TogetherAgain
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Yes. Yes, I do.Muppetfan44 said:
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Change of Heart
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Muppetfan44
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{Bean Bunny hops in} "Well...well...that's just not nice!"
You tell her Bean Bunny!
"I just did"
Oh yeah, right, and very cutely if I might add
"That's what I'm here for!"
You tell her Bean Bunny!
"I just did"
Oh yeah, right, and very cutely if I might add
"That's what I'm here for!"
Beauregard
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TogetherAgain
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Chapter Six
One week later, Kermit was not back on stage for the next show, but sitting on a favorite log, home and safe in his own swamp, plucking out a quiet tune on his banjo.
It was evening in the swamp, which usually meant one of two things. The first was that most everyone in the swamp was gathered around Kermit’s banjo for a lot of singing and dancing, with a small campfire that was really mostly for effect. The second, and far more common, was that the little frogs mostly gathered at one end of the pond for one huge game while the adult and adolescent frogs scattered to various corners of the swamp to enjoy the quiet alone, with their closest friends, or—preferably—with their spouse, or whomever they were trying to court. Tonight, it was the latter of the two.
Kermit did not know where or with whom Maggie—his sister, accomplice, rival, and confidant—was. During the evening in the swamp, that was never a good thing.
He turned his mind from that troubling thought to more welcoming ones. Since arriving in the swamp that morning, he’d spent most of his time with his nieces and nephews, primarily Robin. That had been a welcome relief, to laugh and to smile and to play like a kid again… He’d felt so weary lately; not physically tired, but emotionally…
There was a plop on the log beside him. “Hey Mit!” said the casual voice.
Kermit slowly turned to the source of the voice with a wry smile. Her skin was a few shades darker than his, and her eyes had a mischievous glint beneath her long eyelashes. “Where have you been?” he asked her suspiciously.
She threw her head back with a soft laugh. “The interrogator has returned!”
“Maggie…”
“Oh, relax. I was stuck listening to Ida,” Maggie said with a vaguely vexated sigh.
“Ah.” Kermit nodded. “She sure can talk a lot, can’t she?
“Holy mosquitoes, Mit, can she talk!” Maggie moaned, dumping her head in her hand. Then she straightened up. “And speaking of talking…”
“You’ve got a lot to do,” he said with mostly feigned sternness.
“So do you,” she countered playfully.
He held out a hand. “Ladies first,” he insisted, and he started a new tune on his banjo.
Maggie sighed and sat back, pulling her flipper up to set her elbow on her knee. “Well,” she began. “First of all, Alex is getting a little… obsessive. Clingy. It’s really annoying.”
Kermit frowned. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I can handle it, Mit.”
“Mm-hm.”
She sighed. “Anyway. Last night I was with Freddy—“
“Again?” Kermit scrunched up his face.
Maggie smiled smugly. “Oh he can’t keep his hands off me,” she said with a glint in her eye.
Kermit scrunched his face even more. “I’ll talk to him, too.”
She laughed. “Don’t!” she whined. “He’s really sweet about it, Mit. I promise.”
“He’d better be,” he muttered, looking at the strings he was plucking. “Alright, so that’s Freddy. What about Fred?”
She shrugged. “He hasn’t been around much. Getting ready for a trip to Vegas. Rumor has it he’s looking for Emmy-Jay.”
Kermit stared at her. “The twins? Really?” he said. “Emerald and Jadine?”
“The two and only,” she shrugged.
He stared at her. “…I pity him,” he said. “But at least he’s not bothering you this way.”
“Nice priorities,” Maggie said dryly. “Anyway, then there’s Max… I dunno about him, though. He still hasn’t apologized for forgetting my birthday—“
“Our birthday,” he corrected. “I still don’t know how he managed that. Our birthday celebrations are a little hard to miss. Are you sure he wasn’t sick?”
“Positive.”
“And that was months ago. If he hasn’t apologized yet…”
“But he gives the best Christmas presents,” she argued.
Kermit sighed and shook his head.
“Oh! And—“ Maggie stopped, smiled, and looked out across the pond.
Kermit stopped playing and looked at her. “…Oh, no,” he moaned. “…And?”
She shrugged and held out her palms. “…Johnny,” she said, smiling.
He stared at her. “…Please tell me you don’t mean Fiama.”
She looked at him, frowning. “Fiama—Oh, your singer guy? No. Oh, eww, no!”
