Current mood:	lethargic
Entry tags:	vm fic

Fic: Find the Map and Draw a Straight Line
Title: Find the Map and Draw a Straight Line
Author: K
Pairing: Logan/Veronica
Word Count: 2258
Rating: PG-13
Summary: She wonders why it takes so much work just to keep their pseudo-relationship from crashing and burning.
Spoilers: Through the second season finale.
Warnings: Language.

Closure. She's said it so many times that it's no longer a word; it's two syllables smashed together by someone desperate for answers. Logan thinks "closure" is an excuse she's using to justify her "fucking insane" behavior - his words, of course - but Veronica knows that's not what she's doing. She may not know exactly why she's pulling into the graveyard and stepping out of the LeBaron, but she's positive she has to do this.

Logan point-blank refused come with her. Veronica thinks about the resulting argument as she heads toward the minuscule cluster of people around the closed casket. She knew they wouldn't last one week without falling into the time-honored pattern of biting sarcasm followed by hurled insults, so she isn't sure why her insides lurch when she remembers the fight. She wonders why it takes so much work just to keep their pseudo-relationship from crashing and burning.

Veronica reaches the group and stands unnoticed as she stares at the inscription on the simple grave marker for a full minute before a voice startles her.

"You're here?" Dick asks incredulously, staring at Veronica with a look of mingled confusion and sadness. The confusion is familiar, but the sadness? That's new, she thinks, squirming uncomfortably until Dick shrugs, muttering, "Whatever," as he turns back to his mother, who doesn't even glance at Veronica.

"Hey." The tone is restrained and unfamiliar, and when Veronica sees Mac right next to her, she feels her throat constrict painfully. Two things are immediately apparent to Veronica: There are no colorful highlights in her hair, and she clearly hasn't had a full night's sleep in days.

"Hi, Mac," she answers, looking back toward her car as she suddenly wishes she could be anywhere but at the funeral of a mass-murdering rapist. Closure is highly overrated. "I'm sorry," she mutters. She briefly touches Mac's arm, glances at Dick, and heads for her car without looking back.

***

When she sees the yellow Xterra parked outside her apartment, she can't stifle her sigh of frustration.

"What are you doing here?" she tiredly asks as she reaches her door and sees Logan leaning against the adjacent wall.

"How was it?" he asks, ignoring her question entirely.

"I'm here, aren't I?" she mutters, unlocking the door. She leaves it open after she enters and hears it close shortly after.

"I was thinking we'd go somewhere," Logan states, following her into her bedroom. Veronica drops her bag onto the bed and turns to face him, crossing her arms in the process.

"As crazy as this may sound, I'm not in the mood for a date right now," she says, fake gasp and all.

"I don't remember saying it was a date." He smiles tightly and gestures toward her closet, adding, "I was thinking it'd be more like a trip."

Veronica snorts and she shakes her head once, saying, "Are you joking? Because now? Now's not a good time for jokes." He says nothing, just stands and stares plaintively. "A trip, Logan?"

"You missed your last opportunity for one," he states. She sighs and remembers her father's I promise I'll make it up to you.

"Where would we go?"

She doesn't miss the small grin that briefly flickers across Logan's face before he says, "Anywhere but here."

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in some coming-of-age movie?" she deadpans. His eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles, and Veronica feels her lips twitch upward in response.

He steps closer to her and surprises her as he kisses her, saying, "Let's just get out of Neptune." Veronica absolutely hates how he can make her forget they were fighting mere hours before, but she nods anyway and moves to her closet, grabbing a bag as she goes.

***

They pass the sign informing them of their departure from Neptune and head south, presumably prompting Logan to say, "Did Duncan go down to Mexico?" Veronica whips her head around so quickly she hears her neck crack.

"How would I know?" she asks, her voice steady considering how off-kilter she suddenly feels. Logan lets out a short burst of laughter but keeps his eyes on the highway.

"I was under the impression that you'd tell me about Duncan's run from the law now that we're - you know?" He stops speaking and glances at her quickly, like even he's unsure of what they are.

"Logan," she begins slowly, "I didn't help him escape." When Veronica had planned Duncan's bid for freedom, she'd never really considered the possibility of her and Logan reuniting, and the twisted knot her insides are forming is both sickening and surprising.

"Why do you insist on lying to me, of all people?" Logan barks, and it's as though a switch went off and he's gone from curious to royally pissed in five seconds flat. "I was his best friend, and I haven't heard a single word from him in months. Not even a simple 'Hey, Logan, just letting you know I'm fine and not holed up in a Mexican prison!'"

"I don't know what to say," Veronica says truthfully, although she isn't sure if she means I don't know how to lie to you or I don't know how to tell you about the plan I orchestrated to avoid even the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

His knuckles gripping the steering wheel are rapidly turning white. "I understood before, when we weren't even talking to each other, but now?" he trails off, and he's asking for trouble when he focuses on Veronica instead of where he's driving.

"Pay attention to the-"

"Is it because you love him?" Logan interjects, and Veronica has to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the melodramatic situation they've found themselves in.

"No," she answers honestly.

"Then what-"

"What we did - what I did - was so illegal it's not even funny," she mutters quietly. She doesn't meet his eyes as she continues, "Telling anyone is a horrible idea, but..." Veronica gives a half-hearted shrug and turns up the air conditioning when she realizes her shirt is stuck to her back. "He went to Mexico initially, but I don't know where he ended up after that." What Veronica doesn't say is that she hates herself for cracking, for telling Logan, for even thinking of telling Logan when she couldn't even confess to her own father. She finally glances up and sees his mouth slightly open in shock, as if he didn't really believe she was responsible, which, whatever, Logan. She knows he knew, and maybe it was buried underneath a mountain of denial, but he knew.

