Title: Private Eyes (They Are Watching You)
Fandom: Veronica Mars / Psych
Rating: K+
Characters: Veronica/Logan, Shawn/Juliet, Gus, Mac/Dick, Keith, Henry, Lamb, Lassiter, Wallace/Joy, Weevil
Spoiler: None, AU, Crossover
Disclaimer: VM's characters and universe belongs to Rob Thomas. Psych's characters and universe belongs to Steve Franks.
Summary: Little Veronica meets Little Shawn and Little Gus. Years later, they meet again to solve a murder.
Author'sNote: Veronica is 2 years younger than Shawn and Gus in this fic. Thank you so much Marbear691984 for beta'ed my fic!
Back then
Ten year old Veronica was sitting in the backset of her parents' car, pouting and folding her arms to her chest. She hated that she had to dress up like this; she was wearing a fluffy dress and her hair were in pig tails. Her mom insisted that she was wearing her new shoes which actually made her little feet hurt. But Leanne wouldn't take no for an answer.
Her dad was driving and whistling, while her mom was checking her lipstick using her make up mirror, and caught a sight of her little daughter sulking. "Oh, Veronica. Don't pout like that. This is important for your dad."
"Why can't I stay in Neptune?" She asked. Keith only smiled; his little daughter was always trying to be an adult. The girl was really smart for her age.
"Because I don't think having a 10 year old home alone while her parents go out of town would be wise."
"Macaulay Culkin did it."
"This is why I didn't like that movie. It will give you ideas. I can imagine coming home and you're capturing burglars" Keith teased while Leanne just chuckled.
"Deputy Lamb can babysit me."
"She has a crush on him." Leanne whispered to Keith, which made him groan. "I think it's cute."
"He's fifteen years older than her! And only 10 years younger than us." Keith made a face. "That's just wrong."
"Keith, she's ten. She's having a crush with a cute Deputy. Will you lighten up?"
"Hello? Daughter in distress?" Veronica pointed to herself.
Keith sighed. His little girl was so stubborn. She could sulk like no-one ever sulks. "Veronica, we'll be back to Neptune the day after tomorrow okay, sweetie? Please don't be angry. I know you want to hangout with your friends, like Madison. But you're going to meet new friends at this party." Keith then muttered. "I hope she doesn't kick them first."
"Henry has a son, right?" Leanne asked. Keith nodded. "I heard he's a trouble-maker."
"Nah, he's just acting out most of the time. Henry is pretty strict – he wants Shawn to be a cop, so he's kinda grooming him to be one."
"And you, my dear husband, are spoiling her." Leanne gestured to the backseat.
Keith smiled. "Of course sweetie. Listen, when we'd get back, we're gonna buy you one thing that you really want."
Veronica's eyes widened. "A PONY?"
"No sweetheart." Keith said dejectedly. "Anything but a pony." He looked at his wife who was laughing. Veronica stuck her tongue out and pouted again.
"Burton, have you seen Shawn?" Madeline asked Burton Guster a.k.a Gus who was sitting very proper on the couch with his glass of grape juice. Many guests were talking and drinking and mingling with other guests. There were children too who were sitting next to him, chatting among themselves.
Twelve year old Gus shook his head, "No, Mrs. Spencer. I haven't seen him all day. I think he's avoiding me."
Madeline frowned. "Why is he avoiding you, Burton?"
"I think he's angry that I chose Jason Cunningham to be my spelling bee partner." Gus explained calmly and drank his juice. "Shawn is a terrible speller. I just want to win."
Madeline looked at the calm boy. "Are you okay with Shawn being angry and avoiding you, Burton?"
He shrugged. "We'll be okay." Madeline smirked to see Gus' maturity. The boy sometimes could be a good influence to her son. But she worried that her son could be a bad influence to Gus. How many times Mr. and Mrs. Guster implied with a soft tone that Shawn was naughty? Madeline sighed and tapped Gus' head and then went to see Henry.
Gus' little sister, Joy, plopped herself next to her brother with a plate full of mini sausages. "Where's Shawn?"
Gus sighed and drank his grape juice. "He's probably hiding in the garage."
The door bell was ringing, and Madeline opened the door. She saw The Mars family standing on the front porch. "Keith! How are you? Welcome!"
