Veronica's Hangover


Chapter 7: Nostalgia


Flashback - Saturday Night - Wedding Chapel

Logan had ten minutes to kill while he waited for the ceremony to begin. An aisle runner ran through the garden with several pews on either side. A gazebo strewn with probably 20,000 white lights waited at the end of the aisle. Elvis had not yet entered the building, so Logan took a seat in the first pew.

He breathed, thinking about how far he had come with Veronica. In the beginning, there had been four of them. His girl Lilly, and Duncan's girl Veronica. However, the lines had always been a bit blurry. He'd always known that his feelings for Veronica weren't exactly platonic, but he'd never thought of her as dating material. He liked his girls fiery and passionate, and Veronica was just too docile and agreeable for his taste. That's not to say that he hadn't loved her, because he had. He'd loved Lilly and he'd loved Veronica. Lilly had been passion and pain and excitement. Veronica had been purity and innocence and compassion. He'd wanted to fuck Lilly. He'd wanted to protect Veronica. He'd wanted to be Duncan.

They had created a sort of perfect world together - pools, beaches, boats - always situated around the water. They had been his perfect escape from his abusive home life. They were his new family. They were his refuge. The four of them had balanced each other out, each of them bringing a quality to the table that the other three needed.

He'd thought that they'd had no secrets from each other - other than his abuse - until Duncan broke up with Veronica for unknown reasons, and Lilly had been found dead. He should have been there for Veronica then, as he'd been there for Duncan. He knows that now. However, at the time, he'd needed for somebody to suffer, and she was the perfect scapegoat. The year that followed was a complete blur for Logan. The only thing he could remember clearly was his confrontations with Veronica. If the rest of his life was 'soft-focus', Veronica was the 'contrast' knob cranked all the way up.

One day, Veronica arrived at school with a short, flippy hairdo, butch boots, and a bad attitude. The day she began fighting back, was the day that Logan knew he'd been wrong about her the entire time. Veronica wasn't docile and fragile, she had all the fire and passion that Lilly had once exhibited.

He remembered that he'd once loved her and realized that he still did. The difference now was that he could imagine kissing her and putting his hands on her, and he imagined it all the time. Suddenly, Veronica Mars was always on his mind. It was bittersweet. He loved her, but after the way he'd treated her since Lilly's death, he could never have her. Instead, he stepped up his game, baiting and antagonizing her every chance he could get, only to see the fire spark to life in her eyes. A fire that only he ever seemed to bring out.

He wasn't exactly sure how the thawing had occurred. A secret smile at the Lilly Kane memorial ceremony, a ride back from Tijuana, a smirk here, a joke there. Looks like an evildoer. Smells like an evildoer, but surprisingly, not so much. By the time Logan's mother had jumped, he'd trusted Veronica enough to be able to turn to her. She had every right to turn him away, but surprisingly she hadn't. His protective instinct returned, but his attraction remained. When they'd kissed for the first time, he'd known that his life could never be the same. He'd kissed dozens of girls, in his life, but he'd never felt a connection like he'd felt with Veronica. He hadn't been able to hold on to Veronica that first time. His secrets and his recklessness were too much for her to take.

His senior year had been torturous. He'd drowned in feelings of betrayal and desperation. Veronica left him when he'd needed her the most, and she'd taken his best friend with her. It had almost killed him to see them together. He had wanted her back. He had wanted Duncan back. He had wanted to hate them both, but it was impossible. He had wanted to love them both. That was easy.

Even after Duncan had run off and Veronica had returned to him, Duncan had always been a sore spot between them. He'd wondered if he would ever be Veronica's first choice if Duncan were an option. But Duncan wasn't standing here tonight in a wedding chapel in Vegas, about to marry Veronica Mars, he was.

Sophia appeared, accompanied by Elvis and Logan joined them in the "Gazebo of Light" - or whatever they were calling it.

"I can't believe I'm marrying Logan Echolls." Elvis said. "I had a lot of respect…"

Logan cut him off. "For my sociopathic Oscar winning father?"

"No, I was going to say for your mother. I worked with her in the theater back in New York. Before she married your father. She was a real class act. And the singing voice on her...I was really sorry to hear what happened to her."

"Thank you." Logan said sincerely. "I wish she were here tonight. She would have been so happy to see me end up with Veronica. She always liked Veronica best. I have to hand it to you. You're the most realistic Elvis I've ever seen. You could seriously be a doppelganger."

"Thank you very much." Elvis responded with a self-deprecating eye roll.

"It's time!" Jane called. She turned down the outdoor floodlights and turned on the lighted aisle runner. It looked almost like a fairy path. A photographer and two videographers moved into position at either end of the aisle.

