A/N: oh gosh guys, season two has started and it's amazing. I've watched the premiere SO MANY TIMES by now. Why isn't it already Sunday?

Hopefully this helps pass the time while you wait!

Happy Reading!

angellwings


Habit of You

by angellwings


Chapter Eight: Dinner


He hung up the phone and stared at it in disbelief for a moment. She'd actually done it. She'd broken up with Noah. She'd chosen him. He felt giddy. He never felt giddy. But right now he was nearly buzzing with happiness. He'd talked a big game with his 'in it to win it' speech but he didn't know if he'd actually win. He'd doubted himself. But she hadn't.

He smiled softly and all but ran to his Jeep. He wasn't wasting another minute. He raced over to Lucy's and parked outside of her building.

For a brief moment he felt a prickle at the back of his neck, as if eyes were out there watching him somewhere. His instincts kicked in and he glanced around for surveillance. Why the hell he was worried about that now, he couldn't understand, but it never hurt to be cautious. There were a few cars parked on the same block as Lucy's building but none that looked suspicious. He didn't see any odd bystanders on the street either. He dismissed the paranoia as a side effect of his job before stepping out of his Jeep.

He buzzed up to Lucy and Jiya's apartment and heard the security door click to unlock. He opened it and was careful to make sure it closed and locked behind him. He was still feeling uncertain about his surroundings. He couldn't explain it. Lucy was a civilian. He had no reason to feel this tension around her. He shook it away and reminded himself why he was there.

She'd picked him. He smirked and quickly took the stairs two at a time. He wanted this. He wanted her and he hadn't wanted anything for himself in a very long time.

He knocked and there was a pause before he heard not one but two deadbolts turn. He hadn't noticed the two deadbolts when he'd left earlier. Why did Lucy feel the need to lock them both? Did she have the same brief sense of danger he'd had a few moments ago?

He planned to ask her this but then she opened the door and smiled brightly at him. Any thoughts of danger disappeared. His hands cupped her face and without uttering a single word he immediately closed the distance between them. His lips covered hers and he felt her smile against him before she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. They stood in her doorway for several moments, one kiss leading to another, before they finally pulled apart for air.

"Let me get my bag," Lucy said with a bright smile and a flushed face. "Then we can go."

He managed to keep his hands on her hips as she reached back inside the door for her purse that was hanging by the door. He didn't plan to break contact with her anytime soon. She put the strap over her shoulder and backed him out of the doorway and locked her door behind her. His haze of happiness cleared for a moment when he noticed her lock both deadbolts. His earlier question rose from the fog.

"Earlier," he said as she took his hand and led him back toward the stairs. "You sounded afraid and just now you locked both locks. Is everything okay?"

She bit her bottom lip and gave him a reluctant glance. He knew then something had happened. Locking two locks wasn't normal for her.

"Lucy?" He asked when she was silent for a long moment.

"It's nothing," she said as she waved her free hand dismissively. "Noah just reacted badly to the break up."

He quirked a brow at her at that. "Reacted badly, how?" He did not like the sound of that.

"He was angrier than I anticipated and it scared me. That's all," she said as she shook her head. "I'm just being silly. Don't worry, okay?"

He nearly scoffed but caught himself before he did. Don't worry? Yeah, that was likely, he thought sarcastically. "If you feel unsafe then it's not silly," he assured her. "It's better to be cautious than not. Trust me."

"It was just a brief moment of paranoia," she said with another shake of her head. "I'm fine now, really."

He'd brushed off his own sense of danger as paranoia earlier too but now he was starting to think neither of them were actually paranoid. That something might really be going on.

"Let's just forget I said anything, okay?" She asked as she adjusted their hands so her fingers were laced through his. "I don't want my irrational fears hovering over dinner."

He was about to say something about not finding her fears so irrational but thought better of it. He didn't want to scare her and, she was right, it shouldn't ruin dinner. Speaking of dinner.

"I was actually thinking," Wyatt said with a small grin. "That I'd make you dinner at my place."

She turned and gave him an impressed glance. "You want to cook for me?"

"This feels like it should be a special night," he told her. "So, yes, I'd like to cook for you."

She smiled brightly and nodded. "I am definitely not going to say no to that, Chef Logan. How could I?"

"Don't get too excited. I'm no professional or anything," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you do just fine," Lucy said with a smirk and a wink. "I already know you can cook bacon and sausage like a pro."


The further away from her apartment they drove the less he felt that bizarre prickle of danger. He banished it from his thoughts for the time being but, given the fears Lucy had expressed to him about Noah, he'd certainly be looking into it later. Most likely he'd find nothing, but at least he'd know for sure. While driving he had an idea that would help him later when he got around to looking into Noah. He tossed Lucy his phone with an easy grin.

"You know what we haven't done?" He asked her.

"What?" She asked as she looked down at his unlocked phone.

"Friended each other on Facebook."

She laughed and grinned at him. "Big on Facebook, are you?"

