A Pig Out of Water

Leyla

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Okay, whew, it's been a long day. How nice to come back to stories!

Ruahnna said:
“Yes, fine,” Piggy said. “I just feel like I have water in my ear.”
Ooh, I hate that feeling! I love that Kermit mentioned he doesn't have ears! It's a good thing that he picked up that little trick though.

"Sun-drenched ground" Nice description!

Kermit meant to say something else—meant to say how well she was doing, to tell her how much he appreciated her hard work, to ask her if she’d like to have lunch with him. Before he could figure out what to say and how to say it, Piggy had gathered her things and left.
“Oh well,” he thought philosophically. “I’ll see her at the set.”
Oh Kermit, he who hesitates loses the pig, silly. Really though, he's lucky she's so steadfast in her infatuation or she'd have been off and gone to greener (ahem) pastures long ago. I like him playing the suitor though, it's so cute!

He did not look at Piggy, who was not looking at him.
Then how did he know? :wink: Seriously, I like that line a lot.

Her eyes were steady, but Kermit thought—hoped, maybe—that there was just the tiniest plea for understanding there. He squared his shoulders and pasted a smile on his face.
Ooh, I'm intrigued. I really don't know how to interpret Piggy there but I sure can picture Kermit's reaction.

“No,” Kermit said quickly. “I just wanted to tell you that we’ll be filming on location by the lake tomorrow.” I thought maybe we could take a picnic.


I don't know whether to feel sorry for him or a bit gleeful at the turning of tables. I'll go with a bit of both.

Jealousy brought out some interesting things in Kermit, but patience wasn’t one of them.
It opens a big nasty fight scene, but I can't help but laugh at that line! Poor Piggy. I mean, sure it sounds great being a diva, but there's an awful lot of pressure... and as for her upset at not meeting Kermit's expectations, well, I've often wondered at how things would go if she ever fell apart from all that pressure and frustration. You handled that scene beautifully, Ru.

“What’s wrong with you, Piggy?” Kermit barked irritably. “Do the sequence right for once tonight, won’t you?”
“I’m trying!”
“Then try harder. If we can’t pull this thing together, all of this misery will have been for nothing.”
I skirted around this in my previous post, but I love how much this scene reflects/foreshadows the argument in GMC.

Let’s see you try to do all these things while somebody’s watching you, waiting for you to mess up!”
Kermit grew quiet, feeling ashamed. “No one’s waiting for you to mess—“
“I hate this! I hate not being good at something!” Piggy shouted, but her voice was almost a wail. Kermit heard the anger in her voice, but the pain came shimmering through. He was very afraid she might cry because—if she did—it would be his fault.
So much to love about this! Kermit feeling guilty, not wanting her to cry. Piggy hating that she doesn't find it easy, and actually admitting that! Great stuff!

She looked at Kermit and felt the invisible pull, drowning in it, and gazed at him with longing in her eyes.
Sigh... and even when she's upset with him, she still feels "the invisible pull". Gorgeous.

To Kermit, it sounded like heaven, like childhood, like home. He did not stop to think, didn’t want to think, wanted only….
“Just once,” Piggy said raggedly, “couldn’t you kiss me when the film isn’t rolling?”
Oh my. See how silly you are, Kermit? And you're being all jealous and thinking she's not interested... ergh, I love the frog, but I'd like to shake some sense into him sometimes. Naturally, the kiss melted me into a puddle, comme toujours.

Kermit wasn’t thinking bout what he’d said. He was looking into her eyes and seeing something old and new and timeless. Something he wanted—something he’d almost lost. Before he could act, Piggy took another step back.
They just can't get in sync on this thing can they? It's okay though, I love all the melodrama of it. Beautiful writing.

Sheesh, he though miserably. I am so out of my element.
At least he knows it. Great line there, Ruahnna. Connects so wonderfully with swimming and the swamp memories... lovely.

