Critical Hellfire
By Steampunk . Chuckster
Summary: Chuck and Morgan are co-hosts of a locally popular streaming channel in which they discuss all things metal while playing video games. Their lives are uprooted when their demo guy hands them THE demo of the ages—a band called Critical Hellfire, fronted by singer and bassist Sarah Walker. AU Charah.
A/N: MORE JOY. Incominggggggggg!
Disclaimer: I don't own CHUCK or any of its characters. I don't own any of the songs mentioned in this chapter, this fic, or anywhere else for that matter. I am making absolutely zero dollars writing and posting this.
Sarah was still stuck on what he'd said, even twenty-five minutes into this drive to Long Beach. But she jammed with him when he turned on his music, as if she was wasn't stuck on it, as if it didn't make her feel like she was half-dizzy, half-flooded with a strange glowing energy.
She already knew he had a crush on her. She saw it during that episode, didn't she? The way he'd blushed vibrantly when Morgan accused him of it. He'd tried to pass it off by teasingly threatening to murder him, but the nervousness and shyness was still under that. He didn't hide things well. And she'd felt his eyes settling on her a certain way when she'd seen him last night. She'd spotted him from the stage when she'd been looking out over the crowd, and then she'd locked gazes with him. He'd looked at her with an electric-shocked softness. That was the only way she could describe it. And it had made her heart race. More than the high note she'd been hitting at the time, it had made her heart thud like mad in her chest. Having someone look at her like that... That just hadn't been a thing before. And she'd been doing this performance stuff for almost a decade now, so she'd gotten looks.
Those looks hadn't threatened to take her breath away while she was in the middle of a damn song, though…
So she was pretty sure she had a crush, too.
Poring over those archived Twitch shows, giggling at his antics with his best friend, marveling at the things he said about music. He was funny, he knew how to strike the perfect chord as far as entertainment and spectacle went, and his line deliveries were worthy of many chef's kisses.
But she sensed he had a big heart, too. He connected on a personal level with the people who commented in that side bar thing. They adored him. She got the feeling their audience would fight to the death for these guys. That was a very powerful thing, something neither of them seemed like they were taking for granted.
And she had a feeling watching those episodes had caused her to build up a little crush. She could at least admit that she was very attracted to his eyes, his hair, and oof the smile. He smiled with his whole face and it was kind of dreamy.
So that by the time she sat up on her roof, talking to him for hours, the crush had firmly taken hold and spread through her. Being around that smile and his laugh and those damn eyes in person had sealed the deal. She had a crush.
Her flirting about a second date aside, she was very interested in more than just this daytime date, this excursion they were partaking in together. He was so fun to be around. It was comfortable, too. All of it felt comfortable. She felt strangely at ease with him.
She folded herself back further against her seat and surreptitiously snuck a peek at his profile as he kept his eyes on the road.
And as Angus Young hit one of his famous guitar solos, Chuck screwed up his face, his nose wrinkling, teeth showing in a snarl, and he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as if he was the one shredding.
Sarah smiled to herself.
"So you ever been to an aquarium?" he asked then, turning the music down a little.
She raised her eyebrows, pushing herself to sit up properly again. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, nope. I haven't."
Maybe that was an unconscious reason for her finally settling on that being what they did after eating lunch.
Chuck gasped and she sent him a wide-eyed look. "This is so exciting!" He reached over and snagged one of her hands from her lap, squeezing it and shaking it with an adorable amount of excitement. "I get to witness your first aquarium trip! We are truly blessed!"
Sarah cracked up. "Is it that big of a deal?"
"Uh, pffft. Yeah. You'll see when we get there. It's the best place. I've been trying to force Morgan to get a duel membership with me for years but he's always like 'the drive is too looooong'," he whined.
"It isn't that bad. And if it's as cool as you say, it's worth it."
"See? I like you." He narrowed his eyes and shook his finger at her. Thankfully he looked at the road again because she knew she was blushing. And she didn't blush, damn it. That wasn't her thing. What in the hell?
She shook herself a little.
"Isn't it just like a zoo but with water creatures? It's a water zoo. I mean, I've been to zoos. They're pretty cool."
