A/N: DC here (minus monocle, with glasses): We changed canon. We changed canon. Oh, it's about to get SC/DC up in here! Why are you looking at me that way, SC? Can we change one more little thing, and I dare I say get, just a hair, just a little bit….fluffy? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeee? (If you haven't guessed, I REALLY enjoyed writing this chapter. REALLY!)
Feel free to blame me for Lack of Fluff. I'm fine with it. It isn't like I'm the author of a little story called Chuck Versus the Dive or anything. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- SC
Disclaimer: We don't own Chuck and all we get from it is the joy that fills our cold dead hearts.
She found herself humming that morning as she got ready for work. She stopped as she fixed her pigtails. Why was she humming? She's spent so much time in the CIA and she had never hummed during an assignment, unless the role called for it. Why was she humming? She looked in the mirror, saw the smiling face looking back at her, and shrugged. So she was happy, was that a crime? Was being a CIA agent and also being happy a crime? She realized she was humming "Soul Provider"….Well, that was disconcerting. She headed out the door, and to her car. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove leisurely to the Wienerlicious….well, she considered 80 leisurely.
"Hi, Scooter," she chirped as she walked in, not only on time, for once, but early. Scooter did a double take. "I had an idea I wanted to run past you." Scooter took his glasses off and cleaned them. "We have a lot of unhealthy things here, and I'm not saying that as a bad thing, but would it hurt if maybe we sold lemonade, or something, to drink?"
"We have a diet cola," Scooter retorted.
She stared at him and he winced. "What if I make some lemonade, and see how it goes?"
Scooter shook his head like he couldn't believe it. "O—okay...I guess you'll want to take some to Chuckie over at the Buy More to try."
"That's an amazing idea," Sarah said, grinning. "But please, it's Chuck."
"Sarah, Chuck and I have known each other—"
"Scooter," she said with a very low voice. She saw him glup. "It's. Chuck." Scooter nodded and fled. Sarah went to the back of the store and began to make the lemonade. Scooter came in a few times for different items, and started to say something each time. He never did, and when he left he always looked...amazed.
The third time he came he, he paused by the door. "Sarah, is that Soul Provider you're humming?" She turned to him slowly. "Because it is an amazing rendition if it is," he quickly added. She smiled sweetly at him and went back to the lemonade. After a minute she stopped. What she was doing? Why was she smiling so much? Why was she so happy? What had made this happen? She knew the answer. It was Chuck. He was just so much...fun. He was her friend. When was the last time she had legitimately had a friend? Had she ever? Well, she did now, and she got to hang out with him, and she knew she had to protect him, and she would. She would even if he wasn't her friend but the fact he was… She nodded, happy with where things were. Now, she was going to bring him some lemonade, and she hoped he liked it. She walked past Scooter and headed out the door to the Buy More.
As she walked in she saw Chuck and Morgan in talks about something. It appeared to be quite important to the bearded guy.
"Feel me?" Morgan said to Chuck.
"Hey, nothing but feeling you," Chuck replied fist bumping him. If Sarah and Chuck were really dating, she might have to sit Chuck down and have a long talk about some of the phrases the two used around each other. She grinned… No, she wouldn't. She liked them just the way they were, even if the term heterosexual life partners did make her cringe at times. She took a drink of her lemonade. Damn, it was good. Morgan saw her and started toward her, looking a little embarrassed.
"Hey, Sarah." He sounded...regretful. "The other night, I was a little….I was out of line, and I'm sorry."
Sarah was taken aback. "It's fine. Hey, you know, I appreciate you. You watch out for him. Not all of us have a friend like that."
"Really? I thought Carina would be that person for you?"
Sarah shook her head sadly. "No. Carina looks out for herself. I know she's my friend, Morgan, but be careful. I don't know if she deserves you."
Morgan beamed at her. "Good, good, good. Listen, 'An evening with Morgan' will begin at 7:00 sharp." He looked over at Chuck, leaned in, put his hand over his mouth so Chuck couldn't hear, and whispered. "But if you're a little late it's okay." She gave a quick head nod and grinned. He winked, and began to back away. "Bring your A-game, like the other night." He looked up at Chuck and pointed both his pointer fingers at him. "Love ya, pal." Chuck pointed back at him.
She walked over, an amused grin on her face. She sat the drink down in front of him. He took a sip, and raised his eyebrows, a look of appreciation on his face. "So, Chuck… 'An Evening of Morgan'?"
Chuck leaned forward. "Okay, so here's the thing. He's my best friend, and I haven't really gotten to spend any time with him or Ellie this week, and so he really wanted the whole bunch of us to hang out tonight."
Sarah was trying to process everything. "For 'An Evening of Morgan'? Will I be required to play video games? Will I be required to play nerd trivia? What about action figures? I'm not playing with action figures."
Chuck was grinning. "What happened to the greater good, Sarah?"
She smirked at him. "The greater good can kiss my ass when it comes to playing with action figures with Morgan."
She heard Casey behind her. "I thought being stationed in the Khyber Pass for six months was brutal." Sarah grinned and took another drink. Damn, that was good lemonade.
