Title: Forgiveness
Author: Emily
Email: lavennyfic@gmail.com
Catagory: Drama

Rating: R (Adult content, angst, sexuality, language)

Het/Gen/Bi: Het

Parts: 1/1

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, they belong to Paramount. Don’t sue me - I might cry.
Pairing: LDF/LK
Distribution: I’m keeping my fic on here for now. E-mail me if you have any requests.

Authors Notes: None

Setting: California
Summary: What happened to Laverne and Lenny’s relationship after the Royal Cactus incident?

                Lenny Kosnowski had been tossing in his bunk for the last two hours. He couldn’t get Laverne out of his head for the life of him. They had been secretly going out for several months, and were too afraid of what all their friends and family would say. When Laverne and Shirley decided to make the move to California, Lenny planned to make it public once they were settled there. Although Lenny and Squiggy hadn’t been laid off like Laverne and Shirley had been, they decided that they would give living there a shot. Ha - who was Lenny kidding? He practically begged Squiggy – the only one who he told of his relationship with Laverne to – to move to California. Shirley knew of Laverne’s newfound fascination with Lenny, but didn’t know how serious it was. Sure, she knew that they were hanging out together more often and going to the movies, but what she didn’t know was that they were going to Inspiration Point and making out every night. Nor did she know that Lenny was the one and only man to give her real goose bumps since Randy…

                Randy. Lenny thought to himself. God, he had a lot to live up to. During one of their more recent dates, Laverne had spilled her guts to him, telling him practically every detail of her short but serious relationship with the late Randy Carpenter. What Lenny was surprised to hear though, was that even though Laverne felt a little ashamed saying it out loud, he managed to beat Randy in the love department. “No one,” Laverne said with a shy smile, “has ever kissed me the way you do. And no one has made me feel as good as I do when I’m with you.”

                A tear sneaked down Lenny’s tired face. Not anymore. It’s all your fault that she hates you now, stupid.

During the long ride from Milwaukee to California, the gang decided they should take a break from the beat up ice cream truck and stay overnight at a hotel. Lenny and Squiggy had been taking turns driving, yet they were still exhausted. Aside from that, the girls had been extremely irritable and were constantly complaining about how uncomfortable they were the whole time.

                They found The Royal Cactus Hotel – a shady little place in Nevada that none of them were too sure about. But anything was better than the dingy metal and loud humming of what they had been eating, sleeping, and breathing in for the past two days. As it turned out, between the four of them, there wasn’t enough money to get two hotel rooms. They decided to sign in as married couples, much to the dismay of Shirley.

                Lenny – horny and spent from the long ride, and quite aware that he was in a room with two beds and his girlfriend – couldn’t stop thinking about getting his paws on Laverne. He had made that very clear.

                 Too clear. He thought to himself. He knew Laverne’s boundaries. He knew that even though almost everyone in Milwaukee thought Laverne put out, she didn’t. In fact, she had a lot more morals than most girls he knew – and she had told him at the beginning of their courtship exactly what they were. But that night, he went against everything she had ever said.

                I scared her. I actually scared her. And he had. For once in her life, Laverne had said “no” to Lenny, and he didn’t listen. Lenny always listened to the word “no”. Laverne wasn’t ready for what Lenny wanted to do that night, and she had shouted her protests.

                She thought I was going to rape her. That thought alone made Lenny cringe, the huge lump in his throat stopping any sobs that could have escaped. He never wanted to hurt her. Laverne was the one and only girl he had ever loved. He worshipped her. But he had gotten a little too carried away that night.

                Laverne was still furious with Lenny – the reason she hadn’t talked to him since their arrival to California.

                The morning after the Royal Cactus incident, Laverne had shouted at Lenny with a seething menace, making it clear that they were through – and she’d never take him back. Lenny was too hurt to even think about trying to win her back at that moment.

                I just want her back. He wanted to hold her in his arms and apologize for every single thing he had ever done to her… not just the Royal Cactus incident. He wanted to say sorry for the time he punched her on a dare in third grade and made her cry. He wanted to apologize for the things he had said about her in high school that he knew weren’t true. And most of all, he wanted to apologize for being the stupidest human being on the face of the earth.

                As he closed his eyes, and finally felt sleep claiming him – he knew one thing was true: she meant more to him that anything else in the world. And he’d do anything to get her back.

                Laverne DeFazio hadn’t slept a wink in days. As angry as she was with Lenny, she couldn’t keep her mind off of him. She had actually felt sorry for him – was it really necessary for her to be so angry with him?

                Her conscience was gnawing at her. Sure…he went against what you said, but he loves you, dummy. Had he really wanted to rape her? Laverne couldn’t wrap her brain around that, and the more she thought about it, the more she knew that would never happen. If she and Lenny were to ever have sex, she knew that he would make sure that they both were completely sure of what they were doing, and it certainly wouldn’t be in a dirty hotel room in front of their best friends.

                She had to admit – Lenny wasn’t the only horny one that night. But his brash attitude and complete disregard for her requests for him to stop scared her. She felt like her trust with him had been broken, and she wasn’t completely safe with him anymore.

                Did I overreact? Of course I did. I screamed and hollered and broke up with him before he had a chance to say anything.

                She wasn’t even quite sure why she reacted the way she did. She had always been able to fend off Lenny’s hormonal attacks; even before they were together. Of course, he had never been so forward before, but she had always thought that she was the one person who could control him almost completely.

