New Year's Eve
December 31, 2002
"Look what I got!" Lilly sang as she leaned against the frame of her bedroom door. In each hand she held a magnum of Dom Perignon.
Veronica, sprawled on her stomach across Lilly's queen-sized bed, looked up from the pages of the latest InStyle magazine. She was already two thirds the way through even though she had picked it up only 30 minutes earlier when Celeste had pulled her daughter away to mingle with "important" party guests. Upon seeing what was in Lilly's hands, she pushed herself up by the elbows, and gasped, "How'd you sneak those away?"
"Flashed the bartender, of course," Lilly said with a wolf-like grin. As if her explanation wasn't enough, she playfully pulled at the neck of her halter top, just enough to expose a light tan line.
"Oh my God, Lilly. I don't need a demonstration!" Veronica half-laughed, half-admonished her friend.
The older blonde rolled her eyes before she bounded over to the bed and stood right in front of her best friend. "It's New Year's Eve! A night for thrills! Live it up, Veronica Mars!" she demanded as she deposited the champagne bottles on the mattress.
"I think you said that exact same thing at Halloween. Besides, I'm not really dressed for living it up," Veronica countered.
For the first time, Jake and Celeste had decided that in lieu of performing hosting duties for the annual Kane New Year's Eve Fete, their two children could each invite one friend to spend time with them in their respective rooms during the party. Lilly had immediately invited Veronica, and the two girls had planned a good old fashioned sleepover, with pizza, ice cream, and plenty of guy-talk. Accordingly, Veronica had shown up at the Kane's house with her sleeping bag in hand and wearing her most comfy sweats and Ugg boots; however, as soon as she saw her best friend open the door, wearing a glittering gold halter top and a look of annoyance, she knew that Celeste must have changed her mind. Fortunately, a compromise was reached that allowed her to stay as long as Lilly came whenever her mother called.
"I told you that you could borrow a dress if you really wanted to go to the party; but take it from me, you have the much better end of the bargain. Celeste insists that I 'entertain' some nerd named Trey, or maybe it's Toby." Lilly made exaggerated air quotes as she laid down on the bed. "Leave it to Mommy Dearest to pimp out her only daughter just so some architect will design Daddy's new computer labs. Jokes on her though. Whoever he is, he's as high as a kite and he's willing to share." As she finished her rambling, she reached into the waistband of her skirt and pulled out a joint.
Veronica immediately sat up on her knees. She was used to Lilly encouraging her to push the boundaries and often, after much deliberating, she went along with it; but this was a line that she, the daughter of the Balboa County Sheriff, could not cross.
"We can't smoke that, Lil. My dad would smell it on me from a mile away."
"Relax," Lilly said as she rolled off the bed and slinked toward her dresser. She opened up the top drawer and pulled out a bottle of Advil. Flippantly, she popped off the cap, dropped in the joint, snapped the top back on, and tossed the bottle back into the drawer.
"I'm saving it for a special occasion."
This time it was Veronica's turn to roll her eyes at the dramatics. "Like the bathroom at John Enbom's party?"
Lilly gave a fake, "Who, me?" look before throwing Veronica a wink. Leaning against her dresser, she changed the topic of conversation. "So I'm surprised you haven't asked about what Duncan's doing tonight."
Veronica's cheeks flared up in a blush before she could stop them. Without a word, she picked up the magazine again, opened it to a random page, and pretended to read.
"Why would I care what your brother is doing?" she mumbled.
"Oh please! You and Duncan have been dancing circles around each other all year," Lilly cried.
Veronica sniffed but didn't say anything.
Ignoring her friend's silence, Lilly went on, "Celeste stuck him with the daughter of Jake's newest VP. They seem to be getting on well; but then knowing the speed at which my brother operates, by the time he makes a move she'll be back at her Swiss boarding school and screwing a ski instructor named Dieter." She paused and waited for a reaction, but Veronica didn't so much as flinch.
Lilly grabbed the magazine out of Veronica's hand and tossed it across the room, knocking a picture frame off of her night stand. "Obviously that's never going to happen. The only person he wants to be kissing at midnight is you."
