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blue_icy_roseTitle: Thinking of You
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,362
Characters/Pairing: Veronica, Duncan, mentions of Lilly (both of them), Logan, Wallace, and Keith (very brief mentions of the last two)
Spoilers: Up to Donut's Run.
Warnings: Future fic. Mentions of character death.
Summary: Veronica gets some letters over the years.
Disclaimer: They belong to Rob Thomas, not me.
Author's Note: I wrote this forvm_worstcase. My prompt was how to detect a letter bomb and I had no idea what to do with it so I put my own twist on this. Hope you enjoy and feedback is always welcome!
The last thing Veronica expected when she picked up the mail that day was a letter. More specifically, she wasn’t expecting a letter for her.
She studied the envelope for a moment, as if doing so would tell her what was inside. As she turned over the envelope she saw the handwriting and sucked in a breath. Slowly, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
Veronica,
I know I shouldn’t be writing. I know we said that we could never contact each other again. Don’t worry, you don’t have to write back. It was hard enough figuring out how to get this to you.
Would you believe that Vinnie did it for me? I sent him a letter of his own with this one inside it and asked if he could put it in your mailbox for me. I figure they don’t monitor his mail the way they probably do yours.
Like I said, I don’t expect a reply. You already know that I’m in Mexico but we both know that it’s better if you don’t know exactly where in Mexico. That’s why there’s no return address. I just wanted to let you know how we’re doing. Me and Lilly. We’re good. I even managed to get a job at the local market, so I’m able to take Lilly with me.
It’s hot, it’s dirty but I’m happy. I still think of you though. I want you to know that.
I’ll probably write again. I just hope it doesn’t bother you.
I miss you.
Love,
Duncan
She stared at the letter for a moment before taking a deep breath. She straightened her shoulders and refused to admit what it had done to hear from Duncan, to know he was happy.
Instead she hid the letter in a box full of things from before Lilly’s death.
~*~*~*~
For over a year, Veronica lived her life as she had done before with only a few differences. She was at Stanford now, taking classes that challenged her and she was enjoying being away from all the dramatics that made up Neptune.
She was content, happy.
And then another letter came.
Veronica,
Well, I’m guessing you didn’t think it’d take me so long to write again, did you? But it’s actually been fairly busy here and Lilly is growing fast. I’ll send pictures of her next time. I hope Stanford is treating you well. I’d heard you got in but I never did get the chance to say congratulations.
We’re leaving Mexico soon. I want to move on, see more of the world. I think Lilly will enjoy a change of scenery almost as much as I will.
I guess there wasn’t much point in this letter, was there? I just…well, I just wanted you to know I still think of you. I don’t know if I’ll ever meet someone or anything like that but I’m sure it’s going to be difficult when I keep comparing them to you, right?
Love,
Duncan
Veronica read over the short letter once more and then shook her head. Duncan would always be special to her, he’d been her first love after all. But that didn’t mean she was going to spend the rest of her life pining away over him.
Hopefully he wouldn’t pine for her either. They both deserved happiness.
She put this letter with the first, determined not to think of it.
~*~*~*~
The next letter was only a surprise because it’d been another couple years before she got one. This time she had just gotten back from a day out with a few friends. She paused at the sight of the familiar handwriting and opened the envelope, pulling out the letter and catching the few photographs that fell out.
Lilly.
She was laughing, on a beach somewhere and holding out a pail and shovel out towards the camera.
Veronica lifted the picture closer and studied it a bit more. She had Duncan’s eyes, Meg’s hair and smile. And suddenly, Veronica wondered for the first time in years if she sounded like Meg when she laughed as well.
Sighing, she set those down and picked up the letter.
Veronica,
Another few years and another letter. It’s a good thing we’re not pen pals or something, right? It’d be even worse if you were trying to reach me.
We’re in Italy now and have been for about a year. That’s what took so long for me to write. I had to get us settled and find another job, not to mention a good place to stay. Lilly loves living here, we’re able to go to the beach all the time.
She nearly gave me a heart attack the other day. I looked away for one second and when I turned around she wasn’t where I’d put her. It didn’t take long to find her though. I caught her heading straight for the ocean. Turns out that Lilly loves to swim and she figured that the ocean seemed like a good place to start.
