Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait between updates. I'm back from vacation now, so here's the next chapter... thanks for being patient :).
Chapter Eleven
"So, I've been thinking," starts Logan, pouring syrup over his pancakes on Sunday morning.
"Don't hurt yourself," quips Veronica, shooting him a grin as she takes the syrup bottle from him and douses her own plate.
They're having a lazy day, lounging in bed until mid-morning before shuffling into the kitchen half an hour ago for a late breakfast. Logan smiles at the sight of her, clad in one of his oversized sweaters—way too big on her and sliding off one shoulder—and nothing else. She looks great.
"Very funny," he retorts, narrowing his eyes at her across the counter, before forging ahead. "Look, I've been thinking, and…you know, maybe we could… well, l mean, my initial lease was up last month, and, you know, I barely spend any time there anyway, and—"
"Logan." Veronica holds up a hand to stop his nervous rambling. "What are you getting at?"
He takes a steadying breath, speaking more slowly this time.
"I was thinking, maybe it's time we make this official." He gestures around the apartment. "I mean, we're pretty much living together already. It would make sense to do it properly."
Veronica just looks at him for a moment, her expression giving nothing away, before she gives a shrug. "Okay."
"Okay?" Logan blinks. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," she says, taking a bite of pancake. "Sure, why not?"
"Wow." He can't quite believe this is so easy. "I thought for sure I was going to have to talk you round. I was prepared to do a lot of persuading."
Veronica puts down her fork and leans forward on the counter, lips curling up in a soft smile. "Logan, I had a lot of time to think while you were away this time. I know you were only gone two months, but it was almost harder to get through than before."
"Veronica, I—" He starts to apologise, but she cuts him off.
"No, this isn't supposed to be a guilt trip. It's just... I'd gotten used to you being here all the time, and then you were just… gone." She shrugs, looking down for a moment. "The apartment felt so empty, and lonely, without you here, and it made me realise I don't want that."
She slips off her stool and comes to stand in front of him, sliding her arms around his waist. He does the same as she looks up at him.
"Besides, you're right," she admits. "We are living together. I just wasn't ready to put a label on it before."
"But you are now?"
"I am." She smiles. "Lt. Echolls, I want to officially move in with you."
"Okay." He grins, heart doing a small flip in his chest. "Okay, then."
He lowers his head as she tilts hers up, and their mouths meet in the middle. She tastes sweet, her lips sticky with syrup, and it only fuels his desire for her. Within moments, their plates have been pushed to one side, pancakes forgotten, and Veronica's perched on the counter, legs tight around his hips as he thrusts into her.
God, it's so good to be home.
"So," says Veronica softly as she turns on her side in the bed an hour later. Logan mimics her position, so they're facing each other. "How are we going to do this?"
"What do you mean?" He reaches out, tucking her hair behind her ear and she can't help but smile at the familiar gesture.
"This living together thing," she clarifies.
He looks confused. "Aren't we already doing it?"
"No, I mean…" She shakes her head, sliding a hand beneath her cheek, supporting her head. "If you give up your apartment, what are you going to do with all your stuff? This place is tiny; there's barely enough room for my things, let alone yours, too."
He smiles like the answer should be obvious. His expression is both tender and amused as he says, "Well, maybe we could get our own place? Not yours, or mine, but ours."
Veronica's heart rate increases at that; her instinctive reaction is to shy away from such a commitment, but then she relaxes, telling herself not to be so stupid. This is what you want, remember?
"We could." She nods.
"Someplace bigger, with more rooms, and storage space… maybe on the beachfront…"
"That sounds nice." Veronica returns his smile for a moment, then frowns. "But, Logan, a place like that is expensive…"
"So?" He shrugs. "We can afford it."
"Maybe you can, but I can't," she says in a small voice. "Logan, you know I don't like taking your money. I want to be able to pay my own way."
"You can," he insists. "You pay what you can afford and I'll make up the difference. It's not a big deal."
