Who: Leon Orcot and Veronica Mars (NPC!Chris, Backup and Bart the butterfly) Where: Leon's apartment When: Recent What: Veronica needs to witness Leon's pet butterfly and informs him of her latest life decision Warnings/Rating: Low/None Status: Complete
Veronica had to see this pet butterfly of Leon’s. Because really, who had a pet butterfly? Plus she had made some changes in her life recently and it was only polite to fill her friends in on them. Even if Veronica was going to do whatever the hell she wanted regardless of what her friends thought.
She had invited herself over to Leon’s with Backup and beer because well her place could get crowded sometimes with the baby and she had to bring Backup. Who didn’t love that dog? Before she could even raise her hand to knock on the door Backup was already barking to be let in. Veronica laughed and knocked, the six pack of beer and Backup’s leash in her other hand.
Leon’s apartment was fairly small, opening into the kitchen which then turned into the living room. It was a simple set up, an old tube-style TV, and a hide-a-bed couch with endtables on either side. Decorating the walls was posters of bikini clad models (he’d taken down all the actual topless ones when Chris had moved in), cars, and athletes, and sitting on the windowsill behind the couch was the Christmas cactus from his dreams, Gattolotto, and a butterfly bush (currently unnamed), where Bart the butterfly was currently hanging out. Chris was on the couch, playing one of his video games that Leon had got him.
When Veronica had invited herself over, it had sent Leon into a frenzy of cleaning, though his style of cleaning pretty much just consisted of gathering all his dirty clothes/dishes/everything else, throwing them into his bedroom, and closing the door. The place probably could have used a good vacuuming and dusting, but it looked good enough.
When he heard Backup barking, he did a quick look around the apartment to make sure there wasn’t anything like socks in the sink, and had almost started opening the door even before Veronica knocked. He threw open the door. “Hey, V. How’s it going?”
Backup jumped up on Leon licking his face. Veronica had to laugh at that for a moment before disciplining her dog. “Backup down.” He of course obeyed. He was a very obedient and well trained dog. He just got excited sometimes and he obviously liked Leon. “Hey,” she replied once the Backup situation was handled.
“Where’s Chris?” she asked as she walked into his apartment, handing him over the beer as she did, well more like shoving it into his chest. “I want to meet this butterfly you’ve been talking about.”
Leon let out an ‘ugh’ when Backup jumped up on him and started licking him. Gross. Though he still gave Backup an affectionate scritch behind the ears once he jumped down, even as he wiped his face on the sleeve of his t-shirt. “It’s good to see you too,” he said, sounding almost sarcastic but if someone was paying attention they’d hear the affection there.
At the sound of his name, Chris put down his video game controller and waved at Veronica from the couch. “Hi Veronica! Hi Backup!” he said, and called Backup over to him so he could give the dog a good two-handed scratch behind both of his ears. “Do you want to see what I’m building in Minecraft?”
Leon really didn’t see the appeal in the game. For one, it looked like a video game from Leon’s own youth and he had thought graphics were supposed to have gotten better. For another, it just seemed like a whole lot of stacking blocks onto one another. He’d almost have rather bought a Lego set for the kid. But, as he pulled two beers out of the case and then put it in the fridge, he kind of hoped that the video game would take Veronica’s mind off the butterfly. Why did D have to give him such embarrassing presents?
Veronica followed Backup over to where Chris was. “Sure,” she said looking over his shoulder so she could see his game. “Impressive,” she nodded doing her best to actually sound impressed. She still wasn’t exactly a kid person, but Chris and Viv were exceptions, obviously. She left Backup with Chris so she could go talk to Leon and hear about this butterfly.
“Well,” she said when she made her way back over to him. “Where is it?” she asked grabbing one of the beers from him. “I want to meet Flutter.” Since the last time they talked about the butterfly Leon was still picking out of the name so yes Veronica was going to go with her suggestion for the time being.
“Flutter,” Leon scoffed. “There’s no way I’d ever name something that. His name’s Bart.” He sighed. There really was no getting around it, he guess. He walked over to where Bart was enjoying his new butterfly bush, and held out a finger so that Bart could fly onto it and land. He didn’t know if all butterflies could learn tricks like that, but then, the animals from D’s shop seemed smarter than most.
Veronica rolled her eyes. She still thought she hd the superior name but it wasn’t her butterfly so Bart it was. Although in her mind Flutter would still be the name. Even if it was a boy butterfly. How could tell a butterfly’s gender? She raised a brow when Bart flew from the bush to Leon’s finger. She didn’t know that was a butterflies could do. “How did you get him to do that?” Veronica asked a ‘what the hell’ look on her face. “And while we are on the subject how exactly do you know it’s a him?”
“He just kind of does,” Leon said, shrugging. “D’s animals are pretty smart, so that probably has something the do with it. Makes it really easy to put him back in his cage at night though.” Leon liked to lock him up at night so he didn’t crush him in his sleep, though Leon always left a fresh cut flower that he’d picked himself earlier in the day in there with him. He’d come with a flower in the cage, so Leon assumed it was something he liked.
