Fic: I'm Not One For Missed Adventures (So I Answered With A Smile)
Title: I'm Not One For Missed Adventures (So I Answered With A Smile)
Author: lit_chick08
Pairing: Veronica/Logan, mentions Veronica/Piz
Rating:PG-13
Spoilers: Everything through “The Bitch is Back”
Word Count: 1455
Disclaimer: They belong to Rob Thomas. I belong to Sallie Mae
Summary: Everything is easier to say when you don't have to see the person you're saying it to
A/N: 33flavored won me in an auction eons ago, and I just realized I never posted this because I'm a horrible person.
The first time his name comes up on the caller ID of her cell phone, Veronica hits ignore. She is spending the next three months in Virginia, as far as possible from Neptune, California, both physically and mentally, and she cannot handle whatever it is Logan wants to talk to her about right now.
He's probably just drunk anyway and her name is still first on his speed dial.
* * *
The second time his names comes up on the caller ID, Veronica waits three rings before silencing the ringer. She is sitting in a local restaurant with a few other interns, listening as they swap resumes, and she is so bored. As Ivy League Asshole and Triathlete Bimbo go toe-to-toe about qualifications, Veronica thinks longingly of Mac, Wallace, and even Weevil.
She does not think of Logan because that way lies badness.
* * *
The third time his name comes up on the caller ID, Veronica lets it ring until it goes to voicemail, allowing the entire chorus of the Bad Boys theme song play despite the dirty looks it earns her from her roommate. When her phone chimes to let her know he has left a message, she doesn't retrieve it for three days.
When she finally listens to the message, hears his familiar voice stumbling through what amounts to asking her if everything is going well, she vows not to call back.
* * *
The fourth time his name comes up on the caller ID, Veronica answers it before she can really give any consideration to it. There is a beat of silence after she says hello, almost as if Logan has come to expect her to ignore his calls. And then he is talking as he has always talked to her, making some kind of joke about her being a fed and asking what the FBI is like. The conversation is so banal, Veronica isn't sure what the hell is going on.
After she hangs up, she sees she has four unread text messages from Piz, all of which she doesn't read until the next morning.
* * *
Veronica has lost track of what call they are on, but, like clockwork, Logan calls every evening at eleven o'clock. She has to set her phone to vibrate because her roommate goes to sleep promptly at nine-thirty every night, has to whisper if she doesn't want to take the call out into the hallway, but she doesn't tell him not to call, doesn't tell him she and Piz are still technically dating, doesn't tell him anything other than whatever he asks.
“When do you come home?” he asks as she slips under her covers, moonlight filtering in through the slats of the blinds.
“Six more weeks.”
He is quiet for a long beat before confessing, “I miss you.”
They are the three deadliest words he ever uses; it cuts deeper than “I love you” because she never doubts that. Logan is selfish and self-destructive and damaged, but once you have his love, it never goes away; she remember when he could barely stand the sight of Lilly but he still loved her ferociously. But missing someone...consciously choosing to ache when you are apart from them...That is something else entirely.
“Logan...”
“You don't have to say it back,” he assures her in that tone she recognizes instantly, the one which says, ”You'll never love me as much as I love you and my self-esteem is so low, I can live with that.” Veronica hates that tone.
“I should go. I have an early meeting,” she lies.
She falls asleep thinking of Lilly, of Duncan, of Parker, of Piz, and all the possible ways this story could have ended if she wasn't Veronica Mars and he wasn't Logan Echolls.
* * *
When he doesn't call at his usual time two weeks later, Veronica wonders if these late night phone calls are over now. She tries not to feel the sting of rejection, forces herself not to think about the collection of ever-present bimbos which follow him around; instead she calls Piz, who babbles about some band he's going to see that he loves and Veronica thinks is pretentious. By the time she actually goes to bed, she not only feels bad; she feels worse because there's a good guy who wants nothing more than to be her guy and all she can think about is Logan Echolls.
The vibration of her phone against her nightstand wakes her; Veronica winces as the light of her phone seems as bright as the sun as she glimpses his name and the fact it is three in the morning. She wants to be angry, but middle of the night phone calls from Logan usually signify problems, so she answers, tendrils of fear filling her blood.
She hears the alcohol in his voice as he drawls, “Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?”
Veronica flinches at her forgetfulness. “Logan - “
“I waited for you to call, but you never did,” he rambles, genuine sadness in his tone. “I waited and I waited but I guess you only want to talk if I call first, so I'm calling.”
