Title: Till Death Do Us Part

Author: Emily

Email: lavennyfic@gmail.com

Category: Drama

Rating: R (adult thematic material,
rape, violence, 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 only on this
archive for now. E-mail me if you have any requests.

Authors Notes: None

Setting: Milwaukee, post-“Lenny’s Crush”

Summary: Laverne starts to feel something for Lenny, but will he be
taken away from her?

          

The
bone-chilling autumn wind gusted towards Laverne DeFazio, forcing her to draw
her navy blue toggle coat closer to her form. After a long night of eating,
drinking, and bowling, she was more than eager to go home and hit the hay.
Shirley and Carmine were still at the Pizza Bowl, as were Lenny and Squiggy,
but the stressful week at work had taken its toll on her and she was exhausted.

 

Laverne
watched the dead leaves and stray paper scatter across the cold, empty street –
almost as if they were in an elaborate dance. Dance. Lenny had been
somewhat drunk that night from the large amount of free beer he had consumed,
and had asked her to dance. Despite the fact that half of the Shotz Brewery
employees were there to celebrate, since their picnic was canceled, Laverne
accepted his offer. His usual lack of grace seemed to disappear as she was in
his arms, and the warmth radiating from his faded sweatshirt sent tingles
throughout her body.  Oblivious to the
fact that the song ended, they continued swaying in each other’s arms. Lenny
noticed the absence of music before Laverne did, and he carefully extricated
her from his body. She blushed, and innocently avoided him for the rest of the
evening, even as she felt his eyes on her from across the room. Laverne now
smiled, wishing that he were there to hold her hand as she walked back to their
apartment on Knapp Street.

 

As
the thought of Lenny began to fade in her mind, Laverne felt herself being
hurdled to the pavement. She opened her mouth to cry out, but her sounds were
muffled by a large, sweaty hand. She tried to make out the face of the man, but
his dark eyes and harsh features were unfamiliar to her. With all her might,
she pushed him off of her, but he pinned her to the ground once more. Suddenly,
it came to Laverne – it was Eddie Johnson, one of the truck drivers who Laverne
absent-mindedly flirted with from across the Shotz parking lot. “I saw you with
that Kosnowski at the party! You’re nothing but a dirty slut!” The last word
rang in her ears as he yanked her long wool skirt up to her hips.. She squawked, flailing her legs wildly as he shouted at
her. “You acted like you wanted me? Well now you’re going to get me!” And with
that, he thrust into her as hard as he could, taking
her virginity as a high-pitched shriek sounded in her throat and tears spilled
from her eyes. Her body jerked as he rammed into her powerfully, the sharp pain
coursing throughout her body. She was helpless to his brut strength, but she screamed
in protest. As he pounded into her once more, she heard the shouts of Lenny
Kosnowski as he ran towards her. 

            

“Laverne?!” She once again tried to scream, this one gut wrenching as she choked.
Lenny ran towards the man, ripping him off of Laverne and punching him in each
eye. 

 

“You sonuvabitch!” Lenny yelled, hitting him
over and over again. Laverne’s ragged gasp for air and piercing sob brought his
attention back to her. 

 

“Vernie…” he muttered in complete shock. 

 

“Oh
Len!” she screamed, throwing her arms around him. He held her there, kissing
her face all repeatedly as she wept into his neck.

 

“You
ain’t gettin’ off that easy, Kosnowski” Eddie
grumbled, pulling himself from the street. As Lenny turned from Laverne, all he
could feel was a warm sensation in his chest, and her the hysterical shrieking
of Laverne. Then everything went black.

 

 

 

Lenny
Kosnowski was pronounced dead when the paramedics arrived. Laverne had crawled
towards him and laid her head on his chest, her face and body covered in his
blood, sobbing uncontrollably and rocking him in her arms. When she was finally
removed from his body, she was taken to the hospital where she was cleaned up
and given a sleeping pill. Eddie was taken away by the police, and was
rightfully convicted of murder.

 

Shirley,
Carmine, Squiggy, Frank, and Edna took turns watching over Laverne and
comforting one another of the death of Lenny. Squiggy was especially
devastated, but even Frank couldn’t stop from sobbing – both from the injuries
his daughter had sustained and the loss of her best guy friend – the little
blonde boy they all had known since he was in grade school.

 

Hours
passed as they watched over Laverne. Shirley was the first to realize Laverne’s
stirring form. 

 

“Vernie…” she whispered, grasping her twitching hand.

 

It
was then that she shot up and screamed for Lenny at the top of her lungs.

 

 

 

A
week after the incident, a service was held for Lenny. As Shirley gently guided
her to the casket that held him, Laverne marveled at the fact that so many
people had turned out to pay respect to him. Laverne’s eyes welled up with
fresh tears – tears she had been sure she wasn’t able to cry anymore. 

 

“Shirl… can I be alone with Lenny for a few minutes?” she
asked, sniffling. 

 

“Sure
Vernie, I’ll be close by if you need me” she said as
she hugged her and walked away.

 

Laverne
kneeled in front of the casket and smiled at him. Both she and Squiggy had
insisted that he be buried in his normal attire – jeans, a t-shirt, motorcycle
boots, and his Lone Wolf jacket. They had even placed Jeffery beside him. 

