"I'm, uh, gonna be outta town that day, bud." Devon rubbed the back of his neck as he thought. "You trust me, right Tanner?"
"Yeah, bro, always!" Tanner said into the phone. "Can't you reschedule?"
"That's the thing man, me and El have been planning this for over a month. But her brother, Chuck is available! He's great with kids and I know for a fact that he has an entire week off from his work." Devon quickly jogged out of his house and tested the lock on Chuck and Morgan's apartment. He opened the door and called out Chuck's name. No reply.
"So I can trust this guy? You sure, Dev?"
"Tanner, you don't need to worry, I trust Chuck with my life." Devon walked down the hall and peeked in to Chuck's open door, seeing him coming out of Casey's apartment through the open curtains. "Hey, uh… if it'll settle your nerves, I can make sure he's got back up! Our neighbor is a Marine! If that doesn't say safe and sound, I don't know what does!"
"Thanks man!" Tanner said over the phone, "you're really doing me a solid!" The two men said their goodbyes, and Devon hung up the phone, waving to Chuck as he entered his bedroom through the Morgan door.
"Hey, Devon." Chuck said slowly, "What are you doing in my room?"
"Listen, Chuck," Devon began. "You know me and Ellie have been planning to go away for the weekend for awhile now, right?"
"Yeah," Chuck slung his computer bag off over his head and threw it on the bed along with his pens and pocket protector. "Did you cancel it?"
Devon laughed nervously. "No, no. I, uh, you remember Tanner, right? My old frat brother? He just called and needs a favor from me, but told him I have plans this weekend."
"Devon what are you getting at?"
"To cut to the point, I need you and Casey to babysit for Tanner this weekend." Devon clapped his hands together and smiled. "Okay? Thanks! I owe you one, bro!" He took off down the hallway before Chuck started shouting in protest.
"I hate this."
"The baby or watching of the baby?" Chuck did his best not to smile.
"You know what I mean, you idiot!" He watched as Casey held the gurgling baby girl at arm's length, his giant paws wrapped around her middle. Casey bounced on his feet, jostling the infant slightly. Didn't they like that?
Lucy began to cry.
Her face turned red and her eyes shut as she began to whine loudly. Casey's eyes bugged and he turned to Chuck, shoving the little girl at him. "Take it!"
"She's not an 'it', Casey! She's a little human being, like you and me." Chuck backed up and held his hands in front of him. "You need to learn how to do this on your own, Big Guy."
Casey lifted the baby onto one of his large shoulders and began to non-to-gently pat her on the back. She wailed louder. "Don't make me beg you, Bartowski." He spat through his teeth, "Take the kid."
Chuck's brow furrowed as he gently swept the baby from Casey and began to talk in quieter, sweeter tones. "You can't man-handle her like that, Casey. You have to be sweet and really gentle. Especially before they start walking." Chuck held Lucy to him as he cradled her and began to softly sway from one foot to the other. "Besides, she's too old to be burped. Only when they drink just milk do babies needed immediate burping. At least I think so." Her cries began to go from lengthened wails to quieter, deep breaths. "There we go!" He sung sweetly to her. "You'll get used to Uncle Johnny, won't you? I know you will." Chuck looked up from staring at the child to give Casey a pointed glare. "Uncle Johnny is just a big teddy bear."
Casey curled his lip. He turned away from Chuck and stalked out the door, to his own apartment. Chuck moved Lucy from leaning on his chest to straddling his waist. She clung to his shirt and tugged on him as her watery brown eyes looked up at him in fascination. "Wanna follow Uncle John? I know I do." Chuck lugged her with him as he peered out his front doorway to see Casey locking his apartment, and turn around, beer in hand.
"As far as I'm concerned, Bartowski," Casey plowed into the room and opened the can, "You are babysitting the kid, and I'm babysitting you." Chuck shut the front door as Casey made himself at home; propping his giant feet on the other end of the couch, he turned the television on.
"That's not fair, Casey. Devon left both of us in charge of Lucy. She is your responsibility as much as she is mine. We are each other's backup for the next three days. No getting out of it."
