Logan

I lead her through the streets in silence, hopping from dark corner to dark corner, block by block, her gloved hand in mine. On the streets with houses, it's easy—the night patrols only pass along every 30 minutes. Once we get to the commercial areas, we have to be a little more careful as there are more lights and fewer places to hide, so I quicken our pace. When we get so close to the beach that we can hear the soft sound of the surf, I press her against the side of a building, into the shadows. Our dark hoods are up and I press my body against hers, my nose brushing hers as I whisper instructions.

"We need to wait for the Security van to pass. It has a spotlight that scans the beach."

Eyes wide, she nods, her breathing ragged from the sprint we just did from the last dark corner. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close enough to feel her rapid heartbeat next to mine through the compressed loft of our jackets.

"Breaking the rules is kind of exciting, isn't it?" I wink and her cheeks grow redder.

"It kind of is."

I want to kiss her, but I know I'll get completely swept up in it and I have to have my wits about me. Instead, I adjust my grip under her arms and lift her off her feet in a giant hug, my face pressing to the softness of her hood-covered neck. For a second, I wish that we had been partnered sooner. I wish we had known. Maybe at sixteen or seventeen, when life was a little easier, and we could have done this together. All those nights I wandered these streets alone, lost, hiding from Aaron or running from Lilly. This time, I'm not going away from something. Instead, I'm running to a place. With Veronica by my side. And it's exhilarating.

Hearing the tires on the empty street, I set her down between me and the wall and raise my arm near her head to shield her eyes from the impending lights as we wait for the van. Sure enough, the van comes into our range and passes us, their bright spotlight shining across the wide road to the beach. The beam flashes across the sand and hits the water at the end, spreading light in every direction as it slowly drags along the shoreline. If they were to shine it the other way, towards the shops, we would be seen, but they're not looking for us. Truth be told, they're not looking for anything but teens, out for a night of partying. But everyone has packed up for the night, in time for curfew. When the punishment was a mandatory "Legal Statutes for Youth" class, it was surprising how many of us chose to just go home instead of risk dying of boredom in a Government education facility.

Shifting along the brick wall, I glance down the street to see the van disappear around the turn and I grab Veronica's hand.

"Come on. We gotta run."

Taking off across the middle of the street, we head for the sand, and veer left, backtracking slightly. It's hard to run in our sneakers in the sand and our heavy winter coats are not helping. I can hear Veronica huffing behind me and I pull her on. But then, in the darkness, I see it and she must too because she picks up the pace, and soon enough, we're at the old wooden Lifeguard station, scrambling up the ramp. The large white shack offers enough cover that the vans can't see us from the road, and I slip down, sitting on the deck, my back pressed to the walls, panting from exertion. Veronica drops down beside me and gasps, shivering as her warm body comes to a halt in the cool, crisp night air.

"We still have to be quiet, because our voices can carry," I say, pulling my duffle bag to my lap.

Unzipping it, I pull out a blanket and toss it to her. As she pulls the blanket over her legs, I grab the bottle of champagne, quickly unwrapping the foil and cage and shove them back in the bag. Leaning towards the spindles of the short deck, I angle the champagne bottle towards the water and twist the cork, letting it fly out of my hands towards the sand as a loud pop echoes in the darkness. The shaken champagne gushes over the edge into the sand and Veronica squeals next to me. I let the bubbles drain for a second before righting the bottle, making sure to keep some of it for us. Raising it to try and catch the light from the street behind us, I see that I've left about half of the bottle for us, which is good. We need to have our senses for the run back home later.

Wrapping my lips around the bottle, I take a swig, the bubbles rising in my nose and I release it, nearly spitting out the alcohol as I do. Veronica takes the bottle from me with a giggle.

"You okay?" she whispers.

I give her a thumbs up and swallow, chuckling and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "Yeah. Have some."

Her eyes sparkling with mischief, she raises the bottle to her lips and grins. "Just like our union night."

"That seems like a lifetime ago."

Removing my hood, I lean against the shack, pulling part of the blanket over my legs and sigh with contentment as she snuggles closer.

"It does," she murmurs and hands back the bottle.

For a time, we sit in the silence of the night, passing the bottle between us. The waves crash on the shore, just yards away, and I inhale the briny scent of the ocean, stretched out before us into the darkness.

"I can see why you would come here. It's so peaceful."

Exhaling slowly, I fix my eyes on the non-existent horizon, lost in the night. Above us, a galaxy of stars have opened and they dance for us through the atmosphere.