“And I don’t know for sure if he’s a he, but I feel it in my gut.” He jerked his thumb that wasn’t holding Bart to his stomach. He went on about his gut feelings often - in fact, it was what he credited his very high arrest record to. He followed his gut feelings, and his instincts were usually, if not dead on, close enough to the mark that he could figure things out from there. “Kinda like Gattolotto and the other flower over there are ladies,” he said, gesturing over to the Christmas cactus and the butterfly bush.
It was probably best that Leon kept the little picking flowers and putting it his cage fact to himself. There was no way in hell Veronica would ever let him live that down. As sweet as the gesture may be it was also a little too mushy for her.
“You get a lot of plants,” she was assuming that they came from the dreams. When did Leon have the time to go buy plants? “Are you sure you’re a cop and not like a gardener or botanist?” It worked for both dreams and real life considering she knew he was a cop in both worlds, but she was mostly referring to the dreams.
If Veronica wanted to believe that Unnamed Butterfly Bush came from the dreams, then all the power to her. Leon didn't really want to admit to going out shopping for flowers for his pet butterfly. With that thought he scowled to himself. What the hell had happened to his life?
“Ha ha.” He rolled his eyes. “I think D just knows that I don't really have time the time or space to take care of a real animal - no offense, Bart - but still thinks I should have something,” waiting for me at home might give Veronica the wrong idea about their relationship, “to, you know, make my life a little more difficult.” Leon wouldn't admit it, not to D or anyone, but it really was kind of nice, though both Bart and Gattolotto had died shortly after he got them. Gattolotto had made it a couple of weeks before Leon had gotten shot, and she had died while he was in the hospital, and Bart had died the first night he got him. But here, it was nice knowing there was something to come home to when Chris wasn't around.
“Anyway, you come around just to admire my new pet?”
“I’m almost jealous. No one buys me gifts in the dreams,” well Duncan had gotten her that fortune cookie and Logan… “Logan gave me a key to his hotel room once,” all wrapped up in a bow. But that was pretty much the extent of the gifts she had gotten in dreams. And yes she was comparing D to the love interests in her own dreams. Seemed like a fair comparison to her.
“That’s not the only reason,” she replied taking a sip of her beer. “I wanted to give you the good news. I got a new job.”
Comparing D to her own love life was probably apt. Leon was torn between being a little grossed out about hearing about his friends’ sex lives, and thinking it was funny as hell, but the latter won out and he burst out laughing, startling Bart into taking flight, though the butterfly soon found a home in his hair. “That’s so romantic,” he howled.
He was still chuckling a little when he took a sip of his beer. “Oh yeah? I guess you decided against joining the ranks as one of Irvine’s finest?” She hadn’t actually expressed any real interest in becoming a cop, but he’d still been hoping it was going to be what she chose.
Well, that was just rude. Veronica wasn’t going around laughing about his butterfly and all his random plants. Okay she was on the inside. But she wasn’t bursting into a full on fit of laughter like Leon was. She rolled her eyes, but soon found herself joining in, especially when Bart ended up in Leon’s hair, because that was just a hilarious sight. “Hey,” she protested. “He lived in the hotel. It was a big moment for our dreamselves. There was a bow involved and everything,” the more she protested though the funnier it got. She clearly wasn’t explaining this what-was-once-romantic moment right. Sorry Dream!Logan.
“Oh yeah, didn’t you hear? I’m the new chief of police. Say hello to your new boss,” she quipped. “But no, I don’t think I could work with Logan. I love the guy, but that’s a little too much time with him.” Boyfriend or not there was only so much Logan a girl could take. “As fun as working with you would be,” she said without a hint of sarcasm. Because really she wouldn’t mind working with Leon. They got along pretty well and he was fun to tease. (Okay maybe there was the tiniest bit of sarcasm, she was still Veronica). “I decided to join The Agency.”
Leon stopped laughing when Veronica mentioned that Logan had lived in the hotel, though he was still smiling a little. “Oh, well, that changes things. I thought this a ‘hey baby, check out this cool hotel room key I got us for prom’ type thing.” That had been his prom plan, though his father had died shortly before graduation and it hadn’t ended up happening.
He took a swig of his beer and immediately regretted doing so when he started to choke on the beer. “The Agency?” he spluttered. “Why would you want to go work for those clowns. You know they’re up to no good, don’t you?” Why were all his favourite people going to work for the Agency? It didn’t make any damn sense.
Veronica narrowed her eyes at Leon at that comment. “Do I look like a cliche to you?” If Logan had tried that line on Veronica in either world he probably would have ended up tased, okay that might be a little harsh. Probably just punched. At least in this world, her dreamself was pretty quick with the taser.