"Who wants to kiss Veronica?" Logan's voice broke into their conversation from the doorway, immediately drawing the attention of both girls. Like Lilly, he was dressed for a party. "Better tell them to get in line."
"We're talking about the Donut," she trilled as she skipped the few steps between her dresser and the doorway. She jumped into Logan's arms and wrapped her legs around him. He caught her and they immediately began making out.
"Hello, I'm still in the room," Veronica reminded the couple as she diverted her eyes.
Logan broke apart from the kiss first. "Hey, Ronnie," he properly greeted the girl on the bed before turning to his partner. "Speaking of your brother, he gave me a message for you- Celeste wants you downstairs to say goodbye to the Vandersomethings."
Lilly moaned as she let go of her boyfriend and stood back on her feet. "How lame do you have to be to leave a New Year's Eve party ten minutes before midnight?"
Veronica only shrugged her shoulders.
"Whatever," Lilly sighed. "Duncan and I will be back in time for the Ball drop. Logan, keep Veronica company."
In response, he lightly spanked her backside and said, "Hurry back."
As she walked away, she casually tossed over her shoulder, "Later, Lover."
Quiet descended over the room upon the absence of Lilly Kane. Although Veronica and Logan were used to being around each other, they were rarely together without at least one Kane sibling acting as a buffer.
Finally, Veronica said, "I see I'm the only one who didn't get the dress-to-impress memo."
"Oh, this old thing," Logan replied nonchalantly as he carelessly sat down on the edge of the bed. "Aaron had to make a three-hour cameo at his agent's party. It's an Echolls' family tradition - spend the last few hours of the year kissing ass in the hope that it's enough to get at least one studio prick to cast Aaron instead of Bruce Willis in their newest action flick."
"I'm surprised you're here then. I didn't think the Kanes had that many Hollywood connections - aren't they more Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill types?" she observed.
"Says the daughter of the local sheriff," he pointed out the irony before explaining, "Schwarzenegger's supposed to be here. Rumor is he's testing the political waters; Dad wants to look like he's a big supporter. Thinks it'll give him a leg-up when the Terminator has to recommend someone for the roles a serious politician has to pass up."
She gave a small laugh, "You make New Year's Eve sound like work."
"It's not much fun, that's for sure."
"Still sounds more exciting than the typical Mars' New Year's Eve."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Do tell," he drawled.
Veronica scooted up to the edge of the bed so she was even with him before she shifted into a more traditional sitting position.
"The Sheriff's Department always schedules it so the family guys, like Dad, get Christmas off and the single officers get New Year's Eve," she began to explain. "We usually eat pizza early, before Dad's shift; then mom and I drive 2 hours to Palm Springs so we can play board games, drink sparkling cider, and watch Dick Clark with my Aunt Shirley and her family. Afterwards, I get to share a sofa bed with my mom, who usually ends up drooling on my shoulder and stealing all the covers."
He let out a howl of laughter, "How very hard core, Veronica Mars!"
"Hey, I am hard core!" she gave him a playful nudge with her elbow. "You're speaking to the three-time New Year's Eve Clue champion."
"I'm quaking in my boots. So what happened this year?"
"My youngest cousin went off to college so Uncle Don decided to take Aunt Shirley on a New Year's Caribbean cruise."
Logan reached behind Veronica for one of the champagne bottles and read the label. "Dom - classy. Avi's party only had Korbel. Trust a ten-percenter to go with the cheap stuff. What time is it?"
Veronica turned back and looked at the alarm clock. "Four minutes before midnight."
Without warning, he pushed the champagne bottle into Veronica's hand, jumped onto his feet and strode into Lilly's bathroom. He made no effort to conceal the sound of him opening a cabinet door and rummage around under the sink. "So Ronnie, is there anything you're hoping for in 2003?" he finally called out.
"The usual – good health, good grades, a pony. You?"
Logan emerged from the bathroom holding a hand towel and a short stack of Dixie cups. "A threesome with Mary-Kate and Ashley. Can you turn on the TV?"
"Of course you would," Veronica said under her breath before she laid back to reach the remote near the pillows. She could feel her shirt ride up and reveal a strip of skin so she hurriedly stretched out her arm and grabbed the remote. This, of course, only raised her shirt higher. When she sat back up she noticed that Logan's eyes had settled on the center of her stomach. She tugged her shirt back in place and then hit the power button. Logan didn't stop staring until the sound of Dick Clark's running commentary on the scene in Times Square filled the room.