“Thank you.” He looked at his banjo, plucked a few strings—and nearly dropped the banjo. “OUR Johnny?” he asked, staring at his sister, his jaw slack. “Johnny—in the swamp, Johnny?”
“Took you long enough,” she muttered.
“Why?”
Maggie smiled at her brother. “Have you heard him sing?” she said quietly.
He stared at her. “…Has anyone?”
She grinned. “I have.”
He sighed and shook his head, turning back to his banjo. “Song of the Siren,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What’s that, Mit?”
“Nothing.” He looked at her as he played. “I never would’ve pictured you with Johnny.”
“Clearly, since you thought Fiama first. Ugh…” Maggie shook her head. “Brothers,” she muttered.
He cleared his throat. “You haven’t mentioned Croaker at all.”
“So how’s Miss Piggy?”
His fingers noticeably plucked the wrong note and quickly corrected themselves. “You’re dodging,” he said hastily.
She quietly looked at his fingers, and then at his face. “…So are you,” she said softly.
Kermit kept his eyes down as he slowly played… something. “…Did you see the article?” he asked softly. “The picture?”
“…We all did,” she said quietly. “The adults, I mean. We didn’t show the kids.”
He looked at her, surprised. “…No one’s said anything since I’ve been here,” he said.
Maggie was looking down at her hands. “We decided not to.”
He processed this. “…Mom and Dad decided, and told everyone not to? Or everyone got together and decided not to?”
She carefully inspected her hands. “We decided not to,” she said absently.
He slowly smiled. “I see,” he said. “You told everyone not to, and backed it up with some sort of threat.”
“When necessary,” she shrugged.
He looked at the banjo he was plucking. “…Thanks,” he said softly.
She nodded. “Don’t mention it.” She looked at her big brother. “…So—…is she—pregnant?” she asked softly.
“…Sure looks like it, doesn’t it?” he muttered.
“They could’ve edited the picture.”
“But they don’t need to now,” he said, looking at her. “There’s plenty of real—well, relatively real—drama going on in Hollywood. They don’t need to invent something to sell tabloids right now.”
“Funny,” Maggie said dryly. “I haven’t heard about the other stuff.”
“Yeah, well the other stuff doesn’t affect your big brother,” he said irritably.
She looked at him for a long moment. “…But this does,” she said quietly. “…Probably more than he wants to admit it does.”
He sighed heavily, looking down. “I feel—…so bitter, Maggie,” he whispered. “More than I ever thought I could.”
“…More than— …than when Jim—went?” she whispered.
He flinched and shook his head. “Wasn’t bitter then,” he whispered. “Just felt… empty. …Now, with this, I’m bitter.”
Maggie moved closer and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, squeezing him tight.
He sighed again. “The guys have noticed, too,” he said sadly. “Bunsen’s trying to make a broken heart detector, and he put this—contraption on me, to gather data… He—he said it worked, but…” He looked at his sister. “I wish it hadn’t, Maggie,” he whispered mournfully. “I wish it had sent me back in time… Before she’d left. I—…I would’ve—taken her out, one more time… reminded her, how it feels when we dance…” He shook his head and looked at his banjo. “I wonder if it would’ve made a difference,” he said bitterly.
She squeezed his shoulders again. “…You really think you’ve lost her,” she whispered.
“She was never mine to begin with,” he said bitterly. “…I don’t even know who the father is.”
“…Mit, maybe the father is a test tube,” she said quietly. “A sperm donor, or something.”
“…Why wouldn’t she say anything ahead of time?” he asked, and he shook his head.
Maggie sighed. “…I’m fairly certain that she’s been in love with you for years,” she said. “She can’t drop that overnight. If some other guy walked in, you can still stand up and get your girl back.”
“She’s not my girl,” he said quietly.
“But you want her to be,” Maggie said. “You know what you want, so go get it.”
“Mags…”
“That’s how you work, Mit. Want me to prove it to you? Again?” She snatched his banjo—
“MAGS—“
—And threw it in the water.
Kermit snatched his banjo from the pond and hastily set it on the ground to dry, wiping off some of the excess water. “Margaret the Frog, you are in big trouble!” he said, and he pushed her into the water and dove in after.
“Told you so!” she laughed, and she swam for her life.
One week later, Kermit was not back on stage for the next show, but sitting on a favorite log, home and safe in his own swamp, plucking out a quiet tune on his banjo.