Casey grunted amusedly, and turned the volume up louder on ESPN.
Chuck walked to the far wall next to the entertainment system and placed Lucy into the makeshift play area. Complete with a puffy Winnie the Pooh themed blanket that stretched over four square feet, it was infested with wooden blocks, a fake cell phone, and a whole slew of squishy and/or plush dolls and animals.
She squealed unhappily when put down, and he gave her a little light up ball to play with. Lucy put it against her mouth and began to furiously gum it.
Chuck walked over to Casey, snatched the remote and turned the volume down. "Hey!" Casey sat upright, drink in hand, as he grabbed at Chuck; he in turn sat on Casey's midsection to keep him from rising off of the couch.
"Casey, I am not accusing… you of… be… ing a bad parent," Chuck dropped the remote, it tumbling under the couch, as he struggled to keep the large spy on the couch. Lucy screamed happily in the corner as they wrestled.
Chuck had one hand pushing Casey's left shoulder into the couch while the other was pushing his right leg off the couch. Casey slammed his drink on the coffee table and wrapped his hand around Chuck's throat. With the leg being pinned by Chuck, Casey brought it up and wrapped it around the slender man's body, flipping them over, Casey pushing both of Chuck's shoulders into the couch cushions, his own legs keeping Chuck's locked under his.
Bringing his forearms down to rest on Chuck's chest, keeping his shoulders pinned, Casey loosely yet threateningly wrapped his hands around Chuck's throat. "What did you call me, Chuck?"
"I- I didn't call you a… I didn't say it like that… I-"
"I am an astounding parent, Bartowski and don't forget it." With every other word Casey pressed a finger tightly into Chuck's neck until he had an entire hand pushing into Chuck's esophagus. He tightened the other hand. "I could skate Dad shaped circles around you any day."
Chuck brought his hands up to lock around Casey's thick wrists. "And I don't doubt it," he shifted his hips causing Casey to grunt and shift his so they wouldn't fall off the couch. "But you can't just hand all the duties to me, while you pop a beer with a 10 month old crawling around. They put everything in their mouths and crawl everywhere. All I'm saying is that if we are put into a two-parent situation, we should utilize that. I know first hand its not fun having only one parent, and then none at all."
Casey's face slackened. He took his hands away from Chuck's throat and brought them to rest on the armrest behind his head. "Right. Forgot."
"No, you're good, now uh…" Chuck wrapped his long legs around Casey's waist. "How did you do that turn over thing?" Chuck twisted his hips with all his might, only managing to push Casey's legs into the back of the couch, then settle back into place.
Casey laughed. "Lots of practice. Lots and lots." He grinned down at the man beneath him.
Chuck smiled, a little confused. He placed his now freed hands on Casey's pecs and pushed up, not budging. "You flip a lot of commies on couches? Why would you need to practice that?"
Casey's smile went from an amused grin to a sly smile. His hands still on the armrest, he ground his hips ever so slightly into the ones below him, lowering his head closer to Chuck's. Chuck's eyes went wide and he began to stammer. "Let's just say I wasn't fighting for my life when I finally mastered that move, hmm?"
Chuck wet his lips, Casey's eyes catching the movement, and impulsively flexed his hips back. "Uh, uhm."
"Yeah?" Casey lightly brushed his forehead against Chuck's.
"Are you watching the baby? I haven't… haven't put up the baby proof fences yet."
Casey swore and leaped off of Chuck. He turned in a circle and found a small plush monkey behind the couch. He picked it up and squashed it in his fist. "I'll check down the hall and in the bedrooms. You do the bathroom and the kitchen!" Chuck watched as Casey stomped down the hallway.
"She didn't leave a scent trail, you bloodhound." Chuck rolled off of the couch and began crawling on his hands and knees, calling out for Lucy in a silly voice. "Loocie! luCY!" He quickly knee walked into the dining area and looked under the table. Not there. He made his way to the kitchen. Casey had already put zip ties on the cabinets, so she wasn't in there. He turned towards the hallway and crawled menacingly toward the bathroom. Before he got there he saw her red hair poke out of the bathroom door and turn towards him. Her face lit up and she began to breathe heavily through her nose in excitement, huffing as she tore away from Chuck.