He sent her a secretive little grin that made him look like a michievous little boy. She couldn't hold back a nasally giggle. "Yes and noooo," he drawled. "But you'll see."
"Okay, okay." She chuckled. "I'll see. I got it."
"And this isn't me trying to surprise you or anything. For the record. It's just hard to properly describe how epic this place is with words. You just gotta experience it for yourself and you'll get what I mean. I'd blow it if I tried to tell you why it's special."
How was he so genuinely unbridled in his passion when he talked about stuff? With anything he was passionate about, he just gushed. This was an aquarium they were talking about. A geeky little learning hub about sea creatures. And he was vibrating with excitement, not even trying to hide how stoked he was for her to see it for the first time.
She'd never met anyone more full of life. No one had ever been so full of this sort of…boyish wonder. It wasn't 'cool' to like stuff this exuberantly. Even when it was 'cool' stuff. Being chill, nonchalant, not expressing…emotions. This guy didn't play into that bullshit at all and it felt so good to be around it.
"Okay, well I trust you."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
She didn't know why that made her laugh, but it did.
They pulled into the parking structure and Chuck expertly found them a spot another car had just left, sliding in with a, "Ha haaaaaa! The gods are on our side today!"
She laughed at his antics, getting out of the car and leaning her arms on the roof to peer at him as he climbed up to his full height on the other side. "You really are super stoked about this, huh?"
"Hell yeah. I haven't been since last year." He grinned, shutting his door and coming around to meet her as she shut hers and strolled towards him. "And there's something extra exciting about the fact that you've never been to an aquarium in real life. I have a feeling this is going to be very fun for me, seeing you experience all of this for the first time. I'm definitely gonna enjoy today, being with an aquarium virgin."
Sarah sent him an arch look and he froze, paling a little.
"Uh, yeah, I-I won't…use that term again. Ahem."
She snorted at him and curled her hands around his arm, letting him sheepishly lead her to the line to buy their tickets.
}o{
So she seemed fine with some surprises.
He leaned over the tank of baby jellyfish beside her, watching them slowly crawl along in the water, so tiny and white and adorable. He loved how they flitted around and he even made quiet darting sounds by pushing air out through his top front teeth to make her giggle.
After buying their tickets, Chuck asked Sarah to wait in the gift shop for him, something occurring to him quite suddenly. He had a small fortune placed in his hand the other night. Well, a fortune for him at least. He'd never seen that many zeros before. And he knew this aquarium had special private tours. It was never anything he could afford on his own, and certainly not with a group. …Until today.
All it took was a quick trip to the membership desk, the ticketing manager being called over, a chunk of money being handed over, and two special tickets were placed in his palm with the promise of a tour guide joining them in a few minutes.
As they waited for their guide outside of the shop, Sarah had given him a look he couldn't read, and then she'd asked if he was the "guided tour type" in a tone that made him think she was not. He vehemently denied it, and insisted this one was special. Like a backstage pass at a concert, only instead of getting to wave at rockstars from a safe distance while they politely smiled at you, you got to see the backs of the exhibits, or the tops, and meet some of the animals.
Her eyes went wide, but before she could respond, their guide had closed in on them, introducing himself as Barry, starting their tour immediately by walking them to a door that seemed to only be for employees.
Now they were peering into a small hyper-controlled aquarium case where newly hatched jellyfish were housed.
"You came at the right time. Before this they look like see-through pill capsules floating around listlessly," Barry said from behind them.
"I might've enjoyed that too," Chuck said with a chirp and a shrug. He pulled back and turned to Barry. "So you take care of them back here until they're ready to be put in exhibition?"
"Exactly."
"They're so cute," Sarah breathed, standing up as well.
"Aren't they, though? And these right here are our medusa jellies. They're in the last stages of their life, called the medusa stage, and we try to make sure they're happy and taken care of," Barry said, gesturing to another lower tank where larger jellyfish floated around. "They live for over a decade. We take care of 'em every step of the way, try to make their lives the way they'd be if they were out there in the ocean."