"I used to come out here and revel in how small I felt surrounded by the vastness of it all." Shifting slightly, I look up at the universe above me and warmth spreads through my heart. "There's something soothing about the thought that no matter what has happened in this world, there are still stars in the sky, the tide still comes in and out, the sun rises and sets. Sometimes, when my life seemed out of control, I would hide here and just reset myself. I don't know, but somehow, all the problems would just fall away, for a little while at least, and I would go home and just feel better in my soul."

Veronica's cold hand takes mine and I look down at her, smiling back at me. Her hair is disheveled from her hood and sweat from our run and her cheeks are bright pink from the champagne and I am wholly and completely in love.

"I'm glad you have this. It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with me."

I take the bottle from her and have another sip as she shuffles closer to me and I raise my arm, tucking her to my side and I feel her relax against me.

"One of the veterans I used to volunteer with was on the front lines, in the Eastern zone. Sargent Tyrell Douglas used to be with the old 'police', but he left when he was ordered to fire on a group of homeless people. Just went AWOL with a bunch of other men and women. He said when the war was over, he limped back to California to find it decimated. Not as bad off as the bomb zones, of course, but Los Angeles was still burning and the New Democracy was still trying to hold order. His wife had been taken by the old regime early on for her political activism, and his children were left with his mother. When he came back, his children were fine, but he found out his wife had been killed in a detention center."

"Oh my God…" Veronica murmurs, hugging me closer.

"He said that he had a crisis of faith, and wondered why he had even bothered to fight, because he had been fighting for her. And so he wandered through the streets and ended up at the ocean. He said it was a comfort to him that no matter what was happening in the world, that there were some absolutes in life that were good and pure. The waxing and waning moon. The push and pull of the tide. The planets and stars above us."

Resting her head on my shoulder, Veronica wraps her arms around my bicep and gives me a tight squeeze. "Did he move on? Did he find love again?"

"He didn't," I confess. "But that's because he didn't want it. He rejected the offer of an Orwell match because he said he still had the memory of finding love the 'old fashioned' way and he didn't want to lose that. He had the love of his children and his mother, and that was enough to sustain him."

Veronica scoots away from the wall, sitting closer to the edge so I can see her face. Frowning as she turns her attention on me. "So, he didn't think the outcomes after the war made things better?"

"He did. But he saw things very differently from me." Taking the final drink from the bottle, I set it aside to focus on Veronica, the alcohol now tickling my brain. "I once got into a debate with him about freedom. And I was a real asshole…I was mad about confessing to my doctor that Lilly and I were having sex and he forced me to do an STI test. Like, really, I was being a jerk." I shake my head and chuckle at the stupidity of the memory. "And so I complained to him about not having any freedom in this world and Tyrell just pointed his finger at me at me and said 'But are you oppressed, boy?'" I shake my head, pursing my lips. "And I, again like an idiot, say, why yes, I'm being oppressed. That's when he let me have it."

I start to laugh ironically at the memory of my own naivety. Veronica frowns as she listens, but stays quiet to my slightly drunken rant.

"Tyrell told me that before the war, people were murdered for speaking their minds. They died because they couldn't afford the medications they needed. People grinding their lives away in jobs to serve the wealthy while still unable to put food on their plates and a roof over their heads. Freedom was an illusion, handed to people back then in the form of goods and services. Sure, you could buy anything you wanted with enough money, but people were morally bankrupt, turning a blind eye to people dying, in trade for a summer home by the beach, or another car, or whatever it was that people believed they needed at that time."

Taking a sharp breath, I look up to the heavens and hope that Tyrell is shaking his crooked finger at me once more as I speak.

"He said that true freedom comes when we release ourselves from want for more than our neighbour has, when we want to work together, as a society, so everyone has the same advantages." I drop my eyes to Veronica again and smile. "Sure, we trade some choices for it, but in the end, we all end up better for it. And I guess, that's how I started to see things. Do I get to choose my career? No, but I've traded years of searching for it. Do I get to choose my house? No, but I get to fill it with the family and friends that I love." Reaching for her, I cup her cheek and her eyes flutter, a soft smile crossing her lips. "Do I get to choose my partner? No, but that doesn't mean that I haven't put in the same effort I would have spent finding you as I do committing to you and our lives together, each and every day. And frankly, right now, I would trade everything else I have, just to spend the rest of my life with you, Veronica, because you and our life we're building is still better than anything I ever imagined."

Tears appear on her lashes and when she blinks, they fall down her rosy cheeks. Leaning into my palm, her hand cups mine and she sighs.

