A/N: Hey, sorry it's taking so long. That's on me, not David. Thanks for being patient. -SC
Disclaimer: We don't own Chuck and we aren't making any money from writing this.
Chuck stood in the Buy More filling out the last part of his paperwork for the install, absolutely exhausted. Sarah was voracious and had kept him up all night. Two or three times he had tried to fake it, but she had called his bluff each time. Finally she had beaten him at a video game, without him intentionally losing, and he collapsed on the couch to sleep, because exhausted or not, sleeping in the same bed with Sarah Walker was something he just didn't know he could do without also doing something stupid.
"Eat news, pal," Morgan said, coming up right beside him, "I am free this evening for a meal. Thinking about a little surf and turf, right? Half meatball, half tuna sub. Then boom!" Morgan turned as they walked by the big TV and they did a half high five, half hand shake. "Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare. Me and you. Sniper on my back watching me. Oscar Delta."
"I would love to, but I-I have plans tonight," Chuck replied.
"Don't sweat it. Me, too. Slammed. What are you and the lady doing?" Morgan asked.
Okay, Chuck thought, this is what she told me, not to broadcast it but not to be super secretive. "Uh, actually, the lady and I had a late night last night, and I have to open in the morning so I need some rest, you know."
Morgan stuck his arm out and stopped Chuck mid-step. "Wait…" Morgan turned to him. "You and Sarah had a late night last night?" Chuck nodded. "How late are we talking?"
"Morgan, you're my best bud, you know that, and Sarah likes you, but…" He spread his hands. "I really don't think I should talk about it. We just had a late night."
"Wait." Morgan said, his eyes huge. "Dude. Are you telling me?" He bit on his knuckle, trying to keep from crying. "Are you telling me it's finally over?"
"What's finally over?" Chuck asked.
"The Jill curse," Morgan said.
"Morgan, there is no Jill curse," Chuck said. They had made their way to the front of the Nerd Herd desk. "That is something that you and Ellie came up with."
"Chuck, yes or no...Is the curse over?" Morgan asked. They both looked toward the front of the store as Sarah walked in. She was wearing her Wienerlicious uniform, a light grey sweater, and the biggest smile Chuck had ever seen. "God, it's over," Morgan said, tears gathering in his eyes. He bit his first knuckle and turned away.
"Is he okay?" Sarah asked.
"I'm just so happy," Morgan said in a high pitched cry voice. He turned and pulled her into a hug. "I knew you were the one. I knew it. Be good to him, okay?" He let her go and backed away. Chuck was standing there, eyes wide, lips pressed together.
Sarah was puzzled, but nodded. "Do you have any clue what he's talking about?" she asked.
"Uh, maybe," Chuck replied. "But I don't know if—"
"The home theater room is free, if you catch my drift. I'll keep a lookout," Morgan said, slapping Chuck on the back so hard he nearly knocked him over. "You two crazy kids."
"Chuck, what's going on?" Sarah asked softly.
"Sarah," Chuck began, a little panicked as they walked into the theater room and made sure the door was shut. "I didn't do it on purpose, you said not to brag—"
"But don't deny," she said with a grin. "Perfect." Chuck gave her a confused look. "What did you say?"
"I told him I needed some sleep tonight because we were up all night and I had to get up early….why that grin?"
"You let Morgan's mind do all the work," Sarah said grinning.
"Listen, I think you need to know he's close to naming you the one," Chuck replied.
"Do I get a prize for that?"
"Duh, me," he said, his arms outstretched. She nodded. "So, nothing tonight?" She shook her head and he glanced to the door. "Listen, and feel free to say no, but….you, Lou, and I had a good time the other day, what do you think about us taking the Morgster and introducing him to her?"
"Oh, God, I don't know, Chuck," she said with a look of worry on her face. "I mean, can you hear how bad your sandwich talks with Morgan would be if he started dating a sandwich maker?" She burst into laughter as Chuck shook his head.
"How did the CIA let a dork like you in?" he asked. She slugged him in the arm good naturedly. "I swear, missy, you get the milk, and now you want to pound the steak." Both of their eyes got wide. "That sounded so much better in my head. Let's go tell Morgan," he said and started to flee. She grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna have to sell it," she said as she began to run her fingers through his hair. She loosened his tie and undid a shirt button. She nodded in satisfaction at her handwork and they walked outside together.
"You think Morgan's gonna buy this?" Chuck asked under his breath as they neared the desk again.
"You two just can't keep your hands off each other, can you?" Morgan asked, pointing toward Chuck's tie. Chuck gave Sarah a look and she returned a smirk. "Uh, Sarah, I'm sorry. I got a little excited and may have implied that you and Chuck uh, you know, to his coworkers and now...now some of them think…."
"Oh God," Chuck muttered. "Lester?" Morgan nodded. "You know what, I'll—"
Sarah laid a hand on his arm and smiled. "I promise you, I've got it." The smile she gave him made Chuck grin. "But, Morgan, I feel bad." Morgan smiled and made a wave as if to say, "no big deal". "I've taken him from you, and I was thinking, I think I know the perfect person for you."
