Veronica pulled back from the intense kiss, knowing how quickly it could get out of hand between them. They could go from zero (fully clothed and rational) to 60 (naked and sex-crazed) in about 3.5 seconds. They couldn't seem to get the hang of a quick peck. Not now. Not after everything they'd been through, and certainly not after Veronica's monumental confession in the cafeteria. It only happened a couple hours ago and Logan was still scared he was going to wake up.
"I want to talk to him first. Maybe you could give us a few minutes alone and wait out here?" Veronica said nervously. She was worried Logan would take it as an insult. It wasn't that she wanted to hide what they were to each other. She didn't, not at all. She wanted to be completely up front with both the important men in her life.
"Absolutely," Logan said, surprising her. He hadn't let her go beyond arms reach since she'd come to his room. Even when they weren't in bed he'd had a hand on her hip, or her back, or linked with hers. She'd drawn the line when he'd tried to tug her into the bathroom with him so he could pee. He'd kept his eyes on her constantly, and she had to remind him on the drive over here to keep his eyes on the road. "I'm in this, Veronica. One-hundred percent. It would be good if he knew about it," Logan replied, kissing her hand.
She always got such intense butterflies when he did that. She got intense butterflies when he did nearly anything. Bantering with her. Holding her hand. Kissing her. Smirking at her. Hell, just looking at her. When she was with Logan, everyone faded away and it was like the world only existed for the two of them. Sometimes she wondered how she could have even attempted a relationship with someone else. No one was like Logan, and she had never experienced the kind of intense chemistry with anyone else that she had with him.
"Okay. I'll come get you after we talk." She looked him in the eyes, and tried to convey everything she was feeling. "I love you so much. For all the times I should have said it, and didn't. I love you."
He kissed her deeply. "Go. The sooner you get this over with, the sooner we become one big happy family." She laughed, just as he intended for her to do. "I love you, Veronica. Everything is going to be fine."
Logan could admit to himself he had trouble letting go of her hand. He didn't have the easiest history with Keith Mars, but he knew without a doubt that they would need him in their corner in order to succeed. He kissed her hand again, forced himself to let go, and watched her walk to the apartment.
At the very same time, no more than couple hundred feet apart, Logan and Veronica took a deep breath.
Logan let out a huge sigh, and waited.
"Veronica!" Keith exclaimed, happily. He didn't feel like he got to see his daughter enough lately, so he was happy to see her. He was standing at the kitchen counter, eating a sandwich.
Everything seemed so normal in the apartment, while her thoughts were in total chaos. She almost wanted to laugh. "Dad, I want to talk to you about something," she said. She knew without a doubt that he could pick up on the fact that she wasn't entirely comfortable.
"Lay it on me," Keith said, putting down the sandwich, and leaning back on the counter.
"I've asked Logan to go with me when I leave for my internship this summer," Veronica blurted. "I mean, I asked him to come with me FOR the summer," she clarified.
Keith stared blankly at her for a second. For the second time that day, Veronica felt uncomfortable in the silence. At least with her dad, she wasn't consumed with the need to fill the silence with a long string of embarrassing 'I love yous' like she had been earlier.
Keith finally responded, "I'm not sure if you're expecting me to be surprised. Should I show you my shocked face?" Keith made an obviously exaggerated shocked face.
Veronica let out the near-hysterical burst of laughter she'd been holding in. "You have no idea how freaked out I was to tell you that!" she exclaimed, reaching to lightly smack him on the arm.
"Veronica, I may not be as hip as I once was, but I'm not blind. There is something about you and Logan. It's like there is some sort of magnetic pull between you," he reached over to her and pulled her into his arms. Veronica let out a relieved sigh, and took comfort in the embrace. "I knew Piz was a temporary distraction."
"Oh my God, I'm relieved. Dad, Logan and I…" she paused, unsure how to explain, "We want to make this work. We know it's going to be hard. We know we have a difficult past, but it doesn't seem to matter. I love him," she wasn't sure who was more astonished she'd actually confessed her feelings. She soldiered on, "I want you to give this a shot. Give Logan a shot. He's here. He wants to come in and talk to you. Make sure you're okay with this."
"I will do my best," Keith promised. "I can't say I'm jumping for joy, but I'm happy he's here to talk to me like a man," Keith said.
"Daddy…" she said.
"Kidding. I'm glad he's here. Bring him in. Let's talk about this. We can become one big happy family."
Veronica smiled at his phrasing that nearly matched Logan's. One big happy family indeed.
Logan saw her walk out of the apartment and was pleasantly surprised she was smiling. Genuinely, happily smiling.
He got out of the car as she started to run toward him. Logan caught her when she threw herself into his arms. She kissed him soundly.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Everything is great. He knows, he's okay. He's happy you're here. Let's go talk to him," she said, grabbing his hand and nearly dragging him behind her.
