Summer In Neptune (9, part two/?)
Title: Summer In Neptune (9, part two/?)
Author: Pat Kelly
Pairing: Veronica/Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1539
Summary: A crossover with BtVS. Buffy runs away from Sunnydale and goes to the first place she called home.
Timeline: Between S2 and S3 for BtVS. Between S1 and S2 of VM, so there be possible spoilers. Fudged with the years, so Buffy is 17 in 2005, not 1998, like in the show.
Note: Dialogue from "BASEketball" copyright Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Universal.
----------------------------------------------------------
"I'll trade you...three, 'Ultimate Nachos' for one, 'Cheeseburger Egg Roll.'" Veronica offered as they ate their appetizers/meal in a booth by the window.
They got a large sampler to share between themselves, and one other appetizer each besides.
"Throw in toppings, and it's a deal." Buffy haggled. "Ooh, and one must be fed to me."
"I feel we can do business." Veronica agreed to those terms with a smile. She made the switch, but with the third nacho, she really loaded it up with jalapeños, salsa and cheese, and held it out. "Hope you brought mints."
"You're evil." Buffy accused.
Veronica smiled wider. "And you're non-specific. We're learning so much about each other...isn't it great?" She cleared her throat, telling her girlfriend to hurry up.
Buffy opened her mouth, the nacho was directed inside, she chewed, and within moments, her eyes began to water, and she coughed. Luckily, Veronica was there in the clutch with water and straw. She also had the grace to at least look like she felt a little bad.
"Evil." The slayer reiterated, coughing some more.
Veronica clapped her hands together, and conversationally asked, "So how's the date going for you?"
"Best one ever." Buffy rolled her eyes, but then looked more sincere. "No, seriously? 'Cause I'm me, I keep waiting for the 'Bad' to happen, to be wigged, anything 'dark cloud-y,' but this feels so...not near that. M'still getting used to how giddy-esque I am at being together with my best friend."
Veronica knew what she meant. "Ain't just you. My dad was right--that girl from before Lilly's murder? Haven't been her in a long time. I'm jaded pretty much around the clock thanks to everything that came after, and I make it a point not to trust anyone, who I keep about a Paul Bunyan's arm length away. Wallace and Mac weaseled their way closer than most, but let's just say I don't usually have conversations like this with them. Don't open up, don't share, and it feels kinda awkward when they're looking for a shoulder."
"We're *not* who we were at fifteen and sixteen."
"And yet...weird thing? Suddenly you're back, and stuff that 'Sixteen-Year-Old Veronica' knew how to do, is resurfacing in the elder cynic before you. There was *hugging* when you showed up at my door. I don't hug anybody who isn't kin." Veronica had a list of things she'd done with Buffy around, that she'd thought lost. "At first I wondered, 'Am I fooling myself here? Stupidly trying to recapture those days of yore? Picking up where we left off can't really be this easy.' But it has been. And then adding *this*," She gestured between them, meaning their coupling, "felt more than a little inevitable, y'know? Those girls we were aren't ever coming back, but--"
"--past and present met and meshed at a happy halfway, and then went in a crazy--but satisfying--new direction?" Buffy cut her off, anticipating the end. "I know."
"And that's another thing...sentence finishing." Veronica shook her head in amazement. "We got each other then, and we get each other now...that's unbelievable. I don't know, but I think I could be feeling giddy-esque myself. Or its third cousin twice removed." She smirked. "My cynicism's complaining that I'm only putting blinders on, but I know Neptune hasn't changed. I still see the reality; you just haven't let me get dragged down again." She blushed a bit here. "I must *really* like you, huh?"
Because of the G-rated, family environment, they had to settle for their feet finding one another under the table. "I *really* like you, too." Buffy smiled, and then frowned. "Going home's gonna be hard."
With that depressing thought, they each ate a mozzarella stick in silence. When they were done Veronica asked, "What are we gonna do when summer's over? And I'm not talking about us. As much as you being not here will suck quite a bunch, we'll work it out. But what do we do?"
"What we have to, I guess." Buffy said with a shrug. "Even if we don't like ourselves sometimes while in the process of."
Veronica sighed. "So, run back into the welcoming, cozy ruts that're our personalities."
"Or maybe hope we don't forget what living outside our ruts was like for a few months." Buffy suggested. "I'm not slaying and you're not sleuthing...but we both know, no matter what got us started, it's part of who we are now. And when I dust vamps, save everyone, and don't feel crushed by responsibility, I love the 'chosen' life. Just like you love outsmarting people and making money at it."
