The subtle spring breeze whistles through the nearby woods. She breathes in slowly. Even the scent of the stable can't ruin the aroma of fresh flowers. A horse neighs, and she moves a hand gently down its mane.

Because, of course, he chose a horse ranch.

Heart thumping, she conditions herself to breathe deeply, drawing strength from the induced calm. Her mind wanders to her latest chapter.

Her fingers shook visibly as they hovered over the keypad. It was now or never.
Eyes closed, she pressed the 'call' button and waited for three horrifying rings. The ringing stopped - but no voice came.
"Hello?" she ventured, her fingers curling tightly between Logan's. "Hello?"
"Hey," her mother's voice came through, raspy and hoarse. "Who is this?"
She breathed deep. Logan pulled her closer by the shoulder. "It's me, Mom. And I need to know why you left."

For five painful seconds, the line remained silent. A bottle crashed in the background. She was just about to end the call.
"I'm sorry." The older woman's words felt harsh - almost insulting. "I had to go to keep you safe."
"Safe?"
"I've made mistakes, darling, and I - I can't let you pay for them."
"And it's nothing that Dad or I have done that's driven you away."
"No - no, never."
"But why don't you come back?!"
"Because I can't!" The sobbing continued for another ten seconds. "It won't ever be the same again."

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she re-opened they, they were completely dry. "Okay, Mom. Take care."
She hung up without a goodbye.

"You okay?" Logan's voice matched the warmth of his arm around her.
She nodded softly against his chest. Who could really define 'okay' anymore?
"I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't be."
"But I asked you to call her."
"But it's not your fault that reality sucks."
He pulled back to look at her. She turned up to face him. "Logan, listen. No matter what the result was going to be - I'm happy with this, with now, with you."
He opened his mouth to speak before she cut him off. "That's all that matters, okay?"
He nodded with a sad, sincere smile and folded her into his arms.

Did she really just write that last night? Even the thought of a calm, collected Amber does nothing to help her nerves.

She scoffs at her own predicament. Veronica Mars, private eye - who could be more immune to the anticipation of discovery than she? But some way, somehow, today's trepidation manages to reach an entirely new level. She blinks. Because, after all, there is nothing more scary than the truth itself - nothing better, nothing worse. And if she's excited - which she is - she's also equal parts nervous and scared.

Hands still smoothing the pony's mane, she looks down and kicks a pebble. The pony neighs. She sighs again. What if -

Then she hears footsteps - not too far behind her.

She listens.

The movements shift closer, soft thuds on soil turned to steps on rustling hay.

She closes her eyes momentarily - this is it.

She holds her breath.

"Hey, Amber."

He greets her softly from the back, giving her one last chance to duck. Her chest constricts as her eyesight rapidly blurs. To the very last moment, he does exactly what he should. He's letting her run - if she has to.

But she won't run.

Because she doesn't need to turn around to recognize his voice. She'd never not recognize that soft baritone.

But even as she turns - excruciatingly slowly - she can't escape the lilt in her own voice, no matter how fast the tears are washing down her cheeks. She heaves every single word. "Logan Bradley Echolls."

The moment her eyes land on his face and his eyes link with hers, the moment virtual synergy is sealed into the fabric of reality, the emotions she has buried, denied, avoided, suppressed, and resolutely spurned overwhelm her like a drowning wave. He walks over, concerned, and she fights to stay coherent. But by the time his fingers gently support her by the elbows, she's long since stopped fighting her sobs.

She clings on to his arms to stay upright. He looks down at her tenderly. "Veronica - "

"I was scared - " The tears pointedly refuse to stop. They fall on her nose, her chin, her shirt.

"Sh, it's okay," he hushes her, hands rubbing her shoulders benevolently. "It's okay. I - "

She presses her thumb against his lips. He stops. She has to finish; he has to let her finish this.

"I was scared it wouldn't be you."

The world falls silent as his eyes water, the weight of her words crashing around them in symphonic euphoria.

"I was scared it wouldn't - "

He doesn't let her finish as he grabs her flush against himself and - finally - kisses her to the depths of her soul. Her eyes close instantly while her arms pull him closer, months' and years' worth of affection coursing through her veins. His hands shift fractionally with every kiss, and soon he's touched every nerve on her waist and back. She gladly lets him wander, as her own fingers fist in his hair and her body tightens at every sensation they share.

