Fic: Gangsters Paradise (2/4), Logan/Veronica, PG
Fic: Gangsters Paradise (2/4)
Author: isdon_isgood9
Rating: PG
Pairing/Characters: Logan/Veronica, Duncan, Keith, Leanne
Word Count: 4,500 (this part)
Summary: Veronica is a working girl in the 1930s and when she meets supposed gangster her life is turned upside down
Spoilers: None, its AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the clothes on my back and I don’t plan to give them up.
A/N: Sorry this took so long but I had a few problems getting it beta’d. However it is now, so I’m posting it :D. So the biggest thanks ever to metchick01 for beta’ing this for me and to thegraduate09 for trying to beta this for me. Things to know, the glossary of 30s slang is here and something I forgot to mention in the other part which is that the idea for this came from love_is_epic over at comment_fic. I think that’s all I had to say so Enjoy!
Part 1
When Veronica walked into work the next day she was astounded by the number of people she worked with telling her what a good job she had done with her article. Hurrying to her office she dropped her things before heading into the break room and picking up a copy of the latest newspaper. Opening it up Veronica gasped in shock when she saw her name in the by-line of the story. Glancing over it she recognized the words of the story, having remembered typing them herself.
Heading back out of the room and towards Kane’s office she slammed the paper on his desk and said, “If this is some kind of joke take it back now.”
Duncan sighed, “It’s not a joke. What you said last night was right. I should never have stolen your story.”
Veronica regarded him carefully, “You’re not kidding, are you?”
“No, I’m not. I’ve read your story, it’s good and I never should have taken it from you.”
Veronica took a step back in shock, “I’m sorry but did you just say that you were wrong?!”
“I did and I’m sorry I took your story from you. It won’t happen again.”
Veronica sighed, trying to understand what was going on. She knew she couldn’t take this at face value but for some reason she really wanted to. “So there’s no ulterior motive here.”
“No there is but not about the story.” Standing Kane walked around to stand in front of her, “I figured out last night that maybe I’m not going about the winning you over thing in the right way. So instead I’m going to back off, hoping that maybe you’ll see the great guy I am and not just the jerk persona.”
Sighing Veronica looked down at the ground before responding, “I’m going to need time to think about this.”
Duncan nodded, “I understand. Take all the time you need and while you’re doing that you should write the article about Myrna Loy’s screen party.”
“Thanks Duncan,” Veronica said with a small nod before leaving and taking the newspaper with her so she could show her dad, when she was talking to him again.
****LoVe****
Logan sighed looking at his face in the mirror before bringing the cloth to his face and over the bruises that resided there. They weren’t as bad as they had been the night before and nowhere near as bad as the ones left on his stomach. The assault had done more to him than that though; it had meddled with his ego. Obviously the men who had jumped him had thought he was part of the Casablancas gang, most people who attacked him did. The fact of the matter was that no matter how many times he truthfully said that he wasn’t a gang member it never seemed to deter opposing gangs from attacking him when they had an axe to grind against Dick. Stepping back from the mirror, he peeled his shirt from his body to tend to the bruises there. The only good thing that seemed to have happened was that the suckers missed his ribs, which meant the doctors at the hospital didn’t have to deal with him or the authorities.
Running his hand slowly over the worst bruise, just below his ribs on the right, he couldn’t believe that he was going to have to go on a date while looking this way. The bruising on his face would fade before Thursday and he’d be extra careful when around his date just to make sure that the bruises that would still be there wouldn’t be damaged any further. It would be fine, he had done it before, but this time if the girl did find out then it would mean that she would probably never want to be around him again, and he couldn’t risk that. He knew she wasn’t impressed by his supposed gangster ties and knowing that he got beaten up by rival gangs on a regular basis might just drive her away completely. Sighing he grabbed the ice he had prepared and went back to bed, hoping that more sleep might help the healing process.
