Somebody's Getting Married?

[The Count]

Thanks Layla... That does help clear up a bit. Missed you while you were gone.
Yep, good stuff in this story, wonder how it'll go on from here.

 

[Ruahnna]

Piggy stood in the doorway of Kermit’s apartment and surveyed her surroundings doubtfully. Kermit’s temporary domicile was definitely on the cozy side.
“I’m pretty sure my locker on the bus terminal set is bigger,” she said dryly. Kermit turned and gave her a scrunchy faced look.
“Ha ha,” he said. “At least you can see the furniture and the floor.” It was true. Piggy was pleased to note that Kermit was tidy, but not obsessively so, and there was a minimum of bachelor clutter.
Piggy made an indignant face herself. “It is not Moi’s fault if they do not provide enough closet space for Moi’s entire wardrobe,” she sniffed.
“To heck with your wardrobe,” Kermit murmured, putting his arms around her and smiling at her fondly. Piggy settled her arms around him. Her eyes were soft but they contained an impish gleam.
“Moi is willing to suffer hardship in order to be with you, Mon Capitan.” She kissed him before he could make a smart retort, happy to know that this argument could have only one possible conclusion. The thought made her giddy and giggly and she pulled away after a moment and busied herself hanging up her coat in the minute closet. Kermit let her go, but only because she couldn’t go far. He went into the tiny kitchen to see what there was that might serve as supper. Piggy joined him there, but after a few moments of cabinet peering it was unanimously decided that they would have to send out for food, and that their time was much better spent smooching than cooking.
How strange this is, Piggy thought, to be standing in the miniscule kitchen kissing Kermit—her Kermit!—while supper was on its way. When the egg rolls and other food arrived, Kermit went to the door and gave the delivery person the first large bill that came out of his wallet without even looking at it. He returned immediately to Piggy’s embrace, but the smell of the food soon pervaded their senses. They put aside one set of appetites for another, and carried everything over to the somewhat lumpy couch. Kermit passed over chopsticks and took a pair himself, and they sat cross-legged on the couch facing each other, laughing and eating until every last crumb of food was gone.
This is easy, Kermit thought. Married life is a snap. He liked the sight of Piggy sitting on his couch. He liked the thought of her in his apartment. He liked better the thought of her—
“Kermie—I’m going to go get out of my work clothes. These pantyhose are killing me.”
Kermit perked up immediately. “Need any—?“
“I do NOT!” Piggy said hastily. She disappeared into the little bedroom with her purse and her attaché case of hastily packed items from her dressing room. Tomorrow they would have to have more of a plan, but tonight—tonight she was content to leave things to the whims of fate. Piggy smiled as she shimmied out of her dress and into the silk dressing gown that would have to double as pajamas tonight. She looked down at the big diamond on her left hand and smiled. Fate had been pretty kind so far this week.

