#joyful fics

[joyfulnerd]

First Lines Meme

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories. see if there are any patterns. then tag your favorite authors. 

 I was tagged by @mysilverylining...thank you! All of these are Veronica Mars fics except the last one which is a Jake x Amy fic for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Here we go! Titles are links to stories on AO3. 

1. Not Again:  When Logan had told Duncan about Veronica's files, he'd felt like it was his duty as a best friend. A guy should know if his ex-girlfriend is investigating him as a potential murderer, right? 

2. Who I Am:  She hears the vibration before she hears the ring. The buzzing that's barely audible during the day seems thunderous as it pulls her from her sleep. 

3. Up in the Balcony: Veronica shut the front door behind her and then slumped against it, her eyes shutting for a long moment. Today just sucked. No other word for it. 

4. Snow in New York: DayQuil? NyQuil? Tylenol Cold? Robitussin? Why the hell are there so many different kinds of cold medicine? Logan sighs and runs his hand through his hair as he sniffles...again. 

5. Secret in the Garden: In his youth, Logan Echolls would not have imagined there was any sort of enjoyment to be found in yard work. That was a job for the help. That's probably why Veronica seems to take special enjoyment in teasing him about his newfound love of gardening. 

6. Pushing Through: The drive from San Diego to Neptune isn't terribly exciting and certainly nothing new, but on nights like this Logan Echolls enjoys it immensely. The air is cool, the stars are out, and he's home.

7. Glints in the Night: "What?" Veronica nearly drops the plate she's loading into the dishwasher."You heard me. Do ever think about us getting married?" Logan's leaning back against the kitchen island. He hopes to God he looks casual because he can barely hear himself over the pounding of his heart. 

8. Meet Cute in Minneapolis: Veronica Mars found she had a bit of a skip in her step today. It was finally, finally warming up. She'd been warned excessively about the Midwest winters before she moved to Minneapolis and she found that those warnings, if anything, had been understated. 

9. A Skype Conversation Gone Piz: Veronica stands in her father's kitchen and considers the cup of hot chocolate in front of her. It’s late and the house is dark, quiet, and cool. After a moment, she decides that the fact she can see the liquid chocolate means that she needs more marshmallows. 

10. Fountains and Frogs: It had been Lilly’s negotiation skills that had brought Logan and Veronica to New York City. Well, that and Duncan’s mock UN conference. 

11. Make It Through the Night: He can make it. He can do this. He can wait until morning. Logan turns over in bed and lays on his stomach. The room is quiet and dark with a cool breeze blowing in through the bedroom window. He should be asleep.

12. Odds and Ends: This is a collection of drabbles, so I just picked the first lines of one of my favorites.): “I don’t know, sweetheart. This bedroom feels kind of small to me.”

“Oh my god. I have lived in entire apartments that are smaller than that master bedroom,” Veronica said as she rolled her eyes. The couple on the TV paid no mind to Veronica’s commentary and continued on their house hunt.

13. Xterra Nova: Logan spots it as he’s slamming shut the trunk of Veronica’s RAV4. It’s three rows over and shining in the bright California sun. The parking lot is full, but even with the chaos that is Saturday morning at Home Depot, it’s damn near impossible to miss the canary yellow Xterra. 

14. The Very Best One: A sharp ringing pulls Veronica from a deep sleep. With a groan, she rolls across the bed and fumbles blindly at the nightstand until she makes contact with her phone. She thumbs the alarm off and the shrill noise stops. A warm hand slides along her bare waist and pulls her back to the middle to the bed. She smiles as Logan nuzzles the back of her neck and kisses her shoulder.

15. Perfectly Normal Biological Reaction: Jake wakes up slowly, roused by a stiff ache in his back and his neck. I’m getting too old for this, he thinks as he lifts his head from his desk. He really needs to get better at getting his reports in on time. It seems like every couple weeks he finds himself in the precinct in the dead of night writing up his case notes.

Tagging anyone who hasn’t done this yet and wants to give it a go! :)

[joyfulnerd]

Sunday Snippet - 7/17/2016

“You have to tell her.”

Logan looks up from the whiskey he’s nursing to see Lilly Kane drop into the chair next to him.

“Tell who what, Lilly?” he asks. The whiskey is doing its job and he’s almost sufficiently numbed that he’s not even playing stupid.

