When the sun began to set, Chuck and Sarah were both pleasantly tired from playing on the beach and in the waves together.

Laid out on their towels next to each other, the pair were the picture of relaxation. Sarah was laying on her stomach, reading a book while Chuck laid on his back, an arm over his eyes to protect from the setting sun.

"Should we head in?" Chuck asked, somewhere between asleep and awake.

"We can," Sarah said looking over at him. "Getting hungry? We didn't eat dinner yet," she reminded her nerd.

"I could eat," Chuck said, sitting up. "I'm not much of a cook though, I'm afraid."

"I am, so we can just eat here if you want? My dad has a nice grill. I bought hamburgers and hotdogs."

"That sounds great. I can keep the magnificent Chef Walker company while she works?" Chuck offered, jumping to his feet and offering her a hand.

Sarah smiled up at him and took the outstretched hand. "That sounds good to me."

"Even I can cut fruit and put it in a bowl if you want me to make a fruit salad to go with it," he said as they climbed the stairs to the back deck.

"I'd love that," Sarah accepted with a smile, her hand in his.

Chuck looked down at their enjoined hands and he swung their arms lightly, enjoying the harmless touch.

"Sarah, at some point, should we talk about us?"

Sarah knew exactly what he meant, and she owed it to him and herself to address it head on. "We probably should, Chuck. I think we both already know where we're at, too."

"I think us having kissed on two separate occasions kind of sealed the deal," Chuck said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to assume anything, of course."

"And I appreciate that," Sarah said, nodding. "But how much do we hold hands? How many times have we shared a bed with each other? Look at how much we cuddle, how much we hug and the amount of time we spend together. I mean, hell, we're at my dad's beach house for a weekend. This is quite a romantic getaway."

"So, so I'm not looking too deep into this, then? So we're… does that mean we…."

Sarah nodded again and took his hand. "I think it does, Chuck. I don't regret kissing you, but I think that pushed us out of platonic waters. And I… I think I'm okay with that."

Chuck swung up their enjoined hands and kissed the back of Sarah's. "You've seen me at my worst, and been with me for so much. I don't have any gold for you to dig, so I know it's nothing to do with that."

"Of course not. If we decided to date, it's only going to be for who we are. That's all I want it to be. I really like who you are, Chuck."

"I really like who you are, too," Chuck told her, the two now facing each other. Chuck rested his chin on the crown of Sarah's head, and let her hug him, before he wrapped his arms around her.

Chuck kissed her head and kept holding her, his hands staying on the center of her back, not wandering low or messing with the ties of her bikini top. Chuck had no intentions of sprinting towards anything, and he wanted Sarah to understand how safe and respected her body was.

"Let's go get dinner ready. I'm hungry," Sarah said into Chuck's chest, then kissing him again before letting go. She took his hand and led him back inside.

XxX

"How did you learn to cook like that, Sarah? When you said you made good burgers, I didn't think you meant you were a Bobby Flay," Chuck said, leaning back in his chair.

Sarah just laughed as she stood and cleared their plates.

"Sarah, let me do the dishes, and answer my question," he said, gently nudging her from the sink.

"Well, do you want the long, sad story, or do you want the TLDR?" Sarah asked as she sat back down.

"Well it's you, so I want the whole damn novel," Chuck said as he watched the sink fill with detergent bubbles.

Sarah took a sip of her beer and played with the label on the bottle neck. "I didn't know my mom that well. She left my dad and I when I was really young."

Already at this point in the story, Chuck had decided the dishes could wait and Joined Sarah at the table again.

"And my dad worked a lot, like, a LOT. He had multiple get rich quick schemes, but he eventually found one that worked. He became a silent investor on a friend's company, and it paid off.

"Because he was a silent investor, he really didn't have to do much, just collect on returns. Jack, my dad, really loves the CEO lifestyle, so he actually became really good at investing, and now he just rolls easy. He's set for life, but I don't just want to be Jack's little girl, so I'm out here for myself."

Chuck nodded and waited a beat to make sure she had told her story. "So with Jack not being around a lot, you wanting to be your own person, you ended up cooking a lit of meals for yourself?"

Sarah laughed. "I guess I got lost in my own story that I forgot the point of it."

"And that's okay. For what it's worth, I'm glad you chose your own path and to be your own person. It may not be easy and glamorous, but I think it's the bumps and bruises that we learn who we are."

"When did you get so philosophical, Chuck?" Sarah asked, one of his hands in hers, her thumb lightly stroking his skin.

Chuck shrugged. "I picked up a few ideals between Stanford and Hard Knocks University," he said with a smile. "I'm sorry you didn't know your mom. I have a few memories of mine, but I definitely have more memories of my dad."

Sarah tilted her head to the side. "You haven't really talked much about them. I feel like I knew Ellie a bit from what you told me about her."

Chuck laughed a little, and his eyes were focused on the center of the table like he was watching a play back of a memory. "My dad was goofy, is one way to put it. He worked hard, but he worked from home most of the time, so he was always around until he wasn't."

"What happened to him?" Sarah asked, leaning forward, fully invested in Chuck's tale.

Chuck chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully before shaking his head. "We don't… we don't know. I remember Ellie and I coming back from school one day to an empty house. No note, nobody waiting for us, didn't look like there was a fight. He was just… gone."

"How old were you, Chuck?" Sarah asked, completely in shock.