"If you're so sad about not being included, Casey, you can just say so," Chuck replied. Sarah watched Chuck. He was beginning to fire back at Casey and hold his own. She found she liked that. She found herself rooting for Chuck...her grin grew.
"Dinner with you and Morgan?" Casey asked as if he were hearing things. "I'd rather Afghani Warlords bleed me from my liver."
Sarah stared at Casey as he walked away. Chuck turned to her. "He's a happy person." She had no response except to drink her lemonade and raise her eyebrows in agreement. She was grinning so hard. His little jokes...it made it all so much more bearable. "I appreciate that about him—" Sarah was about to crack up. "And he works hard, so…"
"I have to go back, enjoy your lemonade." She started to leave when he called out.
"Sarah, when did the Wienerlicious start making lemonade?"
She bounced a shoulder grinning. "Since I started making it."
"Wha—?" He quickly came from around the Nerd Herd desk and walked her to the door. "Is it a secret CIA recipe?" His voice was low so no one could hear.
"No, Chuck, it's mine."
He gently took her wrist in his hand, and she turned to him. "Well thank you for sharing it with me, Sarah." He was beaming and it was making things in her flip, flop, and just feel. "Have a great day at work and I'll see you tonight." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and turned back toward the Nerd Herd desk. She raised her drink, turned, and walked out, grinning and sipping on her lemonade. It was gonna be a good day.
}o{
She found herself in Chinatown, not next to her fake boyfriend, but next to Morgan. He had his arms around both of their shoulders and was being the tour guide. She should have expected that. It was called, "An Evening with Morgan."
"So, at what point do the video games break out, because I'm sure that's on the menu." Sarah had said it with a grin, but the look on Chuck's face was one of horror. He was running his hand across his neck mouthing "NO, NO!" "Did I say something wrong?"
Morgan looked at her with...sympathy? Why would Morgan have sympathy for her? "Sarah, I think you're great, and we both obviously think Chuck's great, but I fear he's spent too much time with Jeff and Lester at the Buy More."
An amused look covered her face. "Well, I mean it did take him over a day to call me back."
"THANK YOU!" Morgan said, hands up in the air.
Chuck had a grin on his face. "Et tu, Sarah?" Sarah shrugged. "Fine, I was trying so hard to keep you from this, but you know what, you turned on me, so I have no choice. It is with great regret that I unleash...the Morgan...Buddy, do your thing."
Morgan gave Chuck a look. "How is it wrong to let my best friend's girl in on our conversations?"
"Yeah, Chuck, don't you trust me with your conversations?" Sarah was grinning at Chuck so hard her face hurt, but she didn't care, she was having a blast. Chuck had a strange look on his face, one part amusement, one part, "please dear God, don't let my best friend scare off my girlfriend." He was really getting into his role. Morgan continued on, unaware of his friend's crisis.
"You know how Grand Theft Auto III change the video game industry?" he began. Sarah tried to give a look that she understood. "Wait...you don't know Grand Theft Auto III?"
"Is that a worse charge than Grand Theft Auto?" Chuck burst into laughter, earning a glare from Morgan and confusion from Sarah. "How do criminal charges change the video game industry?"
"Grand Theft Auto III is a video game," Chuck explained between bouts of laughter. "Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto II were also video games, but they were nothing like Grand Theft Auto III."
"Okaaaaay," Sarah replied, still confused.
"Let me," Morgan said. Chuck held his hand out like, "Be my guest." Morgan turned to Sarah. "So Grand Theft Auto III gave us the concept of an open world. You can do whatever you want, but each of your actions affect the world around you."
"Like real life," Sarah said, starting to grasp the concept. "So instead of being told what to do, you have all the choices."
"Right," Morgan replied. "But, you still have things you have to do to progress the story, but you can do them when you want to."
"Okay, but why the name Grand Theft Auto?"
"Because you're a criminal," Morgan said like it was the most natural thing in the world.
It was in this moment, that Sarah realized how truly different her life was from these two. She had been raised as a criminal, and these two guys had video games to let them "experience" the life. But video games were nothing like real life, no matter how "open world" the game was. She saw the look on Chuck's face and immediately knew he was thinking about how she was a law enforcement officer. She knew the right answer and gave it.
"I mean that's different," Sarah replied. She caught Chuck's eyes. They were full of questions, questions he didn't even know how they would affect her. "But what does that have to do with why Chuck didn't want me to ask about video games?"
"Ah, because I see the future and stick in the mud over here says I'm wrong," Morgan replied, a look of satisfaction on his face. Sarah wasn't sure why, he hadn't really proved anything yet. "So there's this game called Red Dead Revolver, it's a third person shooter, you go around as a gunfighter. You should play it."
Sarah faked a shudder. "No, I don't like guns." Morgan didn't see Chuck look away, his lips twitching. It took all her training not to grin.
"That's understandable," Morgan replied. Sarah nearly burst out laughing, but she held it together. "I think they could do the same thing with that game."
"Morgan, there's only so many gunfighters," Chuck countered.
"Ah, but what if they do the same thing and make him an outlaw? Think about it, recreating some of those feels that a western gives you. Riding on your horse, over the open prairie?"
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Sarah added.
Morgan spun towards her, excited. Sarah was surprised, and kept herself from hurting him. "But that's the thing, the same studio makes both games."
