Chapter Text
It had been one year. One year, three weeks, two days, and fifteen hours to be precise. Logan knew this because on the plane back to Neptune, he had calculated it in his head. The exact time since he had last seen Veronica in person, the day he and Lilly had driven her to The Hills Rehabilitation Centre in L.A. As he hugged her one last time, in the intake office just before she was whisked away, he promised he would always be there for her, and he was, as much as she wanted him to be. When she got out sixty-days later, she phoned him from the car as Lilly drove them back to Neptune and explained that she understood why they needed to be separated – for now – and instead took his help in the form of weekly phone calls, daily texts, and the occasional email when he was sent overseas. Knowing Veronica had Lilly and Catherine for support made it only slightly easier, but he was glad she had come to this conclusion, to give them a good foundation for when the time was right for both.
Her divorce from Duncan was easy – she promised not to press marital-rape charges against him, and drag the entire divorce into the public eye, and he signed the papers saying what was hers, was hers, and what was his, was his. She gave him everything – the houses, the art, the cars – in favour of a cash settlement so she could live debt free and buy a new vehicle that she said, “didn’t reek like his cheap cologne.” A part of Logan wanted Veronica to take Duncan for every cent, but when she explained that she didn’t want to open her life to that kind of media scrutiny and instead opted to take the quick and dirty way out, the son of two actors understood completely. Proving once more what a smart lawyer she was, Veronica took the upper hand and in the end, Duncan got exactly what was coming to him - all the riches and status he ever wanted, but remained utterly alone, having lost not only Veronica, but his own sister and his best friend thanks to his actions.
The clinic set her up with a good therapist who she saw once a week, to deal with the emotional roots of her alcoholism and to come to terms with Duncan’s abuse, and she was diligent in attending AA meetings every night. She had enough savings so that, when combined with her settlement, she was able to quit the job she hated and continue to live with Lilly and Catherine, choosing instead to volunteer for the past year with the ACLU and various organizations that helped immigrant families coming up across the border. She often told Logan during their marathon conversations how something in her work was healing her soul, and she felt like Keith would be proud of what she was doing with her life.
Then, last week, when he said he had a month off to burn some of his holiday time, she casually suggested that he come for a visit. Lilly and Catherine had more than enough room in their home and they would be happy to see him. That she would be happy to see him.
When his plane finally landed in Neptune, Logan was vibrating inside from spending hours thinking about what could be. Walking through the arrivals gate, he immediately spied Lilly and Veronica, arms wrapped around each other’s waists, both grinning wildly at him. Veronica looked better than he had ever seen her – her face round and rosy, the curves of her body returned under her tight jeans, black tank top, and knee-high leather boots. As he stepped up to them, Lilly laughed.
“You didn’t wear your uniform! I was all ready with my ‘Officer and a Gentleman’ quotes this time!”
Glancing down at his khakis and navy-blue shirt, Logan shrugged. “I could turn around and get it…”
“Don’t you dare!” Lilly sprang from Veronica’s grasp and threw her arms around him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Welcome home, Logan.”
Pausing to let Lilly step back, Logan nodded to Veronica, allowing her to choose how she wanted to greet him. To his heart’s delight, she quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his chest. Letting go of the handle of his suitcase, he wrapped both arms around her as well, squeezing her tightly.
“It’s so good to see you,” she murmured.
Pressing his cheek to her head, he breathed in the subtle scent of her vanilla and floral perfume. “It’s good to see you too.”
Releasing him, Veronica stepped back, her hand dropping to his and grasping it tightly. Glancing down at their connection, a wide smile spread across his lips and he looked up to see her smiling back, shyly, as if still unsure if what she was doing was okay.
He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently, watching her eyes light up with delight. She looked again like the girl he fell in love with all those years ago, the stress of the last few years fading with time and care. Coming around beside him, Veronica wrapped her arm around his, her head resting for a second on his bicep. He grabbed the handle of his suitcase and nodded to Lilly as she smiled back at them.
“If you guys are done being adorable, we need to get going – Catherine is making homemade lasagna for dinner and we need to get home while it’s still burn-your-tongue hot. That’s when it’s the best!”
Glancing down at Veronica, Logan flexed his bicep and her head rose from its spot, looking up at him, the wide smile still on her lips.
“Are you ready, Veronica?”
“Always,” she sighed.
--------------------------------------------------
By 2 a.m. Logan and Veronica had outlasted Lilly and Catherine, who said good night hours before. But the two stayed up talking by the fireplace, laughing and catching up as they drank sparkling water and nibbled on left-over chocolates from dessert.
