Fic: Molasses and Taffy pt 3 (Veronica, Logan, Keith) PG-13
Part 3, because everyone asked for it. Veronica's POV this time, fairly short one.
Title: Molasses and Taffy, part three.
Author: Jacqui.
Rating: PG-13, nothing more than what was on the show.
Character/Pairing: Veronica, Logan, Keith. Logan/Veronica.
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Rob Thomas owns all VM related things. Except Logan's man neck thing of lickable shells. I'm claiming that.
Wordcount: 1,520.
Spoilers: And then some, baby. It's 2.22 "Not Pictured" all the way.
Summary: If it's a dream, she doesn't want to wake up.
Warnings: None, really, except SPOILERS for 2.22.
Previous chapters found here
*~*~*~*
MOLASSES AND TAFFY, part 3.
*~*~*~*
He’s so big. He’s so silly. He always makes her laugh. He’s her whole world. When she falls, she cries to him. When she finally learns to pedal her bicycle without training wheels, she’s going to scream with joy as she runs to him.
Veronica’s so excited about the puppet show that her arms twitch and she has to squeeze them tight so she can sit still on the blanket. His voice makes the giggles rise in her mouth and her eyes bubble.
But it’s his face that makes him her daddy.
He’ll always be there. He’s always going to pick her up and call her silly names and make her laugh by nuzzling his head into her tummy. He’ll always make faces behind her mom’s head when she’s supposed to be eating vegetables. He’ll always tell her which paths to walk on and which roads not to cross.
He’ll never leave her.
He’ll never, ever not come back.
He’ll never, ever, ever in a million trillion years leave his little girl.
Never. Never ever.
He’ll never board a plane that never lands.
He’ll never…
***
Veronica wakes up, already half out of the bed. Her heart is in her throat and she doesn’t know why. Only one word runs through her head.
“Dad?”
Then she remembers.
Logan is standing by the stove, frying the bacon that woke her, cooking up the pancakes that she smelled in her dream. She can’t breathe and she can’t move and she hates to be disappointed by him.
Because she owes him so much.
But it’s like she’s lost her father all over again. And just the very thought of it is enough to hurt her. She knows she’s about to cry as Logan steps up to her and she folds into his arms easily.
As if she’d never left them.
And his words, his hands, smoothing over her as if he hadn’t stopped. She doesn’t know what else to do. It makes sense to trust Logan now, he knows, he’s been through it.
She’d held him when he’d cried over Lynn.
“Is that breakfast I smell?”
And, oh god. Veronica thinks she’s dreaming, just for an instant, but she can’t stop herself turning around when she feels Logan tense. Logan’s arms fall away and she flings herself at her father.
She can’t get enough. He’s solid in her arms and she cries. Just feeling his hand as it runs up over her hair, in the way she thought she’d never feel again, it’s as if her dreams and her reality became mingled and she doesn’t know what’s what anymore.
But if it’s a dream, she doesn’t want to wake up.
She’s rambling, she can’t stop herself, but her brain just exploded and she doesn’t particularly care what’s coming out of her mouth. Something about how much she loves him. As long as she can keep his arms around her, keep herself buried in his chest, keep his voice sounding in her ears.
He’ll never leave her.
“I was a little surprised to find Logan on the couch…” He laughs, his nervous laugh, she wants to bottle it. “… but it’s better than finding him elsewhere, right?”
She hears the door latch closed and turns to see Logan gone.
“Wait.” It hurts, physically hurts to put her hand up on Keith’s chest and push him away. “Don’t move.”
“I’m not going anywhere…”
But she’s already running to the door.
“Logan!” He’s half way to the entrance when she calls his name. He stops instantly. “Don’t go, please.”
He doesn’t turn around and she feels herself shaking.
“I need you here, please.”
She thinks, maybe, that his hand reaching up to wipe at his face before he turns around isn’t telling at all. At least, she won’t ever bring it up again.
***
“It was Cassidy.” She says it around a mouthful of pancake. “He was the third boy on the tape.”
It’s like she hasn’t eaten for weeks, her stomach rolls and clenches around each mouthful and she can’t stop eating. Damn, but if she knew Logan could do this, she would have kept him around longer.
