A/N: So if you haven't read Ellie Versus the Dive yet, you might want to, just for some context. This is where it slots into the fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own CHUCK or its characters. And I'm not making any money from this story.


"I can help the next customer…"

Chuck shifted up one spot and glanced at his phone.

He'd ended up getting that wink he needed, an energizing enough wink, at least, that when he woke up a little while earlier with Sarah Walker as the little spoon to his big spoon, her neck in a very convenient spot right near his face so that all he had to do was tilt his chin a little to press his lips to her soft skin there, he didn't let the opportunity pass him by.

Then his lips found another spot, and another spot, and she'd hummed tiredly, turned around in his arms, and the clothes had gone flying. She'd apparently slept enough as well with how quickly she dispensed with his shirt, pants and boxers. And everything else had fallen to the wayside.

Any lingering worries or thoughts he'd had in the early morning hours with her curled up on his chest sleeping were shoved away to the back of his brain. And all he cared about were the sounds she made when he touched a particular spot, the look on her face when he shifted just so, the way her lips and her fingers and her tongue scorched patterns on his skin.

The heady sensation of her nails digging into his muscles, the gentle stinging and the pressure, coupled with the way she said his name.

There wasn't a single other thing on the entire planet that meant anything to him when he was with her like that. None of it could ever matter, nothing could come anywhere close to meaning as much.

And even when he was spent, he kissed down her body slowly and stayed between her legs for a long time, the sensation of her nails in his skin replaced by the equally invigorating sensation of her fingers tangled in his hair, twisting in his curls and tugging to express her pleasure.

They'd just stayed there for some time, not caring what the numbers on the bedside clock said, or where the sun was in the sky, until Sarah's stomach where he'd pillowed his head reminded him that they had to actually get sustenance at some point.

So here he was, standing in line on legs that were still a little unsteady, his limbs loose…feeling fantastic frankly. So fantastic that he was grinning like a maniac as he walked up to the window to order food, probably more food than was necessary for only two people, but eh. He was supporting a small business and as far as he was concerned, they were providing an incalculable service.

And he was ravenously hungry.

Sarah was right that the line would be long, even before nine in the morning, but waiting for over half an hour for food, standing in line plus waiting for it to be prepared and bagged up, was worth it. He would wait for two hours, he would cross onto another damn island even, if she wanted something that was on that island.

And with how good he was feeling, he had to withhold the urge to jog the few blocks back to his hotel. He did, however, take the elevator instead of the stairs. He felt good and energized, but not good and energized enough to take on seven flights of stairs when he didn't have to.

He fumbled his key as he took it out of his wallet, but managed to hang on by his fingertips. He walked into the suite, looking around for Sarah.

He didn't see her, but he thought he heard her voice in the bedroom, so he hurried to the double doors and entered the room, his arms up with bags of food in each hand, a beaming smile on his face.

Sarah's eyes widened significantly and she rushed out, "Um! Yes, pulp in the orange juice would be great! Thank you, front desk!" She slammed the receiver down with a bit of a crash, just staring at him, a startled look on her face. Then she glanced at the phone, and back up at him.

"Hi." His grin calmed into a small smile as he lowered the food back to his side and started towards where she sat on the bed with one leg folded under her, having put a hotel robe on. It was such a good look for her. Jesus Christ.

She ran her hand down the front of it and gave it a little tug, almost nervously. "Hey. What'd you bring me?"

He wasn't sure why she seemed nervous, or why she'd hung up so quickly on the front desk when they were just being helpful, asking about pulp in the orange juice, apparently. He cleared his throat and answered. "Fried egg, ham, and cheese on a croissant. Got myself the same thing." He grinned again, his nose wrinkling. "And coffee!" He held up the tray of coffees. Then he watched Sarah carefully, pursing his lips innocently. "Who was that?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could.

She blinked, then looked at the phone again, before jerking her gaze back to him, mouth opening and closing almost a little bit like a fish. "Front desk." Hm. "Just…asking about what kind of orange juice we want…Um, I ordered mimosas." She climbed up off of the bed and practically rushed him. "Wow, that food smells so good. I'm hungry. Mind if I don't wait for the mimosas?"

