VMars Fic: Going Somewhere 1/?
Nov. 16th, 2007 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
awritinglilypeaTitle: Going Somewhere
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The disclaimer can be found in my profile. To put it simply don't own, don't sue.
Summary: Veronica has had a lot to think about lately, and when she runs into Weevil one day in the hallway she finds she has a lot more to think about, like why she can't stop watching him no matter what he does.
It reminds her a little too much of what happened when Lilly died, how he had immediately jumped on Jake Kane, losing his job, and effectively losing his job in the process. Like maybe now his skills won’t be up to par because he’ll be clouded by the shine of the badge or something. Resentment swells within her at times, seeing him in that uniform, it’s just wrong. Its how their life used to be not how it is right now. They were supposed to be a team always, but suddenly she can’t team up with him, and it’s like the Dad and Sacks show, not really, but she can’t help but feel slightly jealous especially now that she is supposed to be going away for an internship. She wants her life to change, wants to have an epic of her own, not one just including Logan Echolls, filled with too much drama and not enough stability.
So she goes for the safe guy, trying to like him, even to love him perhaps, going through the motions, ignoring Wallace’s warnings about how Piz is possibly too nice to be involved in Veronica Mars’ world, and perhaps he’s right. Maybe she is some kind of man eater or something, a person destined to be alone, doomed by her own paranoia when it comes to trusting men. Which doesn’t make sense anymore does it, because the only guy who ever did her wrong really was Beaver…Cassidy, it was a woman who broke her heart and twisted her into knots, two women, she had been dragged into Lilly Kane’s world, a world filled with deceit and shallowness, and boys like Duncan Kane, Logan Echolls, Troy Vandergraff and Dick Casablancas, not exactly men you would ever want to spend your life with, and Lily herself, a girl who was her best friend, but at the same time had never bothered to tell the truth. Sometimes it felt like she hadn’t really known Lily, after all she’d never been told about Aaron, or Weevil, or about how Lilly’s dad had slept with her mom.
What was it Lilly had wanted to tell her about that night after the car wash? Was she going to tell Veronica about Aaron, the abusive father to her boyfriend who loved her more than anything? Or Eli “Weevil” Navarro, who could have fallen head over heels in love with Lilly? If only Lilly had bothered to care, bothered to reach past the 09er upbringing and see what was actually there. Would she have told Veronica the truth ever? It seemed Lilly Kane was capable of betrayal even in death, and Veronica couldn’t help but wonder if it was something she would have grown past, or if she would have ended up shrewd and cynical like Celeste. Veronica doesn’t think so, just because of how much Lily resented her mother, but truly was there anything stopping them from becoming their parents in the end? Logan was always filled with an anger that just screamed of years of abuse, and sometimes in his eyes a degree of darkness that didn’t speak of murder, but of imminent self destruction, and Veronica desperately didn’t know if she could stop herself from sinking with him should he fall beneath the waves.
Logan never truly betrayed her, not like she tried to say he had. If anything Logan had always been too honest with her, brutal at times. His hatred for her after Lilly’s death and Keith’s accusal of Jake Kane had been honest, he had resented her greatly, not only for what her father had done, but because she had been the one to break him and Lilly up. After all he needed more then one reason, people who also are visited by sins of the father live in glass houses and shouldn’t throw stones. Despite his hatred, his burning resentment of her he had known that she was the best one to go to when he needed help, whether it be a poker game or the death of the only women who had genuinely been able to care for him without feeling some major dislike, his mother, and even she hadn’t bothered to try and stop his father’s actions, the scars along his skin engrained in herself.
Sometimes it still seemed like he resented her in a way, looking at her with darkened eyes swirling with so many emotions that she couldn’t bother to figure them out, if Lilly and him hadn’t broken up he could have married her, the marriage of one of the two most exclusive families in Neptune, never knowing that his father was having sex with his girlfriend behind his back. Maybe even best friend to the future President of the United States, if no one had found out about Duncan’s illness; although with George Bush as President someone with epilepsy and the ability to fly into psychotic rages might be a step up, you just never know.
The other woman who had betrayed Veronica had been her mother, the person she resented possibly the most in the world, because Logan had at times lied to her he had been blunt about other things, not like Lianne Mars, a woman who lied about her possible paternity for years all the while fleecing Veronica and her father along the way. She had left, hoping to protect her daughter then had come home before going to rehab and returning, lying to her family, plotting to steal from them at the best moment. If people ended up like their parents then Veronica would rather die then end up like her mother, she was definitely a Mars through and through. It had been no real surprise to her when she had looked through her family tree to find out that her mother was somehow related to Dick and Cassidy, it kind of made sense, kind of explained how her mother acted, but not really. So how had Veronica become a man eater anyway? Was it to do with her mother? Or had she actually spent a little too much time with people like Lilly, Madison and Shelly?
It was becoming more often that she would get together with Mac for lunch, listening to her talk and just be amazed, because here was someone who had been truly betrayed and lied to by her boyfriend. He had killed a busload of people, raped Veronica and had left her in a hotel with a bunch of people. Perhaps it could have all be prevented if his family had been a little bit kinder, less consumed in their own lives and taken the time to notice that he had been molested, the reason for him being so timid, so twisted and messed up was because someone had taken advantage of him. But here was Mac, a year or so later and she had healed, not all the way but healed somewhat, enough to trust Bronson and then after that Max, and the two of them were cute together. Although Veronica herself was finding it harder and harder to find resentment for Cassidy, someone who had been much more damaged then she could ever imagine being, like if she allowed herself to hate him for the rest of her life she might actually end up like him in some way and that was a thought that terrified Veronica more than almost anything. Only one thing scared her more, the thought of her bitterness and life experiences reflecting on someone else, and making them unhappy.
