'Chuck, my man! How do you feel about you, me, a pizza and a smokin' copy of Watchmen?' Morgan bounced excitedly in front of Chuck. 'Anna's going out with some of her old girlfriends, so I have a sofa with your name on it.'

'Tonight? Oh, I'm so sorry, Morgan, I can't. I have a... thing,' Chuck trailed off unhappily.

Morgan's face fell. 'A thing? What kind of a thing?'

'It's a... a date thing,' Chuck admitted.

'Oh, okay,' Morgan shrugged. 'I suppose you and Sarah have a lot to work through.'

'Work through?' Chuck frowned.

'Yeah, you know, with the whole moving in together. Okay, I understand, buddy. Maybe later in the week?' Morgan forced a smile.

'Maybe. I hope so. Thanks, Morgan,' Chuck said gratefully.

'If you finish early, you can always come on over,' Morgan said.

'That's good to know,' Chuck smiled and slapped Morgan on the shoulder. 'I'd better get back to work. Jeff's on phone duty.'

'I thought he was banned from answering the phone?' Morgan called after Chuck as he strolled back to the Nerd Herd desk.

'He is!'

Morgan wandered round the Buy More, killing time before his break. He was near the front doors when they swished open and a customer walked in.

'Hi Sarah.' Morgan raised a hand in greeting. 'So, big night tonight?'

'Excuse me?' Sarah tilted her head in puzzlement.

'You know, you and Chuck, pancakes, talking about living together...' Morgan trailed off. 'Forget I said anything!' He ran back to the Nerd Herd desk. Sarah followed at a more sedate pace.

'Chuck! You should have told me it was a surprise!' Morgan said dejectedly.

Chuck's attention was on fixing a mobile phone. 'Huh? What're you on about, Morgan?'

'Sarah! I spoiled your surprise! I'm so sorry!'

Chuck looked up, frowning, then caught sight of Sarah. 'Oh! Oh, right. Don't worry about it, Morgan. It's no biggie, just... pancakes.'

Sarah leaned over the desk and pressed a chaste kiss to Chuck's lips. 'Hi there,' she smiled.

'How's my girl?' Chuck asked. 'Everything okay?'

'Everything's fine. I just thought I'd come and say hi before I go start my shift. So, Morgan mentioned something about pancakes?'

'He did...' Chuck forced an answering smile. 'Morgan, I need a word with Sarah alone.'

'Sure thing, buddy. It's time for my break, anyway.' Morgan headed for the break room.

'So?' Sarah asked.

'Morgan wanted to hook up this evening, but I have a thing arranged,' Chuck explained awkwardly. 'It's, uh... I'm going for pancakes. Silly, really.'

'What time do you want me to pick you up?'

'It's... it's with Casey.'

'Oh!' Sarah pulled back, blinking in surprise.

'It's just some guy-time,' Chuck said lamely. 'That's all. But Morgan got the wrong idea, so...'

'That's okay.' Sarah forced a smile. 'I can cover for you. I - I'd better go or I'll be late.' She kissed Chuck again, then turned and strolled rapidly out of the store.

#

'What's going on?' Sarah stormed down the stairs into Castle.

John glanced up from the bank of monitors. 'Nothing so far today. Why? Did Chuck flash?'

'I'm talking about you and Chuck going out for pancakes.' Sarah stopped beside John's chair. 'What are you up to?'

'The kid needed cheering up. You know how annoying he is when he mopes around. Gets on my nerves.'

'So you decided to take him out for pancakes?' Sarah asked, incredulous.

John shrugged. 'Seemed to work. Why, were you planning on cheering him up?' He flicked his eyes over Sarah's slim figure, injected a touch of insinuation into his tone.

Sarah bristled. 'What's that supposed to mean, Casey?'

'I just thought that since you seem to be objecting to me taking Chuck out for pancakes, you might have had other plans.'

Scowling, Sarah retreated to the stairs. 'I don't know what you think you're up to, Casey, but don't play around with Chuck. He's had too much of that already.' She bounced up the stairs. 'He doesn't need you messing with him.'

John grunted, watching her go, then turned his attention back to the monitors. 'Maybe that's just what he does need,' he murmured.

#

Pancakes had to wait a couple of hours while Team Bartowski conducted surveillance on a suspected arms importer. When no flash was forthcoming and the antiques showroom which provided a front for the operation had shut down for the evening, they went back to Castle, leaving a couple of hidden cameras in case anyone came back later.

Sarah sighed and rolled her head, stretching her neck to one side then the other. 'That's my report done. Casey?'

'Yeah, two minutes and I'm done.'

Chuck looked up from the folder in front of him. 'Five minutes for me and how do you stand it being this boring? Really?'

Sarah smiled. 'Most of our work is actually very boring. Without an Intersect on tap, we get used to spending months gathering intelligence before we see any action at all.'

'She's right,' Casey grunted. 'This really isn't boring.'

'Wow, you guys have a high boredom threshold,' Chuck said, flipping through the remaining pages. He glanced up at the agents. 'I don't think I could do that.'

'You work at the Buy More,' John pointed out.

Chuck looked over at Casey, shrugged, grinned. 'You got me there.'