"I don't know," Morgan said. "I don't know if Carina is over me yet and I'd hate to break another heart of one of your friends. Like, what if they form a club or something?" Chuck was giving Morgan the "what the hell" look. Morgan was ignoring him.
"But, Morgan," Sarah began. "You'd deny my friends the chance to meet someone as wonderful as you?"
Morgan looked to Chuck. Chuck just shrugged, not believing that his friend was buying this. "I mean when you put it that way…"
"Owns a deli, Morgan," Chuck pointed out.
"Deli owner?" Morgan asked. "Okay, hold on a second. A pro?" Morgan looked at Chuck. "Lou?" Chuck nodded. "How close are you two?" he asked Sarah.
"I mean, we only met a few days ago, but I think she'd be lucky to know a guy like you," Sarah said.
"Okay," Morgan relented. Sarah gave Chuck a grin. He was still shaking his head as they all walked out the door.
}o{
They sat at a table to eat and wait for Lou until she could join them when it was slow. Morgan and Lou were actually having a nice conversation and Chuck appeared happy. Sarah was secretly pleased. Chuck had been through so much during this assignment and she was glad that his friend was happy. She was also glad that Morgan cared about Chuck as much as he did and was plugging his apparent success like a true wingman. He was the one actually sealing their cover, which would in turn help to protect Chuck. She glanced over at Chuck to take in the happy smile on his face, but it slipped suddenly and his brow furrowed, his eyes shutting. She subtly slipped her hand over his and squeezed.
"Headache?" she asked. He nodded. "It's the lack of sleep, sorry," she giggled.
"No you're not," he replied, and she gave him a smile. "Hey Lou! Is that a new bulletin board?" he asked, gesturing to the board. She gave him a strange look and shook her head. "Oh. Never saw it before. Uh, what's that flier? The, uh, invite thing?"
She looked over at it, and frowned. "Oh, it's nothing." She walked over, and picked it up. "Some invitation for a party at, uh... Club Ares." She laid it on the table and Sarah's spy senses went into overdrive.
Sarah looked at Chuck. She could see by the look in his eye that he needed more to piece together whatever he'd gotten from his flash. "Who is Stavros Demetrios?" he asked.
"My ex," she said, confused. Sarah saw Morgan stiffen. "He owns the place. Why, do you know him?" Lou's arms were crossed in front of her in a defensive nature. This wasn't good.
"No, not really, no," Chuck said.
"Good. You don't want to. He thought I was dating some guy and he trashed his car. Threatened to kill him. Believe me, the last thing you want is that lunatic swimming around in your head." Chuck nodded and Sarah smiled at him. Morgan looked petrified. Another day, another Intersect flash.
}o{
"Her ex is a smuggler!" Chuck hissed, pacing in front of Sarah as she idly wiped at the counter. There was nothing really on it to clean, but it gave her something to do since she really didn't have a lot of customers. Ever. And if Scooter ever saw her reading a book, he'd be a complete ass about it.
"Yeah. And just think, if you weren't cover dating me, that's what you would've been saddled with," she tried to joke. He gave her a flat look and she cleared her throat, a small smile still on her face. "Sorry."
"I mean, me aside, she did invite Morgan to Club Ares. And Morgan? My best friend Morgan? Not sure how well my small bearded friend melds with smugglers. Not really lookin' forward to having him be murdered by a violent smuggler ex. Especially considering we set him up with Lou." He gestured frantically between them.
"Look, all she said was that the new guy she dated got his car trashed, right? I mean, Morgan doesn't even own a car. So that problem is solved."
Chuck gave her the flattest look she'd seen on him yet. "I don't really know if you're taking this seriously enough. She also said Stavros threatened to kill the guy she dated. And FYI, he might not have a car, but he does have a bike. And he just bought some major hardware for gaming so I know for a fact he doesn't have the money for a new bike. Do you want to drive him to work every day if his bike gets wrecked by Lou's ex-boyfriend smuggler, Sarah?"
She sighed, dropping the cloth in the bin behind her and crossing her arms. "No. But also, I apologize for being so flippant. This guy does seem dangerous and I get you not wanting your best friend walking into the lion's den like that. What do you want to do about it, though? You're the one with the, um," she lowered her voice, "Intersect. Not Morgan. Not sure the CIA would like the idea of us utilizing tax payers' money to protect a guy from his date's ex."
"Why's she taking him to Club Ares, anyway? Seriously. Does she want him to die?"
"Maybe she just thinks he's cute and wants to go on a date with him, Chuck. Is that so strange? I wasn't just being an asshole when I got the idea to fix those two up. He's a good guy, even if sometimes he, um, has his moments." Sarah winced and got a wince back from Chuck. "And I like Lou. She's smart. Nice. Positive. She'd be good for Morgan. They hit it off. She invited him to the club." She shrugged. "I don't know, she kinda seems like a bad ass. She could probably kick Stavros' ass if he tried to start shit with Morgan."