"Not really, no, but Bam-Bam made me get one and I figure if I have to have one I should at least be friends with you," he told her with a wink. "Find yourself on there, for me, will you?"

She chuckled at him but did as he asked and then pulled out her phone to accept the friend request she'd sent herself. "There," she told him. "Now we're Facebook friends. Happy?"

"Very," he told her with a grin. Now, he could find information on Noah later. Surely, he and Lucy were facebook friends. Based on what he knew of Noah, he was the type of man to be concerned with his public image and he'd want people to know if he was dating a woman as gorgeous as Lucy. That was just the type of conceited jerk Wyatt knew Noah had to be.

They reached his apartment and he led Lucy inside. He hung up her purse and sweater on the hook on the back of his door and then motioned for her to sit on the old stool in front of his breakfast bar.

Lucy looked around his apartment as she sat. "You're not much for decorating, are you?"

He laughed as he gathered the ingredients he needed. "I'm usually not here long enough to decorate. I really just need a bed, a shower, and a kitchen."

He watched her while he prepared the food and saw the moment where she finally noticed the one picture he'd managed to hang on his wall. It was of him and his Grandpa Sherwin at his high school graduation. It was the only framed picture he had. The rest of his photos were in an album, in a closet somewhere, because most were of him and Jessica. He didn't need daily reminders of that relationship lying around. Lucy stood from the stool and walked over to study the picture.

"Is this your grandfather?" She asked.

Wyatt gave her half of a smile and nodded as he opened a can of diced tomatoes. "That's my Grandpa Sherwin, alright."

"You favor him," Lucy told him as she smiled fondly at the photo. "I see the resemblance."

"You should see pictures of him from his World War II days," Wyatt told her. "The resemblance was truly scary when he was younger."

"If you have them then I'd love to see them sometime," she said with a soft grin.

He met her eyes and nodded slowly. Normally, he didn't offer up personal details so quickly but he didn't feel any hesitation to share his family with Lucy. "After dinner, then."

"Really?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah," he told her. "He left all of his old photos to me and I remember you saying you like history so, yeah, I'd love for you to see them. I think you'd appreciate them."

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile.

"He would have loved you," Wyatt told her as he continued to put the spaghetti sauce together. He went to the fridge for the ground beef he'd bought the other day and grabbed two beers while he was there. He didn't know if Lucy liked beer but he didn't have any wine.

"You think so?" She asked as she took the beer he offered her.

"Oh yeah, he was always very found of bossy women," Wyatt told her with a teasing smirk.

She gasped playfully and feigned offense. "Me? Bossy?"

"Yes, you. Bossy."

"Bossy's better than reckless, at least, like one particular soldier I know," she said with a pointed grin.

"Wow," he said with a laugh. "Known me for less than twenty four hours and you already have my number. Yeah, Grandpa Sherwin would have definitely liked you."

"I bet I would have liked him too," Lucy said with a fond smile and a chuckle. "So, what's for dinner?" She asked as she took a sip of her beer.

"Spaghetti," he told her. "I told you it wouldn't be impressive."

"Hey, you're actually making sauce so you're automatically doing better than me," she said with a smirk. "I just heat up the kind that comes in a jar."

"Oh, that's no good," Wyatt told her. "You can do better than that."

"Considering cooking is my kryptonite, I highly doubt it. My first week living with Jiya, I set her toaster oven on fire. So, I think it's best I not taking any unnecessary risks," Lucy admitted with an embarrassed smile.

"Good to know. We'll just make sure to keep you away from my toaster," Wyatt said with a teasing grin. "Granted it's not a toaster oven but, like you said, it's best not to take any unnecessary risks."

She reached across the breakfast bar for a piece of diced tomato and threw it at him with a playful glare. He quickly dodged it and laughed. "Hey, now, just because you and Jiya and Amy throw food while you cook doesn't mean everyone does."

"I just assumed you'd catch it in your mouth like you did those chocolate chips this morning," she told him with a laugh. "Or are diced tomatoes harder to catch?"

God, he loved having her around. In less than a day he'd gotten himself addicted to her. How had he managed that? Having her here in his apartment made it feel more like a home to him than it had ever felt before.

He'd eventually gotten her in the kitchen with him. She cooked the pasta while he finished the sauce and then, despite his earlier teasing, she'd toasted the garlic bread. Cooking with and for someone else had always been one of his favorite things but he'd forgotten. Lucy made him remember. She'd been doing that a lot in the last day or so.

They'd sat side by side at his small kitchen table and talked and ate and flirted. Dinner took much longer to eat than it should have but neither of them seemed to mind. Lucy looked genuinely happy to be there with him and the idea that she could be as happy as he was right then floored him. Had he actually stumbled into something completely mutual? Were they on the same page? It seemed all of his worrying since he'd met her had been for nothing. She enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed hers.

It was unbelievable but true.