John smiled back. 'Yeah.'

After a moment, Sarah cleared her throat. 'I think I'm going to head home. I'll see you guys tomorrow.'

Chuck blinked, smiled. 'Okay, have a good night, Sarah.' He got up and hugged her more easily, releasing her more quickly than she remembered him doing before.

Casey nodded. 'Oh-eight-hundred. Night, Walker.'

Smiling, she jogged up the stairs, but her smile slipped just a touch as she glanced back at the two men below right before she passed through the door into Orange Orange.

'You done?'

The young man looked across at the agent, smile gone. 'Nearly.' He stared across at Casey.

'Better finish up,' the agent remarked softly. After a moment, Chuck bent his head to the file in front of him. A couple of minutes later, he closed the file and dropped it on the table in front of him with a sigh.

'Done.'

'Anything?' John asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Chuck shook his head. 'Not tonight, big guy. So, we done?'

John shrugged. 'I guess so. Come on.' He stood, picked up his jacket and waited while Chuck pulled on his own. Letting the younger man lead the way, he followed, making sure the base was locked down for the night.

Out in the balmy Californian twilight, they strolled in companionable silence through the parking lot towards Casey's car.

'You hungry?' the agent asked as he unlocked the car door.

One corner of Chuck's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. 'A little. I think I could be persuaded to grab a bite to eat. How about you, big guy?'

'Supper sounds good to me,' John grinned. 'IHoP?'

'Didn't they do a Tuscan chicken sandwich? It looked pretty tasty on the menu,' Chuck said easily, sliding into the passenger seat.

'IHoP it is, then,' John said and started the car.

#

Orders placed, the two men sat in silence in a different booth in a different IHoP from the previous day.

'You know, if this was a, a date, a regular date, I'd ask about your day, you could ask me about mine,' Chuck babbled, playing with his napkin, folding it into pseudo-origami shapes. 'But since we spend our days working together and doing secret spy stuff, I guess that wouldn't be so interesting.' He smiled nervously. 'And I'm a nerd and as far as I'm aware, you're not into sci-fi, or sandwiches, for that matter, so... Plus, you probably know more about me than I do...'

John's face eased, tension vanishing from around his eyes, his jawline, mouth widening just a fraction. Nothing close to an honest-to-goodness smile, but amusement nonetheless.

'You're worried about running out of things to talk about?' he asked. 'Chuck, in all the time I've known you, you've always had something to say.'

'Hah, yeah, I guess you're right. Still... It doesn't seem even a tiny bit awkward to you?' Chuck shifted uncomfortably.

John picked up his own napkin, began pressing neat, precise creases into the soft paper. 'Nope.'

'Really?' Chuck's tone was full of disbelief.

'It's pancakes, Chuck, not a candle-lit dinner for two. There's no carriage ride under the stars.'

'You could always open the sunroof on the way home.'

'I could,' John agreed. 'Here.' He handed Chuck a small origami figure. 'It's a crane.'

'Wow! I had no idea you could do that!' Chuck said, taking the bird and studying it.

John watched as the familiar tell-tale signs of a flash came over the young man, taking a sip of his coffee as he waited for Chuck to re-surface. 'Well?'

'That... that explains a lot.' Chuck frowned. 'Did you do that on purpose?'

'Gets around the 'I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you', doesn't it?' the agent grinned humourlessly.

'But how did you know that would trigger a flash?' Chuck persisted.

'I didn't. But it seemed likely. And I couldn't stand watching you mess with your napkin any longer. Besides...' John took back the crane, spreading the wings and making a couple of minor modifications before handing it back.

'Oh my god! You made a Bird of Prey!' Chuck gasped.

'A Klingon Bird of Prey,' John said with a smug grin. 'One thing, Chuck. Don't assume about me.'

'You like Star Trek?' Chuck beamed, the smile lighting him up.

'It has its moments,' John admitted.

Eyes shining, Chuck challenged, 'Kirk or Picard?'

'Kirk. But not the patented Kirk-karate-chop. That's just stupid.'

'What about the Vulcan death-grip?'

John shook his head. 'No such nerves. At least, not in humans. There's a point here, though-' He leaned forwards and pushed his thumb below and behind Chuck's ear.

'Ow!' Chuck jerked back, rubbing the spot.

'Keep a decent amount of pressure on there for ten seconds and you'll knock someone out for a while. Keep it up for too long and you'll kill them.' John explained helpfully.

'You know, there's such a thing as too much sharing,' Chuck complained, but he was still smiling.

#

Back in the courtyard outside their apartments, John halted beside the fountain. 'See? Pancakes aren't that difficult,' he said softly, eyes dropping to Chuck's mouth.

Chuck swallowed hard. 'I guess not.' He licked his lips nervously. 'What do... What are you...'

'Date etiquette?' John asked, taking a step closer. 'This.' He brushed a light kiss over Chuck's lips, then stepped back. 'Good night, Chuck.'

'Right.' Chuck blinked, fingers coming up automatically to touch his lips. 'Good night, John. I, uh, I'll see you in the morning.' He watched as the agent shut the door behind him. 'Right...'