Kermit hadn’t even touched the coffee that the Swedish Chef had so generously provided—and he hoped it had no hostile designs on him—when his personal assistant came running up.
“Okay, Boss—I’ve finally gotten all the permits that I think we’ll need. We can start filming in the park tomorrow.”
“Super,” Kermit said. “Um, did you remember to tell them that Animal—“
“Oh yeah,” Scooter said. “I warned ‘em but they were okay with it.”
“Swell. Let’s get everybody together before lunch and we’ll talk about tomorrow.” He hesitated. “Um, Scooter—did you make a seating plan for the bus?”
“No,” the gofer admitted. “I thought we’d just do first come, first pick.”
Kermit looked at him worriedly. “Remember what happened last time?”
Scooter sighed. “I’ll make a seating chart.” He turned to go, but swung back around and gave Kermit a sly look. “Guess you’ll want to sit with the Missus?”
In spite of himself, Kermit blushed. He was going to have to work on that. He had a Missus now, and he had better get used to it. “Yes, thank you Scooter. That would be fine.”
Scooter’s smile broadened. “You know, I have to say this whole thing is working better than I thought it was going to.”
“Oh, you have to say that, huh?” Kermit snarked, moving off toward his office. Scooter hustled to keep up.
“Aw, c’mon Kermit—don’t be sore. I just meant that, you know, Piggy’s been so, I don’t know, nice to work with this week. She seems….” He stopped, trying to find the right word. “She seems happy.”
Kermit stopped and turned around to look at Scooter, but there was no guile on the young man’s face. Kermit’s expression softened.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Me, too. I…I should have done this a while ago.”
Scooter shrugged. “So you did it now. Looks like a good call, Boss.”
“Yeah.” He looked toward his office, then toward Piggy’s dressing room door nearby. “Um, I’m going to check in on Piggy. Then we’re running some of my scenes with Lonny, right?”
“Right. You want everybody to stay close?”
“Naw—send ‘em off on break, but get ‘em back here before lunch for a quick meeting.”
“Sure thing, Boss. I’m on it.”
Watching him scurry off, Kermit smiled. It seemed like everything in his life was suddenly falling into place as though preordained.
The thought that he had finally found his center made him smile. Now that he had taken the plunge, he couldn’t seem to remember why he’d been so skittish about the whole idea of marriage. Piggy had seemed happy this week. She had gone out of her way to be accommodating to everyone. When they were filming “Quelle Difference” she had even taken direction from him—without question—something he could never remember happening in all the years of their association. Although he remained a little surprised by her newfound docility, Kermit hadn’t really thought it odd. He’d actually enjoyed the looks of stupefied surprise on the faces of their cast members when she had simply said, “Yes, Kermie,” and done exactly what he’d asked.
He’d covered his own surprise quickly, and watched her with interest as she’d played the scene the way he’d asked. Ultimately, he’d concluded that her instincts in the scene were superior to his own, and they’d reverted to the first way she’d played it. He had more difficulty hiding his surprise when she refused to gloat. Though they still had incredible chemistry on film, the burgeoning friction that had often overcome them in their working lives had other, more productive outlets now, making life both peaceful and sweet. Every unmarried member of the cast and crew—which was almost everyone—seemed awed by the sudden and inexplicable shift of power. Kermit swelled with pride and sat taller in his director’s chair. What a smart move it had been to marry Piggy, he congratulated himself. I should have done this a long time ago.
As if reading his thoughts, Piggy looked up from having her overly-made-up face carefully cleansed, and her own make-up replied. Her smile was tentative, but Kermit answered it with warmth.
“You look beautiful, Piggy!” he called. “The camera loves you!”
Piggy suddenly did not need rouge. “What about the director?” she asked, her eyes shining.
Kermit grinned. “Him, too,” he said, and went to see if Mrs. Rivers was ready to run the scene again.

Democratically, Kermit had followed Piggy home to her room at the hotel the second night after their return. If Kermit’s apartment had been spartanly tidy, Piggy’s was an explosion of glorious excess. There were clothes everywhere—evening gowns and dresses and more lingerie than he had ever imagined was necessary to grace one shapely form. Kermit tried not to sit on anything that looked like it had been recently pressed, and made several futile attempts to discern a pattern amongst the cast-off clothes, but Piggy did not leave him much time to dwell on her house-keeping shortcomings. They procured food from room service, ordered a movie they did not watch and found better things to do with their time than organize Piggy’s lingerie drawer.
To his surprise, Kermit found himself oddly content amidst the chaos. Home has ceased to be a particular geographic destination and had come to mean the place where he would find Piggy waiting for him. It dawned on him at some point (around two in the morning) that they would have to do something about living arrangements once they returned to the states, but that time seemed forever away. They needed to get through filming so he could begin the arduous process of piecing the film together scene by scene, keeping this and discarding that, splicing that close-up and rejecting that sequence altogether. “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending….” he hummed in his head. A happy one, he decided firmly. It has to be a happy ending. In the darkness, Kermit smiled, then snuggled into Piggy’s embrace and let sleep claim him once again.

 

[The Count]

Yaey! Update!

Oh... How do you do such vonderful work with these stories... It's so great to see the insight as the Muppet cast goes about their lives, filming the movie and getting settled into the new power structure between the pig and the frog.
Have to ask, who's Lonny?
And isn't the Quelle Difference bit with Mrs. Rivers as you put it?

