Summary: Begins with the missing scene from 1x19, just after LoVe's kiss, and before she breaks up with Leo. AU from there.
A/N: Thanks to my muses, lex and forcedmovement. Italics are VMVO and feedback is muchly appreciated. Also, many lines of dialogue were double checked with the VM transcripts at www twiztv com.
Logan and Veronica were kissing as he backed into and through the front door of his house. He whirled her around, still kissing, unable to contain his happiness. They broke the kiss for mere seconds, long enough for Veronica to let out a throaty laugh, and then kissed again. This time, the sound of a throat clearing behind them caused them to break the kiss.
The pair turned to see Aaron and Trina on one of the couches. Aaron looked amused, while Trina looked...not quite disgusted.
"Hello, Son." Aaron said to Logan. Logan let go of Veronica and stepped away from her like she had the plague. Veronica gave him a worried yet confused glance. "Nice to see you, Veronica. It's been awhile."
"You too, Mr. Echolls." She replied, feeling insanely awkward.
"Oh, please, call me Aaron." Aaron told her. "Mr. Echolls is my father."
"Well, well, well, little brother." Trina finally spoke up "I knew I was right about you two."
"Don't you have a an elsewhere to be?" Logan snarked at her. "What happened to that oh so crucial purse store opening that you had to go to?" Trina made a face instead of answering.
"I asked her to come home early." Aaron said. "My class was cancelled so I grabbed some swordfish...thought I'd try that Lime Tequila Marinade." He explained. Logan nodded. "We'll just...leave you two alone." Aaron said, pulling Trina up of the couch against her will. Veronica and Logan were silent until they were sure Aaron and Trina were out of ear shot.
"Oh my God." Logan said, leaning on the back of one of the couches. "Did I just get caught making out by my dad?"
"Yeah, you got caught by your dad." Veronica replied. "I got caught by the star of 'Breaking Point' and 'Beyond the Breaking Point'." She said.
"Well, I think it's safe to assume that my dad knows." He told her dryly. They exchanged a look. He smirked. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up slowly. His lips slowly spread into a grin. She smiled.
Ten minutes later they were still laughing.
"So, wait, you're dad's taking classes?" Veronica asked between her laughs, remembering what his father had said.
"Yeah, exploring the world outside himself." Logan answered. "All part of the new Aaron Echolls." He gestured roughly with his hands, indicating that his father was only doing it for attention. "Spanish, ceramics, Tae Kwan Doe...today's class was supposed to be glass blowing." Logan walked over to the mantle, pointing out it's new piece of art. "Nice, huh?" He asked Veronica. She walked over and joined him. "Just two lessons."
"And he made a bong?" Veronica replied, trying to sound innocent.
"An urn for my mom." Logan's voice got quiet.
Ooops. Open mouth, insert foot.
"You know, since there was no body and hence no ashes, he filled it with sea water." Logan sighed as he stared at the glass urn. "Cause she jumped into the ocean, get it?" Veronica gave him a small smile.
"Then it's beautiful." She told him. He smiled back slowly. Veronica glanced at her watch. "Oh, we have to go."
"Right." Logan said. "Let's not keep Carmen waiting."
Veronica and Logan sat in her car, both wearing baseball caps. Logan was in the driver's seat, watching Veronica intently photographed Tad and Seth together.
"You know, all I did was tell you she needed an exit strategy." Logan told her as she snapped away. "The plan you came up with is so...devious it's scary. Remind me not to piss you off."
"Noted." She murmured absentmindedly, fiddling with the lens on her camera. She kept shooting until Tad walked away. They watched as Seth headed over to where the LeBaron was parked.
"Did you get it?" Seth asked, leaning against the window.
"That, boys, is what we call the 'money shot'." Veronica smiled.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow." Seth told her, and then walked off. Veronica busied herself with putting her camera away, unscrewing the lens.
"You ready to go?" Logan wanted to know, reaching for the keys. Veronica looked up from what she was doing.
"Yeah." She replied as he started the car. "Thanks for going with me." Logan shrugged.
"Let's see, spend time with you, or spend time with my father and my sister?" He pretended to consider the options. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm always going to choose you in that scenario."
"Hey..." Veronica began. "Do you think this...thing between us will ever be normal? We aren't going spend all our time together working my my cases, are we?"
"Like will we ever hang at the mall, and hold hands and buy each other teddy bears with hearts that say 'I wuv you bear-y much'?" Logan asked her.
"Yes, except I want my bear won through some demonstration of ring tossing." Veronica replied.
"Well, we could go out for dinner." Logan suggested.
"Can't." Veronica sighed. "I promised my dad I'd make dinner tonight."
"And she cooks!" Logan exclaimed, teasing her.
"Well, it's no Tequila Lime Marinade..." Veronica began. "But I do make a mean chicken kiev...want to come to dinner?" Logan stared at her. "Eyes on the road!" She cried out a second later, as he started to drift onto the shoulder.
"What would you tell your dad?" He wanted to know.
"I just figured, your dad knows...maybe mine should too." Veronica replied, quietly, avoided his gaze.
"Chicken Kiev?" He repeated her.
"Mmm hmm." She agreed.
"Sounds good to me."
"Hi, Honey." Keith said, rushing past the kitchen on his way out the door.
"Good news, it's Chicken Kiev night and..." Veronica trailed off as her father barely paused by the kitchen door.