****LoVe****
Veronica looked at herself in the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her hair before stepping back and taking in her whole outfit. Starring back at her was a woman she couldn’t believe. She’d never been one to dress to the nines for a guy but here she was doing it for one that she was sure didn’t even know her name. She was wearing a blue dress covered in polka dots that was as tight as a corset around her chest and flared out from her hips to just past her knees. It was a little racier than what she usually wore but she was going out with a supposed gangster so she would live with any comments made. There was a chance though she wouldn’t do anything like this again, she couldn’t. She was so nervous, not just about the outfit but how she was going to get past her father in it. Turning back to her cupboard she saw a long trench coat that she rarely wore. Pulling it on, she checked her hair one more in the mirror before heading down the stairs to wait for Logan in the lounge room.
Sitting on the couch she didn’t say anything as her father entered the room and sat across from her.
“Honey, we have to talk about this some time,” Keith said.
“Talk about what, how Leanne Reynolds abandoned me or how you couldn’t tell me that the woman I was investigating was my mother.”
Keith sighed, “I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
“You could have told me when I was a teenager and I was asking about her constantly. Or how about when I was a kid and all that I would do was idealize her. Huh, was either one of those times too inconvenient. ‘Cause there are a dozen more I can think of.”
“Veronica, there are a lot of reasons why your mother was never in your life.” Keith whispered, “And every last one of them is because she wanted to protect you.”
“And I don’t care about any of them. The hero’s the one that stays right,” Veronica replied as there was a knock on the door, “And the villain’s the one that leaves,” before standing up and leaving Keith lost in memory.
*****LoVe*******
September 14th 1909
Keith sat behind the wheel of a car, moving from one lane to the next, trying to lose the tail he had somehow gained while trying not to injury the person in the seat next to her. Checking quickly to make sure that the girl next to him had a tight hold on the car, he made a fast left and pulling onto a dirt road that led to nowhere. Following it about 5 miles he quickly pulled into a little ditch-like cul-de-sac on the side of the road and waited as the car that was following him to speed past. Waiting several more moments Keith pulled out and headed back to the main road before taking the turn off that would take them back to his office.
As he pulled to the side of the road the woman in the seat beside him finally spoke, “Thank you.”
“It’s all part of the service madam. Now I suggest we head inside before that car spots us again.” Keith replied before pulling the door open and going around to help her out. Walking the pair of them into his office, he nodded to his secretary before shutting his office door behind him.
Passing her a glass of water he finally spoke, “Now Miss Reynolds this is only the start. Those men who work for your fiancé will keep coming back 'til they have you. I’ve got a safe house set up for you in Chicago, but you’ll have to leave tonight.”
Nodding along Leanne spoke, “Keith you’ve done so much for me, I have no idea how to repay you.”
“Your kind words are enough for the moment,” Keith whispered, “Plus, that nice amount of money you paid me. It’ll be enough to help you live for the next few months until we get you somewhere more permanent.”
Leanne sighed and placed her hands on her stomach, “You’re so sweet to me Keith. I just wish I knew what was going to happen with this child now.&rdquo
*****LoVe******
Opening the door Veronica smiled at Logan before stepping out of the house and closing the door behind her.
Raising an eyebrow Logan asked, “What? No interrogation by the father?”
“Not tonight. I know it’s a shock but you’re just going to have to live without meeting my father’s shot guns. Just this once.”
Logan looked around before leaning in and whispering, “But, does he know how to use them?”
“Yes he does, really well.” Veronica replied with a smirk before stepping back, “Shall we go?”
“Yeah. I’ve been waiting for this all week.”
“Oh, really? You must have had a really boring week.”
“No actually it was pretty exciting until I realized that I don’t know your name.”
“Hmmm, I think that’s something you’re supposed to learn before you ask a girl out.”
Logan shrugged, “Well, I like to do things backwards.”
“Fine,” Veronica said holding out her hand, “I’m Veronica Mars.
Taking her hand Logan shook it, “Hi, Veronica, I’m Logan Echolls.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise. Now what are we doing tonight?”
“Oh, that’s a surprise.” Veronica replied as they moved of the stairs and began walking towards their destination.
“Well if I guess will you tell me?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Ok, so you said I should wear my dancing shoes. That means we’ll be dancing. But there are no hops tonight. Where is somewhere that we can dance that isn’t a hop?”
“Hmm, you might be smarter than I thought. Now, what’s your answer?”
“Well, carnivals have dancing areas in them and I know there’s a carnival on the boardwalk. That’s where we’re going.”