The way she snatched the bag and walked over to the table by the large windows, Chuck found himself wondering if that actually was the front desk. And then he shook himself. Who else would it even be?

"No, of course I don't mind." He chuckled, just watching her as she turned to eye him, seeming to be putting a face on over what still felt almost like nerves. Or maybe it was more that she seemed a little frazzled, knocked off course, or something. He couldn't help wandering over to her and asking, "You okay?"

She grinned and gave off a self-deprecating giggle. "Yeah. I get a little loopy when I'm hungry enough." She rolled her eyes at herself.

"Good to know." He smirked and raised an eyebrow.

They unloaded the food and sat at the table, and Chuck didn't miss the way she subtly pulled her chair closer to his instead of it being on the other side, before she sat down, and the sort of off behavior of his companion faded to the back of his mind as they ate.

"Have a good shower?" he asked after a few minutes of quiet, besides the sound of munching and rustling paper of course. He noticed her hair was still sort of damp and wavy from the shower she must've taken.

She swallowed part of her sandwich and nodded. "Mm. So good. Thank you."

There was a knock on the outside door then before he could respond. "I've got it," he chirped.

"I can go," she offered, but he dragged his eyes down her bare legs that hung off of her chair, poking out from under the robe, and she seemed to blush a little.

"You stay here," he said with a tinge of amusement, and she sent him a faux glare, smirking.

Within minutes, they had mimosas in front of them too, the champagne and orange juice in the middle of the table.

"This is how you do breakfast," she finally said, her sandwich almost gone, and the weird nerves from earlier gone, too. "Actually," she said, an almost sly look on her face as she eyed him. "This is how you do…the last, ohhh, twelve to fifteen hours?"

He chuckled and it became a groan as he remembered every last satisfying bit. "I'm in complete agreement with you. The dinner, the view of the lights on the shore from the deck of the True Love II, sleeping in a little, this breakfast…"

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "You skipped a few things."

He blushed vibrantly. He knew he'd skipped some things, but still… He was trying not to be so crass. And he also didn't want her to think that was the only thing that felt good about this, that it was the only reason he liked being around her, when there was so much about this that just felt so right, like they fit together perfectly.

Though he wasn't sure exactly how she felt, if she felt the same way he did. He knew she liked being with him, around him, as she'd said as much in plain terms. Yesterday especially.

"I, uh, might have." He cleared his throat.

"Before dinner, on the boat, this morning…" He scratched behind his ear and tossed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth because it gave him something to do besides just freaking blushing all the time. She giggled at him, obviously picking up on his shyness now that he was looking back at the last twelve to fifteen hours in the warm light of the day. Not that he was ashamed at all, because he so wasn't. But they'd gotten up to some…things. And he didn't really want to think about all of it at the moment, lest his body betray him.

"I was actually referring to that Mars thing you read to me, too, though." A pleased smile crossed her face as she propped her chin in her hand and brought her other hand up with the mimosa poised between her fingers, sipping it adorably. "I've never had anyone read me to sleep before."

"Well, I'm sorry my book was so boring that you fell asleep," he groused teasingly, making her laugh.

"Shut up, it was not boring. It was, however, like…three or something, and being out in the water always wrings me out." She set her mimosa down and reached over to drape her cool hand on his forearm, her fingers damp from the condensation of the glass she'd been holding. "And maybe I find your voice comforting."

Oof. The warmth that was cascading through him at that. He felt his features crumble. "Oh, my insides just did so many things at once."

Sarah let out a bubbly giggle and shook her head, her blue eyes so bright. "You're so fucking cute, I don't even know how to handle it."

"You don't?" He smoldered teasingly, feeling a little bolder even as he blushed again. "You did a pretty damn good job of it this morning."

Her jaw fell open, a pleased sparkle in her gaze. Her teeth clicked as she shut her mouth again, and she arched an eyebrow, squeezing his forearm even as her thumb stroked over his skin tantalizingly. "Well, I didn't say I'm not willing to try."

That made him laugh, ducking his head a bit shyly. And maybe that was his cue to sweep her off of her feet, take her back to bed, and let her try some more. But instead, he shrugged and laid his free hand over hers on his arm, stroking the backs of her fingers and her knuckles. "So you weren't bored with Princess of Mars, or my reading of it, then, huh? Is it safe to say yooooou…liked it?"