"Indeed I do." Veronica admitted, recalling fond memories. The watchword was covering up a truth that couldn't stay covered for long. "Every time I cross a line, though..." It got difficult to look at herself in the mirror.
"My advice? When a line comes up, just ask yourself whether crossing is absolutely necessary, and make sure there isn't another way, first." Buffy advised, thinking of her own experiences as she did. "And if there isn't, well, at least you explored all options."
"Mm." Veronica looked thoughtful. "Excellent advice as always, Wise One."
"I try." Buffy winked. "Anyway, if we start sliding into a bad place, we'll be a phone call away." Veronica agreed with this also. "But Sunnydale's two months thattaway."
"When you're right, you're right." Veronica stated, and then sipped her Coke. "Hey, wanna play 'I Spy'?"
Buffy's eyebrows arched. "What're we spying?"
"Cheating spouses." Veronica's expression said, "What else?" and then she grinned.
"This date just gets better and better." Buffy smirked, rolling her eyes again.
This was going to be a fantastic story to tell her mother.
***
"Wait," Buffy said quickly into the phone, and to Joyce on the other end, "before you say anything, just to put things in perspective? I think you should know that you dated a robot."
"I...*what*?" Her mother audibly gasped. "Oh god. Ted." She absorbed this. "You let me date a robot?"
"I didn't know! At least, not until I hit him with the frying pan..."
"How very 'Looney Tunes' of you." Veronica commented.
"I make do with what's available in the moment." Buffy told her girlfriend, defensively.
Veronica looked innocent. "Hey, I'm not judging your 'superheroing' methods."
"Damn right you're not."
Joyce cleared her throat to get their attention. "I guess I should be glad Veronica isn't like Angel." Her daughter couldn't think of anything to say, so she didn't. "Mr. Giles told me wha...who he was, Buffy."
"Veronica knows about vampires, Mom; so does Mr. Mars. But I'm glad she isn't like Angel, either."
"So am I." Veronica said, and then whispered with a mischievous grin, "Doesn't mean I won't bite."
Buffy mouthed, "What the hell?"
"Sounds like you're happy." Joyce spoke again.
Thankfully, she hadn't heard that.
"We are, Mrs. Summers." Veronica responded, not missing a beat.
"And if you're going out tonight, your dad must have given his blessing." Joyce figured out.
"Yeah, he did."
They could almost hear the woman thinking.
Joyce didn't want to hurt her relationship with her daughter any further. "Do you girls wanna meet somewhere for lunch? Maybe on Thursday?"
***
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"*Dude*."
"I guess you got a point there."
Buffy and Veronica quoted the dugout scene in "BASEketball" back and forth as they watched it on DVD. They were going to go to a theater, but there wasn't much out to see other than "War of the Worlds," and they couldn't even stand Tom Cruise enough to sit there and make fun of him. So instead, they came back to the apartment to finish their date. A night stroll around Neptune wouldn't have been that safe.
Or romantic.
Why "BASEketball?" It was the first, R-rated movie their impressionable, eleven-year-old minds had been exposed to. Keith made the mistake of renting it and leaving it in the VCR; it held a special place in their hearts. It was a small glimpse into the comic genius waiting to be applied to the "South Park" movie a year later.
After they laughed, Buffy said, "You realize that by splitting the check, we avoided answering the 'butch' question."
"I'll go 50/50, how's that?" Veronica offered as her head lay in Buffy's lap on the couch. "If you want me back in the biz of 'gumshoeing,' I need to hang onto my girlish qualities."
"I don't want you to explain, do I?"
"It involves the occasional stuffing."
Buffy sighed. "I was right--I didn't want you to." She slid down, and Veronica slid up, so they were both lying beside one another. "Fine, 50/50."
They went back to quoting the film.
"'That's him, Squeak.'" Veronica said. "'That's Tuttle.'"
"'He's been talking some serious *beep* about you all night.'" Buffy said the next line, doing what they used to do, and self-censoring. They'd been too young to curse.
"'Yeah. He told everyone he caught you *beep*-ing off in the bathroom before the game.'" Veronica smirked and giggled.
"'He saw that?!'" Buffy said her line, and they both chuckled. "Good first date."
"Bet your *beep* it was."
