Who: Lina & Veronica What: Taking the preggo out to witness the glory of midget wrestling When: Tonight Where: A non-smoky bar Rating/Warning: Some language but that's it Status: Complete!
Veronica was in definite need of distractions, from her pregnancy. Now that she was showing it was harder to ignore. But she was determined to try, Have a good night out with her shorty friend. As a normal, woman. Just because she was pregnant didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun. Just without drinks but that wasn’t a huge deal.
Pushing thoughts of her pregnancy and her argument with Logan aside, Veronica got ready, wearing a black dress that didn’t show too much of her bump, and even put on some heels. A real feat considering the blonde rarely wore heels even when her feet weren’t swollen.
“So,” Veronica said when she met up with Lina. “What are the plans? I’m in your hands,” she completely trusted the redhead. Especially considering Lina had already been through all this.
Lina was happy to deliver all sorts of distractions. It wasn’t that long ago that she was knocked up, waddling around with a basketball of baby weight in front of her - there were periods of restlessness, her list of usual activities cut to almost zilch to make sure that she and the once-baking chimichanga were in good health and safe. Not that she resented or regretted any of it; once the preggo test she took at that fateful gas station (wasn’t that just classy?), those overprotective maternal instincts kicked in. She knew exactly what to do and what not to do.
It did leave her bored often, though.
There was no dress for this occasion, nope - but she was dressed for a night out regardless, with sleek leather leggings, heeled boots, and a flowy off-the-shoulder shirt. Considering the plans for the night once could say they, uh, overdressed, but who the hell cared? Veronica probably needed a night out where she felt pretty, and not a raging mess of hormones and uncomfortable bodily changes.
“Trust in me, RonRon,” the sorceress smirked, checking up on her makeup in the rearview mirror before climbing out of the car. Those long, fiery curls were fluffed up some for extra volume, rawr. “Smoking’s only allowed outside and on the roof, so you’ll be fine, but we’re going to be entranced by the fine art of midget wrestling.”
It was a massive, massive bar, it really was - a giant warehouse converted into a waterhole space with arcade games, space for bands and other activities, rows and rows of pool tables, mini-bowling and so forth. It had the standard bar eats and decent drinks, but there was more to do than just sit around and watch people imbibe too. It had an all-time low record of bar altercations so it was, overall, safe in a safe neighborhood.
Yes, she made sure.
Veronica did trust Lina. Which was saying a lot. The blonde didn’t exactly trust easily. One of the problems in her relationship, although she was getting somewhat better with the whole trust thing. “Midget wresting?” Veronica raised a brow. That was certainly something she never thought she would see. Well she had never put any thought into it at all actually. “How do you come up with these things?”
She walked into the humongous bar with Lina looking around at all the activities. “You know what the worst thing about pregnancy is?” Although she was sure Lina had an idea. “No drinking.” But that was probably good for her. Her drinking had picked up a bit and the last thing she wanted was to turn into her mother. Still, there were times a girl just needed a drink. Mocktails would have to do for now.
Lina’s shoulders rolled into a shrug. “I have the restless heart of an adventurer?” That thirst for excitement, finding new places, discovering all things odd. A hard thing to kick when that’s all she did in her other life (aside from getting caught up in some ancient demon bullshit). Don’t get her wrong, she was happy being settled with a husband and kids - Pete and Amelia were her world - but mommy had to satisfy her wanderlust in some way or form.
Locating interesting shenanigans were one of them.
It’d be entertaining to watch anyway. If they got bored? They had other options to explore. Plenty of things to do around here, no doubt about it. “You’ll be such a lightweight when you’re able to drink again, too, but the inability to drink still didn’t beat the bathroom issues,” she grinned, approaching the bar for some services before they found a table for themselves. There was a wrestling ring set up already, and a kiddy pool full of jell-o for one of the matches. “Pete was a sport, though, and was really attentive to all things that made me uncomfortable so it wasn’t awful.”