“Ding-ding-ding we have a winner.” Veronica replied with a smirk, “Though it’s most likely ‘cause you can see it from here.”
“Yeah, I totally cheated.”
Stopping Veronica turned to Logan, “So what do you want to do first?”
“It’s a tossup, ring toss or Ferris wheel.”
“I think Ferris wheel ‘cause I don’t want to damage your self esteem at ring toss.”
“Alright then,” Logan said grabbing her hand and dragging her to the Ferris wheel. Paying the man they sat together and waited for the wheel to start going around. Turning side on slightly Logan said, “When I was a kid my mom used to always bring me to this Ferris wheel and we would go all the way to top. I was so scared but every time she would hold my hand and tell that no matter what nothing bad could happen when you’re on top of the world like we were.”
“It’s like nothing can touch you from here.”
“Exactly, and for some reason no matter how scared I was she always made me feel safe.”
“Logan,” Veronica whispered, “No matter what happens up here I’ll keep you safe.”
Logan smiled and brushed a hand down her cheek. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she was there, willing to do that for him and without thinking he leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. Pulling back quickly, he watched as Veronica bit a lip, a faint blush on her cheeks.
“You don’t understand what you do to me,” Logan replied, “I don’t even understand what you do to me half the time but I know that I like it and I like experiencing it with you.”
Veronica looked around as their chair stopped at the top of the wheel before responding, “I like what you do to me too,” and placing her own lips back on Logan’s.
****LoVe*****
Duncan watched from his office as Veronica entered and saw how great she looked. He couldn’t think of a time where he’d ever seen her as happy as she was that morning. Her face seemed to glow, her eyes twinkled, she seemed to have a grace about her. He had never noticed it before but this morning it was all there for the world to see. Studying her movements, he watched as she drew a teddy bear out of her purse and placed it on the table, her fingers running over whatever was on the bear’s stomach. He watched her eyes, the haze of a day dream seeming to cloud them, before he took in what she was looking at. The strip of photos that seemed to be from a carnival were in her hands, helping her remember whatever she was dreaming about, and the corner of her mouth twitching up into a smile.
Slamming his opened draw shut, several eyes in the place turned to him but he barely registered them. He couldn’t believe this was happening, not to him. She was supposed to see that the gangster wasn’t for her. By the look on her face though it seemed that she was starting to fall for the gangster and that was not acceptable. Didn’t she understand the gangster would only bring her trouble? Didn’t she understand that he was the one that she could always be with, in the letter of the law, and she could always trust him? The gangster would most likely steal and lie and make her life a living hell. When all that was over he would then be able to pick her up and brush her off, bringing her back to the side of good and making her whole all over again.
And if that didn’t work there was always the option of filling Veronica’s father in about the occupation of his daughter’s courtier.
*****LoVe******
Veronica opened the door silently, hoping not to alert her father to the fact she was home. Heading for her room she couldn’t believe that she was actually going to be paid to do what she had done, no work and day dreaming about Logan. As far as she was concerned they couldn’t off had a better date. After they left the Ferris wheel, they hadn’t kissed again but they had spent their time acting like crazy twenty four year olds, running from game to game, attacking each other on the bumper cars and, her favorite, taking photos in the little photo booth before it had closed.
“Veronica!” Keith called, as she just made it to her bedroom door.
Sighing she yelled back, “Yes, dad?”
“Come here, please.”
Moving quickly she went back the way she had come so that she could she could get whatever conversation he wanted to have out of the way and she could go back to ignoring him. She wasn’t just angry with him for keeping this information secret; she also couldn’t make sense of why he had decided to keep it from her for so long. It didn’t help that she wasn’t able to understand why Leanne had left her with her dad or why it was a big secret. Was she born out of wedlock or was she a part of some conspiracy? She knew her father could give her the answers she craved but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to ask them yet. She trusted her father more than anyone else and he had kept one of the biggest secrets from her. She waited patiently at the door for her dad to be the first to speak.
“Veronica, can we talk about Leanne?”
“We could but I’m not sure if I’m ready to know the answers to any of my questions.”
