A/N: Some fics I plan for months. Heck, some one shots I work on for months. But some fics take root one day and then take off running the next. That's this fic. I heard a song, "Accidentally On Purpose" by The Shires, and suddenly I was writing a Lyatt Long Distance Dating AU. Currently I have four chapters and this prologue done. Until I finish I am hoping for one post a week. Once the fic is finished I will post chapters more frequently. But until then...you get one update a week. Starting with the prologue.

Hope you guys like it! I'm 30k words deep into this already so if you don't...too late! ;)

Happy reading!

angellwings

Accidentally (On Purpose)

By angellwings

Prologue: Old Love (Or Lack Thereof)

"Staying home alone on a Friday,

Flat on the floor looking back on old love,

Or lack thereof.

After all the crushes are fading,

And all my wishful thinking was wrong,

I'm jaded,

And I hate it."

"Love Song for No One" by John Mayer

"Let me ask you something."

The minute those words leave Dave's mouth he's already biting back a groan. He knows what's coming.

"What do you do when you're not here? I mean, don't get me wrong, buddy, I'm glad you enjoy your job. Since you're my boss, it makes my job a lot more pleasant. But is this all you do?"

"What are you talking about?" Wyatt asks with a sigh. "We have poker tonight, don't we?"

Dave quirks a brow at him with a flat stare. "Poker with fellow Mason Industries employees does not count. They would all tell you the same."

This has become a monthly conversation between him and Dave. Sometimes, he pulls in Rufus or Mason as back up. Tonight, he seems to have decided to show a little bit of mercy.

"What exactly do you think I should be doing?" Wyatt replies as he turns his gaze from Dave to focus on his sandwich.

"Maybe not having lunch in your office every day for starters," Dave says with a pointed grin as he unwraps his own sandwich from the other side of Wyatt's desk. "When's the last time you went on a date, my brother?"

Why is everyone so obsessed with getting him to date? Rufus and Jiya asked about this recently too. Hell, even Jessica asked him why it was taking him so long to find another potential Mrs. Logan. Jessica, his ex-wife, had asked him that.

"I went on one a couple of weeks ago," he answers with a shrug. "You know, with Sharon from Marketing."

"That was two months ago," Dave corrects him with a chuckle.

His brow furrows, thoughtfully. "No, it wasn't. Couldn't have been." He pauses and glances down at the calendar on his desk. Is it July already? "Could it?"

"It could and it was. You gotta get out of this office, man. Your whole life can't be Head of Security for Mason Industries. I mean, at first, yeah, Mason's procedures were weak, but you've got this place running like a well oiled Machine after four years," Dave says with a shake of his head. "Go on a vacation or something, at least. You're making me look like a slacker."

Wyatt snorts and smirks at him. "You are a slacker, Dave."

"Compared to you, yes, but not on my own merit," he retorts with a grin. "Not that anyone has ever been able to stand up to the great Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, that is."

Wyatt rolls his eyes. "You have medals too, dude."

"Not as many as you," Dave says with a tired sigh. "Point is, you got it all going for you, man. You make good money, people respect the hell out of you, those freaking baby blues pull the ladies in like a tractor beam, and you're a fucking American Hero. You should have more dates than time on your schedule. But you spend all your time in your office or in your apartment. It's been nearly three years since things were final with Jess. What are you waiting for, Logan?"

What is he waiting for? As much as he hates it, it's a valid question. At first, it felt wrong. Dating. He hadn't dated since high school. What did dates look like as an adult? It's not like he could take a girl out to the bowling alley in his Charger like he used to do with Jess. Well, he could but odds are he wouldn't get a second date. Besides, why would he want to date when he'd been married? Yeah, he and Jess had problems but when it was good, really good, he liked having a committed person to come home to and share his life with.

Now, life wanted him to take a step back from that? Start over from scratch?

It felt, and still feels, like a punishment for failing. And maybe it is. Because it isn't even that he was left heartbroken after the divorce. He wasn't. He and Jess saw that ending coming for years. It's never been about love. It's always been about failure. He failed at being a husband. Is that his one chance at it? Does he deserve another pass? Marriage doesn't seem like something you should get a do over on.

Then there's the matter of who. Honestly, he's yet to meet anyone who seems interesting enough to put in the effort. Granted, he hasn't been on that many dates since the divorce. But the ones he's managed to go on, or even the women he managed to flirt with, seemed like the wrong fit. Like Sharon from Marketing.

Perfectly nice, but boring. At least to him. Someone out there probably really enjoys wine tastings and searching out food festivals on the weekends or attending the ballet or classical music. Just not him. Plus, she conceded his point on every topic they discussed. Like she only wanted to please him.

What was that about? A lot of his dates were like that. Do people not speak honestly on first dates these days? Are they afraid to argue? He would rather argue some than constantly agree. Honest opinions are interesting, as long as you have the right attitude about it. Maybe that's the trick? Maybe too many people are afraid someone might take a disagreement personally?

Whatever it is, he doesn't like it. Dating brought him nothing but awkward goodbyes outside of front doors and broken promises to call soon. Both of which left him feeling guilty and a bit depressed.

He would just as soon skip it. At least until someone intriguing came along. And he would know, wouldn't he? If someone interested him, wouldn't he be able to see it right away? He had with Jess. Though, maybe using Jess as the measuring stick for his potential dates is a bad idea. It's not like that relationship ended particularly well. Although, it's not particularly bad either.

