Author's Note: Oh Man, Thank you everyone so much for your support, reading, and reviewing! We're so glad that you guys are liking the story! We love writing it and thinking up new things to incorporate so it means a lot that you guys love it so much! So we thank you! One thing you have to know for this chapter is that we don't know when Logan's bday is. I think it's sometimes around February/March, so let's assume that. I just wanted you guys to know since there is a reference to Logan's bday in this chapter. We're glad you guys liked the apron! I looked up weird aprons online and there actually is a gladiator one. We're also glad you liked the couple reference and how of course others can see LoVe. It's totally obvious. Also we're glad you liked Dick and the cooking experience that would make a great comedy. It was a fun chapter to write, so we thank you! Please let us know what you think of this one!
Thank you to: Hansengirl, LVfangirl(x3!), Dani, Scandalpants, irislim, The Scarlet Letter, Czomom, AliLorien, tigerlady1981, LovePJandBrucasLover, AngelPete87, nuttynitnat83, irma66, Kerali, Jandjsalmon, cantarams, Lunky, Guest, BeWitchingRedhead36, & wolfe8!
Enjoy!
Chapter 5: I just want you for my own
The snow was falling more heavily as Logan and Veronica drove back toward the cabin. Veronica smiled as she looked out the window, feeling lighter than she had in ages. It was as if her apology to Logan had lifted an enormous weight off her shoulders. The previous night she had tossed and turned, her words to him eating away at her. Now that she had made things right again her mind was slightly clearer and she felt better. She wished she hadn't waited so long.
Suddenly Logan slammed on the breaks and they skidded several feet before he made a sharp turn. She crashed into the passenger side door and let out a loud hiss of pain.
"Sorry," he said, quickly taking another sharp turn and pulling into a parking lot.
"What the hell, Logan! That hurt!" she exclaimed, rubbing her shoulder.
"I'm sorry! I just wanted to get in here before they close," Logan said hurriedly as he parked and shut off the car. He jumped out before she could question him further.
She followed behind him, confused. When she saw where they were she let out a loud laugh.
"K-Mart, Logan? Do you even know what a K-Mart is?" she asked as she hurried to catch up with him.
"K-Mart? Of course! I've got a Foreman Grill on layaway." he mocked, glancing behind to make sure she was keeping up with his long strides. "Three payments left!"
She trotted to keep up with him as they made their way through the nearly empty store. She watched in amusement as he gathered a bunch of Christmas lights and looked around for some other things they could decorate the house with. It was Christmas Even so the pickings were slim.
"What about mistletoe?" she joked, playing with the little plants near the garden section.
Logan raised an eyebrow at her. "You're really taking this matchmaking thing to heart aren't you, Emma Woodhouse," he said, making her laugh.
"Did you just reference Jane Austen to me?" she asked, smiling as he blushed and looked away.
"Would you have preferred a Fiddler on the Roof reference?" he asked, grabbing a few plants and tossing them into the basket.
"No. I'd much prefer to be Cher from Clueless. But to answer your question…it's not a trick to get Mac and Dick together. It's just…festive," she said. She wasn't about to admit that Mac and Dick were the furthest thing from her mind when it came to mistletoe.
"Festive, right. I still think you're trying to get Mac and Dick together," he said as they made their way to check out.
"If you hadn't noticed, Oh Observant One, I haven't been trying to get them together. I think it'll happen all on it's own," she said triumphantly.
"Doubtful. Dick is many things, but intuitive is not one of them. Nor is subtlety. If Mac likes him she'll have to actually tell him."
Veronica shrugged as he paid for the decorations. "Whatever you say," she said as they made their way back to the car.
"So…should we say something?" Mac asked, breaking the silence. Everyone had taken their seat around the wooden table. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace and a home cooked meal was on the table and it looked delicious.
Veronica and Logan had returned to the cabin to find that Dick has surprised them all by having a tree delivered. She and Logan had decorated it with lights they had purchased. They didn't have any ornaments, but no one seemed to mind. Mistletoe hung in some of the doorways and Mac made a mental note to avoid it.
"What should we say?" Veronica asked eyeing the food on the table. She was starving after an emotionally charged day. At this point she basically would do just about anything in order to eat the meal in front of her. It looked amazing even though it was Dick who cooked it.
"Thanks for the meal, Dick and Mac," Logan said, already reaching out to shovel some mashed potatoes on his plate.