"Amazing," Chuck breathed. "Oh, here are the little pill capsules. They are tiny." He knelt down and looked through the glass.
"I'm taking y'all the back way through because you're getting an extra special tour, but usually what we do is we show folks the kitchen where we prep the food for our animals, the fridges where we keep the food for the turtles, otters, and whatnot. But I want you to get a sneak peek at somethin' really cool here." He pushed on a door that led them outside and onto a metal staircase.
There were giant water tanks with pipes pushed up against the back of the aquarium building, huge tanker trucks parked underneath.
Chuck couldn't resist.
"Is it the backside of water?"
Sarah sent him a confused look and Barry chuckled.
"A Disneyland joke. Not bad," their guide said, pointing as he led them down the back staircase.
"No, it was bad. You can say it was bad. That was kind of you, though."
Barry grinned and led them through a door to an open area with rocks that abutted a wet cement platform. "Lemme see if one of our sea lion folks can come out here. I think they were doing a vet check with a few of 'em about an hour ago. Juuust a sec."
Sarah spun on Chuck with the most hilarious look of utter excitement, her jaw open, blue eyes wide. "Sea lions!" she mouthed.
He bounced on his toes and chuckled happily.
Barry returned with a woman who looked around their age, wearing khakis and a pale blue polo. She grinned welcomingly at them. "Hi! I'm Georgia. I'm one of the sea lion keepers here. I heard you might be interested in some sea lion feeding?"
Their guide shrugged as they looked at him in excitement, as if he was saying, "Am I getting you the good stuff or what?"
Georgia had a smelly bucket hanging from one arm as she stepped up to the pool of water. She held up a hand and moments later, a chubby, sleek black creature popped out of the water and smoothly slid on its belly to the spot beside her. "Hello, my boy," she sang to him, and he bounced up onto his little front flippers happily.
Sarah clasped her hands to her face and Chuck let out a surprised, breathy laugh.
"This is my friend Harpo. Harpo, we have guests." Georgia lifted her hand up. His eyes latched onto it. "Harpo's a vocal guy, but he has a deeper voice than most of the other sea lions here." She pressed her thumb to her other fingers and then slowly widened them. The sea lion let out a long, guttural bark that got louder the more she widened her hand, but then as she collapsed her fingers together again, the volume decreased.
"Oh my Goddddddd!" Chuck breathed.
Georgia rewarded that with a treat, and he munched happily on it, ready for more.
"You guys wanna try? He gets reinforcement in the form of food when he's good with new people, so he'll listen to you."
Chuck stepped back, ushering Sarah in first.
Georgia gently put her hand over the sea lion's mouth. And then turned to Sarah. "So put your hand up by your ear, thumb pointed—Perfect. Just like that. Do it towards Harpo."
Sarah did it.
Harpo let out a loud bark and Sarah giggled wildly, keeping her hand up by her ear.
Georgia gave him some fish.
"Do you wanna dance?" she asked Harpo then. He bobbed his head up and down.
"Feel like dancing?" Georgia eyed Chuck, amused.
"He's not a big dancer," Sarah teased him, beaming as she stepped back, gesturing for him to go ahead. He noticed she'd fished her phone out too, the brat.
"Oh, please. If a sea lion named Harpo wants to dance with me, I am a big dancer. Let's go, Harpo. You wanna lead or should I?"
That made Georgia, Barry, and Sarah laugh. And Harpo waited, ready for his orders.
The sea lion keeper stepped back then. "Hold up your hand to the side." Chuck did it and Harpo lifted one fin up, a sweet smile on his face, his eyes shut. "Gooood, Harpo!" She gave him more food for it and he gobbled it up. "Now do it with the other hand." Chuck lowered his left hand and lifted the right one instead. Harpo followed suit. "Goood!" He got more fish. "Now go back and forth with your hands and dance."
Chuck felt Sarah recording the whole thing and he didn't care, because he leapt back and forth between each foot, making "da dada da da dada da!" sounds, lifting each hand interchangeably, and Harpo flopped back and forth in a ridiculously cool mimicry.
Everyone cheered as Chuck stopped and the sea lion got extra treats.
