DISCLAIMER: Characters of Veronica Mars, any recognizable dialogue, and the canon events of their storyline belong to Rob Thomas.

Chapter 12

In the haze between sleeping and waking, I felt her get up out of bed. I expected her to return after using the bathroom, but she didn't. Pulling on boxers before I went to look for her, I found her in the living room. She was wearing my tshirt, sitting on the couch – her body turned and leaning over the back of the couch, looking out the window.

She didn't seem to hear me walking toward her, but she didn't flinch when I sat down on the cushion next to her, leaning my chest into her back.

"Good morning," I whispered.

Although she didn't reply, she did settle back into my chest and welcomed my arms around her. Still, her quietness concerned me. I turned her body so I could look at her face.

"Wow." I always thought the phrase 'takes my breath away' was an exaggeration, but right now it was completely accurate.

"What?" she asked.

"You're glowing."

She rolled her eyes and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'd say 'thank you' but if that's true, then it's more a compliment to your … abilities … than my appearance."

"What happened, we did together. You told me what you needed and I listened." I let that sink in. Placing a kiss on her nose, I added, "Communication and trust."

"No walls."

I nodded slowly. "Ready for breakfast?"

She shook her head.

"Really? After all that, you're not hungry?"

Her eyes lit up and a smile crept across her face. "I'd rather eat after."

"After what?"

She stood up and reached for my hand. "I want to go back to bed for a while. And this time, I want to see your face when …"

It cracked me up that she could be bold enough to invite me back to bed, but she couldn't say certain words out loud. "You mean, when I come?"

Nodding shyly, she tugged on my arm. I went willingly. She was completely irresistible. Absolutely no way I could turn down her request.

Now back in the bed, gentle kisses gave way to urgent groping. Breathlessly, she asked me to tell her if there was anything I wanted.

"You've already given me more than I would have asked for."

"Stop that. You made me tell you. Now, tell me … what do you want?"

Too many thoughts and images went through my head. But honestly, the decision was easy. If there was even a possibility that this was the last time we'd be together like this, then I knew exactly what I wanted.

"I want to taste you again."

"Taste?"

Bringing my hand up the inside of her thigh and finding her wet, I provoked a moan from her. "I want your scent and your taste tattooed into my memory."

She gasped – not sure if it was at my words or my touch. "You don't mind?"

"You're fucking kidding, right? I love watching your reactions … and knowing that I can reduce you to a whimpering puddle of sweetness."

Her eyes went wide. For a second, I thought maybe I offended her – that my honest words had crossed the line to what she'd consider dirty. But she pulled me in for a hungry kiss, then looked me in the eye and said, "Well, in that case … get to work."

When I hesitated, she pushed gently on my shoulders, nudging me in the direction we both wanted.

Not that I had been rushing yesterday – because I hadn't – but I really took my time this morning. For her pleasure and mine.

Another mental snapshot.

I wanted to fill entire scrapbooks of memories with her. I wondered if she'd let me.

As she was basking in the afterglow, I reached over to the nightstand. She was rubbing my back as I sat on the edge of the bed. It took all the concentration I had to finish putting on the condom.

Turning around to face her, I found her on her back, waiting for me. I entered her and began to find the perfect rhythm for both of us. Just before I was about to come, she brought her hands to the sides of my face and it was like she was holding my very soul in her hands. As I came, I looked directly into her eyes, giving her exactly what she had asked for.

Never had I felt so exposed and vulnerable. I had asked her to drop all her walls. Did she realize I had done the same? I'd swear she could look straight inside me. Her eyes seemed to be searching for something. Normally, I would try to run from it. But I didn't run and I didn't hide. I didn't mind at all that I'd been caught.

Kissing her forehead, I said, "I'll be right back."

After throwing the condom in the trash, I returned to the bed. I'd never been a huge fan of cuddling, but damn if this girl didn't have me spooning and nuzzling her neck like it was the most satisfying thing we'd done all weekend.

My hand was spread out on her abdomen holding her against me – like I didn't want her to get away. Because I didn't.

I felt her stomach rumble under my hand. "I think someone's hungry."

She laughed as I rolled her onto her back so I could kiss her belly. Her hands gently massaged my scalp as I looked up at her through my eyelashes. She smiled and shook her head at me.

"What's so funny?"

"Not funny." She was trying to find the right word. "Surprising."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure what I was expecting, but last night … this morning … you … us together … I don't know how to explain it." She shrugged. "Surprising."

I still wanted to know what she meant by that. But I didn't think she was trying to avoid answering. I got the feeling she couldn't put it into words yet. Honestly, I was right there with her. At least, I hoped we were thinking and feeling the same thing.

"Shower before breakfast?" I asked.

She nodded. Damn. There was that glow again. All the shyness seemed to be gone, leaving behind a radiant and confident woman.

[

We took a long, lazy shower, enjoying each other's bodies for several more minutes. My mind taking snapshots the whole time.

I got out first to go start breakfast. Telling her to take her time, I quickly toweled off and went to find boxers and jeans.

