They've only Got One Another: A Muppet Christmas Story

[We Got Us]

So...since people have begun getting irritated trying to figure out what is Figgie's story and what is mine....and since my 'experimental' Christmas story went and became a full-fledged School distraction agent....I am now offering up my yuletide tale to the careful scrutiny and merciless reviewing of my fellow Muppet-central comrades. (Note: The terrifying long-ness of that last run-on sentence should not scare readers. I actually do have something of a grammar conscious.) So, and without furthur ado, I hereby dedicate this fic to my amazing friend 'bouncingbabyfig', otherwise known as Figgie. (And sometimes as Alice, >wink, wink<) ......And I will now take a moment to get down on my knees and do a little honest-to-goodness begging: Please, oh please, will someone review my story?! Ok, done now, thanks. And sorry about the extremely sloppy editing job, I'm just getting used to the formats here and apparently so is my officeword: I'll stop wembling now, and give you story: hope you enjoy! ​

They've only Got One Another

Kermit woke up early, like he always did. Ever since he had a been a tadpole he had learned to be up before the crack of dawn when the light coming through the window pane was a pale milky yellow: the best time to catch dragon flies besides the evening. Now a days he didn't have to catch flies to eat, in fact he rarely did unless they got too close, but the habit of enjoying the fresh morning air had never left him.
This morning things seemed quieter than usual, and it took Kermit a minute or two to understand why. He walked downstairs into the living room of the large boarding house all the Muppets occupied,and out onto the front porch, opening the front door to a blast of cold air. Winter had finally set it, and right on cue. He closed the door again, unable to stand the chill. Surveying the empty living room, he yawned happily and flopped down on the couch. First day of real cold inevitably meant...
“Uncle Kermit?”
“Oh, hi-ho Robin. Didn't see you there. How long have you been up?”
“Just a minute. Uncle Kermit, is today the first day of Christmas?”
“Christmas is just one day Robin.”
“Oh I know that, I meant the Christmas season.”
“Because it's so cold?
“Because it feels like Christmas.” He replied happily.
Kermit smiled. “I suppose so.”
Fozzie's voice suddenly cut in. “Oh boy! Are we gonna get a Christmas tree?!”
“Fozzie? I didn't expect to see you up so early on a cold morning like this.” He pulled his robe tighter around him. “If it gets much colder I may go in for hibernation.”
Rowlf shuffled sluggishly into the living-room, followed by Scooter. “What are we talking about?” Asked the former.
“Hypothermia.” Piped up Robin.
“No, no, that's hibernation. And we were talking about Christmas.” Corrected Kermit. Rowlf and Scooter looked confused, a common symptom of joining a Muppet conversation in the middle.
“Kermit's gonna buy us a Christmas tree today.” Added Fozzie.
“Oh boy, that's great boss! I know where you can get the kind with the candle holders already attached to the branches...” Put in Scooter.
“Well wait a minute, I never said we were getting one today. And besides, nothing with a fire hazard, you know how Gonzo is.”
“I resent that!” Gonzo hopped onto the couch in his night hat. “You know I would never burn something as unoriginal as wood! ...Although, a flaming Christmas tree would be a lot more interesting than the regular kind--”
More Muppets were gathering in the room, the usual morning routine, and picking up on the conversation.
“Kermit, I think we'd better do plastic ornaments this year. The glass kind is just asking for injuries.” Added Rowlf.
“Moi was thinking more about a pink tree this year. With red and white ornaments.” “Oh, good morning Piggy.”
Scooter was scribbling things down on a clipboard. “So we want red and white plastic ornaments, electric lights and a pink tree?”
“What? No! At least-- not today. We've got work to do.”
“Oh Kermie, what could be more important than the Christmas spirit to inspire us?” “Erm...not spending all our money before we buy the sets and costumes for the next show?” “The way I figure it, if we go wholesale on the tree, do only plastic ornaments, one color lights and I mention that my uncle owns the tree farm, we should be able to fit it into the budget.”
“Wha...but...it's only been a week since thanksgiving!”
“Oh please uncle Kermit?”
“Yeah, c'mon Kerm...”
“I promise I won't set it on fire before Christmas day!”
“Where's your Christmas spirit?”
“Gut inspureshun tu hefe-a tu be-a cuukeeng fuud fur Chreestmes!
“All right, all right, all right!” Kermit was defeated and he knew it. Just like every year. “Clifford, your in charge of breakfast. Piggy, you and Gonzo are in charge of finding whatever's left of last year's ornaments. Fozzie, Scooter and Robin will come with me.”

