This chapter went kinda crazy, but in a very fun way. Casey gets a bit OOC (because he loosens up a good deal) but I think it will entertain you. (You could also say, or he could pretend, that he's good at playing his cover.)

Also, I was wrong. I wrote 13 chapters for someone else's fanfic in two weeks. Seriously, Chuck Vs the Full Moon is highly entertaining. If it likely won't get updated, I have to DIY.

(-)

"Thanks for dinner, Casey. I think I might like letting you fatten me up." They were at the door to Casey's apartment, and Chuck couldn't stop a shy, pleased smile from sneaking across his face.

A hand slid into his curls and gently massaged, making him force down a groan. "Anytime, Chuck." Then the hand grasped the back of his neck and dragged him into a kiss. And, God, could that man kiss. It was stunning enough as it had been, but when Casey pressed his tongue in Chuck's mouth and started taking, Chuck couldn't hold back a whimper.

The agent responded well to that, letting out a slight growl before using his other hand to pull the nerd in closer. And he really shouldn't do that, because Chuck wouldn't be able to contain his arousal much longer. When they parted, panting, Casey rested their foreheads together. He smirked a little and said, "Your sister is watching."

Disappointment and anger flooded into the nerd in almost equal measure. There was more disappointment, but if Casey had just not mentioned that, Chuck would have been fine with a spectacular kiss and blue balls. Now the kiss was ruined too.

He pushed the agent away with a scowl. "Who's cruel now?" He headed back to his own apartment, not caring what his sister thought of that exchange.

When he entered, Ellie had just settled on the couch, looking casual. She took one look at his expression and said, "Are you okay, Chuck? What happened?"

Cover be damned, Chuck was pissed off. "That man is evil." So saying he went to hide in his room and lock the door. Except there was no hiding from Casey. Well, he could strip down and hide under his covers at least.

He heard his sister say something in a concerned tone, and Awesome said, "I think John is just a cock-tease, El. Nothing to worry about."

Chuck burst out laughing. "One way of putting it." And a new plan came into his head, one he needed to think through carefully. On one hand, it would probably give the agent the right idea that Chuck was very interested in him. On the other, if Casey had any interest at all in Chuck, it would be a great way to poke him.

Sliding out of his boxers, he decided he needed it either way. Might as well beat the bushes and see what flew out. He knew there was an audio bug on his headboard, so he didn't even need to be that loud. Wrapping a hand around himself, he let out a long, low groan. Impatient, he moved in earnest, letting out a litany of noises. Loud enough for the bug, but quiet enough that he wasn't broadcasting to El and Awesome.

Moaning, whimpering, gasping, sighing, and finally cumming with an "Oh, God, Casey!" that might have been audible to the rest of the house. He waited a few more moments while he stopped panting before he said, "I think a white bread turkey sandwich with a slice of cheddar cheese and iceberg lettuce would be the worst sandwich to take anywhere."

Not able to contain a satisfied snort, he got up and went to take a long, hot shower. Hopefully the agent needed a shower of a particular temperature of his own.

(-)

"Think you're cute, don't you?" the agent asked as they met in the courtyard to carpool the next morning.

"I'm freaking adorable," Chuck said with a smirk. "You can't be mad, there was only one mention of sandwiches last night. I would think you'd be happy about that."

"So you masturbate to me." It was a statement, but not a certain one. The agent wanted confirmation.

Chuck scoffed. "Yes, because that was clearly a grand personal fantasy and not an attempt to make you hate audio surveillance even more."

"Well, you came."

"Did I?"

"You did."

Damn, he still hadn't figured out where the video surveillance in his room came from. "You haven't heard of method acting?" After a few moments of no response, he asked, "So, how was your night?"

"I made a sandwich," Casey sneered. But there was an edge to his tone that made Chuck think that maybe his little plan had been successful.

"What kind?"

An impressive growl escaped the agent as they got into his car. "I'm not playing the fucking sandwich game with you."

"I mean, a 'fucking sandwich' just sounds dirty, both in a perverted and unsanitary way. As Morgan said, you can put anything between two slices of bread to make a sandwich, so a dick-"

"Shut up, Chuck." The voice was low and dangerous. The foul mood gave the impression that his little plan was very successful.

