Chapter 1

Neptune is a hellhole. This town drags you down into its depths regardless of your zip code or whether you have or have not. You can spend your life clawing your way up only to have it swept out from under you overnight.

So when I heard Veronica was leaving, heading out for an internship with the FBI, I wasn't surprised. The year she's had and all that crap with the tape, no one would blame her for disappearing. But I was pissed I hadn't heard it from her. Maybe even a little hurt if I was being honest with myself. We've always had a thing. What kind of thing it is I don't know, but it's something. Even if we're just friends I would have wanted her to tell me. I had a suspicion she was going to just leave without even a call or see you later. And I doubt she will ever look back.

That's the thing with Veronica Mars, she holds everyone at arms length. Even if she always has your back. I get that. Still hurts though. I like that girl. And then some. We've helped out each other a lot and if it was me, hell, I'd give her more than a phone call to say goodbye. I'd give her something to remember me by if you get what I mean.

But Veronica is…I dunno if selfish is the right word, but self centred maybe? She's like an 09er sometimes, not really thinking about the consequences of her actions or how she might affect other people. Or knowing and not caring. Not sure which is worse.

Anyway, I found myself driving to her place that night, just turned up at her door without any real plan. I figured it was now or never, you know, I didn't know if I'd ever see her again. And I wanted to know, see what it was we had. May as well, what was there to lose?

I knocked on the door and she answered. No Sheriff in sight. Gracias a Dios.

"Hey, V. You busy?"

"Weevil? What are you, ah, is everything ok?" She looks absolutely confused and I don't blame her. Normally our meetings are prearranged.

"Yeah, nothing is going on, it's fine. It's just…look, can I come in?" I rubbed the back of my head nervously and leant on the door frame.

She went from confused to curious and contemplated me for a second, tilting her head to one side. That damn head tilt, gets me every time. Finally she stepped back to let me through.

"Not your smoothest line, vato, but sure, come on in."

I gave her a hint of a smile, and put a bit of heat in it for her and damn, but she smirked back. Still got it. Love getting arise outta that girl.

She wandered over to the armchair and I parked myself on the couch, taking off my jacket and slinging it over the side. Been there enough over the years to feel a bit comfortable. Backup went straight for me, tail thumping. I gave him a good proper pat, he's a good dog.

I had a quick look around out of habit, checking the exits even if I didn't need to. It's a nice place; small but cozy and the blue tiles in the kitchen are cool.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Veronica asked.

May as well cut straight to it. I finished patting Backup, leaned back and looked her dead in the eye. "Heard you're leaving town. Getting out of this hellhole."

She looked both a bit ashamed and a bit shifty at the same time.

"Yeah, ah about that. Look, I was going to tell you-"

I leaned forward and put my arms on my knees, "Were you though? I dunno, V, it kinda seems like you were just gonna disappear on me. I mean, I get it. You are having a shit time. But still, come on girl." I put my puppy dog face on for good measure.

"Well, I mean maybe, but it's not like I wouldn't call or anything, I'm coming back. It's an internship, not a permanent move." Sounds like a whole lot of bullshit to me.

"Are you? Way I see it, if you're out, you're out. You finish that internship, then maybe transfer to Stanford or somewhere else. Why would you come back? Nothing here for you except bad memories."

She frowned and let the silence sit for a second before she stomped out of the chair and plopped herself on the couch next to me. "What are you trying to say, Weevil? Why are you even here? To rub it in? What's it to you?"

Deflection. She's a master at it all right.

"So we alway had a thing, you and me."

Her eyebrows rose and her head tilted again. Man this girl just kills me.

"A thing? Like a thing, thing? What do you mean? I mean we've never…"

"You know what I mean. We got a spark. Don't know what it means exactly, but you and I, we get each other. Most of the time. I know you've entertained the idea of an 'us'" I carried on with a smile and eyebrow raise of my own, "so don't try to deny it - I can feel when it's returned, V."

Ay Dios mio, she actually blushed. This night just got a whole lot better. I pushed my luck and moved a bit closer.

"I know we never went there. You had that nostalgic thing with Lily's brother, the Buffy and Angel thing with Echolls. I mean the Deputy was an interesting move and that Piz guy…well I mean he's a safe bet. Nice guy. Adores you, not a violent bone in his body. But he's boring, V. It wouldn't have lasted, the heat wasn't there."

"Are you quite done dissecting my love life? What is the point Eli, what are you trying to say?"