                Was it because all of the times he had jumped on her before - wanting instant gratification - the reason why they hadn’t been together? It started making sense to her. She had been so scared because she thought that love had changed Lenny Kosnowski. She thought that now that she was giving back to him, he wouldn’t go in to one of his hormonal rampages. Since the beginning of their new relationship, he had been so gentle and sweet with her, that she had almost forgotten the old Lenny – the one who yanked her around by the forearm and pounced on her any chance he got. The truth was – yes, he loved her. And yes, he was going to show a more romantic side. But Lenny was the most upfront, raw, honest person she had ever met, and he wasn’t going to hide his feelings from her. If he wanted her, he’d let her know. And now that she thought about that, she had a newfound respect for him. She knew that she should be grateful for knowing that he would never lie or hide something from her.

                As she pulled her blanket up to her neck, she felt the rough wool rub against her chin. It reminded her of the last real kiss she and Lenny had, as he helped her out of the truck right before they entered the Royal Cactus, his a-little-more-than-five-o’clock-shadow lightly scratching against her face and sending chills down her spine.

                The tears that she had suppressed for the past week flowed down her face before she had a chance to stop them. The prospect of living in California seemed so bright when she and Lenny had talked about it. They dreamed of meeting movie stars and musicians and seeing all the landmarks where his favorite singers and her favorite actresses had been. It all seemed so glamorous before. Now California was a dark, cold, bland place that she couldn’t find her way around no matter how hard she tried.

                She clutched the pillow next to her, trying to find comfort that the inanimate object could not give her. She wondered if Lenny was thinking about her, too… if he had been suffering the same way she had been. If there was a constant lump in his throat and a heaviness in his stomach that made him feel like he could vomit at any given moment. And most of all – if he still loved her. She knew that no matter what Lenny did, she would always love him.

                 She sniffled and roughly rubbed her eyes. She forced herself to climb out of bed – knowing that the one person who could make her feel better was the one who she was crying her heart out over.

                As she ambled down the stairs she heard Shirley’s sleepy voice calling to her.

                “Laverne…?”

                “Yeah?”

                “What the heck are you doing? It’s three o’clock in the morning...”

                “Nothin’, Shirl. I’m gettin’ a glass of water. Go back to bed.”

                “Okay…,” she mumbled.

                Laverne quietly opened and closed the front door. She was freezing, not used to the technology of air conditioning in their new apartment, and only wearing her oversized purple and white t-shirt and underwear. She tip-toed across the hall and lightly knocked on Lenny and Squiggy’s door.

                She was surprised to hear such a quick response to her knocking, as she heard a mattress squeak and sleepy footsteps – and then a fumbling with the huge lock that spanned the whole double-wide door. Her heart skipped a beat as the door gradually opened and she saw the gorgeous, if not exhausted, face of her former boyfriend.

                Before she had a chance to catch her breath, she was swept into his arms – their lips locked in a passionate kiss. Her arms went up to his neck, gently caressing his ears and shoulders. He broke the kiss, his mouth finding her collar bone and gently nibbling there. Tears came to Laverne’s eyes, forgetting how good he could make her feel.

“I love you, Len...,” she shuddered under her breath.

“I love you too, Vernie.”

“I’m sorry,” she cried, as he held her tight.

“It’s all my fault, baby…”

Baby. He called me Baby. “Len… I don’t wanna talk about it no more. Make me forget… please…”

                Knowing that they would soon awaken Squiggy, Lenny lead her to the door, through the hall, and outside to the ice cream truck. Laverne knew what he wanted - he wanted to make love to her. And she didn’t mind. It was primal… he hadn’t even thought about it, but knew it was going to happen. He didn’t want to fuck her, like he had seemingly wanted to do at the Royal Cactus. He wanted to show her how sweet and sensual it could be, and let her know that she had no reason to be afraid of him. Laverne knew what was going to happen, and did nothing to stop it – she only gazed into his baby blue eyes, knowing that every ounce of love and respect they had for one another would be shown tonight.

                He opened the cold metal door of the truck, and set her down in front of him. She smiled, yanking on his white t-shirt and probing his soft mouth with her tongue. He closed the door behind him as they walked towards the back of the truck. The mattress that the girls had been sleeping on was still back there and he silently thanked himself for not moving it.

                Laverne lowered herself to her knees on the old mattress and slowly pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her body to Lenny. He thought that she had found new self-confidence, as she had always been nervous about showing him her body, but was proved wrong as she looked down, trying not to meet his eyes. His fingertips lifted her chin upward, making her look into his eyes.

                “You are the most beautiful woman in the world” he said in a soft voice that made her feel like she truly was.

                He gently kissed her, cupping her left breast with his right hand as she whimpered. She tugged on the hem of his shirt in desperation. He lifted it over his head, tossing it behind him, pushing her to the mattress. Now clad only in boxers, Laverne marveled at his torso. She pulled him down towards her, but he extracted himself from her arms, easing his underwear down his hips. Laverne gaped at the sight of him, hardly catching her breath before he slowly maneuvered himself on top of her.

                “I love you, Vernie,” he whispered he smoothly entered her.

                She gasped, stretching her arms as far as she could so that she could rub his back. Soon, they were lost in a hazy, marvelous world, and for what seemed like hours they proved their love to one another. They climaxed together, something rare but wonderful, and as she lazily opened her eyes, she looked up at him and smiled.

                Then she saw the tears.

                “Len…?” she muttered in complete confusion, rising from the mattress. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. He could only hold his arms out to her, beckoning her to him. They stayed that way, slowly rocking together, simple words not being enough. She understood that his tears were tears of complete happiness – happiness that she realized that she felt too, as she was suddenly overwhelmed by emotion.

                Neither of them spoke for hours afterward, only reveling in what they shared. In the darkness of the ice cream truck, it was silently agreed that when morning came, it was time to muster up all of their courage and tell everyone what they had been trying to hide for so long. But until the sun came up, there was nothing to be done except love one another unconditionally.