A slow grin crossed her face and he didn't know what she was thinking in that moment. All he knew was that he wished he could know. "Yeah. It was exciting. And crazy that a guy in the first handful of years of the twentieth century could know so much about…stuff science wouldn't really even tackle for decades."

"Yeah, I wonder how much of it was guess-work, and how much was actually, like, deep scientific research. Wait. You liked it? You thought it was exciting?" She shrugged shyly. "Oh, Sarah Walker, we'll make a nerd out of you yet."

"Uh, no. We won't. You're not getting me to step foot in Nerdsville."

"You already did. Last night. Listening to me read, like, thirtyish pages of the Barsoom series. You dipped your toe in the nerd pool."

She laughed. "Uh, I think it's safe to say I dove headfirst into the nerd pool when I pinned you to that bed the first day I met you, but that doesn't make me a nerd."

Chuck choked a little on the sip of coffee he took, his brown eyes going wide. She thumped him on the back with a satisfied smirk. And he just stared at her. Clearing his throat, he pressed a hand against his chest, trying to get his bearings. "I don't really have a response to that."

Sarah laughed again. "You're so refreshingly honest. And I genuinely do not get it." She shook her head in awe. "I mean, you don't put on airs. You don't pretend to be anything you're not. The machismo I've encountered in pretty much every single man I've ever met, whether I've dated them or not, is like…almost nonexistent with you." She sighed, just looking at him, and he felt warmth rise from the collar of his shirt. "You just let people see you."

A flurry of emotions crossed her face then as she glanced down at the table, and they went so quickly, he couldn't read a single one of them.

"I…guess it's just how I've always been." He squeezed her hand over his arm. "Again, credit to Ellie most likely." He felt the vulnerability and rawness start to creep in as he thought about his sister again, and how hard she'd worked, harder than he'd ever know, to make life as normal and comfortable for him as possible. He'd never be able to repay her for that no matter how long they both lived. He reverted to his defense mechanism and made a teasingly tough face, affecting an Eastwood growl. "This life could've made me hard and cold. Jagged at the edges."

"Oh God." She chuckled at him and rolled her eyes. "You're a goof." And then she reached up to ruffle his hair. "I'm glad it didn't," she said sincerely then, meeting his eyes. "I'm glad you're here and that you're you."

He smiled warmly. "Even with all of the exceptional nerdiness?"

"Especially that," she giggled, beaming. "I have no intention of becoming a nerd, not for anybody, not even you…but I guess the plot twist is that I'm very attracted to exceptional nerds."

Chuck scooted his chair closer to her and she giggled again as he leaned in close, his elbow propped on the table, chin in his hand. "You like nerds, huh?"

She shook her head, affecting a serious face and narrowing her eyes. "No."

"No?"

"No, I said I like exceptional nerds. Not any ol' run of the mill nerd. I don't give a shit about guys who read comic books or watch Star Whatever or collect action figures. The exceptional element is very important." She played with one of his curls, keeping her eyes on his.

"Okay. So it isn't the comics books, Star Wars, Star Trek, or action figures. Noted. But if he likes all those things and is also…"

"Exceptional?" she provided again, smiling even harder at him somehow. She shrugged one shoulder adorably. "Well, then his name is probably Chuck Bartowski."

"That's a weird name."

She giggled. "I know. I thought so too when I first saw it on my list that day." Her grin turned teasing as he chuckled, shaking his head. "Chuck, seriously though. You're a really, really good guy. And there are a lot of things I've been discovering about you that make you exceptional. Extraordinary, even." She scoffed a little, but not at him, or even really at herself. Maybe she was surprised or in awe? He didn't know. It didn't matter. He was too busy melting. "Not the least of which is that you listen. We've been over that, but I feel like it needs to be emphasized. Just because it's so rare."

"In men?"

"Yeah, mostly. But in women, too. In everyone. Even me sometimes. Probably." She wrinkled her nose. "But mostly men. Especially when the person talking is a woman."