"Well that makes a lot of sense." Chuck's faced morphed to "really?" She shrugged. "What? He makes good points. It may not happen, but to dismiss it….well, I try to listen to good ideas from all people, not just those that most affect my life." The look Chuck gave her was one of gratefulness on two levels. She was trying with Morgan, and that meant everything to him, but it also told him she listened to him. Regardless of what her superiors thought. It was time to move this along before Chuck started asking questions she couldn't answer. Not just because Morgan was around but because she didn't know the answer herself. "So what then is, "An Evening with Morgan'?"
When he spoke, it was with an….importance. It was like he was letting her into a secret society. She suspected that this society consisted of, at best, four people before she came along; Chuck, Morgan, Ellie, and Devon. "'An Evening with Morgan,' will consist of three acts. Act one, dinner."
She decided to go with it and have fun. It wasn't hard to do. She found herself smiling again. "What are we having?"
As he spoke, he gesticulated with his hands and she grinned at his enthusiasm. "A little delicacy called Sizzling Shrimp." Chuck looked away, amusement on his face. "That's right. That's right." Morgan began to poke her belly as he talked. She had killed men for less, but for some reason, she found this….adorable. "We're going to pack our bellies so full of shrimp you're going to make a seal jealous."
She couldn't help but have fun. "Wow! Sounds like quite a night." The grin on her face was real. This wasn't a cover. She was out with her friend and his best friend, and it was a "mission." If her early years at the CIA had been like this, she probably would have stuck around until they ran her off.
Morgan continued. "Oh, and that's just the beginning. Dinner will be followed by a screening over at Chuck's of the greatest kung fu film ever made." He paused and she noticed Chuck's face change and they both spoke together, solemnly. "Enter the Dragon."
Chuck began to do a bad kung fu imitation and flail his arms about. "Prepare to die, my bearded friend." The two began to slap fight while doing some bad kung fu moves yelling things like, "bring it on", and "come on", at each other. Sarah laughed at the two. They were both complete nerds, doing nothing but having fun, and it was just so pure. Part of her realized, this was why she stayed in the CIA as long as she did, because people deserved to have these moments. These regular moments of spontaneity and silliness that were just pure and wholesome.
The fighting finally stopped after Chuck had slapped Morgan in the head one too many times. "What are you doing?" Morgan asked. Sarah continued to laugh.
"Okay, and the third act can only be found here in Chinatown." Morgan straightened his jacket. "There he is. Be cool."
Chuck grabbed Morgan and spun him around. Sarah noticed the guy in the beanie and backpack, assessed Chuck's reaction, and closed her eyes at what she thought she was seeing. She was concerned, Morgan had no known drug issues in his dossier. Chuck had a look on his face that scared Sarah. "Hey, wait a minute. I thought you were off this stuff, buddy."
Morgan looked a little indignant. "Yeah? Well, I'm sorry, Chuck, all right? Daddy needs his fix, you know?" Morgan looked over at the guy and he gave Morgan a head nod. This was not good. Someone this close to Chuck with a drug problem. Sarah started running through protocols in her head. Chuck couldn't live without Morgan. She was going to have to do something, but she had no idea what.
"Dude." Sarah was heart broken. He sounded so scared for his friend. "You know how I feel about fireworks!" Wait, WHAT? Fireworks. Sarah started to smile. These two...they were just…
"You know what?" Morgan seemed quite exasperated with Chuck. "To defeat fear, one must embrace fear."
"I'd rather embrace my limbs. Specifically, all of them." Okay, this was amazing but…
She grabbed Chuck's arm. "Hey, can I talk to you just a sec?" Chuck looked at Morgan. She turned toward Morgan. "No buying any until I talk to him, okay?"
"Deal."
She pulled Chuck out of Morgan's hearing range. "Okay, first." She started to laugh. She couldn't get control of herself and laughed harder. Chuck stood there confused until it dawned on him.
"You thought…" he pointed over his shoulders toward Morgan and the dealer. "That Morgan was gonna buy…. Morgan?! You know he gets a hangover from too many grape sodas, right?"
"Besides Jeff, is there anything anyone else at the Buy More does that I should know about?" Her eyes were dancing with laughter, and his jaw was trembling.
He leaned in. "I might have a pirated tape of 10." Sarah stared at him. "Bo Derek?" She continued to stare at him. He shrugged. "Never mind. I can't do the fireworks, Sarah, I can't. They freak me out."
"No, I get it, I just have to seem like i'm trying for him because I kinda need your best friend to approve of the cover." Chuck grinned. "Okay, be gentle with him." He nodded. Sarah studied him a second. "I mean Bo Derek was okay in that movie, but it wasn't that great." With that she walked back toward Morgan. Chuck followed after a second, a little shaken.
"Well?" Morgan asked.
"No fireworks. No sale." Chuck slung his arm around Morgan, leading him away from the fireworks, and put his other arm around Sarah.
"Well, can I say something? This evening gets an asterisk, okay? We've still got our shrimp on, though." He held up his hand and Sarah high-fived him. "And thank you for fighting for me." Chuck grinned at Sarah. They approached the Bamboo Dragon. There was a big sign on the door, Closed for Private Party. "No, no, no, no. You got to be kidding me. They can't be closed. 'An Evening with Morgan' has to at least include sizzling shrimp."