The kisses don't stop until, breathless, he holds her close like a prized possession, his nose buried in her neck. And she - eyes starry and legs limp - dangles off his neck for dear life.

"Here you go. Rocky Road and Chunky Monkey."

From her bench, she looks up at the double ice cream cone with a smile - and an even bigger smile for the face behind it.

"Thanks." She grabs it from him, subconsciously smirking at the lip gloss on his face, fairly confident it's from the third make-out session they've just ended. "You didn't actually have to grab me ice cream, you know."

"Well, you know me." Logan plops down beside her with a cone of his own. "Boy with the ice cream cone? Gotta keep my promises."

She smiles before he gives her a sweet, soft peck on the lips. They eat their cones in comfortable silence, only occasionally smearing whatever remains of her make-up with creamy kisses.

"Regrets?" He asks softly when he finishes his single cone.

She shakes her head softly, stealing blissful glances at her - oh goodness, boyfriend.

Logan Echolls is her boyfriend. She is now the reigning first lady whom all fangirls will wrathfully detest.

And she is surprisingly okay with that.

She smiles. "How about you? You regret anything?"

"Right - I totally regret finally getting to kiss senseless the one girl that I've always wanted since I was twelve years old." His eyes sparkle at his own sarcasm. She laughs. But then he ducks his head behind her ear, sending shivers down her spine, and whispers. "But I wouldn't change a single thing."

Her smile grows even wider against her certainly blushing skin. This simply cannot do. She reverts to feigned nonchalance. "You know, I'm surprised you even like me at all after my online portrayal of you."

Logan merely shrugs with a smile. "Well, there wasn't anything you wrote that made me worse than I actually was."

"Oh really?" She's amused.

"Yeah," he shifts a little shyly. "I mean, jackass and all - I'm still glad you wrote that stupid thing."

"You do." She's openly laughing now.

"Yup." He pulls her closer to his side and smiles. "At least it helped me know that you found me - redeemable."

She wants to answer something snappy; but instead, she just smiles. She finds him more than just 'redeemable,' really. But he's cocky enough without that admission.

"How about you? Are you glad you started writing?"

The question catches her off guard, and she furrows her brow. He looks at her encouragingly.

Is she happy she started writing?

"It's not a pageant final question, Veronica."

She smiles and gives him a kiss.

"Yeah," she speaks tentatively, but not unhappily. "I mean, I guess sometimes - you need your subconsciousness to tell you something your mind wouldn't otherwise believe - you know?"

And if the long, languid kisses he shifts to give her are any indication, he wholeheartedly agreed.

"So how long have you known?" She asks conversationally. Hand in hand, they fall in step with the horses' natural rhythm as they lead their rides back towards the stable.

"Known what?"

"That Marshmallows was me?"

"Not gonna touch that." His head flies back with a laugh.

She glares at him with playful disapproval.

"What? There's no right answer. I say too early, I'm a stalker; too late, I'm an idiot. It's a no-win situation for me."

"But you didn't know from the start, right?"

"Define 'start'?"

She stops walking. "No way!"

Logan shrugs, lips curled up mischievously. "No way what? No way you'd fall in love with a faceless stranger only to realize it's the person you've always dreamt would be your soulmate all along?"

She laughs, spare hand on hip. "Dramatic much?"

"You ask like you don't know me, love."

"Love? Really?"

"Honey? Sweetheart? Sugarpuss?" He leans closer with every suggestion.

"Ugh, you make me sound so - sweet."

"Like Marshmallows?"

She can't help smirking back at him. "I'll have you know, I can be pretty spunky and tough at the core - despite the creamy white exterior."

"Ah, that's my girl - always full of surprises."

"Says the guy who pulled one over me."

"Says the girl who let a case turn into a novel."

What did he just say? "You knew I had a case?"

"Well, either that or you've had serious repressed feelings for me since childhood." He grinned. "I figured assuming the first scenario would less likely cause a certain pretty blonde to slap me in the face."

"Ah, just like Amber did."

"Yes, just like Amber did. Although, if I may say so, she's been using her name quite sparsely recently."

She feels a sudden warmth to her face as the truth of his observation dawns on her. Guess her subconsciousness has been more busy than she'd thought. "So?"

"So maybe - that story could have been more personal than I had hoped?"

"You hope too much, Logan," she can't help saying.

