Peals of laughter, squeals of delight, and disturbingly loud music all rang joyously from the Kane family's kitchen. It was a room that was rarely used by the family so the fact that it was now being utilized by two teenage girls seemed most improbable. But there they were. The best of friends. One covered in dough and flour, the other sitting perched on a countertop, left leg crossed seductively over right, short skirt coming to her mid-thigh, and the latest Redbook in hand.
"So, are you ready to take this new quiz?" the one on the countertop asked excitedly.
"Lilly!" the other protested, "I'm trying to get these cookies just right. Will you please let me concentrate?"
"Come on, 'Ronica! You know I can't sit here doing nothing," Lilly protested, "And I'm sure as hell not getting my hands dirty in that dough!"
"You mean the dough that you've been sticking your finger in on and off for the last twenty minutes?" the short, feisty girl called 'Ronica asked wryly.
"Precisely," Lilly smirked as she haughtily dipped her right index finger into the batter once again and licked it off her finger as if she were practicing the art of beguiling her boyfriend.
'Ronica shook her head, chuckling indulgently at her over-the-top and larger-than-life bestie. Quickly and efficiently, she put the next batch of cookies in the oven and turned to her friend, "All right. What's this quiz you've been bugging me about?"
Excitedly, Lilly turned the magazine toward 'Ronica and said, "See? It's called 'Who Should Be Your Lover This Holiday Season'."
Now 'Ronica rolled her eyes and protested, "But Lill, we already know who I've got my heart set on and you've got a boyfriend."
"So?" Lilly challenged, putting the magazine face down on the counter beside her while she put her hands on her hips. "You, Veronica Mars, have NO sense of adventure. For all you know, we could have a harem of lovers this holiday but if you don't take this quiz, you'll never know it's your destiny!"
Veronica burst into uncontrollable laughter to the point that she doubled over, trying to catch her breath. When she could speak, she pointed a finger at Lilly and rasped out, "Tha-that's a good one, Lill. V-very good."
Now it was Lilly's turn to roll her eyes. Then she jumped down from the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are we almost done here yet? I'm getting bored. And you know what happens when I get bored."
When Veronica had recovered, she stood up straight and nodded. "Yeah, just about four more minutes and we'll be done. This is the last batch."
"Thank god," Lilly exclaimed dramatically. A moment later, though, her eyes were narrowed speculatively as if she were deep in thought.
"Uh oh, Lill," Veronica teased, "What trouble is brewing behind those mischievous green eyes of yours?"
"Shh," Lilly hissed, "I'm trying to concentrate. I just remembered that I still haven't figured out what I'm getting Logan for Christmas. It'll be like, our three month anniversary...or something."
"Or something?" Veronica questioned, "You don't know?"
"How am I supposed to keep track of such stupid things as dates?!" Lilly asked defensively, "Besides, that's Logan's thing. Not mine. He's all sentimental and sappy and crap. Such a dork. Not at all like I imagined him to be."
"But a sweet dork, right?" Veronica smiled. She knew that for all her pretense of indifference, Lilly adored her boyfriend. Even if it was mostly because he worshipped her.
"The sweetest," Lilly confirmed, then added, "And totally not snooze-worthy like Donut. I don't know how you can possibly want to get it on with my brother. EWWW!"
Veronica choked and shook her head, eyes wide and innocent. "What the hell makes you think I want to 'get it on' with him? I'd just be happy with some hand-holding and a goodnight kiss!"
"Ahh the young, the innocent, the naive," Lilly taunted in her best nostalgic tone before asking, "When will you ever learn?"
The timer beeped right at that moment so Veronica didn't have to reply. Instead, she changed the subject back to safer ground as she reached for the oven mitts and opened the oven. "So what are you getting Logan?"
Lilly frowned, hopping back up on the counter again. "I don't know. I've been trying to think of something but all I'm coming up with are stupid things like a bottle of cologne." She paused for a moment before her face lit up. "I know! I should do something super slutty like take a bunch of sexy nude pics so he has something special to jerk off to!"
"LILLY!" Veronica cried out in utter horror and nearly dropped her tray of cookies on the floor. "No way! That is totally NOT a suitable Christmas present!"
