Work Text:
The apartment was dark except for the glow of the monitor and a lone 40 watt bulb in the lamp. (At three in the morning it better be.) The only sounds were the ticking of the keyboard and the swish of the ceiling fan. And the giggles of the writer as she typed.
DuncanMuse was asleep on the couch. So were the cats. Five of them, anyway.
A sixth was tucked away inside MethosMuse' sweater. Another was lounging on the printer. The other two were lurking.
"You know I hate it when you read over my shoulder."
~Hm. Are you sure about that?~
"What? That I hate it?"
~No. What you just wrote.~
"Sure. Of course." She turned and looked at him. Suspicious as usual. And with good reason! "Why," she asked sharply.
~Well.~ MethosMuse walked over and shoved the couch. Dislodging the sleeping DuncanMuse and the cats.
=What was that for,= DuncanMuse asked grumpily. He sat up and stretched and yawned and both the writer and MethosMuse watched...
~Um.~ MethosMuse had to stop and adjust--things--before he could continue. ~Remember that talk we had? About her writing about things she hadn't experienced?~
DuncanMuse thought about it for a moment. =Oh, yeah, right.= He grinned and the writer knew she was in trouble.
"And what--exactly--did you have in mind?"
~You know.~
"Ah, gods no. Ick. Just the thought." She shivered.
=How do you know? You've never even tried it.=
"Don't want to."
~Oh, right. But you can write about it all you want? What a hypocrite!~
"I am not!"
=Yes you are. You make us do it all the time.=
"That's different, and you know it."
~Chicken.~
She hated it when they did that. But maybe they were right. It was a silly, probably unfounded, prejudice. Maybe. "Well, maybe. Just once. But you can't tell anyone."
~We swear!~
The writer sighed. Both of the Muses could look so innocent.
"Okay."
~Right, great. Here...~
Intrigued despite herself, she looked at it as it was held before her eyes. Then MethosMuse waggled it, and a few drops of moisture fell onto her shirt.
"I, I can't," she said breathlessly.
DuncanMuse came up behind her and put his strong hands on her shoulders. =Sure you can. Just close your eyes and enjoy it. Go on, give it a lick.=
~Please,~ MethosMuse said in his best cajoling voice. ~For me? For us? For all of us?~
She groaned. "Oh, all right Give it here."
The Muses exchanged pleased glances over her head.
The writer took it. Took a tentative taste. She grimaced, and before she could push it away MethosMuse tipped...
"Gaack" Fluid flooded into her mouth.
~Swallow!~
She did, but only because there wasn't anything else she could do. Gagging noises followed...
The Muses sighed in unison.
~At least you tried.~
=We're sorry=
"I told you, I don't like beer!"
End
Originally posted 7-18-01
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.