Here's another one! I'm on a rooooolllllll... :)
I usually just jump into fics, I'm not usually one for intros and laying brickwork because I'm a procrastinator and if I do that, I'll never get any writing done.
A/N: Not to reveal too much, but this is based on the scene where Chuck finds Bryce in Sarah's room. That's the turning point for this, although the fic's set a few years after (AUish). Rating will probably be raised later.
Disclaimer: Sigh, after Chuck vs the Breakup, I not only want Chuck, but now I want Bryce :) he's not that bad a guy I guess...
Chapter One
--
Thump. Thump.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see enemy dropping like flies.
Must be one of ours. Someone has my back. She didn't notice the man until her fell on her from behind, headshot. Sarah threw him off with a disgusted expression. But why was the sniper taking such close shots to her?
Sarah delivered another roundhouse, eyes roving for their position.
The man dropped after receiving the vicious kick. She scanned the compound in front of her, still in combat position.
She whipped around, feeling the swoosh of air signalling someone at her back, the burst of air no doubt the raising of a gun.
There was no time. He couldn't be stopped.
Just as Sarah withdrew inside herself, repeating the mantra of 'To protect the greater good', there was a another small thunk. She cracked open one eye.
The man swayed, then keeled over, revealing a smoking gun, equipped with a silencer, behind which, was one Roan Montgomery.
"Agent Montgomery?!" Sarah Walker's eyes were so wide that Roan couldn't help but chuckle.
He pointed at her, "And, someone with me who you might recognize too!"
Something caught the blond's eye, her hand traced the smooth metal of her gun. She glanced over Roan's shoulder, watching as a dark silhouette materialized out of the shadows, fluid movement of his arm tugging the black balaclava off his head as he went. The crown of rich brown curls freed of their constraint dropped around his face.
Her face paled.
"Chuck?" She let out as an exhale of air. Her hands hung loosely by her sides, grasping at empty air.
His reply was to heft up his rifle expertly, without a look, swung it downward and shot at point blank.
The dying man fell limply down again, clean bullethole through his head. The knife clattered to the ground, bouncing once, then lay innocently still on the cold concrete.
As he approached, Roan clapped him on the back. "Now, now Charles, what did we talk about?"
Chuck nodded curtly. Be smooth, confident, enter dramatically: maybe he had gone a little overboard with the last one.
Aware of Sarah's eyes watching his every move, Chuck slung the weapon behind him, settling the strap comfortably on his right shoulder.
He crossed his arms snuggly over his chest, a spark of pride erupting in his chest as his biceps bulged as he did. "Agent Walker."
It looked as if Sarah had never expected to see him again. That stung.
Roan looked between the two, as if waiting for something to happen.
Chuck turned a sharp gaze onto him. "Let's go retrieve the other agent." He turned his back on them, clearly expecting them to accept his leadership. Montgomery shrugged. Well, he was one of the best.
Sarah's shell-shock expression still hadn't receded.
"That's not Chuck Bartowski." She said firmly. "It isn't. He doesn't kill."
"No, it's not." Montgomery conceded jovially, purposefully misinterpreting her words. "It's actually-"
The radio crackled into life, "Crimson Rose, do you copy?"
Crimson rose.
How had Chuck managed to choose that as his code name? Sarah thought, as he replied to the voice.
Crimson rose.
One of the most successful assassins in the world. She had heard the phrase repeated only once: and it had been in utmost admiration. It had been Chuck all along? This was so surreal.
"Strapping young lad, isn't he?" Montgomery leaned over, winking.
Sarah stared blankly at him.
"Get ready." Came the order from the front. "Monty. I want you to stay back, you bag of old bones. I can handle this."
Far from being offended, Roan grinned, giving him the double thumbs up, "Of course."
Chuck slowed his stride, slipping a gun discreetly tucked at the small of his back out, holding it steadily at eye level.
"Showtime." He muttered to himself.
--
"Where's Bartowski?" Beckman demanded, severe eyebrows drawn together. "He should know better than to be late."
A sound of a door opening made them all whip around, hands on gun handles, the General's eyes flickering up as well, finger poised to disconnect the conference to protect her identity.
"Diane." Montgomery's smooth voice washed over them again, reminding them forcibly of another day, back in the past -but this time minus Casey's hulking presence-.