It was evening in the swamp, which usually meant one of two things. The first was that most everyone in the swamp was gathered around Kermit’s banjo for a lot of singing and dancing, with a small campfire that was really mostly for effect. The second, and far more common, was that the little frogs mostly gathered at one end of the pond for one huge game while the adult and adolescent frogs scattered to various corners of the swamp to enjoy the quiet alone, with their closest friends, or—preferably—with their spouse, or whomever they were trying to court. Tonight, it was the latter of the two.
Kermit did not know where or with whom Maggie—his sister, accomplice, rival, and confidant—was. During the evening in the swamp, that was never a good thing.
He turned his mind from that troubling thought to more welcoming ones. Since arriving in the swamp that morning, he’d spent most of his time with his nieces and nephews, primarily Robin. That had been a welcome relief, to laugh and to smile and to play like a kid again… He’d felt so weary lately; not physically tired, but emotionally…
There was a plop on the log beside him. “Hey Mit!” said the casual voice.
Kermit slowly turned to the source of the voice with a wry smile. Her skin was a few shades darker than his, and her eyes had a mischievous glint beneath her long eyelashes. “Where have you been?” he asked her suspiciously.
She threw her head back with a soft laugh. “The interrogator has returned!”
“Maggie…”
“Oh, relax. I was stuck listening to Ida,” Maggie said with a vaguely vexated sigh.
“Ah.” Kermit nodded. “She sure can talk a lot, can’t she?
“Holy mosquitoes, Mit, can she talk!” Maggie moaned, dumping her head in her hand. Then she straightened up. “And speaking of talking…”
“You’ve got a lot to do,” he said with mostly feigned sternness.
“So do you,” she countered playfully.
He held out a hand. “Ladies first,” he insisted, and he started a new tune on his banjo.
Maggie sighed and sat back, pulling her flipper up to set her elbow on her knee. “Well,” she began. “First of all, Alex is getting a little… obsessive. Clingy. It’s really annoying.”
Kermit frowned. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I can handle it, Mit.”
“Mm-hm.”
She sighed. “Anyway. Last night I was with Freddy—“
“Again?” Kermit scrunched up his face.
Maggie smiled smugly. “Oh he can’t keep his hands off me,” she said with a glint in her eye.
Kermit scrunched his face even more. “I’ll talk to him, too.”
She laughed. “Don’t!” she whined. “He’s really sweet about it, Mit. I promise.”
“He’d better be,” he muttered, looking at the strings he was plucking. “Alright, so that’s Freddy. What about Fred?”
She shrugged. “He hasn’t been around much. Getting ready for a trip to Vegas. Rumor has it he’s looking for Emmy-Jay.”
Kermit stared at her. “The twins? Really?” he said. “Emerald and Jadine?”
“The two and only,” she shrugged.
He stared at her. “…I pity him,” he said. “But at least he’s not bothering you this way.”
“Nice priorities,” Maggie said dryly. “Anyway, then there’s Max… I dunno about him, though. He still hasn’t apologized for forgetting my birthday—“
“Our birthday,” he corrected. “I still don’t know how he managed that. Our birthday celebrations are a little hard to miss. Are you sure he wasn’t sick?”
“Positive.”
“And that was months ago. If he hasn’t apologized yet…”
“But he gives the best Christmas presents,” she argued.
Kermit sighed and shook his head.
“Oh! And—“ Maggie stopped, smiled, and looked out across the pond.
Kermit stopped playing and looked at her. “…Oh, no,” he moaned. “…And?”
She shrugged and held out her palms. “…Johnny,” she said, smiling.
He stared at her. “…Please tell me you don’t mean Fiama.”
She looked at him, frowning. “Fiama—Oh, your singer guy? No. Oh, eww, no!”
“Thank you.” He looked at his banjo, plucked a few strings—and nearly dropped the banjo. “OUR Johnny?” he asked, staring at his sister, his jaw slack. “Johnny—in the swamp, Johnny?”
“Took you long enough,” she muttered.
“Why?”
Maggie smiled at her brother. “Have you heard him sing?” she said quietly.
He stared at her. “…Has anyone?”
She grinned. “I have.”
He sighed and shook his head, turning back to his banjo. “Song of the Siren,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What’s that, Mit?”
“Nothing.” He looked at her as he played. “I never would’ve pictured you with Johnny.”
“Clearly, since you thought Fiama first. Ugh…” Maggie shook her head. “Brothers,” she muttered.