Because Morgan definitely wouldn't be kicking Stavros' ass. And she didn't think that in a mean way, it just...was a fact.
Chuck smirked. "You're probably right about that. I just wish I could be there to watch his back. Ya know?"
"We can't just barge in on their date, Chuck. Anyway, after you had that flash, I looked up that club and it's high-end shit. They don't just let anybody walk in."
"Yeeaaah, I know." He sighed. "Fine. Okay. But I'll never forgive myself if my little buddy gets murdered."
"Listen, if something happens to Morgan's bike, I'll personally go and find Stavros Demetrios myself and beat the shit out of him. Okay?" Chuck pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and narrowed his eyes. There was a glint there, one she decided not to pay too much attention to it. "What?" she prodded, frowning a little.
"Nothin'. No, it's just...you genuinely like Morgan, I think. You like the Bearded One."
"We're buddies. So what? I'm not gonna let some douchebag mess with him."
He just smiled and backed towards the door. "I like how readily you admitted that. I like it a lot, Sarah Walker. And fine. I'm gonna trust you in this. I'm gonna be worried, but I'm gonna trust you."
"Go fix a phone or something," she muttered, twisting her lips to the side to hide her amusement.
He left then and she rolled her eyes, letting the smile out. It was less than a minute later when the bell rang again and she looked up from tying up the bag in the trash and prepping it to take to the dumpster to see something else she'd enjoy inserting into a dumpster.
She'd been waiting for this one. With bated breath.
"I see the coast is clear...mon amour," Lester Patel said in the smoothest voice he could muster. He ran a finger over his eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. "I snuck all the way around the parking lot so as to miss Sir Charles on his way back to the Buy More."
"Congratulations, Larry. That's probably the most pathetic image I can think of at the moment."
He continued to move towards her, undeterred. She really didn't get how some men were so entitled and clueless that they managed to bat away insults and the word "no" like they were never said in the first place, continuing their tireless pursuit.
"It's Lester. Actually."
"Great. What can I get for you?" She slapped a menu down on the counter for him.
"It's really what...I can do for you, milady. See, uh…" He cleared his throat and put his palms on the counter, leaning in. "Our friend Chuck is a little on the rusty side. With dating. He's just a baby. Know what I mean?" He smiled and then flared his nostrils for some reason. "Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't get a little...neglectful—so much goin' on in that big brain of his all the time—and if that's the case, well, it's understandable. But...I just wanted to make sure you knew that I was here for you." He leaned in even more. "I'm here for you."
Sarah narrowed her eyes, but smiled tentatively. "Uh. Thank you?"
"Just doin' what I can to make sure you're happy, Sarah."
"That's very sweet," she said in a supremely sarcastic voice dripping with honey.
"Wanna catch a movie?" he asked. "Maybe grab a...bite?" He clicked the 't' at the end pointedly, showing his teeth. Almost as if he was about to growl. Not to mention the attempt at bedroom eyes.
She dropped the act. What she really needed now was a shower, but she'd settle for absolutely destroying any semblance of confidence this weasel had in his tiny body. She would smash him to smithereens. Pick him up by his toxic sexism and drop him into a vat of reality.
And the reality was that he wouldn't be able to handle a woman like her if he was even a miniscule percentage of the person the man who he was attempting to circumvent was.
"You're asking me out on a date? You do realize I'm dating your friend, right?"
He gave a breathy scoff of a laugh, then looked up at her through his eyelashes. "All's fair in love and war, Sarah," he whispered. She really did need a shower now. Bad.
"You know what you seem like to me?" she asked then, picking up the menu.
"Hm?" He smirked.
"A man who…" She threw the menu like a frisbee so that it slammed hard against the blinds. "...knows what he wants." He jumped at the loud crash of the menu hitting the blinds, and he was still staring at that, startled, as she put both hands on the counter and jumped up onto it, landing cleanly in a spider pose. Black widow...to be exact.
He squeaked in surprise, trying to back away, seeming genuinely unsure of what to do.
"Sure, we could go through all the motions…" She slowly crawled closer and dropped her legs down on either side of him, his eyes widening then quickly darting to the side, pointedly not looking at her. "Get a coffee, banter, maybe a movie...dinner…" She suddenly swung her legs up and hooked them around his back. "Or! We could just…" She yanked him in against the counter so that he winced, abject fear on his face. "Skip all of that nonsense and I could just devour you right here."
"Uh, I—"
She braced her palms on the counter and slammed herself down against it hard. "Ooo! I think this'll hold us."
"Listen, ya know, it's—"
"C'mon, just real quick."
"Uhhh...I…"
"I'll call a few of my girlfriends in…"
"That's an interesting thought..." He pulled away from her and definitely was not looking at her, and it was very much on purpose. "Lemme, lemme just think about th—Yeah. No. I…"
"What's wrong, Lucas?"