* * * * * * * * * *


Finally able face the cold and escape the rush of early morning, Kermit sat on his favorite seat on the front porch and watched his breath in the frosty air. The day was bright, and fog was lifting off the street and white-tipped grass. He pulled his robe tighter around him as a soft but cold breeze stirred the air and made shapes in the mist. None of the neighbors had lights on their houses yet, but the Muppets were trend setters and seemed to be starting early: hints that they were ready for some Christmas had been leaking through for a few days, and something about the atmosphere of this morning demanded it. Scooter came out routinely to bring coffee, but it was in his red Christmas mug.
Kermit made a face. “Are we bringing out the holiday ware already?”
"Well, there is a slight shortage of dishes since Animal's incident at Thanksgiving.”
Kermit shrugged and took a sip. “Mm—what did you put in this?”
“Peppermint.” Said Scooter. “Peppermint is good in coffee.” He added a little wistfully before hopping back inside for the next batch. Kermit smiled as he sipped, a feeling of peace enveloping and warming him like the sweet coffee. Inside he could hear Rowlf, starting on the piano just like every morning: only today the song was Winter Wonderland. He took another sip.
“Mhm...” he thought happily “Peppermint sure tastes...”
“Good-- isn't it?” Said Miss Piggy coming up behind him in her fluffiest red winter robe.
“Yes,” Said Kermit, startled. She sat down beside him, pulling her legs up and rocking back and forth. Kermit thought suddenly that he liked the cold: it seemed to define things. It certainly defined Miss Piggy, flushing her cheeks and putting color into those gorgeous blue eyes even icier than the air.
“It's a be-autiful day, isn't it dear?”
“Yes it is.” said Kermit without taking his eyes off of her. She looked at him with a little knowing smile,
“What are vous thinking about?” She asked, before savoring another mouthful of coffee.
“You...” He said dreamily. Her smile increased. “Oh...did I...I meant, whatever your thinking about...” He stammered, a foolish smile creeping onto his face too. Miss Piggy flipped back her curly strands of blonde hair, and looked at the pink early-morning sky, and the mist, and the evergreen trees in the yards. “Moi was just thinking...” She suddenly grabbed his flipper softly. “That it will be very nice to be together this Christmas.”
He smiled at her. “Aren't we together every Christmas?”
“Yes, but...we seem to get...more together every year, don't you think?”
He nodded knowingly. “I know what you mean." He listened to the sounds inside, all the lusty out-of-tune voices singing together and chortling and talking. “Not just me and you, but us. That's what makes it all worth while.”

 

[bouncingbabyfig]

Oh how could I not have recieved a message that this was posted!? I'm sorry I didn't get to this sooner!!! But it sounds gorgeous, as usual! And I'm so touched that you dedicated this to me!! I have to admit I'm working on something special for you that I hope will be ready for Christmas.... And I'm thinking of writing a short story about Scooter...and you... Talk to me soon, 'kay? Luv you, Wigitus! (Lonnie) *Winks back*

 

[Muppet fan 123]

This is all I needed to get me into the Christmas spirit!

 

[We Got Us]

This is all I needed to get me into the Christmas spirit!

AWW! Thanks so much! And you too Figgie, your ssooo welcome! You and your story inspired me to try this anyway, so you deserve half the credit. And something special for Christmas....Scooter story....Scooter and ME story?! >dies of excitement<

 

[We Got Us]

Und here ist mehr: Chapter two, for those of you out there who are interested. (And I don't mean poor Figgie, for whom this should seem frighteningly familiar) So...please some reviews, people? Constructive criticism? Praise? Helpful suggestions? Thanks, love you all!