He cleared his throat. “You haven’t mentioned Croaker at all.”
“So how’s Miss Piggy?”
His fingers noticeably plucked the wrong note and quickly corrected themselves. “You’re dodging,” he said hastily.
She quietly looked at his fingers, and then at his face. “…So are you,” she said softly.
Kermit kept his eyes down as he slowly played… something. “…Did you see the article?” he asked softly. “The picture?”
“…We all did,” she said quietly. “The adults, I mean. We didn’t show the kids.”
He looked at her, surprised. “…No one’s said anything since I’ve been here,” he said.
Maggie was looking down at her hands. “We decided not to.”
He processed this. “…Mom and Dad decided, and told everyone not to? Or everyone got together and decided not to?”
She carefully inspected her hands. “We decided not to,” she said absently.
He slowly smiled. “I see,” he said. “You told everyone not to, and backed it up with some sort of threat.”
“When necessary,” she shrugged.
He looked at the banjo he was plucking. “…Thanks,” he said softly.
She nodded. “Don’t mention it.” She looked at her big brother. “…So—…is she—pregnant?” she asked softly.
“…Sure looks like it, doesn’t it?” he muttered.
“They could’ve edited the picture.”
“But they don’t need to now,” he said, looking at her. “There’s plenty of real—well, relatively real—drama going on in Hollywood. They don’t need to invent something to sell tabloids right now.”
“Funny,” Maggie said dryly. “I haven’t heard about the other stuff.”
“Yeah, well the other stuff doesn’t affect your big brother,” he said irritably.
She looked at him for a long moment. “…But this does,” she said quietly. “…Probably more than he wants to admit it does.”
He sighed heavily, looking down. “I feel—…so bitter, Maggie,” he whispered. “More than I ever thought I could.”
“…More than— …than when Jim—went?” she whispered.
He flinched and shook his head. “Wasn’t bitter then,” he whispered. “Just felt… empty. …Now, with this, I’m bitter.”
Maggie moved closer and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, squeezing him tight.
He sighed again. “The guys have noticed, too,” he said sadly. “Bunsen’s trying to make a broken heart detector, and he put this—contraption on me, to gather data… He—he said it worked, but…” He looked at his sister. “I wish it hadn’t, Maggie,” he whispered mournfully. “I wish it had sent me back in time… Before she’d left. I—…I would’ve—taken her out, one more time… reminded her, how it feels when we dance…” He shook his head and looked at his banjo. “I wonder if it would’ve made a difference,” he said bitterly.
She squeezed his shoulders again. “…You really think you’ve lost her,” she whispered.
“She was never mine to begin with,” he said bitterly. “…I don’t even know who the father is.”
“…Mit, maybe the father is a test tube,” she said quietly. “A sperm donor, or something.”
“…Why wouldn’t she say anything ahead of time?” he asked, and he shook his head.
Maggie sighed. “…I’m fairly certain that she’s been in love with you for years,” she said. “She can’t drop that overnight. If some other guy walked in, you can still stand up and get your girl back.”
“She’s not my girl,” he said quietly.
“But you want her to be,” Maggie said. “You know what you want, so go get it.”
“Mags…”
“That’s how you work, Mit. Want me to prove it to you? Again?” She snatched his banjo—
“MAGS—“
—And threw it in the water.
Kermit snatched his banjo from the pond and hastily set it on the ground to dry, wiping off some of the excess water. “Margaret the Frog, you are in big trouble!” he said, and he pushed her into the water and dove in after.
“Told you so!” she laughed, and she swam for her life.
theprawncracker
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YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! ! ! ! ! !
THAT IS KERMIT AND MAGGIE! THAT IS THE BROTHER/SISTER RELATIONSHIP YOU INVINTED! THAT is what I needed to read.
Love lifes... HILARRIOUS! Oh Maggie, you certainly do get around the swamp, don't you! *whistles*
AND SHE TRHEW HIS BANJO INTO THE WATER! ! ! THAT's Maggie the Frog right there that is.
I LOVED IT! But you TOTALLY wrenched my heart with Jim... and most of the rest of it. LOVE IT! More PLEASE! ! ! ! !
THAT IS KERMIT AND MAGGIE! THAT IS THE BROTHER/SISTER RELATIONSHIP YOU INVINTED! THAT is what I needed to read.
