Chuck vs. Donkey Kong
A relaxing outing a few months after the upload of Intersect 2.0 produces the chance for some Chuck-and-Sarah time, where certain knowledge bases and skill sets are unexpectedly expanded and reapplied... One-shot, ridiculously innocuous, Chuck/Sarah.
Rating: T
(It's harmless, I think. But, know what: I'd rather give the story a rating that's too high than too low.)
Spoilers: Through season 2, set a few months after "Chuck vs. the Ring."
A/N: I continue to fail at writing synopses. Some things never change.
I stumbled upon an AWESOME museum exhibit (and, as Chuck fans, we don't use the word "awesome" in real life lightly, so you know it was really that awesome) while I was traveling on business this past week. This short story immediately came to mind. I couldn't resist writing it up. It has a fluff factor higher than my normal stories, and Chuck and Sarah might be a bit OOC for me because there's no angst. At all. Totally serious.
For anyone wondering about a sequel to "Watcher," I still have no definitive answer. I'll admit that I've been giving it some serious thought, though, because the demand for one is rather…high. As soon as I know, you'll know.
The story's been proofed a few times, but a few typos probably slipped through. I apologize for those typos, and I'll fix them as soon as I find them. Several italicized words or sentences tend to denote a character's thoughts. And, finally, I don't own Chuck. If I did, I'd have the money to replicate this museum exhibit in my basement.
-.-.-.-
"Come on, Sarah, just one? Please? Please please please please pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
Chuck gave her the innocent puppy dog eyes as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. His enthusiasm was hard to resist, exemplified by her growing-by-the-second smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah could see the woman sitting next to her knowingly smile as she witnessed Chuck's antics, as if to say, "Oh, you are so far gone."
Sarah couldn't argue with that—it was becoming a verifiable fact as of late, especially if complete strangers could figure it out in a heartbeat. With a theatrical eye roll, Sarah allowed Chuck to pull her up off the bench she'd been sitting on.
"Fine. I'll try one. ONE."
Sarah's bench was positioned near the entrance to a dimly lit exhibit in one of LA's museums. The newly minted Woodcombs both had Saturday off, and had decided to visit the new "Bodies" exhibit that had recently opened. They'd asked Chuck and Sarah over lunch if they wanted to come along. After watching the color drain from Chuck's face at the thought of viewing multiple human cadavers, Sarah had quickly agreed on both of their behalves, so long as her and Chuck could go elsewhere while the doctors viewed that particular exhibit. She'd figured that they'd find something to look at in the meantime.
Sarah had no clue how right she was. They did find something to look at in the meantime.
Chuck was in the process of pulling her into the heart of the "something to look at in the meantime": an exhibit that demonstrated how arcade and video games had evolved over the years. His jaw had dropped when he spotted the exhibit, because it did so in an extremely effective way: it had many, many, many vintage arcade games in one room, restored and ready to be played. In essence, she had been roped into a Saturday afternoon at a retro arcade filled with loads of children and just as many frazzled parents.
Strangely, she wasn't regretting it the least bit as she laced her fingers through his and watched his eyes scan over the various games while they walked.
"You're going to have to help pick one out for me, Chuck. This really isn't my thing. I was a little busy in the 80s and 90s."
He nervously coughed a few times as he glanced around the room a bit more furtively. Her ready acquiescence had thrown him—I thought I was going have to beg for 30 more seconds, minimum, to get her to try one of these—as did her laid-back attitude.
"Uh, well…," he stammered, "do any of these look familiar to you?"
"That one, a little bit."
Chuck's head eagerly turned to where she indicated. His eyes narrowed as he took in the sight.
"Ha, ha. Very funny."
He was looking right at Missile Command.
Apprehension set in a moment later.
"Wait, do you want to play that one? You totally can. It's really not that ba…"
A shoulder bump and a smirk from the blonde on his right silenced him.
"Relax, if I have to play one of these, I'd rather not play that one. Expectations are too high—I'm dating the Missile Command world champion. How about something that you're not a world champion of, please?"
His jaw dropped at her casual admission.
We're DATING!
It seemed like they'd accidentally fallen into dating for real since he'd uploaded the new Intersect a few months before.
But, he wasn't sure.
He hadn't even noticed the possible change in their relationship status until a week or two ago when he'd gone over to her place unannounced on a non-mission night and surprised her with a dinner of Sizzling Shrimp. Her face had genuinely lit up when she opened the door and saw him. It wasn't until they were bantering over the Shrimp that he realized that she hadn't made one mention about (a) the CIA, (b) the Intersect, (c) Casey, or (d) any combination of the previous three when he'd appeared at her door without so much as a personal text or phone call.