"Oh, I bet Logan would beg to differ," Lilly responded smugly.
Veronica ignored her, set the cookies on the stove to cool down and turned back to her friend with a suggestion. "It's your first Christmas as a couple, right? Why not get him a personalized commemorative ornament? Make it cute with a picture and a silly saying or something?"
"That's so lame," Lilly whined. But then she perked up and said, "I know! I can totally put a picture of me mooning the camera on the ornament." She held her hand up as if she were reading from a marquis. "I can see it now. My gorgeous ass with the logo 'Merry Kiss-My-Ass To You!' Get it? Kiss-My-Ass? Christmas?"
If her hand hadn't been encased in the oven mitt, Veronica would have run it over her face in a gesture of near-defeat. Instead, however, she chose to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and offer instead, "What about a picture of BOTH of you, NOT mooning anyone, that says 'Merry Sass-Mas'? I mean, you are pretty much both sass masters after all."
The idea rolled around in Lilly's brain a few times over until she finally started nodding. "I can work with that," she said in satisfaction. Then she was off the counter again, stealing a cookie right off the sheet, tossing it lightly between her hands so it could cool, and saying, "Come on, let's go figure out what movie to watch."
They argued for awhile over whether they should watch a rom-com, a thriller, or a Christmas movie and after much debate, they settled on watching an array of the Christmas classics including A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and The Year Without a Santa Claus.
Lilly spent the time making fun of the poor animation and the silly songs, the black and white picture, and the blurred images, the dulled colors that hadn't yet been updated to their more modern digitized versions. Then she couldn't help the sophisticated diatribes she came up with to berate the saccharine messages found in each of the sappy family films.
Veronica giggled along with Lilly at the absurdity of it all but secretly she loved all the mushy sentimentality of the holidays and the chance to show the special people in her life that they'd be hard to live without.
She sighed dreamily when the last film finished and said, "You know, Lill, you should totally put that ornament you're gonna get for Logan on a little Charlie Brown tree. Remember how much he loved the movie when we watched it with him and Duncan last year? I bet he'd like that."
"Ugh!" Lilly cringed, rolling her eyes and throwing the closest couch cushion at her best friend, "You're such a marshmallow, Veronica Mars! A sticky, gooey marshmallow. How have you not given me any cavities yet with all this manic sweetness?"
"It's not manic sweetness!" Veronica protested, "It's just the right amount of sweetness."
"Whatever you say, Marshmallow," Lilly teased.
Veronica picked up the cushion Lilly had thrown at her and whacked her friend with it.
Lilly squealed and scrambled to get another pillow. Soon, there was a flurry of down and fluff floating around as the pillows exploded from the zest of the fighting pair. In the end, they were tangled on the floor, laughing until it hurt, feathers swirling around them to the point that it looked like they might be contending for the title of the next Daffy Duck.
"Ok, ok, ok!" Veronica rasped out, "I give! You win! You win! Let me up now! I can't breathe!"
With one last swing of the pillow, Lilly rolled off of her and grinned. "You're sure I won?"
"Yes! Of course you won. When do I ever win anything in a contest between me and you?" Veronica asked rhetorically.
"Woo!" Lilly cheered as she bounced to her feet, "Where's my present, then? I want it now!"
Laughing even as she still continued trying to catch her breath, Veronica said, "It's upstairs. Want me to go get it?"
"Duh, Ms. Mars," Lilly said airily, "Unless you want me to get Duncan to bring it down."
"NO!" Veronica protested quickly. She got all nervous and her palms got sweaty every time Lilly's brother was in the room. "I'll get it myself."
Hastily, she made her way up to Lilly's room and grabbed the gift out of her bag, bringing it back down and handing it to the taller blonde with a simple, "Here. I hope you like it."
Lilly ripped into the present and grinned broadly at what she found. Before even taking it out of the box, she threw her arms around her friend affectionately and said, "I knew there was a reason I kept you around! I love it!"
Inside the small box that Lilly now held in her hand were matching best friend necklaces. Without even asking which one was for her and which one was for Veronica, Lilly lifted out the side that said 'Best' and handed it to Veronica.
