Leap Year (A Very Mushy One-shot)

[TwoHeadedLlama]

Finally done after a thousand years. ​

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Leap Year​

It was a chilly, February evening in the little park. The sun was slowly setting over the bare trees on the horizon. The clouds in the sky glowed pink and gold as the last rays of daylight shone down on them. A chilled breeze blew through the air, rustling the few dead leaves that remained on the branches of the trees and on the damp, grassy ground. A few piles of old snow that had softened during the day were now beginning to harden again, as the warmth of the sun gradually faded away. But the most noticeable thing about the park was the silence that fell over it. Other than the occasional sound of wind blowing across the grass, not a sound could be heard.

The park was surrounded by a tall, iron fence. It was almost invisible thanks to the vast amount of old vines that now covered it, but there were some parts of it where the rusty barrier could clearly be spotted. One of these places was located at the back of the park, about a half a mile from the entrance. This part of the place was overlooked by a few neighborhood houses. The people who lived in them had their backyards facing the fence, so if the residents wanted to take a look at the park, all they had to do was go outside and peek through the bordering bars. Of course, since it was sunset, and the evening was cold, no one was outside now.

On the park side of the fence, a lone figure could be seen seated on a rusty park bench. This person was Lips, a trumpet player and performer at the town's resident old vaudeville theater, where the famous 'Muppet Show' was filmed. He had only been working at the place for a couple of months, and what an exciting couple of months. Lips had met and befriended more Muppets in two weeks than he had seen in his entire life. Though the cast was constantly kept busy, Lips found the work rather invigorating. It made things interesting, and much less boring than his old life at home. But even then there were moments when he felt he needed a bit of time to himself, so occasionally he would come down to the local park to practice his music and get away from the chaos at the theater.

Lips had been sitting on the bench for about an hour, but had stopped practicing on his trumpet, which was now lying in a case at his side. For the past fifteen minutes or so, he had been watching the sun set over the trees, only alighting his gaze to pull his red poncho closer to his neck as a cold breeze blew past. Normally, the trumpeter would have left by now, but there were troubling thoughts on his mind that he didn't really want to bring home with him. These thoughts revolved around one thing, or to be more specific, one person in particular.

The person's name was Delores. She was a fellow musician in the show's orchestra, who used to play the trumpet before Lips came on board. Impressively, rather than protest against this sudden intrusion, she had decided to merely switch to trombone instead. Lips had heard her play both instruments on different occasions, and he felt that she was very good at both of them, though her trumpet technique was considerably better than the one she used on her current instrument. Lips could recall giving her pointers on how to improve her ability, which Delores was quick to make use of. She was a smart one, that was for sure, and eager to learn.

But there was more to Delores than her instruments. Lips often thought she was the most level-headed person in the entire cast. Mayhem often ensued both on and off screen on the show, often involving the follies of some of the more colorful members, particularly the ones brought on by a certain female pig. But Delores rarely caved to the chaos involved, and continued to do her job, ever when it was hard at times. Lips knew that she was quite active when the cameras weren't rolling, and there was many a time when she would help clean and straighten the theater after a performance.

The trumpeter smiled as he thought about Delores, but his smile quickly changed to a frown as he remembered the reason he had come to the park in the first place; it was because he was afraid he was falling in love with her. It wasn't a hasty decision at all, for Lips had often conversed with her over lunch at the theater's canteen. Usually they spoke about music, but sometimes they would talk about other things, like what the chef had put in the tuna sandwich, or how the weather was outside, or what they would be doing on the weekend. In fact, Lips felt that Delores probably knew more about him than the rest of the band did, and he also knew quite a bit about her.

But for some reason, for the past week or so, Lips had been feeling a bit different about the trombonist. He actually got excited about seeing her in the morning, and it was the kind of excitement that a child gets when they know they're getting a new toy, or going to a carnival, or something like that. He also seemed to be more interested in conversation when she was nearby, and a strange feeling of warmth and dizziness often overcame him whenever she smiled or nodded in his direction.

Lips shook his head, attempting to shake himself out of his daze. But it didn't really help. He knew that he was falling in love, but had no idea how to deal with it. The only other time Lips had ever felt like this was back when he was a sophomore in high school, when he had a crush on a pretty clarinet player. But the feeling had never been anywhere near as strong as it was now, in fact, he'd never even spoken to the girl at all. Lips tended to blame the incident on teenage hormones rather than actual attachment.