She shakes her head. "But it wouldn't feel right."
"Veronica…" Logan cups her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "I understand you want to keep your independence, but we're in this relationship together. What's mine is yours, okay?"
Veronica inhales shakily, feeling a little overwhelmed. She quickly masks it, attempting a feeble joke, "Thought that only applied if you were married?"
It backfires though, because he just looks at her, his lips twitching into a small smile as his eyes bore into hers. Veronica suddenly feels sick, stomach twisting in response.
"Oh, God, you want to get married."
His thumb strokes her cheek as he gives a one-shouldered shrug. "Well, I wouldn't be opposed."
"Right…" she murmurs faintly, unsure how to feel about that.
"Only if you wanted to, of course," he adds quickly. "No pressure. Just, maybe… someday."
Veronica swallows. "You've seriously been thinking about this?"
"Well… it's crossed my mind once or twice," he admits. "But you said once that you never wanted to get married, so I just…"
He trails off, giving another shrug.
She sighs. "God, Logan…"
"Look, before you dismiss the idea completely, you should know that if we were married, you'd be entitled to things—"
"Yeah, a ton of money," she interrupts, looking down. "Got it."
She doesn't want his money; never has. No way she would marry him for it.
"No, that's not what I mean," he says, finger sliding under her chin, urging her to look at him again. "I'm talking about military benefits."
He pauses for a moment, studying her seriously, before continuing.
"Look, right now, as my girlfriend, if something were to happen to me, you wouldn't get anything at all," he says gently. "Not even a phone call to break the news. But if we were married, you would be entitled to things: you would be my beneficiary if… well, you know… and you could have legal Power of Attorney. Not to mention, you'd get benefits like family separation allowances when I deployed, and healthcare coverage, shopping discounts… all kinds of things."
Veronica takes that in, her mind reeling.
"Remember what I said about going back to the ship, about not having ties? This is what I meant." he continues softly, thumb stroking her cheek again. "Right now, in the Navy's eyes, I'm single. I don't get any entitlements or special considerations because of my relationship with you. If I was married, though…"
He trails off, his meaning clear.
"Right… yeah, of course," she murmurs faintly. "Benefits."
"Like I said, no pressure," he says. "It's just something to think about."
"Yeah…"
Veronica shifts onto her back, looking up at the ceiling, head spinning. All this time, she's dismissed marriage as a recipe for heartbreak and disappointment, but maybe Logan kind of has a point here.
The thing is: does she even want to get married? Can she see herself becoming someone's wife? Logan's wife? She genuinely doesn't know.
But what she does know is that she wants to be with him. She can't picture her life without him in it, not now they've found each other again.
"Hey," Logan says from beside her. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She nods absently, then rolls onto her other side and slips out of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Veronica…" Logan's voice sounds from behind her, but her mind's too full with all this new information to really register it.
She needs to think.
The rest of the day, the atmosphere is tense, or at least that's how it seems to Logan. Veronica claims she's fine, but he's worried he scared her off earlier. He didn't mean for it all to come out like that, but he had to be honest with her, and she needs to know what her options are.
Truth is, he hasn't really considered getting married in any serious capacity; it's not like he actually has anything planned, but seeing all his squadron-mates with wives and kids, seeing Bilbo's widow and his son grieving for him at the funeral, well… it's got him thinking lately. Deep down, he has to admit that it would be pretty fucking cool to be married to Veronica, but if she doesn't want to, he's not going to push.
"Veronica?" he calls, pulling on his jacket. "You ready?"
They're going out for dinner and a movie, but she's been holed up in the bedroom, getting ready, for the last twenty minutes.
"Just a minute," she replies, voice slightly muffled by the closed door.
Logan checks that Pony—who is asleep in her bed in the corner—is all set up for the night, then turns when he hears the click of Veronica's shoes on the hardwood floor.
"Wow, you look nice," he says appreciatively.
