TITLE: "Summertime"

SPOILERS: Up until the season finale, everything.

TIMELINE: This takes place about a week after the series finale. The gang is a week away from finals.

Summary: A week before finals, Veronica is starting to come to terms with her budding relationship with Piz and the fact that Keith lost the election. With only a few weeks left in Neptune before her FBI internship, someone starts to threaten her life and that of the people she cares about most. Be forewarned, it starts out fluffy before veering into darker territory.

Ship: This is a Tipper (Piz/Veronica) fic. Of the few I've read on this board, most writers ask to please not get flamed. Hey, it's up to you if you want to flame. I'm a firm believer in flying any ship flag you like. Logan will be in this fic and I will try to portray him to the best of my abilities. He is a part of Veronica's life, whether on not I like it, and as such he'll be in there. The whole gang is in the mix.

Disclaimer: Characters not mine. Key plot elements not mine. This story, however, please ask before reposting or linking. Thanks.

RATED: M (Strong R) for sexual situations, language.

Chapter 1: Wonderland

He watched her. Too much.

She was taking notes and biting her lower lip and being there, right next to him.

All the while, he was just... watching her work. Still bruised, no stitches but still bruised. No real forward motion. Just watching. And trying to keep all those inappropriate words at bay. He never did manage to succeed in that department.

"I'm going to do that... radio thing... this summer... In New York... I..." he stammered, unsure of where he was going with this.

She took off her headphones and turned on her back. Suddenly, speaking wasn't so important. She raised an eyebrow. "You told me last week," she said, her smile curving slightly to the left.

He reached out to brush her hair off her face. "Yeah, right. That was preamble. I was going somewhere with this."

"Let me guess..." she placed her arm under her head for comfort. She could see him better now, his eyes, everything. "You're gonna miss me."

"Well, of course I'm gonna miss you." He could feel a rant coming on and was powerless to stop it. "I've spent the last week in the same room with you at least 70% of the time, and even though I'll be working and probably really liking my job, I think I'll be thinking about you..."

"I was kidding, Piz." She bit down on her lower lip, her smile not as wide. "Just say what you wanted to say. I promise, no more quips."

"Right." His cheeks flushed red. He hated that. "I wanted to know... I mean... I wanted to ask... Because there's the fourth of July which is Friday and I might save some money up and... Could I... Virginia isn't that far. I could..." Her smile was encouraging. "Maybe I could drive up... visit you. Just for the weekend. Long weekend."

Veronica looked up at him. He'd had trouble enough getting that out, but now he was avoiding looking at her.

The week had been horrible. Her father losing the election. Logan walking around, apologetic but still aggressively pursuing... something. Leaving messages. And Piz had held her hand through it all. His bruises subsided but he still acted like he needed to ask permission to kiss her... It had been back to first base, hell, back in the batting cage, pecks on the cheek and shy smiles.

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Hey... Earth to Piz?"

He looked back at her. He was trying to keep himself from being a puppet, a puppy, an idiot. He was shielding himself from hurt. And that was one thing Veronica knew all about.

"If you have a free weekend and it doesn't completely bottom out your savings... you better visit me, Mister."

She grinned widely, her smile reaching her eyes. He couldn't help it. He swooped down and took her mouth in his.

She gasped, surprised. They hadn't been this close since... since before Logan had beat Piz up.

He backed away just a little, looking into her eyes, trying to measure her reaction. "You ok?"

She nodded. Her fingers ran over the reddened scar where his stitches had been. "You?"

He nodded. She watched as his smile widened. "I've missed this."

"Me too," she admitted. And meant it. "I think we should pick up right where we left off."

"On your dad's couch?" he asked, teasing. Sometimes, only sometimes, he too could be good with the one-liners.

"I was thinking more along the lines of naked," she offered.

His eyes widened. Her one-liners were, of course, so much better than his. "I, uh... I think I could get on board with that idea."

He bent down to kiss her but she had other ideas. "Good," she said. "You first."

He stopped cold. Here they were, in broad daylight, not even five o'clock yet. He'd expected something along the lines of fumbling clothes in a darkened room after midnight. He felt... fifteen.

"Come on, Piznarski. Show us some skin," she joked, sitting up.

Her fingers grazed the hem of his t-shirt, then slowly began pulling it up. He took a deep breath and kept his eyes on hers. Her fingertips slowly trailed over his skin, and he understood, just then, how much of a goner he was. He helped her pull up his shirt and searched her eyes to see what her reaction would be. The horror-filled look in his eyes was the exact opposite of what he'd hoped for.

"What is it?" he asked, looking down at himself. Maybe someone had tattooed him in his sleep. But no. What she was looking at was the blotches of purple around his ribs. "Oh."

