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

Christmas

Set mid-season 3, before Chuck vs. the Final Exam.

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck and Sarah christmas? With baking? And everything else about christmas?"

XXX

As he approached the Orange Orange, Chuck found himself feeling nostalgic for last year. Which clearly was a sign of his continuing mental breakdown. Because last year at Christmas, he had been held hostage along with his family and co-workers, part of a Ring plot that had resulted in death and distrust.

But he'd still managed to get Sarah's agreement to attend the Bartowski Christmas celebration. Not that it had been much of a success, after he had seen her shoot Mauser in cold blood. Sarah had sensed his discomfort and had found an excuse to leave partway through the gathering.

This year might not be that much better, with the way things were between them. But in Ellie's eyes, Chuck and Sarah had moved past their latest rough patch and were friends, perhaps even on the cusp of dating again. So his sister thought Sarah should come to the Bartowskis' for Christmas. He just hoped he could convince Sarah.

When he stepped into the frozen yogurt shop, Sarah gave him a small smile. "Hi, Chuck."

"Hi, Sarah," he said, feeling a tiny flicker of hope. She was smiling at him, after all. That had to be a good sign, right? Once again, he cursed himself for how he had turned her down in Prague, for how he had messed things up between them so badly that he felt like he didn't know her anymore.

"What's up?" she asked him as she refilled the toppings containers.

"Um, well, you see … it's Christmas, you know."

Sarah paused, then gave herself a small shake. "Yes, I do know." She nibbled a little on her lower lip. "And since Ellie thinks we're seeing each other …"

"She expects you at the traditional Twilight Zone marathon on Christmas Day," Chuck finished, looking at Sarah. "She's promising Christmas cookie baking this year, too, if that helps to sway you." He smiled at her sheepishly, trying not to appear as awkward as he felt. They had agreed to be friends, but it was so damn hard. Especially now that Shaw was in the picture and he was everything Chuck wasn't.

He could see Sarah hesitating, and he opened his mouth to tell her it was okay if she didn't want to come, but she cut him off. "Okay."

"Really? Okay?" Chuck knew his eyes must be wide with disbelief.

Sarah nodded. "Okay. I … I don't have anywhere to be on Christmas Day, and I haven't seen Ellie in a while, and—and besides, we're friends. Friends spend Christmas together."

Friends. Of course that was what they were. Even though he had definite more-than-friends feelings for her, it didn't matter. Because she had moved on.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course. Morgan will be coming over for most of the day, after all."

Sarah nodded. "Okay, well, see you then. Oh, should I bring anything? Presents for everyone?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she would be enough of a gift, but that was such a bad idea that even Morgan at his dumbest wouldn't have gone there. So Chuck just shook his head and said goodbye before heading back to the Buy More.

Last Christmas had been uncomfortable and awkward. He had a feeling this year would be even worse.

XXX

"Merry Christmas!"

The sound of Ellie's hyper-cheerful voice, greeting the newest arrival, made Chuck tense. Because that meant Sarah was here.

She looked absolutely beautiful, even in black yoga pants and a fuzzy red sweater, her hair loose and wavy. Chuck swallowed and wished suddenly he had put on actual clothes, instead of staying in his plaid pajama pants and t-shirt.

Sarah kissed Ellie's cheek and handed her a large poinsettia. "Merry Christmas, everyone. Thanks for having me."

"Of course!" Ellie said, smiling brightly at Sarah. "It wouldn't be Christmas without you. And not just because Chuck would look all sad and hang-dog all day."

"El …" Chuck said, feeling his face flush.

His sister smirked at him. It looked like Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb was playing matchmaker. Chuck sighed and turned to Sarah. For appearances' sake, he gave her a quick hug, getting an intoxicating whiff of the fragrance that screamed "Sarah" to him. "Merry Christmas, Sarah."

She hugged him back politely. "Merry Christmas. How's the Twilight Zone marathon coming?"

"We're just getting ready to watch The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," Morgan piped up. "Chuck said it was one of your favorites."

"I do like that one," Sarah said, pulling back from Chuck and smiling at Morgan. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Anything for Chuck's best girl," Morgan said, winking dramatically at Sarah.

Chuck somehow managed to not roll his eyes. Ellie had found a willing accomplice in her matchmaking plans, it appeared. Given that Morgan knew the truth of Chuck's spy life and his "relationship" with Sarah, he was bound to be more difficult to handle than Ellie. Because while he could persuade Ellie to go easy on him by saying that things were complicated, Morgan knew the truth about how he felt about Sarah. And dissuading the little bearded man was nigh-on impossible, Chuck knew.

"Let's get started, then," Sarah said, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from Morgan. Chuck looked at the seating arrangement and chose the chair next to Sarah. Close, but not too close.

"Where's Devon?" Sarah asked, looking around as Ellie came over with a new plate of snacks.

"He got called in to the hospital," Ellie said, her voice resigned. "But he should be back in a few hours. And we're under strict orders not to watch The Eye of the Beholder without him."

"Yes, ma'am," Morgan said, giving Ellie a salute before hitting play on the DVD remote.