"But do you think the world has changed, Logan? Do you truly believe the world has changed, or is your mother right? Has it all just been buried underground where it lurks, waiting for its time to come out and destroy everything?" She pauses, taking a shaky breath. "Because I have to tell you, I feel like in the last few months, every bit of my naivety has been stripped from me and it's as if I'm seeing the world for the first time, naked and barren. And it scares me, for not only your future and mine, but also for everyone else. The thought that everything that was fought against in the war still exists, but quieter, hiding, waiting for its moment to rise again."

I lean forward, feeling my jackass grin spread across my face as I get closer to her. "So then, Veronica, what are we going to do about it?"

She jerks her head back, incredulous, her eyes narrowing for a fight and it's exactly the reaction I'd hoped for.

"What do you mean by that?" she hisses.

"You know what I mean. You and I are eventually going to be two people who are able to help change the system from within. I know what I want to change—how I want to help this world. The question is, how are you going to use your knowledge and your power?"

Veronica pulls her shoulders square, crossing her arms across her chest and my belly flips at the sight of the fire alight in her eyes once more.

"I'm going to make sure the laws that put away people like Duncan are upheld so justice is served for those victims of violent offenders," she starts, wavering a bit and I know the alcohol must be getting to her. "I'm going to make sure the decisions I make see all sides and are just and fair. I'll uphold equality and push back against racists like Gory. I'll help to make things safer and better, not just for us but for everyone."

Leaning back, I stretch my legs out across the deck, cross my arms and smile. "I believe you will, Veronica. And everything we just went through, all of those experiences will help you with those decisions. Like your mom said, every generation leaves more of the baggage of the past behind, and we should learn from that, but we don't need to repeat it."

Arching her eyebrow at me, a coy smile spreads on her face. "You're pretty smart, Echolls. I'm glad you're with me in this, because I'd sure as hell hate to be against you."

Bending towards her, I grab her around the waist and pull her onto my lap as she lets out a sharp scream. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she muffles her laugh, but I quickly take her fingers away, replacing them with my lips pressing to hers. Her laugh morphs into a moan against my mouth. Wrapping her in my arms, I close my eyes, rocking us slightly when she opens her mouth and deepens our kiss. Heat sweeps across my skin and through my belly and I'm just so goddamn happy, out here on edge of the universe, that I could cry. As if sensing it, she clutches my cheeks, pulling away from my lips, glassy eyes connecting with mine.

"I love you, Logan. And right now, I don't care how it happened, by destiny or by machine. I love you and I'm so glad that we're together on this journey."

And I can't. I can't hold back my tears of happiness as they drop onto her fingers, still cradling my face.

"I love you, Veronica. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I will spend every day making sure I don't take you or your love for granted."

"I know, Logan." She places a soft kiss on my lips, punctuating her words. "I know."

With all the words said, Veronica lets her next kiss linger and my heart soars. Gently, sweeping our lips back and forth, nipping, playing, taking our time like we did when we started this path together. In my head, I know we should start heading back soon, but in my heart, I want to stay here with her until the warmth of the sun returns.

Veronica

The giddiness from the alcohol has worn off, but the endorphins from running towards home are still shaking my body when we arrive at the bottom of the porch steps. Fishing around in my pocket, I find my keys and hold them up, pressing my finger to my lips to keep Logan quiet and he nods. Together, we slowly creep up the old wooden steps and pause at the door. I gingerly insert the key into the lock and turn it with agonizing patience, flinching at the clicking sound of it opening. Turning the knob, I rise on my toes and gently push open the door, tip-toeing into the darkness. Logan follows close and closes the door behind us, taking the same time to lock it behind us as I took to open it.

We did it. We didn't get caught.

Logan catches me around my waist from behind and he pulls down my hood, nuzzling down past my jacket to kiss my neck and I giggle softly, trying to keep quiet. Spinning in his arms, my lips find his, cold and chapped from the cool night air and I close my eyes, sinking into the warmth of him. When I inhale, I catch the scent of the ocean and sand and….coffee?

"Ahem."

I jump back from Logan's arms and turn to see Dad, standing in the darkened doorway to the kitchen in his everyday uniform, a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Was wondering whether you kids would come back by choice or in a security van." He smirks and my cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

"How did you know?"

Arching his eyebrow, Dad raises his mug in toast to us before taking another slow sip and I want to roll my eyes at the detective-movie dramatics he's putting on.

"Well, I thought I heard the front door open and close, and low and behold, when I came downstairs, your shoes were missing and your keys were gone from the hook." He points past us to the key holder on the wall and I shake my head, chuckling at his powers of deduction. "So then, I took a chance and knocked on your bedroom door and was not surprised to find it unlocked and the bed empty."

"So you've been up waiting for us this whole time?"

"Lord, no," he laughs. "I went back to bed. But you've been gone so long, you get to see me off to work."