They’ve pulled the chair out of her room and set it up at the end of the little table that makes their kitchen. Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel crowded. It feels right. Even if no one is eating but her, Logan’s eyes and Keith’s eyes watch her and she doesn’t care. She needs them.
She could stay like this all day and wishes she could just close the blinds and lock the door, force the whole world to wait for her. Just once. Make them wait until she’s had enough basking in the glow of her father, of Logan, of the two of them at pretending to get along just for her.
“They were going to expose Woody, but Cassidy didn’t want to, so he got the explosives from Curly…”
She’s speaking too fast, eating too fast, she’s going to get gas and she doesn’t care, the details are coming too fast to stop. And even if she does manage to stop, she won’t be able to start again, so she continues to ramble, to get it all over in a rush.
“And he was the one who…”
But she does stop, she has her limits.
“Who what?” Keith never misses a thing. “Honey?”
His warm hand on hers pushes her fork down to her plate. She swallows and doesn’t look up.
“Nothing.” Her voice is flat now. “It’s just… everything. It’s all too much.”
“Veronica?”
She knows that tone of voice, knows that Keith Mars has caught the scent of something and he won’t let go. A hand squeezes her knee under the table.
“So what are they going to do about Woody?” Logan asks seriously. “Now that they know what he did?”
“Huh?”
Logan winks at her and she can hear the words in her head. Target: acquired. Distraction: imminent.
“I mean, were Beaver and Lucky and those other guys the last of them?” Logan nods. “Or are they gonna check out the rest of his Little League candy store? ‘Cause he didn’t seem like he’d quit when I was in his office.”
The way Logan waggles his eyebrows would almost be comical.
If it didn’t make Veronica want to throw up.
“I can’t…” She backs her chair up and hears it skid on the floor. “I have to…”
And she’s gone again, fleeing to her room, to her bathroom.
To hot water.
***
There’s a soft knock on her door and she twists the robe tighter around her.
“I’m alright, Dad.” Just saying the word makes things a little better. “I swear.”
“It’s me.”
Her eyes widen.
“Logan?” And she cracks the door open to see him standing there, shyly, his hands in his pockets. “What are you…?”
What she wants to ask is how he convinced her father to let him this close to her bedroom door just after she’s had a shower. What he said that made Keith change his mind so completely.
“Are you okay?”
The words are soft, but his eyes burn as they scan her.
“Yeah.” She nods, knowing her voice isn’t as sure as it should be. “I just, with the… It’s just…”
“Too much. I know.” He finishes and she has to nod. “I take it Daddy Mars still doesn’t know?”
Her nod turns to a shake and Logan frowns slightly.
“He should.”
She can feel it slide right out of her eyes, the plea, the desperate, silent scream. And it’s harsh and unfair, she knows, because she sees his face fall and knows that he’ll give her anything right now.
His nervousness is almost palpable.
“Soon.” She promises him, instead, and doesn’t know whether she wants to be lying or not.
***
“Yeah.” They hear Keith’s voice as they walk down the hall. Logan’s hand runs through the wet strands of her hair, just behind her neck. “He’s here, hang on…”
As Keith turns, Veronica expects Logan’s hand to fall away, for him to back off, but he doesn’t. She likes it.
“Logan.” Keith looks serious. “It’s Cliff, he’s been looking for you, he has news.”
“News?” Logan sounds confused. “He’s not my lawyer anymore.”
But he takes the phone out of Keith’s hand.
“What’s up?” She slides into Keith’s arms easily. “What’s going on?”
But Keith only shakes his head.
“Oh.” Logan’s voice comes from across the room. “When?”
He sounds so cold, so clinical. Veronica knows something is wrong.
“Really? How?” There’s a pause. “Do they know who?”
She makes it to him in three steps and he opens his arms for her without pause.
“Me? I have witnesses.” A small chuckle. “They don’t seriously think…? No, I have about a thousand cops who could verify…”
He hangs up the phone and cradles her closer. His face is blank and his eyes are dry, but she can feel how tense he is and how much he’s holding everything in.
“My dad’s dead. Shot through the head.”
