InsaneJournal

Who: Cindy & Veronica
What: Sunday Brunch
When: September 18, after these texts
Where: Cafe
Rating/Warnings: Low, talk of possible pregnancy, birth control, and alien husband
Status: Complete


Brunch. What a great combination of words, what a great concept - stuff yourself with fattening, sugary, carbohydrate-laden delights and then sleep for the equivalent of a decade when you got home. There was little else that Cindy would rather do on a Sunday, even when the day was usually reserved for catching up on housework, laundry, and other miscellaneous errands. In her youth, it had been the thing to do after church, with deviled eggs, grits, bourbon-glazed doughnuts, and mason jars full of a Bloody Mary or two.

In this quaint cafe she’d been wanting to try, it was the perfect time to wind down after a particularly busy weekend while simultaneously catching up with a friend. She’d just placed an order for coffee, but not just any coffee - one with espresso, chocolate bitters, vanilla, and rum. The place had a storefront stocked with unique and quirky knick knacks, cute little things, and the cafe itself was set up in a backyard garden that was also canine-friendly.

Cindy told Veronica she could bring Backup, if she wanted - and Cindy hoped she would, all the way over, because she really loved that drooly face.

“Oh, man, I’m starving,” the fairytale spy groaned, gladly opening the menu to have a look. “Don’t judge if I order way too much food - and eat it all.”

Of course Veronica brought Backup. Where would she be without her trusty, furry, companion? She may not have been gifted with powers from her dreams but as far as she was concerned Backup was the best dream gift ever. Although she had to drag him away from Logan sometimes. Which was funny considering Backup wasn’t his biggest fan in the dreams.

“I won’t,” Veronica replied with her usual smirk. “Besides you’ve had a hell of a weekend. I say you deserve all the food in this place.” As for drinks, Veronica had the classic brunch option herself, a mimosa. “Plus I’ll probably end up doing the same,” she added Backup sitting happily under the table, right in-between the two blondes. “What happens at brunch, stays at brunch,” she offered with another smirk. No one needed to know how much they were about to consume.

Mimosas were required for brunch. They were so elegant too, served in tall champagne flutes. Cindy almost felt dainty, sipping on one. And while slipping her wedged sandal (she needed all the height she could get, really) off to knead at Backup with pedicured feet, petting his adorable butt. No doubt the pup would be getting bits and pieces of human food here and there, fed to him sneakily.

“Definitely a hell of a weekend,” she agreed. There were a decent amount of vegetarian options on the menu, which she appreciated. Once upon a time, she’d consumed bacon and sausage for breakfast - but hadn’t in awhile and couldn’t even begin to imagine going back to that. Not like she cared if other people ate meat around her though. “It had been literally months since the first growth spurt started so we’ve been preparing but - to have it happen for real, it’s always different then.”

Here we go - she decided on the cinnamon French toast, with a side of artisan cheeses and fresh fruit added to the plate. That sounded delicious. Menu passed off, she picked up her mimosa to sip on the bubbly a little. “How are you though? We work in the same building but like, never meet for lunch. What’s up with that?” A travesty! They’d have to stop being so buried in their jobs and make time for something other than a pre-packaged salad from the fridge. Cindy was guilty of that.

Veronica was also guilty of that. Getting absorbed in her work. It was a miracle she had a social life. She had no idea how she managed to ace her classes, work as a barista and a PI, and have a social life in her dreams. Over achiever party of one. Or well technically two since she was fairly certain Cindy was one as well.

“We are going to have to change that,” Veronica agreed, after ordering a greek omelette for herself, extra feta cheese. And a side of both bacon and sausage. Because well she couldn’t decide which she wanted more and she wasdepressing too, Cindy was not a fan. But she made a mental note to stop by Veronica’s department and bother her around lunchtime some more. If it took poking and prodding to actually eat, then so be it. “You mean Logan hasn’t turned into anything else lately?” she teased, setting the glass of mimosa down carefully. This was something to savor, not guzzle.

“I’m glad things are going well with you two though. You seem happy?” she hedged. And, sure, she knew Veronica had been hesitant to cohabitate with her surfer boyfriend but Logan was dorky and sweet; Cindy liked him, and he also seemed head over heels for his blonde ladyfriend. Which was important also.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Veronica said with a smirk. “I am,” happy that was. Even if she didn’t act like it all the time, or pretended Logan wasn’t as important to her as he actually was. But then she sighed, not a sigh of unhappiness, more like of pain. Because damn her boobs were sore. She shifted in her seat trying to get comfortable, or at least make the pain subside, like changing positions would actually help.

Prickly Veronica just expressed herself different than the average bear, that’s all. Cindy was similar, they were birds of a feather - because Cinderella had been hardened by ‘the life,’ whether it was infiltrating enemy lines during a time of Fables war or putting on a show for her FBI cover; it wasn’t something that let her get close to people easily. For both their safety and hers.

Not to mention good ol’ Prince Charming. He’d certainly done a number on her psyche.