CHAPTER TWO

The after-Thanksgiving rush of Christmas decorations had never shown up as brightly as it did against that cold morning. Kermit piloted the bus to their various destinations while Scooter and Fozzie haggled over whether a star or an angel looked better on top of the tree and Robin played the one bar of Jingle Bells he knew on his harmonica. Eventually he stopped playing: “Uncle Kermit, are we gonna do a Christmas special this year?”
“You know we do some kind of special on Christmas every year, Robin.”
“Well I think this year we should do a special special.”
“What exactly would you call a special special?”
“We could make it twice as long as usual, and book a whole lot of great guest stars-” Offered Fozzie.
“Sure, and a chorus line of girls...uh, for a big Jingle Bell Rock number!” Put in Scooter.
“We could have everybody pick their favorite Christmas song to sing...” Said Robin.
“Think about Robert Di'nero as Santa Clause!” Added Fozzie. Kermit shook his head, amused at their enthusiasm.
“Don't try and tell me we could squeeze all that into the budget Scooter.”
“Well no, but it might pay for itself if it came off big enough.”
“I actually thought we could do something more—simple?” Asked Robin.
“Isn't something simple what we've done every year? Hey boss, what about Miranda Cosgrove? We haven't had her before?”
“Yeah, yeah, and Steve Carrel too, he's good...” They bantered to and from the tree farm, Kermit listening without showing to much interest. He had learned not to show too much excitment the way everyone else did: that way it was easy to get muscled into something he couldn't really handle. Still, he loved to listen to their crazy plans form into something new and more spirited every year. And why shouldn't they do something big? The show had been going well, the rent was payed...or was it? Either way, it looked like a wonderful Christmas season.
On the way back to the boarding house light flurries began to fall, much to Robin's delight. Neighbors could be seen in their yards putting out lights and decorations. Kermit made a mental note to send a Christmas card to the Sesame Street gang. He pulled into their road expecting to see the Muppets, or at least Gonzo and however was stupid enough to help him, collected on the roof stringing lights. Instead, he saw a white car in the driveway and an unfamiliar person on the porch talking to Rowlf, Sam and Miss Piggy. Several other Muppets were crowded in the doorway, peeping through with concerned expressions.
“Oh no, I hope Animal didn't bite another meter reader.” Groaned Fozzie.
“I don't think the meter-reader drives a car like that. Who do you think it is chief?”
Kermit didn't answer, he was concentrating on trying to remember where he had seen the middle-aged woman before. Why seeing her here gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He got out of the car and went up the front steps without being noticed.
“I really don't think Kermit would have let this happen.” Rowlf was saying, concern in his voice. “I'm pretty sure there must be a misunderstanding somewhere.”
“Yes,” Added Sam. “The monetary relationship between the land-owner and his or her humble serfs is valuable part of the American institution and we respect it.” He finished nobly. Kermit took a step back. Land-owner. Landlord. Of course—he had only met her once when he had signed the agreement on the house. Imagining what type of people a frog would be living with she had kept well out of their way. With an extra effort to always have the rent on time it had stayed like that. He grabbed Scooter's arm before they went up the steps. “Did we take care of the rent this month?” He whispered urgently.
“It gets deducted automatically. After you pay the cast the check goes into our account, my uncle takes out the theater rent and she takes out the house rent. I haven't looked in on it recently.”
Kermit tapped the woman on the shoulder softly. “What seems to be the trouble?”
“Oh, it's you.” She seemed half relieved, half annoyed, holding out what looked like a bill. “Look frog, you've been a good boarder with me for almost two years now. I've never seen you late on the rent yet—so I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but you can't brush me off anymore. I'm here to turn you loose.”
“What do you mean?!”
“Your checks have been bouncing, that's what I mean. For the last three months. I sent you letter after letter and phone call after phone call, no answer. Well I have a policy, it's never bother your boarders at home unless it's a last resort. This is my last resort frog, either I get the rent now from you or I get it from somebody else next month.”
“I...don't know how that could have happened. The checks I wrote you must be good because there's money in the account. Our—uh, our phone has been disconnected for a month or so...but...” He turned back to the others, asking no one in particular. “How did this happen?”
There was no reply. The Muppets sank their eyes to the ground as if they were all guilty, even though he knew they weren't. He turned back to the woman, his throat feeling a little dry. “I...I'm sure we've got the money...how much do we owe?”
“After three months of skipping? 3 grand.” She replied without blinking.
He turned to Scooter, who was already shaking his head. “It's gone boss, we stocked up on groceries yesterday, remember?”
“What about the money for props?”
“On a good week that's about...300 dollars.” He said quietly.
Kermit looked back to her hopefully. “Will you take a...confidence payment?” “In cash?”
“No...a check?”
She shook her head decisively. "No checks. And three hundred bucks ain't enough, I'd never get the rest. Sorry, it's now or never.”
Kermit was bereaved. “You can't expect us to have the money now! We had no idea!”
“Look, it's not like I didn't send you eviction notices. I sent five of them. And maybe this is a terrible thing to do before Christmas but I've got a couple of young people and their kid ready to move in before the Holidays, so I figure it about evens out.” She trailed off, realizing the heartlessness of her statement. “I...I'm sorry, but that's where stand. I'm gonna need you out of here by tomorrow morning.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