Huggles, this'll probably be my last review for a while!
Leyla
 

Ruahnna

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Ooh, Leyla, honey--thanks for the nice review of the previous section. I was apparently posting at the same time you were! Have a great time at your French experience!
This one has taken a surprisingly complex turn, but don't despair--it's going to be okay at the end. Don't feel too sorry for Kermit. Much as I adore him, he can be a real pain. (You'll notice at the end of the "kissing through the mesh" scene that Piggy says "I love you, Rosenthal" but Kermit's script is apparently mum on the subject.)
 

TogetherAgain

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<Falls over>

My gosh, Ruahnna... I've just gotta say, I LOVE how you did that scene... And I'm really, truly, amazed at... well, at how different it is from how I intend to approach it when I get there in Flippersteps, and yet how equally truthful it is. Wow. I'm just... wow. That's impressive. I really love this.

MORE PLEASE!
 

Ruahnna

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TogetherAgain said:
<Falls over>
My gosh, Ruahnna... I've just gotta say, I LOVE how you did that scene... And I'm really, truly, amazed at... well, at how different it is from how I intend to approach it when I get there in Flippersteps, and yet how equally truthful it is. Wow. I'm just... wow. That's impressive. I really love this.
MORE PLEASE!
So glad you liked it--can't wait to see what you do. (I am SO behind on my reading....)
 

TogetherAgain

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...Yes... And I would hate for you to fall behind on your writing, too...

And, to be honest, I can't wait to see what I do, either. Well, I mean, I kind of know what I'm going to do, but I haven't really... seen it yet... if that makes any sense at all... But then why make sense when it's more profitable to make dollars?

MORE PLEASE!
 

Ruahnna

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In for a tadpole....

When several moments had passed, Fozzie came over and sat down beside Piggy on the park bench. She had not moved, but she turned and looked at him when he sat down.
Fozzie took his hat off hastily and held his hands up in the air. “No hitting! I’m the bear, not the frog.” He gave her a lop-sided grin.
It was such a dumb joke, and they had darn near beaten the poor thing to death during filming…. In spite of herself, Piggy smiled faintly and Fozzie dared to scoot a little closer.
“I’m sorry you’re having such a rough day,” Fozzie said gently. His eyes were kind, his expression earnest, and Piggy appreciated the effort he was making.
“Yes,” she agreed. “This is not the best day I’ve had in a while.”
“You’re doing so many things,” Fozzie continued. “I have trouble concentrating on what I’m doing while I’m doing it. I don’t know how you’re doing everything you’re doing.”
“Out of necessity,” Piggy joked, an old Ethel Merman line, and Fozzie caught it and said “Wah! Good one!” He leaned forward, giving Piggy a big-eyed look of admiration.
“And you are doing everything so well.”
Piggy eyed Fozzie suspiciously. “Fozzie—did Kermit send you over here to say those things?”
“No!” Fozzie looked shocked. He lacked the sophistication to lie effectively, so Piggy took him at face value. He squirmed for a moment, however, then finally said, “But that is what I’ve been hearing every single day we’ve been filming.”
Surprise made Piggy turn toward Fozzie on the bench, her expression inquisitive. “From Kermit?”
“Um hm,” Fozzie said hastily. “We’re sharing a suite at the hotel, you know. You’re all Kermit talks about when he’s, um, there.” He had almost said something he hadn’t meant to—something that worried him. Kermit had been getting up early and leaving—ostensibly for the set, but on at least two occasions Fozzie had arrived earlier than usual on the set and seen Kermit arrive after him. Also, Kermit always stayed after, but there were times when Fozzie had called the set and been told by the watchman that Kermit had been gone some time—and yet was not home. Fozzie could not imagine Kermit was up to anything he ought not to be, but he did not know what to think instead. Wanting to reassure her—wanting to reassure himself—Fozzie leaned forward and took her hand, patting it softly. “Piggy, Kermit didn’t mean—“
“Fozzie, don’t. You’re very sweet, but I—I don’t want to talk about this. I’m very tired, Fozzie. Could you—I mean, would you drive me back to my hotel?”
“Sure, Miss Piggy.” He took her hand and helped her up the bank.

