Author's Note: First, I don't own anything associated with Veronica Mars...if , this turned out to be a pretty fluffy piece. There are some conflicts, but most of it is pretty happy stuff, so consider yourself warned. Third, this is dedicate to E.N.D. because she encouraged me to post it.

Logan stood somewhat awkwardly in the living room. He shifted his feet as he looked around. It was exactly the kind of place he would have expected her to live. It had high loft ceilings with exposed pipes running overhead. The walls were bare brick. It was eclectically furnished and black and white photographs, hers he assumed, hung from the walls.

After he finished his scan of the room, he began feel somewhat anxious. He crossed to her bookshelf to study the titles, calming himself. They were grouped by author, but seemed to have no other organizational system.

His own shelves were organized by genre and then alphabetized by author within those genres. A sure sign of a sociopath he had been told by people. People who didn't understand why he laughed, people who didn't know his father.

As he continued to skim the titles, an all too familiar one caught his eye, A Stone's Throw by L.E. Lester. He ran his finger down the spine. He smiled to himself and pulled the book from the shelf.

"Sorry about that, Logan," Veronica reemerged from her bedroom. She had gotten a call from the office, an emergency. Though it had turned out to be nothing. She smiled at him. They both seemed to be thinking back on how they'd ended up here.

Veronica had been in a terrible meeting. She loved her job, but when the business end prevented the justice side of it, she got fed up. She had been rushing downstairs for a cup of coffee from around the corner before heading out into the field. In her rush, she had literally run into him.

Logan had been walking down the street somewhat lost. It was his first week living in San Francisco, and he couldn't find the bookstore he was supposed to be at in, damn it, five minutes. He looked at the note he'd put in his phone again, Books Inc. on Van Ness near Golden Gate Avenue. He knew he shouldn't have been reading and walking as a short blonde woman plowed into him.

"Oh excuse me," Veronica said hurriedly, without looking up. He was probably just another businessman who would keep on walking as if she hadn't run straight into him, and she needed her coffee badly.

Logan would have recognized the voice anywhere; he spun around to track where she was going. "Veronica," he called out.

She stopped and turned back around. "Logan? Oh my god." She hadn't seen him since their last day at Hearst 5 years earlier, but he looked exactly the same. He grinned at her, and she felt her knees go weak. Some things never do change, she figured. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he hugged her cautiously.

"Right now, getting lost. I just moved here, and I'm struggling to find my way around the city a bit still." He shook his head and smiled again.

"Where are you trying to go?" she asked.

"Books Inc. on Van Ness."

"You're going the wrong way. I'm going to grab a coffee next door to it. I'll take you."

"So the FBI, huh?" Logan said motioning to the building they were moving away from.

"Yep. Just over 4 years now."

"That's great. I heard you lived here. I was hoping we'd run into each other."

Veronica laughed. "And we did, literally." Logan laughed as well. "There it is." Veronica motioned to the bookstore. She paused, unsure how to say goodbye. "Do you want to grab a cup of coffee?" she finally asked.

"I'd really love to, but I am supposed to be there now." He still couldn't seem to get himself to turn away from her. "Can I take you to dinner tonight?" Then suddenly feeling very anxious, he added, "Just to catch up, I don't want to make a boyfriend upset."

Veronica smiled at his obvious nervousness. "I'd love that." She pulled an old receipt from her purse along with a pen and scribbled something down on it. "Here's my address, with directions," she said handing him the paper.

"Tonight. 7:00?"

"Sound good." As Logan turned to walk away, Veronica added, "And Logan…"

"Yeah?"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

Logan was looking closely at Veronica. She had changed since he had seen her this morning. Then, she had been dressed professionally in a suit. Now, she was in a simple deep blue dress. It was making the color in her eyes pop. He suddenly wondered if wearing jeans had been a bad idea. They were nice ones, and he had on a sports jacket, so he wasn't that underdressed, but still. His nerves were being released by fidgeting with the book in his hands. Veronica's line of sight shifted down to it.

"Sorry," Logan began. "I was snooping a bit while you were on the phone."

"That's fine. I love that book," she said nodding towards the book. "Have you read it?"

Logan laughed quietly, "Yeah. A number of times." He looked at the shelf. "You don't have his newest one?"

"No, I have it. It's on my nightstand. I'm in the middle of it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it is great. I heard a rumor he might be doing a book signing in the city, but I doubt it's true."