Chuck winced and nodded, because he was sure she was right about that. The stories Ellie had from her time in med school all the way through working to become a freaking neurosurgeon, top of her profession practically, and the way she was mistaken for a nurse, cleaning staff, any number of things when she came into a room full of men in her profession. It was shameful.

"And you're open to constructive criticism, to learning things, to doing and being better. Also rare. Not… Wait." She shook herself and reached out to grab his arm, squeezing. "Sorry, I realized after I said it how that sounded. Like you need to improve a whole lot because you're…not that great, or whatever. I-I don't mean that. I'm not good at this. Ugh." She rolled her eyes at herself and sat back against the chair. "You are great. You're the best person I've ever met. But part of it is that I…really kicked you around out on the beach yesterday, and maybe I was too hard on you," she said quietly, and he moved to dismiss that, argue with it, because she wasn't too hard on him, she was honest and he needed to hear it, but she rushed on. "But you heard me and you understood me, and I actually believe you when you say you're gonna correct it."

"I needed to hear what you said to me out there. I felt…I dunno, I felt respected. That you didn't trap it inside and just feel bad and be upset with me on the inside but never say anything so that I'd think my behavior was totally cool and not upsetting at all." He shrugged. "I'd rather you respect me enough to know that I can hear criticism, that I can hear how I've upset you, without…I don't know, getting defensive or flying off the handle and marching out of there, super offended or something." Chuck cleared his throat and sipped more of his coffee. "I feel like being honest with the people you care about is a show of respect. You respect their strength of character. I guess." He sniffed in amusement and shook his head. "Not sure what I'm saying."

"No, I get it. I get what you mean. And I think maybe you're right." She raised her eyes to his, looking up at him through her eyelashes, and she smiled a bit shyly. "All I know is that I do respect you. A lot." She arched her eyebrows. "So maybe that's why I felt so comfortable being honest. After I cooled off a little in the water," she finished with a giggle.

Chuck winced. "Yeah, I don't blame you. That was smart. I might've cried if you'd yelled at me."

"Oh, shut up," she laughed, shoving him by the shoulder as he giggled, his tongue trapped between his teeth.

"So…exceptional nerd," she finally drawled almost seductively, her hand falling on top of his on the table, thumb stroking over his knuckles. "What do we do now?"

There was weight to it. A weight he wasn't sure she meant it to have. The answer she was looking for was something like, let's go sit by the pool and have piña coladas and get baked by the mid-morning sun or let's go out to the water. Instead, his brain was freaking out. What do we do now?

He would leave in a handful of days. Three, to be exact. And she would stay here. And there would be a massive stretch of the largest ocean on the planet between them, keeping them from being together. At least physically. What do we do now?

Did they make promises to each other that they might not want to keep, might not be able to keep, once time stretched on? Would this stop dead when he got on the plane? Or would they promise to keep in touch and eventually she'd just be another number on his phone that he never used anymore, and vice versa? Or did this have the legs it needed to make it?

Chuck was almost certain about the legs option.

But he didn't know which option she might land on.

She cared about him, she believed in him, she liked being with him. She respected him.

But would that be enough for a long-distance relationship in which these moments, just sitting here with their hands touching, smiling at one another, and the other moments they'd shared in bed earlier—perhaps those especially—were extremely rare? Was talking on the phone, FaceTime, Skype, social media, texting gonna be enough?

He was driving himself insane by the time she reached up and poked him in the cheek, making him shake himself and blink rapidly, looking up at her.

"You still here with me?" she teased. "Jesus, I swear you were on another planet for a second."

"S-Sorry. Sorry. You asked…what we do now. And…I was…thinking."

She got quiet, her smile dimming a little as she peered out at the view, squinting. He wondered if she picked up on his extra meaning there. She was smart, and she listened, too. She had picked up on it, he was sure. But she just swallowed and turned back to him. "So? Come up with something?"

"Pool." He said it immediately, deciding to steamroll right past all the extra meaning stuff. "I'm gonna let all my food digest and stuff and then I'm definitely getting a piña colada and swimming in the pool. What say you?"

"I say hell yes."

He clapped and stood up, busying himself with cleaning up their trash and shoving it in the bag he'd arrived with, stuffing that in the trashcan. They would sit by the pool, and this would continue to hang over him, even while he enjoyed every last second he spent with her.

