InsaneJournal

Who: Logan, Sharon, Tom and Veronica
When: Backdated. Mid December
Where: Coffee Shop
What: Catching up, then Randomly bumping into friends
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete

There had been a cookie delivery. Sharon didn’t really like going back to the Police Station, so she’d simply dropped off the cookies and left. But she’d gotten to see Logan and not that long ago. There hadn’t been much time for catching up, so today over coffee (or, well, caffeine-free, herbal tea for Sharon, god damnit) would be a breath of fresh air. She was looking forward to catching up with her old friend and work associate.

And she was blissfully morning-sickness free. Thank God.

She was a few minutes early for the coffee date she’d set up with Logan, so she grabbed her butter croissant and her chamomile tea, and headed over to sit at an empty table as far from the front door as she could get.

Logan had been working a lot lately, which usually meant that he didn’t really have much of a social life right now, or he was avoiding something. The former was the usual suspect over the holidays. They put him in a mood, so why not work? However, the nights were long, and they seemed to drag on for weeks, and that left him a little restless. Catching up with an old friend was a good idea.

He arrived at the coffee shop right on time. He was rarely early for such things, but he was rarely late. “Hey,” he grinned when he saw her. “What’s all this? A croissant and tea? You aren’t going too fancy on me. That isn’t allowed.” He ordered a double espresso with a huge maple bar with chocolate drizzle.

He took a huge bite, while looking her over. “What have you been doing since you left me to fend for myself?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Sharon teased, giving him a little smirk. Ah, good old Logan. She’d forgotten how comfortable they’d been around each other. More like siblings than like coworkers. But without all the noogies and wedgies that sometimes go along with siblings in the early years. “And I’ll have you know I’ve always been fancy. You just never got to see it back at the station where everyone’s all about bad drip coffee and thickly frosted donuts.”

“That’s my third death threat today, you know,” he grinned. Many of the people he picked up and put in the tank threatened his life. Of course, most were so drunk that they couldn’t be taken seriously. It came with the territory. “Don’t go knocking the official cop survival diet. You never truly appreciated the caffeine/sugar combination.”

In spite of his smile, Logan was restless. He had the promotion he had wanted a few years ago, but he also felt stuck in the same routine. There were a lot of late nights, with the same people in the tank, or at least some of them. He had been looking around, toying with transferring departments - homicide would be interesting, at least. The agency also appealed to him, but he would have to leave the force completely. “So tell me something. Don’t leave me hanging. Give me some stories of life on the outside.”

Sharon gave a little chuckle. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.” She teased. She understood where he was coming from all too well. “No, not really.” She added, agreeing with a nod. “But that’s okay. To each his own, I guess. His chemical-induced, early-onset-diabetes own.” Another tease.

“Stories of life? Oh, God. Well… I dunno. I’m not with that guy anymore. He’s a coward, apparently. And um… I’m getting on great with my coworkers.” She shrugged a shoulder. “There’s not a whole lot to tell, I’m afraid.”

“You miss me, don’t you?” Logan laughed. They got on famously when they were partners. She was one of the few that Logan truly got along with as a personal friend. He was fine on a professional level, and treated his colleagues well enough, but he could actually talk to Sharon. Her leaving was a huge loss, but he understood the need to move on before she got stagnant.

“Which guy was that?” he asked. Oh, he did remember there being one, although the name escaped him. Of course she knew about his exes. That list was longer. Nothing ever stuck with Logan very long, and he was usually the one to break it off. A time or two, his lack of attention caused them to just leave. “My diet is just another reason for you to come back to the dark side. My entertainment is only a side benefit.”

Getting coffee with Tom had kind of become a thing. They did it about once a week now. Even if he could be a bit cheesy and over the top at times she did enjoy his company. And he had let her crash at his place a few times. Maybe she could be friends with the privileged. It seemed to be working out so far.

“You know I can pay for myself this time,” she said as they entered the cafe, a joke since she offered pretty much every time. Veronica may be all about independence and taking care of herself, but she was broke and Tom well wasn’t.

However almost as soon as they walked inside Veronica stopped dead in her tracks. Logan was the last person she was expecting to see this morning. Then her eyes fell on Sharon. What the hell was going on?! She forced a smile on her face and made a beeline for their table. Not bothering to see if Tom was following or not. “Fancy seeing you here,” she didn’t exactly direct it at either one of them, more so at both.

“You could, I know. But I won’t let you.” Tom said, flashing a charming grin at her. At least, he hoped it came off as playful and not wolf-like. His teeth were absolutely perfect. But then she was turning away from him--away from him??--and giving her attention to someone else. Oh. The roommate. Tom followed.