Her outfit is a combination of feminine and street-wise: short skirt, floaty top, his favourite black leather jacket and heeled, knee-high boots.
"Thank you." She returns the smile, slipping her bag over her shoulder and walking over to him. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"Veronica…" he tries, but she moves to the door, pulling it open.
"Come on, let's go."
The ride to the restaurant is... odd. The silence isn't tense, exactly, but Veronica isn't talking and Logan's struggling to read her. She seems almost too calm, and it's weirding him out. He glances over at her a couple of times as he's driving, but she's either looking out of the window, or she catches his eye and gives him a small smile… though that doesn't do much to ease his worry.
It's not until they're seated at their table in the back of the small Mexican place Veronica's chosen that she finally speaks, looking up from the menu in her hands and leaning towards him.
"For the record, I'm not ruling it out."
"Huh?" It takes a moment to grasp what she means.
"What you said earlier, about, you know, getting married," she clarifies. "I just want you to know that I'm not ruling it out."
"Okay." He keeps his voice as steady as he can, though inside, his heart is pounding.
"I mean, it would make a lot of sense, with the Navy stuff and everything," she continues, reaching across the table and covering his hand with hers. "And after this last year together, I can't imagine being without you again."
"Me either," he says, feelingly.
She nods, giving a small smile, before turning serious. "But the thing is, I don't know if… I mean, it's not something I'm ready for right now. I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready, to be honest, but—"
"Hey, it's okay," he assures her softly. "I get it. Look, this morning… I wasn't suggesting we go book a chapel or anything, I just wanted you to know what it would mean if we ever did decide to get married."
"I know." She nods in understanding. "Thank you."
"But, this moving in together thing…" he says then. "We can still do that, right?"
"Yes, we can," she says, her voice soft.
"Okay…" He smiles, relief flooding through him. "In that case, you wanna go house-hunting this week?"
"Sure." She smiles. "Let's do it."
"I like this one," Veronica murmurs to Logan as the real estate agent walks away, down the hallway of the small condo they're viewing, giving them some space.
It's Thursday afternoon and the first chance they've had to look at places together. Logan still has a few days of post-deployment leave left, but Veronica has acquired a new case which has kept her out working more often than not this week.
"Really?" He scrunches his nose. "It's a bit… small, don't you think?"
He's right, it is pretty compact, with a tiny open plan kitchen-living room, two bedrooms—one regular-sized, one barely bigger than a box—one bathroom and something that barely even qualifies as a patio area at the back.
"No, it's just… cosy," she says, unsure if she's trying to convince him, or herself.
"Veronica." Logan stops her with a hand on her arm. "Come on, be honest. You only like this one because it's cheap."
"No." She's quick to protest. "That's not… the only reason."
"Can you seriously see us living here?" he asks. "It's barely bigger than your apartment."
Veronica glances around the apartment again, then gives a relenting sigh. "Yeah, I guess not."
"You need to get over the money thing, okay?" He tugs her close, letting his fingers run along her cheek. "If it helps, I won't even be using my inheritance for this, my portion of the rent will be coming right out of my hard-earned Navy salary."
"Yeah?" That does make it seem a little better.
"So, it's not like you're being 'kept' by your millionaire boyfriend, okay?" he says. "We can just be two, normal, hard-working people, both paying towards the household expenses, but it just so happens that one of us is able to contribute a bit more than the other."
Veronica sighs, shaking her head. "Okay, fine."
"So, we're agreed… this place is a 'no'?"
"Yeah, we're agreed."
"Okay, then, let's tell the agent we want to check out the next place." He slips his hand in hers, leading her back through the condo. "And no more thinking about the money, okay? We're going to find a place based on what we like, not how much it costs."
Within minutes, they're in the car and heading to the next place—a three-bedroom, single-storey beach house along the more upmarket end of Dog Beach.
The moment she steps inside, Veronica knows this is the one. It's open and spacious, and has this great homey feeling about it. She turns to Logan to find him smiling widely.
