Veronica steepled her fingers and stared down the person sitting across from her with all the skill her years as a teenaged detective had given her. It was clear she was planning to crack this one if it took everything she had.

"Okay," Veronica said. "I asked you to come here today because I have some questions that need answering."

Mac sat across from Veronica with her arms crossed, looking unimpressed.

"Veronica, I'm not one of your perps. If you want to ask me something, just do it," she said, looking around the diner for their waitress.

"Fine. Why are you friends with Dick?"

"Why are you friends with Wallace?" Mac replied without missing a beat.

"I cut him down from a flagpole, we bonded."

"Dick found me when I was kidnapped. We bonded."

They had a short stare-off, and then Mac sighed. Six weeks earlier, Dick had saved Mac from the unwelcome advances of her ex-boyfriend's ex-girlfriend's madam's lackey. They had grown close since then, something Mac knew bothered Veronica. It looked like it was time for them to talk it out. Mac opened her mouth but Veronica cut in.

"Look, Mac," she said. "I know you don't have to explain yourself to me, but I was hoping you could give me some sort of logic, so that it'll be easier for me to see you guys together. Maybe if you tell me some of the things you like about him, I can start to respect him—or, at least, not disrespect him. I don't want our relationship to suffer because of your friendship with Dick."

Mac was looking at Veronica, her eyebrows raised. "Wow. When did you get so girly? You never talk about feelings and relationships and all that crap."

Veronica waved her hand dismissively. "I've been hanging out with Logan—he's trying to teach me to be more communicative."

"Hanging out with Logan, eh?" Mac said with a suggestive smile. "And has he done any 'feeling,' himself?"

A stern look from Veronica silenced her. "Don't change the subject. And don't talk about Logan feeling himself."

They both giggled. Veronica sobered first.

"So. You and Dick. Explain, please."

Mac sighed. "What do you want me to say? We hang out. I like talking to him."

"Why?" Veronica asked, genuinely perplexed.

"He's funny, and he's honest, and he's almost always in a good mood. He's fun to be around, and he wants me to be safe. Did the whole, 'he found me when I was kidnapped' thing escape your notice?"

"Huh. I was not expecting so many legitimate reasons."

"Well, I could do better but I forgot my PowerPoint presentation at home," Mac said. "Look, you trust Logan's judgment, right? Dick and Logan have been friends forever. Yeah, Dick has questionable moments, but he's nothing if not loyal."

"Just like a collie," Veronica said with faux enthusiasm.

"Being loyal isn't a bad thing," Mac answered. "It's actually a pretty great thing."

Veronica thought for a minute. "So you're not hanging out with Dick because it makes you feel closer to Cassidy?"

Mac frowned. "The only thing Cassidy has to do with this is that his death made Dick think a lot about the way he treated the people around him. It also made me appreciate how open Dick is. He doesn't keep secrets—I'm not sure he's even physically capable of it."

Veronica sat back in her seat. "Well, you've presented a rational and thought-out argument. I'm impressed. B+."

"B+?" Mac asked, looking offended. "I am an A student."

"Yeah, but it's still Dick we're talking about."

Mac smiled. "So, are we done with the talky talk? Can we actually get some coffee now? I'm exhausted."

"Have your professors gone all Mrs. Tingle on your ass, too?"

"No, my classes are okay. I was up late playing video games."

"With Dick?"

"Yeah."

Veronica smiled evilly. "So he met your parents then. How did that go?"

Mac frowned. "¿Qué?"

"Well I was at the suite last night, and Dick wasn't there, so that leads me to believe you were at your house. Is there a flaw in that logic?"

Mac was twisting her fingers nervously. "Well, sort of…" She sighed. She was really not looking forward to this conversation. "Okay, as you know, I was planning on living at home this year, because you weren't going to be living on campus either, and I obviously couldn't room in the dorm with Wallace, and I really didn't want to take another chance with a random roommate—I mean Parker turned out to be okay, but knowing my luck I would get put with some crazy chick who doesn't believe in technology, or eats babies or something."

Veronica was nodding. "Yes, like you said, I did know all that. You're not one for run-ons, Mac, so what's the deal?"

"Well, I'm not living at home anymore."

"Did you get another place?" Veronica asked. "Where is it? How can you afford off-campus housing?"

Mac was frowning, trying to figure out what to tell Veronica first. Before she could speak, Veronica kept going.

"Wait, why haven't I seen this place? Or even heard about it? And Dick has seen it?"

Mac took a deep breath. "Yeah, well…it's sort of…his place."

Veronica didn't move or speak. Mac wasn't entirely sure she was still breathing. Mac leaned over and waved a hand in front of Veronica's face. A second later, Veronica blinked.

"I'm sorry, it appears I had an absent seizure. Did you just say you're living with Dick?"

Mac put her hands on the table, palms facing down. "Yeah, I'm living with Dick, but you don't have the whole story. We're just friends. Do you think you can remain calm while I tell you everything?"

"Wait, you're sharing Dick's room at the Grand, yet you still claim to be just friends? Tell me another one."

"Not at the Grand. We weren't there last night, remember? Dick hasn't been sleeping there for a while, he just doesn't know how to tell Logan he moved out."

Veronica put her head in her hands. "This is twisted. Seriously, Mac, what is going on here? Are we in Bizzaro World?"

Mac rubbed her left eye and took a sip of the coffee their waitress had just brought over. "Okay," she said. "We haven't been living together for very long. After Dick came and got me that time, we started hanging out more. Then it just sort of happened."

"And how does something like this just happen?"

Next Chapter: How Something Like This Happens

A/N: Hello all! Here's the sequel to one of my Mac/Dick stories, the Great Graffiti Caper. This is going to be a lengthy story, which will move more slowly than its predecessor and detail how Mac and Dick's relationship develops. I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear what you think of it! Sorry this chapter breaks off at a funny point, but otherwise it would have been way too long. The next chapter will show how the two came to live together, and soon after that, crazy roommate fun will commence. Also, unfortunately, I don't own any of the characters from Veronica Mars. Happy reading and happy New Year!