Fic: Twist of Fate 18/18 (Veronica/Weevil) (rated nc-17 overall)
TITLE: Twist of Fate 18/18
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
PAIRING: Duncan/Veronica, Weevil/Veronica
RATING: en.sea.xvii (NC-17) overall
WORD COUNT: 2682
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone. I'm just having a little fun. I'll put the characters back when I'm finished, I promise.
SPOILERS: AU; although general seasons 1 and 2 knowledge applies.
NOTES: I had a thought while I was watching old episodes and making caps: what if Veronica had been on the bus? So, much of this is going to be AU. I apologise in advance ;) // The chapter is pretty much a fluffy reward for those who stuck it out and read all the chapters before it; because I am grateful for the positive feedback and the encouragement. *hands over heart* Thanks to everyone who read my fic.
Veronica parked her car---a shiny new Saturn, courtesy of her father---and left the driver's seat to lean against its hood.
She stared out over the ocean and watched the waves as they crashed against the shore. After a few minutes she checked her watch; she was late, but Eli was later.
Things had changed in the aftermath of Cassidy's suicide, Woody's arrest, the bus crash mystery. Everybody had to find a way to cope.
Mac had therapy; Veronica had Back-up, her father, and Eli; they both had "Get the Dirt" to bury themselves in when they didn't want to face reality.
The website was an excellent summer project. In a few weeks, Veronica had already saved enough to live comfortably for her first year at Hearst---off-campus. It was a successful business venture, and Mac had been right about it; it could quite possibly provide them with retirement funds.
That sticky July afternoon, she was supposed to be meeting Eli for a quick bite to eat and then some apartment hunting, near Hearst College.
He didn't seem to be too concerned about that, though.
He was working at his uncle's garage, pulling in long, hard hours for little money, while apprenticing at a local tattoo parlor. She knew his life wasn't easy; he didn't graduate with top grades and universities opening their doors for him, like she did. She tried to be considerate, she tried not to rub his face in the fact that her venture with Mac was going to have her financially set for quite a while as long as she could balance her studies with the standard background checks.
But, he knew the truth as well as she did, and it hung over their heads like an ominous dark cloud, threatening to pour cold, acid rain down upon them.
And it also seemed to keep him from showing up to look at apartments.
She called his cellular phone, and was directed to his voice mail.
"Hey, Eli," she said quietly, "I thought we were gonna meet at our beach... and then go apartment hunting from there. If you couldn't make it, you could have called to tell me... I hope everything's okay. Call me when you get a minute. Love you."
She ended the call and sighed, before hopping off of her car and getting back inside to drive towards campus.
&&&&
"So," Veronica said as she helped herself to a soda, taking one for Mac as well. "Business looks good, Mac Attack?"
"Really good," Mac said with a grin as she scanned over their spreadsheets. "How goes the apartment hunting?"
Veronica sighed. "I found a couple of places yesterday. Two-bedroom, within my price range... another was a one-bedroom, with a windowless storage room. I like that one the best."
Mac nodded. Mac had decided that she'd take her chances with campus life and rent a dorm room; since Veronica and Eli had been planning to move in together, their apartment would be the ideal place to host a small server farm where Mac could maintain their site and store their clients' information.
"I trust your judgment," she said with a smile.
Veronica smiled a little in reply, before returning her focus to her soft drink.
"What does your dad think about all of this?"
The blonde looked up. "Um... well, he's not thrilled about me moving in with a guy. But... he's realising that he's not losing a daughter and I'm going to try to ease him into it slowly."
"Very wise of you."
Veronica chuckled.
"And what did Weevil think about these apartments?"
Veronica's smile vanished. "He... he bailed on me," she admitted. "We were supposed to meet at two. At two-forty-five, he was still a no show."
"Poophead."
"Well said."
Keith and Back-up came into the apartment at that moment. "Hey, girls," Keith said quietly.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, Mr. Mars."
Keith walked over to the countertop where they were seated and set a folded newspaper down in front of them.
"What's this?" Mac asked.
Veronica saw what section the paper he had displayed---the Obituaries---and whose name was at the top---Leticia Navarro---and she felt her heart clench.
"Oh," she breathed.
"The funeral is tomorrow," Keith told her daughter.
Veronica bit her lower lip and nodded. She wouldn't go to the funeral---because organised services always freaked her out a little---but she would go to the cemetery afterwards and pay her respects. She would leave flowers, she would give Eli some sort of support, even if he didn't ask for it.
