Title: The One I've Been Missing

Pairing: Logan/Veronica

Characters: Logan, Veronica

Rating: Teen

Summary: Who was on the other end of that phone call? Third in the series.

Author's Notes: For the VMHQs Milestone Follower 1000 Word Fic Challenge.

"Hello?"

Logan held his breath.

"Logan?"

God, it was her.

He'd imagined hearing her voice so many times over the years, even thought he had heard it occasionally (of course, he'd been high then), but it was nothing compared to the very real caress of her voice down the line right now.

He swallowed. "Veronica?"

"I hear you called me," she said, a smile in her voice.

"I hear you called me," he responded, his heart pounding as he struggled to keep his tone light.

"I hear you're in the Navy now—a fighter pilot."

There's a strange flip in his chest at the slight awe in her tone.

He tries to ignore it as he counters with, "I hear you're in law school."

She laughs softly and the sound reverberates through him, sending a shiver along his nerves.

"Hi, Logan."

"Hey, Veronica."

Logan smiled as he took a seat on one of the patio benches. It was hot out, the California sunshine beating down on him.

"So… long time, no see."

"Yeah."

"How've you been?"

"Oh, you know, going off the rails, checking into rehab, joining the navy, learning to fly, dropping bombs over Afghanistan," he stated, slightly deadpan. "Just the usual. You?"

"Same here," she said. "Though not nearly as exciting. Psychology degree from Stanford, took a year off, and now Columbia Law school."

"So I hear," he replied. "Sounds like you're doing well for yourself."

"You, too."

There was a pregnant pause, neither of them seeming to know what to say.

Eventually Logan broke the silence with, "So, I talked to Amy; she seems nice."

"Yeah, she is."

"Look, uh, sorry about earlier," he said then. "Cosmo answered my phone. Probably confused the hell out of you when he called me Mouth."

She laughed. "Yeah, I thought some crazy-ass biker had your old number."

"It's my call sign," he explained.

"Yeah, Amy said something about it," she said. "Care to explain that origin?"

Logan grinned. "I'm sure you can guess."

There was a pause, before she said, her voice sounding slightly strained, "I have one or two ideas."

Oh, I bet you do, thought Logan wickedly.

Aloud, he said, "For the record, I got it because of my tendency to mouth off without thinking. Not because of certain talents I—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she cut him off quickly. "Don't need the visual."

"I'm sure you don't," he replied smoothly.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and Logan straightened, realising he was flirting with her.

Fuck. Three minutes of contact after seven years of nothing and we're falling right back into our old rhythms.

He pushed all thoughts of flirting to the back of his mind, as he said seriously, "It's really good to hear from you, Veronica."

"You, too," she murmured, "So, uh, great spread in Vanity Fair, Echolls. Number eight on the 30 Under 30 list. Pretty impressive."

"God." He groaned, placing a hand over his eyes. "Can't believe you saw that. I had no idea I was in it until Cosmo showed me."

"Cosmo?"

"Sorry, call sign. Real name's Steve. He's my WSO."

"WSO?"

"Weapon Systems Officer. He sits behind me in the jet."

"Oh, right," she said in understanding. "Like Goose in Top Gun?"

He laughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Wow, so you're like, Maverick then?"

"Not quite." He grinned. "Top Gun makes it look much more glamourous than it actually is."

Silence fell between them for a moment, before Veronica said, "I can't believe you're a pilot in the Navy, Logan. It was so surreal seeing you in uniform."

"Yeah, it wasn't what I expected to be doing with my life, that's for sure,'' he said. "But the opportunity came up, and I didn't have many other options at the time. Turned out to be the best decision I ever made."

"Really?"

"Yeah. After you left, I was… well, I wasn't in a good place. You probably saw the tabloids—I was out of control. The Navy was just what I needed to stay on the straight and narrow."

"I'm glad."

"So, you're gonna be a lawyer, huh?" He changed the subject. "Can't say I saw that coming. I thought you were on track for the FBI with that internship."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't quite what I expected after all." He could practically hear her shrug down the line. "After that summer, I just couldn't go back to Hearst, not after I'd screwed everything up. This professor I knew managed to pull some strings with Stanford—you know, since I got in back in high school—and I decided on a fresh start."

"Right." He nodded, though he wasn't sure he really got it. "And law school?"

"It seemed right," she said. "I wanted to help people, and you know me, I'm all about the justice. Figured it was a good fit."

"Yeah."

There was another silence, and Logan could hear her soft breathing through the line. He was about to speak, when she beat him to it.

"I, uh," she said hesitantly. "I've missed you."

He smiled, his chest tightening in response. "I've missed you, too, Veronica."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Another long pause followed, the silence stretching uncomfortably between them.

"So, uh… this is getting awkward, huh?"

Logan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, kinda is."

"I should get going," she said then. "Amy's waiting for me."

"Okay."

"It was nice talking to you, Logan," she added. "Maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Well you have my number now."

"And you still have mine."

"I do."

"Then we'll talk again soon."

"Okay. Soon." Her tone is light. "Bye, Logan."

"Bye, Veronica."

There was a click and then she was gone. Logan stared down at her number on his phone for a moment, before programming it into his contacts. With a steadying breath, he pocketed the phone and stood, heading back into the pizza place to join Cosmo, a wide smile on his face.