"Hello, Madeline. How are you? You remember Leanne?" Madeline shook Leanne's hand and received a bottle of wine. "And this is our daughter, Veronica."
"What a beautiful girl you are! Hello, Veronica. Nice to meet you." She then bellowed. "HENRY! KEITH AND THE FAMILY ARE HERE!"
Keith and Leanne looked at each other in surprise, because Madeline seemed like a preppy woman, so they didn't expect her to be… loud. Veronica rolled her eyes in secret, but she kept her smile.
Henry welcomed his friend at the door. He and Keith were hugging and talking loudly with the rest of the Mars clan. He looked at Veronica, "You must be daddy's little princess! You are so pretty." Veronica shook Henry's hand politely, and then startled when Henry bellowed, "SHAWN! COME HERE AND MEET THE MARS FAMILY!" Keith and Leanne grinned to see their host behavior.
"Shawn is avoiding Burton, so he's gone somewhere." Madeline sighed to her husband who rolled his eyes, and then to the Mars family. "Our son has a tendency to get lost during parties and gatherings." Keith and Leanne chuckled politely but stole glances to each other. Veronica puffed her cheek and made her way to the buffet table.
Keith and Henry were in the police academy together, and they became friends during their tenure in the academy. Keith moved to Neptune and joined the Sheriff Department while Henry stayed in Santa Barbara and became a part of the Santa Barbara Police Force. Tonight's party was a celebration for Henry finally becoming a detective. There were many families and friends, and Henry was very talkative.
Veronica sat on the loveseat with a plate of food on her lap, and started to dig in. Leanne was about to reprimand her because she put a lot of food (including desserts) on her plate, but Keith silently grabbed her hand and told his wife to let Veronica enjoying herself. Veronica had a great appetite for a girl her age. Right now she was chewing on her mini sausages.
Joy saw her eating comfortably in her chair, and saw this blonde white girl ate without care. She saw many kids were watching her eating warily. "Hi, you're not from around here?"
Veronica shook her head. "Nope." She offered Joy a cup of Jell-O, which she accepted.
"Thanks. I'm Joy, by the way."
"I'm Veronica. Nice to meet you." She smiled to the black girl of her age. "You live around here?"
"Yep, I live few blocks from here. Our family has been friends with The Spencer's for a long time. Your family is friends with them too?"
"Yeah, my dad used to live in Santa Barbara. He's friends with Mr. Spencer, I think."
Both of them and then silently ate their food. Gus was sitting next to Joy, starring at Veronica, and decided that the blonde girl was actually cute. He cleared his throat to get her attention, while he was fidgeting with his glass. He didn't realize when Veronica was in the eating mode, she hardly paid attention to her surrounding. Gus cleared his throat again, this time louder, and everyone was actually looking at him. Gus sheepishly reclined to his seat. Joy rolled her eyes, and Veronica just raised her eyebrow. Gus nudged Joy several times, which annoyed her.
"Veronica, this is my dorky big brother, Burton. But everyone calls him Gus."
Gus waved sheepishly. "Hi."
Veronica smiled politely. She was taught to be nice with everybody, and it seemed the kids were friendly. "Hello."
"So, you're not from around here are you?" Gus asked coolly. Joy rolled her eyes; her big brother sometimes could behave like an idiot in front of girls. Sometimes he could get scared with girls, always yelling about cooties.
"She just told you that!" Joy nudged Gus hard. "Where are you from, Veronica?"
"I'm from Neptune."
"Neptune? That's a planet, right?" Gus asked and then chuckled to himself. When nobody laughed, he cleared his throat. "I heard it's a nice place."
"Yep, it's a great place. I love it there. They have this great dog beach, where dogs can run around freely. Too bad dad won't buy me a dog. Or a pony."
"I want a pony too!" Joy exclaimed. "But my parents say no."
"I don't understand parents!" Veronica exclaimed too, and then both of girls started to talk about ponies, puppies, and unicorns. Gus was feeling left out and tried to indulge much with the conversation, finally gave up, stood up and roamed around the house. He went to Shawn's room, but Shawn was still hiding in the garage. So against his better judgment, he went to the garage.