The general looked about to melt.
"Roan." She said sweetly, her voice making Sarah think of rotten candy and the whole exchange making her vaguely uncomfortable.
Bryce snorted, not-so-inconspicuously.
He came closer, "Charles will be here any minute, that fussy boy, but-" Montgomery spread his hands helplessly, "-You can't complain I guess. He can cut a tux like no one else now."
Sarah's eyebrow lifted. Chuck?
The door opened a second time.
A polished italian loafer appeared first; Sarah registered Beckman leaning forward from the corner of her eye. She followed the foot up over the meticulously-pressed black slacks that emphasized his long legs.
"I'm sorry I'm late." Came Chuck's deep voice, followed shortly by the rest of his body, clad smartly in a black suit jacket, the classic lines emphasizing his broad shoulders, only the bottom buttons neatly done up to expose a peek of royal blue silk of his shirt.
He brought his hands up to chest level, fiddling with the glinting silver cufflinks, behind that though, drew Sarah's interest the most; the exposed flesh of the tanned skin on his chest refused to let her avert her gaze.
Beckman's voice was it's same perpetually serious tone, but Sarah noticed the little rise in pitch at the end. "Sharp as usual, Bartowski." She turned to Montgomery. " I must say, Roan, your influence does wonders."
Roan nodded wisely, beaming, "Ah yes, my protege. He still has a most annoying flaw, however." But he didn't say any more.
Chuck stood tall on the other side of Montgomery.
"Come here, boy." Roan pulled his head down roughly after examining him critically from head to toe, yanking a few stray hairs out of Chuck's gelled down hair that were not to his liking.
"Ah!" Chuck struggled in his grip, floundering about with his arms waving wildly. Sarah smiled slightly, hand over her heart, trying to calm her racing heart beat before anyone could notice.
Bryce turned to peer at her. She averted her gaze from Chuck rapidly.
"Sarah?" Her eyes flew back to him. His own seemed intense as they bored through her. His irises seemed even darker than before, lending him a mysterious aura.
He wasn't so tall, dark and cute now. She thought wryly. Nope.
"Bartowski, Walker: focus."
They whipped back to Beckman, trying to pass the suspicious look she sent them as their imaginations.
Chuck tried to concentrate, trying to fight the distraction that was Sarah Walker. His attention was fixed soley on her voice as she reported back her mission and where Chuck came in.
It was hard, standing not two meters from the woman who several years ago, he was emotionally involved so deeply with that at that time- he could have visualised getting married to, and whom had subsequently ditched him to frolick with Bryce somewhere halfway across the world. -And not a word from her those two and a half years she was gone.
"Roan, Bartowski. Good work. But Roan: try stay out of the major gunfights, you're an ex-agent. Besides, Bartowski's more effective when working on his own, he tends to get...somewhat distracted with partners- especially female ones." She brushed off Chuck's eye-roll, "You're very welcome to continue your success with Agent Bartowski's extra-curricular training, of course."
"Um, just to defend myself:" Chuck raised a finger, "They intentionally distract me. I'm left wondering all the time if they're the enemy trying to get me killed."
"That's not my problem, Bartowski," Beckman replied impatiently, "It is your fault that you make them compromise themselves, though that's not the problem- it's the mission that gets affected by it."
Only Roan noticed the way Sarah ducked her head at Beckman's answer, seeming embarrassed.
Her head jerked up again when she was addressed.
"Walker and Larkin, I'm quite disappointed that you managed to get yourselves into that mess in the first place. You two are a highly competent pair, but your worth to the CIA seems to be decreasing rapidly. You're lucky that Team Bartowski arrived to drag your asses out of that place."
Chuck tried to hold down a snicker at Bryce's sulky looking pallor.
"General, it won't hap-"
Beckman cut in, "Make sure it doesn't, Walker. And, though I'm not happy about your team recieving contact with Bartowski, it's better to stay together for now until another assignment comes up."
"Yes ma'am."
"Very well, Diane." Roan drawled.
Beckman started flushing- until she saw Chuck's expression:
"Wipe that shit-eating smirk off your face, Agent Bartowski, or I'll have Casey beat the hell outta you."
The colours eclipsed into blackness, and the screen went blank.