There was nothing in what she said that Kermit could latch on to, after she was gone, and turn into a happy light. The Muppets milled around uselessly, not wanting to sit down and look idle, not able to ignore the situation and go about things as usual. Kermit watched them: watched them eye the things they'd treasured in that house for years. Rowlf's piano in it's cozy place in the corner, Gonzo's cannon shoved halfway into the overflowing closet, the band's instruments in their various cases stacked against the wall, Scooter's skateboard in it's hazardous place by the door: but they were just things. Kermit decided. Things can be moved and replaced, things didn't make a family-- He swallowed hard, knowing he had to break the oppressive silence in the living room.
“Well,” He said first. “I guess you know what's going on—“
“I don't.” Robin asked simply, and somehow his small voice and it's question hurt Kermit's ears.
“We're going to have to leave here for a while—maybe till after the holidays, I don't know yet.” He only let this set in for a minute, adding quickly. “But in the meantime, we are going stay together. We are going to spend this Christmas,” He looked at Miss Piggy meaningfully “Together.”
“But...where are we gonna live?” Asked an attractive young Muppet singer named Alice, who was holding Robin on her lap.
“In the theater.” Said Kermit, deciding it at the same time he spoke. “Hey, if we can fit there during the day--why not all the time? And that way we can still work on the show. This year we're going to do something big and earn the money to get our house back.”
There was silence in response, but the Muppets were nodding, some smiled wanly, trying to give him support at the same time they realized the situation they were in.
Besides the forty-odd Muppets that lived in the boarding house, hordes more occupied the theater dressing rooms and basement during the weeks when they were needed on the show. Considering themselves a family had kept any of the Muppets from feeling like they needed to have their own houses: and working on the same show to pay the same bills kept any of them from really saving any of their own money.
The Christmas tree they had bought, the biggest, most cheerful one on the lot, was now forgotten in the back of the bus. The Christmas ornaments in the tattered boxes were just another thing to be hauled over to the old theater. The winter day had lost it's spirit—the lingering scent of the peppermint coffee had drifted off. Now it was only cold, outside of the house.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

That evening was even more beautiful than the morning, but colder. Purple and orange painted the streaks of cloud, and stars shown fiery and bright in contrast to the deep blue of the twilight sky. Kermit shivered as he watched the view, taking a minute to be idle, to rest. Listening to the bus door come open and close, and various feet hopping up and down in the snow from foot to foot, trying to keep warm. There were more cheerful murmurs now—things were less tense. Being together helped that. Kermit had come to know that as long as people were together, no fight was too big, no circumstance too shattering, to be healed by time and togetherness with warm people. As if to affirm this Fozzie came up beside him with a coat. “Here, I thought you might need this—since frogs don't have fur...or anything.” He said. There was a whole list of things Fozzie was bad at, and second behind stand-up comedy was subtleness.
“I'm fine Fozzie.” Said Kermit, giving his best friend a warm smile.
“Oh, well—I just thought you might be cold.” He turned as if to go.
“I didn't mean I'm not cold. I'm freezing. I meant I'm fine.” Kermit said to him. Fozzie looked back with a half relieved, half confused face. “Well good, Kermit.” He moved closer to him, stuttering out an attempt to relieve his friend. “Because I know you couldn't help what happened—with the house—-and, were still going to have a great Christmas, right?” Kermit nodded. “Of course, just like every year.”
Fozzie nodded too, as usual his attempt to support Kermit usually ended up as support for himself. “Well good, because I worry about you.”
“Not sure what I'd do without it...” Kermit trailed off. He was done making motivational speeches for today. The air was cold, and the circumstances were bad, but he...could hear them in the theater. The door was open and light was shining out onto the new snow. He could hear Rowlf banging away at the old piano, Nigel the conductor about to have a fit desperately trying to keep them in tune. Now Alice, their young singer was taking the solo—her strong, sweet, soaring voice carried well through the night air:

Oh little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars, go by.
But in thy dark streets shineth, the ever-lasting light.
The hope and fears of all the years,

Are met in thee, tonight...

