The Beginning of Many
A/N: I took some liberty with the time-line here. This is set at Christmas, just as Logan's deployment ends, I know this isn't entirely correct but it worked for what I had envisioned in this one shot! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!
It was the oddest, yet best Christmas that any of them had had up until that point. Not that previous Christmases were too hard to beat considering they consisted of a murder-solving, combative private detective, the son of a murderer who was also himself accused of murder, the trust fund party boy with an obscene amount of skeletons in his closet and the switched at birth hacker. It was pretty safe to say that expectations were extremely low before the event. In the end though everything conspired beautifully. Alicia and Keith decided to test their fledgling relationship and go on a Mediterranean cruise that Alicia won at work after much reassurance from Veronica, Wallace and Darrell choosing to visit their cousins and go skiing in Vermont. Sam and Natalie decided that Ryan needed company at college in Pennsylvania, with the blessing of their daughter. Dicks' mother was on millionaire number five and living it up in Monaco and didn't give a thought to her son halfway across the world, so they decided to come together.
It was weird, letting herself into the beach house without either of the boys being there. She and Mac were lonely and bored with two days to go until Christmas and had been given Dicks blessing to stay at the house before the arrival of Logan. Dick was conveniently away on 'business' until Christmas Eve, God only knew what that actually meant, Veronica didn't want to think about that in too much detail as it probably involved copious amounts eager to please women. The house was clean and simply decorated, that's when the girls realised the problem. Apparently Dick didn't own any Christmas decorations, like at all. It turns out that two guys who had no family and barely any proper friends between them had no need for anything vaguely holiday-ish, which was a depressing thought. That's how Veronica and Mac ended up on a mad dash through the mall, grabbing a tree, all the available fairy lights they could get their hands on and the last couple of boxes of baubles they could see. They also bought an obscene amount of food, and more importantly alcohol. They managed to string up the lights throughout the house and placed the tree in the corner of the living room. The house still looked bare though so they decided to channel their artistic side and with the help of a few mojitos got to work on the stack of paper they found in the office. The resulting paper chains and snowflakes hung from the ceiling and draped across every flat surface looked like a deranged Pinterest board had exploded into every corner of the house. No one could deny that it was Christmassy at least….
Veronica woke up at four thirty the next morning, rolling out of bed and getting dressed in a fog of sleep. She quickly downed a cup of coffee and set out on the road with Christmas carols playing softly over the radio. She was early of course, but that didn't faze her in the slightest, she was much too nervous to be anywhere else. Finally, at last, they began to pour out of the hangar where they had been processed. Hundreds of little ants scurrying along the tarmac towards their loved ones. Hundreds of families and children eagerly awaiting them from behind a thick yellow line. She spotted him easily, his loping pace and smirk becoming clearer with each passing second. It was odd, she had thought that she would be running towards him but instead she was absolutely and utterly frozen to the spot. He reached her quickly and immediately gathered her into his arms. They fit together perfectly, just like two jigsaw pieces, her head exactly level with his heart. She could feel it thumping rapidly. He drew her head up with his thumb and wiped the tears coursing down her face. Then, what seemed like a million years later, they kissed. It was sad and happy, loving and passionate. They both grinned as they broke apart.
"You came back", she simply stated.
"I came back", he reiterated. "How could I not with you waiting for me?"
They arrived back in Neptune at lunchtime after a stop at a room in the Four Seasons in San Diego, because six months is a really, really long time. As they pulled into the driveway they both noticed Dicks Jaguar in the driveway, both of them imagining the frat boy and hacker tearing warily and awkwardly trying to ignore each other within the house. Upon entering, they were both pleasantly surprised. Mac and Dick both sat at the kitchen table, both tapping away diligently at their laptops with a carafe of coffee and carton of almond milk sitting between them. When they saw Logan standing in the corner they both jumped up and ran towards him at the exact same time, both calling out excited greetings.
"Dude, it's been like forever. I've missed my wingman!"
"I'm so happy that you're back safe Logan. Oh my god!"
They made impact at the same time, resulting in a heap of tangled limbs and blonde hair landing on the couch. Veronica grinned, feeling it was an auspicious start to Christmas.
Christmas Eve flew by in a haze of celebratory drinks, cooking, surfing and a lot of PDA from Logan and Veronica as Mac and Dick politely pretended not to notice when conversation stopped due to the fact that half of the group were canoodling.
They all rolled out of bed late on Christmas morning, drinking an obscene amount of coffee with Logan and Dick making pancakes before all of them sitting beside the tree to exchange presents.
Dick turned out to be a surprisingly thoughtful gift giver. Logan received a new surfboard, Veronica a stylish yet practical black tote to replace the one from high school she had begun using upon her return. Mac was blown away by his gift to her, a very generous gift card to the award-winning, booked solid for over a year vegan restaurant in LA that had been all over the media. Along with gift card he had also managed to get her a reservation in six weeks. He was not expecting the reaction he received. She got up from her spot on the floor, threw her arms around him and taking him by surprise planted a kiss on his cheek. Dick proceeded to turn a shade of deep pink as Mac expressed her profuse thanks.
Eventually he began to babble. "No problem Mackie. Like at all. Seriously it's no bother, like really. I mean, I'm really glad you like it. Seriously Mackers, you're like my family so of course I bought you a nice gift. Um, not that just you are like my family. I mean I have like no proper family and stuff so…."
Veronica took pity on the surfer as he began to turn a deep shade of red and began to speak at an alarming rate. She shoved a plate of cookies into his arms in order to shut him up, thankfully it worked.
The gift exchange went smoothly after that, with everyone giving hugs of thanks and laughing about what they had gotten or given. Finally, there was just one present under the tree. Logan handed it to Veronica who gave him a dubious look, he had already gotten her some handmade jewellery from his travels with the Navy and new camera bag and lenses. She shook the wrapped package intently, mischievously asking "Is it a pony? Please let it be a pony!"
A book tumbled out, 1001 Equine Names. She looked at him, deeply confused. Along with book came a formal letter and certificate as well as several glossy pictures, she took a few moments to scan he contents of the letter. She then threw herself into Logan's arms, a flurry of blonde hair and short limbs. He caught her easily and stood there as she buried her face into his shoulders, her body shaking. Finally she looked up and slid from his arms, "You got me a pony"
"Well technically you have five rescue foals at a sanctuary who are sponsored in your name", he replied with ease, stroking her hair.
"You got me a pony" she countered as she snuggled into his embrace. For once Veronica Mars was speechless.
Mac and Dick shared a look as they sat on the couch, there was no doubt in either of their minds that though they didn't understand exactly was going on that it was special.
"Dude, I think Logan like broke Ronnie or something", Dick stage whispered to Mac.
The rest of the day slipped by, involving movies, food, a walk on the beach and lots of beer with even more food. They ended sitting in front of a bonfire that the boys had built on the beach surrounded by a tangle of blankets and cushions. Veronica snuggled into Logan, with Mac and Dick sitting very close in the name of 'warmth'. A feeling of contentment washed over the four adults, a feeling that none of them had experienced too often. It was odd, yet it was amazing.