Veronica traced his ribs, touching the bruised skin ever-so-slightly. "Does it still hurt?"

"Only when you look at it like that," he said, his smile almost absent.

She looked troubled.

He hooked a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "It doesn't hurt much anymore. Honest." He smiled. "I'm a really resistant punching bag."

She feigned a smile. "I hate that he did this," she started.

"But you can't hate him," Piz finished.

She nodded. "Tried that before. Doesn't work."

Piz shrugged. "I think, you know, now that I'm half naked, we should be honest. Not because I'm half naked... I mean... Let me start over." He took a deep breath with closed eyes. Maybe, with his eyes closed, he could explain with greater clarity exactly what he wanted to say. "I don't need... No, I don't want you to stop speaking to Logan in my account. Maybe, in his shoes, I would've done the same thing." He opened his eyes and saw Veronica, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. "Ok, maybe I would've asked first, but still. What I want to say is... You and Logan have a history, a complicated one, and you and I... we don't. I can't ask you to erase that and you can't volunteer to. And not answering his phone-calls is just avoiding the inevitable awkward meeting or whatever. He's your ex and your friend and even though I really don't like the guy and he can kick my butt three ways to Sunday, you are who you are, you hang out with who you want to hang out with."

"I know all this, Piz. I do..." Veronica started, but Piz placed a finger on her lips.

"Just... let me get this out of the way now, Veronica." She nodded, allowing him to continue. "I don't mind if you and Logan have a relationship. I mean... I mind... I know I'm the rebound guy and I hate that, but just tell me now if you're going back to him soon, because I'm not sure all of me heals as quickly as my ribs."

Veronica cracked a smile. "I like you, Piz." She tilted her head and looked at him intently. "I can't say more than that yet, but this..." she said, pointing to Piz and then herself. "This is growing on me. It's different. A good different. I'm not planning on going back to Logan. And I appreciate you being cavalier about it, but I haven't answered his calls because I really don't want to. Maybe I am delaying an inevitable, awkward conversation with him, or a fight."

"I'm not like him," Piz said, his eyes fixed on his comforter.

Veronica inched closer to him, until her lips rested against his ear. He could feel her breath and it made his heart stop. "I know, Piznarski. I don't think you're 'the rebound guy'. And I'm right here."

He faced her, pulling back just enough to get her in focus. He could see in her eyes that she meant it. She was with him because she wanted to, not out of some sense of loyalty or friendship. Because she wanted to be.

He pulled her into a kiss, slow but deep. It wasn't tentative, like the one before. He wasn't asking for an invitation. He already knew he was welcome. It was as if a brick had been lifted off his chest.

Veronica sensed the change as well. His hands, fumbling just moments ago, expertly caressed her back, ducked beneath her shirt, cupped her ass. She almost squealed as he pulled them both on top of him, and maybe she would have if he hadn't winced in pain as her elbow landed on his bruised rib.

"Huh," he said, as Veronica apologized profusely. "That's not how I saw that going. I thought I was doing pretty good."

Veronica laughed. How long had it been since she'd laughed like this? "You were doing real smooth, babe," she quipped, moving to settle on top of him.

His hands moved up and down her back as he peppered kisses on her hair. "I think maybe I'm too old for this. Maybe we should take a nap," he added.

She swatted his hip and brought her lips up to his. "Not a chance, Piznarski. You still have those pants on. And if I remember correctly, you were gonna take them off."

He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her into a kiss. "Subtle."

"I can help you out of those," she added.

He grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"So I think this was were we left off," Veronica said, as Piz slid her bra off.

"Nervous?" he asked, kissing her collarbone.

She shrugged. "A little."

Piz scanned her face, "I should be the nervous one."

"I promise you won't get beat up this time."

He settled on top of her, skin against skin. She slid her hands down his back, to the waistband of his boxers, to the curve of his ass. "I like your weight on me," she said.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're corny."

"That better stay between us," Veronica warned.

Piz nodded. He wasn't planning on telling anyone about this afternoon. Not Wallace, who was conveniently away "studying" in his girlfriend's room. Not his friends back home, not himself tomorrow morning. This was his secret.

He softly kissed her, taking care of going slow, as slow as his resolve permitted.

"I won't break," she offered.

He smiled. "I know. I just... Ok."

His mouth covered hers and he felt it. What existed between them wasn't blinding passion, it was fire that built up slowly but still threatened to consume him if he wasn't careful. He dragged his lips down her neck, his tongue peeking out to taste the taut skin of her collar. He looked up at her, his eyes questioning, asking for permission. Her nod was infinitesimal, but he could feel her breath catching in her throat. She felt it too.