Standing near the gazebo, Kermit watched them go, torn between gratefulness and misery. Good ol’ Fozzie, Kermit thought with a sigh. I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like him. Fozzie handed Piggy into one of the studio cars and shut her door before walking around to the driver’s side and getting in. Kermit watched the car until it disappeared around the curve of the lake, but Piggy’s profile never changed. She didn’t look back—not even once.
“Um, Kermit—“ Scooter said, and Kermit knew by the sound of his voice that there was no more time for selfish indulgence. It was time to be the director again. He turned and met Scooter’s anxious eyes.
“Um, I hate to bother you….” Scooter began uncomfortably.
Kermit put his hand on Scooter’s arm. “Please,” he said, his eyes wistful. “I could use a distraction.”

Kermit was exhausted when the filming day finally ended. Although he’d spent a good portion of the day climbing in and out of a box ostensibly floating in the water, he found himself veering not for the hotel—where he would just have to endure the annoyed, pitying or just plain curious stares of all his friends—but for the pool where he had lately spent such sweet time with Piggy.
The night was warm and still, and Kermit shucked off his outer garments and dove straight in. The water welcomed him, as it always did, with the buoyant promise of peacefulness, but Kermit was anything but peaceful tonight. He swam—not with lazy paddling flippers, but with grim, determined strokes that pierced the water. The sky, which had been so full of stars a few nights ago, was overcast except for a palely shimmering moon, whose glow illuminated the water only faintly. Back and forth, back and forth, Kermit swam the length of the pool, pushing himself as he had pushed her, forcing himself to reach, to extend. Finally, when his arms and legs felt shaky and his lungs actually hurt, Kermit hauled himself out of the water and began to towel off.
The gate opened soundlessly so it wasn’t the noise. Some sixth sense—some awareness of her—alerted him, and he turned in time to see her step through. She was wearing street clothes, however—not her bathing suit—and would not look directly at him.
Kermit toweled off hastily but did not approach her, letting her know she could have space if she needed it. Breathlessly he waited for her to speak, to act, to look at him. At last, she sat on one of the stone benches scattered around the edge of the pool. There was plenty of room left on the bench, and she indicated by her attitude that he was welcome to sit. He sat.
“I’m sorry,” Piggy said quietly. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I said some things I shouldn’t—some things I didn’t mean.” And some I did. “Piggy, please don’t apologize. I feel like a heel. I said some things today I didn’t mean, that I never should have said. I—I acted terrible, and I’m really sorry. Please say—“
“Kermit, don’t,” Piggy said, her voice low. Kermit couldn’t see her eyes but he felt like she was crying, or close to it.
“Piggy—“ He reached out tentatively, wanting to take her hand, but she shrank away from him. It would be a long time before they could put this afternoon behind them. Kermit saw it and felt his heart clench in his chest, but he plunged on determinedly. “I put a scene in a movie—a stupid scene in a movie—above your well-being. I’ve been pushing you too hard.”
“You’ve been working hard, too,” Piggy objected.
If anything, her defense of his actions made him more ashamed. “My motivation was selfish—I wanted something.”
“I wanted something, too,” Piggy said, then blushed and fell silent. “I wanted to do the scene,” she said distinctly. She looked out, away from him. “I want to do the scene.”
“Piggy, no—you’ve got too much to think about. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“I could have said no. I didn’t.”
Kermit laughed without mirth. “That’s my fault. I’m so used to you being, well, perfect. I’m used to you being able to do anything. Just because I asked you. I-I took advantage, Piggy.”
“No—“
“I did. And I’m really sorry.”