"C'mere, my boy." Georgia knelt down and got a kiss from Harpo, earning more fish, and then she pointed to the water and he dove in. "What you'll see now is he's gonna do some really happy jumps, using those back flippers that are kind of more feathered…Oh, there he goes!"
Harpo arched out of the water like a dolphin, plopping back in again, doing it a few more times, before he popped his head up near the platform for more treats.
Chuck was buzzing as they followed Barry back out again, thanking Georgia as she stayed behind with her charge.
"I love Harpo," Sarah was saying at his shoulder. "I love him more than anything in the world and I want to be his best friend forever."
"Harpo has that effect on people," Barry chuckled. "Buckle your seatbelts though, folks, because the best is yet to come."
}o{
"You're not kidding…"
Chuck and Sarah exchanged looks, their jaws practically on the floor, and then they turned back to Barry and another keeper.
The aquarium employees shook their heads, grinning, obviously used to that response from guests.
Barry gestured to the side. "But first we need you both to come over here. We have these small foot baths just to make sure you aren't tracking in anything from out there. We need to keep our precious animals as safe as possible."
Sarah eagerly stepped onto the water covered pad, swishing her boots a little to make sure they were extra clean.
"And over here, if you could both make sure to wash your hands extra good, as well. We're subjected to stuff out in the real world that they aren't subjected to when they're in the wild, away from humans. Don't want 'em getting sick with human germs."
Again, she exchanged looks with Chuck, and not for the first time in the last hour and a half—between the jellyfish, the squid, having fun with the sea lions, looking down into the big tank from above and feeding the fish, and seeing the sharks slicing through the water to devour their meals—Sarah wondered if he'd planned all of this, or if he was just as surprised and overjoyed as she was.
He let her wash her hands first and then he teasingly bumped her with his hip, muttering, "Outta the way, lady. I got otters to feed."
She laughed, bumping him back, and then following Barry and the keeper, Tracy, along the cement floor that would've probably been super slippery if it wasn't covered with some kind of rubber looking gripping with holes in it.
"Okay, so it might take a bit for the otters to come in. We'll have to be patient. I think they're playing for a few guests in the viewing area, putting on a show," Tracy said, smirking. "They love doing that. Such showboats."
"They're just like you," Chuck breathed near Sarah's ear, making her snort. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him over her shoulder to hide the shiver from having him so close to her, his breath fanning at the little wisps of escaped hair near her ear.
"Uh, you too, Twitch Boy."
He made a face. "Yeah, I don't like that nickname, I don't think."
That made her crack up as they walked through into a small room with two see-through walls and doors—some kind of glass maybe?-that had small stools pushed up against teeny tiny little holes near the ground in the glass wall that separated them from an enclosure. Like a germ-free sanitary booth that separated the animals from the human world.
The water was about eight feet away from the furthest piece of glass the stools were pushed again, and it went down into something she couldn't see. Maybe the exhibit was down there.
She imagined this was where the otters lived day in and day out. An exhibit, a little shelter for them, with water and rocks. And this, apparently, was where they ate. Or at least, this was where they ate from the hands of folks who weren't professionals.
"What are the wee little holes here?" she asked, pointing to the one nearest her.
"That's what you feed them through."
Sarah raised her eyebrows.
"I'll show you when our otters join us," Tracy said, her green eyes sparkling under her strawberry blond bangs. "Ah! I think they've figured out they're about to be fed. They're coming."
Barry walked up then and handed them each small toy-looking pails of chopped up chunks of what they'd apparently be feeding the otters. Sarah did her best not to make a face. She ate some of this stuff too, she reminded herself—only it was probably prepared a bit differently.
"Blegh, what is it?" Chuck asked, taking a big whiff. She did make a face at that. He was nuts. Really. That was the most little boy she'd seen him do, she thought. This is nasty, lemme smell it really close to my nose.
Tracy giggled. "Uh, squid, shrimp, clam. What they'd catch and eat if they were in the wild. Sea otters crawl into those tight little spaces in rocks, grab clams, find a good mobile rock, balance it on their bellies, and slam the shell onto the rock til it breaks up and they can eat the actual clam out."
