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.

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Candy

Set in the future.

Written for katastropi.

"Chuck and Sarah eating candy."

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It's their first real Valentine's Day after Sarah lost her memories (Chuck doesn't count the one that happened two weeks after their conversation on the beach, because he very purposefully ignored the holiday when it came around because it hurt too much and he didn't want to make Sarah feel bad). So Chuck is determined to make this Valentine's Day special. There's no mission that could interrupt them, Morgan has Alex to pamper tonight, and it's going to be just him and Sarah.

But when he walks into their apartment, carrying a huge bouquet of gardenias and an all-he-could-afford box of French truffles, he finds his wife sitting on the couch with tear-stained cheeks and a huge bag of his favorite candy.

"Sarah?!" he asks, immediately setting down his presents and walking over to the couch. "What's wrong?"

She sniffed a little as he sat down next to her and stroked her cheek. "I—I got the wrong candy."

Chuck looked down at the frankly enormous bag, the clear plastic displaying dozens of Milk Dud boxes. "But, Sarah, Milk Duds are my favorites."

"I thought you liked Mike & Ike's best," she said sadly. "I bought you so many, and then Morgan saw me and said—"

"Oh, Sarah, baby," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "Shhhh, baby."

Sarah held on to him so tightly, he almost felt his ribs crack. This seemed like a really big over-reaction and he didn't quite know what to make of it, so he just held her and stroked her hair and back, hoping he was giving her what she needed.

It took several moments, but soon her grip loosened on him. "I wanted tonight to be perfect," she whispered.

He was ready to tell her that she didn't have to do anything for it to be perfect, but instead, he said quietly, "I wanted that, too. To give you the perfect, romantic evening. The Valentine's Day we've never had."

Sarah lifted her face and gazed at him. She managed a tiny smile. "At least there's no mission?"

Chuck grinned at her. "Yes, exactly." He kissed her cheek. "What happened to the Mike & Ike's? Or do I even need to ask?"

"Morgan was very happy to take them off my hands," Sarah said, a bit primly but with a wide smile.

"It's not a hardship on him," Chuck said, kissing her cheek and then getting up. He brought over the flowers and candy and held them out to her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sarah."

She took the flowers and sniffed them appreciatively, her eyes closing. "Mmmm. Thank you, Chuck." She looked up at him, her eyes soft and happy. Seeing her look at him like that made his heart leap just like it had the first time, all those years ago, just like it had six months ago when she did it for the first time as she regained her memories.

He smiled back softly at her and sunk down into the couch next to her. "I had dinner reservations, but …"

"But I'd rather stay home." Sarah's voice was soft and sweet. She rested her head on his shoulder. "We could have candy for dinner."

Chuck laughed. "Miss Always-Eats-Her-Vegetables wants to eat like a nerd tonight? I love it."

She gave him a mock-glare. "If it wasn't for me, you'd have scurvy."

"Nuh-huh, not with how I like orange juice," he said, kissing her lightly and smiling against her lips. Then he tugged the bag of Milk Duds out of her lap and tore open one of the boxes. He tilted the box over his mouth, catching half-a-dozen of the chewy chocolate-covered caramels in his mouth.

Sarah shook her head. "How can I kiss you if your teeth are glued together?"

It took him a few moments to chew enough to reply to her. "You're Sarah Walker Bartowski. You'll find a way." He gave her a closed-lip grin, in order to hide the candy wrapped around his teeth.

Sarah giggled and cuddled in against him. She opened up her box of truffles and nibbled on one slowly. "Mmmm. And Chuck Bartowski always finds a way to make me happy."

"Always," he said softly and simply.

In the years to come, they would probably have fancier, more "romantic" Valentine's Day celebrations. But Chuck thought that he would always remember the first one that he got to spend with Sarah, without interruptions or distractions. The Valentine's Day when it was just the two of them eating candy together, the scent of gardenias in the air and the warmth of his wife against his side.

After an hour of candy and quiet conversation, he saw Sarah frown a little and rub her stomach. "Ooh. Eating just candy sounded like a good idea …"

He grinned. "Awww, you're not used to it." He reached over and gently stroked her stomach in small circles. Then he frowned. Her stomach felt … different.

Chuck looked at Sarah, who was gazing at him with so much love and happiness in her eyes that he felt stunned for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Sarah, are you okay?"

"I'm—I'm more than okay," she said softly. She hesitated, biting her lower lip before she spoke. "We both are."

"Yeah, you and me are—" Chuck stopped and blinked. She—she couldn't mean—

Her smile was big and bright and it was blinding him. "I'm pregnant, Chuck."

And as he hugged his wife so hard that he might just have cracked one of her ribs (and he really hoped he hadn't because that would make her even more uncomfortable with being pregnant and oh my God Sarah was pregnant!) Chuck knew that he would never forget this Valentine's Day.