Sarah felt sorry for the bearded man. "Morgan, it's okay. We'll do it another time."
She had to give him credit, he just refused to quit. "No, no. I got this. I got this. Lucky for us, I got connections."
Morgan took off around the corner and they followed. "Well," Chuck began. "Got to give him points for effort."
Morgan went to the stairs and grabbed a key from underneath. "My friend Juan, he's a dishwasher. Leaves his keys for me in case of emergencies."
They followed him inside. "Hey, we got to make this quick," Chuck reminded Morgan. "Ellie's waiting for us."
As they walked through the kitchen, Morgan seemed like he was in heaven. "You hear that sizzle?" He began to move his hands like he was conducting an orchestra. "Like the sound of angels' laughter. Wait here." He went off to talk to someone, leaving Sarah and Chuck behind.
"He does not give up, does he?" Sarah asked, smiling. This was fun. This was what she needed, a night off. She turned to Chuck, and noticed his mouth was open like he was beginning to answer, but she saw his face. God, that looked horrible….oh no...Oh no. He was flashing.
He shook his head. "That waitress. She's Mei-Ling Cho, Chinese Intelligence. Never stepped foot on US soil before."
Morgan picked that exact moment to walk up. "Sizzling shrimp, anyone?"
"My God!" Sarah replied still trying to process everything Chuck had just told her.
"Well, you can just call me Morgan, Sarah, but I appreciate the enthusiasm." Morgan gave her a wink. Damn it! She had been looking forward to this. A low key night, but it was ruined, and more importantly, she began to wonder, was Chuck ever going to be able just to have a normal night without flashing? She had to get this thing out of him...after she dealt with Mei-Ling Cho.
}o{
"Hey, I'll be right back, I need to talk to Casey real quick." Chuck and Sarah headed toward the door, earning them a look from Ellie.
"Really? You two can't be apart for a minute?"
Sarah turned toward Ellie. This was the part of the job she hated. Ellie only wanted what was best for her brother, and she thought Sarah was it. It didn't take a CIA spy to see how happy Ellie was with Chuck dating Sarah. One day, when she left, it was going to hurt Ellie. She prayed that whatever happened, Chuck didn't catch the brunt of it. She prayed that Ellie didn't think that the damage his ex had done to him was what broke them up. She decided right then and there she needed to come up with the perfect breakup story that put all the blame on her. She had ideas, but she needed to make Chuck blameless. If Ellie had to hate anyone, she'd prefer ot be her.
"You know how Casey is, with all his growling," Sarah said to Ellie. Ellie grinned. "If I'm with Chuck, Casey is less….Casey."
"Need me to go, buddy? You know Casey and I have a certain...bond."
Chuck looked at his buddy. "You wanna come? We're gonna talk about certain sale strategies for the new—"
"You know what?" Morgan said, waving his hand. "You and Sarah won't get a lot of alone time tonight."
"We'll be with Casey, Morgan," Chuck replied.
Morgan shook his head. "There's a lot of real estate between the two apartments."
"Come on, Chuck, we've got a long hike ahead of us," Sarah said, grinning. Morgan gave her a thankful smile, wanting nothing at all to do with any work. They headed out the door and began the "long" walk to Casey's. Sarah had already given Casey a heads up text so she wasn't surprised as they approached his door, that he yanked it open. They walked in, as Casey headed back to his table where a file sat.
He picked up a picture and slapped it down in front of Chuck. "This the woman you saw tonight?"
"Yeah," Chuck replied.
Casey slammed two thick files into Chuck's chest. "Read through these….twice." Sarah really wanted to say something but knew if she did Casey would just tourment Chuck more. "Let us know if you flash on anything." He turned to Sarah. "Call the director. Tell him we got a priority code orange."
Chuck looked at Sarah, questioningly. She raised an eyebrow, and gave a slight head nod, indicating he go on. "Guys, is there any way that this can wait until morning? 'Cause I kind of have a priority code Ellie and Morgan. They're waiting for us for dinner."
Casey spun slowly in his chair and stood, intensity on his face. "China's top spy is in Los Angeles. We don't know why she's here, what she's planning to do. You, my friend, may be the only one who can figure that out. That's your priority." He shoved the folder into Chuck's chest again. "Copy?"
"Copy," Chuck replied.
"Actually no," Sarah said, making both men turn to her. "His top priority is not getting captured, and if we leave the dinner, his sister and best friend will both think something is wrong. Not a small something, but a big something, and that, Casey, is something we don't want."
Casey stared at her. She could tell he was torn. He wanted this Chinese spy, she understood why, but Casey had to think long term. The Intersect was the number one priority. While it needed to be used when it could, it couldn't be risked for something that was not a pressing matter. She needed to offer Casey a compromise he could live with.
"Look, let us go, eat some sizzling shrimp, watch a kung fu movie—"
"Enter the Dragon," Chuck reminded her. She turned toward him and raised an eyebrow. "Right, shutting up."
"Spend some time solidifying my cover since it appears WE are going to be here a while." Casey winced at that. "Then I will invite my boyfriend to my place to talk."