Looking forward to updates to this as you get to the scene you mentioned elsewhere, though only cryptically.
And now only Kermie's Girl's in need of an update to complete the trifecta.

 

[ReneeLouvier]

*squeal* I love these stories Ru! They are just awesome!! And so ushy-gushy too!!!

And yes, I concur with Ed....Kermie's Girl needs to be updated to complete these wonderful stories!

 

[Ruahnna]

It had been a long day already. They had filmed a great deal of side-walk walking that morning, and those who weren’t needed for the next set of scenes—which was most of them—were lounging in various states of fatigue on the soft green grass.
“Like, my feet are so worn down I’ll bet I’m an inch shorter,” said Janice. She took off her sandals and stretched her feet out in front of her with a blissful look.
“Well, I’m an inch taller,” said Fozzie, “cause my feet are so swollen.”
“I’m pretty sure I broke even between the callouses and the blisters,” said Gonzo conversationally. “Anybody want to see?”
“NO!” several voices shouted in chorus, but Gonzo shrugged it off, nonplussed. “Suit yourself,” he said, “but you don’t know what you’re missing!”
“Thank all that is good for small favors,” said Dr. Teeth, watching the furry blue fellow trot off. He settled next to Floyd, who had lain back comfortably in the grass and was contemplating the clouds. “Feels good to take a load off,” he murmured, grateful for the cool foliage beneath him. He looked over at Animal, who was tethered to a small sapling by his spiked collar and a leather leash. “Speaking of,” he began, “want me to take Animal out to—“
“Naw, I got it already,” said Floyd. “But if you’ve got anything edible on you, I think his blood sugar’s getting a little low.”
“Scooby snacks okay?”
“Which kind?” Floyd said. “You know he hates the apple-raisin ones.”
“Not to worry,” the good doctor assured his band-mate. “These are the ones with chocolate and peanut-butter.”
“You are the man,” said Floyd, and watched as Dr. Teeth tossed a handful of snacks to Animal. They were caught and consumed with frightening intensity.
Once everyone got their wind back, and had had a chance to complain and kvetch, they got down to the serious business of enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Sitting in the shade, it was extremely pleasant in the park.

