A/N: Tiny AU, if Veronica had reacted differently when confronting Logan over sleeping with Kendall. Also, a few bad words. Originally written for an LAS community on livejournal.

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"Damn it, why can't you think of anyone but yourself?" Veronica exclaimed furiously, her blue eyes flaming and her cheeks flushed at his lack of denial over having a death wish. Logan simply stared coldly at her, his lips pressed into a thin, smirking line, his posture indicating that he had withdrawn inside himself as he folded his arms across his bare chest. Helpless anger bubbled inside of her as Veronica struggled to find a way to shake him out of his self-destructive apathy.

"I was hired to take pictures of you, Logan, pictures of you and Kendall." Scrubbing a hand tiredly through her hair, her voice trembled when she spoke again. "You might want to die, but I would never be able to live with myself if I helped get you killed."

Smirk faltering, Logan took a step forward, one hand gripping the towel wrapped around his hips before it could fall. "It was a job, Veronica; if Big Dick decides to get violent over me fucking his trophy wife, it won't be your fault." His tone was nonchalant, but his eyes weren't, and Veronica's hand clenched into tight fists.

"I don't want you to die! Don't you get it?" Shaking her head and furiously blinking back tears, Veronica glared at him. "Lilly died, your mom died, my mom left, Meg will probably die. If I lose you too…" Trailing off, she bit her lip, looking down as she suddenly realized how much she'd just revealed to the one person who could actually hurt her without even trying.

"Never mind." she stated dully. "I suggest that you lock your doors, so that if Mr. Casablancas does try to kill you, he at least has to break in first."

Before she could even finish turning away, Logan's unbearably warm fingers were wrapped around her arm, while his other hand gripped her chin so that she had to look at him, his intense hazel eyes burning into her and making her breath catch in her throat. "I do care, Veronica, I care so much that every time I see you with him, it's all I can do to not pound him into the pavement. When I thought you were on that bus…" His voice shook and he held her tighter, not enough to bruise, just enough to make her ache with the memories of him holding her for different reasons.

"I lost Lilly and my mom too, and Duncan hasn't given a shit about me since Lilly. Without you –" Veronica cut off his broken words by yanking his head down to her level and sealing their lips together, salty tears burning at the insides of her eyelids even as their tongues tangled and every nerve in her body sung with how right it felt to do this with him. Fingers tightly curled into his hair, she broke away only when oxygen became an issue, determined to make him understand that he had never really lost her.

"You will always have me, even if," she paused, mind straying to her boyfriend, who she'd barely thought about all day. "No matter what." she finally finished, voice fierce. "You will always have me, so more idiotic stunts that can get you killed, okay? I can't handle it."

A strangled croak of a laugh escaped him and then he pressed their foreheads together, eyes sparkling with that one real smile she'd only ever seen directed at her. "Only if you promise too, because frankly, you have a tendency to go off half cocked, Mars, and I," he paused briefly and gently caressed her cheek, making her heart clench, "I kind of need you around."

Blinking back more tears, she softly pressed their lips together one more time, then murmured "I promise." They still had Mr. Casablancas to deal with, not to mention Duncan and the bus crash, but as long as she knew that she wouldn't lose him too, she could figure it out.