"Will you put it on me?" she asked as she lifted her hair out of the way so the chain wouldn't get tangled in it.
Deftly, Veronica clasped the necklace around Lilly's neck and then Lilly promptly took the 'Friend' portion of the necklace and put it around Veronica's neck.
"There," she said, satisfied, "Now everyone will know that I'm the best and you're an awesome friend."
Veronica laughed and rolled her eyes before asking, "So where's my gift?"
"Upstairs in his room, silly," Lilly grinned.
"Be serious, Lill," Veronica chastised.
"I am being serious, 'Ronica. I'm not supposed to tell you but Duncan's gonna ask you out. That's your gift from me," she said, "a date with my brother."
With a groan, Veronica placed her head in her hands and asked in a voice that was muffled, "Can I return it until I'm ready for it?"
Now it was Lilly's turn to laugh. "Chicken," she accused affectionately. "Yeah, I suppose you can, but not for too long. The boy is daft but he won't stay single forever."
Veronica giggled and shook her head but saw that the wheels in Lilly's head were turning again.
The truth of the matter was that the gift that Lilly had gotten for Veronica seemed lame and totally inadequate after the obvious effort Veronica had put into choosing her own gift.
Without really thinking about it, Lilly had gotten her best friend a Chippendales keychain and erotic dice as a joke. There was no way she could give those to Veronica now.
Suddenly, though, she had an idea.
"Hmm...well, since you won't take my first gift choice, what about this?"
Lilly reached to the back of her neck and unclasped the necklace that she'd already been wearing when Veronica had given her the new one. It was a tiny silver star.
"Lill," Veronica gasped in protest, "That's your favorite necklace! I can't take that!"
"Of course you can, silly," Lilly said matter-of-factly as she put it around Veronica's neck. "You just did."
Fingering it reverently where it now sat resting lightly on her chest, Veronica looked down at the delicate piece of jewelry and said softly, "Thank you."
Unable to resist, Lilly leaned forward and kissed Veronica on the cheek. "You're welcome," she said with satisfaction. "Now, I do believe it's time for us to get our beauty sleep. You know how much of a bitch I can be if I don't get my eight hours."
Veronica laughed. "You're a bitch whether you get your eight hours or not!" She waited a beat before she grinned and added, "But that's why I love you."
The next words out of Lilly's mouth came out as a very dramatic take on Whitney Houston. She spread her arms and sang, "And IIIIII-EEEEE-IIIII will alllllways love youuuuu…"
Both girls dissolved into fits of giggles that resulted in another pillow fight and more chatter and silliness before, exhausted, they finally fell asleep on the media room couch.
Two days later, they were hanging out, wrapping gifts together at the foot of Lilly's bed when Lilly pulled out the ornament she'd had made for Logan.
"So?" she asked, "What do you think?"
Veronica carefully took the sparkly globe into her hands and, after inspection, gave her nod of approval.
"It's adorable!" she exclaimed, "There's just one little thing missing…" she said as she reached into the bag of things she'd brought to wrap for friends and family. Pulling out a twelve inch tall pitifully bent over twig of a tree, she said with satisfaction as she placed the ornament on the end of it, "There. Now it's perfect."
Lilly laughed and rolled her eyes, snatching the gift - tree included - back from her friends' hands. "I'm not giving it to him on this pathetic tree. I hope you know that."
"But Lill! You have to!" Veronica protested before insisting, "It's the sentiment that makes it so perfect!"
"If you like the tree that much, why don't YOU give it to him?" Lilly asked.
"Because then it wouldn't mean as much!" Veronica responded adamantly. "Please, Lill? Just trust me on this. He'll love it."
"Fine," Lilly caved, "But when he laughs and thinks it's ridiculous, I'm telling him it was all your idea."
"Go right ahead," Veronica said proudly, "But he won't laugh. He's gonna be putty in your overly capable hands."
Both girls laughed and finished up what they were doing just minutes before Veronica's dad arrived to pick her up.
Later that day, Lilly met up with Logan so that they could exchange gifts before Lilly's family left for Aspen the next morning.
