Ficlet: "Grave Feelings" (C/V, L/V) PG
"Grave Feelings"
By halfway2home
Disclaimer: I don’t own “Veronica Mars.” Rob’s the man.
Word Count: 1045
Rating: PG
Setting/Spoilers: Post 2x22.
Pairing: Casey/Veronica, Logan/Veronica
Summary: Veronica runs into a familiar face at Cassidy’s grave.
Author’s Note: To eolivet, my wonderful beta. I also made a Casey mix: 'This Boy' Is A 'Sexy Boy.'
Her heart beats faster as she approaches and it’s completely ridiculous. He can’t hurt her now, not anymore than he already has, which is plenty. Still, she can’t help kneading her fingers into her palms, feeling the dampness building there. She takes a deep breath, cutting around a large tree, and is surprised to find another figure sitting on the grass by the grave.
The profile looks familiar, but fuzzy, so she squints her eyes. “Casey?” she calls out hesitantly.
He turns around to face her and she is met with deep, brown eyes and a crooked smile. “What’s up, Veronica?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I just got back from school for the summer,” he says, and she notices the university logo on his sweatshirt. He looks back down at the grave and then up at her again. “I keep hearing about, you know,” he waves his hand at the grave and she nods, “all over the news, but it just doesn’t seem real. I thought maybe coming here would make it real.”
She wants to agree with him, tell him it’s not real, but she can’t. After all, she is bearing the physical effects of what Cassidy -- no, Beaver - did and those are all too real. Instead, she walks around the headstone until she is standing right next to him and then sits down beside him on the dewy grass.
He seems to take it as a gesture to continue. “We weren’t close or anything, but we hung out. We ran in the same circle.” He runs his hands through his hair, letting out a wobbly breath. “But I never imagined this.”
“None of us did,” she replies solemnly.
“Do you think things would have been different if we noticed?”
She sighs deeply at the question that has been plaguing her, plaguing everyone, but has no answer that can be proven. She likes cold, hard facts. Honestly, she doesn’t want to think about what she could have done differently to prevent Beaver from raping her because he should have stopped himself. Whatever she had done couldn’t have possibly deserved such punishment.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” she replies, “but I do know it’s too late to change anything.”
“Yeah,” he nods. “So what are you doing here?”
Her father wants her to see someone and he doesn’t even know the whole story. She’s pretty sure he’s prodded Logan, hoping to get the full picture, because Logan is the only one that knows everything. Sometimes, when he looks at her, she feels completely exposed under his gaze because there isn’t anything she’s been able to keep from him. Even the things she doesn’t tell him, he figures them out.
She laughs, turning away, but it’s short and sharp. “Everyone keeps telling me it’ll help. Give me closure or something,” she says, rolling her eyes.
Casey eyes her curiously. “Is it working?”
“No.” She pauses before adding softly, “Not yet.” It’s too soon, too raw. Even she can recognize that.
“I heard you were on the roof with him,” he says, breaking her out of her thoughts. She hums lightly, wishing she could forget. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
She doesn’t have the heart to tell him that she’s not okay. He looks so genuine with his big, brown eyes and fingers clutching at his knees awkwardly, so she just smiles, leaning back on her palms.
“This town just keeps getting more and more twisted.”
“Tell me about it,” she replies.
“You’re something else, Veronica,” he says with a smile.
She turns her head to the side, giving him a confused look. “What?”
“You’re always in the middle of it and you always come out standing strong.”
She has to pause for a second because she thinks she’s just received a compliment, a really good one, from Casey Gant. She observes him for a second, the relaxed tilt of his body as he leans forward, his long arms wrapped around his legs, the softness in his eyes. Something in Casey has changed. Or maybe it was always there and college just sanded down the rough edges, gave him room to breathe away from Neptune.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she says finally and he laughs.
They sit there for a while, in quiet, and she thinks that it may be the best conversation she’s had in months. Casey’s body is telling her things, in every shift, every breath, and heartbeat, that she never knew about him and she answers him in silent pauses.
“Veronica,” a voice calls out suddenly. She looks away from the grave to see Logan approaching them, his strides long and hurried. “You were taking a while. I got worried.”
“Sorry,” she says, extending a hand out to him. He takes it, pulling her up and steadying her with his other hand. “I was talking to Casey.”
“Hey man,” Casey says, giving him a short wave.
Logan nods, smiling tightly, and she leans into his side as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.
“We should get going,” he says and she nods. Logan has plans for them. A dinner, she thinks, a trip maybe, a future.
“Maybe I’ll see you around this summer?” she asks, looking at Casey. It never hurts to have another friend on your dance card, especially when your name is Veronica Mars and you are sorely lacking in friends.
He smiles up at her, widely. “Definitely.”
Logan threads his fingers with hers as they walk towards his car, maneuvering around the headstones and plaques. “You okay?”
She grazes her thumb over his knuckles. They’re solid and rough and soft in the valleys. Just like him, she thinks. “I will be.”
“I didn’t know you and Casey were on such friendly terms,” he says tightly.
She smirks. “He’s a good guy. He wants to be better.”
“You know how he can be better? By staying away from my girlfriend.”