One day she takes Wallace’s advice, shortly after getting the FBI internship and goes to see Piz, she tries to spare his feelings, to let him know that she does in fact in some way care about him, just not enough, not enough for someone as sweet and caring as him. He hasn’t been tainted by Neptune, probably won’t live there long enough to be tainted by it and she doesn’t want to aid in that. She doesn’t want him to get pulled into her life which has always been more dangerous than any teenage girl’s life has any right to be, not when he’s been given such good opportunities to leave Neptune. He looks at her and she feels her stomach drop, because she hadn’t realized how much he felt for her, that he had in fact most likely fallen for her the moment he laid eyes on her standing at the door to his and Wallace’s dorm room. He had waited and been supportive through Logan, at the time like she thought Wallace had, but it had been more, possibly less than that depending on how deep those feelings ran. He looked at her like a kicked puppy and she swallowed heavily surprised to find a lump in her throat and tried to convince herself that it was not tears stinging her eyes but the new contacts she had been required to get.
“I’m sorry,” Her voice is hoarse and her chest is tighter then it has any right to be, because she is once again the one breaking up with him, just like she has the guys before him, she isn’t in love with him and she knows it. It isn’t right to drag this on any longer, to let him get even more hurt in the end when he has to leave for New York, or when she has to leave for Quantico in Virginia. “I just…I don’t want you to get hurt.”
His hair falls slightly into his face as he slips his arms from around her waist where they had been since she walked into the room, a small smile tugging at his lips very briefly before falling away and he nods sharply. “It’s funny, because from where I stand Veronica, there’s no way that you can stop this from hurting,” His voice is hoarse too and the corner’s of his lips drag down, his eyes concealed partially by a veil, something she is kind of glad of because she doesn’t want to have to see his pain, doesn’t want to have to stomach it, not right now. “Do you mind if I ask why? Was I not epic enough for you Veronica?” He breathes out, as though the words almost didn’t make their way out of his chest, and then there’s bitterness and he keeps saying her name like some people did in high school, like Logan did shortly after Lilly’s death and it feels like someone is sitting on her chest, compressing her lungs and not caring for someone enough shouldn’t hurt this much.
Veronica breathes in sharply and her eyes close for a moment, Logan’s face flashing in front of her eyes as she jerks her head from side to side in denial, it isn’t that, it was never that he wasn’t Logan whether he believed that or not, it was about him being something sweeter. The sweeter side of life she could have if she just bothered to risk it, something safer then she’d been involved in in the past, but she couldn’t use him like that anymore. “N-no,” She hates that her voice comes out in a stutter and then cracks, a single tear slipping down her cheek, cracking the mask she held so dear for protection. “I don’t want you to get dragged into my world Piz; you’re too good for it.” She murmurs before turning and leaving the room, rushing past Wallace who looks at her intently for a split second before she skirts around him and heads down the hallway. She can hear him asking Piz if he’s okay, if he’s done anything to Veronica and can’t help the smile that crosses her lips. He will always be her bff.
Halfway down the hall she turns a corner and hits something solid, looking up she realizes its Weevil again, he looks down at her with his too dark eyes framed by even darker lashes and something passes through them, like he knows exactly what she’s been thinking about since their last encounter a week before. He reaches out an arm and grips her elbow lightly just to steady her and a brief smile ghosts across his face, almost as though it had never been there in the first place. “Where are you going V? Is there a fire I should know about or is the Sheriff after you again?” He smirks now, and it’s a look she hadn’t thought she would see again after he had gone to prison, its pure Weevil with none of Eli left behind.
“I’m going somewhere, and fast I just haven’t figured that one out yet. And don’t you know, I have the sheriff wrapped about my little trigger finger,” Veronica responded, smiling back at him, trying to disarm him in some way because suddenly seeing Weevil is disconcerting especially after high school when there isn’t many 09ers around to keep either of them on their guard, especially in the dorm rooms, rich mommies and daddies not wanting their babies to live in such squalor. She shakes that thought out of her head, and tilts her head to the side, her smile widening as she catches the narrowing of his eyes in her direction. “I don’t suppose you want to have lunch with me?” She asks, exaggerating the tilt slightly.
Looking bemused Weevil allows his own head to tilt almost mockingly, his smirking lips drawn quickly into a flash of a genuine smile, always fleeting and something Veronica thinks that she would like to see more of. “I just got off, so yeah I’ll have lunch with you.” He walked alongside her now, hands shoved in the pockets of his just tight enough jeans. “It’s been awhile since we did this; new Dean has been running me ragged, though I did get a raise for helping discover who had killed Dean O’Dell.” He looked at the ground as he walked Veronica noted, something she didn’t think he had done in high school, or maybe he had. He had definitely changed around the time the PCH decided they didn’t want anything to do with him. It was something too timid she thought, it just didn’t fit with her image of Weevil Navarro, this was too close to Eli for her, too close to the seventeen year old boy who had tried to protect his abuelita from being arrested, who had hugged her. Sometimes she missed Weevil, the way he challenged her, the way he had rose to the occasion every time she wanted something from him, refusing to do a favour without a promise of one in return. “Where you at V?” He asked, leaning over to peer into her face.