There was a moment of silence.
"Sounds kinky."
--
"So," He started as he stopped in front of them standing in the expansive lobby of the Bellagio, "There're only three rooms available, pretty busy time here apparently. All have queen beds...Monty can have his own room, I'll stay in one..."
Chuck trailed off, glancing first at Sarah and then Bryce.
Bryce spoke up to answer his unasked question, "Sarah and I will have the third room."
Sarah lifted up a finger, unimpressed with him, wanting to be included in the decision making. Before she could speak though, Chuck had already turned to her, as if about to ask her opinion even after Bryce's statement.
Her eyes softened imperceptibly, Chuck had always been like this, it was no different now.
"Agent Walker?"
She snapped out of her thoughts, "Um, do I have any choice? You and Agent Montgomery have already taken the other rooms..."
Chuck paused, then with as much hesitation as she had seen from him so far, said: "You- could always share my room..." He quickly made up for it, "Or, take either mine or Monty's. He and I can share, I'll just sleep on the floor."
"I'd say you are very chivalous for leaving me the bed," Roan started, "But, I am no woman. I don't appreciated being treated as such."
They all ignored him, leaving him to mutter about 'young people these days' and his 'reputation as CIA's legend'.
Bryce turned to Sarah, slipping an arm around her waist. Sarah looked startled for a moment, then relaxed, though still seeming tense: Chuck wondered if her uneasiness had anything to do with the present company.
The fact alone that she didn't brush Bryce off told him that this occurred on a fairly frequent basis. The thought was mildly disappointing- but he quickly discarded that line his mind was going.
Bryce turned his icy blue eyes to Sarah, "But babe, we always share a bed-" He shook his head, "-What's different this time?"
Chuck did not miss the brief flicker of her eyes at him before she focused on Bryce again. "I-" She sighed, "All right."
He tried to nuzzle her neck, but she pushed him away almost as if she was trying to prove something.
Montgomery decided that it was the perfect time to defuse the situation-
"Well, since you...lovebirds," He looked carefully at Chuck for a moment, "have it all sorted...the single ones, meaning Charles and I- will go get dead drunk and pick up a few women!"
Chuck didn't look too pleased- but he knew Roan was trying to lift his spirits...in his own way.
"Don't expect us to be back till morning then eh? Those trackers you put on us might come in handy though, after all, we'll probably split up with different women to their places."
Bryce blanched.
Chuck smirked.
"You can't outwit a professional with a heap of experience that easily like Monty here...and I, well I just keep up with the technology, so I recognized it rather easily." He said smugly, now grinning back at Roan.
Sarah looked wistful for some reason. That is, if she wasn't pretending. Chuck thought venomously as she then turned to look incredulously at him.
"Adios!"
Chuck hurried after Montgomery's receding back, one of the old agent's hand lifted up in a wave without looking.
"Hurry along, will you Charles? The night of debauchery and fun won't wait for us!"
--
"You seem distracted." It was not a question. "Distractions can get you killed." Montgomery looked sharply at Chuck out of the corner of his eye, though his posture remained indifferent.
Chuck tilted his head, up at the dark sky emphasized by the flashing Las Vegas lights around them.
"It's the girl, isn't it?"
Montgomery watched as Chuck stumbled, the said agent brushing it off with a "I wasn't watching where I was going".
He smiled. The boy was still hopelessly in love.
That's all folks! -For now. (Just needed a lift from my AS exam that I know I failed lol)
I love the way you can manipulate Roan in fanfiction: he's such a fun character to write, I couldn't resist.
Did anything else think the dance Sarah/Bryce did was hoooottt? They look quite good together ;) but fear not- I'm still devoted to Charah! Maybe it was intentional, but Yvonne didn't have that much facial expression when Chuck was delivering his little speech. I love the plot though: the comparison between her shot to kill the enemy behind Bryce and her hesitation to do the same for Chuck in concern that she might hurt him. Ooo and the part where they stand up to go into the apartment, the moment to stabilize herself and their forced smiles was absolutely positively (sorry Wellington)adorable.
Does anyone know how to write action bits?? I'm totally stumped. Ooh and if anyone wants to help me work on my plot around a month after this (cuz I'm pretty busy with school), it would be greatly appreciated.
Review? You know you want to.