"What would your girlfriend say about that?" she challenged him, doing her best to channel to the flirty sassiness of her best friend. She purposefully avoided mentioning if she was talking about his Olsen twins fantasy or his ogling.
He sat back down, barely leaving an inch between their legs, and stared into her eyes. After a long pause, he replied totally nonplussed, "That I have a type – short, blonde, and cute."
Veronica knew he was toying with her, but the heat rose to her cheeks just the same. She took a breath to steady herself, narrowed her eyes, and then pulled out the Mars' charm. "And here I thought your type was just female."
That elicited a laugh from the boy. "It's more like equal opportunity."
Logan grabbed the champagne bottle out of Veronica's hand and replaced it with the cups. With just a few rotations of his wrist, he untwisted the metal cage that covered the cork and removed it. He then wrapped the hand towel around the top of the bottle; using his thumbs, he pushed up on the cork. There was a muffled pop as the cork exploded into the hand towel. Logan tossed the used towel and cork toward the bathroom door and then gestured for Veronica to give him some cups.
She pulled four off the top of the stack before placing what was left beside her. She held out two in each hand, and without a word he began to pour champagne into each one. Like an expert, he managed to fill the small cups to just below the edge without any spillage. Tiny bubbles exploded from the surface of the drink, tickling Veronica's skin when they landed on her hand. When he was done, Logan placed the champagne bottle on the floor and took two of the cups.
"The Square is filled with surround sound and there are a billion viewers watching all over the world. It is going to be a sight to see," Dick Clark's voice rang out. Veronica glanced at the television and saw that there was only 15 seconds until the last minute of 2002 would begin.
"They're cutting it awfully close if they plan on counting down to the New Year with us," she said.
"You know Lilly; she always goes for the dramatic entrance," he replied. "Besides, Duncan would be an idiot if he missed it."
"Why? Does he have a thing for big crystal balls?"
This time when Logan locked his chocolate eyes with her slate-blue ones, it didn't feel like a joke.
"No. He'd be an idiot if he missed the chance to kiss you."
Veronica felt her cheeks flush for the third time that night; she briefly wondered if Logan was really talking about Duncan or if maybe he was talking about himself.
As the countdown hit the minute mark, Logan tore his eyes away and stood up. As if a light switch had been flipped, Logan's posture took on an air of indifference. "It seems like the only thing he talks about nowadays."
"Oh," she said, her voice a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.
Just at that moment, Lilly appeared in in the doorway. "We're back!" she sang as she made her way to her boyfriend. "Let the party begin!"
Logan handed her one of his cups before he placed his free arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her forehead.
Duncan followed right behind her. "We didn't miss it, did we?" he asked, glancing around nervously. Seeing that the space next to Veronica on the bed was empty, he sat down next to her.
"No, they're just about to start the countdown," Veronica said, holding a Dixie cup out to him. "Champagne?"
"Sure." Duncan smiled as he took the cup.
The crowd in Times Square began to count down "Ten, nine, eight..."
Suddenly Duncan turned his body and looked directly at Veronica. "So do you think that maybe sometime in the New Year you would like to go out for coffee or something?"
Veronica gave a soft smile, "Yeah, that would be nice."
She glanced over at Logan and Lilly. They had foregone the formality of waiting for the clock to strike twelve and were already kissing.
As the crowd reached "One!" Veronica closed her eyes and hoped that Duncan understood that this meant it was OK for him to do the same.
"Happy New Year!" the people in Times Square and the party downstairs yelled simultaneously.
Nothing happened.
As the horns and noisemakers sounded one floor below them, Veronica gave up waiting; but then just as she started to turn her face away, she felt Duncan lean in. It was too late for her to adjust her position so his lips ended up pressing awkwardly against the lower right corner of her mouth. She barely had time to respond when Duncan pulled away.
Veronica counted to ten before she opened her eyes. What she found was Duncan staring straight ahead at the TV. She reached out for his hand and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze
"Happy New Year, Duncan."