“Well then I’ll just tell you the basics,” Veronica nodded, “Leanne was a client back when I was a Private Investigator. She came to me trying to get away from an abusive fiancé. I put her up in a house in Chicago, where she stayed while she was pregnant with you.”
“So she was pregnant when she came to you?”
“Yes,” Keith whispered, “She was.”
“How did I become yours? Why didn’t she want me?”
“Just after you were born Leanne’s fiancé came back into the picture. She hadn’t told him about you and that love that she once felt for him was still there but she knew she couldn’t go back to him with you. She brought you to me and asked me to raise you because she truly felt that you were mine and while she didn’t know what was happening she couldn’t help but feel she was doing the right thing.” Placing a hand on Veronica’s shoulder he continued, “She named you then left. She also left me with this for you to have when I finally told you,” he held out an envelope for her to take.
Turning it in his hand she couldn’t believe that things like letters from long lost mothers existed but here it was. Looking back at Keith she said, “Now, what did you really want to talk about?”
Keith laughed, “Who says that this wasn’t it?”
“Yeah right, what do you take me for, some kind of twit?”
“Right, this is you I’m dealing with. Ok, I want met the boy who took you out the other night.”
“And if I say no what then?”
Keith laughed, “Ask him to dinner tomorrow night and I promise that I’ll only threaten him with one gun instead of my whole collection.”
“Fine but if he says no, it’s not my fault and if you scare him away I won’t be impressed.”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
Veronica smiled, “Yeah, how’d you guess?”
“You floating around this place since yesterday happened to be a pretty big clue.” Keith replied, “Now you may return to hiding from me in your room.”
“Good 'cause that’s what I was planning to do,” Veronica said with a smile before heading back to her room and closing the door, while trying to muster the courage to open the letter in her hand.
*****LoVe****
Logan walked through the door and up the stairs only nodding briefly at the maid before heading to the gaming room. As he entered he took in the sight of the Casablancas' brothers fighting each other with pool sticks as if they were swords. Laughing softly both boys raised their heads at the sound before Dick grabbed another stick and tossed it at him. Catching quickly he blocked the first attack from Cassidy before jumping aside as Dick tried to jab his stick into his ribs. Lounging forward he knocked the stick out of Cassidy’s hand before hitting Dick in the arm and stealing his stick from him while he was distracted.
“Well I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles.” Logan said opening his arms wide in a display of victory, “How you two win fights without me I will never comprehend.”
“We’re talented at beating up people who aren’t you.” Cassidy replied.
“Pity that’s so true,” Logan said moving further into the room, “Now who is going to kick my ass at pool.”
“I will take that pleasure,” Dick replied with a smirk as he picked up the triangle to set up the balls, “So who’s the dame you’ve been blowing us off for?”
“Who says there’s a dame?”
“There is.” Cassidy replied, “And you know it. You blew us off last night and now you’re wearing this silly grin.”
“Ok, I was with a sweet mama,” Logan conceded.
“And you’re all dizzy with her, right?” Dick said, while taking his shot.
“I don’t know. The thing is I think I might be very soon,” Logan replied with a nod of his head as he took his own shot.
“Well this is a good thing right, you haven’t been serious with anyone since Lilly was killed,” Cassidy said with a small smile.
Logan was silent for a moment before saying, “Lilly will always be a part of me but I think it’s time that I move on and I wasn’t expecting to feel this way about anyone ever again. Now that’s I am though I just can’t help but feel happy, you know.”
“Yeah man,” Dick said, patting his shoulder, “We know and it’s great to see you finally feeling happy. Now tell us about this girl.”
Logan laughed, “Well she’s cute as a bug’s ear and works at the Neptune Navigator. Her dad’s a gumshoe. She’s got this great energy, integrity and charisma about her that not even Lilly could rival. I think one day I could marry her.”
“That’s amazing man,” Cassidy said, slapping him on the back, “I take it before you marry her you’ll tell her about Lilly though.”
“I know, I just don’t want to freak her out,” Logan sighed.
“If she’s as great as you make her out to be then she won’t freak out, she’ll probably understand,” Dick said, “So, are we done with the girl talk, can we start with men stuff.” Laughing Logan and Cassidy started to try and get out of the way of Dick’s pool stick again.
