Believe it or not, it was a night with no case. Yeah, there was a blue moon and everything. Dogs and cats were sleeping together. Mass hysteria, the whole deal. Anyway, Wallace and Veronica were just chilling, in a way that could be described as villainous, watching TV, making fun of stuff. You know, living on the edge. What was on right now was a rerun of Buffy; yeah, petite snarky blonde teen fighting evil? Who knew why Veronica liked that show. It was a little too white for Wallace's tastes- seriously, it's California, where the brothers at? Angel at least had one black guy! And apparently they take place in some universe where Hispanics just don't exist- but hey. Veronica liked it, so it was good enough for him.

This episode was the one where Buffy came back to town after killing her angsty boyfriend(here's hoping reality doesn't reflect media, or it was a good thing Duncan got out of town). And there was the whole typical angst and arguments between her and family and friends, which… okay, yeah. Talking with his mother was…tense, cathartic, other adjectives. And things with Jackie were… awkward and up in the air. But things with V were a-okay. They just slipped back into things like an old glove. Heck, the very first time he saw her again, they hugged and went straight to watching the New Year festivities. Basically, the whole big 'Buffy vs friends' blowout thing seemed way melodramatic, in his opinion.

"Why do you think she came back?" Veronica 'casually' said through a mouth of popcorn, and to someone unversed in Veronica Mars psychology, or PIchology for short(for private investigator, not the study of pies… the name's a work in progress), it would come off as just a random question. But Wallace Fennel has had two years of schooling in that field, and was bout to get his Bachelor's. Or Master's. Or whatever psychologists get, look, the degree ain't the point. What is the point is that Wallace knew Veronica, and she was too casual, the kind of casual that isn't really casual at all, and really comes off as less casual than just being serious would be. She focused too much on not looking at him, on making her body slouch. He picked up a few things being her partner, and he knew this question meant more than she was saying. But he could roll with it.

"Well, she had responsibilities remember?"

"Yeah, but Sunnydale isn't the only Hellmouth, right? She could've gone to Cleveland, or whatever. Heck, LA has a lot of demons too. Like Logan, for example." Translation: Chicago was working just fine for his basketball career. Why here?

"Well… maybe it wasn't just about the Hellhole-"

"Hellmouth."

"Right, I forgot, LA is the hellhole." Veronica chuckled and shook her head in what he assumed was affectionately(and why wouldn't it be? Have you seen him? He's loveable.), which was a good sign.

"I mean, she just… left, right? Maybe she needed closure. Realized that the people who care about her deserve better than what they got."

Veronica nodded. "Makes sense." She looked like she was gonna let it go, but… he thought she still didn't get it. Right now she was probably thinking, 'Ah, Wallace is so moral, he just came back and stayed cause it was the right thing to do,' which was part of it, yeah. But there was more. And she deserved to hear it. He took the remote and turned off the TV, and turned to face her.

"Veronica. You don't have to hide this in pop culture metaphors."

She pouted. "But pop culture metaphors are my thing." He stared at her, and she smiled apologetically. "Right… don't have to hide it in jokes either."

"You can just ask. Promise, I won't get mad. We should talk about it."

She looked down, considering it. then she looked him in the eyes, looking oddly vulnerable, and asked softly, "Why did you stay? You came back because of the hit and run, and I solved that. Basketball was going great in Chicago. You and your dad seem to be getting along fine. You could've gone back. But you didn't. ...Haven't," she amended, scanning him, as if thinking he might be planning to.

"Didn't," he gently affirmed. She slowly nodded. "I… I stayed for a lot of reasons. It was the right thing to do, for one. I couldn't just… run away. Makes me a coward, and being a coward would ruin my image, you know?" She rolled her eyes, but he could see the slightest smile, and he smiled back. "But it wasn't just that. There's Mom. I missed her, I was worrying her to death, plus my little bro too. They need me. But it ain't just that either. Bad as it sounds… it wasn't even the biggest. Really close to it, but… there's an even bigger reason why I stayed."

"...What is it?" Veronica asked quietly, and Wallace grinned.

"C'mon, Veronica. Can't use your detecting skills and figure it out? It's you."

"...Me?" Veronica looked at him like… not like he was lying, but like… she just didn't believe it. Like she couldn't. Like it was the biggest shock in the world that she mattered to him. But she couldn't fight back the smile, the disbelieving smile at the fact that hey, she matters to someone besides her dad. It was the same look she gave Wallace when he told her she was his best friend, right before all this went down, and honestly, it broke his heart then, and it was breaking his heart now

"You. You're my best friend, remember? You're important to me. For like, two years now, it's been me and you against the world. Who else was I gonna make stupid jokes with, my dad? No offense to him, but he ain't the type. Who would I make fun of shows with? Even… and this does not leave this room… talk about girls with?"

"...You barely wrote back, you know."

"I know. But I meant it. I needed time to… find me. And then when I did… what the hell would I have said? 'Hey, sorry about abandoning you without a word and not talking to you for weeks, how's History?'"

"I would've taken it."

"I know you would've. But you deserve better than that."

"I got better than that. I got you back."

He smiled, and gently nudged her with his elbow. "Softie."

She smiled back. "You started it." She laid his head on his shoulder.

"...I think the biggest indicator of how weird and awesome you've made my life is the fact that… the day I was tied naked to a flagpole was the best day of my life. And it's like… I went from sticking to the flagpole to sticking to you. You're stuck with me, Veronica."

"...It was mine too." Veronica stopped, looked like she was trying to find more to say, maybe something about Lilly or how bleak her life was or something like that, but he just smiled at her. He didn't need to hear it.

"Hey. It's cool. I already know."

"Good." She reached for the remote and turned it back on. "Cause there has been way too many sappy things tonight. I think I need an emergency transfusion of vampire stakeage."

"I hear that."

They ate popcorn and laughed at the jokes, and all in all? It was another perfect night at Mars Investigations.