“And all this time I thought you had the heart of gold,” Veronica quipped, smirk ever present on her face. But on to sitting at one of the tables, with a seat of the pool full of jell-o. Ah, sitting. Veronica’s feet were already killing her. This is why she didn’t wear heels. But whatever, a night out called for it. Because yeah she needed to feel like a woman again, and not just a baby oven.
But jell-o? When Lina had mentioned wrestling, even midget wrestling Veronica had pictured something along the lines of the WWE just in smaller form. Nothing with jell-o. Well it was going to be an interesting and eventful night to say the least.
“Uncomfortable how?” Physically, mentally? There was a lot of uncomfortableness that could go along with pregnancy. It was mostly physical for Veronica. But even for the tough as nails woman she usually was, she even felt uncomfortable in certain situations sometimes.
Yes, jell-o. Don’t get a craving, Veronica, because it’d all be covered in midget sweat soon.
“Mmmm…” Lina picked her drink up from the bar - Jameson whiskey on the rocks - and waited for their little number-on-a-stick to come so they could sit down, and food be brought to them while they watched the beginnings of what was going to be the best shitshow of the night. “Aches, soreness, especially in the last stretch. My back, my feet, constipation, the pressure she used to put on my organs the entire damn time - you know I had to get a special pillow to sleep with at night? Look into that. Pete’s mutant powers always have him running hot anyway, so he was basically a human heating pad, but sometimes the best relief I got was just laying on cold tile too.”
Shrug. Pregnancy was fucking weird. People called it beautiful, and she could see why - sometimes. Other times? Yeah, fuck no, not so much. “But before then? It wasn’t really too bad. There was a window where I could eat whatever I want, walk and not hate the world, and enjoy the movement in the belly. I sometimes miss it. Trust me, when you give birth it’s actually going to feel strange not having the brat inside you.”
Veronica was definitely in that window. Or actually she just ate whatever she wanted thanks to cravings and she wasn’t about to stop. Despite comments about needing to eat healthier. She got her fruits and veggies in too, but seriously this was the one time where she had a right to go for whatever food she wanted. Of course she was never one to watch what she ate before really, not one of those girls obsessed with having a salad with only a certain number of croutons or amount of dressing. If she wanted a burger that was what she got. But now she had the excuse of pregnancy too.
“I’ve already got the soreness.” Luckily Logan was willing to give her massages every night. “No constipation yet,” she made a face at the word. She definitely wasn’t looking forward to that. “Uh, what kind of pillow?” Special pillow wasn’t much classification. She assumed there was a pregnancy pillow out there, but knowing exactly what would be helpful for her to get her own. “Aside from all that, did you and Pete ever argue over the last name?”
Constipation was a thing, before and after the birth - no point in sugarcoating it. Pete had gone balls deep in researching what happens to the body during pregnancy and after, not the least bit shy about it, and whipped up an aftercare basket of all sorts of embarrassing ‘goodies.’ All sorts of shit she had laughed about but thanked him for getting because goddamn, she actually did need ‘em.
Fuckin’ nipple butter.
Lina blinked a couple times, tucking ringlets of volcanic hair behind her ear. Was that something Veronica and Logan fought about? “Nah,” she waved. “I mean, we got engaged not long after? Even if we didn’t I’d have her take the Wisdom name.” Inverse wasn’t her last name anyway, not legally. “Why, that a sensitive topic between you and Logan?”
That was true and now they were married. Seemed like all her friends were settling down. And she supposed in a way she was too. With the whole having a baby thing. But marriage was a whole other thing. She knew her married friends were all independent, but too Veronica getting married felt like giving up too much of her independence and she wasn’t about to go for that. Luckily Logan hadn’t tried proposing yet.
“Sort of,” she shrugged taking a sup of her virgin pina colada. Yum pineapple, one of the things she always seemed to be craving lately. “He just assumed the baby would have his last name, which I honestly don’t mind that much. It just pissed me off he would assume that without talking to me. And of course he didn’t like me joking about him being a Mars.”