Pulling herself from her thoughts Veronica realized that she had been completely ignoring whatever it was he had been saying, “Sorry, I was just thinking about something,” She leaded him out of the school pulling out her car keys, “Do you mind if we get away from the school for lunch?” She asks him, turning her head to study him intently once again, briefly wondering how long it’s been since she was able to look at someone without analyzing every action, if it was something she did before Lily died or not but that seems too long ago now.
“When have I ever minded leaving a school for food?” Weevil pointed out pulling his hands from his pocket, “I’m going to assume you’re driving us then,” He walked around the SUV and opened the door when she unlocked it, sliding in easily and Veronica fought to remember if she had ever given Weevil a ride anywhere and why it seemed wrong to see this man in the passenger seat, it seemed to not even fuel the independent female fire she always seemed to have going for her, something that was purely unintentional.
Veronica pulled herself up into her vehicle and turned to Weevil, a small smile playing on her lips, widening when she saw that he seemed to be even more suspicious of her then normal when she smiled at him without an agenda. “You sure you’re masculine enough for me to drive vato,” She couldn’t help but tease him, at times it was just to easy and he gave as good as he got, it was one of the only consistent things in her life when everything seemed to be changing.
Weevil smirked wickedly, “Well I did just get a new bike V, do you still want to take a ride on my big ol’ hog? I’ll make it worth your while.” And there was the Weevil she knew, perverted and altogether not such a nice person, but one of the best friends to have at your back when times got a little rough. “Just kidding V, I don’t care who's driving as long as I get the opportunity to enjoy the ride.” He grinned and turned to look out the window as they began moving, muscles tightening imperceptibly as he hears the sound of roaring engines once they reach the main road, the PCH aren’t dead, not by any means.
“Do you ever miss it?” His real name, instead of Weevil almost slips out and she bites her bottom lip as though she’ll be able to stop it despite the fact that he has been Eli in her mind for quite a while now, perhaps since the day she heard him in the guidance office talking about how he had loved Lilly, because everyone had loved Lily and it was good to know that Weevil wasn’t protected from that because when it came down to it, when it came to girls he couldn’t help but be Eli. “You don’t need to answer that,” She amended quickly, because sometimes her curiosity got the best of her and annoyed people, that she knew.
Turning to look at her Weevil squinted slightly, as though he was trying to figure her out as much as she was trying to do him. “You already know the answer to that V, you’ve never been one to ask stupid questions,” His voice isn’t angry, or even hard it’s just matter of fact, like she’s the one person who knows him best and maybe she is, it’s a sobering thought to her.
“Money in your pocket and the thrill, right I forgot,” Veronica responded, remembering when she had taken him into her Criminology 101 class, nodding to herself she remembered the events that followed. “Hey look Weevil, I never really…” She stopped when he cut her off abruptly, holding up a hand to her, interrupting her.
“You don’t need to apologize, you came through in the end and that’s all that matters, I’m still a free man and you even got me a job here in the first place, I can’t be mad at you for something that’s in your nature,” Weevil told her, seeming surprisingly in depth with his observations of her. “I’m not Echolls V; I’m not going to jump all over you for every mistake you make.”
Veronica nodded feeling shocky suddenly, like she just didn’t know what to do, he really had never jumped all over her about anything other than dating Logan and that seemed to be more out of concern for her well-being than anything else. “I’m still sorry, I’m really trying not to do that anymore but it’s hard, as you pointed out it is in my nature to be naturally suspicious kind of like…”
Weevil smiled as though he was happy she had finally realized something, “Like me, that’s what I meant when I said you were never an 09er Veronica,” He used her name as though he was taste testing something, just trying to see how it felt to do so. “People like us, we’re actually worth more than them, and worth more then how they treat us, we’re just victims of circumstance or something like that.” He turned back to his window as they pulled into the parking lot of the Planet Neptune Diner. “Haven’t been here for years,” He remarked.
“I figured as much, now get out of my car,” Veronica shoved him lightly before hopping out of the vehicle, her head spinning somewhat with all the information she had been given in such a short time, unable to process it all. Weevil was more then she had ever credited him for being and now she was beginning to feel slightly bad for that, she had never been one to take a people at face value for what they presented themselves as but for some reason she had slipped into that with him. It just wasn’t right, and she couldn’t figure out how to stop doing it.
Walking around the car Weevil shoved his hands in his pockets, watching her for a few moments before he tried to call her back to earth. “We going to eat V, or are you trying to get back to your home planet or something?” He nudged her with his shoulder, and tilted his head to the side mocking her, falling back on old habits before he could stop himself.
“Oh very funny Weevil, just for that you can pay,” Veronica brushed past him, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t flirting, Weevil was too good a friend to end up mixed up with her in that way despite how much Mac insisted that he liked her as more then just a friend. She ignored the flash of electricity that seemed to shoot through her when her arm brushed his, his skin warm to the touch, almost hot.
Weevil watched her walk away from him for a minute before he followed behind her, jogging briefly to catch up. “Considering I just got a raise then just this once I will pay, but the next time we go out you are picking up the tab, and that will preferably be in an alcohol store or a bar where I can get myself a nice cold beer.” He nudged her to the side before opening the door for her, gesturing for her to go in.
Veronica curtsied to him mockingly and shook her head, amused by his behaviour, she hadn’t ever seen Weevil in a romantic situation so it was hard to judge whether he could actually be a gentleman or if he was just mocking her in some way or another. “What kind of beer are we talking here? Because I just got in trouble with the Sheriff for distributing fake ideas to people underage.” She waved a finger at him.
