Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for this idea, everything else belongs to Rob Thomas and the excellent team that produced Veronica Mars.
A/N: This fic takes place after the movie, and season 4 does not exist in this world – mostly canon compliant until then, and then not at all. The timeline is also edited, in which the whole series takes place in more recent time. I've kept some characters I couldn't bare to say goodbye to.
It's not like he hadn't tried to make his marriage work. He felt he had tried to push past their issues, but if it was one thing he couldn't get past – it was betrayal. Nobody knew yet, not even their closest friends and family. Weevil didn't want them to, but he knew they would at some point.
The strange part was, he wasn't even angry, and if it was one feeling he could count on - pretty much at any circumstance, it was anger. But it didn't come.
He had gotten out more on his bike the last few nights, just riding in the dark. At first, he had just felt numb. Now he was starting to feel a familiar ache inside his chest, building its way up to his throat, and he tried to blink away the tears that threatened to cloud his vision as he was riding north on the PCH.
The bike's purr was usually soothing, but it did nothing for him now. He was heading back into town, not ready to go home to his now ex, but not sure where to spend his time until he could be certain she had gone to sleep.
As he passed the familiar building, he saw the lights flickered off upstairs. He slowed the bike almost to a halt, parking across the street. The stained glass didn't give away more than shadows from inside. Weevil couldn't be sure which of the Mars' were leaving the office, but he couldn't deny hoping that it was the blonde, tiny one. Tiny, but powerful one, he thought.
She emerged mere seconds later, and he though for once he was in luck. Veronica was wearing black high heels, a pair of dark denim trousers, and a military green jacket that hugged her figure.
She didn't see him at first, just scanning for her car in the overfilled parking lot, but her habit of checking her surroundings didn't disappoint tonight.
As her eyes met his, he gave her his cheeky smirk, sure to draw her attention. She tilted her head and smiled, a hint of curiosity colouring her eyes.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Veronica asked, gesturing to him on his bike as she walked towards him. He shrugged and smiled.
"Want to take a ride? And grab a drink?"
She nodded, still evident that she was wondering what brought this on, but she accepted the helmet he held out for her and got on the back of his bike.
They hadn't kept in touch as much as of lately, but it wasn't unusual for them to touch base every now and again.
Weevil felt her against his back, holding on to his sides, and he remembered all the times they had ridden together on his bike like this. They had so much history, and so much they had never talked about. For many years, their relationship was all favours and backscratching, or so it seemed.
He rode the bike south on the PCH again, aiming for a little secluded bar he liked to visit. Neptune was too crowded to grab a casual drink, everybody knowing everybody, getting in everybody's business. He let out a sigh, and the ache in his chest throbbed again. He tried to shake it off, focusing on her hold around him instead.
Weevil parked his bike on the small parking lot with barely enough space for two more vehicles. He reached out a hand to help Veronica get off the bike, which she took without hesitation. She smiled at him, one of those knowing smiles that made him wonder what she really knew and not.
He opened the door to the bar for her, gesturing for her to enter first.
After they had ordered their drinks, they found a table in the far back, right by the windows overlooking the ocean and the beautiful sunset. When he didn't speak, she looked at him for a few seconds, weighing her words.
"So, this is a nice surprise. What brought this on?" She chose the direct route, he thought. He shrugged.
"Happened to see you leaving your office while I was driving around, thought I'd hear if you'd want to grab a drink," he answered, taking a sip of his beer. She smiled and shook her head just a tad, momentarily giving up on the subject.
"How's business?" he asked her instead, not giving her the chance to ask about him first. "Good, how's yours?" she retorted, earning a smile from him for the way she could always read him.
"The shop's fine," he nodded, taking a big swing of his beer. She nodded, looking down at the table, reading something between the lines he presumed. Veronica had been to the shop he worked at a few times, but it had been a while since last time now.
"Do you remember the first time you were on my bike?" She looked surprised as he asked the question, but she nodded with a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Yes, it's been a few years, and a few favours, since."
"It was always just favours with us, huh?" he asked, meeting her curious gaze.
"It started out that way, I suppose." Her eyes were cautious, but warm.
"You know, I would have liked to learn how to ride a bike myself. But then I wouldn't get to ride on the back of yours anymore." Her smile was back, and the coy look in her eyes made him laugh.
"I can teach you," he promised, trying to picture her on his bike solo. The mood got lighter from there on, Veronica always finding her own way to get him out of his head.
They had another round of drinks before Veronica got a phone call, excusing herself as she left the table to answer it.
When she returned, she apologized for the interruption.
"It's fine, V. What's up?" She didn't look like she wanted to tell him, but he had a gut feeling she would.
"It's just a client. The case is going a bit south. I have to get some serious leads soon. But the case is tricky, and I'm not sure what to do right now. Dad is not quite ready to help me yet." She stated, looking out the window at the now-dark ocean and sky. Her dad was still in rough shape after the car crash a year ago. She didn't look at him while she answered, and Weevil felt the need to reach out to her.
"Tell me if there's anything I can do to help." Veronica rested her hands on her thighs, so he settled for putting his hand on top of hers. She turned over one of her hands to hold his. It felt so nice, so natural to just sit like this.
"How are you since everything with Logan?" Weevil didn't like bringing him up, but a part of him needed to know. She looked at him, defeat in her eyes, sighing.
"I'm… okay, I guess. I think it was an amicable split, as far as they go. He's gotten a condo a few streets down from me, I think. He still travels a lot for work, so…".
Weevil nodded and took another sip of his beer. He had heard they had broken up through the grapevine, but no details. He wished she wasn't hurting, hell, he was hurting too, but he couldn't make himself bring it up.
They passed some more time talking about old times, old friends, old favours. Weevil didn't want the night to end, but he didn't want to keep her from her life either. Maybe he would get the chance to see her again soon if she didn't get tired of him already.
He proposed that they should head home, happy to see that she wasn't thrilled by the idea either.
She followed him to his bike and got behind him again, clinging a bit tighter this time. As he parked next to her car in the now-deserted lot, he stayed on his bike until she drove off. Then he got behind her, tailing her until she parked outside of her beachside condo.
When Veronica went to the door, she gave him a small wave, which he nodded back at. As she locked the door behind her, he drove off. He could feel the ache return as soon as she was gone, but he still felt a little better than he had at the start of the night.
Driving back to his place, Weevil killed the engine of the bike in the street before entering his driveway, rolling it into the garage before climbing the stairs to his small two-bedroom house. All the lights were off, except for a small lamp by the sofa. He entered the bathroom, brushing his teeth and climbing onto the familiar furniture, draping a blanket over himself. Tonight had been a good night, or at least far better than the last few weeks.
He rubbed his hands over his face and neck, trying to shut out all the thoughts in his head. What had his life become in the last weeks? Weevil had no answers, and he kept trying to shut everything out. Eventually it must have worked, cause when he woke up it was daylight outside.
The house was empty, so he figured Jade had taken Valentina to day care. They had to solve this living situation, and soon, cause Weevil was in no mood to share living space with somebody he couldn't trust.
He sighed, figuring he should take a shower before going into work. Weevil glanced at his phone, only to discover that he had gotten a text from Veronica.
"Thank you for last night".
As he went into the shower, the thought of that text made him smile. He had never had any claim to Veronica. He'd never even called her a friend or had the right to expect anything from her, but she was somehow always there, sometimes when he needed it the most.
A/N: I have several more chapters coming! Any feedback is welcome. I've been struggling a bit with editing the document, but hopefully it will be better from now on. Thank you for reading!