*****LoVe*****
Sitting down on the steps outside of Logan’s apartment, Veronica waited. Her day at work hadn’t been all that exciting, which was a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you looked at it. It was good because it meant she got off early and she was able to come and talk to Logan and it was bad cause it meant while she was at work she had to sit at her desk filled with thoughts of Leanne and the letter. Pulling the still unopened letter from her bag, she turned it over as if she was going to open it before quickly changing her mind and placing it back in her bag.
“Now, I don’t remember calling for a dame to be waiting for me when I got home.” Logan said, having been watching her from just out of her view for a couple of minutes.
“Well, you better be ready to pay top dollar,” Veronica snarked back, standing up in front of him.
“To snuggle with you, anything,” He said as he walked forward and kissed her lightly, “So what are you doing here?”
“I need to ask you something and I need a favour as well.”
“Alright, why don’t we go inside and discuss this further, ‘cause depending on what the favor is I may not be able to grant it,” Logan replied with a cocky grin. Opening the door he led the way inside, “Do you want something to drink?”
“Sure, water would be great,” Veronica replied with a sigh.
Filling a glass with water he led Veronica to the couch before saying, “So, what do you need?”
“I just discovered who my mom is and my dad gave this letter from her to me,” Veronica whispered pulling the letter back out of her bag and holding it delicately in her hands, “I was just wondering if, when I’m ready to open it, you’ll be there with me ‘cause I don’t think I can do it alone.”
Logan nodded, “Of course I will. I just got to ask, why me? Why not your dad?”
“Because there are some things that I don’t want him to know, and if I do it with him I’m scared I won’t have the courage to. When I’m with you though, I feel like I can fly and I think that’s the feeling I’ll need when I read this.”
“Ok, now what’s the other thing?”
Veronica smiled and placed the letter back into her bag before leaning forward and kissing him softly. Pulling back a tiny bit she said, “That’s not the thing. I just wanted to do that.”
Kissing her softly in return he replied, “Well any time you want to do that I will be a willing participant.”
Smiling Veronica nodded, “I’m so glad to know that. My dad wants you to come to dinner so he can meet you. Now, I think I can get you out of this if you want.”
“I think I can live meeting your dad.”
“Really? ‘Cause once you get into the house I won’t be able to get you out of there.”
“Well, I got to meet him sooner or later. Why not sooner?”
“Wait, you think there’ll be a later.”
“Yes, most certainly with the way I feel,” Logan whispered grazing her lips with his against hers, “As long as you want us to be in this. I'm in for the long haul.”
Veronica laughed, “I’m not even your girlfriend yet.”
“Well if that’s all it’s going to take then, Veronica Mars, do you want to be my moll?”
Veronica laughed and punched him softly in the arm, “No but I wouldn’t mind being your girlfriend.”
“Fine, do you want me be to be my girlfriend?”
“I’d love to,” Veronica whispered, placing her lips back on his.
*****LoVe****
After hours of sitting and kissing on Logan’s couch, the pair finally pulled their way out of their couple induced state and towards the Mars' apartment for dinner. Stopping outside the apartment door Veronica turned back to Logan.
“Are you sure you want to do this? You can back out now, I’ll make an excuse.” Veronica said.
Placing his hands on her shoulders comfortingly he replied, “It’s going to be fine. Your dad’s going to like me and if he doesn’t I’ll use my gang connections to bleed him into it.”
Hitting him in a shoulder she finally smiled, “Fine but don’t tell him we’ve kissed or that Thursday night was a date because he's most likely to get mad about those things.”
“Veronica, it’s going to be ok. I give good parent. Now take a deep breath and let’s get this over with.”
“Ok,” Veronica sighed before taking his hand and pulling him inside, “Dad, where are you?” she called out.
“In kitchen,” Keith called back.
“Well, it’s now or never,” Logan whispered in her ear causing her to laugh as she pulled him into the kitchen.
“Hey dad,” Veronica said waiting for Keith to look at her, “This is Logan. Logan this is my dad, Keith.”
Stepping forward Logan extended his hand to Keith, “It’s nice to meet you Keith.”
Shaking his hand hard Keith looked Logan up and down before saying, “Its Mr. Mars to you.”
Chapter 3