"I imagine that takes patience," Chuck mumbled, leaning in close towards the glass.
"Oh, definitely. You learn to be patient in the wild. Ah, here she is. Hello, sweet Betty."
"Nooooo," Chuck breathed. "We're meeting the infamous Betty?!"
And up slid the sea otter, out of the water, scooching up close to the glass. Sarah felt death slowly closing in on her as the furry cheeked, whisker covered face ambled closer. She pressed her paws to the glass twice. As if saying, "Okay, let's get the show on the fuckin' road here."
"Oh. God. Okay, chill, Betty. She's hungry. She's saying 'I see that food. Give it.'" Tracy reached over and tapped the pail Chuck had balanced in his palm. "I'll have you go first until the other otters come up here, since you're sitting on the stool closest to me."
Chuck gave Sarah a questioning look and she nodded eagerly. "Go on. Feed Betty."
The ecstatic look he gave her was worth pretty much the entire trip out to Long Beach for this aquarium experience. She felt herself beaming hard as she watched it all go down.
"Kind of prop the food here at the edge of the hole and watch what she does. Just be mindful, she has insanely sharp teeth and she can't tell what's fish and what's your finger. It'll all be food to her."
Chuck swallowed so hard Sarah heard it from her stool two feet away. "Well, what are fingers anyway? I don't need 'em…"
And then she watched as he picked out a piece of what looked like slimy squid and propped it on the edge of the little hole. Betty the sea otter suddenly reached up, stuck her paw through the hole, took the squid from Chuck's fingers, brought it back through, and shoved it into her own mouth, smacking her lips as she chewed it, her whiskers twitching happily.
"Oooooooooooooooh!" Chuck let out a squeak so high pitched and long, she could barely hear it, but she thought dogs in some Long Beach neighborhood a block away definitely heard it. "Didja see? She grabbed it herself like a little personnnnnnn. Oh. Oh oh oh. Oh my heart."
Sarah giggled, leaning her elbows on her knees and melting.
"Do ya want some more, Betty? Yeeeeeah, she dooooes. Oh, you're so precious. How gentle you are. Here ya go," he said quietly, as if no one in the world existed but him and his new sea otter friend. He stuck a shrimp out for her and she reached in, took it, pulled it out, and tossed it in her jaws, snapping it in pieces, the food disappearing quickly.
"Here comes Brooke."
A larger otter that looked a bit older came in the little hallway then, calmly and patiently sitting at the hole that was in front of Sarah. She clasped a hand to her heart. "Have I been chosen? It's this you want, huh?" She set her pail down and lifted a piece of shrimp up to the hole. "Here you go, Brooke. You sweet girl."
She stuck her face up against the hole, thought twice about it, and poked her paw through instead to gently take the shrimp from Sarah, taking a bite and munching it.
Brooke took a bit longer to eat, clutching part of it in her paws, as if savoring it.
And Sarah turned to watch Chuck connecting with his own otter, Betty. She'd never seen anyone happier than this grown man slipping a piece of clam through the hole into the sea otter's grip.
The giggles he was emitting.
God.
She could stay here forever.
Sarah went back into her pail to get a piece of squid. "Nice and slimey for ya, Brooke. You like that, huh. Yes." Brooke reached in to take it, making a happy nom nom nom sound that made Sarah feel like sunlight burst open her chest.
"Did she just do a nom nom?" Chuck asked, giving Tracy a big-brown-eyed look, his pupils quivering.
"Sometimes when she's really into it, she does make a little sound like a nom nom," Tracy laughed. "Here, let me see if she's in a mood for this today. Like people, sometimes they just don't wanna do things and we have to let them feel that way." She reached in towards the Brooke hole and gently stuck her fingers against the glass just under the hole. "Paw?"
Brooke slipped her paw through the hole and touched Tracy's fingers with it, getting food for her trouble.
"Oh my God," Sarah gasped. "I'm dead. I've died."
"She just did the—and with the—oh buddabuddabudda…" Chuck sounded like he was short-circuiting and everyone chuckled.