It took three years, but he and Jess have managed to form a weird sort of friendship. It surprises other people, but not either of them. They've known each other forever. They grew up together. Failed together. As weird as it seems, it actually isn't weird at all. She's not afraid to tell him when he's being an asshole and she no longer gets furious with him when he calls her out for her manipulative tendencies. They work as friends. They'll never work as more than that.

So, it's not Jess holding him back. It's not the idea of dating. If he's honest, his questions about whether he deserves another shot at a marriage probably play into it at least a little, but mostly…

"I don't know, Bam Bam. I guess I'm waiting on the lightning," he replies after what must have been several minutes of silence.

"Lightning?" Dave asks skeptically. "That's what you're going with?"

He chuckles and shrugs. "That's the truth. Take it or leave it."

"Fine. I guess I get that," Dave concedes. "But I still think you should take a vacation."

Wyatt sighs and chuckles dryly. "I'll think about it."

"I can't be the only one taking time off around here. People are going to start thinking I don't do anything," Dave tells him.

"You know, come to think of it, what exactly do you do here?" Wyatt asks with a glib smirk.

"Jackass," he replies through a laugh as he rolls his eyes at him.

A salad is dropped unceremoniously on top of her keyboard. It effectively keeps Lucy from typing any further. She huffs and glances up to find her sister glaring at her.

"What?" Lucy asks as she relaxes her posture and pulls her hands away from the desk.

"You never called me last night," Amy says as she sits down across from her.

"About?"

"Your date. You know, with the better-than-fiction McDreamy who lives across the hall?" Her sister clarifies with a scoff. "Why? Is there some other rare newsworthy occurrence happening in your life?"

"Apart from my book? The one with the deadline rapidly approaching?" She asks with a quirked brow.

"Forget the book, you nerd! What happened? Did he walk you to your door? Did you kiss him? Did you forget to call me because you miraculously unclenched and had your way with him? I'm dying here!"

"Slow down, drama queen," Lucy replies with a thin smile and a roll of her eyes. "It was just coffee. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Amy practically shrieks. "You saw him, right? I mean, you're not blind? You know he's basically a Shondaland hunk and a half but better because he's hella real, don't you?" When she doesn't reply right away Amy slaps a hand down on her desk, causing Lucy to jump. "Oh my god, Lucy, please tell me you do. He's gorgeous!"

She rolls her eyes and shrugs. "Yeah, okay, Noah's gorgeous. And nice. But...I don't know, there wasn't much else there. He was just...adequate."

Amy's eyes narrow suspiciously on her as she opens her salad container and spears several pieces of lettuce for a quiet moment. Finally, she speaks again. "This isn't still because of Jonas, is it? Because that guy was an asshat."

Lucy laughs loudly as she reaches for the salad Amy dropped on her and shakes her head. "Trust me, it has nothing to do with Jonas. Noah's just...not the guy, that's all."

"Okay, so he's not the guy. There's no rule against dating someone who's not The One, you know? You could just date him for the fun of it."

"That seems like a waste of his time and mine," she responds as she sits back further in her chair.

"So?" Amy asks. "What's wrong with wasting a little time? I mean, I know mom rode your ass hard for basically our whole lives, but you don't have to follow her rules anymore. Your time is yours. You can waste it if you want."

"That's the thing, I don't particularly want to waste time. Honestly, I would like to find someone to build a life with. Don't get me wrong, I'll be fine if I don't. Being single forever wouldn't be the end of the world, but if I'm going to date then I want it to be leading somewhere. I want to see a future. I don't see the point of it if I don't," Lucy answers thoughtfully. "Does that make sense?"

Amy swallows her bite and nods slowly. "I think so. It's not my philosophy but I think I get it. Alright, change of topic," she says, shifting gears. "Vacation."

Lucy lets out a tortured groan. "Amy, we talked about this. I can't this summer. I have to have this book finished before classes start back. I won't have time once the semester starts."

"It's one weekend out of your ridiculous book schedule. Besides, it's our sister bonding time!"

"It is not!" Lucy yells with a laugh. "You spend it on the hunt for a random vacation hook up."

"Yeah, and I need my wing woman! Come on, Luce, this is the only vacation you take all year and it's a sad pathetic three day trip. You can't bail on me now."

"I don't know, Ames…"

"It's one weekend at the end of July. You'll still have — what? —a few weeks before UCLA starts back up? That's plenty of time to make up for three measly days in the sun and the sand," Amy pleads.

"You know we live on the west coast, right? We have beaches here. Malibu, Long Beach, Santa Monica—"

"But we know people here," Amy says with a whine. "I want to go somewhere and not worry about running into anyone I know. Please? Don't make me go alone. Don't be that bitch."

Lucy glares playfully at Amy before she finally sighs in resignation. "Fine. Three days. That's it."

"Yes!" Amy exclaims before she launches herself at Lucy in a bone crushing hug, almost dropping her salad in the process. "You don't have to worry about a thing! I'll make all the arrangements. It's gonna be great!"

"If you say so," Lucy replies with a soft chuckle. "You owe me big time, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, put it on my tab," she says dismissively.

Lucy laughs and hugs her sister in return. "Don't I always?"