His mouth covered her left breast and his tongue teased her hard nipple. Her back arched and she sucked in her breath. Piz wasn't an expert at any of this, but he knew he'd hit jackpot.

"Tell me when to stop," he whispered, his mouth traveling lower, kissing his way down to her navel and then, even lower. His fingers traced the edge of her panties. He looked up to her and was awed to find her watching his every move. She wasn't the kind of girl to close her eyes. He should've known.

"Don't stop," she said, her voice heavy.

He felt a devilish grin creeping up his lips, and his skin flushed red. "Ok," he whispered against her skin. He had to learn to stop talking. It got him into all kinds of trouble. He traced the edge of Veronica's panties with his tongue then hooked his fingers on the sides and slowly, slowly pulled them off. He slid them down her long legs, but he didn't look at them. He looked into Veronica's eyes.

He could get used to her not closing them. She made him feel braver than he really was.

But her open eyes also made him want to challenge her, to do things that would make her close her eyes and say his name.

Piz turned his attention to her legs. Kissing her kneecaps, he parted her legs and slowly dragged his mouth up the inside of her thigh. Her breathing became shallow as he neared her center, and then it seemed almost as if she was holding her breath.

He looked up for a fraction of a second and saw her fingers digging into his comforter. He took a second to enjoy the view of having Veronica naked on his bed.

This was gonna be good.

- - - - - - - -

She didn't know exactly when it started. The feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her maybe she'd been wrong about there not being any adrenaline in her relationship with Piz.

Maybe it had been the second she saw Piz bruised by Logan's fists, accompanied by the feeling of her heart sinking.

Maybe it was earlier, that other time on their bed, when they'd been all wandering hands.

It was hard to think about it now that Piz was doing... what he was doing.

She could feel a flush creeping on her breasts and as she looked down at Piz, she caught him looking up into her eyes, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips.

"What?" she mouthed, almost out of breath.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, just before kissing her inner thigh. And then...

She felt his tongue on her, his lips, the pull of his kisses... Her fingers made their way to his longish hair and massaged his scalp, setting a rhythm to guide him. He took the hint right away, his strokes slowing and reaching the exact spot.

"Right there," she encouraged, biting down on her lower lip. "Yeah, Piz, right there."

She could feel him smile against her warm skin, could see the smile reach his eyes. Her body moved against his mouth, his tongue explored and she could even feel the slightest dragging of teeth and then the buildup until she couldn't stand it anymore. Her eyes shut tight against the onslaught of her climax, and her back arched. She gasped, audibly, as Piz's mouth kept attacking her, creating wave upon wave of warmth. He started moving up her body, kissing a trail up her leg, her hip, the side of her breast, and her hands pulled him closer, closer. She shuddered as he kissed her neck. And try as she might, her eyes remained closed as her breath steadied.

His lips covered hers in a soft kiss and then he waited. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked straight at him. "Hey," he said, kissing her again.

"Hey," she concurred. "I... Uh... That was..."

He grinned at her, glowing with pride. "Speechless?"

She nodded.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded again.

He traced her eyebrows with his index finger. "I like you chatty but I could get used to this."

"Don't take the trouble. It won't last long," she said, punching his arm playfully. "Unless..." she teased, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm scared to ask what you're thinking," he said, as she flipped him over on his back and climbed atop him.

"As you should be," she whispered, before capturing his lips in a bruising kiss.

- - - - - - - - - -

Veronica watched as Piz drifted into fitful sleep. She'd been sleeping close to him for almost a month now, and he never slept peacefully. She wondered why.

The truth was, as much as Piz shared about himself, she had to recognize that she didn't know him as well as she could. But there was some intrinsic trust that she didn't want to break by looking up his priors.

The sun was just going down, her stomach was rumbling and he was napping, face down, his arm draped over her belly. The one painkiller he was still taking had a bit of a sleeping agent. Still, after the way he'd touched her, because of the way she felt now, as she watched him sleep, she felt the kick of insecurity once again.

What if he wasn't who he showed?

She shook him a little. He pulled her closer, his leg tangling with hers. She shook him harder. "Piz?"

He looked at her through half-closed lashes. "U-huh?"

"Do you have any priors?" she asked.

He eyed her in confusion. "Like, a police record?"

She nodded.

"Uh... Back in Beaverton there's this sort of film festival around the fountain at the Beaverton City Park and some friends and I, we cut off the water supply to the fountain, so that people could hear the movie's soundtrack. They let us go with a warning. I think. But you can check on that, right?" His eyes widened. "Actually, would you? Now I'm worried."

Veronica smiled. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll check on that for you." Her stomach grumbled.

"Hungry?"

"Pack of wolves in my stomach," she agreed.