"Oh God," Chuck muttered. Sarah started sputtering with laughter. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, Ellie will think we're about to break up or something."
"How about I need to talk to you about my job and what I should do, because I hate it."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Chuck said honestly. "You wouldn't have to work there if it wasn't for me and the Intersect. Really, I'm sorry, and I know Scooter can be a pain."
"Are you two freaking kidding me right now?" Casey growled. They both turned toward him. "I'm about to take my gun out and start shooting."
"Casey, you've shot enough people, you cannot shoot Chuck."
"Who said a damn thing about Chuck? I was talking about eating a bullet before lady feelings over there started crying about you having to work your cover job."
"Well, it bothers me that you have to work at the Buy More as well," Chuck added quickly. Casey stared at him. "Well, in for a penny in for a pound. Earlier you said my friend—"
"Figure of speech," Casey replied cutting in.
Chuck turned to Sarah. "I'm not helping, am I?"
"No, Chuck. No, you're not."
}o{
Chuck had been too harried about the Chinese spy he'd flashed on to notice the first time, but when he and Sarah walked back into the apartment, he saw that Ellie had gone all out again while they were in Chinatown picking up dinner. She had somehow managed to move some furniture to make the TV area look like a miniature movie theater, with the couch and chairs arranged just so. It smelled like the pine-scented stuff he used to dust. And he smelled something else cooking. She'd set out wine glasses and two types of wine, and she changed out of her scrubs and into jeans and a nice long-sleeve blouse.
"Hey!" she chirped. "That was quick."
"It was just a quick chat. And like Sarah said, he spent less time grumbling at me 'cause she was there." He sent Sarah a grateful glance, hoping she understood the full meaning of it. She'd really saved his ass, even if they'd have to deal with some potentially uncomfortable reactions when he finally went back to Sarah's place after this.
"Well, good. That guy is way too serious about the Buy More. Like, really, he needs to chill out."
"You have no idea," Chuck said, widening his eyes. He saw Sarah twist her lips to the side in amusement.
"Well, anyway, I'm so sorry they're putting you through this, Sarah. But we can suffer together," she teased, moving in to hug the blonde.
Sarah laughed. "I dunno, I'm having a pretty good time so far."
"Really?" Ellie pulled back. "Did you guys stick Morgan in the trunk for the duration of the food run, or…?"
Everyone laughed except for Morgan, who just sent her a half-glare. "I'll have you know that Sarah and I are buddies. We're bonding. Right, Sarah?"
Sarah met his high five again and nodded. "We are."
Ellie just smirked and waved them all towards the table. "Gimme those shrimp bags already, Morgan, like I asked you to twice already. I'll put the shrimp in something nice."
"Elliiiiie, come oooonnn. Most of the fun is eating it out of the cool little flappy top containers," Morgan whined. "It's An Evening of Morgan, remember?" He lowered his chin and gave her a long look through his eyelashes.
"Oh, so we have to eat like peasants on An Evening of Morgan? Guess I didn't get the memo." She gave him a look and shrugged, gesturing to the dinner table. "Be my guest, everyone. Except you, Chuck. And you, Morgan."
"So just Sarah?" Chuck asked, laughing.
"Yep!"
They finally sat around the table, opening containers, the scent of shrimp sizzled in oil and spices filling the room and making Chuck's stomach growl. Chopsticks and containers distributed, rice piled onto dishes, they began to eat and talk.
"So Ellie, tell us about the gnarly patients you got at the hospital today," Morgan said, tossing a shrimp tail into the empty container they set up in the middle of the table for that purpose exactly. If he kept throwing them like he was Kobe Bryant in his career heyday, Ellie would eventually crucify him.
"Um. Morgan. HIPAA mean anything to you?" she responded, giving him a look like he was the prize idiot. She most likely thought he was the prize idiot. And some days she wasn't wrong, Chuck had to admit silently. He loved him just as he was, though.
"You don't have to tell us their social security number, Ellie. Or where they live," he said with his mouth full, shrugging dramatically.
She gave him a look and got up from the table, walking around to the kitchen and opening the oven.
"You need help with somethin', sis?" he asked, pushing to his feet and putting his napkin he'd had on his lap onto the table next to his plate.
"Uh, sure! Thanks."
He hurried around to help her, leaving Sarah with Morgan, and hearing Morgan say something about how much Sarah was going to like Enter the Dragon. Bless her for her interested response. He imagined a CIA agent trained and experienced in hand-to-hand combat would find the kung fu scenes silly, and he was a little embarrassed about showing her a movie that had always seemed so cool to him and to Morgan.
"What's this?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen and saw Ellie reaching into it with potholders.
"Potstickers. They're just the frozen kind from the market. But I thought it'd go well with the shrimp and rice."
"Ah, good show, El. You think Morgan'll be a little offended you're upstaging his shrimp?" he teased.
She gave him an annoyed look as she pulled the cookie sheet out of the oven and walked over to set it on top of the stove. "Does it look like I give a crap, Chuck? They're frozen potstickers. They aren't gonna upstage anything. And there are vegetable in them. For a balanced meal."
"That was such a mom-ish thing for you to say."