Not everyone was sitting in the shade.
“Um, okay everybody—this is the big action scene.” Kermit smiled over at Piggy, but she didn’t see him. She was talking animatedly to Gregory Hines, and watching with intense concentration as he demonstrated a particularly intricate tap turn—in sneakers, no less. They had been doing impromptu tap routines all day, and Kermit was shocked to find that it was still possible to feel little niggling pings of jealousy when he saw his wife move with sinuous ease in another man’s arms. He waved to get their attention, and Piggy broke off what she’d been saying, turned at once and gave him her full and focused attention. For a minute, Kermit couldn’t remember what he’d wanted to say, then the paralysis fled and he looked down at his notes.
“So—we want to get the chase scene out of the way today. I know it’s hot and a little humid, but let’s get through this and tomorrow we’ll come back and do all the close-up shots when we’re fresh.”
Heads nodded, people murmured. Beside him, Juliana was bouncing a little, stretching her calf muscles before they had to jog. She and Gary Facon, who was to play the hapless purse thief, had done more extensive stretching earlier, warming and readying their muscles for the demands ahead. True to her nature, Piggy abhorred exercise for the sake of exercise. She would dance, she would skate, she would do acrobatics or wax the car if she felt like it, but the thought of actually sweating on purpose toward no specific end genuinely horrified her. Eschewing a formal warm-up, Piggy had instead spent her time tap-dancing with Gregory and taking a test run on the roller skates she’d be wearing.
Kermit hoped they’d get the scene the first take, because it was already uncomfortably warm and he didn’t relish the thought of jogging the circuit more than once. He and Juliana had walked the route they would take, matching dialogue to specific points on the trail so they would be able to pace themselves. He had walked Piggy’s more extensive course with her shortly after arriving. The cameras were in place, but the timing might be a little tricky. Scooter and Kermit took turns sweating the details while everyone else just sweated.
Leaving his wife and her erstwhile dance partner reluctantly, Kermit sat down on the soft green grass and looked at Juliana. They ran the lines in a perfunctory manner before the camera’s started, then makeup came in to powder and pouf. It was showtime.
The first take went swimmingly until Juliana reached to pull him up on his feet. He lost his balance and sat back down abruptly. Laughing, a little embarrassed, Kermit planted his feet more firmly and they ran it again. This time, it went off without a hitch. They jogged and talked while the camera trundled along beside them. It was surprisingly hard not to look at the camera when you were doing something like this, but the though of having to do it all over again kept Kermit focused. They made the circuit without incident. Kermit patted his brow with a handkerchief, inciting the ire of the makeup sergeants, and Juliana put a damp hand on her neck.
“It’s hot,” she said, relieved to be done. “I hope Miss Piggy doesn’t get too hot in that jacket.”
The camera crew abandoned them to start Piggy’s run. Kermit resumed his directorial status behind the cameras, watching with his lips pursed and his arms crossed as Piggy began to move. Some of the other cast members who had gotten a second wind snuck in to watch the scene, careful to stay out of the way of the cameras.
They filmed the entire sequence, including the scenes that would be re-shot later as close-ups—the gum, the purse snatch, the impromptu borrowing of the skates. There was a pause while someone came and helped Piggy into the skates, but they kept the cameras running. The scene would show up in the dailies, with Piggy making faces into the camera.
“Getting dressed here,” she growled playfully. “And I’m sweaty, so back off!”
Nobody backed off.
Gary Facon was a trouper. He snatched the purse and took off like a quarterback, running until he was well past his mark. Makeup came at one point to spray him down with fake sweat. He raised his arms apologetically. “I’m not sure I need any more,” he said candidly. “I’m sweating like a—“ He caught himself in time, and although several camera folk snickered, he managed to avoid the wrath of his co-star.
“Somebody just dodged a bullet,” Dr. Teeth chuckled.
“As long as he dodged Piggy,” Gonzo agreed. Kermit turned and gave them a look and they subsided, sheepish but not really sorry.
There were a couple of glitches that made Kermit unhappy, but the whole of it was good. He watched with bated breath as Piggy made her final, spectacular leap over the rock and landed safely on the safety mattress provided. After she’d been helped up and dusted off, and the mattress removed, they filmed the scene in which she launched herself onto Gary Facon, demanding her purse back and hitting him until the policemen came to rescue him. Once he was off the scene, Piggy reverted to her sweet girlish self, thanking the ladies for helping her gather her things. More than passing aware of how mercurial she could actually be, Kermit found this scene more than usually funny. He nodded his head, pleased with almost everything. Almost.
When the cameras had stilled, he walked over and stood in front of Piggy. She looked at him, eyes shining in triumph. “All done?” she asked, but her face made it plain she thought the question rhetorical. Kermit put his hands on her arms and squeezed, looking into her eyes.
“Um…” he said.
Piggy drew back. That was not a good sound.
“What do you mean, um?” she asked. “What?”
Kermit squirmed. “Well, it’s just that there was this one part that—“
Piggy put a hand on his chest and looked at him.
“Are you asking me to do that whole thing again?”
Kermit smiled, relieved she had not made him say it. “That would be great, Piggy,” he said happily. “Just one more time, please?”
His relief was short-lived as he saw the warning spark flash in her eyes, but Piggy suddenly seemed to become aware of the crowd of onlookers. She looked at the camera crew and most of the other cast members, watching her and her new husband intently to see what would happen. Piggy cleared her face and her throat, her expression carefully blank.
“Yes, Kermie,” she said softly, and went back to her original mark.
Kermie went back behind the cameras while a wave of murmuring worked its way through the crowd. If he was aware of it, he gave no sign.
“Gosh,” said Fozzie softly. “I—I don’t believe it.”
“Like, that has never happened before,” Janice said, looking a Floyd. Floyd shrugged, stunned beyond the ability to speak. Maybe, he thought, married life has it benefits. He took Janice’s hand and they moved off to take a nice, quiet stroll.