"Hold on, hold on! I want to say something," Dick said, putting his hands up and waving them in the air.
Everyone sighed and looked over at him. He cleared his throat and stood up. He lifted his wine glass up and looked around the table.
"Thank you everyone for making this a one of a kind, Christmas. This year was rough but we made it through, so let us say 'fuck yes' to the fact that we are all still young and hot. Also that our livers haven't failed from too much partying because if you can't party what is the point of living, man," Dick said before downing his glass of wine.
The three others stared at him and then Mac raised her glass and gave Dick a smile.
"Here! Here!" she said before drinking from her glass. Her mind was on Cassidy and how this was Dick's first Christmas without him. She knew there was more to Dick than this frivolity, but she was proud that he was keeping himself together.
Logan glanced over at Veronica before downing his own glass of wine. It had been a rough year but he was glad for the umpteenth time today that he'd invited Veronica here with for Christmas. He was amazed that she was still in his life despite the fact that they weren't together anymore.
"Let's dig in, dudes. Mac and I worked extra hard on this," Dick said gleefully.
The foursome dug into the meal. All were happy to discover that it tasted as good as it looked.
"This is actually pretty good," Veronica said as she ate the ham. She had been a little worried after the scene in the kitchen this morning.
"It was all me," Dick said proudly and then smiled sheepishly at the glare Mac gave him.
"And Mac. She helped. I'm glad that she knows how to cook meat even if she won't eat it." he added.
Dinner was mostly a quiet affair with only the occasional 'pass this' and 'hand me that' thrown around.
Once they were all finished eating they settled onto the comfy couch in the living room in front of the fire with their gifts. They all traded their gifts until everyone had a little pile of their own.
"Should we take turns?" Veronica asked not knowing how to proceed. Usually she had to wait until Christmas morning to open gifts, but since were making their own traditions she wasn't sure what to do. She wondered if they'd come back next year to keep the tradition going - just the four of them. She shook her head and tuned her thoughts back to the present. She had to remind herself that once they got back to Hearst they'd probably all go their separate ways.
"That's not a bad idea," Mac agreed, but they continued to stare at each other.
"Ok so…who wants to go first?" Logan asked, looking at the other three participants.
"Whose birthday is next?" Veronica asked, knowing full well it was Logan's.
"Logan you're up," Dick said, chugging some beer.
Logan nodded and opened the gift with the shiny blue wrapping paper. He knew it was from Mac because it said 'From: Mac' in big Sharpie.
"Wow," Logan said as he opened the gift. It was the latest video game. He thanked Mac and then Dick opened his present from Mac, which was a series of passwords for various video games. Veronica was the next to go and she followed Logan and Dick's lead and opened her present from Mac. It was a book on spy gadgets and a few toys for Backup.
The gift giving continued in that manner, each of them taking turns. Apart from the videogame passwords, Dick was very excited to get a surfboard from Logan, which was waiting for him back in Neptune, and an IOU from Veronica. Mac had gotten some computer gadgets from Dick and a shared spa day from Logan for her and Veronica. Veronica got her some vegetarian cookbooks and a Girls Night out coupon to do anything sometime soon. Veronica was excited at the prospect of sharing a spa day with Mac. She also received a pair of earrings from Logan. Dick got her a book about criminology. Logan, in addition to the videogame, got some Absinthe from Dick and a scrapbook from Veronica. He stared at the scrapbook instantly recognized the white frilly cover. It was from their undercover mission at the Sunset Regent when looking for his mother.
He looked at her with astonishment.
"A Scrapbook, Ronnie? No wonder you guys broke up. Should've given him lingerie," Dick said callously.
Mac elbowed him in the ribs and Dick shrugged not seeing the big deal.
"It was a prop," Veronica said uncomfortably. "I mean when I was cleaning my room I found it and…I don't know I just…I had the idea when we were still together. And your house did burn down – I don't know how many mementos you have," she said awkwardly. She couldn't tell whether he loved it or hated it. He continued to stare at her and then finally he looked down and began to flip through it. It was like moving back in time. There was a picture of them when they were twelve. A picture of the Fab Four. There were ticket stubs from movies they'd all gone to see together. It was a literal time line of all of their years together. The book ended with a picture Mac had taken of Veronica and Logan a few days before the discovery of the campus rapist.