"13ish," Chuck said with a sigh. "It wasn't long after that that me and Ellie got separated through the system, and you pretty much know the rest."

"Damn," I'm sorry, Chuck," Sarah said still rubbing comforting circles on the back of his hand.

"Look at us go, huh? No childhood and family trauma here, right?" Chuck said with a chuckle.

"Well it explains why we're both so fucking funny," Sarah said with a dead straight face, but both were soon fully laughing.

With some hard pasts from each of them laid out, they worked together in comfortable silence until the mess of dinner was cleaned up.

"What do we want to do? It's still kind of early, and we don't have to leave till noon tomorrow," Sarah pointed out.

"I don't really know. I feel just… kinda lazy," he said with a shrug. "I spent a lot of energy on the beach and I'm kinda tuckered out. Just physically."

"Well," Sarah began, leaning against the kitchen counter, "what do I want to do with my brand new boyfriend?"

"Wow, it's so weird to hear that and k own you're talking about me. It's a good weird. It makes me want to smile like an idiot," Chuck said.

"You are smiling like an idiot, Chuck. A cute idiot," Sarah informed him. "We could get into pajamas and watch a movie in bed?" Sarah suggested.

"That works for me," Chuck agreed easily. "I'll change real quick and meet you in your room?"

"Sure," Sarah said and rose up on her toes to kiss Chuck's cheek before she slipped away, still wearing the same bikini and sarong she had been wearing all day.

Chuck stood frozen in the kitchen for a moment, holding his hand on his cheek where Sarah's lips had just been. He was now the proudly new boyfriend of one Sergeant Sarah Walker.

Chuck didn't have any details, but he assumed that Sarah's job scared off a lot of guys, or maybe that she hadn't put time into dating and was just married to her job. Whatever the case had been, Chuck was damn glad to be where he was now.

Heading into Sarah's room, he saw the lady already in bed, leaning against a stack of pillows. "You look cozy," she told Chuck, who was in an old Pac Man shirt and pajama pants, steals he had found at a thrift store.

"I feel comfy, too," he said, climbing into bed. He froze up a little bit when his foot brushed soft, smooth skin.

"We were in swim wear all day, so I didn't think you'd mind if I just slept in a tank and underwear," Sarah said with a shrug.

"I don't mind at all. I just didn't expect it. What uh, what are we watching?"

"I haven't seen it myself yet, but a friend of mine suggested I try Outlander. It's a romantic period drama," Sarah explained.

"Oh that's cool. It's not usually my thing, but I'll watch it with you," Chuck said, accepting his fate.

"Perfect. I'll put it on," Sarah smiled and sidled in to Chuck's side.

Almost hesitantly, Chuck put his arm around Sarah. The movement itself felt so foreign to him, but the way his arm draped around this girl, the way she felt pressed into his side, felt right.

XxX

"Wow, okay," Chuck laughed, running a hand through his curly hair. "That show doesn't really hold back, does it?"

"My friend didn't warn me it was that… steamy," Sarah laughed anxiously. "I mean, it's good though."

"Oh definitely, I just didn't expect some scenes to be that forward. And that Captain Randall guy? What a douche!"

"I know! I wanted him to get shot right away," Sarah said, letting the timer for the next episode count down.

"We're watching episode two, then?" Chuck asked.

"If you want me to find something closer to PG-13 for you, I can," Sarah teased.

"No, it's fine. I just didn't expect to be watching colonial soft porn, that's all."

"Oh please. The sex scene to none sex ratio would have to be so much higher for it to be soft porn," Sarah shot back. "Are you just uncomfortable because you're watching it in bed with an attractive woman?" she challenged with a smirk.

"You being beautiful has nothing to do with it, Sarah. You could be closer to my level and I would still find it awkward."

Sarah just stared at him for a moment, ice in her blue eyes. In a flash, she rolled on top of him and pinned his arms down to the bed.

"Sarah?" Chuck asked, completely stunned.

The fit blonde holding him in place continued to stare daggers at the helpless nerd. "Tell me your not ugly, Chuck. Tell me you have nothing to be ashamed of." Sarah waited, and made no sign of moving. "I'm staying right here until you say it."

Chuck mumbled, "I have nothing to be ashamed of, and I'm not ugly."

Sarah bent down and kissed him. "Good start, but say it like you mean it."

Chuck took a deep breath and said again, "I have nothing to be ashamed of and I'm not ugly."

"That's better," Sarah said with a smile and let go of his arms. She stayed strutted on his hips, her hands now resting on his chest. "Now tell me you're handsome and have a cute girlfriend."

Chuck rolled his eyes and laughed before saying, "I'm handsome and have a stunning girlfriend." He said this with genuine feeling, with emphasis on "stunning," his hands moving to draw circles on Sarah's waist.

"Good, now I'll get off of you," she said, kissing him one more time and settled into his arms again. "I'll do that again if you don't start being nicer to yourself."

"Yes, Sergeant," Chuck said with a laugh. "And thank you, Sarah."

Sarah just held his hand and kissed his neck. "I'm here for you, Chuck. I want you to start believing in yourself more, too. So many pieces are coming together for you, and it's about time."

XxX

A/N: This chapter's a little shorter, but it wraps up the Beach House arc, and established them as a full item, continues to address some of Chuck's insecurities, and this AU version of their backstories. Next chapter sees them back to Burbank and Chuckcmoving into Echo Park. Thanks for reading!