Sharon turned to look over her shoulder at the sound of Veronica’s voice and broke into a smile. “Hey, Ver.” She sat up a little straighter, eyes moving between the other blonde and the hunk of man she was with. Tom. The one who brought flowers. Ha. “Small world, isn’t it?”

Logan heard Veronica’s voice immediately. It had that high pitched tone that seemed to catch his attention. His eyes narrowed only for a moment when he saw her companion. He could have sworn that she told him she was single. The man seemed to be trying his hand at being charming. If he thought that was going to work, he didn’t know the blond very well at all. The smirk graced his lips, and he stood, rather than staying seated. “It’s a small coffee shop actually,” he said.

He looked from Tom to Veronica. “I’ll get the coffee. Don’t worry about it.” The bigger question occurred to him though. It was something he hadn’t been aware of regarding the two ladies. “You two know each other?” Now that was a small world.

“That too,” Veronica replied returning Logan’s smirk. Before focussing on the bigger question. “Yeah, Sharon’s my roommate,” and best friend but the fact that Veronica was actually willing to live with her made that pretty evident.

“How do you two know each other?” she asked, her own eyes narrowing almost accusingly. She really hoped she hadn’t interrupted some coffee date, or even worse a morning after coffee. Maybe it was just an innocent friend thing. Like her and Tom. Oh right. Tom. “Logan, Tom. Tom, Logan. And you remember Sharon,” she said as her form of introduction.

Tom glanced between the three, raising an eyebrow. Was this guy Sharon’s boyfriend? He wasn’t sure, but the way the other guy jumped out of his seat made Tom even more curious. “No no, it’s okay. I can get it.” Tom insisted, then reached forward to shake Logan’s hand after the introduction.

Sharon nodded once to the roommate comment, then turned to Veronica. “When I first moved to Orange County--when I was trying to readjust to reality after my time undercover?--Logan was assigned to be my… what did they call it? Mentor? Either way, he helped me get back to real life.” They’d grown pretty close over the few months that it took Sharon to come back to normalcy. She was fond of Logan in a way that cops grew fond of their partners. More than a coworker, more than a friend, but definitely not romantic in any way.

Logan was still trying to figure out what Tom was doing in all of this. He was not happy to see him with Veronica, even if he really didn’t have a right to be. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if she felt that same slap when he was talking about his ex and her stupid sweater. He shook the offered hand, “I do have the coffee. Don’t worry, even cops can afford it. I’ll even get you a doughnut if you want.”

He turned to the ladies. “How come I didn’t know this whole roommate thing?” Veronica had just come back to town though so it would have been after Sharon left the Irvine PD. “If Sharon ever told you about her crazy partner from a couple years ago, I get all the credit, thank you very much. Most of the stories are probably true, at least the funniest ones.”

He gave his old partner a quick wink. She was like family more than his own family. There wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for her. “I knew Veronica in high school. That is an even longer story.” He shrugged and moved back to Tom. “How do you fit into this little small world event?”

Were Logan and Tom really arguing over who was going to get the coffee? That was a bit ridiculous. “I’ll get the coffee,” she insisted. Maybe it would make the two of them stop arguing about it.

Well that certainly made sense now. With them both having worked for the same police department. She should have thought of that sooner. But she kind of forgot that Sharon used to work for Irvine PD since she had quit before Veronica got back. “Oh so you are that Logan,” she quipped. Though she really had no clue. Sharon didn’t talk much about her partners. Other than one had gotten her pregnant.

“You never asked about my roommate,” she added answering Logan’s previous question. If she had known Logan and Sharon knew each other she would have said something.

Tom raised an eyebrow at the question. “I’m friends with Veronica.” Obviously. Or else why would he be there?

“And you never asked about mine,” Sharon agreed, half-interrupting. She folded her arms playfully across her tummy, one leg crossing over the other as she leaned back in her chair. “I would have told you if it’d ever come up. Veronica and I have known each other since college, we were roommates in Virginia. When I heard she was coming back into town, resurrecting that arrangement seemed to be the most logical solution to her housing query.” Try saying that ten times fast. “And stop the pissing contest. Someone get the damn coffee so we can all sit and chat.” She turned to glance at Tom, but...

Tom had snuck off while Sharon was talking to go order some coffees and donuts from the woman behind the counter. He slipped over his card and left a generous tip before the rest of the gang even noticed he’d gone missing.

“Definitely a small - ,” Logan began, but caught Tom finishing up with the bill. It really was too bad. He could have told the cashier to put it on his tab. He was a little pissed about Tom getting the jump on him, but it didn’t show. “Next time it’s mine, just letting you know,” he called, sure that they could hear him.