"Have you heard from him since?" he manages, and Veronica's relieved to note the disappearance of anger from his voice.

"No," she says, and she can't keep the tiny sigh of sadness from escaping. She tenses, expecting Round Two of the Logan Inquisition, but he says nothing for the next five minutes.

"And then there were two, huh," he finally states, mouth twisted into a half-smirk, half-grimace that's all too familiar. Veronica has no idea what to say to that, so she says nothing as she rests her hand on his leg and stares out the window.

***

"Seems awfully cliché to stop at some middle-of-nowhere diner for greasy burgers, doesn't it?" Veronica asks, idly picking at the mountain of fries in the basket between them.

"Let me know if you see The Ivy anywhere around here," he shrugs, slapping her hand away from a particularly large fry. "Besides, it's a road trip. I'm pretty sure the rundown diner is an obligatory stop."

"Ah," she nods, "so what would our next stop be if we're following the Rules of Road Trips Guidebook?"

"Hmm," he pauses in mock-thought. "Well, our car might break down in the middle of the desert, which would fulfill the Wacky Hijinks category. Then we'd be forced to shack up in a disgusting, semi-frightening motel with a static television and dirty sheets."

"However could I have resisted this trip?" Veronica gasps. Logan grins, and Veronica marvels at their ability to go from argument to banter in less than ten minutes. A part of her thinks there's something wrong with that, but then the other part of her tells it to shut the hell up and have fun.

Veronica isn't sure she's truly just enjoyed life since before Lilly died. She's had fun, yeah, with Wallace and Logan and Duncan, but there's always been a murder to solve, love triangle to deal with, or bus crash to piece together. Normal could never be the watchword in Neptune. It only took her a year to figure the Normal Plan wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Veronica!" Logan's voice snaps her out of her reverie. "Earth-"

"Make an 'Earth to Mars' joke and I'll break you," she warns. She downs the last of her Coke and adds, "Ready?" Logan tosses a fry into his mouth and stands, nodding. He brings the check to the counter and pays as Veronica heads for the sure-to-be stifling hot car.

"Let me start it before we get in," Logan says as he exits the diner. Veronica leans against the door and stares at the dusty stretch of highway ahead, pondering the chances of the car actually breaking down. She hears the engine rumble to life and the slam of Logan's door closing before he comes around to her side of the car and kisses her soundly. His lips are dry against hers and the sweat is pooling at her hairline but she doesn't think she's ever been more relaxed. It's a nice feeling, she admits, attributing it to their distance from all things Neptune-related.

***

They end up staying in a dingy motel just off the highway. At least Logan's car didn't break down, Veronica thinks as she gingerly examines the bed sheets. "What do you think the thread count is here?" she asks, and Logan laughs from across the tiny room, where he's searching for the television remote.

"Middle-of-Nowhere's finest, I'm sure," he says, his voice slightly muffed by his hunched over position. "Why would they hide the remote from their guests?"

"It's probably the only entertainment they have out here," she replies simply. She deems the bed to be clean enough and flops onto her back, staring at the cracked ceiling. "This place screams horror movie."

"Hah!" comes Logan's triumphant shout. He stands, twirls the remote, and grins, "Be thankful it's not a dark, stormy night. Then we'd be in serious trouble." Veronica silently agrees, and sits up when she hears the blare of the television. "See? No static. This place is golden."

Logan joins her on the bed and soon finds a Will and Grace rerun. Veronica scoots back until she's leaning against the headboard and he follows. She rests her head on his shoulder and soon feels her eyes drooping, her last conscious thought being something along the lines of how Logan's gestures are startlingly reminiscent of some of Jack's.

***

Veronica wakes, unsure of where she is until she spots Logan camped out on the sofa near the bed. She sits up and searches for a clock, finding one atop the television screen proclaiming the time to be a blinking 88:88 AM/PM. Wonderful. She slides off the bed and fumbles for her bag, finally procuring her phone. 04:42.

"What's happening?" Veronica jumps, nearly dropping her phone as she spins and finds herself face-to-face with Logan.

"God," she breathes. "Way to scare the life out of me." Veronica supposes he's too tired to respond, although the only light in the room is emanating from her tiny phone so she can't be sure. Logan runs a hand through his hair before he takes her Sidekick and scoffs at the time. He turns and flips the switch on the bedside lamp and the room is bathed in a dull orange glow. "Why were you on the couch?" she asks, placing her phone on the nightstand.

"Guess I didn't want to impose," he answers, and the lack of any sarcastic, innuendo-filled remark surprises Veronica. And maybe it's just because it's too early for him to think properly, but she desperately wants to believe it's because things are different now. Better. Semi-normal, even. So she kisses him, catching Logan off-guard, as evidenced by his startled, "What are you-" that she cuts short with another kiss. Veronica pushes him onto the bed and climbs into his lap, staring at him briefly before leaning in once again.

When she moves to tug off her shirt, Logan grabs her wrists, raising his eyebrows. All she does is smile slightly, just a small twitch of her lips, and he grins in return, sliding his hands to her hips.

***

They don't make it out of the motel room until four in the afternoon, when starvation is imminent and they discover there's no minibar.

"So, Mexico?" Logan asks, pinning her against the car and kissing her neck.

"Sure," Veronica replies, closing her eyes against the blinding sunlight. Logan pulls away and opens the door. Veronica turns and waves to the Serial Killer Motel once before she climbs into the passenger seat, taking care not to touch the hot metal buckle of the seatbelt. Logan circles around to his side and hops in, starting the engine as he closes the door.

Veronica thought the graveyard would bring her closure. As it turns out, all the closure she needs can be found in a yellow Xterra and an open road.


Thanks to anyone who read this! Feedback would be brilliant.