"If you don't like it I can get you something else," Veronica said quietly. She had always made her presents in the past when it came to the Fab Four. Since they were all so rich she'd always had trouble getting them anything so she'd relied making things herself. She didn't make Mac's or Dick's present because Mac couldn't buy everything and Dick wasn't her best friend, not like Logan. After the difficult past year she thought he deserved something like this…something sentimental. Until this very minute she had thought the idea was a good one. Seeing the closed off expression on his face made her want to grab the gift and throw it in the fireplace.
"I love it, Sugarpuss," he said with a wink, tightening his hold on the book so she couldn't take it back.
She gave him a sheepish smile and then Dick broke the silence by announcing they should watch a Christmas movie. Dick scanned the movie titles before he found Christmas in Connecticut and popped it into the DVD player. He settled back onto the couch beside Mac and tugged some of the covers off of her so he could have some too. She cast him a frown before sighing heavily and relenting.
"What are we watching?" Veronica asked as she came back into the living room with a bowl of popcorn in her hand.
"Christmas in Connecticut. It's a classic and it's hilarious," Dick said.
"What's it about?" she asked as she sat down in between Logan and Dick. Dick took a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth before taking another gulp of beer and propping his feet up on the coffee table.
"Christmas, duh," he said pressing play.
Veronica rolled her eyes and passed the bowl around to Logan and Mac. Despite the fact that movie was pretty entertaining Veronica felt herself fighting to stay awake. It wasn't long before she fell asleep cuddled against Logan.
"Are you going to wake her up, dude?" Dick asked regarding Logan's awkward position with Veronica curled up beside him.
Logan shrugged not taking his eyes from the movie. "She's tired," he said.
"But aren't you uncomfortable? She's like pressed into your side," he said, setting his empty beer on the coffee table.
"It's not a big deal, Dick. What, are you feeling jealous?" he asked, moving his arm to put it on the back of the couch so Veronica could nestle even closer to him.
"Of cuddling with your ex? No thanks. She's scary," he said standing up and making his way to the kitchen to get another beer.
"Dick, make more popcorn," Mac yelled, but he didn't acknowledge her as he walked away. She huffed, grabbed the empty popcorn bowl and followed him into the kitchen.
"Did you need something, Ghostworld?" Dick asked, grabbing a beer out of the fridge.
"I asked you to make more popcorn," she snapped as she grabbed a bag and popped it into the microwave.
"All part of the plan," Dick said with a wink.
Mac frowned and looked towards the living room where the back of Logan's head was visible. She smiled; catching him looking down at Veronica with what she thought was a loving gaze.
"I may have to give you credit in matchmaking, Dick," she mumbled, turning away from the scene and moving closer to the microwave.
"Should I take that as a compliment?" he asked, smirking as he opened his beer.
"Don't let it go to your head," she said, taking the popcorn out of the microwave when it was ready.
He chuckled as he turned to make his way back to the movie. Mac emptied the remains of the popcorn into the bowl and turned to leave the kitchen. She heard Dick say something, but she wasn't paying attention. As she walked out of the kitchen she bumped into something and looked up, surprised to see Dick.
"I asked you to grab Logan a beer," he said, looking down at her.
"What am I? You're maid?" Mac glared.
Dick smirked, "No she's Brazilian."
Mac opened her mouth to respond when she noticed something hanging in the doorway above her. She slowly looked up and felt her jaw drop open slightly. She looked at Dick and saw him looking at the mistletoe she'd just seen. Their eyes met, both of them suddenly feeling nervous.
"Right so…" she said clearing her throat uncomfortably.
"Yeah."
They continued to stare at each other until Mac finally moved forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. It lasted for a few seconds before they pulled apart and continued to gaze at each other. Except this time the look they shared was different. Dick's expression was one of shock and amazement and Mac felt like her whole world had just gone up in flames. She felt off balance and surprised at her own boldness. She licked her lips subconsciously, imagining she could still taste Dick there.
"Thanks," she said finally. She moved past him and returned to her spot on the couch. She saw Logan glance curiously over at her, but she ignored him. She sat ramrod straight on the couch until the end of the movie. Dick sat just as stiffly beside her. Neither of them said anything for the rest of the movie. Once it was over, Mac and Dick hurried off to their separate rooms as Logan put Veronica to bed.