It's almost as if he doesn't even see Logan standing right next to me.
"Next time." Keith promised. "I gotta run." He said, holding up his overnight bag.
The mystery bag on Tuesday? My own dad has lost total libidinal control.
"Are you sure?" Veronica tried to get him to stay. "There are some important teen issues we could discuss." She told him, steeling herself for informing her father that she was now dating Lilly's boyfriend.
"The car Duncan bought?" Keith explained. "Just spotted outside of Tijuana. Yale, baby!" He crowed as he left the apartment, Logan and Veronica staring after him.
"I guess I'll tell him when he gets back." Veronica said. "Looks like it's Kiev for two."
"Do you really think he'll find Duncan?" Logan wanted to know, sticking a finger in one of the pots and putting it in his mouth a moment later.
"Please." Veronica replied. "My dad could find a needle in a haystack."
"It's a bust, sweetie." Keith said into the phone. "The car was abandoned outside the bus station, a case of beer in the seat and a sign in Spanish saying: Free Car. A decoy. Maybe Duncan's smarter than I was giving credit"
Veronica sighed, shaking her head at Logan to let him know that her dad had had no luck finding Duncan. He walked over and slumped against a row of lockers.
"Well, he did ace his PSATs." Veornica replied. "So I'll see you at home for dinner?" She asked her dad, eyeing Logan. .
"Raincheck, honey." Keith told her. "Alicia and I.."
"Are going out, right." Veronica finished for him. "I'll see ya when I see ya." She said, hanging up and walking over to Logan. "You ok?"
"I just wish..." Logan stared at the floor. "I just wish he'd come home. This has been one weird year, but he's still my best friend."
"We'll find him, Logan." Veronica tried to cheer him up. "I promise." He gave her a half hearted smile and an 'after you' gesture as they walked into the classroom next to the lockers. "You busy?" She asked Mac, who was alone in the room, gazing at the computer screen.
"Still working on that passport thing." Mac answered. "Check it out. I just found Mr. Heinrich's posting on the Neptune swingles site." Veronica and Logan both move closer to see.
"Oh, Larry." Veronica said, grinning.
"Bowm-chicka-bow-bow." Logan added, making both girls laugh.
"What do you need?" Mac wanted to know after the giggles had stopped.
"Ah, along the same lines." Veronica told her. "How long does it take you to create a highly incriminating, throughly libelous, sexually explicit website?" She asked.
"Uh, forty five minutes, give or take." Mac answered. "I'll get started on it as soon as I'm done reading about how Mr. Heinrich's interests include 'horseback riding on the beach, hot tubbing with special friends' and 'sensual charades'." She emphasized the last one with quotes, causing Logan to stifle a laugh.
"Oh, thanks Mac." Veronica teased her friend. "That's a mental image I'll carry with me to the grave."
"Hey is that my math teacher?" Seth asked as he came up behind them.
"Here's the ammo." Veronica handed Mac an envelope. "Seth here will help you with the rest." Veronica glanced at Mr. Heinrich's pictured one more time, and shook her head. "Thanks, guys." She said, taking Logan by the hand and leading him out of the room.
I know that Carmen doesn't want to do this, but I don't really see any other way. Sometimes you really do have to get an eye for an eye.
"Now to set up things with Tad." Veronica said aloud, reaching for her phone.
"About that..." Logan began. "I'm going with."
"What?" She replied. "Logan, no. It'll just make things worse."
"I don't trust this guy, Veronica, and I don't think he's the type to stand by and do nothing while you try and get him to leave his girlfriend alone." Logan told her.
"Ex-girlfriend." She corrected and then paused, looking up at him. "You're really worried, aren't you?"
"I lost my girlfriend and my mother in the span of a year." Logan said. "I can't really handle losing you too." She leaned up and kissed him gently.
"It'll be fine." Veronica reassured him. "I'll set it up so that we meet here at school, ok?" Logan finally nodded, pressing his forehead against hers.
Humph. And Wallace says I'm a marshmallow.
Veronica headed for Logan, where he was perched on the hood of his yellow Xterra. She'd just come from helping Carmen break up with Tad.
"So how'd it go?" Logan asked, helping her up on to the hood of the car. Veronica smiled.
"Like you didn't watch the whole time from behind the bush over there." She gestured to a bush at the edge of the lot. "Taking a page from my book." She teased. "I must admit, I'm impressed."
"Oh, you know me." Logan replied, returning her smile. "I'm a fast learner."
"So how's the car?" Veronica wanted to know, tapping the headlights with a knuckle. He chuckled.
"Good as new." He answered.
"You can thank me later." She gloated.
"I think I can do better than that." Logan told her. "Are you free Friday?": He asked. "Maybe we could go out?"
"Logan Echolls, are you actually..." Veronica started to say.
"So what do you think about skipping school on Friday for a little ride on dad's boat? Dinner and a movie?" Logan cut her off. She smiled shyly.
Wow, an actual date with Logan Echolls.
"I'll pencil you in." She said softly.
"So, it's a...what's the word. Date." He replied, his tone just as soft.
"Nice of your dad to let us use his boat." Veronica was surprised.
"Yeah." Logan said, sheepishly. "I think he actually likes you. When he heard that stuff about your parents, I think he felt..."
"What?" Veronica interrupted. "What stuff?"
What now?