She turned around and watched him. He lifted up his arms and began to knee walk towards her. "Rawr!" He said. Her diaper swishing, she crawled quickly down the carpeted hallway, squealing as Chuck kept 'rawr'ing behind her. Lucy trucked in front of him until she saw Casey plant a hand on the end doorframe. She screamed in joy and turned around to get away from him, only to find Chuck right behind her. She screamed again and crawl-shuffled back to Casey who stepped forward and grabbed her around the middle again. He hefted her into the air and she tried to swat his face.
"Uh." He looked down to where Chuck sat on the floor staring at him. "What are you looking at me for?"
"Play with her, you sack of meat!"
"You're pushing it, Bartowski." He grit. Casey looked down at Lucy, who was starting to squirm uncomfortably in his grip. "Uh. Stop, that." Chuck pursed his lips, unimpressed.
"Are these the dad shaped circles you were talking about?" Chuck stood and leaned on the wall, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Shut up." Lucy kicked her feet and whined a bit. Casey's eyes bugged again in panic.
"Don't… don't freak out like that." Chuck stepped forward and placed the toddler on the floor. She sat down and stared up at the two of them. "Why do you think people always talk in a baby voice around them? A soothing tone will keep the baby calm, whereas an increased heartbeat or angry voice will upset them. Now get on your knees."
Casey squinted at Chuck. "What?"
Chuck cleared his throat. "I, uh. I mean get on the floor… like I was before. You're going to play with this baby before I die. And you shall do it right." Getting on the floor, Chuck tugged on Casey's pant leg until he joined him. Lucy stared at them and began to crawl up Casey's being. He leaned back, without touching her.
"You aren't going to break her. Grab her and lay her on her back. Then blow on her tummy. Do it quick and not too rough."
Casey smirked. "That how you like it, Chuck?"
"Very funny," Chuck said as he hid a blush. "I mean you might give her carpet burn if you move her to roughly against the floor. Just…" He mimicked the actions with his hands. "Give her a raspberry on her stomach. Blow on her, so your mouth makes the little fart noises."
Lucy had lifted the agent's shirt and started playing peek-a-boo, lifting it over and pulling it against her face repeatedly. Casey gave him a look that clearly asked 'the hell'?
"Like… like this," Chuck said. He leaned over and blew a raspberry against Casey's shoulder. "One of those."
Casey growled.
When Lucy next peeked her head out from under Casey's shirt he quickly- but still awkwardly- grabbed her and laid her down. He lifted her purple butterfly shirt and blew a raspberry on her soft tummy. She squealed with delight and slapped the top of his head. "Ahhh! Ahhh, ahh!" She hit his face playfully when he put his mouth against her neck and gummed her. She giggled and rolled onto her tummy, crawling away from the two men.
"There!" Chuck slapped his hand on Casey's shoulder. "Dad circles are looking good, Johnny my boy!" Casey looked at the hand on his shoulder and growled menacingly.
"Casey?" Chuck called the next day. "Casey we talked about this! You can't leave the horror channel on!" Looking back in the living room, making sure Lucy was sleeping on her blanket on the floor, Chuck shook his head and walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. As soon as he opened the door, a large bottle of orange juice toppled out. Chuck lunged forward to grab it, keeping the lidless drink from spilling onto the floor, but not from spilling it all over himself.
"Aw, man." He mumbled. "Morgan…" He screwed the lid back on and put the OJ back into the fridge, stripping his ruined t shirt off Chuck walked over to the sink. Turning the handle of the faucet, he stuck the shirt under to catch the water that didn't come out. Shaking both the hot and the cold levers, Chuck slumped his shoulders.