Love lifes... HILARRIOUS! Oh Maggie, you certainly do get around the swamp, don't you! *whistles*
AND SHE TRHEW HIS BANJO INTO THE WATER! ! ! THAT's Maggie the Frog right there that is.
I LOVED IT! But you TOTALLY wrenched my heart with Jim... and most of the rest of it. LOVE IT! More PLEASE! ! ! ! !
redBoobergurl
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LOVED this chapter Lisa! I'm right there with Prawnie, I LOVE the brother/sister relationship you created with these two, it's soooo powerful! And the line "Grabbed his banjo and threw it in the swamp!" I know I've read that before! 
This is so amazingly YOU Lisa, it's all the things I love about your writing. So get back to it would you? Pretty please with a cherry on top?
This is so amazingly YOU Lisa, it's all the things I love about your writing. So get back to it would you? Pretty please with a cherry on top?
TogetherAgain
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...Y'know, I'm not a big fan of cherries. 
But I'm glad you're enjoying. I am, too! It's good to be writing in a notebook again, and posting as I go, and writing filler to get the right chapter size, and doing multiple rounds of editing, and... Ah, it's good to be back. Now... What happens in the NEXT chapter... and how much do I need to study for the three tests I've got this week? ...Darn. That wasn't the answer any of us wanted!
But I'm glad you're enjoying. I am, too! It's good to be writing in a notebook again, and posting as I go, and writing filler to get the right chapter size, and doing multiple rounds of editing, and... Ah, it's good to be back. Now... What happens in the NEXT chapter... and how much do I need to study for the three tests I've got this week? ...Darn. That wasn't the answer any of us wanted!
Muppetfan44
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Sorry I haven't commented in a while. The wind-storm in Pittsburgh on Sunday shot out my cable and internet in my apartment, and its not getting fixed until today. My only on-line time has been in law school, so its been used to find cases and legal terminology and blech! I finally had a spair minute before criminal law so I wanted to say that I definitely enjoyed this chapter!
Kermit and Maggie moments are always amusing and endearing. They both really know what they want, but are too stubborn to say it sometimes and a lot of the time too afraid to just go out and get it. I hope Kermit follows Maggies advice!
The whole brother overprotectiveness vibe from Kermit was great too!
Great Chapter! Now I am definitely curious with how Piggy is handling the tabloid exposure, and of course the bun in her oven! Please post soon so I can see if our favorite porcine princess is hanging in there! Missing this story terribly
{Law school voice (very menacing)} "Time to go to criminal law
{Me} No... No! Don't make me! I just want to read fan-fiction, don't make me go and get bored out of mind (gripping onto the edge of my little study kiosk while Law School pulls me away yet again) NO! Please post more soon so I can recover from the serious boredom i will have suffered!
Kermit and Maggie moments are always amusing and endearing. They both really know what they want, but are too stubborn to say it sometimes and a lot of the time too afraid to just go out and get it. I hope Kermit follows Maggies advice!
I LOVED that! very sweet, even though it always seems like these feelings come too little too late for Kermit.
The whole brother overprotectiveness vibe from Kermit was great too!
Great Chapter! Now I am definitely curious with how Piggy is handling the tabloid exposure, and of course the bun in her oven! Please post soon so I can see if our favorite porcine princess is hanging in there! Missing this story terribly
{Law school voice (very menacing)} "Time to go to criminal law
{Me} No... No! Don't make me! I just want to read fan-fiction, don't make me go and get bored out of mind (gripping onto the edge of my little study kiosk while Law School pulls me away yet again) NO! Please post more soon so I can recover from the serious boredom i will have suffered!
TogetherAgain
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Awww, <Hugs Arianne!> Goodness. Hope the internet situation gets better.
Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to post any more this week... I had a test today and yesterday, and now I get to spend the rest of today doing math homework and insane amounts of reading for various classes so that I can spend tomorrow packing and studying for Friday's test, and then I'm going home this weekend so I'll be squeezing in all sorts of visit time with the family... Which ultimately doesn't exactly leave a lot of time for writing. The madness should die down a bit next week, though, so... <Shrug> We'll see.
Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to post any more this week... I had a test today and yesterday, and now I get to spend the rest of today doing math homework and insane amounts of reading for various classes so that I can spend tomorrow packing and studying for Friday's test, and then I'm going home this weekend so I'll be squeezing in all sorts of visit time with the family... Which ultimately doesn't exactly leave a lot of time for writing. The madness should die down a bit next week, though, so... <Shrug> We'll see.