A thrill went through me. I love it when she says my name.

"I never made a move, V. I respect the hell outta you and trust you most of the time, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for most. We always traded favours and I never wanted to mess up whatever thing we had. It was fun riling you up and getting what I gave back…"

"…but?"

"But now you're going. And I kinda wanna know." I rubbed the back of my head again. Get a grip, Nevarro.

"You wanna know..?"

"Come on, V, you're not stupid. I wanna know what the spark could have been." I leaned closer, daring her to move away. Her face flickered with a few expressions I couldn't decipher but she didn't move. Ah, the challenge is accepted.

"I want to satisfy my, ah, curiosity." I reached forward and brushed my knuckles over her jaw. Her breath hitched and her eyes were wide, but she still didn't move away.

"Uh Eli…"

"I want to know what could have been. I figure there's no harm since you're leaving and not coming back. Leaving me behind. You won't need me anymore."

I trail my fingers over her ear, down her neck, down her arm and ghosted them over her fingers, then linked them in mine. My heart was ready to pound out of my chest, I had no idea which way this was going. Not gonna lie, was fully expecting a taser to make an appearance at any time. I looked up from our linked hands into her eyes, trying to gauge what she was thinking.

"Balls in your court, V." I pushed it one step further and leaned forward to bump my nose into hers making her breath in sharply, my fingers automatically gripped hers harder. Man, I should have done this years ago. "What you gonna do?"

"I think this is a bad idea," she whispered, her eyes not leaving mine.

"Yeah? Why?"

"I'm a mess. And it'll change everything."

"Mmm, maybe." I dropped a kiss onto the top of her nose. What can I say, I'm adorable. "But does that matter?"

"You mean because I'm leaving?" Her nose nudged mine.

"Yeah. If you're never going to see me again, does it matter if it changes things?" I kissed her cheek, close to the corner of her mouth, teasing, "Come on, V, where's your sense of adventure?"

She smirked and huffed out a laugh, "Don't you try and tempt me with a challenge. This is a big line to cross, Weevil. I've crossed a lot of lines. You think you can handle it?"

"Oh baby, you know I can. Question is, can you?"

"Ohh Weevil, tsk tsk," she wagged a finger in front of my face, "just remember," she leaned in and whispered in my ear, making me shiver, "you asked for this."

Shit.

She bit my earlobe gently, then sucked it and blew in my ear.

Fuck.

When she kissed the corner of my mouth my hands started moving on their own, tracing up her arms, over her shoulders to cradle her face. I smoothed my thumbs over her cheeks and we stared at each other for a half second. The point of no return.

Who moved first I don't know but one minute I was staring into her beautiful blue eyes and the next I was kissing her. My body lit up at the contact and God it was worth it. Whatever changed from here, it was worth it for this.

One hand slid into her hair and she gasped. I used the other to gently tug at her waist and she responded immediately and moved so she was straddling me, her arms coming around my neck and holding me close. Heaven. I thought kissing Veronica would be a battle for control, but it was more like a surrender into sweet oblivion. I tried to remember every move, every sound so if I ever got to do this again I would know what she liked.

Veronica broke the kiss by sucking my bottom lip, I responded by kissing down her neck and nipping at her collarbone, then she ground her hips into mine and I growled and flipped her over onto the couch so I was on top, her legs still around my waist. I claimed her lips again and she dragged her hands down my chest to the hem of my shirt, tugging it up.

Screw crossing a line, it damn well disappeared entirely. And that was when my brain caught up with me. I groaned and stopped, panting and dropped my forehead onto hers.

"Wait, V, we gotta stop, I didn't come here for…I meant, I'm not here to tap and gap you, girl."

"Right, yeah" she said breathlessly. She stopped and looped her hands around my neck, then closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly. I copied her trying to slow my breathing and racing heart. Bit hard to do when on top of a beautiful woman.

When I opened my eyes she was staring at me.

"Ok there, V?"

She huffed out a laugh, "Very ok here, Eli. More than ok. Bit sexually frustrated, but I can deal."

I ran a hand from her head right down her body to her feet and was very smug when she gasped and her body pressed against me.

"Damn you Eli, don't start what you won't finish!"

I laughed and kissed her nose then moved off her, sitting back on the couch and giving her space. She didn't move back to the armchair and the whole air between us hummed with unfulfilled sexual tension. Damn.

"Well that was.." Veronica trailed off.