Double doors opened, and Logan turned to see Veronica standing in the doorway. She was so beautiful that he couldn't breathe for a moment.

Suddenly, he knew that this was the moment he had been waiting for his entire life. So what if it was a cheesy Vegas wedding chapel instead of the Tate mansion he'd always imagined getting married in. So what if the bride was a little wobbly on her feet from too much tequila and champagne.

He was Logan and she was Veronica and that was all that mattered.


Present time - Veronica's house

Logan answered the front door.

"Duncan?"

"Logan?" Duncan asked curiously, looking him up and down.

"Is Veronica here?" Duncan's eyes were all over the place. Joyful to see his best friend after all of these years. Wary that his best friend would not be happy to see him, and extremely worried about what it meant to find him answering Veronica's door.

"She just got out of the shower. Have a seat." Logan said, waving a hand towards the couch.

He disappeared down the hall and into Veronica's room.

"What the hell?" Duncan thought. Would Veronica allow Logan into her bedroom? Was something going on between them?

A second later, he heard Veronica yell. "Logan! What are you…Oh My God Logan!"

A second later, Logan jogged out of the bedroom laughing and wiping his mouth.

"Logan! Get your ass back here!" Veronica yelled. Logan ignored her, heading into the kitchen.

"Immediately! You can't just start something like that and leave me hanging." Veronica yelled.

Logan laughed.

"Logan! Right now!" Her demand grew louder.

"Can't Pumpkin." Logan called back to her. "That would be rude to our guest."

"GUEST? Somebody is here? You. Are. Such. An. Ass!" Veronica yelled.

"You should be sure to punish me for that later, Sweetpea!" Logan called back.

He reached into the fridge grabbing two beers. Walking into the living room, he handed one to Duncan, dropping down onto the couch next to him, and putting his feet on the coffee table.

"So what are you doing here, Duncan?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm Veronica's date. For a charity benefit." Duncan answered hesitantly, a hundred questions flashing through his mind.

"Oh." Logan said with a nod.

"What are you doing here Logan?" Duncan asked.

"I'm Veronica's husband. For…ever." Logan didn't try to hide his smug look.

Duncan's mouth dropped open wide. He rose from the couch, and then, at a loss for what to do, he dropped back down in a daze.

Veronica emerged from her bedroom wearing a snug t-shirt and yoga pants, her wet hair brushed back into a ponytail.

"Wifey-poo?" Logan called, forehead wrinkling. "Now that we're married, would you mind not making dates with other guys?"

Veronica shot him a glare. "I am so sorry Duncan." Veronica said contritely. "In the drama of...well...the usual drama that comes with Logan, I forgot all about the benefit."

"Forget about the benefit, Veronica." Duncan said. "What about us? You married somebody else while you were dating me?"

"Dating?" Veronica asked. "I think you've made a mistake. Logan, can you give us a second."

"Like hell, I'm leaving!" He said. Did she really expect him to walk away from this conversation?


Veronica's eyes narrowed, commanding him to leave. Logan sighed dramatically, stood up, and stomped off to Veronica's office, slamming the door. The joke was on her, though. Just yesterday, he'd been playing around with Veronica's collection of spy gadgets, and he knew exactly which one amplified sound.

After fitting the device to his ear, he pressed up against the wall and silently cracked open the door to listen.

Veronica's voice: "...misunderstanding ."

Duncan's voice: "What misunderstanding, Veronica? We've gone out to dinner for the past three Friday nights."

Veronica: "I go out to dinner with Wallace and Weevil all the time, and I'm not dating them."

Duncan: "I thought it was obvious. I told you I would always love you when I left town. I thought we were making our way back to each other."

Veronica: "I am so sorry that you were under that impression, Duncan."

Duncan: "And what about Logan? You told me you hadn't seen him in five years, and yet suddenly you're married to him?"

Veronica: "I ran into him in Vegas. Then I married him. It happens. It was sudden."

Duncan: "A Vegas marriage? It won't even last a year!"

"OK, what you say here matters, Veronica." Logan thought. "Please don't let me down."

Veronica: "I said it was sudden. I didn't say that it was a mistake. I have no doubt in my mind that it will last a year, Duncan. In fact, I'd be willing to place a wager on it."

Logan smiled. Good girl.

Duncan: "You want to bet on your marriage? What exactly do you want to bet?"

Veronica: "Logan's the gambler. I'll let him handle the details. But let's make it an obscene amount."

Duncan: "Do you even love Logan?"

Veronica: "Yes."

Duncan: "Since when?"

Veronica: "Since ...always?"

Duncan: "Always?"

"Always?" Logan thought.

