Title: Stop Running
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Veronica/Logan
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,587
Summary: Post Season 3 AU. Not movie compliant. Veronica and Logan see each other for the first time since Gory at the beginning of Sophomore year.

When Veronica went back to Hearst for her sophomore year, she tried to not be depressed. She had been looking forward to going to Stanford, but they couldn't afford it when the grants she signed up for didn't go through.

She was hoping to get away from Neptune and never come back. She was hoping to get away from the whole private investigator thing after what she did. She hated the fact that her father loss the race because of her. She hated the disappointment she saw in her father's eyes whenever they were in the same room. Whether it was disappointment aimed at her or aimed at the fact he was still forced to be a private investigator instead of having the title of 'Sheriff' which he deserved, it didn't matter. Veronica knew it was her fault, and no matter how much her father claimed otherwise, she knew he blamed her as much as she blamed herself.

And one of things she dreaded the most about going back to Hearst was seeing Logan. She regretted how things ended between them. And not only that, but she missed him.

When she was at the FBI internship, she thought about all of her friends, but she thought about Logan more than anyone else. She got calls from Mac and Wallace, but there was radio silence from Logan.

She knew she asked him to give her space, but she didn't expect him to actually listen to her. He never did before. And she hated the fact she had no idea what he was doing and who he was doing it with.

Her and Piz broke up about a month into summer break, and it didn't even bother Veronica as much as it should. What she thought about in terms of the breakup was if Logan was going to call her as soon as he heard she was single. It made her realize Piz was right to end things. She was more invested in Logan than in him, and it wasn't fair to Piz.

In lots of ways, Piz was like Duncan. A nice, safe choice, but she had learned long ago that nice and safe didn't satisfy her in a way it would have before Lilly's death. And Piz had been her last ditch effort to cling to what she thought she should want.

And she was further disappointed when she got nothing from Logan.

Eventually, about three weeks before the end of her internship, she asked Mac what was really on her mind. "Have you seen Logan around?"

She couldn't see Mac of course, but she could have sworn she heard the smirk when Mac knowingly answered, "Nope. I actually haven't seen him at all this summer. I'm not even sure if he spent the summer in Neptune, although I have to assume he spent time with Dick considering what has been going on with Dick Senior."

"You haven't talked to him at all?"

"He hasn't called me. You know, you could always call him," Mac suggested.

She knew she could, and she should. After all, she told him he was out of her life. How was he to know that she would change her mind or truthfully, wouldn't even mean it? Then again, he knew her better than almost anyone, so he should have known. "I can't."

Mac's sigh was long-suffering over the phone. "Swallow your pride and call him. After everything that has happened, you might have to make the first move this one time."

Logan had always been the one to make the first move, except after the first breakup the previous year, but could she do it once again. Could she make the move towards reconciliation, getting back everything they loss?

And if she did, and they still didn't work out, what would she do then?

In the end, she didn't call him. And she didn't see him right away, either.

It was more than two months in the school year that he finally called her, asked her to meet him in a public location.

And now she was sitting in the courtyard, anxiously waiting to see him for the first time since he fought with Gory Sorokin.

When she saw him, her breath caught. He looked... different. Different, but good. In fact, he seemed healthier.

She stood up from her bench when their eyes met. He seemed to hesitate, and he looked as if he might turn around, and that jolted Veronica into moving. She quickly walked up to him. "I'm happy to see you."

"You are?" No cocky remark. No smirk. Nothing. And for a scared moment, she wondered if maybe he had finally moved on from her. Maybe being away from her for the whole summer was what he needed to stop loving her. Maybe he was even dating someone new.

She had to know for sure if she still had a chance. "Are you seeing anyone?"

He raised his eyebrows at the non-sequitur but answered her anyways. "No. Why?"

She allowed herself to breathe. "I had to make sure."

"Why?"

The normal Logan would have cockily known why, but this new Logan was making her work for it. "I missed you."

Logan glanced away, and she saw a glimpse of darkness in his eyes.

He might not have a girlfriend, but maybe he did move on from on her. "Am I too late?" she whispered, closing her eyes and fearing the worse.

She opened them in surprise when he took her hand and led her to the bench she had been sitting on. "Veronica, I still love you. No matter how much time might pass, I'm not sure I could ever stop loving you completely."

"But..." she encouraged.

"But, I'm not sure we're right for each other," he finally admitted. He continued, "We constantly hurt each other. Maybe together, we're just too toxic to survive."

"That's what I thought, too. It's why I stayed away, why I tried moving on with Piz. But it didn't work. I can't stop wanting to be with you. It hurts too much."

"This summer, I've done things, things you don't know about."

"Did you kill anyone?" she didn't ask it sarcastically, but she meant it that way.

Thankfully, he understood and quirked a smile at her. "Nothing like that."

"Then whatever you did, we can get through it. I want us to be together. I want us to work. Please, tell me I'm not too late."

"Veronica, when I thought we would never be right again, either as friends or as something more, I kind of went a bit crazy. Well, crazier than usual. I started binge drinking so bad that even Dick was worried about me. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was darkness. I've always had to walk a bit of a dark path thanks to my family, but it was worse than ever before. Veronica, sometimes I hate how much I love you. It makes me feel weak and dependent, two things I hate being. It also means you have power over me, and I hate anyone having that kind of control over me."

Veronica's heart cracked just a little more as Logan admitted all of this. "What happened? I mean, when I first saw you, I thought you looked healthy."

Logan nodded and let go of her hand, clenching his hands into fists on his lap. "I went into a rehab center to help get clean. I've been sober for over two months, and I plan to stay sober."

"I'm proud of you," she whispered.

He looked at her then. "I'm not sure if you have ever said that to me before."

"I know, and you should have heard that a long time ago. I'm sorry I was such a lousy girlfriend. I'm sorry I never gave you the support you needed."

"Stop, I think we can agree that we both make mistakes in our relationship."

"The question is, can we fix them? If being with me puts you in danger, maybe you were right." She closed her eyes. "As much as it hurts to say this, maybe we shouldn't be together if it will make it harder for you to stay away from alcohol."

Logan stared into her eyes. And without saying anything, he leaned forward and sealed his lips over hers.

She closed her eyes and moved her lips in time with his; it was a dance she was extremely familiar with and one she enjoyed immensely. She reached for his hair and gripped it, keeping his lips pressed against hers and moaned happily when he pulled her from the bench and settled her on his lap, all without breaking the kiss.

When they both needed to breathe, they broke this kiss, panting against each other's lips.

"If we do this again, it has to be for good. No more breakups. The next time we fight, we scream until we work things out. No more running away or taking the easy way out. I can't go through this pain again."

Veronica kissed the corner of his lips with the barest of pressure. "Either can I and I certainly don't want to see you with another Parker." It was the closest she'd ever come to admitting she had been jealous.

His arms tightened around her. "And no more Duncan's or Piz's."

"No more," she agreed, resting her head on his shoulder.

This time, they would make sure they worked. There was no turning back for either of them.