They were asleep right there when Keith got home at 4:30 the next morning.
Author: Pat Kelly
Pairing: Veronica/Buffy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1539
Summary: A crossover with BtVS. Buffy runs away from Sunnydale and goes to the first place she called home.
Timeline: Between S2 and S3 for BtVS. Between S1 and S2 of VM, so there be possible spoilers. Fudged with the years, so Buffy is 17 in 2005, not 1998, like in the show.
Note: Dialogue from "BASEketball" copyright Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Universal.
----------------------------------------------------------
"I'll trade you...three, 'Ultimate Nachos' for one, 'Cheeseburger Egg Roll.'" Veronica offered as they ate their appetizers/meal in a booth by the window.
They got a large sampler to share between themselves, and one other appetizer each besides.
"Throw in toppings, and it's a deal." Buffy haggled. "Ooh, and one must be fed to me."
"I feel we can do business." Veronica agreed to those terms with a smile. She made the switch, but with the third nacho, she really loaded it up with jalapeños, salsa and cheese, and held it out. "Hope you brought mints."
"You're evil." Buffy accused.
Veronica smiled wider. "And you're non-specific. We're learning so much about each other...isn't it great?" She cleared her throat, telling her girlfriend to hurry up.
Buffy opened her mouth, the nacho was directed inside, she chewed, and within moments, her eyes began to water, and she coughed. Luckily, Veronica was there in the clutch with water and straw. She also had the grace to at least look like she felt a little bad.
"Evil." The slayer reiterated, coughing some more.
Veronica clapped her hands together, and conversationally asked, "So how's the date going for you?"
"Best one ever." Buffy rolled her eyes, but then looked more sincere. "No, seriously? 'Cause I'm me, I keep waiting for the 'Bad' to happen, to be wigged, anything 'dark cloud-y,' but this feels so...not near that. M'still getting used to how giddy-esque I am at being together with my best friend."
Veronica knew what she meant. "Ain't just you. My dad was right--that girl from before Lilly's murder? Haven't been her in a long time. I'm jaded pretty much around the clock thanks to everything that came after, and I make it a point not to trust anyone, who I keep about a Paul Bunyan's arm length away. Wallace and Mac weaseled their way closer than most, but let's just say I don't usually have conversations like this with them. Don't open up, don't share, and it feels kinda awkward when they're looking for a shoulder."
"We're *not* who we were at fifteen and sixteen."
"And yet...weird thing? Suddenly you're back, and stuff that 'Sixteen-Year-Old Veronica' knew how to do, is resurfacing in the elder cynic before you. There was *hugging* when you showed up at my door. I don't hug anybody who isn't kin." Veronica had a list of things she'd done with Buffy around, that she'd thought lost. "At first I wondered, 'Am I fooling myself here? Stupidly trying to recapture those days of yore? Picking up where we left off can't really be this easy.' But it has been. And then adding *this*," She gestured between them, meaning their coupling, "felt more than a little inevitable, y'know? Those girls we were aren't ever coming back, but--"
"--past and present met and meshed at a happy halfway, and then went in a crazy--but satisfying--new direction?" Buffy cut her off, anticipating the end. "I know."
"And that's another thing...sentence finishing." Veronica shook her head in amazement. "We got each other then, and we get each other now...that's unbelievable. I don't know, but I think I could be feeling giddy-esque myself. Or its third cousin twice removed." She smirked. "My cynicism's complaining that I'm only putting blinders on, but I know Neptune hasn't changed. I still see the reality; you just haven't let me get dragged down again." She blushed a bit here. "I must *really* like you, huh?"
Because of the G-rated, family environment, they had to settle for their feet finding one another under the table. "I *really* like you, too." Buffy smiled, and then frowned. "Going home's gonna be hard."
With that depressing thought, they each ate a mozzarella stick in silence. When they were done Veronica asked, "What are we gonna do when summer's over? And I'm not talking about us. As much as you being not here will suck quite a bunch, we'll work it out. But what do we do?"
"What we have to, I guess." Buffy said with a shrug. "Even if we don't like ourselves sometimes while in the process of."
Veronica sighed. "So, run back into the welcoming, cozy ruts that're our personalities."
"Or maybe hope we don't forget what living outside our ruts was like for a few months." Buffy suggested. "I'm not slaying and you're not sleuthing...but we both know, no matter what got us started, it's part of who we are now. And when I dust vamps, save everyone, and don't feel crushed by responsibility, I love the 'chosen' life. Just like you love outsmarting people and making money at it."