Had she been aware of the shift in their relationship the whole time, or did she just realize it, too?
Hey, focus. You're supposed to be picking out a game for her to try. Dissect the relationship you're apparently in the middle of into lots of little pieces later. Shaking his head, he shoulder bumped her back and gestured grandly at machines to compensate for his silent ruminations.
"These are CLASSICS! They should be preserved at the Smithsonian! The names of some of these other games aren't even familiar? Or, OK, if they're not familiar, none of these look remotely intriguing to you? Come on, what about this one?" He gestured at Paperboy. "It's about…well, a paper boy. He rides on his bike and has to throw newspapers to deliver them while dodging cars and stuff. You're great at throwing kni…uh…things."
The comment about her knife-throwing ability produced a smile, but the bicycle-and-armored-car incident suddenly sprung to mind. She unconsciously tensed before forcing herself to relax, coming up with a quick excuse as Chuck's head whipped toward her, concern etched on his face.
"I'm good at throwing in real life, not in a video game. That's probably not the best criteria for picking out a game."
His brows furrowed—he wasn't convinced, and gave her hand a small squeeze. Getting into her past in the middle of an arcade filled with children was not going to happen. She let out a small sigh and mouthed, "Not now, later" as she nodded her head toward the end of one of the rows of games.
"What's that one?"
Too focused on what he'd said to bother her, Chuck did a double-take when he absentmindedly looked at where Sarah had nodded.
"Wh…what's Donkey Kong? Oh. My. God. You know, Donkey Kong? Kind of like King Kong? He's a huge monkey? Climbs things? Kidnaps women?"
No flashes of recognition crossed Sarah's face. Instead, she had the look she'd had on their fake first date when Chuck had asked about her favorite band—an apologetic expression with a huge grin. Translation: she had no clue. He gave her a similar response he did then, steering them toward the game.
"Oh my God. Oh. My. God. That's…that's just not right. That's so not right. Donkey Kong it is."
Stopping in front of the machine, Chuck patted both pockets for quarters while Sarah eyed the console. Its controls were simple: it had a joystick for movement on the left, and a button labeled "JUMP" on the right. The screen displayed various tilted platforms, connected by ladders, with a large gorilla guarding a damsel on the top platform. The gorilla was throwing barrels towards a small man clad in red on a lower platform.
Why did I agree to this, again?, she mused as she watched a barrel run over the Man in Red, resulting in his apparent "death". Video games weren't really her thing. She'd readily admit it.
A small whoop on her left shifted her focus from the game to the source of the noise.
Chuck was leaning against the side of the machine, triumphantly holding up a quarter with a grin on his face. Watching him crouch to insert the quarter into the machine, the grin had spread to her face by the time he stood back up and smacked the "Start" button.
Oh, right. That's why.
He faced the machine and motioned for her to do the same as the machine started playing music.
"Alright, you'll like this one," he explained with a lopsided smile as the opening animation began, pointing at each character where appropriate. "Basically, Donkey Kong kidnaps the damsel, and the damsel's average boyfriend has to rescue her while dodging stuff."
She planted a hand loosely on her hip and turned to give him a look. "You're kidding, right."
As best he could, he kept a straight face and gave an innocent shrug.
"What? It's not like I came up with the storyline. You picked the game, remember?"
A few more seconds under the patented Walker glare and the corners of his mouth started twitching up. He leaned on the edge of the machine, perpendicular to the screen, and tilted his head at it while suppressing a Cheshire Cat grin. The machine chirped the opening bars that signaled the beginning of the game.
"Better get going. Wouldn't want you to get run over by a barrel."
She gave him one last glare before rolling her eyes and facing the screen with a small smile. Cautiously trying out the controls for a few seconds, Sarah's eyes narrowed as she focused on the screen. Playing for a respectable amount of time, she almost made it to the same platform as the damsel when an errant barrel took her by surprise, killing the Man in Red. Watching the death animation with amusement, she silently thanked the powers that be. Her first real attempt at playing a video game, and she hadn't lost in the first 5 seconds. Talk about lucky.
"I'm surprised that I lasted as long as I did."
Chuck wasn't. Sarah's reflexes were ridiculously fast. He had little doubt that she'd be good at video games—she just hadn't played enough of them to know.