“Who do you think? Veronica Mars,” Lilly says matter of factly. “You have to tell her you love her, that you’re in love with her.”

Logan pauses for a moment, his glass nearly at his lips. An ache clenches at him. Not quite numb enough then.

“I think it’s a little late for the, Lills,” Logan says with a humorless laugh, “or did you fail to notice the party isn’t about you this time.” He gestures widely around the room, only stopping when he’s pointing to the the guests of honor and the crowd gathered around them.

Veronica is dressed in a short peach-colored dress with black lace accents. She is standing next to her fiancee, his arm wrapped around her waist. They’re both smiling and laughing as Veronica shows off the large diamond ring on her finger.

Logan feels the bile rise in his throat as he takes it in. It’s too late, he thinks to himself bitterly and slings back the rest of his whiskey.

“It’s never too late, Logan,” Lilly says softly. She places her hand on his knee and squeezes gently.  She’s quiet for a moment and then gives him a mischievous grin, “Besides, you’re not really going to let her marry Donut without at least trying to fight for her, are you?”

[joyfulnerd]

Snow

I am so sorry this has taken me so long to get to! Consider this part one of this story and I’m working on part two!  Hope you enjoy. :)

The Layover

“Well, folks, welcome to Terminal 2 of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Hopefully the snowstorm out east will clear up soon and we can get back underway to our final destination of New York City. For now, please gather your belongings, exit the plane, and keep your ears open for announcements about our flight. Enjoy your time here in Minneapolis.”

As the tinny voice of the pilot cuts off, Logan sighs and pulls his messenger bag out from under the seat in front of him. Oh yes, he thinks to himself, I’ll be sure to enjoy being diverted to a overcrowded airport during the holidays and sitting around on my ass until we can get the hell out of here. 

Logan shoves his book into the bag before standing up. He pops open the overhead compartment and yanks his suitcase out. His seat is in first class so he’s off the plane quickly. He strides down the jetway and into the terminal.  As he walks past the rows of chairs, he vaguely registers a voice behind him calling out.

“Hey!”

Logan keeps walking and looks around the terminal

“Come on, slow down. Just how long are your legs?”

Logan ignores the voice behind him as he realizes how small the terminal is. Even the smallest of airports has a bar, right? He’s just spotted something promising when he hears the voice again.

“Logan Echolls!”  

The sound of his name stops Logan in his tracks. He’s about to turn when someone crashes into him from behind.

“Shit!” the voice cries out from right behind him.

Logan turns to find an attractive blonde woman sprawled on the floor behind him. He quickly bends to offer her his hand.

“God, sorry about that. You all right?” he asks. As he takes her hand, Logan tries not to jump at the electric thrill that the touch generates. He sees her give a slight start and wonders if she felt it too. He pulls her to her feet and just stares at her for a moment. Gorgeous, he thinks to himself. Her blonde hair falls in soft waves around her shoulders. Her blue eyes are bright and intelligent. She’s wearing a pair of fitted dark jeans and a faded Stanford hoodie. Logan grins as he realizes she can’t be much more than 5 feet tall. She, however, is clearly not amused and glowers at him as she tugs her hand free of his.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replies as she straightens her hoodie and brushes off the back of her jeans.

“You sure? Maybe I should buy you a drink and make it up to you?” Logan gives her his most charming grin. She responds with an exaggerated eye roll.

“Yeah. I don’t think that’ll be necessary. You could, however, give me my bag back.”

“Your bag?”

She nods at the small black roller case next to him.

“This is my bag,” Logan says placing his hand on the extended handle.

“It’s really not. This is yours,” the woman says and rolls an almost identical black bag towards him.

Logan bends to look at the bag he’d taken off the plane and grabs the luggage tag. Instead of the simple leather tag that adorns his suitcase, he finds a laminated piece of paper featuring the face of happy panting pit bull and the words Backup off my stuff! across the bottom the tag. Logan grins at the image and flips the tag over to find a name.

“Veronica Mars?” He looks up at the woman.

“The one and only,” Veronica says, “and you must be Logan Echolls.”

“I am. Sorry about that. I definitely owe you a drink now. Although,” he grins as he looks her up and down, “it’s probably a good thing I grabbed it. Would you have even been able to get it out of the overhead compartment yourself?”

She gives him a flat look. “Short jokes, seriously?”

“I’m just batting a thousand tonight, aren’t I?”  

“More like striking out. Can I have my suitcase, please?”