I’ve told her about you. About you, Logan, and Lilly and what things were like for us. I don’t regret the way things are though. I miss those days, true. But if things were the same, I wouldn’t have my Lilly, would I? But I thought you’d like to know that she knows who you are. She calls you Aunt Ronica because she can’t quite say Veronica yet.
I hope you’re doing well, that you’re safe, and that you think of us every now and then.
Love,
Duncan
A small smile on her face, Veronica placed the photographs and the letter in the box.
~*~*~*~
A couple letters came, scattered over the next couple years and Duncan and Lilly had moved from Italy to England. Veronica didn’t understand why Duncan had gone for someplace so different than Italy but it was his life, not hers.
He’d met someone and was doing well.
And Veronica was moving on with her life. She still kept in touch with Wallace, they hung out every chance they got. Her dad had moved and she hadn’t heard from her mother in years, something she was fine with.
Then there was Logan.
They were friends again. Friends and, it seemed, they were moving past that.
Tonight was their first date and Veronica was excited in a way that should have been silly since it was Logan and they’d gone out together before. But this was different.
The knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she opened the door with a smile.
There was a new letter, but it’d hold until later.
~*~*~*~
She didn’t think that anything could get rid of the smile once she was inside. She was still smiling when she opened the letter.
And then it all changed.
Veronica,
I never thought I’d have to do this. It shouldn’t be this way, you know?
A father should never have to bury his child.
Lilly got sick. Pneumonia. We didn’t get it though. I thought for sure that she’d recover but I guess she was too small. I don’t know. I don’t know what to do now. My whole life has revolved around her for so long that I don’t know what to do now that she’s gone.
I know what my father felt all those years ago though. I understand now.
I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to keep going the way he did.
I didn’t write this to worry you but I thought you’d want to know. And I wrote this because…because I still think of you.
Be happy, Veronica.
Love,
Duncan
Veronica sank into a chair, rereading the letter over and over. She didn’t know if this meant Duncan was going to do something to himself or not. She didn’t know how to take the news that a little girl named Lilly, who she’d never met but had called her Aunt Veronica was now dead and buried.
There were some bombs that she wished would never be dropped.
And there were others she wished she could see coming.
The letters were one of those.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,362
Characters/Pairing: Veronica, Duncan, mentions of Lilly (both of them), Logan, Wallace, and Keith (very brief mentions of the last two)
Spoilers: Up to Donut's Run.
Warnings: Future fic. Mentions of character death.
Summary: Veronica gets some letters over the years.
Disclaimer: They belong to Rob Thomas, not me.
Author's Note: I wrote this for
vm_worstcase. My prompt was how to detect a letter bomb and I had no idea what to do with it so I put my own twist on this. Hope you enjoy and feedback is always welcome!The last thing Veronica expected when she picked up the mail that day was a letter. More specifically, she wasn’t expecting a letter for her.
She studied the envelope for a moment, as if doing so would tell her what was inside. As she turned over the envelope she saw the handwriting and sucked in a breath. Slowly, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
Veronica,
I know I shouldn’t be writing. I know we said that we could never contact each other again. Don’t worry, you don’t have to write back. It was hard enough figuring out how to get this to you.
Would you believe that Vinnie did it for me? I sent him a letter of his own with this one inside it and asked if he could put it in your mailbox for me. I figure they don’t monitor his mail the way they probably do yours.
Like I said, I don’t expect a reply. You already know that I’m in Mexico but we both know that it’s better if you don’t know exactly where in Mexico. That’s why there’s no return address. I just wanted to let you know how we’re doing. Me and Lilly. We’re good. I even managed to get a job at the local market, so I’m able to take Lilly with me.
It’s hot, it’s dirty but I’m happy. I still think of you though. I want you to know that.
I’ll probably write again. I just hope it doesn’t bother you.
I miss you.
Love,
Duncan
She stared at the letter for a moment before taking a deep breath. She straightened her shoulders and refused to admit what it had done to hear from Duncan, to know he was happy.
Instead she hid the letter in a box full of things from before Lilly’s death.
For over a year, Veronica lived her life as she had done before with only a few differences. She was at Stanford now, taking classes that challenged her and she was enjoying being away from all the dramatics that made up Neptune.
She was content, happy.
And then another letter came.