“I'm sorry,” Veronica begins.
“Do you remember what we did last summer for my birthday?” Logan interrupts, his voice roughening. “God, that was incredible.”
Veronica's face starts to heat in a mixture of embarrassment and arousal as the memory pushes its way to the front of her brain. She can practically feel the weight of Logan's body atop hers, the push and pull of their hips meeting as she tried to muffle her cries against his shoulder, embarrassed by how much she wanted him; Veronica can still hear his laughter as he encourages her to let go, that there is no reason to be ashamed of how much they love each other.
“You think we'll ever be like that again?”
“I don't know,” she admits.
Logan makes a noise, like a satisfied moan. “Better than a no.”
* * *
She breaks up with Piz two days later.
She swears Logan has nothing to do with it.
Veronica is a good enough liar to convince Piz but nowhere near good enough to trick herself.
* * *
“Is your dad picking you up from the airport?” Logan asks the day before she leaves Virginia.
“He's in Idaho looking for a jumper. Mac offered - “
“I'll do it.”
Veronica freezes in her packing, nervous anticipation twisting in her stomach. “You don't have to do that.”
“I want to.” Pausing for a moment, he adds, “Unless you don't want me to.”
It is her out and Veronica knows this; if she says she'd rather have Mac give her a ride home, Logan will not argue the point. But it will undo three months of telephonic progress, and Veronica is even less ready for that.
“Well...if it isn't going to be a huge inconvenience or anything, then, okay, I'll tell Mac not to worry about it.”
It is, perhaps, the least coherent sentence she has ever said in her entire life.
Either way, Logan promises to be at LAX at 7AM.
* * *
When she gets off the plane and makes her way to baggage claim, Veronica instantly sees Logan standing next to the luggage carousel in a chauffeur's hat bearing a sign which reads Agent Mars. Veronica smiles and then full-on laughs as he flips it to reveal: Ass, Gas, or Grass: Nobody Rides for Free!
Her father's reputation is still in tatters, charges are still hanging over his head because of what she did, and the mob is probably after Logan at this very moment for what he did at the end of the semester.
But Veronica does not think of any of that as she lets Logan wrap her up in a hug, sighing a greeting into her neck. She embraces him back just as tightly, whispering into his ear, “I missed you too.”
She'll worry about the rest of her life tomorrow.
Author: lit_chick08
Pairing: Veronica/Logan, mentions Veronica/Piz
Rating:PG-13
Spoilers: Everything through “The Bitch is Back”
Word Count: 1455
Disclaimer: They belong to Rob Thomas. I belong to Sallie Mae
Summary: Everything is easier to say when you don't have to see the person you're saying it to
A/N: 33flavored won me in an auction eons ago, and I just realized I never posted this because I'm a horrible person.
The first time his name comes up on the caller ID of her cell phone, Veronica hits ignore. She is spending the next three months in Virginia, as far as possible from Neptune, California, both physically and mentally, and she cannot handle whatever it is Logan wants to talk to her about right now.
He's probably just drunk anyway and her name is still first on his speed dial.
* * *
The second time his names comes up on the caller ID, Veronica waits three rings before silencing the ringer. She is sitting in a local restaurant with a few other interns, listening as they swap resumes, and she is so bored. As Ivy League Asshole and Triathlete Bimbo go toe-to-toe about qualifications, Veronica thinks longingly of Mac, Wallace, and even Weevil.
She does not think of Logan because that way lies badness.
* * *
The third time his name comes up on the caller ID, Veronica lets it ring until it goes to voicemail, allowing the entire chorus of the Bad Boys theme song play despite the dirty looks it earns her from her roommate. When her phone chimes to let her know he has left a message, she doesn't retrieve it for three days.
When she finally listens to the message, hears his familiar voice stumbling through what amounts to asking her if everything is going well, she vows not to call back.
* * *
The fourth time his name comes up on the caller ID, Veronica answers it before she can really give any consideration to it. There is a beat of silence after she says hello, almost as if Logan has come to expect her to ignore his calls. And then he is talking as he has always talked to her, making some kind of joke about her being a fed and asking what the FBI is like. The conversation is so banal, Veronica isn't sure what the hell is going on.
After she hangs up, she sees she has four unread text messages from Piz, all of which she doesn't read until the next morning.