They were hanging out in Logan's pool house, watching a movie and making out when Logan reached around the side of the sofa and brought out a small box with a tiny red bow on it. He handed it to her with a smile and an adoring peck on the cheek.
"Here," he said, "This is for you."
Excitedly, Lilly squealed and stomped her feet giddily before popping the lid off the box with a gasp.
"Ohmigod, Logan!" she exclaimed, "Where did you get these?"
"Doesn't matter," he said with a satisfied grin, "You like them?"
"Like them? They're fabulous! Here," she said, "Let me put them on."
Quickly, she pulled the earrings out of the box - dangling gold hoops with the words 'Queen of Sass' scrolled in the center - and fastened them to her ears.
"How do they look?" she asked, modeling them for him with her head held high.
Logan laughed, took her chin in his hand, and kissed her forehead. "They're very YOU," he said affectionately.
She tossed her hair and laughed as the earrings jingled as they moved. "Totally," she agreed. Then she reached into her bag that was resting at her feet and pulled out a weirdly shaped package wrapped in shiny gold paper.
"This is for you," she said, handing over the gift as if she had all the confidence in the world that he'd love it. In reality, she thought it was cheesy and not at all her style but in the end, she'd just decided to trust Veronica and go with it.
Curiosity quickly got the better of Logan and he tore away the paper as if he were a small child instead of a young man. When he looked inside, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Well?" Lilly asked impatiently, "What do you think?"
It took all of Logan's willpower to swallow the lump that formed in his throat. The last thing he needed was for Lilly to make fun of him for getting all misty-eyed.
"It's perfect," he said with quiet sincerity as he stared at the single festive ornament on the sad and lonely little tree. "Thank you."
Relieved, Lilly gave him her dimpled grin and said, "You're welcome. Just don't expect all your presents to be so sappy."
Logan gave her a crooked smile and jerked his head away. "Never. Sentimental gifts are as rare as unicorns."
"Oh?" she teased playfully, "You mean they're non-existent? Nice! Then that means I don't even have to try!"
"Shut up," Logan grinned, pulling her close and kissing her firmly, "I think I see some mistletoe."
The day after Christmas there was a knock at Veronica's door and soon her dad called up to her room to tell her that she had a visitor.
When she got to the door, she was incredibly confused to see her best friend's boyfriend standing there looking sheepish and even a little shy.
"Logan? What are you doing here? You know Lilly's in Aspen, right?"
"Yeah," he said with a little bit of a nervous smile, "I just wanted to come by and say thanks for the gift."
"The gift?" she asked in confusion, "What gift?"
"The gift I got from Lilly," he said warmly, smiling a little more now. "I know there's no way she would have gotten me a Charlie Brown tree without an outside influence. And I'm pretty sure that influence was you. So thanks. It was perfect."
Veronica smiled in return, a slight blush tingeing her cheeks as she said, "You're welcome. Sometimes she just needs a little nudge in the right direction."
"And sometimes she needs a giant shove," Logan added with a grin.
"She means well," Veronica laughed. "She just doesn't have a sentimental bone in her body."
"Can't argue with that," Logan agreed.
"Think we can keep this our little secret?" Veronica asked in a slightly pleading tone. "I just don't want to hurt Lilly's feelings or have her thinking that I bragged about helping her or something."
"Never," Logan answered, although his eyes were twinkling with mischief, "Can't have something like that smudging her fabulousness."
"Exactly," Veronica nodded with a grin.
They stood awkwardly in the doorway for a couple more minutes before Logan cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, that's the only reason I came by. Hope you had a good Christmas, Veronica."
"I did, Logan," Veronica smiled, "Thanks."
He looked like he wanted to move or leave or something, but instead he did nothing. Veronica studied him curiously, head tilted to the side until he said abruptly, "Um, I lied. That's not the only reason I'm here." He paused as if working up the courage to say what came next, "I...got you a little something in return. I hope that's ok."
He seemed embarrassed by what he'd just said, almost as if he'd like to take it back, but he didn't.
So Veronica nodded and smiled at him warmly. "Of course it's ok."
She took a step forward while he reached in his pocket to bring out a small plastic bag marked 'Things Remembered.'
