Title: Chuck vs Sarah's Heart
Author: dealan311
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Chuck/Sarah
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em; don't sue.
Summary: Five ways Chuck makes Sarah's heart stop.
Author's Note: Written for the Chuck/Sarah Valentine's Day challenge to the prompt of "heartbeats." Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine.
1.
Chuck is the most open person she's ever met. He telegraphs his moods with his body language, and he has the worst poker face she's ever seen. When he's happy, his entire body can barely hold in his excitement. When he panics, the whole gamut of emotions, from terror to discomfort, flits across his face like a school of brightly colored fish. He can sometimes control the twitch of his eyebrow or smooth down a nervous smile, but his eyes always betray him. He has little to no control when it comes to reining in his emotions, and out in the field, it's a liability.
There are times, though, that his unguarded face stops Sarah in her tracks. There is an indescribable sense of awe she feels to see someone so open and exposed that way. And it's not like Chuck has never been hurt before. She can just as easily see the wounds he's garnered, collateral damage from other people's misguided attempts to protect him. But he puts himself out there anyway with an effortless trust in the world that is almost like hope, and Sarah can't help but be awestruck at that.
She already knows that the earnestness in his eyes is a better weapon against her than torture or truth serum, because he has already succeeded where very few have. She can count on one hand the number of times she's given up a piece of her real self to anyone, even if was only an inaudible whisper of a long-forgotten name. He makes her want to trust him and confess all her secrets, and that terrifies her.
He wears his heart on his sleeve and when he looks at her with his open, honest eyes, it takes her breath away.