Veronica is sure she should be surprised.
She isn't.
***
end part 3.
Onto chapter 4!
Title: Molasses and Taffy, part three.
Author: Jacqui.
Rating: PG-13, nothing more than what was on the show.
Character/Pairing: Veronica, Logan, Keith. Logan/Veronica.
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Rob Thomas owns all VM related things. Except Logan's man neck thing of lickable shells. I'm claiming that.
Wordcount: 1,520.
Spoilers: And then some, baby. It's 2.22 "Not Pictured" all the way.
Summary: If it's a dream, she doesn't want to wake up.
Warnings: None, really, except SPOILERS for 2.22.
Previous chapters found here
*~*~*~*
MOLASSES AND TAFFY, part 3.
*~*~*~*
He’s so big. He’s so silly. He always makes her laugh. He’s her whole world. When she falls, she cries to him. When she finally learns to pedal her bicycle without training wheels, she’s going to scream with joy as she runs to him.
Veronica’s so excited about the puppet show that her arms twitch and she has to squeeze them tight so she can sit still on the blanket. His voice makes the giggles rise in her mouth and her eyes bubble.
But it’s his face that makes him her daddy.
He’ll always be there. He’s always going to pick her up and call her silly names and make her laugh by nuzzling his head into her tummy. He’ll always make faces behind her mom’s head when she’s supposed to be eating vegetables. He’ll always tell her which paths to walk on and which roads not to cross.
He’ll never leave her.
He’ll never, ever not come back.
He’ll never, ever, ever in a million trillion years leave his little girl.
Never. Never ever.
He’ll never board a plane that never lands.
He’ll never…
***
Veronica wakes up, already half out of the bed. Her heart is in her throat and she doesn’t know why. Only one word runs through her head.
“Dad?”
Then she remembers.
Logan is standing by the stove, frying the bacon that woke her, cooking up the pancakes that she smelled in her dream. She can’t breathe and she can’t move and she hates to be disappointed by him.
Because she owes him so much.
But it’s like she’s lost her father all over again. And just the very thought of it is enough to hurt her. She knows she’s about to cry as Logan steps up to her and she folds into his arms easily.
As if she’d never left them.
And his words, his hands, smoothing over her as if he hadn’t stopped. She doesn’t know what else to do. It makes sense to trust Logan now, he knows, he’s been through it.
She’d held him when he’d cried over Lynn.
“Is that breakfast I smell?”
And, oh god. Veronica thinks she’s dreaming, just for an instant, but she can’t stop herself turning around when she feels Logan tense. Logan’s arms fall away and she flings herself at her father.
She can’t get enough. He’s solid in her arms and she cries. Just feeling his hand as it runs up over her hair, in the way she thought she’d never feel again, it’s as if her dreams and her reality became mingled and she doesn’t know what’s what anymore.
But if it’s a dream, she doesn’t want to wake up.
She’s rambling, she can’t stop herself, but her brain just exploded and she doesn’t particularly care what’s coming out of her mouth. Something about how much she loves him. As long as she can keep his arms around her, keep herself buried in his chest, keep his voice sounding in her ears.
He’ll never leave her.
“I was a little surprised to find Logan on the couch…” He laughs, his nervous laugh, she wants to bottle it. “… but it’s better than finding him elsewhere, right?”
She hears the door latch closed and turns to see Logan gone.
“Wait.” It hurts, physically hurts to put her hand up on Keith’s chest and push him away. “Don’t move.”
“I’m not going anywhere…”
But she’s already running to the door.
“Logan!” He’s half way to the entrance when she calls his name. He stops instantly. “Don’t go, please.”
He doesn’t turn around and she feels herself shaking.
“I need you here, please.”
She thinks, maybe, that his hand reaching up to wipe at his face before he turns around isn’t telling at all. At least, she won’t ever bring it up again.
***
“It was Cassidy.” She says it around a mouthful of pancake. “He was the third boy on the tape.”
It’s like she hasn’t eaten for weeks, her stomach rolls and clenches around each mouthful and she can’t stop eating. Damn, but if she knew Logan could do this, she would have kept him around longer.
