Muppet Oneshots + Drabbles

Night Under the Stars | GB!Muppets AU

Words: 3547

Another boring day had come and gone. That's how it was supposed to go, but Kerrine had thought that the Muppets deserved a break from working on the "Up Late with Mr. Piggy" show. With that, the others had decided to disperse to their own thing, leaving the amphibian alone in her office for work. But this story isn't about her, nor is it about the Pig and Aunt Deadly's wardrobe dilemma, it's about the House Band of the Muppets, Lady Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. As soon as Kerrine had announced the day off, all six members already knew what they were going to do. Well, maybe not Zoot, but she tags along no matter what happens.

Currently, they were all crowded around their van, attempting to shove as many portable instruments on top of the roof and in the small space in the back that is supposed to be the trunk. Almost everyone was accounted for in the moment and all of Lady Teeth's harmonicas were in the box under the seats. Key word: almost. Their resident bassist, Florence Machina, had claimed that she forgot something important on the stage and ran back inside to retrieve it. She has since been unaccounted for in the past 10 minutes they've been packing the essentials.

"Joan, where's your girlfriend? If we wanna skedaddle outta here, we gotta be on the road in a minute or so," Lady Teeth asks, securing the mountain of items on the van's roof. Joan turns to her and gives her a shrug, unsure about it himself. Sure, they stuck together almost like glue, but that doesn't mean he should be so into her life that she hates him. Relationships need patience, trust, and other things he doesn't remember off the top of his head.

"Do you want me to call her?"

"Please and thank you".

"Florence! What's holdin' you up? We, like, totally gotta get going if we wanna get that spot!" Joan yells, packing his guitar with the other stratocaster tucked safely in its case. Florence had always been a bit late to things, but on occasion, she would be ready before anyone else and being extremely impatient. Joan takes a quick glance inside of the vehicle and takes a few notes about where his bandmates were.

Animal had, quite literally, hopped in the passenger seat while Lady Teeth was trying to gather her jewelry from the front compartment, making the area more crowded than needed. Zoot and Lips had already made themselves at home in the far back seats with at least three feet between them. Lips was brushing her hair out with her hands, a bandana tightly settled between her teeth, and Zoot was already snoring away next to her, long blue bangs obscuring the eyes of the mysterious saxophonist. No sign of Florence anywhere.

"Joan, I saw Florence in your hangout area. She was looking at stuff on the floor," Crazy Harley informs as she and Lewanna walk past the van. Both had recently begun to date and many wonder if it's a good or bad thing. Relationship questions aside, Joan nods at the girls and strides into the building in an almost desperate search. The corridors inside twisted and turned in such a way that could make even the smartest person to get lost. Carol the Big Mean was also an obstacle if one wished to get from the Office to the door without an annoyed yell. She was, thankfully, taking the day off as well, creating a quick path for Joan to the hangout spot.

The smell of lavender and chamomile would overwhelm a person's senses immediately if one were to step inside. Using those scents helped two things with the band: to calm down an extremely rowdy Animal and to keep the smell of cannabis on a down low from the executives, though mainly from Samantha Eagle's nose. Joan was hit with that smell as he brushed past the hanging, hand-strung beads, his eyes adjusting to the darkened atmosphere to find Florence seated on one of their two couches. Strewn in front of her were a few CD's in their cases, one in her hand, that she quickly covered up upon Joan's entry.

"Florence, we really need to go. Lady Teeth is really pressed on time for this trip," Joan explains, pointing in the general direction of the parking lot. Florence just nods and stuffs the disk in her pocket as she stands up. For a moment, Joan forgets that they're dating and smiles softly at Florence, silently reminiscing when he was first falling for Florence in their "Muppet Show" days. Back when Florence's hair was almost down to her knees. He's brought out of his trance when Florence grabs his wrist and practically drags him out of the building. Reminiscing for too long can do that to him, next to meditating for over four hours and tuning his guitar's A string. Both weaved their way through the empty office area, to the stage, and out to the parking lot. Lady Teeth stood leaning against the side of the van, drumming her fingers on her arm in a rhythmic pattern.