He turned to her and gave an embarrassed smile.
"Same to you. I'll see you later."
Without another word, he stood up and left the room, leaving Veronica confused in his wake.
New Year's Eve
December 31, 2016
Veronica was running late. Really late.
As in years past, business had been slow for Mars Investigations during the month of December. To most people, hiring someone to dig up dirt on a loved one seemed a little gauche during the holiday that specialized in peace and good will to all, but Veronica hadn't worried. She knew that business would bounce right back in January, when people abandoned their moral high ground just as quickly as they abandoned their resolutions. January wasn't nicknamed "Divorce Month" for nothing.
Keith had taken advantage of the downtime and scheduled a staycation, leaving just Veronica and Mac to mind the office. They had spent the week digitizing the last batch of archival investigation files and sending out January's invoices. With nothing left that couldn't wait a few days, Veronica made the executive decision to close Mars Investigations a little early on New Year's Eve so they could get ready for the evening.
In an effort to make their friends get along better, Logan had bought a table at the Neptune Grand's New Year's Eve Bash so that Mac, Wallace, Dick, and their respective dates could accompany him and Veronica to the party. When Veronica announced her decision to close shop early, Mac had suggested that they celebrate M.I. going completely digital by using their extra time to get mani-pedi's. Veronica quickly agreed to the pampering idea, but as she began to lock the office door behind them, a young woman walked up.
"Sorry, we're closed for the holiday. We'll be back on Monday, the second," Veronica said automatically as she turned the key in the lock. She was forced to look up when Mac gave her not so subtle nudge with her elbow.
She found herself facing a woman, probably not even old enough to legally drink, with red, watery eyes and a hand resting on her very pregnant belly. Sympathy immediately tugged at Veronica's marshmallow center. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was only four o'clock. If she skipped the mani-pedi, she was sure that she could get her client's story, get changed into her party clothes at home, and make it to Logan at the Neptune Grand in time for dinner at seven.
"But we always have time for someone in need."
Her hand was still on the key in the deadbolt so, with a quick twist of her wrist, she unlocked the door pushed it open. The woman gave her a weak smile as she shuffled on past her.
Mac began to follow, but Veronica stopped her. She briefly took out her wallet, pulled out two twenties, and then pushed them into her friend's hand. "I got this Q. You did good this week. You deserve the mani-pedi."
"But V, I..."
"But nothing" she interrupted the hacker's protest. "Go! Enjoy! I'll fill you in at dinner."
Four hours and one massive sob story later, Veronica held a contract in her hand for Mars Investigations' first case of the new year and a massive amount of guilt in her gut. Looking at the clock, Veronica winced when she saw that she was already an hour late for dinner. Two hours ago she had wanted to text Logan to tell him that she may be late, but she had dropped her bag with her cell phone at the front desk on her way back into the office. As soon as she picked up her phone, she saw that the icon for her text messages was flashing.
The first few texts were from Mac, casually asking how the meeting went and when she planned on arriving; there was also one from Wallace asking if she wanted to carpool with him and his date. The last few were from Logan asking her where she was and if she was ok. As she read through them, she could picture the tension building in his muscles as his messages went unanswered. She quickly texted Mac and Wallace a vague response before she called Logan directly.
"You've reached Logan Echolls and here's today's inspirational message: There are three sorts of people; those who are alive, those who are dead, and those who are at sea. Anacharsis, 6th Century B.C." his voicemail immediately came on after the first ring.
"Hey. It's me. I'm sure by now Mac has told you that a new client came in just as we were closing. I didn't mean to worry you, but I couldn't call or text until after she left, which was just a few minutes ago. I still have to run home to change, but I should be able to meet you in an hour. I promise to make it up to you later tonight."
Veronica was in such a hurry when she got home that she didn't notice that it was too dark and quiet for her dad to be there until she set her bag on the kitchen table. That morning Keith had told her that his New Year's Eve plan was to watch a M.A.S.H. marathon and order a Mama Leoni's Anchovy and Pepperoni pizza for delivery; or as she put it, the couch was going to get a permanent Keith-sized dent by the time the Ball dropped.