"I know, right?" she giggled. Just then they heard laughter coming from the dining room table and they both turned to peek out at Sarah and Morgan chatting amiably, Sarah laughing at something Morgan said and Morgan beaming proudly. "So what's that about?" Ellie asked.
"Hm?" He turned his smile from Sarah and Morgan to his sister and then frowned a little. "What d'ya mean?"
"That whole thing with Morgan calling Sarah his buddy. They look all chummy. Total one-eighty from the embarrassing display of I-Don't-Even-Know-What he put on during our game night. He was out of control."
"Ah. Yeah. He, um, really was. But he gave her a sincere apology earlier today, and she graciously accepted it."
"That was gracious of her. I wanted to punch him in his stupid face."
He chuckled. "How is that any different from any other time?"
"Good point!" she laughed, grabbing a spatula and handing it to him. "Scrape these off of here and stick 'em in this bowl for me, huh? I'm gonna make a little soy sauce mixture for us to dip 'em in."
He moved up to the stove and grabbed the spatula, scraping under the potstickers to do as he was asked. "I also warned her that Morgan was pretty set on this being an opportunity for her to win his approval officially."
"Oh God," Ellie groused. "Like that makes any kind of difference in who you date..."
"I mean, you know it doesn't, I know it doesn't, and I made sure Sarah knows it doesn't." Ellie sent him a look that clearly said GOOD. "But she's still taking it upon herself to give him a good impression of her, making him feel good about the fact that we're dating. I guess she's just rad like that."
Ellie smirked and started stirring the soy sauce mixture. "Well, here's something that should make a difference. I freaking love her. And I can't say that about anyone else you've dated that I've met."
"So basically, Jill."
"Mhm. Fuck her."
"Wow, El. Tell me how you really feel." She had. Numerous times. She'd made his ears ring with it more than once in the last five years.
She just smirked. "All I'm saying is you've come up in the world. Big time."
Chuck felt a bit of melancholy pull at him. "Yeah, I know. She's really great."
"Who's really great?" Morgan shouted from the table. "Who you talkin' about, Chuck? Huuuuh?"
They all knew who he was talking about and Chuck turned on his heel to give Morgan narrowed eyes and a less-than-amused smile. And in spite of himself, he could feel the vibrant blush. "Haaaaa. Shut up, Morgan."
"I think he was talking about Cheryl, the parking attendant in the Buy More lot," Sarah said, raising her voice a little so that everyone could hear.
That got laughter from everyone, and Chuck moved to the partition to peer through at her. "That's exactly who I was talking about. With that neon bib and the whistle. Woooo-eee."
Her eyes sparkled as she giggled, shaking her head as she took a bite out of a shrimp. "You think I'm great, Chuck?"
"He said really great," Ellie said as she swung back out of the kitchen with the bowl of pot stickers in one hand and the dipping sauce in the other. Chuck just gave them all flat looks. "And he knows what he's talking about, right Morgan?"
"Oh, I'm so onboard. I was this close to getting my firework fix tonight thanks to Sarah," Morgan said, holding his fingers up. "I appreciate the attempt, buddy."
"You're welcome, buddy. Chuck wouldn't budge."
"And if you can't make him budge…" the bearded one started.
"Aaaaand that's enough of that, I think," he interrupted quickly, trying not to blush so hard he turned into a legitimate tomato. He imagined the government wouldn't be too pleased with their secrets being stuck in a tomato. "How 'bout them Lakers?"
"Booooo, changing the subject booooooo!" Ellie erupted, giving him a thumbs down as she dipped a pot sticker with her other hand.
He plopped down in the chair next to Sarah and laughed. "Oh come on. I thought this was An Evening of Morgan, not An Evening of Torment Chuck."
"Morgan wants this," Morgan said, gesturing to himself. "Therefore, An Evening of Morgan has become An Evening of Torment Chuck." He chuckled and reached across the table to poke Chuck's shoulder. "Anyway, I'm sure Sarah loves hearing how likable she is. Right, Sar?"
"Don't call her Sar," Ellie said, pointing. "Just 'cause you are buddies now…"
"Come on. I call you El."
"Yeah and I've hated that you do that since we were kids."
"You never told me."
"I tell you that every single time you use that nickname, you dimwit."
Chuck turned to look at Sarah as they continued arguing, calmly leaned his elbows on the tabletop, and rested his chin against his fists that were folded together by his face. Sarah just looked back with no small amount of amusement. "So. How's your shrimp?"
"Really good, thanks. Morgan was right ab—"
"Sorry, what? I heard 'Morgan was right'." The man in question spun from where he was arguing with Ellie and grinned cheekily.
"About the sizzling shrimp," Sarah giggled. "You were right. It's really good."
"Heey, no problem. I know my shrimp."
"Yeah, well, you are what you eat, as they say," Ellie quipped.
Bless Sarah for trying her hardest not to laugh, but neither of them could keep it in. Even Morgan had to chuckle a bit at it. "Okay. Okay, that was pretty good. I have to admit," he muttered.
They finally got to what Morgan called Stage 2 of An Evening of Morgan. Chuck was just glad they got through Stage 1 without his best friend and sister forcing him to go so far as to make out with the CIA agent in front of them. They pretty mercilessly made him blush by reciting other things he'd said about her to them while she wasn't there. Morgan even made up a quote about Chuck developing a fetish for hotdog necklaces. Chuck would've strangled him if Sarah hadn't grabbed his sleeve and held him back. At least she seemed to be tickled pink by the whole thing, and not outwardly uncomfortable.