"Les—You know what? Lucas is fine." She purposely slipped her foot between his legs and swung it up a bit harder than she maybe needed to, making him cry out in pain and stagger back. "Oh! Your foot seemed to...slip—Is that Jeff? I heard Jeff. Jeff?" he called over his shoulder, his voice quivering in terror. "I'LL BE RIGHT THERE, JEFF!" He let out a nervous chuckle and practically sprinted away from her. "Gotta go!"
"Yeah, good talk, there, Logan!" she called after him as he ran like a bat out of hell back to safety. "Little piece of shit," she growled to herself, meaning to go back behind the bar when she saw Lou making her way past the Wienerlicious. "Hey, Lou!"
She moved to the doorway and waved as the shorter woman turned and fixed wide eyes on her. Then she smiled and crossed the sidewalk towards her. "Oh hey, Sarah. I have a sandwich for, um, Morgan. Or I guess Chuck if Morgan's not, uh, at the store. Uh, don't worry, though, if I end up giving it to Chuck, I'm making him pay for it this time."
Sarah let out a soft giggle. "I appreciate that. Morgan's there, though. They carpooled in the Herder this morning."
"Oh. Good. Thanks."
"Sure." It looked like Lou was getting ready to take her leave, but then Sarah opened her mouth without really even meaning to. "Hey, Lou?"
"Yeah?"
"You know, he's a really good guy. He, um, he might overcompensate sometimes. I'm not sure he's ever really been...treated nice...by people in general. But if you really hang out with him one on one, get to know him, he's good. Really good."
"Ah. Got it. Yeah, I sort of could see that. He seemed nervous when we were talking. But he seems nice. And he really likes sandwiches a lot, which is a huge selling point with me personally." She grinned. "So I'll give the guy a whirl. So to speak."
"Don't hurt him." She added a small smile after the fact, not exactly wanting Lou to feel threatened, but...Sarah just had a need to maybe protect Chuck's bearded best friend. The way Morgan seemed to try to do every day with Chuck, almost unconsciously. And she thought Chuck would appreciate it, too.
"Okay," Lou said, a little meekly. "I wasn't planning on it."
Sarah felt bad, but she just let it go. She wasn't exactly old hat at protecting people's emotions, or...people's best friends' emotions.
"Okay, well...don't want the sandwich getting cold. Um...see ya, Sarah."
"Yeah! Bye, Lou!" She gave a friendly wave and watched as the deli owner hastened out of the Wienerlicious with a quick step. She winced then, hoping she hadn't just ruined that date for Morgan.
She heard her phone buzz in her purse then and ran to it. It was a message from Casey: Home theater room. Briefing with GB. ASAP.
Grabbing her keys to the front door, she left the place and locked up, even though they weren't supposed to be closed. Scooter was at an offsite and wouldn't be back for a few hours anyway and probably wouldn't even know.
She made quick work of getting to the Buy More and walked inside. Morgan was already biting into the sandwich Lou brought him, leaning his elbows on a washing machine as the woman watched him with no small amount of pride on her face.
And as Sarah looked in the other direction, she saw a white flash disappear over the checkout counter. She knew inherently that it had been Lester. He was deathly afraid of her now, risking bodily injury by diving over counters to get away from her. GOOD.
Chuck was on hold at the Nerd Herd desk, playing with a stapler. He hadn't seen her yet. But before she could get to him, Casey came from out of nowhere and grabbed the phone from Chuck's hand, slamming it back into its cradle.
"Ah-Hey! That was kind of important…"
"Beckman's got news for us on sandwich girl's ex. That seems a bit more important than some old lady who can't figure out how to delete an email. Home theater room. Stat." He gave a clandestine look around the store, grunted, then disappeared towards the home theater room.
"How did he know that was what it was? That's uncanny," Chuck muttered as she smirked and gestured with a flick of her head for him to follow her.
He got up and fell into step with her. "I mean, five times outta ten, it's usually an old lady who can't figure out how to delete an email. So I guess the odds were in his favor, huh?"
Suddenly, there was a loud crash to the right. Sarah nearly pulled one of her knives but saw it was just Jeff. He'd knocked over one of their cardboard Buy More saleswoman stand-ups and it had hit a few CDs off of the shelf. "Uh. Sorry. Don't...don't murder me," Jeff breathed, disappearing.
"Are you gonna pick that up?" Chuck called after him.
"No…" Jeff's voice just barely carried to them as he sprinted in the other direction.
Sarah smirked.
"Why is he—Wait, what's that smirk?"
"Hm?" Sarah asked, raising her eyebrows and pulling his arm to keep them walking. "I don't know what you mean."
"Why did Jeff look like he was expecting you to go full Predator on his ass?"
"What's that even mean?"
Chuck shook his head. "Uh, nothing. He just looked terrified of you, when usually, he looks at you in a way that makes me want to punch him in his face."