"Hey Dad! Where are you?" Veronica called out as she flipped on the kitchen light. She thought she heard a rustling but she wasn't sure so she reached for her dad's softball bat by the back door. She slipped out of her boots and quietly padded across the kitchen into the joint living room/dining room. After turning on the lights, she took a brief look around and found no one in there either. She called out again; once again no one responded. Satisfied that no one was home, she set the bat down beside the tv.
Curious, she headed for Keith's bedroom. She carefully opened the door and peeked in; his bed was neatly made, but the jeans and polo shirt he had been wearing that morning were tossed across the armchair in the corner of his room and a trace of Calvin Klein cologne lingered in the air.
"I guess someone found some New Year Eve's Plans," she said to no one in particular before she turned and walked to her own room.
Her right shoulder had barely shrugged out of her leather jacket when she heard a knock on the front door. She immediately stilled, hoping that if she didn't make a sound the person at the door would think no one was home and would go away. It was silent for a moment, but then a second knock came. Veronica yanked her jacket back up, swore under her breath, and headed out.
As she approached the front door, a large smile erupted on her face. Through its window she saw Logan, dressed in a perfectly-fitted tuxedo, carrying a box from Cho's Pizza and a bottle of champagne.
"Hey there, Sailor," Veronica greeted him as she opened the door. "I thought you Navy boys were supposed to be good at navigation. Isn't the Neptune Grand that way?" Veronica flirted, pointing in a random direction.
Logan set the champagne bottle on the floor. "It's actually that way," he grabbed her hand and guided it so it was pointing in the opposite direction. While still holding the pizza box in one hand, he put his free hand on her waist, leaned down, and gave her a deep kiss.
"Hubba, hubba!" she said breathlessly when they finally broke apart. "You greet all girls like that?"
"Only those who get me off of murder charges," he replied cheekily.
"Must be a long list then. What are you doing here?"
"I got your message. I figured you might be hungry since you missed dinner."
She nodded appreciatively. He took just a few steps into the living room and set the pizza down on the living room table. Veronica sat down on the sofa and rubbed her hands together excitedly as he lifted the lid of the box. Without even bothering to check what flavor it was, she grabbed a piece and brought it right up to her mouth.
"Mmmmmm," she moaned with her first bite.
"Have I ever told you how much I love it when you make that sound?" he informed her as he sat down beside her.
She shook her head no, and then for his benefit she made the sound again.
"Especially when you make it underneath me," he added with a smirk.
Veronica swallowed her bite before she playfully muttered, "Perv!"
Logan waggled his eyebrows.
"So that new client of yours, they want you to find Jimmy Hoffa's grave or Amelia Earhart's plane? I can't think of much else that would keep you away from an all-you-can-eat prime rib buffet."
She sighed. "I know that I said this before, but I'm really sorry that I made you worry. I really thought we were going to be done sooner."
"I wasn't too worried. Mac told me the girl looked like she was ready to pop. I figured you could take her if it came down to it." When he didn't get a laugh, he added, "You want to talk about it?"
She opened her mouth to say no, but then hesitated. Finally she spoke.
"This girl, she's had a pretty miserable life, but she's managed to pull it all together and put herself through college. One day she figures that next to porn, the best way to quick funding is to loan out her uterus and become a surrogate mother. Now that she's seven months pregnant, the wife has come to her and confessed that her husband abuses her and she's afraid that he'll hurt the baby. Problem is, the wife doesn't want to publicly come out against him, so this girl needs to find concrete evidence of the abuse in order to break the contract and keep the baby safe."
When she finished, Logan placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. They sat that way quietly for a few minutes. Finally Veronica pulled away.
"I'm going to get the proof she needs and make him regret the day he ever laid a hand on his wife." She didn't need to say that her client wasn't the only one she would be thinking of when completing this job.
She grabbed another piece of pizza and continued eating. Understanding that particular conversation was done, Logan stood up and went to the kitchen. Veronica could hear him open and close the refrigerator. When he came back out he was carrying two beers. He popped open the top of a bottle and handed it to her. She gladly accepted.
"Thank you."
"What can I say, I was getting thirsty watching you pack away all that pizza," he attempted to bring in some levity into their conversation.
Veronica held out her hand and he immediately placed his in it.