Veronica: "I don't remember a specific point in time when my feelings shifted into love. When I finally admitted to myself that I was in love with him, I knew that I had been for a long, long time."

Duncan: "Are we talking since you first met him?"

Veronica: "No. I don't think that far back. There was this one moment where I do remember my feelings changing. Right after Lynn killed herself, Logan showed up on my doorstep hugging himself - all broken and vulnerable. I just knew in that moment that there was nothing I wouldn't do to ease his suffering. Seeing him in that much pain was breaking my heart. I just wanted to make everything better for him. The feeling surprised the hell out me. He had just spent the previous year making my life miserable. But it was strangely...unsurprising too. As if the feelings had been there all along, lying dormant. Was that love? I have no idea. It certainly was not the appropriate feeling based on my history with Logan.

Logan pressed his hand to the wall as if he could reach across space and touch her face. He never had understood why she'd taken his case when he'd been so awful to her.

Duncan: "Were you in love with Logan when we dated?"

Veronica: "Duncan, I never cheated on you."

Duncan: "That wasn't what I asked. Were you in love with Logan?"

The room was silent. Logan wondered if Veronica had answered nonverbally.

Veronica: "Yes."

Logan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Senior year had been torture for him, thinking that she didn't care if he lived or died.

Duncan: (audibly sighing) "Why would you date me if you loved him?"

Veronica: "I was afraid of loving him. It was too intense. Too dangerous.

Duncan: "So you used me?"

Veronica: "It wasn't like that Duncan. I'm not the kind of person to follow my heart. I'm logical. And logic was telling me that Logan was going to get himself or both of us killed in his war against the PCHers. Logic told me that you would be a perfect boyfriend, and you would give me the normalcy that I had been craving for that past year.

Logan bit his lip in regret. He would have done anything to be able to take back that summer, especially the break-up. He knew he could have changed her mind. He could have promised that he would change, if only he hadn't lost his temper in that moment and gotten himself thrown out.

Duncan: "And what's changed? He's suddenly stopped being reckless and impulsive? What is your logic telling you now?"

Veronica: "My logic tells me that when you desperately miss somebody every day for five years and wish you could be with them, it's time to start following your heart."

Duncan: "I moved him into my suite! He was banging Kendall, and you were sleeping with me. And you were in love with him the whole time? You were just pretending that you didn't care about Kendall?"

Veronica: "Thanks for drudging up those pleasant memories, Duncan. And I don't remember ever pretending that well. I thought it was obvious that I wanted to claw her eyes out."

Logan smirked. At least he wasn't the only who'd been tortured.

Duncan: "You never even argued against my decision to take Lilly and run. I thought at the time you were too ok with it. Were you planning to run right back to Logan as soon as I was gone?"

Veronica: "I didn't think he even wanted me anymore. He'd moved on. But yes, I was hoping for an eventual reunion."

Duncan: "So all these years I've been away, pining for you, you were pining for Logan?"

Veronica: (quietly) "Yes."

Veronica: (apologetically) "Duncan, you and I weren't meant to be. We were pleasant. We made sense on paper, but we were passionless together. We could have lasted for a long, long, time, but we would never have been truly happy. I'm sorry."

Duncan: "And Logan makes you happy?"

Veronica: "Yes."

Logan considered himself and Veronica. There had been moments of misery, but there had also been periods of intense happiness. In fact, the happiest moments of his life had been with Veronica. Today had been one of them.

Again, there was a long silence. Logan wished that he could see what was going on.

Duncan: (Sighing,) "I guess as long as you never cheated on me I can't really be angry. You never promised to wait for me."

Veronica: "So we're OK?"

Duncan: "It hurts, but if I blamed you for loving somebody else while you were dating me, I'd be a hypocrite. I did the same thing to Meg."

Veronica: "Thank you for understanding. I am so sorry for any pain I may have caused you."

Duncan: "You know, I pined away for Logan too."

Logan raised his eyebrow.

Duncan: (Laughing "No not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Veronica: "Hey, you said it. Nobody's judging. He's awfully pretty."

Duncan: "What I meant was, I've been around the world, and I've met a lot of people. I've learned that friends like Logan don't come around too often. He is the best friend I ever had - other than his girlfriend stealing habit. He literally kept me on my feet that year after Lilly died. I've really missed him."

Veronica: "I would advise you to tell him that, but he's eavesdropping."

Duncan: "What makes you say that?"

Veronica: "He headed into my office instead of the bedroom. He was just playing with my listening device yesterday. You might as well come on out, Logan."


Logan gave it a moment. Carefully, he returned the amplifier in its case. He headed out of the room, yawning.

"Is it safe to come out yet?" He asked, playing innocent.