She spent the rest of the day worrying---about flowers, about what she'd wear, about what time she should go---and when she woke up the next day, she still didn't have all the answers she wanted.
It had been a nice day, until Veronica stepped out of her car and headed towards the fresh grave in the Catholic cemetery. She tugged her fitted, knee-length coat around her, making sure the collar was up high against her neck; but she could still feel the water sprinkling down upon her.
She was alone at the grave, and she felt comfortable enough to speak her mind. She told the grave marker how important Eli was to her, how her heart ached, how he made her feel so special; she told the grave marker that she hoped she would make Eli happy, that she hoped she was enough for him.
And that's when she felt Eli's presence behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, without saying anything; she slid her hands over his, without saying anything.
They stood there until they were soaked through to the skin, dripping wet but not caring.
Then, Eli took her hand and guided her away from the grave and towards a few trees that stood along the side of the cemetery.
They didn't talk with words---not right away. Eli pressed her against the trunk of one of the trees and kissed her until they couldn't breathe. He hugged her close, front to front, after the kiss and allowed her to rock him gently.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Veronica lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry about the other day," she whispered back.
"It's okay, V," he murmured.
"No," she insisted, "it's not. If you don't want to move in with me---"
"I do," he interrupted. "Chica, I do... I just... working in a bike shop while learnin' how to ink skin isn't exactly on the same level as what you're doin', V. I wanna contribute."
"Okay. And, when you can't, you can live off of your sugar momma," she whispered teasingly. "You can cook and do the chores and take care of me in other ways."
"Promise?"
She nodded and wrapped her arm around his neck, so her fingers could tease the back of his head. "I promise," she whispered. She pressed her lips to his and then pulled back, "I am very sorry for your loss, Eli... I know your grandmother is very important to you."
"Thank you," he said in a low quiet voice.
She didn't protest when he pushed her back against the tree, when he opened her coat and kissed her collarbone before biting into her neck. She simply tilted her head to the side and granted him more access. He had given her what she needed when her life was less than perfect and wasn't making any sense; she would give him what he needed in that difficult time.
He tasted her neck and then returned to her lips while lifting her skirt up a bit, to ready her for what was to come.
Eli wasn't as careful with her that time; he took what he wanted and she was simply holding on for the ride. There was no foreplay, apart from the bites and kisses, and no condom, since neither of them had the foresight to bring one on their way to the cemetery. When he lifted her up and thrust inside of her, Veronica had to bite down into her lip with enough force to draw blood, in order to keep herself from screaming.
After a few dry thrusts, chafing tissue that shouldn't be chafed, Eli stilled and kissed her. He licked the cut on her lip, he explored her mouth and took his time; she warmed up against him, and the tension slowly seeped out of his body.
The rest of their coupling was more of a team-event; they worked each other over the best ways they knew how.
And when it was over, Veronica slowly slid her legs down his body and tried to support herself. When Eli looked slightly ashamed, she cut him off with a kiss and then straightened her clothes out.
"You want me to stop by later?" she asked quietly. "I could bring food---"
"We have enough food," he interrupted gently. "Just bring yourself."
She smiled and nodded. He had never invited her to his home before; that invitation seemed fluid, easy as if it had happened hundreds of times before.
"Tomorrow... wanna go check out some apartments?" he asked.
She nodded. "I'll make calls when I go back to Dad's," she murmured.
&&&&
"Are you sure you're gonna be fine there?" Keith asked.
Veronica laughed into the phone. "Dad, it's an apartment, with very secure locks on all the doors and windows. We're five floors up, we have two very quiet neighbours---"
"I mean with the air mattresses and stuff."
She blushed as she looked around their empty apartment. "Oh... yeah. I mean, we're gonna go looking for furniture tomorrow. It won't be so bad."
"Okay," he said. "Well, if you need anything... a place to stay... food... you name it, okay, Veronica?"
"Daaaad."
He chuckled. "Have a good night, sweetheart."
"If you get lonely, remember you can call and chat," she murmured teasingly.
He laughed again. "Yeah, yeah... make fun of your lonely father."
"G'night, Dad," Veronica said affectionately, before hanging up the phone.
Eli came into the very empty bedroom, wearing his coveralls from work. Veronica smiled and stood up to kiss him.
"That air mattress better be comfy, chica," he said in what to anyone else would be construed as a threatening voice. To Veronica, it was rough and sexy, so she smiled and kissed him again. "Careful, V... Mac's still setting up your fancy spy room."