Piggy looked up at him suddenly. Her face was earnest, but her eyes were sad. “Kermit,” she said urgently. “I like you. I like you a lot.” There had been a time when Piggy had openly professed her undying passion for him in front of crowds of friends and acquaintances, but this simple admission somehow moved him more than all of those protestations of love. Kermit smiled and reached again for her hand. This time, after the slightest of hesitations, she let him take it between his own.
“I like you too, Piggy.”
“I think you got the wrong idea the other day about me and…Charlie and the, the picnic. He’s very sweet but he’s not, I mean, I don’t—“ She looked at the bench, blushing furiously. “I don’t feel that way about Charlie. It’s just, I wanted to go on a picnic.” He face set in a sweet, pouty line that make Kermit want to snatch her up and kiss her. “Shouldn’t someone want to take me on a picnic?”
Kermit smiled, his expression rueful. “Someone did,” he admitted. “Only he was too preoccupied to make a proper invitation.”
“Oh, I don’t care about that,” Piggy said, embarrassed. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just I—I don’t know if I can even explain it. It just seemed so, well, romantic and everything, and I—I wanted someone to want to take me out, to want to be with me, so I—“
“I want to be with you, Piggy.” For a moment, Kermit sat stock-still, his mind reeling. Had he said that? Had he said that out loud? He had—he had said that out loud, and if he needed any confirmation all he had to do was look at Piggy’s radiant and astonished face.
“Kermit?”
In for a tadpole, in for a frog….
“Piggy, look—I know I’m not a very impulsive kind of guy.”
Piggy made a small noise that might have been a snort, but when he shot her a look her face was composed.
“I was always taught to look before I leap. Sometimes, when I’m with you, I can’t think about where I’m going to land. Sometimes, I don’t think I ever will land.” Piggy swallowed hard. For a guy who wasn’t usually demonstrative, Kermit was doing pretty good. “I just, it’s just that I can’t handle one more distraction right now. I’m having a hard time just doing the work. I can’t do my best if I’m thinking about you all the time.”
“About me?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Yep. That’s why I was such an idiot this afternoon. I was jealous and miserable and—“
Piggy leaned forward and silenced him with her hand, not her lips. Kermit was momentarily disappointed, but her hand on his cheek was satiny soft and it felt nice.
“Oh, Kermit—I, I’m so glad to hear you say that—all of that.” She pulled her hand away from his cheek, blushing a little. "Sometime, it’s hard to work with you when we’re dating.” She shot him a daring look from under veiled lashes. “I like to give things that are important to me my undivided attention.”
Kermit made a little “hm?” of interest that caused her to scoot back on the bench in alarm, but he subsided and reached for her hand again.
“But I can’t do all this—the swimming, the dancing, the motorcycle scene—I just can’t do all of that if I’m worrying about us.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Kermit began, but Piggy shushed him.
“I need you to be my director, Kermit. And my coach. And my friend. I need your help. I want to make this movie—your movie—“
“Our movie,” Kermit insisted.
“Our movie,” Piggy said obediently. “I want it to be the best I can make it, but I don’t think we can do that while we’re, um, trying to work out whatever this thing is between us.”
She fell silent, and they gazed at each other for a long moment. At last, Kermit sighed.
“I am your friend, Piggy, and I will be your coach—that is, if you’ll still—“
“I will. I want to. I didn’t come dressed for it tonight, but—“
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow is fine.”
“Tomorrow morning, then.”
They sat for a moment longer, eyes still locked. Kermit leaned forward, brought his voice down to a whisper.
“Do you think maybe two friends could share a kiss—you know, seal the bargain and everything?” he asked hopefully. Piggy looked at him gravely, withdrawing her hand.
“No,” she said firmly. “I don’t think so.”
“Piggy—“
Piggy stood. Her eyes were luminous, her smile a mona-lisa smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Coach,” she said gently, and left him again.
 

ReneeLouvier

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Wow...so beautiful! I loved the thing with Fozzie!! That was just so awesome!!!!
 