"Like you don't know." Veronica smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Logan asked. Veronica rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you're back." Duncan said, rising and pulling Logan into a bear hug. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, DK!" Logan said sincerely, hugging him back.

"Congratulations on your marriage." Duncan said, with as much sincerity as he could muster.

"Thank you." Logan said, no gloating now.

He dropped to the couch on the other side of Veronica, putting his arm around her affectionately.

"How long you staying in town?" Duncan asked, sitting.

Looking over at Veronica snuggled up at Logan's side, he suddenly understood how Logan had felt all of those years ago when he'd moved in to the suite. If Logan could handle it graciously - or a Loganified version of graciousness - Duncan would have to as well.

"I'm not going anywhere. I have a wife, and I just signed for on some commercial real estate. We're going to be doing a lot of hiring." Logan answered. "How are you walking around a free man?"

"Long story. Lots of legal mumbo-jumbo. Let's just say the Mannings will never be bothering us again." Duncan answered.

"So you need to borrow my wife for your charity thing?" Logan asked.

"Nah, I've already written a check. I was only going to attend the event as an excuse to see Veronica. My presence isn't necessary."

"Borrow, Logan?" Veronica responded. "I can be borrowed? Like a cup of sugar?"

"No Honeybun. Your sugar is all mine." Logan smirked, giving her a peck on the lips. Veronica's answering smile promised him lots of sugar later.

"So hey...you want to hang out like old times?" Logan asked Duncan.

Duncan looked a question at Veronica.

"Not a problem for me." She said. "We were just planning a quiet evening in. I'll order a pizza. Unless Logan feels like cooking for us."

"Did you just mention Logan and cooking in the same sentence?" Duncan laughed.

"You would be amazed at my culinary skills, but let's save that for after we move. The kitchen here is a little small."

"Moving?" Duncan inquired.

"Yes! I'll finally get to sit at the 09er table!" Veronica answered with mock excitement. "Logan put in a bid for the Enbom estate."

"Wow!" Duncan answered. "Great house! I didn't know it was on the market."

"Just went up for sale yesterday." Logan said. "We went to look first thing this morning."

"So wait..." Duncan said after a moment. "The party invitation I just received from Veronica? Was that about this?" He gestured to Logan and Veronica.

"Our wedding reception." Logan replied. "But do us a favor and don't tell anybody about me and Veronica. We're going to announce it at the reception. Nobody even knows I'm back in town."

Duncan nodded. "My lips are sealed."

For hours, they ate drank beer, ate pizza, laughed, and reminisced. They were finally able to discuss Lilly fondly without dredging up a lot of pain.

Duncan laughed while describing some of the pranks Logan pulled in high school, while Veronica narrowed her eyes.

"Logan?"

"Yes darling?"

"You've never mentioned to me that you had web development skills."

"Really? Must have slipped my mind, love."

"In high school, somebody with web development skills set up a certain website, devoted entirely to me. I ruled you out because you didn't have the skills."

Logan gasped dramatically. "Point me at 'em. I'll kick his ass."

"Uh huh." Veronica said, but kissed him on the cheek.

Logan promised to set up a recurring poker game after they moved, and Veronica promised to take all of their money.

"Speaking of gambling?" Logan said as he walked Duncan to the door. "One million."

"One million?" Duncan asked uncomprehendingly.

"One million dollars says that Veronica and I stay married for a year. Payable to Veronica when we win, since it was her wager."

"That should give her an incentive to be nice to me." He said looking pointedly at Veronica.

Logan held out his hand. Duncan hesitated for a second before taking it and shaking, accepting the bet.

"I actually hope I don't win this bet." Duncan said. "It's good to have you home, Logan."

"Great to be back where I belong." Logan answered.

"I knew you were eavesdropping, you ass!" Veronica said after Logan had closed the door behind Duncan.

"Maybe." Logan smirked. "I believe you had some punishment in store for me, anyway."

Logan became serious and pulled Veronica into his arms.

"You cannot even comprehend the gift you gave me tonight." He said quietly, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Something I said while you were eavesdropping?" Veronica asked.

"All I've ever wanted was to know that given a choice, you would pick me."

He kissed her gently on the lips, and then dipped his head to catch her eyes. "I love you." He said quietly and sincerely.

"Don't think that's getting you out of your punishment." Veronica said laughing. "I've been thinking all night of ways to make you suffer for what you did earlier."

"I've been counting on it, sweetheart." He said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

He gently nipped her lower lip and then walked off towards her bedroom, dropping articles of clothing on the way.


A/N - Next up is the big party. I think I'm going to have to split it into two - maybe even three parts. Might take a bit, because only the first part is partially written.