Title: Mutual
Author: Brendan/brencon
Pairings/Characters: Logan/Veronica, ensemble, VD, Logan/Lilly
Word Count: 2,087
Rating: PG-13, so far.
Summary: What if Logan and Veronica got together before everything went to hell?
Spoilers: Set pre-series, but will include some season one stuff soon
Warnings: Minor cussing
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars belongs to Rob Thomas and the nice people at the CW
Authors Note: Thanks to LoVeGrl for the beta, italics represent Veronica's thoughts and/or voiceovers. Shout out to Nikita, who inspired a certain section of this chapter. You guys rock!

The pair were walking through the living room to the kitchen. There was a strong smell of melted cheese that was making Veronica quicken her pace towards the scent as Logan pushed open the door for her.

Inside, Mrs. Navarro was just preparing the meal, four plates where situated on the counter in the centre of the room. Upon hearing the door open, she looked up from the pot the food was in.

"Mr. Echolls, your father told me to prepare an extra plate just in case. He said Miss Veronica might be staying for dinner."

Veronica smiled at Mrs. Navarro and took a deep breathe.

I really love food. I'm just glad I have a fast metabolism; otherwise I'd be the size of a blimp!

"That's just… great. Thanks Mrs. Navarro." Logan said, leading Veronica to the dining room. In comparison to the dining room at her own home, it was enormous. But it was less… inviting. From three sides, the family pool could be seen, lit by lights below the water.

Mr. and Mrs. Echolls were already at the table, each sipping away at their drinks; Mr Echolls was reading a newspaper.

Neither Aaron nor Lynn looked up when the door opened.

Lynn only dared to look up at her son when she heard the scraping of the legs of the chairs against the floor, as he pulled out Veronica's chair for her. She smiled at him and Veronica as they both took their seats.

A few moments later Mrs. Navarro brought the dinner in and placed it before everyone. She then said goodbye to Mrs. Echolls, saying she'd be back at nine o' clock the next morning.

Veronica felt out of place. Unlike family dinners at her own home, the Echolls' did not talk much during much their meals. They didn't talk at all. It was too quiet. She was used to her father telling her about his day or her mother asking how her day at school was.

Veronica was the first to finish her meal. It being lasagne, there wasn't much surprise to Logan or herself.

She sat quietly at the table, waiting for Logan to finish, looking at all the trophies and awards that covered the walls and shelves within the room. Proudly placed at the centre of the mantle above the fireplace were Mr. Echolls two Oscars.

Aaron caught where she was looking and smirked.

"Those are my pride and joy." Aaron stated, getting to his feet. He moved to the mantle place and lifted both trophies in his hands and smiled in her direction.

Veronica shivered in response.

There's just something about him that makes me feel ill.

Lynn finished her drink, and then her meal, excused herself, and moved to the kitchen. In the distance, ice cubes could be heard hitting a glass tumbler. Aaron was talking about his "performance of a life time" that he won his second Oscar for.

Logan wolfed down the last of his dinner to save Veronica from his father. With the final bite, he finished the lasagne, lifted his and Veronica's plates, grabbed Veronica's arm and lied through his teeth to Aaron to escape any more interesting gossip from the set of his last movie.

He dumped the plates in the dishwasher, reached for a glass from a shelf and filled it with OJ. He drank it all in three gulps and put it in the washer too.

"Wanna go back up to my room?"

Veronica nodded her answer to him and raced him to his room. Logan won and landed overdramatically onto his bed. Veronica closed the door after herself, thinking.

Sometimes I feel jealous of Logan. His parents are famous movie stars who can buy him anything that he wants. But mostly I feel sorry for him. His parents may be rich and famous, but they don't actually care about him. His real family are his friends.

Me? I have a have a dad that would stop the world for me if he could and a mother who treats me as if I were the centre of the universe… at least she did.

"Earth to Mars." Logan called out, trying to wake Veronica from her daze. His hands were behind his head, giving him a better view of Veronica.

He got off the bed and moved towards her. Taking both her hands in his, he leaned his forehead against hers and kissed her on the edge of her mouth.

Veronica smiled shyly as he pulled back.

"Where'd you go?"

"Just thinking."

Veronica gave him a quick, sweet kiss and sighed, looking up at him.

"Logan, we need to talk."

"Colour me confused. I thought we were."

"We need to talk about us… and what exactly we're going to be doing about Duncan and Lilly."

Logan dropped her hands from his and sat on the edge of his bed. He tapped the spot beside himself.

Veronica dropped herself down beside him. Logan took her right hand in his again, interlocking their fingers in the process.

"What do you think we should do?" He asked, all joking put aside for the matter at hand.

"Obviously we have to break up with them. But I don't want you to lose your best friend."

"And I don't want you to lose Lilly."

Logan was looking at their entwined fingers when Veronica looked at him.

"I know that Logan, but I don't think we have much to worry about from Lilly. I think… I hope she'll be okay with the idea of 'us'. It's Duncan that I'm most worried about."

Logan leaned back on the bed and sighed.

"I know. I mean, he is my best friend. On the one hand, I don't wanna hurt him. But on the other hand, I don't want to give up a chance of ever being with you."

"Ditto." Veronica replied, smiling as she poked him in the stomach.

Where his well formed six pack is… not the time to thinking of that Veronica!