Leaning in close, she murmurs, "Me likey."
He nods. "Me, too."
Like the previous condo, this one is also open-plan, but is much roomier and the furnishings much, much nicer. The living area has a fireplace, and French doors that open out onto a large patio area, where she can make out a stone barbecue and plenty of space for outdoor furniture… not to mention, they have their own private beach. The kitchen has all the latest mod-cons and is separated from the living room by a large, marble-topped island. It's lovely.
"Let me show you the bedrooms," says the agent. "Follow me."
She leads them down to the back of the condo, where three bedrooms and the bathroom are located.
"Okay, this is the master," she says, gesturing for them to enter the room. "As you can see, it's very spacious—"
Veronica tunes out the marketing spiel as she steps further into the room, eyes wide and mouth agape. It's gorgeous. It's easily double the size of the bedroom in her apartment, and has a walk-in closet and an en-suite, complete with a walk-in shower and a Jacuzzi bathtub. The windows are floor to ceiling, giving an incredible view of the ocean.
"Oh, my God…" she breathes in awe, stopping in front of the window and gazing out at the waves crashing on the shore. "This is amazing."
Logan's arms slide around her waist from behind. "I take it you like it?"
"I love it." Her hands cover his as he rests his chin on her shoulder. "It's perfect."
"I agree. Though we probably should see the other rooms, too."
"Sure."
The last two bedrooms are smaller, but still big enough for their needs. The second one will fit at least a double bed and can serve as a guest room, and the third could be used as an office, or a mini gym or something. At the end of the hall is the second bathroom, smaller than the master, but still adequate for their needs. The whole place is more than Veronica could have ever asked for.
"So?" says Logan softly once they reach the end of the tour.
"Yes," she states firmly. "This is it."
"My thoughts exactly." He grins. "So, we're going for it?"
"Definitely."
She forces herself not to think about the price. To be fair, it's not as expensive as she would have thought, given how amazing the place is, but it is more than she would have liked to spend. She knows she's probably getting too hung up on the money, but she's still getting used to this grown-up relationship, sharing thing. She's always lived within her means before, never spending more than she has available and it's difficult to get out of that mind-set, to accept that Logan's more than happy to share with her. An hour later, they put in an application for the condo.
"Mouth, dude, you're back!" says Chaos enthusiastically, when Logan reports to the Fleet Readiness Center the following week.
As he enters the crew room on Monday, his squadron-mate greets him with a hug and a clap on the back, which Logan returns with a grin.
"Hey, man."
"How was the det?" asks Chaos.
Logan nods. "Yeah, it was good."
"Ready to get back to it?" His friend asks. "We got a couple jets in need of partial flight tests this morning."
"Count me in."
Two hours later, they're suited up and ready to go. Chaos takes the lead, taking off first, then manoeuvring into a holding position a few miles out over the ocean while he waits for Logan to catch up.
God, it's good to have an actual, full-length runway again, Logan muses as he pushes the throttle and hurtles along the ground, the take-off so easy compared with the carrier.
He joins Chaos in the air and they start running through the morning's tests on the aircraft.
"Looking good there, Mouth." Chaos' voice comes through clear over the radio a few minutes later. "You seem more relaxed now."
Logan frowns. "Aren't I usually?"
"Sure, you are… but before you left, you were, I dunno… you didn't seem at your best."
Logan frowns. "Yeah, well, with Bilbo and everything…"
"Yeah, I know." There's a pause before the radio crackled again. "How was it, joining his squadron out there?"
"Wasn't easy at first," he admits. "Felt like a poor replacement for the real thing. But just had to get on with the job… put it behind me, you know? It was good, in the end. Helped me sort through some things."
"Yeah…" Chaos changes the subject, "Bet Veronica's glad you're home now though."
"Yeah, she is." Logan smiles, unable to help himself. "We're uh, finally making the living situation official."