I unzip my jacket and walk over to him, placing a soft kiss on his cheek and he smiles. "You better run a check on your people doing street sweeps—they may be going soft."

When I retreat, toeing off my shoes on the mat, Dad laughs again and shakes his head. "I may have to send them for retraining. Thanks for throwing them a spot check."

"Anytime." Logan grins as he pulls off his shoes and my dad nearly spits out his coffee at the sheer jackass bravado.

Taking Logan's hand, I tug him towards the bedroom. "Stay safe, Dad. We're off to bed. Again."

"Sleep well!" Dad calls out as we retreat quickly through the living room and back to our sanctuary.

Giggling, I push the door open, and we stumble in, laughing. Logan stops and locks the door, tugging the knob to make sure it's secure. The sun is beginning to peek through the blinds, casting little tendrils of light through the gaps and I turn, keeping my focus on Logan. In the trailing laughter between us, he grins at me and I bite my lip, feeling a mischievous tickle in my belly. Pulling off my jacket, I toss it on the bed and arch my eyebrow at him. When my sweater and t-shirt follow, he licks his lips before doing the same, tossing his jacket and hoodie on top of mine.

I press my finger to my lips, conspiratorially, unable to keep the sly grin from my face. He mimics me as he crosses the room, stopping to tower over me. Dropping to my knees, I quickly undo the buckle of his pants, only the subtle sound of his zipper opening filling the room. We're getting undressed for bed. If anyone heard us, they would just assume that. No one would suspect what I'm about to do. What I need to do. Because right now, the fire inside me for him is a deep, deep craving to just be with him. To continue to celebrate the fact that we are together and alive and safe.

Pulling down his pants and underwear, I catch his cock in my mouth as soon as it's free and he gasps before his lips clamp together, trying to make no sound. Closing my eyes, I settle into a rhythm, bobbing up and down his shaft, heat pooling in my core. I usually listen for the little calls of pleasure when we do this to know what he's enjoying, but now, he strokes my hair as I move and I have to judge when to stop by the shaking of his thighs next to me.

Releasing him, I shimmy back on the carpet, pushing away discarded clothes to make a place for us on the floor. He pulls off the rest of his clothes as I wiggle out of mine, throwing them on the bed with the rest. When he drops to his knees, I spread my legs and his head immediately dives between my thighs, quickly finding my hard clit with his tongue. This time it's me who gasps into the stillness of the room and I cover my mouth with my hand, closing my eyes to focus on not making any noise.

Everything is so quick and fast and hot that I barely have time to enjoy the build up before I'm coming hard against his mouth and my body arches as I wordlessly exhale every pent up desire in my body, muscles pulsing and pushing waves of ecstasy through me. Kissing his way up my throbbing body, Logan's lips land on mine, still hungry for more and my hands grip his hair, keeping him in place, legs spreading wider to take him, deep inside me.

The secrecy, the silence, is erotic. There's no need for any sound. Our bodies just know, as we rock together on the floor, how to move, because at this moment, we are one. There's no beginning to us and no end. The world will continue to work in ways beyond our control, outside, but in here, there is our constant. Our personal absolute in this life. I love Logan and he loves me and it may change and shift with time, but in the present, we are still one.

His hands slide along the ground to cup my face and he retreats from my lips, holding my gaze as we continue to move. Brushing his nose against mine, he murmurs faint as a breath, his love for me, over and over. Tears spring to my eyes and I press my forehead to his, repeating his words as quietly as a prayer.

Logan keeps his focus on me, his eyes dark with the intensity of our passion, his body shaking, his thrusts erratic and I find myself unable to look away. His mouth opens and closes in silent gasps as we move, twisting as the same waves of pleasure washing over me sweep over him too. I know he's waiting for me and when sweat appears on his brow, my lips meet his and I close my eyes, focusing on our bodies, locked together. Focus on him reaching so deep inside me. Focus on the love surging through my heart and I come again, harder than last time, moaning into his mouth. As I pulse around him, he finally lets go, pulling away from my mouth as he comes deep inside me, biting his lip to keep from calling out.

I clasp his cheeks, sweeping my lips on his and he releases a low chuckle. "I think that's the quietest we've ever been," he whispers.

"True." I giggle softly. "But I think I may have rug burn on my back."

Cringing, he rolls to the floor beside me, gathering me in his arms and gently stroking up and down my spine.

"Sorry, but kind of not," he whispers in my ear.

"Completely worth it." Pulling my arms up between us, I curl into his body. "I can't wait until we're back home."

Kissing my forehead, Logan sighs. "Me too, Veronica. Me too."