}o{

Chuck Bartowski stayed sitting on the tile floor of the pool until his lungs were fit to burst, and he slowly pushed off with his feet and broke for air, taking a deep breath and letting his legs lift up in front of him so that he could float there and looking up at the tall hotel building towering over him.

"Hey!"

He blinked and pushed his feet down to stand, turning to face the woman who'd apparently been watching him over her book as she sat splayed out in a bathing suit on one of the poolside lounge chairs. Pushing a hand through his wet hair to get it out of his face, he grinned at her. "Yes?"

"What do you mean by staying underwater for that long? You have some kind of death wish? I was this close to jumping in there to save you." She lowered her sunglasses down her nose and raised an eyebrow.

"Damn it, I should've stayed under for just a little while longer. Maybe that would've actually gotten you in here. Since I've been asking for an hour now." He smiled cutely and leaned his arms on the cement beside the pool, propping his chin on his forearm.

"An hour, oh my God, you're so melodramatic. Fifteen minutes at the most," she giggled. "Anyway, this book is too good. I don't wanna put it down. I'm on a roll."

"I thought you said it started off too corny for your taste…"

Sarah smiled slowly at him, then pushed her sunglasses back over her eyes. "I did say that. You have a knack for listening, don't you?" He shrugged. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and lifted the book. "It started off corny and it's still corny."

Chuck braced his palms on the side of the pool and hoisted himself out, his feet slapping against the cement as he approached her and snagged the folded towel at the end of the chair he'd picked beside hers. "What's it about?"

"Girl works in this STEM job, meets boy at STEM job, they're both not into each other at all, arguing, getting in each other's way…"

"And an accident happens, chemistry lab blows up. He's got acid burns from head to toe and she needs to learn to love him anyw—No? Am I off base?"

Sarah cracked up, having interrupted him with a weirded out look. "Jesus Christ, that was dark."

"I thought maybe it'd be a beauty is on the inside type thing."

"No, he's an absolute asshole so far. I get that she's eventually going to realize she's into him and he's suddenly gonna be appealing for some reason, but Chuck, this guy is too much of a dick for me to have any faith in this being functional. I have less than respect for this woman if she sees enough in him now to fall for him later when he shows a speck of humanity. He's a piece of shit."

Chuck plopped onto his chair as Sarah folded the corner of the page down.

She must've seen him wince or something because she groaned. "Oh no, are you going to give me shit about folding the page to mark where I left off? Are you one of those? Chuck, noooo."

"You're the one who's the page folder! That's some chaotic evil energy."

"Did you just call me evil?! For folding paper?!"

He chuckled. "I like that you latched onto the evil part but didn't deny the chaotic part."

"Oh, I fully admit I'm chaotic." And that was exceptionally hot for some reason. "But I'm not evil. I've got my drawbacks but not that."

"No, no. You're taking it too literally. It's an alignment thing. Dungeons and—"

"Noooo. Dungeons and Dragons? Chuck. Chuuuuck." She giggled and put the book down on the small table on the other side of her chair. "I'm teasing you," she admitted when he wrinkled his nose in a wince, wondering if maybe he was getting a little too nerdy for her. "I think it's cute you try to pull me into your nerdy stuff. It'll never work, but it's still so cute you try."

"Ha ha," he droned, glaring teasingly. "And you bought the book, you can fold the page if you want to, but I guess I—I'm a comics guy, you know? And keeping your comics all pretty and in mint condition is kind of like…a thing in the comics world. For some of us. If I ever saw someone fold the corner of a page in a comic book to hold their place, I'd faint. I really would."

She laughed. "You'd faint? Really?"

"Yep. Wham, right onto the floor." He slapped the chair next to his hip. "So I'm coming from that background. Which is why I probably winced when I saw you fold the page. But it's okay. You do you."

"I just…can never do that to any of your comic books."

Chuck gasped dramatically. "Oh my God, I might actually need smelling salts if you ever did that to my comics. I'll literally buy you a book mark. One of those really fancy ones with inspirational quote about flying high and the pretty tassel at the end of the string."

Sarah snorted adorably. "Or I can just use an old gum wrapper from my purse."