“Because,” Veronica began. “I want to know why these things happen to us. I want to help try and stop them from happening. Like when giant spiders show up or that black lightning.”
“Hey, I’m not the same person I was in high school,” Leon said. “Back then I had girls practically hanging off of me. Who’s to say dream-you wouldn’t be excited about something like that? ” He’d also been slower to anger and quicker to laugh, but that wasn’t something Leon had ever paid much attention to.
“The Agency doesn’t know anything more than we do,” Leon said. Unless Sharon and Peggy had been hiding something from him. Now that he thought about it, that made a little sense. “All they seem to do is try to keep the public in the dark about these kinds of things so that people who aren’t on the Network don’t have any way to deal with this weird shit.”
Dream!Veronica was actually a lot more jaded than she was in real life. Having your best friend murdered would do that to a girl. “Yeah that is a lot different from how you are here,” she couldn’t help but tease. She knew Leon could take it though. “But I’m basically the same in the dreams. Maybe even more of a bitch.”
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She had a feeling that was going to be Leon’s response. “They also fight the things that come from other worlds.”
“Oh shut up,” Leon said, but there wasn’t any bite to his words. It wasn’t like he wasn’t aware of his abysmal luck with the opposite sex. Revy said it was because he only seemed to go after bimbos, but a man was allowed to have a type. “Though, I have trouble picturing you as being more of a bitch.” That he said with a grin and a friendly nudge with his elbow.
Leon mulled over her words for a moment. Part of being a cop was knowing his own limits, and while he could absolutely take on some human perp who was causing shit, he knew there wasn’t much he could do against the giant spiders that seemed to plague the Orange County. “Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day,” he muttered. “It doesn’t excuse them from keeping vital information from the public. And from the police, for that matter.”
Veronica just rolled her eyes at that. Just like she knew Leon could take her quips she could take the teasing. Besides, she owned her bitchiness. “Don’t worry, some day you’ll find the girl for you,” yes let’s get back to teasing him. “And then I will mock you for it.” Because seriously who wanted to be in a relationship? They were so much work. Even if she was in one she didn’t get why all her friends suddenly seemed to be settling down.
“Well I’m going to be working for them now. So get used to it.” She wasn’t going to defend them or her decision. She made her choice and Leon would just have to deal. It wasn’t like he was going to change her mind. Once Veronica decided something, it stuck.
“You’ll be hard pressed to find anything to mock when I find my future knock-out girlfriend,” Leon said, as if it was a given that someday he’d be dating a supermodel. Then again, Revy seemed to have no problems mocking the girls Leon was attracted to, so maybe Veronica wouldn’t have such a tough time. He frowned a little to himself.
“Fine, fine,” Leon sighed, ready to back away from the argument. Though, not before he got one more shot in. “Don’t come crying to me when you find out that the Agency is a load of shit.” No offense to Peggy or Sharon. “But congrats on the new job anyway. Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why’d you decide to stop letting my perps walk?” Maybe not his perps. He was actually pretty sure Veronica had never defended anyone who Leon himself had arrested, but he and the rest of the police force were a team.
“And when exactly can I expect you to find her?” she quipped. He really made it too easy sometimes.
“If I ever come crying to you, about anything you have my consent to tase me again.” Of course she knew Leon had just meant it as an expression but crying so wasn’t her style. “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “After all the dreams it just felt like my calling was elsewhere. Not as a lawyer. Even my dreamself tried that and couldn’t make it work.”
“Before I’m forty, if I’m lucky,” Leon said. “It’s not exactly easy to find Mrs. Right when you work all the time,” and taking care of an nine-year-old. He didn’t want Chris to feel like he was burdening Leon, so he wouldn’t say it outloud when Chris was around. Though, Leon wasn’t exactly looking very seriously. He had enough on his plate without adding a relationship to it.
“I hope you realize I’m going to hold you to that now,” Leon said. Not that he could picture Veronica crying, and definitely not crying to him. “Well, you weren’t bad at it,” he admitted begrudgingly. “I’m sure you’ll do okay at the Agency too. Maybe it’ll be more your speed.”
“If not then you’ll just marry Sharon,” yeah she knew about their little deal. “Not the worst thing. But then I doubt Sharon will still be single. So you know, good luck.”
She had no problem with Leon holding her to that. In fact she hoped he would. She deserved to be tased if she ever went around crying. It just wasn’t her. “Now maybe some of the perps you,” she said you since he had said we earlier, ”put away will stay locked up,” she smirked - her way of accepting his half assed compliment. “We’ll see how it goes.”
“Ah, so, you heard about that did you?” Leon asked, a little embarrassed. He probably sounded like a bit of a loser if he had a back-up spouse in place. “I know she won’t be though. Honestly, I’m kinda surprised that she’s single now.”
He snorted. “A lot of criminals are going to be very disappointed with the career change,” he said, giving her a bit of a wink. He lifted his beer for a cheers. “But here’s to new beginnings.”