As the last notes trailed off the rest of the Muppets picked up the next verse, tuneless voices humming happily. A warm thought struck Kermit. “It's the same. Here, at the house, on the streets of New York, in a hotel on the backside of London—we're always alright together.

And there she is: a bit of messy experimental prose I'm afraid. I'm working on chapter four, but I refuse to post three until somebody reviews. Got that? No more until I hear some feedback. Well, at least until I feel up to editing it to fit the forum, which is very tedious work. Oh well, I can only *hope* someone notices...

 

[bouncingbabyfig]

You seriously need sleep! I'm looking at the time you write this, and you need more sleep!!! But I love the story, So please write more....

 

[We Got Us]

You seriously need sleep! I'm looking at the time you write this, and you need more sleep!!! But I love the story, So please write more....

Yeah...well I had to babysit kids last night, which basically means lots of coughing, kicking, fighting and "One more episode of Fraggle rock!" So I was up pretty late. Oh well, Dad's taking me car-shopping today in return. WHOOHOO!

 

[bouncingbabyfig]

Good Luck!!!

 

[TogetherAgain]

Jou want feedbacks? Jou got feedbacks, hokay. First, something entirely unrelated to the story:

Und here ist mehr:

It's official. You remind me of me. You automatically reminded me of myself because your username (which I love, by the way) is a togetherness song. Then I realized that you're the same age I was when I joined MC. (Which kind of makes me feel old, by the way, which I don't appreciate, but it mostly amuses me.) And here you are writing a lovely fanfic. And just to top it all off, you randomly throw in a few words of German, which I studied in high school, plus one semester in college, which means that I didn't even notice there was any German in that sentence until I got to "mehr." Which also means that you're one of very few people who would probably understand most of the notes I took in college, although you'd probably get confused when I threw in some Hebrew... Oh, and also, you wemble! And ramble! And other such wordiness that I tend to do, especially when I'm tired.

Anyway. The general feedback: This is good stuff. I can't emphasize enough for you to write, and write, and keep writing, because you're already pretty good, you seem to enjoy it, and you'll only get better the more you do it. (And then in five years, you can come back to the stuff you write now and say "Oh my gosh this is AWFUL! How could ANYONE possibly have LIKED this stuff?" Fun times. Trust me. Prawnie and I just love to hate our first stories.)

Now, I'll admit that when I first clicked on this thread, I was hesitant. And when I saw that the entire story was in boldface... Well, it's not the easiest type to read. But then I read the first sentence, and I said, "Ooh. She knows Kermit." And then I read the first paragraph, and I was hooked. Your descriptions are WONDERFUL. "When the light coming through the window pane was a pale milky yellow..." Mmmm, delicious! I can see it, I can feel the morning quiet, the chill in the air... Bold font aside, I am in this story. When I stop caring about formatting issues, I know I'm reading something good, and that's where you had me while I was reading this. I have to say, I was quite disappointed when I ran out of story to read. And that's also a good sign.

I'll go through later today and point out some of my favorite lines, but for now, I have to take a very long shower so that my mom can have some time to wrap my presents without risking me seeing them. So, until then... More please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Count]

Ah... Just what we need at MC... A Toga Jr.!

I'm liking how this story's starting out.
Landlady, whom we don't know her name yet, tried calling the Muppets about the rent checks bouncing.
Kermit: Our phone's been disconnected for the last month.
Okay...
Landlady, again, her name hasn't been given as of yet, says she mailed them eviction notices.
Then where's the proof of receipt of such notices? We presume the Muppets have been getting their mail, Gonzo keeps getting his issues of Insanity Bizarre... And then there's the constant barrage of bills despite noone named Bill lives there. So if there's no eviction notices received, then the landlady's gotta give the Muppets some leetime to come up with the money that's more than just the one day, heck, that's what two-week notices are for, and those have to be duely received or made sent and stuck in person or plain sight.
Yeah, I only have a JD diploma, though I'm not an actual practicioner of the legalistic trade I kinda retain a few arguing points.

That said...
We want some more fanfic.
We want some more fanfic.
We want some more fanfic.
And an update right now!