Veronica chuckled and kissed him again. "You go get cleaned up," she ordered gently, "and I'm gonna go see how she's doing."
He lovingly spanked her ass as she passed. Veronica yelped playfully and darted out of the room.
When she met Mac in the storage room, the brunette already had a stern expression on her face. "I'm not going to visit if you two keep carrying on like that," she grumbled. "Don't you remember how my boyfriend killed a bunch of people, tried to kill you, Logan, and Weevil, and left me locked in a hotel room with nothing but a bath towel for warmth?"
Veronica sighed and squeezed Mac's shoulder. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "Sorry. We'll be more careful."
"It's okay," Mac assured her friend. "I mean, you guys are together. It's not your fault I've decided to rule out dating."
Veronica pointed to the computer monitor and then asked, "How's it going?"
"Really well," Mac said, her expression lightening. "We're good to go. You'll check the administrative side of the site like you always do, and you'll be able to click through the orders, as always. Payments are still handled the usual way, but with the servers we can store all the transactions," she explained. "You can save the files to the designated backup server, so if an e-mail gets lost and a file needs to be reordered, you won't have to look the parents back up. You can just refer to the file in storage."
The blonde smiled. "Sounds like you've thought of everything."
"And I'll come by every few days to check and make sure everything's working properly."
Veronica smirked. "And maybe to watch our PayPal account grow?"
"Maybe."
Mac left soon after that, after checking the servers and programming code over once more. They selected the combination for the lock Eli installed, together, and then Veronica walked Mac to the door. She locked the deadbolts when her hacker friend was gone, and then she rushed back to the bedroom, where she found Eli in the shower.
She grinned and stripped out of her shorts and t-shirt, and then her bra and underwear, as she made her way to the tub-shower-unit.
"Eli?"
"V?"
She chuckled and pulled the curtain back. Eli turned and looked at her, a smirk on his face. "Got room for one more?"
"That's why I wanted this place," Eli replied, offering her his hand. "I like the extra large shower."
Veronica flashed him a grin. "And I bought it for the computer room," she purred, slinking past him so she could stand under the hot spray of water. "Silly me... what was I thinking?"
"Dunno, chica," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. After a kiss, he smirked and said, "You know what else I was thinkin'?"
"Mmmmno... what?" she breathed.
"We should just clean up... and then go out and christen a couple of rooms in this place."
"You really aren't just another pretty face," she murmured teasingly. She batted her lashes at him, and then asked, "You want me to wash your hair?"
He laughed, the sound reverberating off of the tiled walls and rumbling through her petite frame. "What hair, V?"
She laughed, too, and then let him tip her head under the water spray; he rubbed some of her shampoo between his hands and then rubbed it into her hair.
Veronica moaned and closed her eyes as he took care of her. Once the suds were rinsed away, she stepped out of the water spray and picked up her bath-puff---something Eli secretly enjoyed her using on him, but would never admit to another soul.
She poured some soap onto it and then slowly began to clean his skin. She smiled when he groaned and rolled his shoulders, trying to relax; when she was finished with the bath-puff, she put her hands on his slick skin and slowly massaged his muscles.
"Damn... V..."
"Mmm... you like that?"
"You know I do," he growled.
Veronica smirked to herself and continued to massage his neck and shoulders with one hand, while she reached outside of the shower and grabbed her towel.
"Why don't you rinse," she suggested quietly. "We're almost done..."
"Yeah," he agreed.
As he stepped away from her to rinse his skin free of soap suds, Veronica stifled a giggle and stepped out of the shower. She quickly wrapped herself in her towel and scurried out of the bathroom.
It took Eli three seconds to realise she had left the shower.
"V!" he roared, making her nipples and abdomen tighten as his voice reached her ears.
She laughed and raced into one of the empty rooms, before Eli raced down the hall after her. He chased her into the kitchen, pinned her to the fridge for a kiss, and then dragged her over to the kitchen table.
Veronica squealed and met him kiss for kiss, touch for touch, thrust for thrust. And when it was all over, Eli scooped her up and carried her to their temporary bed.
As she curled up into him, she brushed her fingers over his chest and listened to his heart beating under his ribcage.
He kissed the top of her head and traced invisible patterns over her shoulder and back.
Their lives weren't perfect. She knew that. She knew they would continue to experience friction over their different financial situations. She knew he would feel inadequate from time to time, and she wouldn't always be able to share her college experiences with him.