Nodding Weevil seemed to consider her words, “Maybe not beer then, something that’s a little easier to get. Does Fennel still work at the Sack ‘n’ Pack?” He asked, following her to a booth and sliding in on the opposite side, his eyes never leaving her face as she spoke in return, he was always studying her as intently as she did him.
“Yeah he does, but it’s not like he’ll give me a bottle of Bacardi or something if I ask him to.” Veronica flipped open the menu looking it over, feeling his gaze prickling her skin she tried not to shiver or be bothered by him staring at her so blatantly, Mac just couldn’t be right, not about this, she barely knew Weevil, but then again, did Veronica really know him or was it just something she thought she knew. Like Lily had been,
Weevil looked across the table at her, “In that case how about you just buy me a pizza and some wings one day, I hadn’t realized you had lost your nerve so much,” He was trying to bait her, his eyes filled with some secret, as though he somehow needed her to rise to the bait and take it, to argue with him. “Maybe it is true what they say about Veronica Mars, she is a marshmallow, and she only got softer when she kept going after 09er trash.” He bit the words out now as though he was angry at her and she couldn’t even begin to figure out why.
“Look Weevil, normally I would appreciate this whole verbal sparring thing but right now I just don’t have the time or the patience for it, so if that’s the only reason you came to lunch with me, was to attack me then I don’t want to hear it anymore,” Veronica rubbed her forehead suddenly feeling exhausted, emotionally and physically. She had been thinking far too much about everything and everyone around her to sleep properly and it was beginning to take its toll.
A flash of something that might have been concern crossed Weevil’s face and he leaned across the table to try to get a good look into her eyes, his bottom lip sucked under his top teeth as he studied her intently, taking in the dark circles under her eyes. “You okay V? I can drive you home if you need to lie down or something?” All the harshness was gone from his voice and suddenly he was the same Weevil who had picked her up from Logan’s what felt like years ago after she had discovered the cameras in the pool house, he seemed genuinely concern for her well-being, always had.
Veronica waved off his concern, sipping from the water glass suddenly placed in front of her, “I’m fine, I’m just a little tired lately, I haven’t been sleeping well that’s all,” She explained, turning to look at the waiter. “I’ll have a club sandwich with fries, gravy on the side and a large Coke please,” She requested politely, leaning back in her side of the booth she watched as the former PCHer ordered a burger, fries and a Coke as well, wondering why she suddenly couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him no matter what it was he was doing, it must just be one of those days.
“Too many cases or something?” Weevil asked, swirling the straw through the glass of water in front of him before he realized she was watching him and stopped, putting his hands on the table he fought to get comfortable on the vinyl covered seats. “Sheriff told me that you passed your PI test when I ran into him the other day, asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping you out once in a while. So if you need me it’s the same as before V, all you’ve Ota do is give me a call. I mean your dad suddenly being Sheriff again must be kinda hard to get used to.”
“You don’t have to help me out, I wouldn’t mind it but I don’t want you to think you have to,” Veronica protested but found it was rather weak, she liked having Weevil around, liked it when he had her back and probably wouldn’t mind having him around more, especially on cases, especially with the Fitzpatrick’s appearing so frequently around town lately. “If you want to.”
Weevil nodded solidly, lifting his coke bottle to his lips he took a drink, “I want to, I had a good time doing it before, I’ve been working on my anger management so I don’t think I’ll be tackling any abusive dads anytime soon, plus I got put on a warning when I lost two jobs in a row so quickly.” He tossed the straw on a napkin; almost scoffing at it he rubbed his hands together when his food was put in front of him.
“Considering the Fitzpatrick’s have been snooping around a lot lately I wouldn’t mind you having a little less management on your anger,” It was the first time that Veronica admitted to anyone that she might be a little freaked out by what had been going on and how much she had seen Liam in the past few weeks, it just seemed weird since he hadn’t been seen for months at a time and was no suddenly coming out of the woodwork and popping up everywhere she went, and now with her dad working later and later at night trying to secure his place in the race and uncover the mystery surrounding the home invasions that had been occurring she felt even more jumpy whenever Backup even made a noise.
Looking serious Weevil put down his drink, his attention back on her in a snap, “Which of the Fitzpatrick’s? I heard Liam is back in town, if you’re having any problem with him V I want you to call me right away, I don’t care if it’s the middle of the damn night okay you are going to give me a call.” His voice was firm and Veronica found herself unable to argue with him, instead picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. He took that as a good sign and picked up his own burger, getting ready to eat it. “Now let’s eat and get you home to bed, you look like you’re going to drop any minute and I wanna take a look around your place. I know how Liam works and I don’t want you to get hurt because of him.” Not like Felix the unspoken words hung between them as they both focused on their lunches.
Next on Veronica Mars: Weevil takes Veronica home and we finally get to see inside his head, what he thinks of our favourite sleuth, the PCH and Lilly. They have an in depth talk about how she feels about Logan, Piz and even Lilly. Veronica finds herself in trouble and calls the only person she knows will come to help.
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The disclaimer can be found in my profile. To put it simply don't own, don't sue.
Summary: Veronica has had a lot to think about lately, and when she runs into Weevil one day in the hallway she finds she has a lot more to think about, like why she can't stop watching him no matter what he does.
Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars, the show and the characters are the property of Rob Thomas. I will however not acknowledge the network that must not be named.