"I know." He reaches out and hooks her to him by the waist. "But sometimes, it pays off to hope."

And if she's ever had any doubts that the young man before her and her online companion were two different people, they dissipate permanently.

"Look at you." She beams up, utterly at ease and happy. "Putting Nick Sparks to shame."

His returning smile says more than any emoticon ever could.

"New city, new school, new chapter, new life!" Logan huffed dramatically as he literally twirled around the empty apartment they would be calling their own. She laughed. Only he could make girly gestures manly. "And milady and I will shack up here happily ever after."

"You believe in that?" She couldn't help smiling - seriously, the place was gorgeous and spacious, particularly for San Francisco. "Happily ever after?"
"You don't?" He bounced like a kid in front of her.
"I dunno - maybe?"
"Ah, and the skeptic re-emerges."
"What?" She protested. "It's not my fault that 86% of high school couples break up at college."
"Right, but when does my girl ever let statistics scare her?" He grinned down at her.
She smiled back.

"Come on, let's go. I got some pretty good ideas how we'll be decorating this nest." He grabbed her by the hand on the way to the door.
"Logan, wait!" She laughed as she fought to keep up the pace at which he's barreling down the stairs. "I - are you sure of this?"
He turned around to face her, their height level. "When have I ever been unsure about anything involving you?"
And if she'd loved him before, she loved him even more right then.
Impulsively, she grabbed him by the collar and smooched him soundly. "Alright, let's do this."
And they barrelled down the stairs together.

The past may suck, the future uncertain - but either way, it's nice to know they're never doing this alone.

And shifting in her oversized Stanford hoodie, she clicks 'status complete.'

She doubles down on her pillow. There's something bittersweet about ending a story so close to her heart. But registration starts tomorrow; and if there's ever a time most suited for moving on, this is it.

"Awww...It's so nice to see them happy together. They deserve it after all this time. All the best to the two of them!" - Macalicious
"So precious and sweet! They bring oud the best in each other. love it! Never stop writing!" - PerfectPrincess
"Will there be a sequel? Please, please? *begging on knees with eyes closed* Love this story forever" - miathermopolis

Veronica smiles. There's something soothing about holding the fate of her characters - and the impassioned responses of her readers - right in the palm of her hands. Dear Lord, she's getting drunk on power. Thank God she's quitting - for now.

She looks at the latest notification.

"She better believe in happily ever after. That guy loves her to death." - V3nd3tta

She simultaneously rolls her eyes and laughs. She calls behind her without turning. "Seriously, Lo?"

She's rewarded by the warmth of his large hands encircling her torso underneath her clothes, his fingertips grazing the edge of her bra. She shivers and snuggles back against him, his stubbled chin tickling her neck.

"What?" He whispers innocently. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't support your writing endeavors?"

"Hm." She taps her lip in a faux thinking pose. "A not creepy one?"

He presses a deep kiss against her neck, eliciting a corresponding moan. "I was thinking more on the lines of negligent. A way to a girl's heart is through her subconsciousness."

"Sure, make it about me," she mumbles, openly enjoying the sensation of his teeth nibbling down her shoulder. "I'm not the one who started reading fanfiction of myself."

That gets him laughing against her skin. "Hey, no judging. Like you've never Googled yourself."

"Yeah, like that's the same," she retaliates absent-mindedly as she writhes around to kiss and straddle him. He obligingly leans back down on their bed until she's comfortably on top.

"But, you know, I do have one little problem with your story." He braces his arms behind his head, knowing full well the venom of this pose in combination with his naked torso. She quirks an eyebrow. "All that emotion - so passionate. But three years of dating, and they still haven't gotten to second base?"

She laughs while she slips off her hoodie, leaving only her lacy black undergarments to match with his boxers. She leans down and kisses him soundly on the lips. "Well, I can get a little jealous, you know? With Amber, only kissing allowed."

She repositions herself until their bodies are aligned just right. Logan groans approvingly. "But with Veronica? You gotta do much, much more, mister."

And he heartily complies.

A/N: My heartfelt thanks to the most amazing readers ever. Thank you for sticking with me through the thick and thin of this very unusual story. Every single word in your encouraging reviews has made my life so much brighter. You totally rock. Thank you! :) And if you're new to this story and just finished it, please let me hear your thoughts too. I do hope you liked it! :)