The foursome spent Christmas day relaxing around the house, watching movies and being lazy. Outwardly, Dick and Mac seemed to be calm and collected, but on the inside Mac was still reeling from their kiss. She wanted to tell Veronica everything, but at the same time she didn't want to make a big deal of a mistletoe kiss. It was just a silly Christmas tradition. Mac struggled to remind herself that Dick would never kiss her willingly. Dick appeared unaffected by the events of the previous evening so she would be too. Or at least she would pretend to be.
The group ate leftovers when they were hungry and watched bad movies until it was dark. They found themselves looking for a new form of entertainment and Dick suggested a game of Never Have I Ever.
"We aren't playing that," Veronica protested, thinking about the last time she'd played it during Homecoming Sophomore year.
"Yeah, man, let's play something else," Logan said.
Dick shook his head. "Like what? You haven't come up with anything better. Are you two too chicken to play?" he mocked, making chicken noises.
Mac stifled a laugh at his impression.
"No we just…" Logan trailed off as he looked over to see Veronica's hardened face.
"Why don't we play truth or dare or something?" Veronica suggested.
"Fine. I'm up for that," Dick said with a nod.
Logan glanced over at Veronica who looked almost sorry she had offered up the suggestion.
"I mean—" Veronica began.
"Let's all have a drink," Dick said, passing everyone a glass and pouring a shot of whiskey in it.
"Do we have anything else?" Veronica asked sniffing the shot.
"Don't smell it, Ronnie. If you smell it you won't drink it," Dick advised as he handed her a coke.
"For a chaser," he added at her questioning look and finished pouring the shots.
"So how do we play Truth or Dare with alcohol?" Mac asked, confused.
"Let's just play Never Have I Ever," Dick said going back to his original idea.
"Fine!" Logan and Veronica said in unison.
"Alright! I wanna go first," Dick said excitedly. "Never have I ever slept with a married woman," Dick said, proudly shooting Logan a look.
Logan scowled. "Screw you, Dick," he said, downing his shot.
"Mac you're up," he said, giving her a genuine smile.
She nodded, trying to hold back the blush threatening to overtake her face. "Alright um…never have I ever had sex," she said almost as proudly as Dick.
Dick almost spit out his shot in shock. "Seriously? My brother never—" he cut himself off and the room went quiet.
Logan and Veronica took their shots silently and then Veronica spoke up. "Never have I ever had sex with a woman," she said, earning glares from Logan and Dick. She smiled, happy that she'd broken the tension.
"Never have I ever kissed a boy," Logan said smugly.
Veronica and Mac rolled their eyes and did a shot.
"Never have I ever been in love," Dick said smirking.
Logan took the shot quickly as if it would help dull the pain. Veronica, on the other hand, hesitated before taking her shot. She refused to look anyone in the face, least of all Logan. It wasn't that she was unsure that she was in love with Logan. There was no doubt in her mind that she had been and still was desperately in love with him. When it came to Logan, Veronica couldn't stop her feelings of reckless abandon. He always left her feeling unsure of herself and completely out of control. If there was one thing she always had to have it was control. Logan had the power to make her vulnerable, which meant he held all the power. He was her weakness.
Once Veronica took her shot everyone turned to Mac who was staring down at the amber liquid.
"Never have I ever almost been shot," Mac said finally.
Veronica and Logan both took a shot.
"Never have I ever set up a scheme to take 09ers money," Veronica said, smirking.
Mac laughed and took a shot. Logan and Dick shared a look of confusion.
"What scheme?" Dick asked.
"Purity test," Mac said, chuckling.
Dick's jaw dropped open. "That was you?" he asked. He was astonished.
Mac nodded.
"Never have I ever slept with Madison," Logan said, smirking at a scowling Dick.
"Never have I ever been the daughter of a Sheriff," Dick said smugly.
Veronica rolled her eyes and took a shot.
"Never have I ever been arrested," Mac said, making everyone take a shot.
"Never have I ever had a sibling," Veronica said. Everyone else took a shot.
"Never have I ever broken anyone's heart," Logan said, looking around the table. Veronica stared at him before she downed the shot and slid one to Logan.
"What's this?" Logan asked, smirking at her. By this point they were all a bit more than tipsy.
"Your shot," she said, gazing at him.
He frowned, "I just said never have I ever broken anyone's heart. I don't need a shot," he said as he pushed it back to her.
She rolled her eyes and scooted it back towards him. "Yes, you do," she said. She boldly looked directly into his eyes, feeling the effects of the evening's dose of liquid courage. He nearly gasped at the unguarded expression he saw in her depths before lifting the shot to his lips and taking it.