"So, when do you plan to break up with him?" Logan asked, pushing himself back up in a sitting position.

"As soon as I can. I doubt he'll be too broken up about it… he's been so distant this past week. I think he'll be glad that I gave him a way out."

Logan began drawing circles in the back of Veronica's right hand. "So, tomorrow?" He replied, looking her in the eye with a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Actually, yeah."

Logan was well practiced on keeping his emotions in check on the outside, but on the inside he was cheering with extreme delight.

"I was just kidding." He mumbled, a hint of a laughter playing in his voice.

"I want to be with you, Logan. As soon as possible."

Logan threw his hands around Veronica's neck and dragged her lips up to his in an embracing kiss.

It was as passionate a kiss as their previous ones, but Logan held innocence in the kiss, so as to not lose control of himself against Veronica's lips again.

He was already fighting a battle... and he was losing.

Logan pulled Veronica onto his lap and dragged his tongue across the seam of her mouth. She invitingly opened her mouth to him and let him in, before using her tongue to caress his.

Their hands were reaching out, grasping at any piece of clothing, skin, to feel closer to the other.

After ten minutes, Logan's hands were, again, tangled in Veronica's long blonde hair. Veronica's hands, however, were moving with a life of their own and had travelled under the front of his t-shirt.

Logan fell back onto his bed, drawing Veronica down with him, on top of him.

Veronica pulled back, laughing, her hands still below his shirt.

The twinkle in her eye made Logan's heart swell. He put it there. Soon enough he was pulling her flush against his body, his hardness pushing into her stomach, as his lips found her pulse point.

She was gasping his name. Her eyes rolled up as he nipped at her ear lobe. She forced his mouth to hers and forced her tongue inside Logan's mouth.

When they came apart for a second time, it was of Veronica's own doing. She was in need of some air.

Needing oxygen, stat! Damn, and I repeat, damn! That boy can kiss!

Veronica searched for and found the alarm clock on his bedside table. She still had another hour before her father came to collect her.

"We completely forgot about taking a dip in that fabulously heated pool of yours."

Logan smirked. "Yeah, well, we kinda got distracted."

"Really? By what?" Veronica asked, rolling off his body to lie beside him on the bed.

"Actually, you made me get distracted. With your Promises and your lips."

Veronica sat straight up. "I did not!" She replied, her voice higher than it was before.

"Did too."

Veronica sighed, but kept a smile on her face to show she was kidding when she replied, "Fine, play your little games, I don't care."

Logan waggled his eye brows and moved his hips in a certain way that showed off the bulge in his jeans.

"I may be playing games, but they are in no way little."

Veronica blushed at the alternate meaning behind his words and started laughing.

"First you insult me, now you're laughing at me? This day keeps getting better and better!" Logan snarked, throwing an arm over his eyes. When Veronica didn't stop laughing, Logan grabbed her by her sides and rolled her back on top of himself.

"I think the only way," Logan started, leaning towards her face, " for you to stop laughing at me," He pressed a quick, desire-filled kiss to her lips, " is to do this!"

Expecting Logan to start kissing her again, Veronica threw her arms his neck. When she felt his hands begin to move up and down her sides, she realised she was mistaken.

"Remember that conversation we had earlier in the Xterra?"

"Don't you mean Big Bird?"

"Yeah, that conversation. Well, I think it's time to prove my point."

And with that, Logan started tickling her sides, making her laugh because of his actions, not at him.

"Lo-Logan, stop!" Veronica laughed, failing to push his hands away. "I won't laugh at you again, if you just stop tickling me."

"I'll only stop if you admit that you are ticklish."

"Fine."

Logan dropped his hands to either side of her body as she regained her breathe before making her announcement.

"I, Veronica Mars, am in no-way ticklish." She said, jumping off his body and running out of his room.

For a few moments, Logan was slow on the uptake, but once he realised what had just happened, he gave chase. He followed the sound of her laughing down the stairs and into the living area.

"C'mon, Ronnie, give up. You know I'll find you. I got mad detective skills."

"Nope. I'm not coming out unless you promise not to tickle me." She called out from her hiding space.

Logan smirked.

"Fine, I promise, now get your ass out here."

As she crawled out from her hiding space, underneath one of the large couches in the room, the doorbell chimed. Logan ignored it and raced to her. He lifted her into the air and dropped himself and Veronica onto the couch, both of them laughing heartily.

That twinkle was in Veronica's eyes again. Logan couldn't help himself and once again he found himself tasting her strawberry lip gloss.

The sound of squeaking trainers and the cuff of leather shoe on tiled flooring could be heard, but neither teen could draw themselves away from each other.

"Logan, honey, Duncan's here to see y… oh my!" Lynn gasped, catching Logan and his friend kissing. Knowing that Veronica and Duncan were love's young dream, Lynn turned to the other teen who had followed her into the room.

The expression was unreadable to Lynn for a few seconds, before it changed to one she knew all too well.

Rage.

All Logan could do was push Veronica away from himself before Duncan came at him, arms swinging.

Duncan's first few punches connected with Logan's face and right shoulder.

Lynn ran to her husband, screaming at him to help.

All Veronica could do was stand still, as if a statue, her hand to her open mouth, as tears began to stream down her face.

Oh God, what have we done?