Title: Call Me What You Like
Summary: AU Heroes/VM crossover. After Angela fires her, Elle decides on a new way to make money. But in Neptune she meets five men who have one thing in common: They all call her Veronica.
Characters/Pairings: Elle/Jake Kane, Elle/Logan Echolls, Elle/Vinnie Van Lowe, Elle/Cliff McCormack, Elle/Sheriff Don Lamb, mentions Veronica, HRG, Keith, Thompson/Candace and a few more
Rating: R (softcore smut, nothing graphic)
Spoilers: 3x02 of Heroes, General Veronica Mars spoilers
Word Count: Disclaimer: Heroes nor Veronica Mars are owned by me, but by NBC and Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.
A/N: Takes place after an AU S3 of Veronica Mars
Vinnie:
Another long night on another long stakeout found Vinnie Van Lowe on the corner a block from The Seventh Veil. Yet another worried 09'er wife thinking her husband was up to no good with one of the dancers and the promise of $10,000 for the money shot was what had brought him here. If the guy was in fact engaging in extramarital activities, Vinnie didn't have any proof of it yet.
It was after the fourth hour on the second night of his stakeout that he thought he had proof that Veronica Mars was not only back in town but looking for some action of her own. In the hope of either getting in on her case or the chance of blackmailing her was quickly on his way to investigate.
Now Vinnie, like most, liked money. He hated having to work for it, but he liked his paydays enough to deal with it. He guessed for a minute when he saw who he thought was Veronica in that skintight and ultra short skirt resting against a telephone pole that maybe she really was on a case of her own. Maybe for her father, maybe for the FBI. Either way, he wasn't sure he wanted to risk it so much after all.
Five minutes later she was still there and had waved off at least two cars already. He guessed then she really was on a gig since most hookers he knew couldn't afford to be so picky… Not that he knew any personally, of course. Vinnie waited another five minutes, deciding if the husband of his client didn't show up by then he would come back in an hour. Sure enough he didn't and he was pulling up to the corner to see what had brought his favorite pixie P.I. to this part of town on this very late night.
"Well, well, Veronica Mars. Hadn't heard you were back. What be the haps, sugar?"
Elle almost laughed at him. Not only was the name Veronica back to haunt her, but all she could see was this guy's black clothes, greased back hair and gold chain. Could this guy be more of a cliché? She pushed back off of the pole and moved to his rolled down window. "Name's Elle, sugar. But if the price is right you can call me whatever you want."
Vinnie liked money, he liked being able to hang onto it all the more. But when the chance presented itself to have even part of a night with someone who looked that much like Veronica, well, he decided he couldn't be held responsible for what came next. Provided Keith never found out at least. He didn't have that much of a death wish.
Granted, Elle could think of several better places for this, but apparently the back of Vinnie's van would have to do. The photographic equipment surrounding them gave her a moment of pause at first but she didn't ask. She honestly didn't want to know what this guy was doing outside of a strip club with so many cameras for fear she might one day have to testify.
It had been fast with him, which made her that much more glad she didn't charge by the hour and like the two before him in this town, he had only called her Veronica. And Sugar and Cookie and pretty much any other sugar-laden snack she was almost surprised she didn't get a cavity just from being called over and over again.
"We can just keep this between us, right?" Vinnie asked when he was zipping himself back up. "Daddy doesn't have to know, I mean?"
Elle felt a stab of longing at that. Daddy was gone. And she tried desperately not to think of him when she was working and not just for obvious reasons. Some nights it made her all too sad to think of how he would feel if he was still alive and knew what she had become. Though in truth if he was still alive she wouldn't have been fired by Angela and she wouldn't be here now, but that was beside the point. But she didn't let the brief hurt show, especially not to a somewhat decently paying customer.
"Yeah. We can keep this between us," she smiled to Vinnie before she walked back down to her motel, focusing on the clacking of her high heels against the sidewalk in the hope they would be loud enough to drown out her sudden onset of troubled thoughts.