They used dinner as an opportunity to ask the typical first date questions that they'd skipped the night before. Wyatt actually talked about his job and his team, which he never did. It tended to scare people away more than it drew them in. But Lucy hung on every word.

"So, why aren't you on an assignment now?" She asked as she grabbed another piece of garlic bread.

"After a particularly long mission, I usually get an extended leave to decompress. I never really know how long that leave is going to be. Sometimes it's 30 days, sometimes it's 90. I got the impression that this leave would be closer to 90. The last mission was a tough one. We had a few serious injuries on the team," he told her honestly. "They'll need time to recover."

He knew she could sense his guilt. She'd mentioned his guilt complex earlier that day and she'd been right. He tended to feel guilty even when he knew something couldn't possibly be his fault. He knew it logically, but it never felt that way.

"I'm sorry," she said as she took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "That must have been difficult."

"We've seen worse," he replied honestly. Because they had. They'd been through much worse. She squeezed his hand again and even though no words were spoken between them he took a shocking amount of comfort from that small gesture.

"Well," she said with a sad sigh. "I'm glad you made it back safe." She looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke again. "If you're a part of a team then is it unusual to have solo assignments like Dave?"

"A little," he told her. "It happens sometimes. We get assigned to security details for various groups or as consultants. It's not common but it does happen. I've had a few of those assignments before myself."

"You know," she said with a small grin. "I never asked what your rank is."

He smirked and sat up a little straighter as he answered her. "Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, ma'am."

She chuckled at him and his proud posture before smiling brightly and nodding. "Well, nice to meet you, Master Sergeant. You just keep impressing me," she told him with a soft smile.

"Don't worry, that'll stop eventually," he said with a self deprecating chuckle.

"I really don't think so," Lucy said seriously. "I've barely known you a day and even I can tell you severely underestimate yourself in most everything but your work. It makes for a strange mix of insecurity and overconfidence. Overconfident with your job, though if you weren't over confident about that I don't think you'd be quite so good at it. Insecure about your personal worth and happiness. Half the time, you don't realize how truly impressive you are and then for the other half you know exactly what your value is. It's puzzling," she told him honestly. "And I like it."

He didn't really know what to do with that or how to feel about it. None of what she said felt wrong or untrue and the idea that she could see him so clearly after so short of a time left him feeling unnerved and thrilled all at once. He couldn't think of what to say in return so he replied the only way he felt he could.

He kissed her.

If she was surprised by it she never showed it because she'd sunk into the kiss just as quickly as he'd done it. Before long dinner was forgotten and clothes were quickly being discarded and then he was leading her to his bedroom. This was exactly where he'd hoped the night would go. Only this time, in the morning there would be no roommates or sisters to disrupt them and no boyfriend hovering over them. There was an added since of freedom and exhilaration to their kisses and touches. This time they took things much slower. Time felt like it was on their side. No decisions had to be made before they could settle into each other this time. It didn't feel as though he were racing a ticking clock that was counting down to his last moment with Lucy.

He had no thoughts other than her as her bare chest pressed against his and his kisses slid down the length of her neck. He had one hand at the base of her neck and the other on the small of her back, pressing her tightly against him. Every one of her soft curves met his hard muscles and he was amazed, once again, at how well they fit together.

He'd worried about her being with someone who didn't deserve her, who wouldn't appreciate her. Part of him was still worried that he didn't deserve her but he knew for damn sure that he appreciated her. He could show her that she'd made the right decision. She'd picked him and he wouldn't disappoint her. He could make sure she never once regretted him. Starting now.

His kisses travelled further and further down her body, burning a trail between her breasts and over her stomach and she must have known he could only have one destination in mind. She let out a small sigh that resembled a whimper and her hands dug into his hair. Yes, she knew exactly where this was headed. He grinned against the inside of her bare thigh for a moment before placing a kiss there as well. She needed someone to be there for her. To support her.

He was determined to be that someone. He wasn't going to screw this up. Not this time.

Her hands tightened in his hair and he smirked. She was urging him to continue. She was tired of waiting. He chuckled lightly and placed a kiss to her opposite thigh and felt her writhe underneath him. He could feel her hands applying gentle pressure to his head. She was this close to directing him there herself.

Damn, she was bossy and, god, did he ever love it.

He held off for one more moment. He was waiting. Waiting for one thing that he knew was coming.

"Wyatt."

There it was. His name in a stern and urgent tone. Ordering him to follow through. Bossy.

Only then did he finally allow himself to taste her. She arched and whimpered at the very first touch of his mouth on her most sensitive area and this, he knew, was one of those things she'd alluded to that he was overconfident about. She'd never said but he knew. Because he knew the effect he had on her and, god damn it, he was proud of it. He knew whatever they had didn't come along every day and this reaction was only for him.

He couldn't explain how he knew that. He couldn't explain how well he already knew her after just one day. He only knew that he did and he didn't plan on wasting any time. Not with her. Never with Lucy.