"Aw," she drawled. "Lester probably just told him what I did to him. No big."
But then he grabbed her arm and stopped her, turning her to face him, eyes wide. "What did you do to him? Did you threaten him with one of yours knives? Like, I'd say hallelujah to that, except that people aren't really supposed to know you're a CIA agent who keeps knives on your person."
"No, no. Nothing like that." He gave her a dubious look. "He came into the Wienerlicious to ask me out a few minutes ago, so I gave him what he wanted. Maybe he just couldn't take it." She shrugged innocently. When Chuck furrowed his brow in question, she smirked. "I came onto him really hard and he literally shriveled up like a grape in the Sahara, freaked out, and ran away like he was being chased by a...what was it you said? A Predator?"
Chuck's jaw dropped. And that glint was back in his eye. "Did you seriously do that?"
"Yeah." She shrugged. "He deserved it. And maybe now that he told Jeff what happened, they'll both leave me the fuck alone. Little pipsqueak. Asking me out on a date when for all intents and purposes, he thinks—"
"That's easily the hottest thing anyone's done in a while. No, ever. Hottest thing ever."
She stopped in the middle of her sentence and blinked. How did she respond to that?
"Hey!" They both spun to find Casey with a pissed look on his face, gesturing for them to get into the room for the briefing.
They glanced at each other and hurried into the room. She allowed herself just a moment to wonder if she should be concerned about how easy it was for Chuck Bartowski—the human Intersect and biggest asset to the U.S. government there was—to call her hot. Or maybe she should just consider it a different way; he'd just said what she did was hot. The hottest thing anyone's done in a while. Hottest thing ever. Oh, no…
Beckman popped up on the screen as Casey opened his laptop and accepted her call.
"Stavros Demetrious—a handsome playboy," Beckman started with no small amount of cynicism, "owns and operates a number of LA clubs."
"I don't think he's that handsome," Chuck muttered. "Guy doesn't have a beard or anything, so…"
Sarah couldn't help the small smirk and side eye she sent him, sticking up for his best friend like that. It made her feel a bit better about half-threatening Lou for Morgan's sake.
"He's the son of Yari Demetrios, the shipping magnate," Beckman continued as if Chuck hadn't said anything at all.
"What do you mean by 'playboy'? What kind of intel do we have on that?" Chuck asked then, narrowing his eyes. She wasn't sure if there was anyone in the world who was as transparent as Chuck was in this moment.
"What we have…" Beckman emphasized, giving him a look that clearly say shut up, "is information that a volatile package is coming to Los Angeles. The cargo itself is time-sensitive, which, knowing the Demetrios family's ties to the Middle East, could mean a weapon."
Oh, shit.
"Chuck, we need you to get as close to Stavros as possible and see if you flash on anything related to the shipment," Beckman continued. "You've made contact with the deli owner girl, Lou Palone, who is his ex-girlfriend. And we also know that your...bearded friend...is going to Stavros' club tonight. Club Ares."
"What? What? Y-You know about that? How'd you—" Chuck turned and must have spotted the small shrug Casey gave. Of course Casey would have informed his superiors of the Lou connection to Stavros when he briefed Beckman on Chuck's flash. "Oh," he murmured. "Right."
"You want me to get close to Stavros Demetrios, who is the ex of my best friend's date tonight. How exactly do you want me to do that? I don't really see a guy like that and I having much in common. Plus, I don't want to get Morgan involved in all this. The guy is too excited about a woman actually asking him out, and he's walking into this potential weapon smuggling thing without knowing it…"
"Which is why you need to be there," Casey said.
"What, do I ask Morgan if I can come on his date and be his third wheel for once?"
"Just find a way to get into that club, Agent Walker. And get Chuck near Stavros."
"Understood," she said with a nod. She'd find a way. Probably. She'd have to. Chuck might not like it, though.
"Aaaaaaand she hung up. She does not mess around," Chuck murmured. "Guys, this is ridiculous. Morgan's finally getting to go on a real date with a real woman—don't read into that," he snapped when Casey looked ready to snicker, "and I'm about to ruin it by crowding his mojo. That's such bad friending. That's the opposite of a wingman!" He groaned.
"I'll think of something," she said as Casey shut the laptop and led them out of the home theater room.
As Casey wandered away to sell someone a StairMaster or something, Chuck sidled up next to her and leaned down close. "Hey, question."
"Shoot."
"Does the Wienerlicious have security cameras or something? Like has the CIA set something up in there? Just wondering. Maybe there's a way to pull up the footage of what you did to—"
"Guys! Oh, thank God! Thank God, you guys!" Morgan ran up to them and grabbed each of them by an arm.
"What is it?" she asked, her guard up. She looked over his shoulder, eyes scanning the place just to make sure there was no threat.
"Lou just left."
"Uh...Cool, buddy." Chuck sent her a weirded out look.