 

“Len…”
she whispered. “I…” she began to cry. 

 

“You
saved my life, and I ain’t ever gonna be able to repay ya…
but I want you to know that I love you… and…” she broke off into sobs again.
She gently rubbed her eyes, trying to change the subject that she was holding
with his lifeless form. 

 

“Do
ya like my new dress, Len? I got it because you
always said I looked real good in green ‘cause it brings out my eyes…” Eyes. Lenny had the most captivating blue eyes she had
ever seen, and now she’d never be able to see them again…

 

She
reached out to touch him, her fingers caressing his t-shirt where he had been
stabbed – rubbing his chest as though she could somehow make him feel better,
like when they were kids and would kiss each other’s boo-boos.

 

She
grabbed his hand, caressing her face with it, feeling his cold fingers –
callused from years of guitar playing – against her smooth, warm cheek. She
kissed it and gently laid it back by his side.

 

Laverne
couldn’t help but take his whole body in… it would be the last time she would
ever see it again.

 

“C’mon,
Vernie…” Shirley said from behind her. “The funeral
is about to start.” 

 

She
took one last long look at Lenny as she gingerly brushed her lips against his,
stroking his cheek. 

 

“I
love you, Lenny,” she whispered as she was overcome with tears once more.

 

 

 

Laverne
lost complete control during the service, as they played a combination of
beautiful organ hymns and his favorite rock songs. It was the most dignified,
beautiful funeral she had ever attended.

 

As
the funeral procession began, Laverne remembered that she had only been to a
cemetery once in her life, to visit her mother, and she was now burying the man
who had talked her into it. The irony of that made her furious. 

 

When
they arrived at the cemetery, everything seemed to go in slow motion. She
kissed a single red rose and placed it on his casket, her friends helping her
back to the car.

 

They
drove home in silence, and Laverne dazedly strolled into the bathroom when they
arrived at the apartment.

 

And
as she reached for the sharp razor with silent tears rolling down her face,
only one thing crossed her mind – she would see Lenny again. But as she inched
the blade toward her smooth wrist, she was overcome with emotion. She knew this
is not what Lenny would want – ever. 

 

She
realized that although Lenny’s death had been tragic and unexpected – maybe it
had happened for a reason. While that seemed far-fetched, she knew that Lenny
had taught her so much in life, and she had only recently taken note of that. 

 

Through
their friendship and love, he had shown her what was important in life. It
didn’t matter that she wasn’t the prettiest girl on the block and didn’t go to
college. What mattered was that so far, she had made the best of her life. Bad
times be damned, she had made the best of what had been crudely dished out on
her. His support had been a tremendous help to her throughout the years, and
their friendship had been bound by experiences that the rest of their friends
couldn’t even begin to understand.

 

Her
mind began to glaze over all the times he had been there for her throughout the
years. He had offered her his hand in marriage when she thought she was
pregnant, and talked her into visiting her mother’s grave when she had been too
scared to. He had even been there for her through one of the most difficult
times in her life – the death of her would-have-been fiancé, Randy - even
though she had been far less than kind to him when he delivered the news. Through
her highs and lows, Lenny Kosnowski had stood by her side, ready to fight
anything that came in the way of her happiness.

 

She
looked at herself in the mirror, really looking at herself for the first time
since his death. She grimaced at the sight of herself – blood shot eyes,
smeared mascara, disheveled hair, on top of her swollen nose that was too large
for her liking in the first place. 

 

As
she studied her reflection, she came to a startling reality. She finally
realized that no matter how much she cried, he wasn’t coming back. No matter
how many times she prayed to God that Lenny would appear at her door with a
goofy grin on his face, telling her it was all a sick joke, he still wasn’t
coming back. He was really gone. 

 

What
should have been the final rip in her already broken heart actually made her
think about something that, though morbid, sent a calming peace throughout her
body. Lenny’s death had actually made a positive impact on her – even if she
did had to wrack her brain to figure out what that one
positive thing was.

 

He
had changed her life. 

 

Everyone thought that he was the stupidest bum on the
face of the earth. Heck – a lot of people thought he was even dumber than
Squiggy. But she always knew that there was brilliance in him.

 

Lenny
always knew what was the right thing to do. Though he
may have lacked common sense and general intelligence, he had the most
beautiful heart she had ever come across. He was there to praise her, to
worship her, to love her. But he was also there to knock some sense into her
when she wasn’t thinking too clearly. While many thought that Shirley was
always the one to keep Laverne DeFazio in order, it was Lenny.

 

A
crooked smile washed over her face as she sniffled and let out a soft chuckle.
He had to know she loved him. It was just a shame that by the time she
noticed it, it was too late.

 

She
glanced upward. What met her eyes wasn’t the cracked, stained ceiling of her
apartment bathroom – but instead the smiling face of Lenny, his blue eyes
sparkling and that ridiculous grin plastered onto his face. As his image faded
from her mind, she let out a sigh.

 

She
knew that when she eventually did find Lenny again – whenever and wherever that
would be, she would have so much to thank him for.