Veronica runs into Weevil in the hallway one day and realizes she hasn’t seen him in weeks and never even noticed, possibly hasn’t had a conversation with him since the incident with Madison Sinclair’s car, not that she had been avoiding him necessarily. She has just been so busy, trying not to feel for Logan, trying not to care about the fact that he is dating Parker, someone who she is now trying not to hate. She is trying to feel happy that her dad is now the Sheriff of Neptune, even for a short time but finds that she can’t, not since the ID incident, it is as though their relationship is strained somehow, broken now because he is what they used to fight, someone like Lamb but not nearly as bad. It is as though somehow to her subconsciously he is less of an investigator now that he is Sheriff.It reminds her a little too much of what happened when Lilly died, how he had immediately jumped on Jake Kane, losing his job, and effectively losing his job in the process. Like maybe now his skills won’t be up to par because he’ll be clouded by the shine of the badge or something. Resentment swells within her at times, seeing him in that uniform, it’s just wrong. Its how their life used to be not how it is right now. They were supposed to be a team always, but suddenly she can’t team up with him, and it’s like the Dad and Sacks show, not really, but she can’t help but feel slightly jealous especially now that she is supposed to be going away for an internship. She wants her life to change, wants to have an epic of her own, not one just including Logan Echolls, filled with too much drama and not enough stability.
So she goes for the safe guy, trying to like him, even to love him perhaps, going through the motions, ignoring Wallace’s warnings about how Piz is possibly too nice to be involved in Veronica Mars’ world, and perhaps he’s right. Maybe she is some kind of man eater or something, a person destined to be alone, doomed by her own paranoia when it comes to trusting men. Which doesn’t make sense anymore does it, because the only guy who ever did her wrong really was Beaver…Cassidy, it was a woman who broke her heart and twisted her into knots, two women, she had been dragged into Lilly Kane’s world, a world filled with deceit and shallowness, and boys like Duncan Kane, Logan Echolls, Troy Vandergraff and Dick Casablancas, not exactly men you would ever want to spend your life with, and Lily herself, a girl who was her best friend, but at the same time had never bothered to tell the truth. Sometimes it felt like she hadn’t really known Lily, after all she’d never been told about Aaron, or Weevil, or about how Lilly’s dad had slept with her mom.
What was it Lilly had wanted to tell her about that night after the car wash? Was she going to tell Veronica about Aaron, the abusive father to her boyfriend who loved her more than anything? Or Eli “Weevil” Navarro, who could have fallen head over heels in love with Lilly? If only Lilly had bothered to care, bothered to reach past the 09er upbringing and see what was actually there. Would she have told Veronica the truth ever? It seemed Lilly Kane was capable of betrayal even in death, and Veronica couldn’t help but wonder if it was something she would have grown past, or if she would have ended up shrewd and cynical like Celeste. Veronica doesn’t think so, just because of how much Lily resented her mother, but truly was there anything stopping them from becoming their parents in the end? Logan was always filled with an anger that just screamed of years of abuse, and sometimes in his eyes a degree of darkness that didn’t speak of murder, but of imminent self destruction, and Veronica desperately didn’t know if she could stop herself from sinking with him should he fall beneath the waves.
Logan never truly betrayed her, not like she tried to say he had. If anything Logan had always been too honest with her, brutal at times. His hatred for her after Lilly’s death and Keith’s accusal of Jake Kane had been honest, he had resented her greatly, not only for what her father had done, but because she had been the one to break him and Lilly up. After all he needed more then one reason, people who also are visited by sins of the father live in glass houses and shouldn’t throw stones. Despite his hatred, his burning resentment of her he had known that she was the best one to go to when he needed help, whether it be a poker game or the death of the only women who had genuinely been able to care for him without feeling some major dislike, his mother, and even she hadn’t bothered to try and stop his father’s actions, the scars along his skin engrained in herself.
Sometimes it still seemed like he resented her in a way, looking at her with darkened eyes swirling with so many emotions that she couldn’t bother to figure them out, if Lilly and him hadn’t broken up he could have married her, the marriage of one of the two most exclusive families in Neptune, never knowing that his father was having sex with his girlfriend behind his back. Maybe even best friend to the future President of the United States, if no one had found out about Duncan’s illness; although with George Bush as President someone with epilepsy and the ability to fly into psychotic rages might be a step up, you just never know.
The other woman who had betrayed Veronica had been her mother, the person she resented possibly the most in the world, because Logan had at times lied to her he had been blunt about other things, not like Lianne Mars, a woman who lied about her possible paternity for years all the while fleecing Veronica and her father along the way. She had left, hoping to protect her daughter then had come home before going to rehab and returning, lying to her family, plotting to steal from them at the best moment. If people ended up like their parents then Veronica would rather die then end up like her mother, she was definitely a Mars through and through. It had been no real surprise to her when she had looked through her family tree to find out that her mother was somehow related to Dick and Cassidy, it kind of made sense, kind of explained how her mother acted, but not really. So how had Veronica become a man eater anyway? Was it to do with her mother? Or had she actually spent a little too much time with people like Lilly, Madison and Shelly?
It was becoming more often that she would get together with Mac for lunch, listening to her talk and just be amazed, because here was someone who had been truly betrayed and lied to by her boyfriend. He had killed a busload of people, raped Veronica and had left her in a hotel with a bunch of people. Perhaps it could have all be prevented if his family had been a little bit kinder, less consumed in their own lives and taken the time to notice that he had been molested, the reason for him being so timid, so twisted and messed up was because someone had taken advantage of him. But here was Mac, a year or so later and she had healed, not all the way but healed somewhat, enough to trust Bronson and then after that Max, and the two of them were cute together. Although Veronica herself was finding it harder and harder to find resentment for Cassidy, someone who had been much more damaged then she could ever imagine being, like if she allowed herself to hate him for the rest of her life she might actually end up like him in some way and that was a thought that terrified Veronica more than almost anything. Only one thing scared her more, the thought of her bitterness and life experiences reflecting on someone else, and making them unhappy.