"No. No, no. Not cool. Not cool, Chuck. Because she told me a little more about her ex, man. And he sounds like Terminator but human and super hot. And I just Googled him, too, and he's got a manbun. It's a beautiful manbun."
Sarah made a dubious sound. "Not a fan of the manbun, personally. And neither is Lou apparently, since she isn't with this guy anymore."
'No, you don't get it. I don't care about his hair or his ripped body. I mean, I do. But mostly, I just don't wanna die. The guy literally called the last guy Lou tried to date on the phone and threatened to pull his spine out through his nose, dude! Even if he's just fronting, the fact that he came up with that visual is legitimately disturbing, man, and I don't think I can do this." He shifted his weight nervously, pushing a hand through his hair.
"Morgan, come on. It's gonna be fine, okay?" she tried to reassure him, but he didn't seem to be buying it.
"I mean, and she told me she goes there all the time. To that club she's taking me to. She gets in without waiting in line, still, even though they broke up, and the bartenders give her cheap drinks. I'd willingly take her to dinner, fancy expensive dinner, and pay for all her drinks and her food if it means my spine isn't pulled outta my body through my nose, man!" Chuck was on the verge of being shaken so hard by his shorter friend that his brain was in danger of being potentially damaged, so she grabbed Morgan's hands and pulled them off of her cover-boyfriend's biceps.
"Well, what do ya want us to do about it, buddy?"
"Come with me," Morgan said.
Sarah widened her eyes and exchanged a look with Chuck. "To your...date?" she asked. "I mean to Club Ares? Morgan, I don't think…"
"Come on! You can both come. I'll talk to Lou about makin' it a double date. She likes you guys. And that means there are more of us, which takes Stavros' attention off of me. Hopefully," he added. Then he clasped his hands together. "Please. Please please. I know you two probably had a nice date planned tonight, but this would mean so much to me. You might save my life, you guys."
"Morgan, you have a chance to—" Sarah subtly nudged Chuck with her elbow in his lower back and he cleared his throat. "You know what? Sure. We'll come. If that makes ya feel better," he said instead. "Right, Sarah?"
Pure joy and relief cascaded over Morgan's face.
"Right," she chirped. "I hear Club Ares is all the rage."
Morgan hugged them both and dashed away, already pulling his phone out of his pocket, to call Lou no doubt.
Sarah let out a low whistle. That had worked out pretty well.
All that remained to be seen was how well this double date in Stavros Demetrios' club was going to go.
}o{
Sarah sat in the club beside Chuck, grinning. Why couldn't all of her missions over the years have been as fun as this one had been so far? Tonight had started like so many other missions involving Chuck...different. She thought back to earlier in the evening.
"I mean I know how to dress myself for a date, Casey," Chuck was saying as she walked into Casey's apartment, his back to Sarah. Chuck hadn't heard her walk in and Casey had seen her. There was a glint in Casey's eye.
"Come on, Bartowski, we need to make you as presentable as possible so people believe you and Walker are actually a couple," Casey quipped.
Chuck sighed. "Well, that would require a complete redo of me so…"
"Moron," Casey grunted. "You think Walker's superficial?"
"Uh, no," Chuck replied. Sarah lifted an eyebrow. What was Casey doing?
"Then act like you belong, confidence is sexy."
Chuck raised an eyebrow. "Really, you are giving me advice about women? You?"
"I'll have you know many women find me….irresistible," Casey replied. Sarah used every one of her spy skills to keep a straight face, but it took every single one of them. Casey handed Chuck a rose.
"For me? You shouldn't have."
"For the gnome, you idiot."
"Is this equipped with some kind of microscopic, infrared tracking device that determines Lou's mother's communist affiliations?" Chuck asked.
"No, moron, it's so the gnome can get laid," Casey replied.
Chuck was quiet for a second and a grin covered his face. "So the beard can tangle the lower beards?" Oh God, Chuck, that was… Was Casey laughing? Were Casey and Chuck laughing at a joke? At the same joke? At the same time? She had seen enough of this Twilight Zone and reopened and shut the door loudly. Chuck spun and gaped. "Hey...wow...you look...spectacular."
"Thanks, Chuck," she said. "Looking pretty good yourself." She walked over and straightened the coat at the shoulders, and wiped off some nonexistent lint. Chuck was grinning at her. She walked over to a table, got a box and came back. "Need you to wear this."
"Really?" Chuck asked holding up the guitar pin.
"Yes, Chuck, This has an rk-7 mini mic that works up to twenty feet. I want you to keep it as close to Stavros as possible," Sarah explained.
"I can't wear this, it looks ridiculous," Chuck whined.
Casey came up behind Chuck. "The alternative is I come on your date with you."
Chuck turned to Sarah. "Would you pin me, please?"
"Ooo," Casey mocked. "You two going steady?"
Sarah started to comment but Chuck spun before she could. "Sorry, Casey, I don't know the rules of that ancient custom." The two locked eyes before Casey grunted, nodded, and walked off.