Logan rolls Veronica’s suitcase to her and accepts his own from her.

“Thank you. Well, have a happy new year, Logan.” Veronica shoulders her backpack, grabs the handle of her suitcase, and begins to walk away.

Logan watches her leave, his mind racing as he tries to think of something, anything, to stop this woman from disappearing into the crowd.

“You’re really not going to explain that luggage tag?” Logan calls after her, praying she can’t hear the hint of desperation in his voice. He watches as she slowly turns to look at him. Her eyes are narrowed, but there’s a hint of a smile on her lips.

Logan weaves through the crowd until he’s standing beside her. He catches a faint whiff of a sweet-smelling perfume.

“It’s really not that interesting of a story,” Veronica says as she tilts her head back to look up at him.

“Oh, come on. I don’t believe that. You can tell me about it over a drink. I really do owe you one for stealing your bag and knocking you down.”

Veronica’s head cocks to one side as she considers him closely. Logan’s not sure what she’s looking for and his mouth grows dry as he wait for her response.  

After several long moments, Veronica finally says, “How about coffee instead of a drink?”

Logan can’t hide the broad grin that spreads across his face. “Coffee works for me.”

[joyfulnerd]

Keeping Quiet

“Logan…oh, Looogaaan,” Veronica’s voice is a sing-song whisper in Logan’s ear. He’s sleeping on his side and Veronica is snuggled against his back.

“Logan, I need you,” Veronica says with a breathy sigh, her warm breath caressing his cheek.

“Veronica, we can’t,” Logan whispers back. He keeps his eyes closed. If he sees her face, he’s a goner. Veronica has been completely insatiable lately. Pregnancy hormones, he assumes. And usually he’s right there with her.

“Sure, we can,” Veronica murmurs and Logan can hear the smile in her voice, “We’ll just be really, really quiet.” Logan responds with a soft chuckle but it turns to a groan as Veronica reaches around his waist and starts raking her fingernails gently across his stomach.

“Here’s the problem with that plan,” Logan argues, “I can be really, really quiet, Veronica. You, on the other hand…well, you know I don’t call you Bobcat solely for your cat-like reflexes.”

[joyfulnerd]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

A very happy holiday to @troublescout! I hope you enjoy your gift!

Here’s a little visual preview:

Picture sources: House Flower 

[joyfulnerd]

Sunday Snippet - 12/13/2015

After several long moments, Veronica says, “How about coffee instead of a drink?”

Logan can’t hide the broad grin that spreads across his face. “Coffee works for me.”

“Well, since you can see above this crush of humanity, you go first,” Veronica says as she gestures for him to take the lead.

They push their way through the masses. The terminal is getting more and more crowded. Apparently, theirs wasn’t the only flight diverted tonight. After a minute, Logan spots a Caribou Coffee and starts winding his way between people toward it.  Suddenly, he feels a touch at his lower back. He glances behind him and sees that it’s Veronica pressing a hand to his spine.  

“We just met and you already can’t keep your hands off me, huh?” he teases her.

“You wish. I just want coffee and you are merely a means to an end.”

[joyfulnerd]

Ok, how about LoVe cuddling in a blanket fort. I think it would be fun preseries, but that's up to you because post movie would be cool too.

@acaniglia I am SO SO SORRY for the delayed reply for this prompt. My real life is a bit out of control right now or I’m out of control or both. Anyway, I hope you like this!

“Veronica, we are too old for this.”

“No, we’re not,” Veronica replies. She drags the desk chair over to the corner of Lilly’s bedroom and then walks out into the hall to the linen closet. She digs around until she finds a couple more lightweight blankets.

“Veronica,” Lilly calls to her from the bedroom, “we are mature and sophisticated women of the world. We do not build pillow forts.”

Veronica returns from the closet, unfolds a blanket, and offers one end of it to her best friend.

“Lilly, you are 15 and I am 14 and we are having a sleepover. I think the situation demands a blanket fort.”

Lilly looked at the proffered blanket, green eyes narrowing with disdain. “Where are you even getting all these blankets?”

“Linen closet.”

“We have a linen closet? How do you know where it is and I don’t?”

Veronica laughs. “I know where it is because I pay attention. You don’t know where it is because you’re too fabulous for such mundane domesticity.” She waggles the blanket at Lilly again.

