The Universe's Mixer

It happened overnight, as many things did within its walls. In the morning, the inhabitants were going to wake up to a very fun surprise. It felt that it had been a bit remiss lately in celebrating holidays, though most of the people here seemed to find their own way to celebrate the last few. But this one, this one it wanted to play with and make memorable.

The first one appeared with a low ~thwop~ sound as it seemed to fall out of thin air onto the chilly sidewalk. The small being stood, took off his tiny green bowler hat to dust it off and looked about. The City was pleased, very pleased, with the look of the little man. He was exactly what it had envisioned, unlike certain large beings of the same ilk. No, this was much better.

It was so much better that the City decided that its original estimate of how many it would need was far, far too low. The first creature was quickly joined by many of his bretheren in rapid succession, each appearing with the same low popping noise, like the muted sound of popcorn bursting out of its kernels. By the time the sound stopped, there were countless numbers of two-foot tall leprechauns standing about in a myriad of shades of green.

Oh yes. Yes, this was going to be a great deal of fun. And this time, instead of one magical creature, as had been the case with the Cupid last year, there were many. So everybody would be able to join in the fun. It was just an added bit of wonderful irony that the place where the newest inhabitants had appeared was mere steps away from where another leprechaun, a much larger leprechaun, lay as he slept off the large quantity of liquor he’d consumed.

Having started, the City was further inspired by its little visitors. They were not enough. There would have to be more, much more, to make its inhabitants get into the spirit of the holiday and to make its leprechauns feel at home. A new color. And some gold. And, oh, there were so many ideas.

This was going to be fun.

When Sam rolled out of bed and into the shower that morning, he'd just grabbed the first clean shirt that he could get his hands on. He didn't really know where half of his clothes had come from, despite the fact that he still had to do his laundry from time to time. He certainly hadn't had much on him when he had arrived. But this was a new shirt, he was sure of it. It just happened to be in his closet. It just happened to be green.

When he came out of the shower, tugging the green shirt over abs that would make Twilight and Supernatural fans alike want to bake cookies on his stomach and sigh when said shirt met his jeans, he went back to the closet to grab another layer--wondering what was up with the crack-fic commentary in his head. Was it something in the City air? And what was up with all the green? Was it March already?

Green, green, green. Button-downs. Tees. Everything but his jeans and his old jacket, and whatever dirty laundry was stuffed into the hamper that was in need of taking to the laundromat. He glanced down. Even his boxers were green plaid. He went to his drawer and pulled out a pair of socks. "Thank God." They were regular, white-and-gray crew socks. He didn't think he could have dealt with argyle.

Not when he was hearing strange noises from the kitchen area. He poked his head out once he was satisfactorily dressed, his brow furrowing at the sight of an open cupboard door. He didn't remember leaving anything open the night before, but he shrugged it off and turned on his computer. Another scuffling, scurrying noise, followed by a creak, and then a thump. He peered into the kitchen again and the cupboard door was shut. Was it his imagination, or did the revolving corner cupboard swing on its carousel an inch or two? "Oh, no, you don't..."

It had been some time since the KWIT crew took over the air ways, but the City felt it was time again to show their beaming faces. Plus, this was good news, not the bad news like last time. Snow was definitely for the birds.

Frank and Candy smiled brightly at the camera as the screens of so many televisions, monitors, and yes, even those fancy phones came into focus. The pair were all decked out in green and seemed rather proud to match the green background, the green desk, the green chairs. There was even a green tinting to the light; how they managed not to disappear with all that green really was a magical physics mystery that only the City could provide.

"We-he-hell. Welcome to the KWIT news room. We've got some very exciting news for all our wonderful viewers-" Frank beamed.

"Yes, that's right, Frank. We certainly do." Candy cut in trying to outshine her co-anchor.

"We've gone green! The whole City in fact." The picture cut to various shots of well-known City places like the Library, the Hospital, the Police Station, which were now all decked out in green bunting and shamrocks. The people milling about, coming and going, were also dressed in green, hospital staff, library clerks, and yes, even the police officers. Soon, the picture was back on Candy and Frank.

"Frank, can you believe it? It took us this long to finally catch on to that bandwagon?" Candy turned to look at Frank for only a second before turning back to the camera with that vapid smile.

"No, Candy, I can't. Well, going green certainly takes the worry out of matching up the clothes, doesn't it?" Frank gave Candy a knowing glance, and Candy glanced down at her outfit to make sure her clothes did indeed in all their greenness match.

"You're so very right, Frank. More news though. We've got little green men!"

"Oh, Candy, they're not green; they're just dressed in green, but they are certainly little. I've got one living in my closet right now!" The picture changed once more; this time little men in their green outfits looking very much like what most people expect out of leprechauns. Frank voiced over. "Yes, nothing like that one fellow, are they?"

"No, Frank, no. They're real leprechauns." Candy and Frank were back in view. "Rumor has it, there are pots of gold all around the City, and these little men know where to find them. Does the little man in your closet have some gold?"

"Well, that's why they call it a rumor, Candy. No, the little man in my closet likes my shoes; he didn't come with gold." Frank smiled. "He's actually a pretty good little shoeshine."

Candy smiled awkwardly, not sure how to move on, as Frank seemed rather smitten with his leprechaun. He started to talk about the way the little man was fascinated by the shiny buckles and buttons on his clothes. Candy looked up at the camera, lost, but then smiled brightly again.

"Well, that's all. Remember, go green! Actually, you don't have much of a choice. The City has taken care of all of it!" Candy continued to smile at the camera, and Frank kept babbling. The picture blacks out, and everything is returned to "normal."