orchids,' they are recognized for their octopus-like shape and ability to bloom for several consecutive months. These orchids are not fragrant and bloom best when planted on an orchid mount that mimics how they naturally grow in the wild." 

Dianne saw Donnie's eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. He's so adorable, she thought to herself. They continued to go back and forth between different orchids. Discussing the different flower breeds, seasons, and colors. Dianne enjoyed all of it, especially the fact that none of them had released each other's hands. She noticed how her hands fit snugly in Donnie's. His hands were bigger, calloused by tiny nicks and scars, most likely from all the training, fighting, and inventing. Though his hands were made for hard and tough work, they were still gentle and kind.