“No, I mean It. Intelligence work is sometimes really boring. Like, a few days ago, I spent twelve hours listening to a conversation between these two men who we suspect are setting up domestic terrorism clusters around the States and the most I got out of it was they both had serious feelings about who the latest ‘Bachelor’ should have chosen.”
Veronica snorted, covering her mouth as she laughed to make sure the Perrier water didn’t come out her nose.
“Sounds thrilling. But I thought you weren’t supposed to tell me about your job or you’d have to kill me?”
“Bah.” Logan swept his hand in the air dramatically, adjusting his hand to cradle his head as he sprawled further across the fluffy white-fur rug. “Two nitwits talking about television isn’t anything. Now if I told you their names and which State they were in, we may have a problem.”
“Oh well, lucky me.”
Veronica laughed, placing her glass on the coffee table and stretching across the rug too, mimicking Logan’s lounging, her body inches away from his.
It had been like this all evening – the easy company kept between them as if no time had passed at all. During dinner, she reached under the table for his hand several times and he gladly obliged the small gesture of intimacy. After, as they retired to the living room, Lilly and Catherine cuddled up together in a giant round lounge chair, while Logan and Veronica took the red velvet couch. Instead of choosing to sit on one side, she sat down next to Logan, her hand draping on his knee while his arm stretched across her shoulders.
For the first time in his life, Logan could honestly say he felt content. Throughout the evening as they all talked and laughed, it felt as if this was how it was always meant to be – easy and warm. All the difficult conversations had been done by phone and now, they were left to bask in the light of what was their present.
She yawned, breaking his train of thought and she rubbed her eyes, smiling in that soft, doughy way. “This has been nice.”
“It has.”
In the silence, only the soft click of the gas fireplace was heard as the flames illuminated them both. Dropping her gaze, Veronica blushed, her teeth catching her bottom lip momentarily before her eyes returned to his.
“But I think it’s time for bed.”
“It is. You must be tired.”
Veronica blinked rapidly; a coy smile played on her lips. “No. I’m not.”
“Oh.”
For a second, Logan was dumbfounded by her innuendo – a side of her he hadn’t seen in many years. There had been funny flirtations between them when they were teens and it was only in the past year that he realized those weren’t just for fun, that she meant every nuance of it.
Shimmying closer to him, Veronica raised her head, the tip of her nose brushing his. “A year ago, you said to me that I was a strong, intelligent woman, who was more than capable of what needed to be done to get my life back on track. Well, now, a year later, I have. But something is still missing from it.”
The corner of Logan’s mouth twitched up into a sly smile and he slid his fingers along her cheek, tucking a section of hair behind her ear.
“And what’s that?”
“You,” she whispered, leaning closer to brush her lips across his.
The first pass of her lips was hesitant, as if seeking his permission, and he closed his eyes, relishing the tingling that ran through his core and spread through every inch of his body. When she realized he wasn’t pushing her away, she let her kiss linger just a bit longer, a low hum rising in the back of her throat. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her body against his and she opened her mouth in a gasp, allowing him the opportunity to sweep his tongue across the edge of her lips. Her fingers threaded through his hair, and he moaned in response to the gentle tug as she tightened her grip on him.
They made love slowly that night, taking time to savour every caress, every taste, every scent of each other’s bodies in a way Logan had never experienced before. Whenever he imagined what it would be like to make love to Veronica, it was still with the eyes of a teenager. Never could he have known what it was like to make love to the confident woman, directing him on all the ways her body needed to be pleasured. His head nestled between her thighs, making her cum for the second time, he had the faintest thought that if he were to die at this moment, his life would be worth it. But when she pushed him onto his back and mounted him, the warmth of the fire making her pale skin glow, he wished he could live a long life with Veronica in his bed every night. When he finally came in a blinding flash of white light, as he opened his eyes to see her grinning mischievously down at him, he couldn’t help but laugh at the great joy that filled his heart.
She was unabashed at falling asleep naked on the fur rug, curled up next to him, the fire warming them against the cool air and the next time Logan opened his eyes, it was Lilly smiling down at him; the coolness of the blanket she spread over his naked body sending a shiver down his skin.
“Thought you two may need this,” Lilly whispered, playfully wrinkling her nose at him.
“Thanks, Lilly,” he replied quietly. Veronica shifted in his arms next to him under the covers but didn’t wake up.
Pulling her red silk Kimono around herself, Lilly leaned over and kissed Logan on the forehead, her hand pressing on his bare chest.
“It should have been this way all along, Lo. I’m just glad I could do something about it now, before it was too late.”
Giving Veronica a gentle squeeze, he turned his head to plant a soft kiss on her forehead and she sighed in her sleep.
“Me too, Lilly. Me too.”