"So, are we going to discuss boundaries?"

"Why do we need to do that?"

"So we don't drive each other crazy?"

A snort. "I guess you don't like me mentioning your sister."

"Kissing a guy like that and then telling him it was a show for his sister is rude."

Casey sighed. "I don't want you getting confused, Chuck. This is a cover. Walker didn't care. She let you fall and then left you. I caught you. And I'm not letting you fall. That's not me."

Chuck was pretty sure that ship had sailed, especially when the agent said things like that. "You make it sound like you're the most thoughtful and sensitive asshole I'll ever meet."

Far from pissing him off, that made Casey laugh. "I'll take that. I'm not a good guy, Chuck. But I'm not Walker."

"You make her sound like the bad guy when you say it like that…"

"She strung you along for a while, giving all kinds of signals, and then ditched you when her old boyfriend comes in the picture. Who happens to be the guy who got you kicked out of college and stole your girlfriend back then. That's cruel. And I may be a cock-tease, but I'm up-front about it."

Now Chuck was laughing. Even with all that had just been hashed about Sarah, the fact that it ended with John Casey admitting to being a blatant cock-tease made the whole thing funny. He was still chuckling when they got to work. The wolf-whistle when they walked in the door was less amusing.

Casey murmured in his ear, "I'm not responsible for what happens if they push me too far." Then he kissed Chuck on the cheek and went to the back.

Of course, Chuck's domain had now become a trap. "Did you have sausage for breakfast?" Jeff asked in that slow voice of his.

"How long have you been batting for the other team? Do I need to watch my ass?" Lester asked.

"Good choice, Chuck, Casey has sooo much muscle." Of course it was Anna who had the most supportive and least offensive comment to add.

"Hey, hey, back off, guys!" Morgan said. Though Chuck wondered if the last comment had been the one that made him intervene. Either way, Chuck loved his best friend.

"You know, Morgan has been friends with Chuck forever," Lester said thoughtfully. "Wonder if Morgan knew first-hand what Chuck is capable of."

"How many times have you had Jeff's sausage?" Chuck asked instead of replying. Anna pulled Morgan away.

A small crowd of employees were lingering close enough to listen in, and they let out a "oooohhh" as Lester looked around, clearly embarrassed. "Don't be ridiculous, Jeffery and I are just friends."

"So you don't like people bringing up baseless accusations about the nature of your friendship? Huh, who knew that wasn't a cool thing to do?" But Chuck had to wonder…Lester looked uncomfortable perhaps not in that he'd just gotten a false accusation, but because Chuck's comment hit a little too close. But Brain Bleach didn't exist, so he was going to think about other things.

Chuck was already sick of his co-workers. He tried to think of something to put them off all the gossiping. Something unexpected that would just shut them up. The store wasn't open yet, so he grabbed the PA mic.

"I am dating John Casey. If you have a problem with that or feel like talking about it, go suck a dick."

There was a stunned moment of silence. Then they all started laughing, Chuck included. Morgan came running from the back. "Chuck, your boyfriend was leaving the break room with a soda when you made your announcement, and he did a spit-take all over the new guy. It was hilarious!"

"Was he laughing?" Chuck asked, because that was the most important question really. He preferred spit-takes of amusement to spit-takes of rage.

The question was answered when the agent came up behind the desk, trying to restrain his laughter. He pulled the nerd in for a brief kiss before ruffling his hair. "I almost choked, idiot."

"Good thing I don't," Chuck said before he thought about it. It sent up a new wave of laughter and hooting as his face turned bright red.

"Bartowski!" Big Mike shouted as he emerged from his office. Everything got quiet and heads turned towards the boss. "You can't go around telling people to suck dicks, even if you are sucking Casey's. We don't need another sexual harassment seminar."

"Those are exclusively triggered by Jeff and Lester!" Morgan complained.

Trying to be a little diplomatic, Chuck said, "Alright, I'll let my coworkers come to their own decisions about dick-sucking. It's why the founding fathers made our country free."

A new wave of stifled giggles went through the employees. Big Mike shook his head. "Casey, since your boyfriend is usually the voice of reason, you care to step in?"