Ellie took a seat next to Sarah and immediately began a conversation with her. Chuck did his best to watch the episode and not eavesdrop, because as hard as it was having Sarah this close, he hated having to hear her lie to his sister about how she felt about him.

XXX

It was so late that Christmas Day was nearly the day after Christmas. Morgan had just left and Ellie and Devon were both sleeping, curled up together on the couch. Chuck closed the door after Morgan and turned to look at Sarah.

"I guess you'll want to be heading home, too," he said quietly.

Sarah let out a small yawn and stretched. "Mmm, yeah. I don't know why I'm so sleepy. I just sat on the couch and ate Christmas cookies."

"Carbs and inactivity. Since you're not a nerd like me, you don't have years of training to help you handle something like that," Chuck said, smiling at her.

Sarah gave him a cheeky grin and stood up. "I'm going to use the bathroom before I go." She walked down the hall and Chuck couldn't help watching her.

Today had gone so much better than he had anticipated. There had been a few awkward moments, yes, but all in all, it had been a good Christmas. Sarah had joined in on all the activities: debating the best Twilight Zone episode of all time, decorating Christmas cookies, and throwing candy at Ellie and Devon when they started getting handsy.

Chuck grinned a little and started tidying up the living room. Ellie stirred and looked up at him. "Did everyone go?" she asked sleepily.

"Morgan just left and Sarah will be leaving in a few minutes, once she's done with the bathroom," Chuck said as he stacked plates.

"Oh, don't worry about cleaning up, Chuck," Ellie said, shifting to nudge Devon. "We can do it in the morning. Devon, wake up."

Her husband mumbled and wrapped his arms around Ellie, prompting a big smile to appear on her face. Chuck grinned, even as he felt sad that he couldn't have something like that.

Sarah stepped into the living room and picked up her purse. "So I'm going. Thank you for inviting me."

"It was great to have you here," Chuck said, meaning every word. Because it was true: having Sarah there, even with all the feelings he couldn't tell her about, was better than not having her there.

She smiled at him softly and turned towards the door.

"G'night, Sarah—oh, you're under the mistletoe!" Ellie said, grinning a little. "You were so ninja-like, avoiding it all day."

Even in the dimly-lit living room, Chuck could see how pink Sarah's face was getting. "Oh, I didn't think anyone noticed that …" Sarah said slowly, looking up at the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"I did," Ellie said. "Go on, Chuck. Kiss her."

Chuck swallowed. As much as he wished he could give Sarah a real kiss—his lips were practically vibrating at the thought—he knew that wasn't possible. Sarah was with Shaw now. Rather than argue with his sister, he leaned in and quickly brushed a kiss over Sarah's cheek. "Merry Christmas."

And because this was just the heart-breaking angel on his Christmas tree of sadness, Chuck didn't look at Sarah and didn't wait for Ellie to tease him about not kissing Sarah for real. He just turned and walked down the hall to his room.

XXX

The soft knock on his door, five minutes later, made Chuck sigh. "Go away, Ellie," he said, his voice muffled from laying face-down on his bed.

"It's Sarah."

At the sound of her voice, Chuck jack-knifed upright. "Sarah?" he asked weakly.

The woman in question opened the door slightly, looking at him before she stepped inside and pushed the door shut behind her. Chuck blinked at her. "I thought you were going," he said, grasping for anything to say.

"I—I was," she said, fidgeting with her purse before she opened it and pulled out a small, colorfully-wrapped gift. "But I realized I forgot to give you your present."

He stood slowly, staring at the gift in her hand. "You got me a present?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes. It—it's Christmas, after all." She looked up at him, her eyes luminous in the glow that bled into his room from the courtyard's Christmas lights.

"I'm sorry about the mistletoe," he blurted out. "I didn't want to argue with Ellie, so I thought just kissing you would be the easiest thing to do, but—" He cut himself off, not wanting to keep babbling and end up revealing something he shouldn't.

"But it wasn't so easy?" she asked, holding his eyes with hers, the blue depths churning with secret thoughts and emotions just like they had so many times before.

Chuck took a deep breath and nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Me, too," Sarah said in a whisper. She gestured with the gift in her hands. "Merry Christmas, Chuck."

He took the gift slowly, but didn't open it. "I have something for you, too," he said, going to his desk and opening a drawer. "I didn't know when to give it to you, but—but here you go," he said, handing her the present that he'd spent a whole weekend agonizing over before purchasing it and shoving it out of sight.

Sarah's smile lit up her whole face as she took her present. "Thank you, Chuck." She looked at him, then sat down on his bed to open it, going slowly, as if she wasn't used to getting presents.

Because she wasn't, Chuck remembered. So he sat down next to her, watching her and savoring her joy at his gift to her. And then he opened his, feeling his heart leap at her thoughtfulness and knowledge of what he'd like. And suddenly, things didn't seem as bleak as they had earlier.

Perhaps, even though Sarah was dating Shaw now, there might still be hope for them. It—it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? To make one last attempt at proving to Sarah that they were perfect for each other? That together they could be happy?

Maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for them to have a Christmas miracle.