Wringing the garment into the sink, Chuck wandered down the hall to the bathroom. The door was shut and he could hear a low monotonous sound coming from the other side of the door. "Casey? Everything alright in there?" Chuck tested the handle to find it unlocked; he walked in and found Casey to be in the shower, singing. Chuck's face turned red as the realization that the heated steam in the glass shower was all that blocked a wet naked spy from his view dawned on him.
"Hey, Casey?" Chuck called as the singing stopped and the water squeaked off. "Sorry to bother to burst in, but I spilled orange juice all over myself and the sink in the kitchen has stopped working. I just came in to wash up. Please pretend I'm not here."
As Chuck kept himself from looking at the shower in the mirror's reflection, he heard Casey quietly begin to start singing to himself again. A deep throaty Sinatra song, echoed out of the still steamed up shower. Chuck took out a soft, fluffy towel and wet half of it in the sink. One end of the towel was wet so he could clean off the sticky juice that had soaked through onto his chest; the other end was dry so he could dry himself off.
As Chuck washed his hands clean and began to clean off the orange juice, he listened to Casey rumble. He closed his eyes and smiled a little. He heard the shower door slide open, and the singing got louder. Chuck swayed slightly, rubbing the soft towel into his chest. He hummed along with Casey's soothing voice.
As he weaved in front of the sink, eyes closed, Chuck didn't notice a freshly showered and toweled Casey come up behind him.
Casey dropped his singing down to a sultry hum into Chuck ear, as he wrapped one arm around Chuck's middle and brought the other up to run over Chuck's chest, splaying his fingers through the small hairs found there.
"Hmmm, hmm, hmm. Thanks for letting me use your shower, Chuck." Casey hummed as he placed his hand over Chuck's stilled one and began to clean the OJ off of him with strong, slow strokes.
"Is, uh… is that, hem," Chuck cleared his throat, "is that Frank Sinatra?"
Pressing his hips against Chuck's backside, forcing him against the countertop, Casey stretched the towel off to finish cleaning off Chuck's chest as he lowered his nose to nuzzle at his neck. "Dean Martin."
"Ah. That's very…" Chuck clutched the countertop. "Very nice man."
"Uh-huh." Casey pecked Chuck's neck with short and quick little kisses all along the area where his shoulder met his neck. "Nice indeed." Casey chuckled and hummed another note. "And tall, and sweet, smart, an idiot sometimes, but funny, and entertaining, talented," with each adjective, Casey placed another kiss on Chuck. The younger man hesitantly tilted his head back as Casey nibbled underneath his ear. He moaned slightly.
"Casey." Chuck turned his head towards Casey and plunked his head against his neck and breathed deeply, weighing his options.
"Yes, Chuck?" Casey grinned as he felt Chuck turn around snuggle against his still wet chest.
"Lucy… Lucy needs to be fed when she wakes up…" Chuck hesitantly placed a kiss against the underside of Casey's jaw, soon beginning to outline the chiseled bone with his lips.
"So she's sleeping?" Casey ran his hands up Chuck's back, pressing them chest to chest, and pressed his hips into Chuck's pushing him into and up onto the countertop. Casey finally matched their mouths together. Going in deep, not starting out for anything gentle, but still keeping it sweet. Chuck brought his hands up to Casey's head and kneaded his fingers into his short brown hair. Casey's own digits twirling around Chuck's curls.
Tearing his head away, Chuck looked up at Casey from his seated permission. "Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah, she's still sleeping."
"Hmm," Casey hummed, "that's real good for you Chuck." Casey grabbed Chuck's hips and pulled them flush against his own, legs wrapping around to lock at the ankles behind his back, Casey fingered the towel slung low around his hips. "Really good, huh?'
"Huh." Chuck grinned goofily as Casey pulled away from another kiss, taking the towel off. "Won't… won't there be anything good for you? From, uh. From her nap?"
Casey laughed as he placed sloppy, sweet kisses down Chuck's chest. As his knees thunked against the tile, Casey undid the button of Chuck's jeans. "I don't know how much I'll benefit, if I'm putting all my concentration on how you'll benefit," Chuck's heels slammed back against the cabinets, "from the nap."