"I'm not."
Surprised, she looked over at him. He was slightly bouncing up and down again, thumbs hooked through his belt loops with raised eyebrows, and sheepish smile on his face.
"What, you are pretty awesome." Nodding toward the screen, he continued. "See how far you get this time."
Blushing from the complement, a single eyebrow soon shot up as she glanced at the screen. The Man in Red was upright again, standing back at the beginning at the level. She looked back at Chuck.
"That's not it? I got run over by a barrel. I should be dead."
"You get multiple lives."
Her expression was priceless.
"What!"
"Sarah, seriously, it's a game, not real life. If you die once, it's not game over…which sounds incredibly corny and lame and something that Casey would say, so I'm going to shut up."
She still made no effort to turn back toward the game, though she was now looking at him the way she did anytime he said something she found cute. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, he smoothly stepped behind her, putting his chest flush against her back. Her breath caught at his proximity as he faced them toward the machine and put her hands back onto the controls, his own lightly resting over hers. She forced herself to breathe as his lips brushed against her ear.
"Come on, let's see if Team Chuck can save the damsel."
It was hard to argue with such persuasive logic.
Team Chuck did save the damsel. A small pink heart appeared between the Damsel and the Man in Red as they reunited on the top platform. However, Sarah gave Chuck a gentle elbow to the ribs when the pink heart broke in half and Donkey Kong carried the Damsel up another ladder. Taking her eyes off the screen, she turned her head to hiss at him. She was taken aback at how close he was, his chin hooked over her right shoulder, and her hiss was reduced to a breathy whisper.
"There's more?"
His eyes widened in pseudo-affront—how could there only be one level!—but they returned to their normal size as Sarah did her best to shoot him an accusatory glance, despite his closeness.
"Of course there's more! Most video games have multiple levels. Now, no giving up on our damsel. She's not armed with throwing knives and Lord knows what else."
That earned him a less-gentle elbow in the ribs, but Sarah was chuckling as she returned her attention to the screen, now displaying a level with even-keeled platforms and more obstacles.
They were a surprisingly effective duo. Chuck let Sarah control the Man in Red most of the time. Wherever she reacted a millisecond too slow, Chuck was moving the joystick or mashing the jump button, and admittedly, Sarah reacted faster than Chuck would have just as often, if not more so. Between the two of them, they reached the fourth and final level. Several intense minutes later, Donkey Kong was falling off the top platform, presumably plummeting to his death, as the Man in Red and Damsel were reunited yet again.
She could feel Chuck smile against her neck, a smile she soon matched even though she had no idea why he was smiling until he spoke.
"Congratulations, you just beat your first video game."
The small pink heart popped up between the Man in Red and the Damsel, as it had at the end of the other levels, only it remained whole. A victory theme chimed out of the machine's speakers.
After being near Chuck for so long, Sarah had gained an appreciation for video games, but she still didn't understand why people became so excited after beating one. She blamed it on her profession—what she'd heard, what she'd seen, what she'd done. People spending time on mastering something so insignificant compared to the problems in the real world didn't seem like it'd be very exciting or fulfilling.
It was exciting. It was fulfilling. Just not for the reasons she thought it'd be.
Before she could stop herself, she spun around and kissed him.
Good and solidly kissed him.
The sort of kiss you'd give someone not because you needed to, but because you wanted to.
And the sort of kiss that they'd been denied for too long.
He was quick to react, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground to eliminate their height difference. Somehow, she anticipated the move, and had trailed her hands up his arms to his neck so that her arms were solidly around his neck just as he lifted her up. Feeling her lips curl into a smile under his, he couldn't help but let out a bliss-filled chuckle as he drew her even closer. His partially muffled chuckle directly resonated from his chest to hers, making the tips of her toes tingle and curl.
The unexpected chirp of the machine seconds later startled them apart. Sarah looked as best she could over her shoulder, and was stunned to find the first screen—the one with the tilted platforms and thrown barrels—displayed again, with the machine patiently waiting for input.
"…wow," she said a little breathlessly, feet still a good six inches off the ground, "it keeps going?"
Chuck nodded, grateful for the chance to gather both his thoughts and his breath. The kiss had been a closed-mouth one—definitely PG, thankfully, but another second or two and it would have gone somewhere else entirely. Thank God for random 1980s arcade music…
"Uh, wow, well…yeah," he managed to stammer out. His next sentence sounded more normal. "It keeps going until you run out of lives."