They ran it again—the whole thing. Kermit looked up at one point and found Gregory Hines sharing a bottle of ice-cold water with Piggy while they waited for her skates to be put back on and felt again that little thrill of jealousy. Remarkable, he thought absently, that it still bothers me. He watched them surreptitiously as Piggy swallowed, wiped her mouth, and accepted her co-star’s hand up to her feet. She leaned in for a moment and kissed Gregory on the cheek.
“Thank you, mon chere,” she said gratefully. “I’m so hot I could just die.”
Gregory laughed. “You’re telling me,” he teased, and went off to sit in the shade until they needed him.
Kermit was satisfied with the second run-through, but the sequence with Piggy on the sidewalk was bothering him now.
“There’s too much interference in the foreground of the shot,” he insisted. “I think we need to cut back on the number of people in the scene.”
“It’s supposed to be a crowded park,” Piggy argued. Her face was set in a stubborn, pouty line but she was respectful. Kermit’s face was set as well.
“I think the scene needs this,” Kermit insisted. Piggy looked at him for a long moment, then darted a look at the cast and crew, who were openly hanging on every word they exchanged. Miserably, she nodded.
“Yes, Kermie,” she said resignedly, trudging off to her mark. Kermit stayed right with the camera until the sequence was done, nodding with extreme satisfaction at the way it finally played. Piggy flopped down, exhausted on the grassy hillside, gratefully accepting water again from Mr. Hines. Kermit made his way back over toward the group, his expression distracted. He was almost in the midst of the rest of the cast members before he seemed to register their presence.
“Oh, hi guys!” said Kermit. “I think we’ve got it now.”
Rowlf cleared his throat. “If I may be pardoned the observation,” he said admiringly, “that is one impressively domesticated swine.”
Kermit felt himself blush, but it was hard not to enjoy the looks of frank admiration that they were all giving him. Kermit laughed sheepishly, and looked back to where his wife sat on the soft grass, making desultory conversation. He knew it was wrong, but couldn’t seem to help himself.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said nonchalantly. “She’s still pretty wild at home.”
There were snorts and chortles of laughter all around, accompanied by a great deal of manly back-thumping and worldly looks as they moved off. A couple of them looked nervously skyward, as though expecting lightning to strike. Guiltily, Kermit looked around, but Piggy was no longer sitting on the hillside. He scanned the area quickly and saw Mr. Hines making for his limo, but there was no sign of Piggy. He heaved a sigh of relief, glad for once not to see Piggy’s often awe-inspiring form close at hand. Rowlf gave him a knowing look.
“Better not let the Missus catch you saying that,” advised Rowlf. “They’ll be trouble for sure.”
Kermit tried to look unconcerned. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve got everything under control.”
From her vantage point behind the shrubbery, Piggy’s eyes narrowed. “Men are such pigs,” Piggy fumed. “Even when they’re frogs.”

Moments later, she appeared at his elbow. Guilt and affection made him smile at her warmly. “Hey, Sweetheart,” he said fondly. “You did super today.”
“Are we finished here?” Piggy demanded. “I’d like to get out of these skates.”
“What? Oh—oh, sure, Honey,” Kermit said. “Here—you want me to…?”
“No thank you,” she said crisply. “I can get it. Are we finished finished? Finished for the day?”
“Um, yes,” Kermit said firmly. “And as soon as I talk to Scooter we’ll go back to—“
Kermit realized he was talking to himself, and looked up in surprise. Piggy was gone. He shrugged, assumingly they’d meet up to ride home together.
She was not waiting at the limo pickup, nor was she waiting at his apartment. Kermit arrived at the hotel somewhat puzzled and more than a little flustered. He found Piggy in her own apartment, up to her chin in foaming bubbles. Her curls were pulled up into a feather ponytail, and she had a glass of something fizzy sitting on the edge of the tub. At the sight of her, Kermit felt his heart start thumping double-time and his knees go all wobbly.
“My girl,” he thought happily. “My wife.”
Piggy had fumed her way through an initial scrub-down, but it is hard to hold onto a grudge when you are squeaky clean, buff, polished and up to your neck in steaming, sudsy water. In spite of her best efforts, she felt her expression go all dreamy and knew she was falling back under his spell. Kermit sat on the edge of the tub.
“You were magnificent today, Piggy,” Kermit said solemnly.
Piggy shrugged, noncommittal, and watched him from under half-closed lids. Kermit tried another tack. “I’m sorry I was such a perfectionist about that skating shot, but we finally got everything we need in the can. You were a real trooper today, Sweetheart. Do you want—“ He caught himself. “Can I rub your feet?”
For answer, one pink foot with immaculately painted toenails emerged out of the water. Kermit smiled, took her foot between his hands and began to knead the ball of her foot gently, giving individual attention to each little, um, piggy. When he was done with that foot, Kermit replaced it beneath the water and fished out her other foot, which received the same tender ministrations. Kermit smiled and tried his puppy dog eyes.
“Still sore?”
Sighing in exasperation, senses humming from his expert handling, Piggy opened her eyes.
“No,” she admitted, “but there is one thing I’d like to know.”
Kermit steeled himself, then squared his shoulders. “Anything,” he said firmly, committed to answering her honestly. “Ask me anything.”
Piggy let her eyelids drift down, lowering her eyelashes coquettishly. Her voice had changed into a sultry growl.
“Are you coming in?” she asked. “Or am I going to have to come out?”
Kermit answer was not really that important. Eventually, all roads lead to Rome.