“You know what we should do?” Lilly ignores the blanket and gives Veronica a wicket smile, “We should sneak out and do something wild and crazy!”

“Hmmm…wild and crazy doesn’t really mesh well with the whole ‘My dad is the sheriff and he’d definitely figure it out and I’d probably end up grounded for life’ thing,” Veronica counters and waves the blanket edge at Lilly yet again. 

Lilly rolls her eyes, turns, and walks out of the room. Veronica watches her friend depart and sighs. She knows this isn’t Lilly’s thing, but she just wanted one night of normalcy. Life at home has been so tense lately and she just wanted a break. After a moment, Veronica straightens up and decides to finish the fort herself. With a few more minutes of work, she has transformed Lilly’s bedroom into a perfect cozy hideaway.

Veronica grabs some pillows and another blanket off Lilly’s bed. She arranges them on and floor and then settles into the fort, lying on her back, and staring up at nothing. She’s lost in her thoughts when a voice sounds from the doorway.

“Nice fort, Mars.”

Veronica looks up to find Logan looking down at her. Hands in his pockets and leaning against the doorframe, he looks effortlessly handsome and cool. She knew he was here, but he and Duncan had been locked away in Duncan’s room playing Resident Evil for the most of the day.

“Hey, Logan. Get tired of killing zombies?”

“Mr. Kane came home and wanted to talk to Duncan.”

“Ah. Care to join me?” Veronica asks as she scoots over and pats the spot beside her.

“Sure,” Logan bends and slips into the fort. He lies down beside her and they rest quietly, shoulder to shoulder, for a while.

“So where’s the fabulous Lilly Kane?” Logan asks.  

“Don’t know. She decided we’re too old for pillow forts and left,” Veronica says with a sigh. “I just wanted a quiet night with my best friend. Nothing wild or crazy. Just a normal night away from all the crap at home.”

Logan turns on his side and Veronica can feel him watching her. After a moment, she rolls to face him, looking into his deep brown eyes.

“I’m sorry that Lilly doesn’t get it,” Logan says tenderly. His gaze is soft and filled with empathy. He hesitates for a moment and then reaches for Veronica’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, “And I’m sorry things suck at home.”

“Thanks,” Veronica gives him a small smile and squeezes his hand back.

Logan rolls onto his back and pulls Veronica toward him until she’s laying against his side, head resting on his shoulder. They stare up at the blankets above them quietly. It’s cozy and comfortable and just exactly what she’d wanted for tonight. Veronica smiles as she slips an arm across Logan’s waist and hugs him. It’s so wonderfully relaxing she finds herself begin to drift off.

“So I leave for a few minutes and you cozy up to my boyfriend?” 

Veronica’s eyes fly open and she finds Lilly standing in the doorway holding a large bowl. Veronica reluctantly pulls away from Logan and sits up.

“Oh, are we dating again?” Logan asks, tucking his hands behind his head, “I wasn’t aware.”

“Of course we are, Logan,” Lilly says in a voice that says she’s stating an obvious fact. She sits down on the floor next to Veronica and offers her the bowl. It’s filled to the brim with buttery popcorn sprinkled heavily with M&M’s. “Peace offering? Sorry I ditched.”

Veronica smiles at Lilly, “You know me well. This is a perfect peace offering, Lilly. Thank you.”  Veronica wraps Lilly in a hug that Lilly returns easily. When they separate, the popcorn bowl is in Logan’s lap and he’s tossing an M&M into the air, ducking his head and catching it in his open mouth.

“Hey! That’s mine!” Veronica says reaching for the bowl.

“You were busy,” Logan argues, grabbing a handful of popcorn as Veronica snatches the bowl from him.

“Logan, shouldn’t you be off playing games with Donut?” Lilly asks as she digs through a pile of DVDs near her TV/DVD player.

“He’s busy. Can’t I hang out with you guys?”

“Only if want to watch ‘10 Things I Hate About You,’” Veronica says around a mouthful of popcorn.

“Hey, you know me,” Logan smirks at her, “I love a good romance.”

[joyfulnerd]

one word WIP meme: smile

Thanks for the ask!

A warm hand slips along her bare waist and pulls her back to the middle to the bed. She smiles as Logan nuzzles the curve of her neck and kisses her shoulder.

“Why in god’s name is your alarm on?” Logan murmurs against her skin. Veronica shivers at the sensation. “It’s Saturday, you know,” he continues.