"Indeed I do." Veronica admitted, recalling fond memories. The watchword was covering up a truth that couldn't stay covered for long. "Every time I cross a line, though..." It got difficult to look at herself in the mirror.
"My advice? When a line comes up, just ask yourself whether crossing is absolutely necessary, and make sure there isn't another way, first." Buffy advised, thinking of her own experiences as she did. "And if there isn't, well, at least you explored all options."
"Mm." Veronica looked thoughtful. "Excellent advice as always, Wise One."
"I try." Buffy winked. "Anyway, if we start sliding into a bad place, we'll be a phone call away." Veronica agreed with this also. "But Sunnydale's two months thattaway."
"When you're right, you're right." Veronica stated, and then sipped her Coke. "Hey, wanna play 'I Spy'?"
Buffy's eyebrows arched. "What're we spying?"
"Cheating spouses." Veronica's expression said, "What else?" and then she grinned.
"This date just gets better and better." Buffy smirked, rolling her eyes again.
This was going to be a fantastic story to tell her mother.
***
"Wait," Buffy said quickly into the phone, and to Joyce on the other end, "before you say anything, just to put things in perspective? I think you should know that you dated a robot."
"I...*what*?" Her mother audibly gasped. "Oh god. Ted." She absorbed this. "You let me date a robot?"
"I didn't know! At least, not until I hit him with the frying pan..."
"How very 'Looney Tunes' of you." Veronica commented.
"I make do with what's available in the moment." Buffy told her girlfriend, defensively.
Veronica looked innocent. "Hey, I'm not judging your 'superheroing' methods."
"Damn right you're not."
Joyce cleared her throat to get their attention. "I guess I should be glad Veronica isn't like Angel." Her daughter couldn't think of anything to say, so she didn't. "Mr. Giles told me wha...who he was, Buffy."
"Veronica knows about vampires, Mom; so does Mr. Mars. But I'm glad she isn't like Angel, either."
"So am I." Veronica said, and then whispered with a mischievous grin, "Doesn't mean I won't bite."
Buffy mouthed, "What the hell?"
"Sounds like you're happy." Joyce spoke again.
Thankfully, she hadn't heard that.
"We are, Mrs. Summers." Veronica responded, not missing a beat.
"And if you're going out tonight, your dad must have given his blessing." Joyce figured out.
"Yeah, he did."
They could almost hear the woman thinking.
Joyce didn't want to hurt her relationship with her daughter any further. "Do you girls wanna meet somewhere for lunch? Maybe on Thursday?"
***
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"Dude!"
"*Dude*."
"I guess you got a point there."
Buffy and Veronica quoted the dugout scene in "BASEketball" back and forth as they watched it on DVD. They were going to go to a theater, but there wasn't much out to see other than "War of the Worlds," and they couldn't even stand Tom Cruise enough to sit there and make fun of him. So instead, they came back to the apartment to finish their date. A night stroll around Neptune wouldn't have been that safe.
Or romantic.
Why "BASEketball?" It was the first, R-rated movie their impressionable, eleven-year-old minds had been exposed to. Keith made the mistake of renting it and leaving it in the VCR; it held a special place in their hearts. It was a small glimpse into the comic genius waiting to be applied to the "South Park" movie a year later.
After they laughed, Buffy said, "You realize that by splitting the check, we avoided answering the 'butch' question."
"I'll go 50/50, how's that?" Veronica offered as her head lay in Buffy's lap on the couch. "If you want me back in the biz of 'gumshoeing,' I need to hang onto my girlish qualities."
"I don't want you to explain, do I?"
"It involves the occasional stuffing."
Buffy sighed. "I was right--I didn't want you to." She slid down, and Veronica slid up, so they were both lying beside one another. "Fine, 50/50."
They went back to quoting the film.
"'That's him, Squeak.'" Veronica said. "'That's Tuttle.'"
"'He's been talking some serious *beep* about you all night.'" Buffy said the next line, doing what they used to do, and self-censoring. They'd been too young to curse.
"'Yeah. He told everyone he caught you *beep*-ing off in the bathroom before the game.'" Veronica smirked and giggled.
"'He saw that?!'" Buffy said her line, and they both chuckled. "Good first date."
"Bet your *beep* it was."
They were asleep right there when Keith got home at 4:30 the next morning.