"Sarah!" He dropped his head into his hands and tugged on his hair. "Oh my God no…"

She burst into laughter and reached over to squeeze his shoulder. "I'm kidding! …You know I'd never go anywhere near a comic book."

This time he cracked up. "Good one. It stung a little, but it was well done. You've got comedic timing down. I'll get you to read a comic. Which one? I don't know yet. But I'll get you to read one and you'll understand what I see in them. You will."

"Sure I will," she giggled. "Hope it's better than this." She wiggled the book and raised an eyebrow, then set it down again and laid her head back against the chair, sighing, turning her face up towards the sun.

"Oh come on, go easy on it." He followed suit and lounged back against his own chair, crossing his legs at the ankles and leaning his head back, shutting his eyes tight as the sun blazed down over his still damp face. He watched spots dance across the bright red insides of his eyelids and lowered his head again, opening his eyes and blinking them to get rid of said spots. "People are so mean to romance books but it's one of the most important parts of life. Romance, I mean."

She smiled and let her head loll to the side so that she could look at him. "That's actually really sweet. Never thought about that." She shook herself then. "But that's not it at all. I'm not down on romance books. Romance is fun to read. I'm just down on ones that have the protagonist fall for a genuine asshole. Or she's a big ol' asshole and he deserves better. The dysfunctional stuff that gets normalized in some of this…"

Chuck sighed. "Fair. Though I would say that realistically, people do fall for assholes sometimes."

"Yeah." She frowned deeply. "I know that all too well." She said it so quietly that he almost didn't hear her. But before he could say or do anything, she turned to squint at him thoughtfully. "But I guess I don't like it when the book or…TV show or movie or whatever it is shows that situation like it's a good thing. Like if it's totally not self-aware and has no idea that the main love interest is actually just shit and not as hot or interesting as they think. That realistically a situation like that ends in total dysfunction."

She was obviously speaking from experience, and it bothered him. Because there was a lot of self-derision in her tone.

"You're right," he agreed. "It's dangerous for entertainment…fiction…to present a relationship like that as a good thing. Sometimes that kind of fucked up romance is all a person knows, and then it's reflected in the fluffed up romance they're reading, full of characters who treat each other like crap, can't figure out how to apologize when they mess up, and it posits men who respect the opinions and even criticisms about them from the women in their lives as weak and allowing themselves to be walked all over." He cleared his throat when she gave him a searching look, squirming a bit in his chair. "My point is that you are right. But you get the difference between good and bad." He shrugged. "There has to be good romance out there somewhere, though."

"I get the difference. Now I do at least. But there are people out there who don't. And yeah, I'm sure it exists…" She paused, eyeing him from behind her sunglasses. "Somewhere." She looked away from him then and wiggled the book yet again. "Not in here. Oh, well. It was only five bucks."

"I'm sorry my hotel's gift shop couldn't provide you with better literary fare."

"It isn't the gift shop's fault. I wanted something I didn't have to use my brain for. Yeah. No brain usage anywhere in this one."

Chuck laughed, then he reached over for her, holding out his hand. "Come with me into the pool."

"You just spent a bunch of time in the pool and you wanna go back in?" she giggled. "Jesus, take you out of the ocean and put you in the pool and you're a water bug."

"Mother Nature can't eat me in there like she can out there." He pointed towards the Pacific Ocean. "C'mon. I'm so much fun to swim with in a pool. Everybody's saying it."

She cracked up. "Okay, weirdo. Fine." And he couldn't help watching as she climbed to her feet with a roll of her eyes, untying the gauzy wrap she had around her waist, revealing her full bikini. It wasn't one he'd seen her in before and he was…having a hard time with the black and gold, the way the ties criss-crossed over her tan skin. How did women even put stuff like that on without getting confused or twisting it all up…?

"Are we going swimming or are you going to stare at me all day?"

"Sh-Shit. Sorry. I'm…I didn't, erm, mean to." He leapt up to his feet. "Yep. We're swimming. That's a nice…bathing suit. Ignore me."

"If I'd ignored you, Chuck, we never would've gotten this far," she said with a flirtatious wink. And then she backed up to the very edge of the pool, close enough that he thrust out a hand to warn her so she didn't fall in. But then she pinched her nostrils closed with one hand and leapt up into the air, tucking her knees into her chest and wrapping her other arm around them.