Not loosening his hold on her, he carefully sidestepped clear of the machine. Gesturing for one of the boys attentively watching their every move to take over the console, only after they completely cleared the machine did Chuck lower Sarah to the ground. Her arms extended as he did so, hands threading together behind his head, allowing him to stand without having to comically hunch. Even so, they continued to stand close together, Chuck making no real effort to let her go.
"The damsel gets kidnapped again?" Sarah asked. Her eyes had never left the screen as Chuck moved them, and she'd just noticed that the Damsel was, again, standing next to Donkey Kong on the top platform.
"I know, hard to believe. You'd think she'd avoid large gorillas after the first time."
She rolled her eyes and gave Chuck a pointed look.
"Maybe the damsel should have stayed in the car."
"Hey!"
He planned to vociferously continue his protest, but insistent tugs on his t-shirt stopped him. Chuck looked down to find a young boy standing next to him. Now that the boy had commandeered Chuck's attention—and Sarah's, by association—he didn't wait to be addressed by either adult.
"Mister, if I beat the game, do I get to kiss her, too?"
Chuck's eyes, for some reason, immediately snapped to the ceiling, his cheeks burning red as his mouth hung open before audibly snapping shut. Sarah was trying her best not to laugh. She was also resisting the urge to kiss him again. It probably would make matters worse. She settled for resting her head on his arm so that she was looking away from the inquisitive…and forthright…boy, killing two birds with one stone.
"Ha, uh, no," Chuck stammered after a few seconds, tightening his hold on Sarah. "You have to get your own damsel. You know, kind of like when you buy a new toy and you have to get your own batteries?"
The appropriately nerdy analogy hit its mark: the boy's face fell. He knew exactly what Chuck was talking about. With a dejected look on his face, the boy took slow, mournful steps back toward the Donkey Kong machine. Once he was out of earshot, Sarah tilted her head to whisper into Chuck's ear as she slid her arms down to his waist.
"…did you just compare me to batteries?"
Momentary panic set in. He envisioned the 19 ways she could probably kill him without breaking a sweat. He risked a glance in her direction. She had turned so she could look at him, and the glimmer in her eye assuaged his fears—she was needling him. And she was enjoying it.
"Excuse me," he drawled out with fake seriousness, moving one arm up to her shoulders while letting the other drop to her hip, "if you listened, I definitely think I compared you to a beautiful damsel. You're taking the battery thing very out of context."
"Because that comparison's better. Damsels are usually in distress."
He laughed aloud and kissed her forehead.
"Sarah Walker, the day you're a damsel in distress is the day that John Casey becomes a pacifist."
It was Sarah's turn to laugh aloud. As her laughter died down, both noticed the group of boys watching them, the same group of boys that had gathered while they were playing the game. Chuck thought it was because they'd let one of the group's members take their place at the machine, or because they'd gotten so far in the game. Head quirked to the side, Chuck watched as the shirt-tugger whispered something to the rest of the group, after which they all took one long look at Sarah before sadly shuffling closer to the machine. One or two looked back over at Sarah a few more times.
Chuck had definitely thought wrong. He now knew why they were being watched. Dating one of the most beautiful women in the world was as hazardous in the real world as being the Intersect was in the spy world. Unconsciously, he drew Sarah a little closer and angled them toward the exit.
"…I'm thinking that it's time to go. Your average boyfriend doesn't want to kung-fu a bunch of 12-year-olds. Ready to go find the Awesomes? Maybe grab some dinner?"
Chuck versus the tweens?, she thought with a smirk. There's an image…
"Sounds good to me. And, Chuck, really—average?"
He huffed a little for show, but the smile never left his face as he looked down at his sneakers before looking back up.
"Fine. Your non-average, Missile Command world champion boyfriend. Better?"
She raised her eyes a bit to catch his, communicating the perfect mix of amusement—the comment was classic Chuck, after all—and reproach—both knew what she was trying to imply, even if Chuck was reticent to admit it.
"A little. We'll work on it."
A few steps more revealed the Awesomes, standing just inside the entrance-exit archway.
...I wonder how long they've been standing there?, Chuck wondered. His question was answered as Devon saw them, pointed at both of them before holding up both hands for high-fives, and loudly boomed with a wink.
"Now that was awesome!"
-.-.-.-
A/N2: For those that actually have a life and aren't familiar with the video games mentioned here, Google and/or Wikipedia give decent descriptions if you're completely lost. Or if you want a visual. …or if you want to play Flash versions of any of the games.