"Here," he said as he handed it to her, "I didn't have time to wrap it."
Veronica took the bag and looked inside, pulling out a delicate glass blown unicorn rearing up on a mirrored stand. She thought she saw something scrolled on the mirror so she looked closely to see what it said, expecting to find the mark of the piece's maker. Instead, running in a circle around the base was the phrase: 'To the only unicorn I know."
Her jaw dropped open and she looked up at Logan, whispering in awe, "It's beautiful!"
"It was my mom's," he said, still slightly embarrassed. "She used to keep it in a display case but my dad thought it was silly and made her put it away. She gave it to me instead and I've had it sitting on my dresser ever since. When I woke up this morning, I saw it and thought of you. Had it engraved just before I came over here."
"I don't know what to say, Logan," Veronica said, her voice full of emotion as she looked up at him. "Thank you."
He nodded and looked around, his eyes landing on anything and everything but her face. "I've never gotten a more perfect gift in my life. You're a good friend, Veronica."
There were times that Veronica wasn't sure her best friend deserved the sweet, devoted boyfriend that she had and there were other times that she was sure neither would ever be with anyone else. As her heart swelled and she responded with an impulsive tight embrace, she thought that this was certainly one of the former times rather than the latter.
"You're a good friend, too, Logan, and a great boyfriend," Veronica said sincerely as he hugged her in return, "I hope Lilly knows how good she's got it."
Logan pulled away then and gave her an almost sad little smile. Veronica could have sworn that she saw tears in his eyes.
He nodded at her, held her gaze for a moment, and then turned and started to walk away.
"Logan, wait!" Veronica called out after him, "I almost forgot. I have a little something for you, too."
Slowly, he turned back around and looked at her curiously. "From you, Mars? You didn't have to get me anything."
"I know," she smiled, "but I wanted to. And I didn't get it, I made it. Hold on, I'll be right back." She turned and hurried back inside, heading to her room where she reached up on a shelf for a small tin with a winterscape on it and a green bow.
She rushed back to the door and thrust the box into Logan's hands, saying, "Here. It's not much but I figured that even with all your fancy chefs and holiday parties, you probably wouldn't get anything like it."
A small smile started to curl the corners of Logan's lips as he looked down at the box with furrowed brow and asked, "Should I open it?"
"Of course, silly!" Veronica said, sounding very much like Lilly in that moment. "Why else would I give it to you?"
"I don't know," he said, then smirked, "To look at and admire from afar?"
"Stop," she giggled, giving his shoulder a shove, "Open it!"
His curiosity won out and he gently tugged the lid from the box to see several layers of assorted homemade Christmas cookies inside.
The small smile turned into a wide grin and he looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes where minutes before the sheen of tears had been.
Impulsively, he tugged her into another hug, saying, "Come here, you."
She squealed and laughed at how tightly he squeezed her but didn't hesitate to squeeze him right back.
"Thank you," he said sincerely when he let her go. "You're right. This is definitely something that I didn't have before. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never gotten homemade cookies as a gift before in my life. This might just be the greatest gift ever," he teased.
Veronica grinned and rolled her eyes, "Please. Didn't you just say that about the ornament Lilly gave you?"
"Nope," he responded airily, popping the 'p', "I said that was the most perfect gift. This one is the greatest. Two totally different things."
"I see," Veronica nodded, trying to force a serious nod even as her lips twitched with the smile that wanted to take over her face again, "Well, you're welcome. Just don't let it go to your head."
"Me?" He asked, gesturing to himself as he feigned the best look of innocence he could muster, "Never."
The two stood smiling at each other for a few moments before Veronica tilted her head to the side and gave Logan a thoughtful look.
"Merry Christmas, Logan."
His smile widened again, the look on his face now mirroring her own.
"Merry Christmas, Veronica."
He turned to walk away but he only made it a few steps before he turned back with a sly grin and said, "You know, Veronica, you'd better be careful. Between the tree and the cookies, you've set the bar pretty high. How will you manage to outdo yourself next year?"
Veronica laughed and shook her head but said confidently, "I'll figure something out. You can count on it!"