Slices of Life

Author: dettiot

Rating: T

Summary: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

Dance

Set early season 4

Written for ordinaryfootsteps.

"I'd like to see a ficlet in which Chuck and Sarah (while dating) meet Jill or Cole."

XXX

Sarah looked around the ballroom as she sipped her champagne. The private Christmas party at the home of a suspected terrorist was lavish, with large arrangements of white roses and poinsettias, pine trees with twinkling lights, and lots of red and green. If she hadn't been here for work, she might enjoy the party.

Especially, she thought as she caught a glimpse of Chuck, because she was here with her boyfriend.

Even after a year together, she still felt a bit giddy and girly when she thought of Chuck as her boyfriend. It was so … normal. And given that she knew she wasn't a normal woman, it was nice to discover that she wasn't that different from other females when it came to thinking about her significant other.

"Heading to the study," Chuck said quietly over their communication channel.

Sarah tucked her hair behind an ear, speaking softly into the delicate bracelet that concealed her mike. "Understood."

According to their plan, Chuck was going to sneak into the target's study, using some computer gadgets to set up a trace that would feed data to the CIA from the terrorist's computers. Meanwhile, she'd keep an eye out for the target in the ballroom, making sure he didn't approach the study.

She walked around the ballroom, doing her best to act the part of a bored socialite. The room was filling up to the point of being crowded. When she bumped into a broad-shouldered man, Sarah began apologizing in French.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur—"

The man turned around and the words died on her lips.

"De rien, mademoiselle," Cole Barker said smoothly. He leaned in towards her, switching to English. "Fancy meeting you here."

She gave him a flirtatious smile, not wanting to attract attention. But her voice was far from flirty. "Hello."

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Cole asked as he brushed a kiss across each of her cheeks.

So in the two years since she had last seen him, Cole Barker, MI-6 operative, hadn't changed a bit. She didn't know whether that was interesting or just expected. She angled her face away from his lips slightly. "No, but then, we're not friends, are we?"

Looking up at Cole, she realized her initial assessment wasn't quite correct. He had changed—there were a few more crinkles at the corners of his eyes and even a hint of gray in his hair. Cole Barker looked tired, a man sliding into middle age without anything to ground him, without anything beyond being a spy.

"I'm hurt," Cole said, laying a hand over his heart. "I thought we left things as friends."

"Then maybe you could drop the James Bond routine and act like a normal person?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she sipped her champagne.

Cole scoffed. "Where's the fun in that? The excitement, the intrigue?"

Once upon a time, she might have agreed with him. Certainly her relationship with Bryce had been propped up by the danger of their jobs. But now … she knew that a good relationship didn't need constant change to stay fresh and new.

"Nearly done up here. Sarah, anything to watch out for?" Chuck's voice drew her attention. Cole must have seen the flicker in her eyes as she listened to Chuck, and he grinned.

"Work before play, I see?"

"You're clear," she said quickly into her bracelet, then looked back at Cole. "Yes. As soon as my partner is finished, we'll enjoy a bit more of the party before leaving."

Cole nodded, not asking any questions about her assignment, following the unspoken protocol of acquainted agents who encountered each other in the field. "Say, whatever happened to that fellow you worked with back then? Chuck? I always wondered how he made out, because he didn't really seem suited for this life."

Sarah took another sip of champagne as she pondered how to reply to Cole. Should she give him some idea that Chuck would be joining her in a moment, or hold back and see just how surprised Cole was?

That was a silly question, she thought with a smirk. "I suppose he's adjusted. That's what I've heard."

"So you're not working with him anymore?" Cole sounded surprised. "I didn't know you'd moved on." He waggled his eyebrows. "Perhaps I'll finally get my chance."

Sarah looked at him. Still cocky and arrogant. But while two years ago she had been charmed but distrustful, now she thought he was just a bit sad and lonely.

So it wasn't hard to be kind to him and attempt to let him down easily. "I'm sorry, I'm with someone. It's serious." Glancing up towards the staircase, she saw Chuck slowly descending, his eyes locking on her.

"Oh?" Cole asked. "I wouldn't have thought that of you."

"It's like I told you," she said, feeling the change in the air as Chuck approached her. "When you meet someone you care about, it's hard to walk away." She turned as Chuck joined them and took his arm, giving him a smile. "Hi. You remember—"

Chuck smiled at Cole. "Good to see you again," he said, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Cole blinked, looking thunderstruck. She could understand surprise, since dressed in a well-tailored suit and with shorter hair, Chuck certainly fit the image of a spy now. But it seemed like Cole really didn't believe what he was seeing. It took him a moment to reach out and shake Chuck's hand.

"And here I thought I'd seen it all," Cole said slowly.

Ignoring the implied slight, Chuck smiled at Cole. "Well, Einstein said that imagination was more important than knowledge. But I'm sure it's a surprise to see us here together."

"You could say that," Cole said. He looked back and forth between the two of them, then huffed out a laugh. "Yet again, I come in second place." He gave Chuck a small salute. "Congratulations. Have a good rest of your evening."

And with that, Cole Barker turned and melted into the crowd.

Chuck looked at Sarah curiously. "What did he mean about 'second place'?"

"Oh, just a conversation we had a few years ago," Sarah said, reaching out and brushing lightly at the shoulder of his tux. "I'll explain it later. Everything set?"

Chuck nodded. "We're good to go. In multiple senses of the phrase."

Sarah laughed softly. "Not before we have a dance. After all, with our practicing, I want to see how you make out without any help."

When Chuck had mentioned wanting to learn how to dance, instead of relying on the Intersect, she had jumped at the chance to teach him. Their lessons had gone much better than her attempts at teaching him martial arts—although both sets of lessons had been about the same length, but for vastly different reasons. Usually, their dance lessons ended with a make-out session in Castle's supply closet, instead of her injuring him.

"Oh, you wanna dance?" he said, grinning at her. "You better have your dancing shoes on, then."

Still smiling at her, he drew her out onto the dance floor just as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas began playing. Sarah went happily into his arms, enjoying the confidence she saw in Chuck as he lead her around the dance floor. They moved in sync, gliding and twirling in time with the music.

Sarah laid her head on Chuck's shoulders, her eyes half-closed as she savored being close to him. This was the perfect way to end a mission, she thought idly. So much better than running out under a hail of bullets, like she probably would have if she had gone off with Cole. It might be an unfair comparison, contrasting Chuck and Cole. But at this moment, she wouldn't trade anyone for Chuck.