She grins at him as he opens the car door for her. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
End
By halfway2home
Disclaimer: I don’t own “Veronica Mars.” Rob’s the man.
Word Count: 1045
Rating: PG
Setting/Spoilers: Post 2x22.
Pairing: Casey/Veronica, Logan/Veronica
Summary: Veronica runs into a familiar face at Cassidy’s grave.
Author’s Note: To eolivet, my wonderful beta. I also made a Casey mix: 'This Boy' Is A 'Sexy Boy.'
Her heart beats faster as she approaches and it’s completely ridiculous. He can’t hurt her now, not anymore than he already has, which is plenty. Still, she can’t help kneading her fingers into her palms, feeling the dampness building there. She takes a deep breath, cutting around a large tree, and is surprised to find another figure sitting on the grass by the grave.
The profile looks familiar, but fuzzy, so she squints her eyes. “Casey?” she calls out hesitantly.
He turns around to face her and she is met with deep, brown eyes and a crooked smile. “What’s up, Veronica?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I just got back from school for the summer,” he says, and she notices the university logo on his sweatshirt. He looks back down at the grave and then up at her again. “I keep hearing about, you know,” he waves his hand at the grave and she nods, “all over the news, but it just doesn’t seem real. I thought maybe coming here would make it real.”
She wants to agree with him, tell him it’s not real, but she can’t. After all, she is bearing the physical effects of what Cassidy -- no, Beaver - did and those are all too real. Instead, she walks around the headstone until she is standing right next to him and then sits down beside him on the dewy grass.
He seems to take it as a gesture to continue. “We weren’t close or anything, but we hung out. We ran in the same circle.” He runs his hands through his hair, letting out a wobbly breath. “But I never imagined this.”
“None of us did,” she replies solemnly.
“Do you think things would have been different if we noticed?”
She sighs deeply at the question that has been plaguing her, plaguing everyone, but has no answer that can be proven. She likes cold, hard facts. Honestly, she doesn’t want to think about what she could have done differently to prevent Beaver from raping her because he should have stopped himself. Whatever she had done couldn’t have possibly deserved such punishment.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” she replies, “but I do know it’s too late to change anything.”
“Yeah,” he nods. “So what are you doing here?”
Her father wants her to see someone and he doesn’t even know the whole story. She’s pretty sure he’s prodded Logan, hoping to get the full picture, because Logan is the only one that knows everything. Sometimes, when he looks at her, she feels completely exposed under his gaze because there isn’t anything she’s been able to keep from him. Even the things she doesn’t tell him, he figures them out.
She laughs, turning away, but it’s short and sharp. “Everyone keeps telling me it’ll help. Give me closure or something,” she says, rolling her eyes.
Casey eyes her curiously. “Is it working?”
“No.” She pauses before adding softly, “Not yet.” It’s too soon, too raw. Even she can recognize that.
“I heard you were on the roof with him,” he says, breaking her out of her thoughts. She hums lightly, wishing she could forget. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
She doesn’t have the heart to tell him that she’s not okay. He looks so genuine with his big, brown eyes and fingers clutching at his knees awkwardly, so she just smiles, leaning back on her palms.
“This town just keeps getting more and more twisted.”
“Tell me about it,” she replies.
“You’re something else, Veronica,” he says with a smile.
She turns her head to the side, giving him a confused look. “What?”
“You’re always in the middle of it and you always come out standing strong.”
She has to pause for a second because she thinks she’s just received a compliment, a really good one, from Casey Gant. She observes him for a second, the relaxed tilt of his body as he leans forward, his long arms wrapped around his legs, the softness in his eyes. Something in Casey has changed. Or maybe it was always there and college just sanded down the rough edges, gave him room to breathe away from Neptune.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she says finally and he laughs.
They sit there for a while, in quiet, and she thinks that it may be the best conversation she’s had in months. Casey’s body is telling her things, in every shift, every breath, and heartbeat, that she never knew about him and she answers him in silent pauses.
“Veronica,” a voice calls out suddenly. She looks away from the grave to see Logan approaching them, his strides long and hurried. “You were taking a while. I got worried.”
“Sorry,” she says, extending a hand out to him. He takes it, pulling her up and steadying her with his other hand. “I was talking to Casey.”
“Hey man,” Casey says, giving him a short wave.
Logan nods, smiling tightly, and she leans into his side as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.
“We should get going,” he says and she nods. Logan has plans for them. A dinner, she thinks, a trip maybe, a future.
“Maybe I’ll see you around this summer?” she asks, looking at Casey. It never hurts to have another friend on your dance card, especially when your name is Veronica Mars and you are sorely lacking in friends.
He smiles up at her, widely. “Definitely.”
Logan threads his fingers with hers as they walk towards his car, maneuvering around the headstones and plaques. “You okay?”
She grazes her thumb over his knuckles. They’re solid and rough and soft in the valleys. Just like him, she thinks. “I will be.”
“I didn’t know you and Casey were on such friendly terms,” he says tightly.
She smirks. “He’s a good guy. He wants to be better.”
“You know how he can be better? By staying away from my girlfriend.”
She grins at him as he opens the car door for her. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
End