But the way he felt about Delores was far different from the way he felt about the clarinet player. At first, when Lips first started to notice the feeling, he tried to just ignore it for a while, believing it would fade eventually. But it'd only gotten worse, and it bothered him to no end. He knew the logical next step was to ask her out on a date or so, but the very thought of having to approach her terrified him. What if she didn't feel the same way he did, and only viewed him as a friend? And if he did ask her out, would she be scared away by his boldness? Or even feel insulted by it?

These were the questions that raced through Lips mind as he sat on the bench that evening. He didn't really want to ask his fellow cast members for advice, as he'd seen enough interaction between Kermit and Piggy to steer him away from the idea. He didn't even want to ask the members of the Electric Mayhem, the people he was closest to, for advice. Lips would probably be told to just suck it up and ask her, but he didn't know the right words to use. He always had trouble with words.

The sun was almost gone now, and it was now getting dark. Lips knew the park would be closing soon, and he would have to leave, without even coming close to a solution for his problem. The trumpeter sighed in frustration as his mind raced with scattered thoughts. He never knew that caring for someone else could be so difficult. Lips looked over at his trumpet case, and ran his finger over the hard, black, leather surface. Maybe he would play one more song, just to try and calm his nerves a little. Playing usually made him feel better when he was in a bad mood.

He unlatched the case and removed the brass trumpet from its velvet lining. Lips then brought the instrument to his mouth, and blew a couple of practice notes into it. What song should he play? Probably something short and sweet, so Lips took a deep breath and began to play and old song he used to perform back in high school.

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;
Songs of the rude world, heard in the day,
Lulled by the moonlight have all passed away.

The notes rang clear and loud across the park, and echoed in the darkness. The cold and deserted area now felt a little less cold and deserted as Lips skillfully produced each note. He was beginning to relax more, and allowed the stressful thoughts that ran though his head to fade into the background as he concentrated.

Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,
List while I woo thee, with soft melody;
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

As Lips relaxed, the sounds that emitted from the trumpet became cleared and purer, and the blissful melody became hypnotic. The trumpeter didn't feel stressed anymore. In fact, he closed his eyes and pretended he was playing for Delores. Lips could see her in his mind's eye; a lovely woman with short blonde hair and purple skin, smiling at him from the other side of the fence.

Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,
Mermaids are chanting the wild Lorelei;
Over the streamlet vapors are borne,
Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.

A light had come on in one of the upstairs windows of the house nearest to the fence line. Lips did not notice it at all. He was completely lost and at ease in the music.

Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

The last note resonated in the darkness, and finally faded, leaving behind complete silence. It was completely dark now, and the stars in the sky were now visible. Lips lowered his trumpet and sat still for a few minutes, breathing in the cool night air. The trumpeter was completely lost in his thoughts, which were now fully focused on the wonderful Delores.

“WHAP!”

Lips was abruptly shaken from his daze by a sharp pain in the side of his head. Somebody had thrown something at him, probably because he'd been playing too loud. The trumpeter placed his trumpet back in its case and closed it with a snap, before leaning over to search the ground for the offending object. He soon discovered it, but was a bit surprised by what the item actually was; a paper airplane.

The confused trumpet player picked up the plane and looked it over. He spotted some letters written on it, so Lips unfolded it and began to read.

“Lips,

Thank you for the serenade. I thought it was beautiful, but I'm not so sure the neighbors did. Maybe in the future, you could do it earlier in the day? But don't feel bad. You really brightened up my evening, and made me feel like the luckiest whatnot on the street. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

- Delores.”

Lips raised his eyebrows in shock, and looked over towards the housewith the light in the window. He saw a figure looking out at him, only a silhouette of course, but it was undoubtedly her. He didn't even know she lived in that house, and now it was apparent that he had accidentally serenaded her. Lips felt the blood rushing to his face in embarrassment, but somehow he didn't feel nervous or stressed anymore. He felt incredibly happy, almost giddy.
The trumpeter watched as the figure waved at him from afar. He waved back, and then-

“WHAP!”

Another paper plane hit him, this time in the chest. Lips thought Delores had good aim, though it could use adjustment. He picked up the folded paper, which had fallen in his lap, and unfolded it. Just as he thought, it was another note.

“P.S.

Not sure if you knew, but today is leap day. So I wanted to ask you this; would you like to go with me to the coffee shop tomorrow evening? You can think about it tonight and give me your answer in the morning.

Love Delores.”

Lips read the last two words over and over again, beaming. His problems had been solved, even if it had taken a leap year to do it.Still smiling, the lovesick trumpeter got to his feet, and walked away from the bench. He only paused for a moment to look back at the house, but the window had gone dark. Peace reigned once again over the sleepy park.

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Holy crap, it's the end!

 

[AlittleMayhem]

Awww, what a sweet fic! Thanks for sharing!