As they all took their seats, Morgan and Ellie both seemed to make a dash for the plush chairs on either side of the couch, leaving the couch for the couple. Almost as if they were both of the same mind. If Sarah were even remotely his real girlfriend, he'd be totally touched by the fact that they were both trying so hard to wing for him. But this was all a lie, and he had to repeat that in his head over and over when Sarah smirked a little at him, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear as she sat next to him and scooted so that she was leaning against his side.
And when he lifted his arm to drape it over the back of the couch, she snuggled into him, and even subtly reached up to take his hand and pull his arm down to drape over her shoulders instead. Or maybe it wasn't so subtle, and purposely so, because he caught that Ellie had seen her do it and was practically vibrating with excitement about it.
Enter the Dragon was every bit as awesome as it always was. Morgan muttered some of the lines under his breath, causing Ellie to sometimes send a side-eye towards him. If it had just been the two of them, like usual, Chuck would probably be doing the same, he'd seen the movie so often, and he loved the voices in the dub. So cheesy and epic.
And those equally epic WHAP sounds whenever Bruce Lee punched one of his foes…
It wasn't until Bruce started really fighting that Sarah seemed to almost be getting into it, her body tensed next to his. And as Morgan pointed to the screen with a, "Wait, wait, here it comes, watch this!" before Bruce completely leveled a guy with one of his insane high kicks, everyone did a loud, "Ohhhh!" and Sarah went so far as to breathe, "Holy shit!"
"Next level radical, isn't he?" Chuck asked, and he received a wide-eyed look in response. And he'd be worried Sarah might be unimpressed by this kung fu movie, with everything she had to know about real fighting.
"Get out! Did he really just do that?!" she exclaimed towards the end of the movie.
And Chuck wasn't sure if it was just some deep-seated wishful thinking, but he thought the more Sarah got into it, Ellie started getting into it, too, instead of just quietly suffering through the nerdy things he and Morgan usually made her watch.
As Chuck made to go turn off the movie, Ellie leapt to her feet and held her hands out. "No, no, no, no, no. Don't move. Don't even budge. I've got the movie." She seemed almost a little embarrassed at her own outburst as Chuck and Sarah both folded themselves back against the couch, Chuck dropping his arm over Sarah's shoulders again. She leaned into him and sent him a bit of a look he couldn't read, then turned away again.
"And so!" Morgan announced, standing up beside Ellie as she leaned down to turn off the movie. He held his hands up like the ringleader of a circus, presenting the next performer. "We come to Stage 3 of An Evening of Morgan. Since Chuck was a lily-livered wimpykins about the fireworks, I've had to table that." Chuck glared at him for that as Sarah giggled and pat his leg placatingly. "So instead, we are going to do a three-legged race out in the courty—"
"NOPE!"
"Absolutely not."
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Chuck, Sarah, and Ellie all responded at the same time, and in the same tone, making Morgan blink. They all burst into laughter, and eventually Sarah announced she was going to call it a night.
He'd nearly forgotten about the Chinese spy by that point, as much as he'd enjoyed their dinner and the movie. It had almost become...normal. Real. But when Sarah sent him a look over her shoulder, it all came rushing back and he nearly caught himself frowning.
"Chuck, um...were you gonna…?" She left it open, which almost felt mean, honestly.
"Right! Yes. Um, I'm going with Sarah back to her place," he said slowly, climbing to his feet and smoothing his hands down his front, straightening his shirt. "That whole...thing in the news about the, uh, the-the guy following people's cars and attacking them when they get out. You know, that whole...I just feel better about this, um, what with it being such a late hour, if I, uh…"
He was a little embarrassed by the look Ellie and Morgan exchanged. And then his best friend cleared his throat and bit his upper lip. "No, hey. You don't gotta explain, you two. That's okay."
Oh God…
"I'll send you home with some leftover shrimp, Sarah. Come on…" Morgan grabbed Sarah by her shoulder, making Chuck wince a little bit, afraid the little guy'd get an elbow in his jaw for it, but the CIA agent held back, a confused look on her face. Then Morgan looked over his shoulder when she wasn't looking and sent Chuck a thumbs up and a celebratory but silent, "YESSS!"
He hated his life.
"Hey…" He turned and looked at Ellie, who was just barely managing to rein herself in, unlike Morgan. She slid in close and lowered her voice. "Why are you being so dodgy, Chuck? This is the twenty-first century. If you're going to her place, you don't have to act like a teenager afraid he's gonna get busted for sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom window on a school night." She looked like she was laughing at him.
"It-It's not that. It's...Sarah's struggling a little." Concern swept over her face and it touched him. "That job at the Wienerlicious is getting to her. She hates it, ya know? And her boss is getting on her ass a lot. So I offered to let her talk it out with me tonight, after dinner and the movie. That's all it is."
Ellie sighed and nodded. "I feel for her. That shitty Bar and Grille I worked at in high school made me feel crazy. I didn't want a burger for months after I quit that shithole." He shrugged. "Well, if she needs someone else to talk to who's worked food service, let her know she can always come to me."