Lina found a nice high-top for them, where she plopped down the metal prong with their order number and got her tush all comfortable on the seat. Once the food was ready - wings battered in hot sauce, artichoke and spinach dip, mozzarella sticks - it’d be brought to them, and they also had a prime spot for when the entertainment began.
“If you two don’t have any plans for marriage then, yeah, I’d say it’s worth talking about,” the redhead voiced after a minute of thought. “It’s gotta be a mutual agreement, but it’s also not uncommon for the kid to take after the dad’s last name in situations like that either. Did you two at least come to an agreement?”
Well at least someone saw it her way. Like her though, Logan could be stubborn sometimes and she kind of got where he was coming from. He wasn’t close with his family, she understood why having his own was a big deal to him. Her only issue was that the last name was just assumed without talking to her. Especially when he knew Veronica wasn’t exactly the traditional type.
“Yeah,” Veronica said plopping down on a seat. Aw sweet relief for her feet. “He’s going to be an Echolls.” At least the last name didn’t bring shame here like it did in the dreams. Although it did have the recognition given that Logan’s dad was still a movie star.
Awww, he. Lina was grinning stupidly now. It was cute, and while Veronica had her reservations there was no doubt in her mind that her fellow shorty would be a protective mama bear. At least she knew how to not be, with the shit mother she already had. “Trust me, the name is the last thing you two are going to care about in the next couple months. And I know this goes without saying, but…”
Just in case. “Don’t feel the pressure about marriage just because you two made a mini-human,” she voiced. “You guys have a lot on your plate, and a kid’s going to change you a lot more than marriage does.” Aside from the attached meaning behind it, marriage was just two people living together with a legally binding contract for financial reasons.
“Yeah,” Veronica agreed. Because Lina was right. In a matter of months they would be responsible for another human. All Veronica could do was hope they didn’t fuck it up. And that they didn’t argue too much about how to raise it. Despite the fact that they were both stubborn, Veronica truly did hate arguing. Even if she refused to give up the belief that she was always right.
“Oh, I won’t. A kid and a house is more than enough. But it’s nice to know someone sees it my way.” Really, who needed a piece of paper telling each other they loved each other and were committed? “Even if you did get hitched.”
“I understand your way, and respect it,” Lina corrected with a fond roll of her eyes, tilting the glass of whiskey towards her mouth. “Whole point is, you’re free to do things your way - and it just so happens there’s a sappy part of me that liked the idea of marriage and the cheesy shit it meant.” Hey, nothing wrong with that! Even in the dreams she had wanted to settle down and do the whole family thing after her adventuring stunt, but with her record of being tits deep in monsters and demons?
It’d be difficult. Really difficult.
She took a quick gulp of her poison and swallowed hard. Conditioning herself to hard liquor again was going alright - before making a baby should could pack ‘em hard, but after a year of sobriety? It was like starting from scratch. “You two will figure things out as you go, though. Try not to sweat the small things.”
“Save the sap for your husband,” Veronica quipped. The blonde did appreciate Lina and her advice, but that was enough heart to heart for her. This night was supposed to be about having fun. “No more talk about our baby daddies.” That did still accurately describe Pete even if they had tied the knot. “Let’s enjoy the show.”
“Yeah, how did this turn into some kind of sentimental talk of wisdom??” Lina laughed, because the point was to get Veronica out and about and not focus on her pregnancy. Hard to do when all that weight was concentrated in front of her, but stuff like this was good for the mental health during those uncomfortable changes.
Their appetizers came to the table on time, and the entertainment started spilling out into the center of the makeshift ring. Little people in spandex and masks! This should be fun to watch. “Bets on the one with the chest crazy chest hair,” she snickered, picking up a spicy wing to tear to shreds.
It’d be a good night for them. They had plenty of time to discuss the mundanities of life later, anyway.