Casey shrugged. "God Bless America."

This caused a laugh riot because it was Casey making the joke this time. And laughing with them about it. Besides Chuck, he usually was the voice of reason, one of the few things that kept the store from imploding. And unlike Chuck, Casey wasn't usually fun.

Big Mike threw up his hands and retreated back into his office. While the laughter was still dying down, Casey leaned to say into Chuck's ear, "You realize you basically confessed to sucking my dick to everyone here."

Chuck felt too warm, because the big man was leaning him into the counter, far too close. In that moment, he really wanted to give Casey a blowjob. But he had to calm down. They were surrounded by witnesses who would definitely notice any sign of arousal on his part, and the store was opening in a few minutes. "It was sort of an accident."

Casey withdrew and shook his head. He was smiling and there was something subtly fond in the way he looked at the nerd. "What am I going to do with you, Chuck? You're unpredictable. Makes you dangerous."

"If I scare you, the world really should be worried." And Chuck didn't want to say it, but he knew he was letting himself get pulled in. "Um, do I know better right now?"

That got him careful consideration. "Mostly you do. Clearly spending time with you isn't going to be torture."

Coming from Casey, that was practically a declaration of affection. But as Chuck flooded with warmth at the statement, the agent said, "I'm still not Walker, though."

Well, that was a fantastic mood-killer. The nerd supposed Casey was the NSA's top assassin, so he should be good at killing anything. And he was.

Watching the agent's retreating back, depression washed over Chuck. If cover-dating Sarah was a roller coaster, cover-dating Casey was a suicide coaster. Whereas before the highs would be followed by very steep drops, now the tracks were pulled out from under him and he fell. And he wasn't sure if he'd stop falling.

(-)

"So, I know it won't be the first time, but I want Casey to come over for dinner," El said when he got home. "If you two are dating I want to welcome him properly. He never talked much at our family dinners."

"He's not exactly a social butterfly. He has a lot of the charm of a grizzly bear, especially the growling." Chuck often made that comparison in his head.

His sister just stared at him. "That's an oddly insulting thing to say about your boyfriend, Chuck."

Chuck shrugged. "Not if that's what I like about him. He may be gruff and grouchy, but Casey is honest. I know exactly who I'm dealing with. He doesn't play games, he tells you what he thinks, and not being truthful about the type of man he is would be an insult to him."

Now El looked impressed. "Wow, okay. It's refreshing to see how confident you are about all this. I always worried you wouldn't feel comfortable showing that side of yourself."

This was something he wanted to know earlier. "How long have you known?"

"Since you started high school, I guess? I've just always noticed you noticing certain guys. Usually buff ones. And watching you watch Casey has been the most intense one yet. You really like him, don't you?"

The agent was listening, Chuck knew. And he could disavow anything said if he had to, claiming it was about protecting their cover. "I do. He's amazing. And not just because he created his own language made of different grunts and growls, combined with various facial expressions. I think I'm one of the few who can understand, if not speak, Casey's language."

Ellie laughed at that. "Because you watch him.'

Damn it. "Yeah, I watch him. No other way to learn about a guy like him. But one of the things I like the most is that I've never felt safer in my life than I do when I'm with him."

"Awww, that's so sweet. Well, I'll have dinner ready by eight, so you should go invite him and hang out until then." She gave him a swift, firm hug. "I'm so happy for you, Chuck."

Crap, he did not want to go over to Casey's place right after saying all that. "Kay, I'm gonna change."

This time, despite it still not being a date, he paid attention to what he wore, at least enough that he didn't wear something stupid. Jeans, Converse, and white T-shirt under an unbuttoned button-up light blue and white striped shirt. Respectable. No nerdy dick jokes.

He still felt self-conscious when he was knocking on the agent's door, but that was more to do with what he knew the man had heard. It opened and Casey immediately walked back into his kitchen. Chuck came in and closed the door behind him. "Quiche?" He went to settle on the sofa while Casey cooked.

"Quiche," Casey said. "So, you understand my language, huh?"

The nerd knew it wouldn't be long before it was brought up, but Casey pounced on it. "Yeah. As I see it, you have three languages: English, yours, and violence. I know you know like a dozen foreign languages too, but those are the main three. And I got two out of three, so that's not bad."