"Thanks, El." He gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. "And thanks for making her feel welcome here. Seriously."
"Of course." When they pulled back, she patted him on the chest. "Take care of that girl. And, uh, don't hurry back…"
He hated the wink she sent him as he hastened to the door to meet Sarah who was waiting with a bag of shrimp leftovers.
}o{
"UGGGGH!"
"Did you flash?" Sarah asked. It was closing in on three in the morning. They had finally left Ellie's at 11:00 and headed back to Sarah's. Ellie had a smile on her face that told Chuck he might have some problems when he got back. They had started out at the table, but after a while Sarah moved to the bed, and told him to come join her. He raised an eyebrow and Sarah muttered something about how Ellie probably already thought they were on the bed. He joined her and they continued to look through the files. He had already gone through them once, and this was his second run through. Nothing had made him flash and he was beginning to think that they had wasted the night.
"No," he said, rubbing his palms against his eyelids. "I'm just sick of looking at these files, and my back hurts from bending over, and I feel whiny."
"You are whiny," Sarah replied. Chuck looked over at her, and her lips were twitching.
"I'm sorry, some of us haven't had the super secret torture training others in this room had at the school of the CIA and...what do you call it?" Sarah gave him a look. "Oh, come on, I can't know what the school is called?"
"The Farm." Chuck began to grin. "See, this is why I didn't tell you. Soon you'll be singing something about Old McDonald, and I won't get any more work done because you'll drone on and on and on."
"Langston Graham had a farm," he began singing.
"Oh god," she muttered, but she was grinning and wasn't about to stop him.
"Ee I ee I ohhh. And on this farm he had a Sarah. Ee I ee I ohhh. She shot with a bang, bang here, and a bang, bang there, here a bang, there a bang, everywhere a bang, bang. Langston Graham had a farm ee I ee I ohhh." Sarah was crying she was laughing so hard. Chuck's lips twitched and he looked away.
"Is that your only verse?" He nodded. "I don't believe you." He shrugged and didn't say anything. She sighed. "I'm probably going to regret doing this, but it's probably a line about Bryce isn't it?" Chuck didn't say anything, his grin just grew some more. "Sing it."
"You won't get mad?" he asked. She shook her head. His lips were twitching holding back the laughter. "It's the same line, just no shooting involved. He's just bang banging—" Sarah's mouth dropped. "I'm sorry—"
He couldn't say anything else because she fell over on the bed howling with laughter. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I mean, you're not wrong."
Chuck realized what that meant. "I'm sorry," he said softly and looked away. He needed to change the subject. "So where does reading files rank on the super secret torture scale?" Sarah just looked at him. "Come on, I mean there are possibilities of papercuts, headaches, this crick in my neck is KILLING me." She sat up, still giving him a flat look. "So not a ten."
"You know the ranking system? Was that in the Intersect?"
"What? No. That was me guessing. A one to ten ranking system is used for many things….including movies."
"I mean was it the hair braids in 10?" Chuck gave her a flat look and she just giggled. "Okay, time for bed." She began closing stuff up and Chuck began to get up and go find his shoes. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting my shoes so I can go home and go to bed. I don't need Ellie thinking we've taken things to the next level. We aren't ready for that. You aren't ready for that. Hell, I'm not ready for that…..although she wouldn't be upset if we did."
Sarah gave him a look. He was silently chuckling to himself. "Why do you say that?"
He looked over at her and he could tell she was trying to figure something out. What, he couldn't decipher. "Oh, she loooooooves you." Sarah grinned and looked away. "I mean you are such an upgrade." She looked back at him, a smirk on her face.
"Jealous?"
"Oh, me, jealous? Uh, no. Because now it just means that you may have to get some of these talks that are only reserved for me."
She looked at him through her lashes. "But a good cover boyfriend would make sure that never happens to me, Chuck."
Chuck leaned his forehead against the wall. "I'm a bad cover boyfriend?" he offered.
"Chuck, we both know that's not true." Chuck turned his head, putting the side of his face against the wall, Sarah laughing at him. "Now take your shoes off, Chuck. I was upset, and you spent the night to comfort me because I'm in a bad place right now. I hate my job, but because of the way I quit my job in Washington I can't get decent references. I'm very frustrated, and I just need my boyfriend." She looked at him like it was the simplest idea in the world. Chuck knew it would never fly with Ellie. He knew there would be questions, but he thought back to the El Ciudad mission when she told him to never give too personal a detail in your cover, but there was a certain kinship. Suddenly he wondered, was there a kernel of truth? Was this a little on the nose? Was she here because of something in Washington? He didn't know, but what he did know was Sarah spent all her time protecting him, and if she wanted to sleep, and him go back in the morning, then that was what he would do. He slipped off his shoes, and grabbed a pillow.
"That's what a boyfriend would do," he said softly, and headed toward the couch.
"Chuck," she began.
"See you in the morning," he said with a finality in his tone. As he lay the pillow down and looked back, he saw her watching him. There was something in her eyes. What, he didn't know. He didn't sleep for a long time thinking about what he had seen there.
A/N: Hehehehehe