They’ve pulled the chair out of her room and set it up at the end of the little table that makes their kitchen. Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel crowded. It feels right. Even if no one is eating but her, Logan’s eyes and Keith’s eyes watch her and she doesn’t care. She needs them.
She could stay like this all day and wishes she could just close the blinds and lock the door, force the whole world to wait for her. Just once. Make them wait until she’s had enough basking in the glow of her father, of Logan, of the two of them at pretending to get along just for her.
“They were going to expose Woody, but Cassidy didn’t want to, so he got the explosives from Curly…”
She’s speaking too fast, eating too fast, she’s going to get gas and she doesn’t care, the details are coming too fast to stop. And even if she does manage to stop, she won’t be able to start again, so she continues to ramble, to get it all over in a rush.
“And he was the one who…”
But she does stop, she has her limits.
“Who what?” Keith never misses a thing. “Honey?”
His warm hand on hers pushes her fork down to her plate. She swallows and doesn’t look up.
“Nothing.” Her voice is flat now. “It’s just… everything. It’s all too much.”
“Veronica?”
She knows that tone of voice, knows that Keith Mars has caught the scent of something and he won’t let go. A hand squeezes her knee under the table.
“So what are they going to do about Woody?” Logan asks seriously. “Now that they know what he did?”
“Huh?”
Logan winks at her and she can hear the words in her head. Target: acquired. Distraction: imminent.
“I mean, were Beaver and Lucky and those other guys the last of them?” Logan nods. “Or are they gonna check out the rest of his Little League candy store? ‘Cause he didn’t seem like he’d quit when I was in his office.”
The way Logan waggles his eyebrows would almost be comical.
If it didn’t make Veronica want to throw up.
“I can’t…” She backs her chair up and hears it skid on the floor. “I have to…”
And she’s gone again, fleeing to her room, to her bathroom.
To hot water.
***
There’s a soft knock on her door and she twists the robe tighter around her.
“I’m alright, Dad.” Just saying the word makes things a little better. “I swear.”
“It’s me.”
Her eyes widen.
“Logan?” And she cracks the door open to see him standing there, shyly, his hands in his pockets. “What are you…?”
What she wants to ask is how he convinced her father to let him this close to her bedroom door just after she’s had a shower. What he said that made Keith change his mind so completely.
“Are you okay?”
The words are soft, but his eyes burn as they scan her.
“Yeah.” She nods, knowing her voice isn’t as sure as it should be. “I just, with the… It’s just…”
“Too much. I know.” He finishes and she has to nod. “I take it Daddy Mars still doesn’t know?”
Her nod turns to a shake and Logan frowns slightly.
“He should.”
She can feel it slide right out of her eyes, the plea, the desperate, silent scream. And it’s harsh and unfair, she knows, because she sees his face fall and knows that he’ll give her anything right now.
His nervousness is almost palpable.
“Soon.” She promises him, instead, and doesn’t know whether she wants to be lying or not.
***
“Yeah.” They hear Keith’s voice as they walk down the hall. Logan’s hand runs through the wet strands of her hair, just behind her neck. “He’s here, hang on…”
As Keith turns, Veronica expects Logan’s hand to fall away, for him to back off, but he doesn’t. She likes it.
“Logan.” Keith looks serious. “It’s Cliff, he’s been looking for you, he has news.”
“News?” Logan sounds confused. “He’s not my lawyer anymore.”
But he takes the phone out of Keith’s hand.
“What’s up?” She slides into Keith’s arms easily. “What’s going on?”
But Keith only shakes his head.
“Oh.” Logan’s voice comes from across the room. “When?”
He sounds so cold, so clinical. Veronica knows something is wrong.
“Really? How?” There’s a pause. “Do they know who?”
She makes it to him in three steps and he opens his arms for her without pause.
“Me? I have witnesses.” A small chuckle. “They don’t seriously think…? No, I have about a thousand cops who could verify…”
He hangs up the phone and cradles her closer. His face is blank and his eyes are dry, but she can feel how tense he is and how much he’s holding everything in.
“My dad’s dead. Shot through the head.”
Veronica is sure she should be surprised.
She isn't.
***
end part 3.
Onto chapter 4!