It took all his willpower to walk, not run, from his Crown Victoria to Adriana's sleek red sports car.

"Need a hand?"

She looked up at him and immediately broke out in a grin.

"Hey, John!" she beamed up at him. "A hand would be great."

He grabbed some of the grocery bags from her car. As he was reaching for more with his left hand, she grabbed his wrist.

"I said a hand, John," she said seriously. "You're supposed to be taking it easy with that arm."

"I can carry a few shopping bags."

"Please," she insisted. "It'll make me worry."

He stared at her for a minute before sighing.

"Fine."

The smile was back on her face in an instant.

#

Casey growled and turned off the T.V. He was too busy beating himself up to stay focused on it for more than a few seconds.

Coward!

He'd had the perfect opportunity to ask her out, and he choked.

You've been shot, stabbed, beaten, and tortured, and stayed strong through it all—and you can't ask a girl out? He berated himself. Little teenage boys do that!

"That's it," he growled, pushing himself out of his chair and heading for the shower.

Half an hour later, he was out in the night air, standing on her doorstep. He knocked, and the door opened a few seconds later. To his puzzlement, however, there was no one there. He hesitated for a split second before stepping in. The door closed behind him on its own.

"Hey, John!" Adriana came down the stairs, clad in a tank top and skinny jeans. The way her clothes clung to her did nothing at all to quell his nerves.

"How…?"

"Chuck's not the only one who's good with technology," she grinned, fiddling with the end of her braid as she walked closer. "There's a camera that feeds to my laptop upstairs, and I can open and close the door with the tap of a button."

"Huh."

"Yep. But I'm guessing you didn't come here to talk about my random talents."

"No," he said slowly, looking around.

"So what's up?" she tilted her head.

He stared at her and took a step closer. She stared back at him unblinkingly, head tilted cutely to the side, waiting for him to speak.

Her eyes widened when, instead of speaking, his lips pressed softly against hers. Her eyes slid closed, her hand coming up to rest on his chest as she timidly returned the kiss. She could feel his heart pounding under her palm, matching her own racing heart. He broke the kiss for a split second before leaning back in, his hand moving down from the back of her head to her hip. He gently pulled her closer, and her arms wrapped around his neck as she lost herself in the deep, slow kiss.

Eventually they returned to earth, breaking the kiss. They stared into each other's eyes, chests heaving as conscious thought gradually returned to them. After a few minutes of silence, broken only by their heavy breaths, he finally spoke, his voice barely above a gruff whisper.

"I came to ask you out."

She blushed, a pleased smile curving her lips up delicately.

"I'd love to go out with you, John," she said softly.

He smiled and pressed another soft, brief kiss to her lips.

"Dinner?" he suggested.

She grinned.

"Give me, like, five minutes to make myself pretty."

He arched an eyebrow.

"You're already pretty."

"Five minutes," she giggled, heading back up the stairs. "Make yourself at home."

His heart had finally stopped hammering when she came back down the stairs, making it start racing once again. She'd swapped her jeans for a simple dress—light blue, sleeveless, reaching her mid-thigh—and her hair was down from its braid, falling to her mid-back in soft waves. He stared blankly at her as she slipped on a pair of wedge sandals. She smiled.

"Like what you see?"

He blinked, her voice snapping him back to reality. A slight smile played across his lips.

"Yeah."

She blushed, not having expected such a blunt answer—although she shouldn't have been surprised, since this was Major John Casey she was talking to.

#

Standing on Adriana's doorstep, both spies were completely lost in their kiss. When hurried footsteps sounded suddenly, Casey's hand whipped toward his gun. His fingers had just wrapped around it when Adriana spoke.

"It's just Ellie," she whispered breathlessly.

He relaxed visibly, not even thinking to doubt her.

"Why was she in such a rush?" he asked. He was only slightly suspicious, but his spy training wouldn't let him let it go until he was positive there was no danger. And he really wanted to let it go so he could get back to enjoying Adriana's company.

"Probably because she saw us," she giggled.

"Mm."

That was good enough for him. He pressed his lips against hers once again.

#

Adriana woke with a smile on her face. The night before was definitely the best date she'd ever been on. Dinner was the perfect combination of relaxed atmosphere, good food, and great company. As gruff as he seemed on the outside, he was surprisingly sweet and gentlemanly—she literally had not been allowed to touch a door, whether it was to the car or the building. She'd never been treated so well on a date. Even when he kissed her goodnight he was respectful and gentle.

She was sure there were very, very few people who would ever describe John Casey as gentle. It was a word that, generally, was the complete opposite of him. But not when he kissed her. It was soft and sweet, and he wasn't at all demanding or forceful. He hadn't pushed for more, or complained about parting at the doorstep. Her history of dating immature jerks and losers had deprived her of such perfect kisses. She'd never enjoyed a kiss so much.

She sighed happily and rolled out of bed. Her smile stayed plastered on her face throughout her shower and breakfast. She practically skipped out the front door.

She locked the door behind her, and when she turned back around her face lit up.

"John!"

He'd just exited his own apartment, and they reached the fountain at the same time.

"Adriana," he smiled faintly.

He leaned down to kiss her, and she reached up to meet him half way, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As their lips brushed in a brief kiss, a door slammed closed. They both turned their heads to find chuck standing on his doorstep with a stunned expression.

"What do you want, Bartowski?" Casey snapped.

"Uh, n-nothing!" Chuck stammered.

Adriana laughed. Casey's irritated expression softened ever-so-slightly as he looked at her from the corner of his eye.