Seriously, what the hell was going on with those two?
"So I was Googling pinning to see what it means," Chuck said to Sarah now, pulling her out of her thoughts as they sat in the club. She looked at Chuck, amusement on her face. "First we flipped gender roles, but I'm totally okay with that." She shook her head at him. "Second, you should also give me your letterman jacket, and I know I can't have it because that's secret information. Also I know you were a member of at least 53 varsity sports teams and you were probably the high school quarterback as well." He stopped and looked up. "That's it! I'll just Google female starting quarterback!"
"And what year would you look under?" she asked, her tone slightly more threatening than she meant for it to be.
Chuck looked at her and grinned. Damn it, he knew he had gotten to her. She pushed her tongue into her cheek, trying to keep from returning the grin. "Nope, I'm not that stupid. You never ask a woman's age, but I mean, there aren't a lot of female high school starting quarterbacks."
She leaned over. "I think I can tell you this without breaking any government secrets. I wasn't a quarterback."
"Ah-ha! You fell for my devious plan and revealed something about yourself."
She sighed dramatically. "Yes, Chuck, you figured it out, you amazing spy you. I wasn't a high school quarterback." She shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. Yet, she was having fun. Like all the cover dates she had with Chuck.
"But back to the original point of this conversation," Chuck began.
"It had a point?"
"Hush, in today's terms that means we're Facebook official, which means you really need to friend me on Facebook."
Sarah shook her head again. "I have Friendster, is that okay?"
Chuck stared at her for a moment. "You really are adorable, you know that?"
Sarah wasn't sure what to say with that when Morgan plopped down beside them. "Chuck, dude, have you seen him?"
"Who?"
"Stavros," Morgan answered, shaking his head. "I mean, he is good looking on the Internet, but in real life...that manbun doesn't get enough credit."
"I don't get the manbun," Sarah muttered.
"Don't worry, your bun is better than his," Chuck replied.
Morgan stared at Chuck. "Did you say bun or bum?"
Chuck blushed and Sarah shrugged. "Does it matter?" she asked. Morgan burst out laughing. "Morgan, please, be yourself, quit worrying about that jerk. You're a good guy and if Lou doesn't see it...well, that's on her."
"You're right," Morgan said, and hopped up. "I'm going out there and I'm gonna fight for my woman."
"Maybe dial back the 'my woman' part," Chuck said. "I know I'm no expert, but women don't like the super possessive shtick."
"Unless it's the right guy," Sarah said before she could stop herself. Morgan fistbumped Sarah and exploded it. He looked at Chuck, shook his head and walked off. She turned to Chuck who had a huge grin on his face. "Now, which were you talking about? Bun or bum?" Chuck mimed zipping his lips shut.
"Chuck, Sarah, this is Stavros," Lou said, walking up with the aforementioned manbun and introducing them. "He's the owner." Chuck shook his hand and so did Sarah. When she leaned back she leaned into Chuck.
"Hi, cool pin," Stavros said. "I would've worn mine but I lost it in the '80s."
"Isn't it the best?" Sarah asked, looking at it, and smoothing the coat where it was located. "It's one of the things I'm so crazy about him over, his individuality, not worrying about what others think." She kissed him on the cheek. "Won't you join us?" she asked then.
Stavros sat. "I'm gonna try and find Morgan," Lou said, thanking Sarah with her eyes. No sooner had Stavros sat down, a man rushed over and whispered in his ear.
"You must excuse me, duty calls."
"Of course," Sarah answered. He hurried off. "Now what was that about?"
"Walker, Bartowski. Stavros' father Yari just walked in."
"I got them, Casey," Sarah replied. "Chuck and I will get the mic close."
"Sarah, since I never got to witness you play quarterback, will you show me your award winning performance of 'drunk girl that dropped the mic on the tray that's heading to that back room'?" He had taken the pin off and held it out to her.
"I don't know, do I get to see you renew your role as Maleficent?" she retorted, taking the mic.
"I can't help it if I sang the songs the best," Chuck replied, grinning.
"Christ, you two. Can you please just do your job?"
"Casey, switch to decaf," Sarah said, getting up. She turned to Chuck. "Take notes, there will be a quiz later." She stumbled forward, crashing into the server that had the drinks. "I'm so sorry," she slurred, helping the server not tip the tray and sliding the mic in all at the same time. "I was just trying to find the little girls' room."
"It's on the other side of the building," the server replied, rolling his eyes.
"Why'd they move the building?" she asked, and then belched in his face.
"There you are," Chuck said, coming up behind her. "Sweetie, you know you're not supposed to drink that much."
"Why not? You know you like it when I do," she replied, laughing teasingly and laying a hand on his chest. She nipped at his jaw.
"Whoops, not in public, dear," Chuck said, pulling her away. They walked away from the server who at this point had gone back to his life and started back across the room. As they were walking away, Morgan nearly crashed into them.