Sarah gestured for him to lean in and do it. "Go on then. You go first."
"You sure?" he asked, giving her an awed look. She grinned madly and nodded. Yeah, the sea otters were so cute it felt like her heart was rupturing, but to watch him slip his fingers under the hole and breathe, "paw?", Brooke reaching in to touch his fingers with hers, and the way his whole person seemed to melt… somehow, miraculously, he was having the biggest effect on her.
Who fucking was this dude?
He had no qualms about letting her see him in full squee mode, the way he was clutching his chest after he passed Brooke another piece of food, his shoulders pulled up to his ears, face twisted up in utter agony. The way he breathed, "I might cry. I feel so blessed right now."
Chuck turned to her then. "You gotta do it now. Please. Do it."
"I dunno," she mumbled honestly, "Watching you connect with Brooke is giving me a pretty big high and I could stand to watch a little longer."
"Me too," Barry said from behind.
"Me three." Tracy lifted her hand.
Chuck blushed, reaching in once more with a gently uttered, "Paw?"
Brooke tapped his fingers through the hole again, pulling her hand back and pressing it to her cheeks as if shy. Chuck squealed as he gave her more food. If Sarah walked out of this place and met with an accident immediately, she was sure this experience alone was worth the twenty-six years she spent on this earth. She'd die happy.
He quickly shifted out of the way then, letting Sarah take her spot again as he went back to feeding an impatient Betty staring daggers down into the pail still full of food for her.
Sarah shifted to sit forward more on the stool, putting her fingers against the glass. "Paw?"
Brooke reached up through the hole, and Sarah felt the wet fur and blunt nails graze her fingers. It felt like holding a dog's paw after it went running through puddles.
She half collapsed onto herself. "Oh my God. This is the most amazing feeling in the world. I might cry too." She reinforced the good behavior with a shrimp. And then she put her hand back against the glass. "Paw?" Brooke did it again and she rewarded her again.
They stayed there feeding Brooke and Betty for a bit, finishing the pails, listening to Tracy give them facts about the sea otters that were being cared for in their facility. And when Chuck tried to do the paw trick with Betty, Tracy was in the middle of saying Betty tended to shy away from the paw trick when Betty reached up to touch Chuck's fingers, pulling away again shyly, taking the food from him after.
"Well, I stand corrected. Apparently you have made a friend. Betty, do you love Chuck?"
"You wanna hold my hand again, sweet girl?" Chuck asked.
Brooke's food was gone, so Sarah quickly fished out her phone and recorded as Chuck did the trick with Betty a few more times, everyone celebrating their little bond.
Sarah finished recording, slipping her phone back into her purse, but she kept her eyes on the man who'd jumped through some hoops to get her into this room. She didn't know what hoops, or if money had been involved, maybe just his insane levels of utterly genuine charm.
All she knew was that she wouldn't forget this experience.
And she wouldn't forget that he'd been the one to make it happen. No matter what happened after today.
A/N: So I don't want to end this on a low note after this chapter's fluffy sweetness high, but I can't post this chapter without noting this. While the humans in this fic are made up, the animals are real animals at that specific aquarium Chuck takes Sarah to. Betty, Brooke, and Harpo exist in real life. It hurts my heart to say that I wrote this chapter maybe a month or two ago, and since then, last week in fact, the aquarium posted that Harpo the sea lion passed away at seventeen years old. I decided to keep him as is in the fic, as a sort of tribute to our sweet boy with the big bark and the even bigger smile.
If any of you ever get out to the LA area and have a day, please do visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. That place is a joy bringer. I experienced all of this firsthand. They go above and beyond for their creatures and in the research that they do to make the oceans safer for the creatures that live in it, and to educate humans on protecting our earth and saving water, etc. It's one of the best places in the world. Just note, unlike what I had Chuck and Sarah do, you need to purchase tickets ahead of time, you can't just show up and buy them at the ticket office the day of.
Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter and this long-ass author's note! Appreciate those of you leaving reviews. It means a lot. Pour one out for our pal Harpo if you can swing it. He was a gift to our SoCal community.
Thanks, friends!
-SC