Title: In Too Deep
Rating: G
Ship: Casey/Sarah and Chuck/Sarah
Word Count: 650
Beta: Much thanks to imkalena for looking this over
Disclaimers: Not mine
Feedback: Please. It makes me happy.
Summery: Prompted by ru-salki99 with the following lyrics:
"I wake up everyday it's a daydream
Everything in my life isn't what it seems
I wake up just to go back to sleep
I act real shallow but I'm in too deep"
Walker is always getting herself in trouble. Chuck is her weak spot. She does more then bend the rules for him, she breaks them. Casey tries to read what she is thinking. With Chuck it's clear. He'll make a fool of himself, any day of the week, over her. But, Walker? He is never quite sure. She always holds back and it seems as though each and every admission and action on her part is calculated. As a fellow spy, he can appreciate and respect that.
The moment he thinks he knows what she is thinking, it subtly changes. Is this just the protection of someone innocent, to her? Is it the love and loyalty of a friend? Or does she want to screw Bartowski so bad that she can barely hold back? He isn't sure. One thing he is sure of, though, is that Walker herself doesn't even know. It's why she is always moving forward, just to withdraw. She is testing the waters, trying to decide whether she wants to enter or not.
He knows what he wants, but he will never admit it. Even, at times, to himself.
Casey and Walker. The two of them are very much alike, torn between two desires that rarely go hand in hand. That craving for someone steady, that person who will be by his side, that 'something' that lasts. All that up against the need for adventure and achievement. To push himself as very few dare to. Casey knows neither of them will ever be able to choose. Chuck just doesn't know it yet. He'll be let down when he does.
When it comes to Walker, Casey has been shafted, royally. Still, he watches on.
Chuck and Walker. They dance around one another, trying so hard to make something work, neither willing to give in completely. And he stands aside, pretending it doesn't bother him. Pretending that he doesn't feel and that he is immune to her charms. He snickers and laughs at Chuck's affection for her, all the while harboring it himself. He calls Walker weak for falling for every partner she's had. He ignores the fact that in this case, he is the guilty party, not her.
This is the one time he wishes she was. He treats this like some dirty fantasy. Never to be admitted, best to be ignored.
Walker is his partner. The best he's ever had, but, yes, she is always getting herself in trouble and he covers for her the best he can. Quietly and cleverly, he thinks. He's not quite sure that anyone but him notices how far he goes. He tells himself it's what any loyal partner would do. Still, he doesn't recall doing quite so much for a partner before. Particularly, one that doesn't return the favor. She crosses the line for Chuck, not for him. He resents it. Rules are the rules and you can't break them even if you're in love.
It doesn't matter he bends them a little. He wishes she would do the same. Just once. Just for him.
Still, they have a job to do. That is all and when they finish, they will part ways. Be rivals again. Trying to beat each other, trying to achieve their own goals at the expense of the others. They'll be playing the game again. Even now, they sometimes play it. Chuck is their pawn. He wonders how long Chuck will be in the picture, when they will be on their own again.
One day, they'll meet and she'll feel nothing. He'll have to pretend he doesn't, either. He thinks, for a moment that it'll be hard, but then he remembers. That's already what he does everyday.