He waited until Tom came back to the table before addressing the ladies again. “Veronica and I have a lot of history,” he grinned, leaving it a little vague. “Then she ran off to school and broke my heart.” Really, they should have kept in touch. “Sharon used to mention her roommate, but it was always her roommate. I would have preferred more description. I’m really surprised you never tried to fix us up.” Now that would have been funny, and fitting in it’s own way.

Veronica couldn’t help but roll her eyes. This coffee thing had gotten a bit out of hand. “Thanks,” she told Tom when he returned with the drinks and donuts. Finally she took a seat at the table since it looked like they were all going to be having coffee together now. Might as well sit instead of standing around awkwardly.

“Considering I was across the country I doubt that even crossed Sharon’s mind,” not to mention that Logan wasn’t exactly her type. Even if there was something about him. Sharon didn’t know that, she just knew how much Veronica couldn’t stand rich kids.

Sitting was good. Sharon actually hadn’t stood, she’d just watched it all over shoulders and across the table with an amused expression on her face. She tapped her fingertips against the table a couple of times, waiting for everything to settle, then cleared her throat. “I did have a lot of other things going on, too. Setting people up was pretty much the last thing on my mind after eighteen months undercover.”

Tom set the tray down so everyone could just sort of grab coffee and whatever pastries they wanted. Donuts, croissants, whatever. He’d grabbed a variety. He would have said something about Veronica being a heartbreaker, but the conversation moved on. So he lifted a coffee from the tray and blew across the top before sipping from it. Silently observing.

Logan picked up a donut, thinking of how much Sharon knew about him. She knew that he hated his father, and that the two hadn’t gotten along in years. He never mentioned that the man was abusive, but he supposed she could have guessed. He really didn’t need Veronica to know about all those things that he kept to himself in high school. He might have told her later if he had the chance.

“So what are everyone’s plans for New Years, and what is up with the snow?” he asked, deciding to deflect the conversation instead. The three of them had gotten awkward enough. “I think the city is getting overrun by snowmen.”

A change of topic was good. No need to continue on with how Sharon should have fixed Veronica and Logan up. “Judging how crazy this place is it wouldn’t surprise me if people started claiming they saw a bunch of Frosties and Olafs running around,” Veronica quipped, picking up one of the coffees Tom had brought over taking a sip.

“Thank you,” she added to Tom before going back to the conversation. She did have manners after all. She just didn’t always use them. “I don’t know, probably going to have dinner with my dad on New Years day,” her father had been a bit down and lonely since her mother had gone back to rehab for like the millionth time.

Donuts. Mmm. After Logan grabbed one, Sharon took her turn. She dug in right away, and didn’t speak until she’d chewed and swallowed her first bite. “This place seems to like having weird, random snow. Like, it’s part of the whole Orange County thing.”

Tom nodded. “You’re welcome.” He lifted his coffee, blew across the top, and took a tentative sip. “I haven’t decided what I’m doing for New Years yet. Lots of places are open.” Lots of parties with lots of invitations. Tom was a popular guest.

Logan rarely made plans for New Years beyond working. With Veronica in town, he could change it. He would have to schedule the officers around him not being there. It was better not to say anything to her yet, but he would soon.

He shifted his attention between Sharon and Tom. “What about you?” he asked his former partner. “Just because you are eating for two doesn’t mean that you have to sit it out.” Tom was something else entirely. He seemed interested in Veronica, but he wasn’t too sure that she was that interested in him. That could go in his favor. “Are you taking a date to the parties?”

“Haha, no,” Sharon said, shaking her head with a little laugh. “I’ll be lucky if I’m still awake to watch the ball drop in New York,” she admitted playfully. It was true, though. The pregnancy stuff was making her exhausted all the time. When she wasn’t nauseous or peeing. She took another bite from her donut just as her phone started to buzz. She glanced at it.

Tom raised an eyebrow, but considered the question for a moment before responding. “I dunno yet. Haven’t thought that far ahead.” He shrugged gently, nonchalantly.

“It’s work,” Sharon said, frowning a bit as she tapped on the glass screen of her phone. “I should probably be getting back.”

“I should get to work too,” Veronica chimed in, standing back up from the table coffee in hand. “It was nice running in to you,” she said to everyone, or well mostly Sharon and Logan since she had shown up with Tom, and there was sincerity in her voice as well. “Thanks for the coffee,” she called over her shoulder making her way out of the coffee shop.

That spontaneous encounter was not how she was one way to start the day.