Standing at the stove, I heard her footsteps behind me. "Perfect timing." I turned around with the skillet in my hand.

She stood there in one of my flannel shirts. Damn. It was official. Somewhere along the way, I'd fallen for her.

Misreading my silent stare, she apologized for taking a shirt from my closet.

Shaking my head, I said, "Looks better on you than it does on me."

"I don't know about that," she said with a head tilt.

The plates were already on the table. I just needed enough coordination to put the food on the plates. Somehow, I managed to do that without dropping anything. With the skillet still in one hand, I pulled out a chair for her with my free hand.

She tucked one foot under herself on the chair just like she had at the motel the morning after we went to the drive-in. Taking a bite, she moaned her approval of my cooking. "This is delicious."

"Just scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. Nothing special."

She rolled her eyes at me. "You have completely spoiled me this weekend. Lunch yesterday and now this. Not to mention the hours in between." Putting her fork down and wiping her mouth with a napkin, she said, "Thank you. It doesn't make all the other stuff in my life disappear, but you do seem to have the magic touch. You have a way of making things seem … not quite so bad." Leaning over, she placed a kiss on my cheek.

After that, we ate in silence. I had gotten another plate full of food and sat back down. I noticed her eyebrows and forehead doing that thing when she's thinking too hard, but didn't ask.

Finally, she said, "So …"

"Veronica, just say it."

"Not sure how to ask this." She looked down at her hands in her lap. "What does this mean now ... for us? Um … we go back to being secret friends? … or are we … ?"

Swallowing the food in my mouth, I looked at my plate as I asked, "What do you want us to be?" When she didn't answer, I looked up at her.

All the nervousness that had dropped away was now back. Her voice was soft as she said, "I'd rather you answer that question first."

Yeah, and I'd like to hear her answer first. But here goes. "I'd rather we not go back to being just friends, but if all you wanted was one night … well, I'll still be there for you if you need anything. Ever." I took her hand and pulled her into my lap. "But I'll be jealous as hell of anyone who ever touches you."

She let out a sigh and put her head on my shoulder. "I can't go back to just friends. I just needed to hear you say it first. I didn't want to be all clingy if this was just sex to you."

"As for the secret part …"

"Oh, yeah. That's fine if you don't want anyone to know."

"Look at me." I waited until she lifted her head. "That's not what I'm saying. I'd be proud to put my arm around you in public and call you my girl. But you should think that through, because it would probably mean another shitstorm for you at school. Then, there's the inevitable interrogation by the Sheriff."

"Why would Lamb care if we're together?"

"Not him. Your dad."

"Right." She laughed nervously.

Although that reminded us that we would be going back to reality soon, neither of us wanted to say it out loud. While she got ready, I cleaned up the kitchen.

Before leaving, we took the extra food and dirty linens over to Celia's house. She didn't say anything, but the way she smiled at me as she said goodbye told me she knew everything.

Veronica's dad texted that he should be home by dinner time. Mac had texted when she left Veronica's apartment. Backup would only be on his own for a couple hours. And Veronica would be back hours before her father.

The ride back to Neptune was bittersweet. So much had changed in the past twenty-four hours. I wished we could just ignore the rest of the world and spend all day every day in that apartment. The closer we got to home, the tighter she held onto me. And when we said goodbye outside her apartment building, the look in her eyes said so many things. It made my heart soar. It made me want to protect her. Mostly, it made me want to find somewhere we could be alone again.

I gave her one hell of a goodbye kiss, but it wasn't nearly enough to show her how I felt.

[

[

Before I helped Veronica when her tires got slashed, I had been considering getting a new tattoo with Lilly's name. I thought I loved her … or at least, could have loved her.

After last night – really, the past four weeks with Veronica – I'm sure I've never been in love before.

I look at everything around us – the people at school, the town of Neptune – and it seems clear that any attempt at having a relationship … well, anyone would tell you it's got disaster written all over it. I've gotten myself into some rough situations, but I'm never reckless. I take calculated risks. But with this, I feel no need to stop and weigh the cost. No price is too high to be with her.

Bottom line: she makes me happy. And I want to do everything in my power to make her happy – to hear her laugh and see her smile, to hear her say my name in normal conversation or the throes of passion.

We've both been through too much pain. I prefer pleasure.

THE END

A/N:

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love." ~ Sophocles

Some readers have said they don't want this to end – which is always nice to hear. I wrote the rough draft of this entire fic in about a week back in the spring. I have no plan to continue it, but two of my most popular fics were intended to be oneshots and ended up much longer. Although I'm marking this as complete, it is possible that I would add chapters at some point in the future. Perhaps tell the story from Veronica's POV.

If you've been reading my WeeVer series [Stall (Along the Road – part 1) and the first few chapters of the sequel Process (Along the Road – part 2)], you'll be happy to know that the hiatus is over … and I just posted a new chapter! :)

It is just so much fun to write these two characters. I keep getting new ideas for WeeVer stories – just need more time to write them out, but I will try to get to those.

Thanks so much for reading!

~Jen

28 December 2017