One day she takes Wallace’s advice, shortly after getting the FBI internship and goes to see Piz, she tries to spare his feelings, to let him know that she does in fact in some way care about him, just not enough, not enough for someone as sweet and caring as him. He hasn’t been tainted by Neptune, probably won’t live there long enough to be tainted by it and she doesn’t want to aid in that. She doesn’t want him to get pulled into her life which has always been more dangerous than any teenage girl’s life has any right to be, not when he’s been given such good opportunities to leave Neptune. He looks at her and she feels her stomach drop, because she hadn’t realized how much he felt for her, that he had in fact most likely fallen for her the moment he laid eyes on her standing at the door to his and Wallace’s dorm room. He had waited and been supportive through Logan, at the time like she thought Wallace had, but it had been more, possibly less than that depending on how deep those feelings ran. He looked at her like a kicked puppy and she swallowed heavily surprised to find a lump in her throat and tried to convince herself that it was not tears stinging her eyes but the new contacts she had been required to get.
“I’m sorry,” Her voice is hoarse and her chest is tighter then it has any right to be, because she is once again the one breaking up with him, just like she has the guys before him, she isn’t in love with him and she knows it. It isn’t right to drag this on any longer, to let him get even more hurt in the end when he has to leave for New York, or when she has to leave for Quantico in Virginia. “I just…I don’t want you to get hurt.”
His hair falls slightly into his face as he slips his arms from around her waist where they had been since she walked into the room, a small smile tugging at his lips very briefly before falling away and he nods sharply. “It’s funny, because from where I stand Veronica, there’s no way that you can stop this from hurting,” His voice is hoarse too and the corner’s of his lips drag down, his eyes concealed partially by a veil, something she is kind of glad of because she doesn’t want to have to see his pain, doesn’t want to have to stomach it, not right now. “Do you mind if I ask why? Was I not epic enough for you Veronica?” He breathes out, as though the words almost didn’t make their way out of his chest, and then there’s bitterness and he keeps saying her name like some people did in high school, like Logan did shortly after Lilly’s death and it feels like someone is sitting on her chest, compressing her lungs and not caring for someone enough shouldn’t hurt this much.
Veronica breathes in sharply and her eyes close for a moment, Logan’s face flashing in front of her eyes as she jerks her head from side to side in denial, it isn’t that, it was never that he wasn’t Logan whether he believed that or not, it was about him being something sweeter. The sweeter side of life she could have if she just bothered to risk it, something safer then she’d been involved in in the past, but she couldn’t use him like that anymore. “N-no,” She hates that her voice comes out in a stutter and then cracks, a single tear slipping down her cheek, cracking the mask she held so dear for protection. “I don’t want you to get dragged into my world Piz; you’re too good for it.” She murmurs before turning and leaving the room, rushing past Wallace who looks at her intently for a split second before she skirts around him and heads down the hallway. She can hear him asking Piz if he’s okay, if he’s done anything to Veronica and can’t help the smile that crosses her lips. He will always be her bff.
Halfway down the hall she turns a corner and hits something solid, looking up she realizes its Weevil again, he looks down at her with his too dark eyes framed by even darker lashes and something passes through them, like he knows exactly what she’s been thinking about since their last encounter a week before. He reaches out an arm and grips her elbow lightly just to steady her and a brief smile ghosts across his face, almost as though it had never been there in the first place. “Where are you going V? Is there a fire I should know about or is the Sheriff after you again?” He smirks now, and it’s a look she hadn’t thought she would see again after he had gone to prison, its pure Weevil with none of Eli left behind.
“I’m going somewhere, and fast I just haven’t figured that one out yet. And don’t you know, I have the sheriff wrapped about my little trigger finger,” Veronica responded, smiling back at him, trying to disarm him in some way because suddenly seeing Weevil is disconcerting especially after high school when there isn’t many 09ers around to keep either of them on their guard, especially in the dorm rooms, rich mommies and daddies not wanting their babies to live in such squalor. She shakes that thought out of her head, and tilts her head to the side, her smile widening as she catches the narrowing of his eyes in her direction. “I don’t suppose you want to have lunch with me?” She asks, exaggerating the tilt slightly.
Looking bemused Weevil allows his own head to tilt almost mockingly, his smirking lips drawn quickly into a flash of a genuine smile, always fleeting and something Veronica thinks that she would like to see more of. “I just got off, so yeah I’ll have lunch with you.” He walked alongside her now, hands shoved in the pockets of his just tight enough jeans. “It’s been awhile since we did this; new Dean has been running me ragged, though I did get a raise for helping discover who had killed Dean O’Dell.” He looked at the ground as he walked Veronica noted, something she didn’t think he had done in high school, or maybe he had. He had definitely changed around the time the PCH decided they didn’t want anything to do with him. It was something too timid she thought, it just didn’t fit with her image of Weevil Navarro, this was too close to Eli for her, too close to the seventeen year old boy who had tried to protect his abuelita from being arrested, who had hugged her. Sometimes she missed Weevil, the way he challenged her, the way he had rose to the occasion every time she wanted something from him, refusing to do a favour without a promise of one in return. “Where you at V?” He asked, leaning over to peer into her face.