"Hot as hell, V. Damn, I knew I should have kissed you years ago." I tried and failed not to look at her lips. And every other part of her.

She smiled and looked a bit dazed, "Well your Tupac eyes and Maybelline lashes do make a girl swoon."

"Aw, baby, you think I'm pretty?" Banter, I can do banter.

"Don't let it go to your head."

Her hands twitched and she balled them into fists, a frown forming on her face.

I reached up to smooth it away then stopped half way and dropped my hand. Uh oh. Change.

"I, uh, think I should go."

"Yeap, good idea. I mean, it's getting late."

"Yeah." Neither of us moved.

"It's got to be you, Eli. I have next to no willpower to stop myself when I want something." My heart skipped a beat.

"You want me?"

"Wrong thing to ask right now, vato. You need to get up and leave asap."

Damn my morals. I groaned, got up and grabbed my jacket. Backup had apparently found us very boring, he was asleep on his bed, so I gave him a quick pat before heading out.

Veronica walked me out to the car. Even leaving the couch behind I could still feel the change. Just from a damn kiss. Because now we knew. There was a real possibility where there had previously been only dreams and wishes. I was fighting against the blood and heat roaring in my veins, begging me to scoop her up and drown myself in her fire. My fists clenched at my sides. And I shook my head to try and clear it. What is it about these blonde white girls that gets me going?

I risked another glance at her and she looked, I dunno, worried and jittery. She kept rubbing her arms like she was cold, but it was a warm night, so that couldn't be it. As we reached my parked car, I turned to face her.

"V, no matter where you are or what it is, you know I got you, right? You need a favour, a ride, a bail out of jail, you call me, chica." I was trying to reassure her that nothing had changed, we could go back to how it was, even when it felt like nothing was going to be the same again.

She smiled softly and nodded. Something flashed across her face and she looked down. "Look, Weevil, Eli, I just…I'm a mess, alright, my whole life is one huge trainwreck and I don't know what I'm doing or what's going to happen or if I'll come back to this hellscape of a town. I just…"

"It's ok, cariña, I get it."

"No, what I'm trying to say is - wait, cariña? That's new." Now she looked suspicious.

"I got plenty more pet names, querida," Against all my better judgement, free will and fisted hands I found myself gently grabbing her hands and slowly pulling her toward me until she was flush up against me, my arms around her, mouth by her ear. Touching her, holding her close, was so hard to resist now we've crossed that line. God help me, why is she so damn irresistible?

"Dulzura, mi vida," I whispered, and nipped at her earlobe, "Mi reina."

Dios she melted against me. Her hands found the collar of my jacket and she yanked me down to her level, planting one hell of a kiss on me. I should have whispered Spanish in her ear years ago. I grabbed her waist, spun around and lifted her onto the bonnet of my car, stepping between her legs and she wrapped them around me. Our hands were frantically touching every part of each other we could reach, bodies fused together, kissing like we needed each other to breathe.

Every gasp, every moan, hell she was killing me. Before I knew it my jacket was on the ground, my shirt flung over the car somewhere and my hands were under Veronica's top unclipping her bra.

That was then my brain registered that I was half naked in a car park.

"V…we gotta…stop or I'm dragging you back to yours for the full-" kiss "- body-" I blew in her ear and she shivered "- treatment." I ran my hands from her down her back, over her sides, gripping her ass and pulling her tighter against me.

"Mmhmm," her mouth was on my neck and her hands were also drifting south, down my chest, over my abs...

"Dammit girl," I grabbed her hands and stepped back, letting her slide off the car. Her feet hit the ground so I looked down at her, resting my forehead on hers again. "Why you always gotta make me your voice of reason?"

"Aw come on, cariño," she managed to look both dazed with lust and dangerous with mischief, "Where's your sense of adventure, huh?" Then she tilted her head and flipped. Her. Goddamn. Hair.

"Fuck." All restraint left the building and I lifted her up into my arms. "We are going to your room. Now. Last chance to say no, V. Dios mio, I'm only human mi vida. What do you want?"

She looked right at me. "Honestly? I don't know. But now? At this moment, right now, I want you, this, whatever it is. To hell with tomorrow."

Somehow we made it back to her house before clothes started coming off, stumbling into her room and into her bed.

I spent the rest of the night and a large part of the early morning acquainting myself with every inch of Veronica Mars and making sure she remembers me when she goes. We slept eventually, wrapped up in each other's arms, legs tangled together; a hot mess of lust, passion and something deeper.

I slept like a baby.