"Dude, I'm out. What was I thinking dating a girl like this? Coming to a place like this?" He shook his head, his confidence seeming to have seeped out of him. "This is too much, it's too big for me, I just can't."
Sarah put her hand on his back. "Morgan, come on. Don't let that guy get to you."
"He told me my neck is like a chicken's neck. He put his hand around it and my life flashed before my eyes, Sarah. I don't belong in a world like this, or with a girl like that. I don't have it in me. I just wanna go home to my video games and grape soda—where I belong."
The sadness in him was palpable. He was disappointed in himself, she could see. It was like he'd deflated the second he walked into Club Ares. She felt responsible. "Morgan, I'm sorry."
"Nah, nah. It's about me. No one else. I reached too high." He rubbed the back of his neck as Chuck put his hand on Morgan's shoulder and squeezed.
"It's the manbun, isn't it?" Chuck asked.
"OF COURSE IT'S THE MANBUN!" Morgan responded, a bit of a smirk on his face as he teased back. He put his own hand on Chuck's shoulder and chuckled. Lou came up behind him and Sarah pulled back, making room for the shorter woman to put her hand on her date's arm. "Oh. Lou. Hey." He shifted his weight shyly.
"Hey, guys. Um, Morgan...This…Uh, do you wanna get out of here? This maybe wasn't the greatest idea."
Morgan nodded and the two said their goodbyes. Sarah exchanged a look with Chuck as they walked off.
"He'll be okay. The guy's made of strong stuff," Chuck said, looking guilty. Sarah just nodded.
He leaned in then. "So now that I saw the classic drunk girl mic drop, what about that tape of Lester?"
"As soon as I see you in the Maleficent costume," Sarah replied.
}o{
Chuck awoke with a smile on his face. The last two days had been...interesting. He and Sarah went on a mission with Morgan and it was fun. Yesterday was less, but it was just a regular day. A day a normal person might have.
Lou and Morgan had decided to not see each other any more, but he was still welcome at the shop. They both thought it was best they remain friends. Morgan was scared of getting his spine ripped out, and Lou...well, Lou wasn't ready for Morgan to sweat when he was nervous, and Stavros made Morgan sweat.
But that was a real day, no spy work. He felt refreshed, alive. He felt...normal.
"Morning, handsome," he said into the bathroom mirror. "Nice work two nights ago."
"Hey, lover boy," Chuck heard Casey say. He turned and saw Sarah and Casey. "Hasn't that mirror suffered enough already? Didn't it see you dressed as a witch?"
"I am in the bathroom. Okay? Is there nothing sacred to you people?"
"Just the right to bear arms," Casey retorted. Sarah didn't say anything. She had a look on her face...was it disappointment? Who had disappointed her? Was it Lou and Morgan?
"You two look terrible," he said, heading to the kitchen.
"Well, we were up all night explaining to our bosses why we raided a cargo freighter filled with nothing but air and a surveillance camera," Casey explained.
"The mission was compromised," Sarah said, her voice clipped. "Someone set us up."
"Set us up?" Chuck asked, frowning. "What do you mean? You heard Stavros and Yari talk about where the container wa—Oh." He winced, starting to put the pieces together. "They purposely gave a bad tip. Didn't they? That was what happened."
"Ya think?" Casey snarked.
"Chuck, they knew they were being bugged. It's the only explanation for why they would've talked about that cargo freighter." Sarah crossed her arms and looked off to the side, working her jaw. "Someone sold us out."
"I think it was your sandwich maker," Casey added. Chuck turned to stare at them both. Was he crazy?
"Are you kidding me? Lou? Please." He looked at Sarah. "She's my friend. She's your friend, too, Sarah." Sarah didn't say anything, though. Chuck turned back to Casey, walking closer to him, pleading with him. "Come on. I know you don't think much of Morgan, but Sarah and I are both pretty good judges of character."
"Larkin," Casey said and both Chuck and Sarah winced.
Chuck turned to Sarah. "Sarah, you've met her, you know her. Come on, you can't think she's in on this. All she cares about are sandwiches! She's no criminal!"
Sarah held her hand out and Casey handed her a picture. She gave it to Chuck. "This was taken at the docks after Lou and Morgan's date."
Chuck stared at it. It was Lou giving Stavros money. It was a blatantly clear photograph. There was no misinterpreting it. He cleared his throat. "I-I'm sure she has a perfectly reasonable explanation for this."
"Good. Can't wait to hear it," Casey said, and he left in a huff.
Chuck tried to hand it back. "Keep it," Sarah said. "We have plenty more."
"Sarah, you can't just—"
"Chuck, you can't trust everyone all the time. Real life just doesn't work that way." With that she turned and walked out.
A/N: DC here, true story. I thought I dropped the mic on that one, however, it bounced, SC caught it and spiked it. NEXT CHAPTER IT HAPPENS *rubs hands together evilly*
Please review. Thanks!
-SC and DC