Ruahnna

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Very good friends

Kermit inserted his key into the hotel door and eased into the room. Frogs have excellent night vision, and he did not need much light to navigate the Spartan room that he and Fozzie were sharing. Yes—he could have had his own room—Piggy had her own suite—but Fozzie was happier with a room-mate, and Kermit was happy to have Fozzie contentedly underfoot. Although Kermit might have wished for more privacy, he was about to discover the true value of having a stalwart friend as a room-mate. He had just slipped beneath the sheets when the nightstand light came on, and Kermit blinked a little in surprise. Fozzie was sitting on the edge of the other twin bed, looking at Kermit with a miserable expression on his face.
“Fozzie?”
Fozzie didn’t say anything for a moment, but he was obviously upset.
“Fozzie—is everything okay?”
“No!” Fozzie burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. “What are you doing? Where are you going every morning and night? Oh Kermit,Kermit—PLEASE tell me you are not making a mess out of everything!”
For a moment, Kermit was too astonished to say anything, then he began to stammer out a prefabricated response.
“Nothing, Fozzie, I mean, I’m just working—”
“You’re going out to meet someone—I know you are, and today you and Piggy had such an awful fight. I’m worried for you Kermit—you are going to mess up everything.” He subsided, but only for a second. “And she is going to KILL YOU.”
His alarm was so genuine, so palpable that—in spite of his best efforts—Kermit began to smile.
“This is not funny!” Fozzie cried. He sprang out of bed and clasped Kermit’s shoulders. “Kermit—this is serious!”
Kermit grasped Fozzie’s arms firmly.
“Fozzie—it’s okay.”
“It is NOT!”
With effort, Kermit caught Fozzie’s wild gaze and held it for a moment until Fozzie stopped panting and looked at him. “Fozzie—it’s okay. I’ve been with Piggy.”
“Piggy?” Fozzie had to think, to process a moment. When the light dawned, Fozzie blushed furiously—Kermit couldn’t see it beneath his fur, but he felt the wave of heat as the blood surged to Fozzie’s cheeks. “Oh,” Fozzie said uncomfortably. “Well, if you’ve been with Piggy, then—“ Another light dawned, and Fozzie looked scandalized. “Kermit!”
It was Kermit’s turn to blush. “No, Fozzie—that’s not what I, I mean, we aren’t, um—I’ve been teaching her to swim.” Sorry Piggy, Kermit thought. I can’t protect your secret at the cost of your reputation.
“Swim?” Fozzie stared again, uncomprehending. “But Piggy already knows how to swim.”
“That’s just it,” Kermit said. “She doesn’t. Well, I mean, she does now, but we’re still working on it.”
“So you’ve been…swimming.”
“Um hum.”
“Every morning and evening?”
“Yes.”
“And Piggy is just learning.”
“Yes—but she’s doing terrific. You ought to see her, Fozzie—she’s doing great.”
Fozzie gave him a deeply suspicious look. Something was wrong here. The last time he’d seen Kermit he had been one unhappy amphibian. Now he sounded content—almost happy.
“Where have you been just now?”
Kermit began to smile again. “I’ve been with Piggy.”
Fozzie shook his head doggedly. “She was very mad at you.” Suddenly, he covered his mouth with both hands. “You’ve been coaching her?”
“Yes,” Kermit repeated patiently.
Fozzie gave him the most parental, disapproving look he could give. “No wonder she was mad at you.”
Kermit blushed again. “Yes,” he agreed, “but we—we fixed it Fozzie. Piggy and I made up.”
Fozzie face overspread with joy. “Really really?”
“Really.”
“So you two are back together?”
Kermit squirmed. How to explain something he barely understood himself. “No, I mean, yes, I mean—yes, we’re together. We’re always going to be together, Fozzie. But no—right now, we’re not dating. We both thought—that is, we thought it might be better for both of us if we could just be good friends for a while.” Very good friends, his subconscious insisted. Very, very good friends.
For a moment, Fozzie searched his face. At last, Fozzie smiled, apparently satisfied with what he saw there. “Well, good,” he said firmly. “And you’re not going to argue anymore?”
Kermit had the good sense to know when to hedge his bets. “Let’s just say we’re going to try.”
 

ReneeLouvier

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Aw....that's just so CUTE!!!! =^-^= I love the big ol' teddy bear, Fozzie!! Aw, this is just so undeniablely cute, Ru!
 
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