It was quiet for a moment before Dick continued their game.
"Never have I ever been part of the Fab Four," he said, watching as Logan and Veronica took a shot.
"Never have I ever made fake IDs," Mac said. She smiled when Veronica took another one.
Veronica frowned, trying to think of a good 'I never' statement. Her mind was fuzzy now and she couldn't process anything. She forgot how much she hated drinking.
"Never have I ever…hm…God, I don't know," she said, sitting back drunkenly and thinking. "Never have I ever tried to use someone else to distract myself from my true feelings," she said and then heavily sighed before she took the shot on the table. Everyone stared at her with varying degrees of confusion.
"Oops. Guess that's not a never," she said, giggling at her own drunkenness.
Logan blinked and turned away. "I think we're done here," he said, taking the shot that was poured out from him.
"No way, man. We still have half a bottle left," Dick whined.
"Yeah! Come on Logan…it's just getting fun," Veronica slurred, pouting at him.
Logan sighed and sat back down. "Fine. Never have I ever killed anyone."
Dick frowned, "Well no one's done that here, dude. Ok! My turn! Never have I ever done it in a bathroom," he said, smirking.
Veronica giggled from her spot on the couch. "This one time—" she began, but Logan covered her mouth quickly before she could get any further.
"Mac your turn," Logan said, nodding at Mac.
Mac smirked, "Never have I ever made out with my worst enemy."
Logan groaned and took a shot before passing one to Veronica who was grinning sloppily.
"Alright! Never have I ever wanted to bone Dick," Veronica slurred.
Logan laughed loudly, "Did you just say bone?" he asked.
Veronica rolled her eyes and looked over at Mac who was a lovely shade of red. Slowly Mac sighed, picked the shot up and downed it quickly. A smile formed on Dick's face and he looked down at his own shot with hidden glee.
"Never have I ever had good sex with Duncan," Logan said. He looked over to see that Veronica was scowling but noted that she didn't take her shot.
"Never have I ever been hung up on Veronica Mars," Dick said, smirking as Logan begrudgingly took his shot.
"Never have I ever wanted to have sex with Logan," Mac said, staring Veronica down.
Veronica rolled her eyes and took her shot. "My turn…" Veronica mumbled looking at the bottle in thought. "Never have I ever drowned my sorrows in a bottle," she said, looking up just in time for Dick and Logan to take their shot.
"Never have I ever run away from my true feelings," Logan said, looking at Veronica. She sighed and took another shot before leaning against the side of the couch. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate at this point.
"Never have I ever passed out at a party," Dick said. Veronica winced noticeably and took her shot. Logan glared at Dick for having brought up Shelly's party.
"Never have I ever done drugs," Mac said, watching all three of them take a shot.
"Never have I ever liked this game," Veronica said, suddenly standing up and walking away from the table and her companions. They all watched her leave the table before Logan got up and followed after her to make sure she was ok. Dick and Mac exchanged looks before they finished their shots and returned to the couch. They managed to sit through another movie but both were too distracted by the other's proximity to pay much attention to it.
Logan followed Veronica upstairs waited a full minute before he knocked lightly on her door.
"What?" she asked as he came into the room.
He gave her a brief grin before coming to sit beside her on the bed. She was sprawled out on her side, staring at her open computer.
"What did you mean when you pushed that shot towards me?" he asked vaguely.
"What?" she slurred, wishing the room would stop spinning.
"When I said 'Never have I ever broken anyone's heart' you told me to take the shot," he clarified.
She sighed, opened her eyes and stared up at him. She had no idea what to say.
"Was it about Hannah?" he asked, wishing she'd say something.
"No. It wasn't Hannah," she whispered, putting a hand to her head and rolling onto her back.
"Then whose heart did I break?" he asked, desperate for her to confirm what he already felt in his heart. He just needed to hear her say the words.
"Logan…why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?" She gave him a sad smile and turned onto her other side. "Merry Christmas," she said quietly, hoping he would take the hint and leave.
"Veronica, please. I think you owe me this much," he asked, touching her shoulder. He wasn't ready to leave her yet.
She remained silent for what felt like an eternity. Assuming that she had fallen asleep, Logan pulled a blanket up around her shoulders and turned to leave. Her soft voice broke the silence just before he reached her bedroom door.
"Mine. You broke my heart," she whispered.
(A/n: So? What'd you think? Please review!)