However, she also knew that he made her happy and that she made him happy; neither of them were willing to walk away from what they had.
THE END!
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
PAIRING: Duncan/Veronica, Weevil/Veronica
RATING: en.sea.xvii (NC-17) overall
WORD COUNT: 2682
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone. I'm just having a little fun. I'll put the characters back when I'm finished, I promise.
SPOILERS: AU; although general seasons 1 and 2 knowledge applies.
NOTES: I had a thought while I was watching old episodes and making caps: what if Veronica had been on the bus? So, much of this is going to be AU. I apologise in advance ;) // The chapter is pretty much a fluffy reward for those who stuck it out and read all the chapters before it; because I am grateful for the positive feedback and the encouragement. *hands over heart* Thanks to everyone who read my fic.
Veronica parked her car---a shiny new Saturn, courtesy of her father---and left the driver's seat to lean against its hood.
She stared out over the ocean and watched the waves as they crashed against the shore. After a few minutes she checked her watch; she was late, but Eli was later.
Things had changed in the aftermath of Cassidy's suicide, Woody's arrest, the bus crash mystery. Everybody had to find a way to cope.
Mac had therapy; Veronica had Back-up, her father, and Eli; they both had "Get the Dirt" to bury themselves in when they didn't want to face reality.
The website was an excellent summer project. In a few weeks, Veronica had already saved enough to live comfortably for her first year at Hearst---off-campus. It was a successful business venture, and Mac had been right about it; it could quite possibly provide them with retirement funds.
That sticky July afternoon, she was supposed to be meeting Eli for a quick bite to eat and then some apartment hunting, near Hearst College.
He didn't seem to be too concerned about that, though.
He was working at his uncle's garage, pulling in long, hard hours for little money, while apprenticing at a local tattoo parlor. She knew his life wasn't easy; he didn't graduate with top grades and universities opening their doors for him, like she did. She tried to be considerate, she tried not to rub his face in the fact that her venture with Mac was going to have her financially set for quite a while as long as she could balance her studies with the standard background checks.
But, he knew the truth as well as she did, and it hung over their heads like an ominous dark cloud, threatening to pour cold, acid rain down upon them.
And it also seemed to keep him from showing up to look at apartments.
She called his cellular phone, and was directed to his voice mail.
"Hey, Eli," she said quietly, "I thought we were gonna meet at our beach... and then go apartment hunting from there. If you couldn't make it, you could have called to tell me... I hope everything's okay. Call me when you get a minute. Love you."
She ended the call and sighed, before hopping off of her car and getting back inside to drive towards campus.
&&&&
"So," Veronica said as she helped herself to a soda, taking one for Mac as well. "Business looks good, Mac Attack?"
"Really good," Mac said with a grin as she scanned over their spreadsheets. "How goes the apartment hunting?"
Veronica sighed. "I found a couple of places yesterday. Two-bedroom, within my price range... another was a one-bedroom, with a windowless storage room. I like that one the best."
Mac nodded. Mac had decided that she'd take her chances with campus life and rent a dorm room; since Veronica and Eli had been planning to move in together, their apartment would be the ideal place to host a small server farm where Mac could maintain their site and store their clients' information.
"I trust your judgment," she said with a smile.
Veronica smiled a little in reply, before returning her focus to her soft drink.
"What does your dad think about all of this?"
The blonde looked up. "Um... well, he's not thrilled about me moving in with a guy. But... he's realising that he's not losing a daughter and I'm going to try to ease him into it slowly."
"Very wise of you."
Veronica chuckled.
"And what did Weevil think about these apartments?"
Veronica's smile vanished. "He... he bailed on me," she admitted. "We were supposed to meet at two. At two-forty-five, he was still a no show."
"Poophead."
"Well said."
Keith and Back-up came into the apartment at that moment. "Hey, girls," Keith said quietly.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, Mr. Mars."
Keith walked over to the countertop where they were seated and set a folded newspaper down in front of them.
"What's this?" Mac asked.
Veronica saw what section the paper he had displayed---the Obituaries---and whose name was at the top---Leticia Navarro---and she felt her heart clench.
"Oh," she breathed.
"The funeral is tomorrow," Keith told her daughter.
Veronica bit her lower lip and nodded. She wouldn't go to the funeral---because organised services always freaked her out a little---but she would go to the cemetery afterwards and pay her respects. She would leave flowers, she would give Eli some sort of support, even if he didn't ask for it.