Veronica,
Well, I’m guessing you didn’t think it’d take me so long to write again, did you? But it’s actually been fairly busy here and Lilly is growing fast. I’ll send pictures of her next time. I hope Stanford is treating you well. I’d heard you got in but I never did get the chance to say congratulations.
We’re leaving Mexico soon. I want to move on, see more of the world. I think Lilly will enjoy a change of scenery almost as much as I will.
I guess there wasn’t much point in this letter, was there? I just…well, I just wanted you to know I still think of you. I don’t know if I’ll ever meet someone or anything like that but I’m sure it’s going to be difficult when I keep comparing them to you, right?
Love,
Duncan
Veronica read over the short letter once more and then shook her head. Duncan would always be special to her, he’d been her first love after all. But that didn’t mean she was going to spend the rest of her life pining away over him.
Hopefully he wouldn’t pine for her either. They both deserved happiness.
She put this letter with the first, determined not to think of it.
The next letter was only a surprise because it’d been another couple years before she got one. This time she had just gotten back from a day out with a few friends. She paused at the sight of the familiar handwriting and opened the envelope, pulling out the letter and catching the few photographs that fell out.
Lilly.
She was laughing, on a beach somewhere and holding out a pail and shovel out towards the camera.
Veronica lifted the picture closer and studied it a bit more. She had Duncan’s eyes, Meg’s hair and smile. And suddenly, Veronica wondered for the first time in years if she sounded like Meg when she laughed as well.
Sighing, she set those down and picked up the letter.
Veronica,
Another few years and another letter. It’s a good thing we’re not pen pals or something, right? It’d be even worse if you were trying to reach me.
We’re in Italy now and have been for about a year. That’s what took so long for me to write. I had to get us settled and find another job, not to mention a good place to stay. Lilly loves living here, we’re able to go to the beach all the time.
She nearly gave me a heart attack the other day. I looked away for one second and when I turned around she wasn’t where I’d put her. It didn’t take long to find her though. I caught her heading straight for the ocean. Turns out that Lilly loves to swim and she figured that the ocean seemed like a good place to start.
I’ve told her about you. About you, Logan, and Lilly and what things were like for us. I don’t regret the way things are though. I miss those days, true. But if things were the same, I wouldn’t have my Lilly, would I? But I thought you’d like to know that she knows who you are. She calls you Aunt Ronica because she can’t quite say Veronica yet.
I hope you’re doing well, that you’re safe, and that you think of us every now and then.
Love,
Duncan
A small smile on her face, Veronica placed the photographs and the letter in the box.
A couple letters came, scattered over the next couple years and Duncan and Lilly had moved from Italy to England. Veronica didn’t understand why Duncan had gone for someplace so different than Italy but it was his life, not hers.
He’d met someone and was doing well.
And Veronica was moving on with her life. She still kept in touch with Wallace, they hung out every chance they got. Her dad had moved and she hadn’t heard from her mother in years, something she was fine with.
Then there was Logan.
They were friends again. Friends and, it seemed, they were moving past that.
Tonight was their first date and Veronica was excited in a way that should have been silly since it was Logan and they’d gone out together before. But this was different.
The knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she opened the door with a smile.
There was a new letter, but it’d hold until later.
She didn’t think that anything could get rid of the smile once she was inside. She was still smiling when she opened the letter.
And then it all changed.
Veronica,
I never thought I’d have to do this. It shouldn’t be this way, you know?
A father should never have to bury his child.
Lilly got sick. Pneumonia. We didn’t get it though. I thought for sure that she’d recover but I guess she was too small. I don’t know. I don’t know what to do now. My whole life has revolved around her for so long that I don’t know what to do now that she’s gone.
I know what my father felt all those years ago though. I understand now.
I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to keep going the way he did.
I didn’t write this to worry you but I thought you’d want to know. And I wrote this because…because I still think of you.
Be happy, Veronica.
Love,
Duncan
Veronica sank into a chair, rereading the letter over and over. She didn’t know if this meant Duncan was going to do something to himself or not. She didn’t know how to take the news that a little girl named Lilly, who she’d never met but had called her Aunt Veronica was now dead and buried.
There were some bombs that she wished would never be dropped.
And there were others she wished she could see coming.
The letters were one of those.