"Why?" Logan asked curiously.

"Because he doesn't do book signings. I'd love to get that signed though." Logan smiled and still holding the book walked towards the desk on the adjoining wall. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a pen," Logan replied with a smirk at her. "Want a personal message?" he asked setting the book on the desk and opening it to the title page.

Veronica simply stared at him in shock. "Oh my god." She walked towards him as he finished signing the book and flipped it closed. He hoped she wouldn't read it until he had gone home that night. "Logan, it's just wonderful. I mean it. That is like my favorite book." She hit his arm then, "I can't believe I didn't know."

"Hey," he said rubbing his arm. "I went the pen name route. I didn't see the Echolls name being helpful here."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Still…"

"Come on, let's go to dinner. I made reservations."

"Ohh, how fancy," Veronica teased.

"Shut up Mars. And lets go eat." Logan led her out of the apartment.

"It wasn't really my choice at all. You really just go where the Bureau sends you, especially right out of Quantico. I was lucky to end up in California. My dad would have liked it if I was in San Diego or LA, but San Francisco was a great option. It's close enough to go visit him but far enough away to get some distance from Neptune, finally." Veronica grinned at Logan across the table.

"You always did want to get away."

"Not always…" she said quietly. "How about you though? Why did you end up in San Francisco after all this time? Last I heard, you moved to New York."

"Yeah, right after college. Then I went to London for a while, Honolulu, then Sydney."

"Australia?" Veronica asked.

"Yeah, kind of the great thing about writing. You can do it anywhere."

"I guess that is true. So why here?"

"I was ready to come back to California. But, I still needed some distance."

She nodded at his answer. "Makes sense."

The waiter interrupted their conversation. "Anything else I can get the two of you?" he asked politely.

"Yeah, she'll see a dessert menu," Logan said with a smirk at Veronica.

"Of course, sir." The waiter departed.

"I hate when they call me sir," Logan said, shifting his focus back to Veronica.

"You think you know me so well, don't you?" Veronica said in mock annoyance. She, of course, wanted dessert and secretly loved that Logan still knew she would. Of all the men she had dated since college, none had really picked up on her love of food, in general, or dessert, in particular.

"I do know you. Just because I've been out of the game a few years, doesn't mean I've forgotten how to play." Logan grinned. "Besides, that's why I'm here now, to catch up."

When the waiter returned with the dessert menu, Veronica couldn't decide what she wanted. Gallantly, Logan ordered one too, and they shared. As they walked out of the restaurant, she turned and looked at him and asked, "Logan, does this seem too easy to you?"

"I think after everything, we deserve easy for once," he replied. "Come on, let me walk you home," he said putting an arm around her shoulder.

"You say it like you're shocked I'm any good. I did win that contest in high school from the Mayor's office."

"Wait, the one you plagiarized the essay for?" Veronica said mockingly. "If only your fans knew, what would they think?" Logan just laughed. "But seriously Logan, you are an amazing writer. The character of Jessie, I just love that character. She is so easy for me to relate to." She stopped at the stoop of her walkup and turned toward him.

"It doesn't shock me that you relate to her," Logan said somewhat pointedly; then he just looked down at her.

Veronica could feel herself blush. "Really?" she asked. "Me?"

"Of course. They say you should write what you know."

"Well, now I'm going to have to read it again." Veronica felt suddenly self-conscious. On a date that had gone this well, she would normally invite her date up, but this was Logan.

"Thanks for coming out with me," Logan said. He leaned down to hug her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled when he kissed her cheek.

"Thank you. It was a wonderful dinner."

"All chance, I don't know any of the restaurants yet." Logan sighed. "Maybe we can do it again?"

"Definitely, just give me a call."

Logan waited until Veronica was behind the locked door to the stairwell before he turned to try to catch a cab.

Veronica hurried upstairs and into her apartment. She fell back against her closed door and sighed. It had taken a lot of restraint to not invite Logan upstairs; even eight years after their last breakup, he was affecting her in odd ways.

She noticed the book sitting on the desk where he had left it. She crossed the room and opened the book to read what he had written. As she finished reading it, she flopped down on the couch. She had to admit, he sure could write. Scrawled on the paper in his familiar handwriting, under the signature reading LE Lester, was written…

Veronica,

No matter the distance, you've continued to be my inspiration.

Love always,

Logan