"God, I love it when you're happy," Logan said, and laced their fingers together tightly. He was surprised at how ready he felt to face whatever was beyond that apartment door.
"Logan!" Keith exclaimed, opening the door. "The prodigal son returns."
"Oh God, this was a mistake. This was a terrible idea. What was I thinking?" Veronica wondered aloud.
Logan laughed at Veronica's reaction and shook hands with Keith. Honestly, he was thankful it was already going this well. "Mr. Mars," he said cordially. "It's good to see you."
Keith led the pair to the couch, and he took the chair. He looked at them both seriously, and Logan started to sweat a bit.
"So, you want to go away together for the summer. Let's talk ground rules. One: No drinking. Two: No drugs. Three: no sex. Four: seriously, no sex."
Veronica looked mortified. "Dad..." she groaned. "Please tell me you didn't just say all that."
The men both laughed at her reaction. Neither was particularly used to seeing her embarrassed. Veronica was rarely ruffled, but she was ruffled now.
"Veronica, I would only like assurances that, if the two of you take a summer-long getaway together, all of it will be on the up and up. I don't need you treating this like a honeymoon."
As much as Logan was enjoying watching his girlfriend blush, he knew this was a pretty serious topic. "I love your daughter, Mr. Mars. I just want the opportunity to show you both that. Veronica asked me to go, and I would like to accommodate her wishes. We have a lot to work out. She made very valid points about getting away from here and learning how to be strong without interference." Logan was taking his commitment to communication seriously. He figured it couldn't hurt to start communicated with her father.
"Interference like Piz?" Keith asked. Veronica gasped in outrage at Keith's straightforwardness.
"Among other things," Logan responded honestly. "We just want some time to figure things out without outside factors. Without people we went to high school with," yes, he was primarily referring to Madison. "Former girlfriends or boyfriends," he could stand to be away from Parker, too. "We've always had so much intrusion, from day one. We've had so many variables people in normal relationships don't have to deal with. But we do, and it would be good for both of us to get away and figure out how to handle it as a team."
Logan had certainly grown up, Keith thought, looking at him and feeling his respect for Logan grow. It didn't matter if Logan had grown up with money. He'd had incredibly awful things happen to him throughout his life. Keith knew enough about psychology and sociology to understand that Logan's life had led to a lifetime of poor decision-making skills. Not to mention self-destructive behavior. But Keith had known for a long time, even when Logan and Veronica were broken up, that they were likely to come together again. They had proven that particular hypothesis several times, in fact. Some catastrophic event would break them up, and they would find their way back to each other. Over and over. Something drew them together, and it didn't seem to matter what entity or situation tried to break them apart. Maybe letting them go figure things out would be the gift of a lifetime. They could grow up and build necessary life skills, and maybe come back stronger for it. Stronger as individuals, and stronger as a couple. And maybe the next catastrophic event would be manageable.
"Just the summer," Keith finally said. "And Veronica comes right back to live in this apartment. No eloping."
"Oh my God, dad!" Veronica said, and she turned an even deeper shade of red.
Logan laughed, relieved Keith was even contemplating the idea of letting Logan follow his daughter.
"No eloping. Got it, sir. I promise to fly you out first-class if we decide to tie the knot," Logan quipped.
Keith mock-glared at him. "And no pregnancy. I'm too young to be a grandfather. Give me a few years."
"What is happening right now?" Veronica whispered to herself, completely bewildered.
"I promise, we'll give you plenty of time. I'm too young to be a father," Logan said, good naturedly.
Keith laughed and clapped Logan on the back, glad they could mess with Veronica together. "So, can I make you guys a sandwich?"
Logan and Veronica huffed identical laughs.
"No way, pops," Veronica said. "My stomach is still a mess from coming over here to talk to you about this."
Logan pulled her close and kissed her head. He had to admit, his stomach wasn't fully recovered from the anxiety either. But he was so damn proud of her.
The rest of the evening passed remarkably comfortably for the three. Logan and Veronica were both thankful for the other for keeping them grounded. Neither realized how their hands wandered to each other. Logan's to Veronica's knee. Hers to his shoulder. Their fingers linked together. They had no idea they were even doing it.
Keith observed the pair together, shockingly relaxed with his decision to let them go. He didn't even feel a twinge of regret when Logan put his hand on her knee in such a familiar way. He loved his daughter, and wanted her to be happy. If they could only grow up a little bit, he thought they actually stood a shot at making this permanent. He could admit to himself and himself only, that if they could figure this out, they would SOMEDAY make incredibly cute grandkids.
Each of the three felt really good about the situation, but no one felt better than Veronica. She had both the men she loved on her side right now. They were getting along, they were supporting her, and she couldn't be happier.