 

[The Count]

Woot! There's just so much packed into these chapters of yours... It's like digging into a fine meal and not knowing where to start complimenting... So I'll just let Layla take care of the reviews, since that's become one of her fortés.

Small little hiccups in bits of the writing, but those can be overlooked.
There are a few things I'd like to ask...
In the previous chapter you mentioned that Scooter got all the permits to shoot the scenes in the park and Kermit would be ready for his scene with Lonny.
Who's this Lonny?

And one thing from the current chapter I'd like to address.
You refer to the actor playing the character known as The Central Park Thief as Gary Facon.
Where did you find this information? Where does it say his name is "Facon"?
I ask, because to my knoledge, the actor's name is Gary "Taken", but I could be wrong and am always ready to learn should discrepancies arise in order to correct my Muppet Listings.
Hope to hear from you soon... Have something Moppetish to discuss with you. And I'm looking forward to you completing another round of updates with the next of Kermie's Girl now that Somebody's Getting Married and Getting Swamped have received their duances owed.

 

[Ruahnna]

I got some of my information from Muppet Wiki. I assume it's reliable, but it's also a work in progress. Please (anyone) let me know if my source needs tweaking, or go tweak the source yourself! You can, you know, with Muppet Wiki.

Lonny is the name of the young man who plays Ronnie, the play producer. Juliana is the real name of Jenny, the young lady who wants to be the designer. Gary Facon in the name listed on Muppet Wiki for the purse snatcher.

You also asked something earlier that I didn't address. When Kermit leaves Scooter to check on Piggy and says he'll be ready to run his scenes with Lonny, he's refering to his scenes with "Ronnie" outside his dad's office. Later, Kermit refers to checking to see if Miss Rivers (Joan Rivers) is ready to shoot the scene again. The first occurs in real time, the second in a "flashback," if you can call a 24-hour back-look a flashback. I might have been able to make that more clear, but hope this illuminates what I did write. Ah, live and learn.

 

[The Count]

Just checked my list... Yes, Lonny Price is the actor who portrayed Ronnie Crawford and Juliana Donald portrayed Jenny. But the actor who portrayed The Central Park Thief is Gary Tacon with a "T".
Would become a member at Muppet Wiki, but I'm afraid that all the hard work I've poured into perfecting and polishing the list in the four years I've been here at MC from Version 1 when it had about 290 entries to the over 4100 entries in Version 16 would be mangled and manhandled by all the other people there.

Is okay... Just hope more of the story gets posted soon.

 

[The Count]

*Taps fingers on armchair wondering when story'll get updated.

 

[The Count]

Hey!! Didn't somebody get married in this fanfic? Wonder what happened... Guess the honeymoon's over since we haven't gotten an update lately. Hope the love's still there, they'll need it for the longhaul waiting for some more story.
So Cath, if you'd be so kind... More story please?