* * *
Veronica has lost track of what call they are on, but, like clockwork, Logan calls every evening at eleven o'clock. She has to set her phone to vibrate because her roommate goes to sleep promptly at nine-thirty every night, has to whisper if she doesn't want to take the call out into the hallway, but she doesn't tell him not to call, doesn't tell him she and Piz are still technically dating, doesn't tell him anything other than whatever he asks.
“When do you come home?” he asks as she slips under her covers, moonlight filtering in through the slats of the blinds.
“Six more weeks.”
He is quiet for a long beat before confessing, “I miss you.”
They are the three deadliest words he ever uses; it cuts deeper than “I love you” because she never doubts that. Logan is selfish and self-destructive and damaged, but once you have his love, it never goes away; she remember when he could barely stand the sight of Lilly but he still loved her ferociously. But missing someone...consciously choosing to ache when you are apart from them...That is something else entirely.
“Logan...”
“You don't have to say it back,” he assures her in that tone she recognizes instantly, the one which says, ”You'll never love me as much as I love you and my self-esteem is so low, I can live with that.” Veronica hates that tone.
“I should go. I have an early meeting,” she lies.
She falls asleep thinking of Lilly, of Duncan, of Parker, of Piz, and all the possible ways this story could have ended if she wasn't Veronica Mars and he wasn't Logan Echolls.
* * *
When he doesn't call at his usual time two weeks later, Veronica wonders if these late night phone calls are over now. She tries not to feel the sting of rejection, forces herself not to think about the collection of ever-present bimbos which follow him around; instead she calls Piz, who babbles about some band he's going to see that he loves and Veronica thinks is pretentious. By the time she actually goes to bed, she not only feels bad; she feels worse because there's a good guy who wants nothing more than to be her guy and all she can think about is Logan Echolls.
The vibration of her phone against her nightstand wakes her; Veronica winces as the light of her phone seems as bright as the sun as she glimpses his name and the fact it is three in the morning. She wants to be angry, but middle of the night phone calls from Logan usually signify problems, so she answers, tendrils of fear filling her blood.
She hears the alcohol in his voice as he drawls, “Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?”
Veronica flinches at her forgetfulness. “Logan - “
“I waited for you to call, but you never did,” he rambles, genuine sadness in his tone. “I waited and I waited but I guess you only want to talk if I call first, so I'm calling.”
“I'm sorry,” Veronica begins.
“Do you remember what we did last summer for my birthday?” Logan interrupts, his voice roughening. “God, that was incredible.”
Veronica's face starts to heat in a mixture of embarrassment and arousal as the memory pushes its way to the front of her brain. She can practically feel the weight of Logan's body atop hers, the push and pull of their hips meeting as she tried to muffle her cries against his shoulder, embarrassed by how much she wanted him; Veronica can still hear his laughter as he encourages her to let go, that there is no reason to be ashamed of how much they love each other.
“You think we'll ever be like that again?”
“I don't know,” she admits.
Logan makes a noise, like a satisfied moan. “Better than a no.”
* * *
She breaks up with Piz two days later.
She swears Logan has nothing to do with it.
Veronica is a good enough liar to convince Piz but nowhere near good enough to trick herself.
* * *
“Is your dad picking you up from the airport?” Logan asks the day before she leaves Virginia.
“He's in Idaho looking for a jumper. Mac offered - “
“I'll do it.”
Veronica freezes in her packing, nervous anticipation twisting in her stomach. “You don't have to do that.”
“I want to.” Pausing for a moment, he adds, “Unless you don't want me to.”
It is her out and Veronica knows this; if she says she'd rather have Mac give her a ride home, Logan will not argue the point. But it will undo three months of telephonic progress, and Veronica is even less ready for that.
“Well...if it isn't going to be a huge inconvenience or anything, then, okay, I'll tell Mac not to worry about it.”
It is, perhaps, the least coherent sentence she has ever said in her entire life.
Either way, Logan promises to be at LAX at 7AM.
* * *
When she gets off the plane and makes her way to baggage claim, Veronica instantly sees Logan standing next to the luggage carousel in a chauffeur's hat bearing a sign which reads Agent Mars. Veronica smiles and then full-on laughs as he flips it to reveal: Ass, Gas, or Grass: Nobody Rides for Free!
Her father's reputation is still in tatters, charges are still hanging over his head because of what she did, and the mob is probably after Logan at this very moment for what he did at the end of the semester.
But Veronica does not think of any of that as she lets Logan wrap her up in a hug, sighing a greeting into her neck. She embraces him back just as tightly, whispering into his ear, “I missed you too.”
She'll worry about the rest of her life tomorrow.