"I'm a grizzly bear."

Chuck sighed. "Yes, you are, and if you want to discuss all of what I just said to El, let's just get to it. What bothered you the most?"

The agent didn't speak for a while. Then he said, "You know it's my job to protect you."

That was confusing. "Of course I know that, I've known that since the second time I met you. The first time when you pointed a gun at me was clearly the opposite."

"So, saying that you feel safe with me isn't really much of a compliment."

Rolling his eyes, Chuck said, "If that's how you see it, I'm saying that you're the best at your job. Which is a compliment."

No reply. Chuck felt certain there was something unsaid here, something important. Maybe the reason that the agent didn't want to be trusted. "Why would you care if it was a compliment or not? Why was that the thing that bothered you?"

"Because saying it makes you sound like an idiot." Well, if that wasn't defensive, Chuck didn't know what was.

He was going to figure this out. It was clearly a huge issue for Casey, and since it clearly had to do with him, it made it a big issue for him as well. But there was also an issue Chuck wanted cleared up. "If we're talking about statements that make you sound dumb, can we settle on a better reality reminder than you saying you're not Sarah? It's obvious you're not Sarah for a million reasons. And…I don't need that harsh a reminder."

Casey stilled in the kitchen, his back to Chuck. "How would you suggest I remind you of our cover?"

Thinking about it, Chuck said, "We've already established it. When I first said, 'If I didn't know better, I would say you were enjoying this.' You said, 'Good thing you know better.' Then today, I knew I needed a reminder, so I asked, 'Do I know better?' And you said, 'Mostly,' and clarified that your enjoyment was friendly, not romantic. Which is actually a nice way of keeping things straight. If you think I need a reminder, you just ask me if I know better."

"As status check-ins go that's not bad," Casey said, and Chuck was surprised at the praise.

"So we'll stop bringing her up at every opportunity? I already know I'm stupid, and why. Thinking I was worth liking, thinking I was worth choosing over Bryce…" And, oh no, he could not start crying. That was a big fat nope. If his eyes were wet, it was because he was refusing to blink. And the bonsai tree was a million times more interesting than looking at Casey.

But he smelled the agent approach before a hand went to massage through his hair. The nerd started shaking, breathing uneven as he tried to keep it together. Casey sighed and removed his hand before sitting next to Chuck.

"Whether she meant to or not, she played with your feelings. That doesn't make you stupid, it makes her cruel. You didn't do anything wrong."

Bursting into tears like that was embarrassing, but strong arms just wrapped around him and pulled him to that warm, firm chest. Chuck clung to the bigger man, calming quickly as he drowned in his scent. The hand rubbing his back was like a drug, relaxing him in a few moments. He didn't want to move. But he had to. If Casey thought comfort made him clingy, he'd be less likely to offer it in the future.

"Sorry," he said, pulling away slowly. The arms didn't immediately retract, but smoothly released him.

That wonderful hand tousled his curls. "Nothing to be sorry about."

It all felt so warm and tender. It felt like Casey cared about him. "Uh, Casey?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I…know better?"

Sighing, Casey said, "Well, I'm not enjoying this, but there's also obviously no cover to maintain here."

Confused, Chuck asked, "So what does that mean?"

"It means exactly what I said." The warmth was retreating now as the agent stood.

"But if it isn't because you want to, and it's not because you have to, what is it?"

"Because you deserve to be treated better than that. Anyone does." The agent returned to the kitchen.

Far from a declaration of affection, Chuck would still take it. Casey held him as he cried. He had- "Hey, Chuck?"

"Yeah."

"You're worth a hell of a lot more than Bryce Larkin."

Chuck felt certain his grin was blinding, but he said, "Not sure how to rate that coming from the guy who was happy to kill Bryce Larkin. Twice."

An amused and satisfied grunt. "Rate however you like, it's true."

At that moment, Chuck didn't know better, but he was unwilling to ruin that praise.

(-)

So, funsies? Again, squishier Casey is OOC, but it gives warm fuzzies, so it stays. I hope you're enjoying this, feel free to review.