"I wasn't talking about the beer." She lifted their conjoined hands up and kissed his knuckles.
"Being a badass P.I. is important, but I don't want you to think that it's more important than you. I should have called tonight."
As soon as she released his hand, he placed both of his on her hips and pulled her into his lap. He quickly kissed the top of her nose.
"Bygones."
She laid her head on his shoulder and he began to stroke her hair. With each touch, she felt some of the tension of the last few hours ebb away.
Finally he broke the silence, "If you want to make it up to me, just promise that you'll try to give me an hour or two notice next time you have to stand me up?"
"Why? So you can call your other girlfriend Dick?" she murmured.
"I was thinking more along the lines of Ruby Jetson."
She pulled back and stared incredulously at her boyfriend. Suddenly all the seriousness of before had disappeared.
"What can I say? Ruby's a good kisser. A little sloppy, but definitely in my top…"
Before he could finish that thought, Veronica suckerpunched him in the shoulder just hard enough that he said "Ow!"
"Ruby Jetson, my ass," she muttered as she started to stand back up on her feet. Logan was too fast though and pulled her back down.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Our friends are all waiting for us at the Neptune Grand," she reminded him. "It'll only take me a few minutes to get gussied up."
Logan started nuzzling behind her left ear. "Actually, I was thinking that we could just make it a party for two."
Veronica tilted her head to give him better access to her neck.
"I'm intrigued. What would happen at such a party?"
"We'll eat some more pizza." He punctuated his suggestion with quick kiss just below her ear.
"Sounds yummy."
"We'll drink some champagne." This time he placed the kiss in the crook of her neck
"I do like champagne."
"Finally, we'll play a little Strip Clue while waiting for the Ball to drop." He pulled her leather jacket and the sweater underneath as far away from her neck as possible, giving him enough room to land his last kiss on her shoulder.
Veronica's eyes lit up. "That doesn't seem really fair to you. I am a three-time New Year's Eve Clue champion."
"You may have mentioned that once upon a time; but this ain't the same as that kiddy game."
"Potato...Potahto," she waved off the technicalities. "I'll still kick your ass."
"In that case, I may need a head start." Logan slipped his hands under the shoulders of her jacket and tried to slide it off.
"Down boy. My dad's probably going to come back soon," Veronica replied huskily. "And the walls are thin."
"He might be a little later than you think."
Veronica raised an eyebrow.
"I ran into Ms. James at Java the Hut this afternoon," Logan began. "I might have recommended that she try to harness some of that same old lang syne magic."
"Have you been listening to my dad's Dan Fogelberg LP's again?" she asked as she leaned back.
Logan chuckled, "No, but I know what it's like to be in love with a Mars."
In that moment, Veronica felt overwhelmed by happiness. She closed her eyes and sighed, "You're such a softie, Logan Echolls."
"Hey, I'm your softie," he replied and then gently kissed her on the lips.
To someone on the outside, it may not have looked as much; but like with every kiss they had shared since that day on Camelot's balcony, Veronica only saw fireworks flash underneath her eyelids.
When he finally pulled away she opened her eyes; before she could stop herself, she mouthed "I love you."
Logan grinned. In one swift movement he stood up, holding Veronica in his arms, and then headed towards her bedroom. "Come on, let's get this party started."
Author Notes: This year I participated in the Veronica Mars Holiday Gift Exchange on tumblr. This story is for Kaydeejay25 who gave me the following story prompts: 1)Echolls Family Christmas and 2) Veronica and Logan together on New Year's Eve.
Massive thanks go to my three Beta readers: CaitlynMacKenzie, Bondopoulos, and MarshmallowMore. The story you read would not have been possible without their invaluable feedback and encouragement. Thanks also goes to StarlightAfterAStorm for organizing the Fic Exchange. If you are ever on Tumblr, you should check out the tag Veronica Mars Holiday Gift Exchange so you can see all the wonderful pieces that people have submitted.
The title of this piece is from the Dan Fogelberg song "Same Old Lang Syne". It's one of my favorite New Year songs and I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing that little piece.
To any of you who read Blue Ocean Floor - I promise to get back to it. I needed to take a little writing break. Not sure when the next part will be up, but I do appreciate your patience.