Pulling herself from her thoughts Veronica realized that she had been completely ignoring whatever it was he had been saying, “Sorry, I was just thinking about something,” She leaded him out of the school pulling out her car keys, “Do you mind if we get away from the school for lunch?” She asks him, turning her head to study him intently once again, briefly wondering how long it’s been since she was able to look at someone without analyzing every action, if it was something she did before Lily died or not but that seems too long ago now.
“When have I ever minded leaving a school for food?” Weevil pointed out pulling his hands from his pocket, “I’m going to assume you’re driving us then,” He walked around the SUV and opened the door when she unlocked it, sliding in easily and Veronica fought to remember if she had ever given Weevil a ride anywhere and why it seemed wrong to see this man in the passenger seat, it seemed to not even fuel the independent female fire she always seemed to have going for her, something that was purely unintentional.
Veronica pulled herself up into her vehicle and turned to Weevil, a small smile playing on her lips, widening when she saw that he seemed to be even more suspicious of her then normal when she smiled at him without an agenda. “You sure you’re masculine enough for me to drive vato,” She couldn’t help but tease him, at times it was just to easy and he gave as good as he got, it was one of the only consistent things in her life when everything seemed to be changing.
Weevil smirked wickedly, “Well I did just get a new bike V, do you still want to take a ride on my big ol’ hog? I’ll make it worth your while.” And there was the Weevil she knew, perverted and altogether not such a nice person, but one of the best friends to have at your back when times got a little rough. “Just kidding V, I don’t care who's driving as long as I get the opportunity to enjoy the ride.” He grinned and turned to look out the window as they began moving, muscles tightening imperceptibly as he hears the sound of roaring engines once they reach the main road, the PCH aren’t dead, not by any means.
“Do you ever miss it?” His real name, instead of Weevil almost slips out and she bites her bottom lip as though she’ll be able to stop it despite the fact that he has been Eli in her mind for quite a while now, perhaps since the day she heard him in the guidance office talking about how he had loved Lilly, because everyone had loved Lily and it was good to know that Weevil wasn’t protected from that because when it came down to it, when it came to girls he couldn’t help but be Eli. “You don’t need to answer that,” She amended quickly, because sometimes her curiosity got the best of her and annoyed people, that she knew.
Turning to look at her Weevil squinted slightly, as though he was trying to figure her out as much as she was trying to do him. “You already know the answer to that V, you’ve never been one to ask stupid questions,” His voice isn’t angry, or even hard it’s just matter of fact, like she’s the one person who knows him best and maybe she is, it’s a sobering thought to her.
“Money in your pocket and the thrill, right I forgot,” Veronica responded, remembering when she had taken him into her Criminology 101 class, nodding to herself she remembered the events that followed. “Hey look Weevil, I never really…” She stopped when he cut her off abruptly, holding up a hand to her, interrupting her.
“You don’t need to apologize, you came through in the end and that’s all that matters, I’m still a free man and you even got me a job here in the first place, I can’t be mad at you for something that’s in your nature,” Weevil told her, seeming surprisingly in depth with his observations of her. “I’m not Echolls V; I’m not going to jump all over you for every mistake you make.”
Veronica nodded feeling shocky suddenly, like she just didn’t know what to do, he really had never jumped all over her about anything other than dating Logan and that seemed to be more out of concern for her well-being than anything else. “I’m still sorry, I’m really trying not to do that anymore but it’s hard, as you pointed out it is in my nature to be naturally suspicious kind of like…”
Weevil smiled as though he was happy she had finally realized something, “Like me, that’s what I meant when I said you were never an 09er Veronica,” He used her name as though he was taste testing something, just trying to see how it felt to do so. “People like us, we’re actually worth more than them, and worth more then how they treat us, we’re just victims of circumstance or something like that.” He turned back to his window as they pulled into the parking lot of the Planet Neptune Diner. “Haven’t been here for years,” He remarked.
“I figured as much, now get out of my car,” Veronica shoved him lightly before hopping out of the vehicle, her head spinning somewhat with all the information she had been given in such a short time, unable to process it all. Weevil was more then she had ever credited him for being and now she was beginning to feel slightly bad for that, she had never been one to take a people at face value for what they presented themselves as but for some reason she had slipped into that with him. It just wasn’t right, and she couldn’t figure out how to stop doing it.
Walking around the car Weevil shoved his hands in his pockets, watching her for a few moments before he tried to call her back to earth. “We going to eat V, or are you trying to get back to your home planet or something?” He nudged her with his shoulder, and tilted his head to the side mocking her, falling back on old habits before he could stop himself.
“Oh very funny Weevil, just for that you can pay,” Veronica brushed past him, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t flirting, Weevil was too good a friend to end up mixed up with her in that way despite how much Mac insisted that he liked her as more then just a friend. She ignored the flash of electricity that seemed to shoot through her when her arm brushed his, his skin warm to the touch, almost hot.
Weevil watched her walk away from him for a minute before he followed behind her, jogging briefly to catch up. “Considering I just got a raise then just this once I will pay, but the next time we go out you are picking up the tab, and that will preferably be in an alcohol store or a bar where I can get myself a nice cold beer.” He nudged her to the side before opening the door for her, gesturing for her to go in.
Veronica curtsied to him mockingly and shook her head, amused by his behaviour, she hadn’t ever seen Weevil in a romantic situation so it was hard to judge whether he could actually be a gentleman or if he was just mocking her in some way or another. “What kind of beer are we talking here? Because I just got in trouble with the Sheriff for distributing fake ideas to people underage.” She waved a finger at him.