"Something's bothering you," Piz said. "I mean, beside the angry wolves."

"Just... P.I. Paranoia."

Piz shook his head and sat up, pulling on his pants. "Come on. I'll buy you dinner at Chez University Cafeteria and we can play twenty questions."

He extended his hand to her, and she took it. Sitting up, she managed a devilish smile. "Only twenty?"

He handed her a clean t-shirt from his top drawer. "Don't get greedy."

- - - - - - - -

Mac slid into the seat next to Veronica, and they both watched Wallace and Piz maneuver through the cafeteria line.

"Quit that," Mac said, elbowing Veronica.

Veronica turned to look at her, surprised. "Quit what?"

"That whole smiling and undressing Piz with your eyes. It's creepy," Mac said. "Ok, not creepy, just... weird. It's Piz."

Veronica nodded. "I know. It's weird, right? But we just had... you know... a close encounter... of the sexual kind. Not sex-sex. Close. And it was..."

"Mars, don't even go there," Mac warned.

"Come on," Veronica teased. "Who else am I going to tell? Wallace? My dad? That's it. I'm out of friends."

Mac sighed. "Ok. Ok. Go all TMI on me."

"I'll spare you the details, but let it just be said... it was good."

"And you? Are you good?" Mac asked. "I mean... he's smitten and you are...?"

Veronica glanced at Mac sideways. "I think I'm getting there." She took a sip of water and smiled. "And not just because of the physical stuff but... he's a good guy. I didn't expect to feel like this. But he's... I can't explain it yet."

Mac grinned. "I think that's good. Once you get to labeling things, you start taking surveillance photos and sticking them in manila folders."

Wallace approached the table with two trays, followed closely by Piz.

"So what were you gals talking about?" Wallace asked, his eyes going from Mac to Veronica. "Our general hotness?"

Veronica grabbed a paper cup with orange juice and stuck a straw in it. "Hmm," she started, sipping on her juice. "Maybe if you do a little dance, turn around, I could remember all that hotness."

Wallace stood up and did just that. Piz shook his head. "I will not dance. Last time I did, you guys couldn't stop laughing for a month. I think I'll keep my hotness to myself if that's ok."

"You're no fun," Veronica pouted.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she nearly choked on her juice. "Huh."

Wallace stopped dancing and took a long look at both of them. "Dude, whatever you did, you better have done on your bed, not mine."

Piz's eyes widened and his face went red. And Veronica couldn't stop laughing.

- - - - - - - - -

"So," Piz asked, his forehead against Veronica's. They were at the front door of the Mars' apartment and their fingers entwined, they'd been saying goodbye for about twenty minutes. "I'd gotten used to having you around."

Veronica nodded. She licked her lower lip and this seemed to almost hypnotize Piz. "Whatever will you do without me?"

Piz shrugged. "Another night of lousy sleep."

"You are a light sleeper," Veronica noted.

He nodded. "I sleep better with you there."

"I need to get some work done here," Veronica explained. Ever since the election, her dad had begun to put Mars Investigations back together, and now that she had her license, it was her obligation to pitch in even more often. "I haven't seen Dad much this week."

"He's not home yet," Piz pointed out. "The car isn't downstairs."

Veronica smiled. "I am rubbing off on you. Mister P.I...Z."

"You can rub off on me whenever you want," he said, then shook his head. "Ok, that sounded dirtier than I intended."

"I'd ask you in, but I don't want to risk it," Veronica admitted. She reached behind his neck and pulled him closer, just the few millimeters she needed to kiss him. Her teeth dragged along his lower lip, his tongue slowly caressed hers.

He backed away for breath, his hands on both sides of her face. "Yup. Risk, that's my middle name."

"Stosh Risk Piznarski?" she asked, pushing her key into the lock. "Really?"

"It's actually worse than that," Piz replied. "You'll see it in my file."

Veronica's smile dropped. "I'm not going to look you up. I was..."

Piz shrugged it off. "You do whatever you need to do to trust me. I know who I am, and ever since I got here, I've heard a lot about who you are or who people think you are and I've gotten to know you, slowly. But you can look it all up if you want to. Or you can ask me," he said.

Veronica nodded. "On Saturday," she said, pulling him closer by his shirt. "On Saturday, you, me, coffee ice cream and a busload of questions."

Piz nodded, kissing her full on the mouth. "I'll bring the photo album and the family tree."

"Good. Goodnight," she said, pushing him away. He started down the stairs and Veronica couldn't help smiling to herself. She pushed the door open and flipped on the light switch.

And then she screamed.

TBC...

Author's note: As you can see, this started out as pure fluff but will be going deep into mystery territory, and we'll get a look into Piz's background and family. Hope you keep on reading. Thank you!