Sarajevo by asesina
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck!
a/n: note: This is a Sarah/Bryce flashback. I like Chuck/Sarah as the present relationship on the show, but I'm as sucker for sad back stories, so I hope that you like this! This is set in Christmas 2009, right after Bryce dies. Sarah remembers the night that they fell in love. It just happens that they were in Sarajevo and it was Christmas Eve.
Pairing: Bryce/Sarah (flashback)
Rating: PG
Note: I am reposting this a day later because I made a few minor changes.
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Christmas 2009
Sarah could still remember the night that she fell in love with Bryce Larkin.
Some details about that night were forgettable, and they only registered as fuzzy images on the periphery of her consciousness.
She couldn't quite remember if they had been in Minsk or Sarajevo, but she remembered that it was snowing that night.
Other details were more vivid and vibrant: the way that the light bounced off the bottle of Smirnoff that Bryce held loosely in his hands, the way his lips curved up in a small half-smile, the way he whispered her name as he pulled her in for a hasty, unpracticed, ah-screw-it kind of kiss, and the way that his lips tasted when they brushed against hers at long last.
Sarah remembered another detail, and she mentally kicked herself for leaving it out of her nostalgic narrative in the past.
It was Christmas Eve that night.
Sarah could still feel Bryce's hands on her shoulders, and she recalled how he guided her over to the bed and pulled open the curtains a bit.
"Can you see the snow?" he asked her, and she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes. I have seen snow before, you know," she said with a smirk.
"I just thought you might like to see a Sarajevo snowfall," he whispered.
"Sarajevo- that's where we were," Sarah noted.
It was all coming back to her now. They were in Sarajevo to take down local mobsters, and they were stuck in a tiny hotel room on Christmas Eve.
"Get over yourself, Sarah," she warned aloud.
She bit her lip in anger and inhaled sharply. It was all she could do to avoid the wave of memories along with the inevitable bitterness and pain.
"We had some good times, Bryce," Sarah whispered, and she let herself remember Sarajevo again.
Bryce was standing in silence, beckoning for Sarah to join him at the window.
She begrudgingly stood up and peered beyond the curtain into the night.
The wind was whipping the snow sideways, and every once in a while, the snowflakes would swirl in front of a streetlight, catching the yellow glow for an instant and sparkling like a chain of tiny diamonds.
"It's beautiful," she said softly, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Bryce didn't react at first, but Sarah eventually felt him wrap an arm around her shoulder and pull her in closer.
"Merry Christmas, Sarah," he said gently. Something about the timbre of his voice was comforting, even if his delivery of the simple line was as layered and complex as he was.
"Merry Christmas, Bryce," she whispered.
No other words were exchanged that night, but Sarah could read the intentions in his silence.
She kissed him on the temple and let her hand drift down to meet his. He reached over and laced his fingers through hers as they watched the snowflakes grow larger and heavier by the minute.
Sarah shook herself from her reverie and felt a small smile drift across her features.
She walked up to her apartment window and placed her hand on the glass.
It was brilliantly sunny outside, and the palm trees outside her window reminded her that she was in Burbank and not Sarajevo.
Sarah let her eyes drift heavenward, and she stared at the sky for a moment.
"Merry Christmas, Bryce," she murmured.
Sarah turned from the window and pulled the blinds shut.
She was sure that it was snowing somewhere in the world.
End.