"Nice!" He can tell Chaos is grinning. "You finally gonna make use of your place? Be good to have you back in San Diego."
"Nah. We've found somewhere new," Logan says. "It's in Neptune. Should be moving in mid-month."
"Congrats, man."
"Thanks."
"Listen, you and Veronica should come over for dinner one night," says Chaos then. "Maybe in a few weeks, when you're settled?"
"Sounds good, dude," replies Logan. "Thanks."
Conversation over for now, he turns his concentration back to the task at hand and as he and Chaos complete their flight tests and turn back toward base, Logan can't help but smile with contentment. He's feeling renewed, rejuvenated… happy. He wasn't lying earlier: the deployment was good for him. He barely even thought about taking a drink when he was away—not that he could have even if he'd wanted to, dry ship and all—and getting back into life on-board again was just what he needed to get back on track after everything.
Of course, it sucked being away from Veronica again, but now that he's sorted himself out—for the most part—coming home to her has just been the icing on the cake. And now that they're officially moving in together, it feels like everything is falling right into place.
Veronica and Logan pick up the keys the second week of February. Logan doesn't have to leave his condo in San Diego until the end of the month, while she has to move right away, so they spend the weekend moving all of her things out of her apartment and into their new beach house.
Early Saturday morning, Veronica enlists the willing services of Keith, Wallace and Mac, while Logan seems to have roped both Chaos and Dick into helping with the heavy lifting. It takes several trips and a fair amount of debate over how to fit everything into the rented van, but by eight p.m. they've emptied the apartment and everything is in the beach house, though it's now crammed full of boxes with barely any room to move.
They've agreed to donate Veronica's hastily-purchased second-hand furniture to local charity stores and purchase new things they've chosen together—things that fit both of their personalities, and match the house. Thing is, said furniture won't be delivered for a few more days, so as a result, they're spending their first night in their new house eating Chinese take-out out of cartons and sleeping on the floor in the master bedroom.
"Okay, now this actually does feel real," says Veronica as she tries to get comfortable on the air mattress they've borrowed from Keith. "We have our own place, Logan."
"We do." Logan grins at her from where he stands by the window. "And look at this view."
The large windows have no blinds or curtains yet—those are being delivered on Monday—so they are afforded a full view of the ocean, as moonlight streams into the bedroom. Thank God the beach is private, because Veronica would rather not have to worry about random strangers peering through their windows at night.
"Hey, come here," she says, gaze roaming the muscular planes of Logan's bare back.
He's wearing nothing but thin sweatpants, hung low on his hips, and the sight of him, illuminated in the moonlight, is doing all kinds of things to her libido.
"What is it?" he asks, kneeling on the edge of the makeshift bed, his weight causing the mattress to shift beneath her.
She grins predatorily as she rises up onto her knees, shifting closer and running her index finger lightly down his chest. "I think now is a good a time as any to get started on christening this place."
"You do, huh?" His eyebrows rise suggestively. "I could be up for that."
Veronica glances down pointedly. "Oh, I think you already are."
Logan just grins, a twinkle in his eye as he lowers his mouth to her neck, pressing light kisses to the sensitive spot he knows all too well. Veronica's hands come up, fingers burying in his close-cropped hair as she shivers, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes slide closed as she loses herself in the sensations of his caresses, but then, without warning, his hand slide over the back of her thighs and with one swift movement, she finds herself on her back on the mattress, Logan settling between her thighs.
She lets out a surprised squeal, then a laugh. "Oh my God, what are you doing?"
"Getting started on this christening thing," he murmurs against her skin. He lifts his head, a glint in his eye. "Thought you were on board with this?"
"Oh, I am," she assures him. "Definitely on board."
He gives her a shit-eating grin, then lowers his mouth to hers, kissing her hungrily as he shucks his pants, kicking them off. Breaking the kiss for a moment, he gestures for her to take off her shirt, which she does eagerly, and then they're both naked.