Nodding Weevil seemed to consider her words, “Maybe not beer then, something that’s a little easier to get. Does Fennel still work at the Sack ‘n’ Pack?” He asked, following her to a booth and sliding in on the opposite side, his eyes never leaving her face as she spoke in return, he was always studying her as intently as she did him.
“Yeah he does, but it’s not like he’ll give me a bottle of Bacardi or something if I ask him to.” Veronica flipped open the menu looking it over, feeling his gaze prickling her skin she tried not to shiver or be bothered by him staring at her so blatantly, Mac just couldn’t be right, not about this, she barely knew Weevil, but then again, did Veronica really know him or was it just something she thought she knew. Like Lily had been,
Weevil looked across the table at her, “In that case how about you just buy me a pizza and some wings one day, I hadn’t realized you had lost your nerve so much,” He was trying to bait her, his eyes filled with some secret, as though he somehow needed her to rise to the bait and take it, to argue with him. “Maybe it is true what they say about Veronica Mars, she is a marshmallow, and she only got softer when she kept going after 09er trash.” He bit the words out now as though he was angry at her and she couldn’t even begin to figure out why.
“Look Weevil, normally I would appreciate this whole verbal sparring thing but right now I just don’t have the time or the patience for it, so if that’s the only reason you came to lunch with me, was to attack me then I don’t want to hear it anymore,” Veronica rubbed her forehead suddenly feeling exhausted, emotionally and physically. She had been thinking far too much about everything and everyone around her to sleep properly and it was beginning to take its toll.
A flash of something that might have been concern crossed Weevil’s face and he leaned across the table to try to get a good look into her eyes, his bottom lip sucked under his top teeth as he studied her intently, taking in the dark circles under her eyes. “You okay V? I can drive you home if you need to lie down or something?” All the harshness was gone from his voice and suddenly he was the same Weevil who had picked her up from Logan’s what felt like years ago after she had discovered the cameras in the pool house, he seemed genuinely concern for her well-being, always had.
Veronica waved off his concern, sipping from the water glass suddenly placed in front of her, “I’m fine, I’m just a little tired lately, I haven’t been sleeping well that’s all,” She explained, turning to look at the waiter. “I’ll have a club sandwich with fries, gravy on the side and a large Coke please,” She requested politely, leaning back in her side of the booth she watched as the former PCHer ordered a burger, fries and a Coke as well, wondering why she suddenly couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him no matter what it was he was doing, it must just be one of those days.
“Too many cases or something?” Weevil asked, swirling the straw through the glass of water in front of him before he realized she was watching him and stopped, putting his hands on the table he fought to get comfortable on the vinyl covered seats. “Sheriff told me that you passed your PI test when I ran into him the other day, asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping you out once in a while. So if you need me it’s the same as before V, all you’ve Ota do is give me a call. I mean your dad suddenly being Sheriff again must be kinda hard to get used to.”
“You don’t have to help me out, I wouldn’t mind it but I don’t want you to think you have to,” Veronica protested but found it was rather weak, she liked having Weevil around, liked it when he had her back and probably wouldn’t mind having him around more, especially on cases, especially with the Fitzpatrick’s appearing so frequently around town lately. “If you want to.”
Weevil nodded solidly, lifting his coke bottle to his lips he took a drink, “I want to, I had a good time doing it before, I’ve been working on my anger management so I don’t think I’ll be tackling any abusive dads anytime soon, plus I got put on a warning when I lost two jobs in a row so quickly.” He tossed the straw on a napkin; almost scoffing at it he rubbed his hands together when his food was put in front of him.
“Considering the Fitzpatrick’s have been snooping around a lot lately I wouldn’t mind you having a little less management on your anger,” It was the first time that Veronica admitted to anyone that she might be a little freaked out by what had been going on and how much she had seen Liam in the past few weeks, it just seemed weird since he hadn’t been seen for months at a time and was no suddenly coming out of the woodwork and popping up everywhere she went, and now with her dad working later and later at night trying to secure his place in the race and uncover the mystery surrounding the home invasions that had been occurring she felt even more jumpy whenever Backup even made a noise.
Looking serious Weevil put down his drink, his attention back on her in a snap, “Which of the Fitzpatrick’s? I heard Liam is back in town, if you’re having any problem with him V I want you to call me right away, I don’t care if it’s the middle of the damn night okay you are going to give me a call.” His voice was firm and Veronica found herself unable to argue with him, instead picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. He took that as a good sign and picked up his own burger, getting ready to eat it. “Now let’s eat and get you home to bed, you look like you’re going to drop any minute and I wanna take a look around your place. I know how Liam works and I don’t want you to get hurt because of him.” Not like Felix the unspoken words hung between them as they both focused on their lunches.
Next on Veronica Mars: Weevil takes Veronica home and we finally get to see inside his head, what he thinks of our favourite sleuth, the PCH and Lilly. They have an in depth talk about how she feels about Logan, Piz and even Lilly. Veronica finds herself in trouble and calls the only person she knows will come to help.
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Date: 2007-12-03 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-03 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 03:31 am (UTC)Look at Weevil pulling the "Me Tarzan...You Jane" routine with Veronica. I think it's sweet that he is looking after her though.
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Date: 2009-02-28 03:38 am (UTC)Does this mean you're enjoying it?
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Date: 2009-02-28 03:40 am (UTC)