She spent the rest of the day worrying---about flowers, about what she'd wear, about what time she should go---and when she woke up the next day, she still didn't have all the answers she wanted.
It had been a nice day, until Veronica stepped out of her car and headed towards the fresh grave in the Catholic cemetery. She tugged her fitted, knee-length coat around her, making sure the collar was up high against her neck; but she could still feel the water sprinkling down upon her.
She was alone at the grave, and she felt comfortable enough to speak her mind. She told the grave marker how important Eli was to her, how her heart ached, how he made her feel so special; she told the grave marker that she hoped she would make Eli happy, that she hoped she was enough for him.
And that's when she felt Eli's presence behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, without saying anything; she slid her hands over his, without saying anything.
They stood there until they were soaked through to the skin, dripping wet but not caring.
Then, Eli took her hand and guided her away from the grave and towards a few trees that stood along the side of the cemetery.
They didn't talk with words---not right away. Eli pressed her against the trunk of one of the trees and kissed her until they couldn't breathe. He hugged her close, front to front, after the kiss and allowed her to rock him gently.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Veronica lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry about the other day," she whispered back.
"It's okay, V," he murmured.
"No," she insisted, "it's not. If you don't want to move in with me---"
"I do," he interrupted. "Chica, I do... I just... working in a bike shop while learnin' how to ink skin isn't exactly on the same level as what you're doin', V. I wanna contribute."
"Okay. And, when you can't, you can live off of your sugar momma," she whispered teasingly. "You can cook and do the chores and take care of me in other ways."
"Promise?"
She nodded and wrapped her arm around his neck, so her fingers could tease the back of his head. "I promise," she whispered. She pressed her lips to his and then pulled back, "I am very sorry for your loss, Eli... I know your grandmother is very important to you."
"Thank you," he said in a low quiet voice.
She didn't protest when he pushed her back against the tree, when he opened her coat and kissed her collarbone before biting into her neck. She simply tilted her head to the side and granted him more access. He had given her what she needed when her life was less than perfect and wasn't making any sense; she would give him what he needed in that difficult time.
He tasted her neck and then returned to her lips while lifting her skirt up a bit, to ready her for what was to come.
Eli wasn't as careful with her that time; he took what he wanted and she was simply holding on for the ride. There was no foreplay, apart from the bites and kisses, and no condom, since neither of them had the foresight to bring one on their way to the cemetery. When he lifted her up and thrust inside of her, Veronica had to bite down into her lip with enough force to draw blood, in order to keep herself from screaming.
After a few dry thrusts, chafing tissue that shouldn't be chafed, Eli stilled and kissed her. He licked the cut on her lip, he explored her mouth and took his time; she warmed up against him, and the tension slowly seeped out of his body.
The rest of their coupling was more of a team-event; they worked each other over the best ways they knew how.
And when it was over, Veronica slowly slid her legs down his body and tried to support herself. When Eli looked slightly ashamed, she cut him off with a kiss and then straightened her clothes out.
"You want me to stop by later?" she asked quietly. "I could bring food---"
"We have enough food," he interrupted gently. "Just bring yourself."
She smiled and nodded. He had never invited her to his home before; that invitation seemed fluid, easy as if it had happened hundreds of times before.
"Tomorrow... wanna go check out some apartments?" he asked.
She nodded. "I'll make calls when I go back to Dad's," she murmured.
&&&&
"Are you sure you're gonna be fine there?" Keith asked.
Veronica laughed into the phone. "Dad, it's an apartment, with very secure locks on all the doors and windows. We're five floors up, we have two very quiet neighbours---"
"I mean with the air mattresses and stuff."
She blushed as she looked around their empty apartment. "Oh... yeah. I mean, we're gonna go looking for furniture tomorrow. It won't be so bad."
"Okay," he said. "Well, if you need anything... a place to stay... food... you name it, okay, Veronica?"
"Daaaad."
He chuckled. "Have a good night, sweetheart."
"If you get lonely, remember you can call and chat," she murmured teasingly.
He laughed again. "Yeah, yeah... make fun of your lonely father."
"G'night, Dad," Veronica said affectionately, before hanging up the phone.
Eli came into the very empty bedroom, wearing his coveralls from work. Veronica smiled and stood up to kiss him.
"That air mattress better be comfy, chica," he said in what to anyone else would be construed as a threatening voice. To Veronica, it was rough and sexy, so she smiled and kissed him again. "Careful, V... Mac's still setting up your fancy spy room."