Logan glances over to the window, expression thoughtful, and Veronica's eyes narrow in suspicion.
"What are you thinking?"
He shoots her another grin. "Let's make this interesting."
"Interesting, how?"
"Wanna do it and enjoy the view at the same time?"
He nods toward the window, his meaning becoming clear, and Veronica feels her cheeks heating up. Part of her is slightly scandalised, but a bigger part is extremely turned on.
"I, uh…"
"Don't worry, no one's gonna see us."
Oh, what the hell…
She nods and Logan helps her up.
"Go stand over there." His voice is silky as he nods to the window, and arousal swirls deep in her belly. "Hands on the glass, legs apart."
Oh, holy fuck, she thinks, though aloud she says, "Aye, aye, Lieutenant."
Feeling his eyes on her, she turns her back to him, walking over to the window and assuming her directed position. She feels open, exposed, like this, but also so, so turned on. Behind her, she hears Logan moving around, then the sound of a condom packet being opened, and then he's right there, hands on her hips, chest against her shoulder blades, arousal pressing insistently against her bottom.
"Oh, God," she mutters in response.
"Just look at that moon," he says softly, even as his hand slides down to cup her sex, two fingers slipping between her folds. "And the way the light's reflecting off the waves."
"Yeah…"
The other hand moves up to her breast, kneading gently as his fingers glide across her clit. She inhales sharply, bracing her hands on the glass as tingles shoot up her spine.
"Good?" His breath rushes against her ear as he nuzzles her neck.
"Uh huh." It's all she can manage.
"Feels naughty, huh?"
His fingers move faster and she feels the tension building deep inside her.
"Uh huh."
"You gonna come?"
"Uh huh."
"Not yet."
"What?" She blinks, disoriented when suddenly his fingers are gone, leaving her teetering on the edge. "No, don't stop."
"Sorry." He sounds anything but.
She barely has time to catch her breath before he's shifting, his length sliding between her legs. He rocks his hips, once, twice, head pressing deliciously against her clit, and she gasps.
"Yeah, right there."
But again he denies her, hands grasping her hips as he slides inside in one quick stroke.
"God, Logan." Her hips push back against him involuntarily, wanting, seeking more.
He starts moving, setting a steady, deliberate pace, withdrawing slow and leisurely, then entering with quick deep thrusts that draw long moans from her lips.
"Feel so good," he mutters, warm breath flowing over the back of her neck.
"Yeah…" She can barely even think straight, let alone speak.
"Touch yourself."
It's not a question, and Veronica shudders at the demanding tone, arousal pulsing through her body.
Shifting her weight to one hand and bracing it across the glass, her forehead resting against it, she lowers her hand, sliding her fingers between her lips and gently stroking her clit, already sensitive from Logan's caresses.
"Make yourself come," he demands between thrusts.
"Sir, yes, sir." It's supposed to be sarcastic, but instead it comes out breathless and aroused.
Behind her, Logan groans, the sound strained, and that only spurs her on. She starts off slow, stroking in time with Logan's thrusts, but soon finds it's not enough. She moves her fingers faster, breath coming in gasping pants as the tension grows and grows until she's barely holding on.
"Just let go," whispers Logan in her ear. "I've got you."
That's all it takes. One last stroke and she's tipping over, heat flooding her body as she bucks and writhes against him.
"That's it." His voice is gravelly, like he's struggling to keep it together. "God, I love you."
"Love you…"
She barely has time to recover before Logan increases the pace, the sounds of her heavy, gasping breaths, and his groans, and their bodies moving together, echoing around the empty room. One arm coming around her waist, he urges her upright, then reaches for her hands, pressing them to the glass again, covering them with his own and linking his fingers through hers. Her forehead rests on the window as she savours the feel of his body pressed against her, the feel his lips caressing the back of her neck, the feel of him filling her, thick and hard…. the feel of being complete.
It's heaven.