But when Veronica confirmed she was content, Cindy believed her. Except for how it looked like she’d just sat on a tack.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, frowning a bit. “Do you need Tums?” They hadn’t even eaten anything yet!

Veronica frowned. She hadn’t meant to concern Cindy, and the soreness got worse at the worst time. Just because she didn’t gush about her life didn’t mean she wasn’t happy. She didn’t want her discomfort to make it seem that way. But she was sure Cindy knew her well enough to know she wasn’t lying when she confirmed her happiness. Veronica Mars may have been a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them. Especially to her friends.

“More like tylenol,” Veronica confirmed, tempted to clutch her breasts but she didn’t think that’d do much good. And she’d look ridiculous. “My boobs are just so sore,” another sigh. Her period must be coming. Though she had never really suffered from sore breasts before. And now that she thought about it, wasn’t her period overdue?

One of the pitfalls of being a lady? Sore tits. Those chest pillows, when they hurt, they really hurt. Cindy had been afflicted plenty of times in her life. “I think I do have some tylenol,” she said, rummaging in her purse for the tiny packet of two pills. “Are you PMSing?” Because that was generally when Cindy herself felt the discomfort of breasts that ached - stupid hormones. They really kind of fucked things up with the body.

She assumed it was PMS, first and foremost. Though obviously Veronica knew best. A woman could usually tell when something different was happening to her own body - it was a combination of physical symptoms and gut instincts.

“Thanks.” Of course Veronica felt bad complaining about her pain when Garrus had just gone through a painful transition. And Cindy had been sick not too long ago. Sore boobs were nothing compared to all that. But still ouch.

“Probably.” There was no other reason for it, really. “I’m overdue,” she added with a frown. Her least favorite time of the month, but then she assumed it was the same for most women. When it was their time of the month of course. Not Veronica’s.

Overdue? Cindy lifted an eyebrow. It was a word that could send off a few alarm bells, but she didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. A late period could be caused by a whole slew of things - being knocked up wasn’t necessarily the correct answer.

“Could be stress?” she said, and she knew Veronica was probably hoping for it to be stress-related lateness as well. Her fellow blonde friend didn’t really give off maternal vibes - she wasn’t chomping at the bit to squeeze a football from her vagina. Apparently watching Sharon do it had been enough (and Cindy didn’t blame her).

Then again, it was a possibility. “Or you’re pregnant,” she joked, switching to sip from her coffee mug. “What kind of birth control are you on again?”

Stress seemed likely. Life in Orange County was very stressful after all. But that was also nothing out of the ordinary. Still Veronica was going to go with stress. It was just throwing her period behind a few weeks. That had to be it.

She took a sip of her mimosa, just as Cindy suggested or joked about pregnancy. It was almost enough to make Veronica spit it back out. She was not pregnant. There was no way. Anothing thing Veronica Mars wasn’t, a mom.

“Discussing birth control at brunch,” Veronica joked. “Not exactly how I thought this would go.” Still she wasn’t going to shy away from the topic. “NuvaRing,” she said just as the waiter brought over their food. Who knew what he overheard. Good thing Veronica didn’t embarrass easily. “You?” As long as they were sharing.

Cindy gave the waiter a charming smile - what, if he couldn’t handle discussions of the womanly variety then that was definitely a personal problem. This princess didn’t embarrass easily either - not like there was anything to be embarrassed about regardless. “Nothing now,” she laughed, because she was only sleeping with her husband and he couldn’t get her pregnant anyway, being that he was a different species entirely. When they were ready to have children, she’d have to head down to the clinic where the frozen stash of his virility was stored. Cleverly, he’d squirted into a cup before his DNA changed. When he was still human.

It was kind of a relief to not have to worry about birth control though, she had to admit. “But before, I was a shot kind of girl.” It would take a few months for her body to adjust to not being on that regularly. “NuvaRing is pretty effective - but still, there’s always that 2% chance of failure?”

Alright, that was probably not what Veronica wanted to hear. But still. Cindy popped a strawberry piece into her mouth, wincing a bit. “Sorry, I don’t mean to freak you out or anything.”

Right. The whole Garrus being an alien thing was probably the best form of birth control. Veronica really should have figured that out, but well her mind was preoccupied with other things. Like why the hell was her period late? She couldn’t be pregnant. Still maybe she shouldn’t drink the rest of that mimosa. Just in case.

“It’s fine,” Veronica said digging into her food. “Like you said, just stress.” She wasn’t meaning to be short, but she wanted this topic dropped. “No way in hell am I that 2%,” she added lightly. “Anyway enough about my womanly parts,” her boobs, her period, her birth control. “Tell me more about being married to an alien.”

If Veronica was pregnant, it’d be big news - but happy news? Cindy hoped she’d be happy, anyway. Granted, the happiness might be buried under a shit ton of anxiety and fear but it’d be there? At any rate, Cindy would be happy for her.

She wouldn’t go on about it though. Her friend just had to maybe take a test and if that came up positive, go to the doctor to be sure - there was nothing they could do about it now, so she quickly changed the subject. Talk of alien-human marriage it was, with a side of stuffing her face as well.