Veronica chuckled and kissed him again. "You go get cleaned up," she ordered gently, "and I'm gonna go see how she's doing."
He lovingly spanked her ass as she passed. Veronica yelped playfully and darted out of the room.
When she met Mac in the storage room, the brunette already had a stern expression on her face. "I'm not going to visit if you two keep carrying on like that," she grumbled. "Don't you remember how my boyfriend killed a bunch of people, tried to kill you, Logan, and Weevil, and left me locked in a hotel room with nothing but a bath towel for warmth?"
Veronica sighed and squeezed Mac's shoulder. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "Sorry. We'll be more careful."
"It's okay," Mac assured her friend. "I mean, you guys are together. It's not your fault I've decided to rule out dating."
Veronica pointed to the computer monitor and then asked, "How's it going?"
"Really well," Mac said, her expression lightening. "We're good to go. You'll check the administrative side of the site like you always do, and you'll be able to click through the orders, as always. Payments are still handled the usual way, but with the servers we can store all the transactions," she explained. "You can save the files to the designated backup server, so if an e-mail gets lost and a file needs to be reordered, you won't have to look the parents back up. You can just refer to the file in storage."
The blonde smiled. "Sounds like you've thought of everything."
"And I'll come by every few days to check and make sure everything's working properly."
Veronica smirked. "And maybe to watch our PayPal account grow?"
"Maybe."
Mac left soon after that, after checking the servers and programming code over once more. They selected the combination for the lock Eli installed, together, and then Veronica walked Mac to the door. She locked the deadbolts when her hacker friend was gone, and then she rushed back to the bedroom, where she found Eli in the shower.
She grinned and stripped out of her shorts and t-shirt, and then her bra and underwear, as she made her way to the tub-shower-unit.
"Eli?"
"V?"
She chuckled and pulled the curtain back. Eli turned and looked at her, a smirk on his face. "Got room for one more?"
"That's why I wanted this place," Eli replied, offering her his hand. "I like the extra large shower."
Veronica flashed him a grin. "And I bought it for the computer room," she purred, slinking past him so she could stand under the hot spray of water. "Silly me... what was I thinking?"
"Dunno, chica," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. After a kiss, he smirked and said, "You know what else I was thinkin'?"
"Mmmmno... what?" she breathed.
"We should just clean up... and then go out and christen a couple of rooms in this place."
"You really aren't just another pretty face," she murmured teasingly. She batted her lashes at him, and then asked, "You want me to wash your hair?"
He laughed, the sound reverberating off of the tiled walls and rumbling through her petite frame. "What hair, V?"
She laughed, too, and then let him tip her head under the water spray; he rubbed some of her shampoo between his hands and then rubbed it into her hair.
Veronica moaned and closed her eyes as he took care of her. Once the suds were rinsed away, she stepped out of the water spray and picked up her bath-puff---something Eli secretly enjoyed her using on him, but would never admit to another soul.
She poured some soap onto it and then slowly began to clean his skin. She smiled when he groaned and rolled his shoulders, trying to relax; when she was finished with the bath-puff, she put her hands on his slick skin and slowly massaged his muscles.
"Damn... V..."
"Mmm... you like that?"
"You know I do," he growled.
Veronica smirked to herself and continued to massage his neck and shoulders with one hand, while she reached outside of the shower and grabbed her towel.
"Why don't you rinse," she suggested quietly. "We're almost done..."
"Yeah," he agreed.
As he stepped away from her to rinse his skin free of soap suds, Veronica stifled a giggle and stepped out of the shower. She quickly wrapped herself in her towel and scurried out of the bathroom.
It took Eli three seconds to realise she had left the shower.
"V!" he roared, making her nipples and abdomen tighten as his voice reached her ears.
She laughed and raced into one of the empty rooms, before Eli raced down the hall after her. He chased her into the kitchen, pinned her to the fridge for a kiss, and then dragged her over to the kitchen table.
Veronica squealed and met him kiss for kiss, touch for touch, thrust for thrust. And when it was all over, Eli scooped her up and carried her to their temporary bed.
As she curled up into him, she brushed her fingers over his chest and listened to his heart beating under his ribcage.
He kissed the top of her head and traced invisible patterns over her shoulder and back.
Their lives weren't perfect. She knew that. She knew they would continue to experience friction over their different financial situations. She knew he would feel inadequate from time to time, and she wouldn't always be able to share her college experiences with him.
However, she also knew that he made her happy and that she made him happy; neither of them were willing to walk away from what they had.
THE END!