She crashed into the pool, creating a massive splash that had others around the pool area looking on, some with annoyance, others with amusement. And Chuck had to put his hands on his knees to keep himself from keeling over as he burst into laughter.

Sarah emerged, smoothing her hair back from her face, beaming at him. "Let's see what you got, nerd," she taunted, bouncing her eyebrows and biting her lip around her grin.

But Chuck saw the severe looking forty-something woman glaring at him from across the pool, as if warning him, her children playing in the corner, one with floaties on her arms as she bobbed along with her siblings.

And he knelt at the edge of the pool, sliding into the water with no splash whatsoever.

Sarah snorted, smirking at him teasingly. "Boring."

"So it's been said." But he didn't take it personally, as he stepped in close and wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her front against his. "I might be boring but I've got a decidedly not-boring woman who finds me interesting enough to hang out with me, so I win."

Giggling, she bumped his nose with hers and kissed him lightly. Somehow that affected him worse than if she'd grabbed his face and kissed the crap out of him. "See, that's more like it. Take your wins. No questioning."

He would still question a little bit though. In his head. Silently, so she didn't hear it.

Then he gave her a mischievous smile and slowly slid beneath the water, hearing her giggle even as his ears were submerged.

}o{

"Pssst."

Chuck glanced up from the strangest looking thing he thought he'd ever seen. A Hawaiian girl who looked maybe thirteen or so caught his eye and gestured him over with a flick of her head.

Moving away from the strange fruit, he approached the teenager. She grinned at him. "You want some rambutan."

It didn't sound like a question.

"Rambutan, huh?" He pronounced it again, more slowly. "Raaambutaaan. I like the sound of that." The girl giggled. "Which one is that?"

"The one you were just looking at. Looks like it's from another planet. Like something Doctor Who would eat." She giggled again.

"Doctor Who, huh? You a fan of The Doctor?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's my favorite show."

"A nerd after my own heart. Okay. You have good taste. So I'm going to trust you on this rambutan. Do I just bite it like this? Looks like it'd be unpleasant going down."

"No, no!" She rushed around the table she was standing behind and went to the strange spikey-looking red fruit that really did look like it came from another planet. She picked one up and pulled a knife out of her overalls pocket. With a flick of her wrist, the blade shot out.

Chuck pumped a fist to make her laugh. "Okay, see, you're awesome. You're very awesome. Doctor Who and knife skills."

Laughing, she skillfully slice open what looked like the outer skin with the spikes, revealing what looked like a large skinless grape or something. "Okay, bite this. But there's a pit in the middle so be careful."

A voice in Chuck's head said fuck it, and he took the rambutan from the teen, then took a dainty bite out of it, afraid he might bite too deep into it and find the pit. Breaking a tooth on vacation wasn't on his to-do list while he was here. Especially not three days before heading home.

He chewed slowly and decided it was actually pretty refreshing. "Hmm! I like this! I'm gonna buy this one, if that's cool. And then a couple more. Say, four?"

She followed him around the market pointing out different things he should try, things he'd never heard of, and he was disappointed with himself that he'd been on this island for so long and had never sought this farm out in spite of it being in the brochure he first got when he arrived at the hotel almost a month ago for God's sake.

By the time he found Sarah again who'd been on the other side of the tent talking to the woman he assumed was the girl's mom, Chuck's newfound friend had filled his basket with things. He'd tossed in a few coconuts and a pineapple.

Sarah turned and widened her eyes. "Um…"

"What?" He stopped beside her at the register. "You think I'm not eating this in the next few days? You've seen me eat, Sarah."

Both women and the girl laughed.

"Okay, that's a fair point," the blonde admitted.

He thought to ask her if she would eat it with him, if she wanted to share it with him, and maybe stay longer, but for some reason, it felt like something he shouldn't ask here, in front of this farmer and her daughter. It might be awkward for Sarah. And for him if her answer wasn't a clear yes.

"What'd you get here?" the woman asked, reaching out for him to heft his basket onto the counter. It was literally overflowing.

The girl hopped up onto a stool and reached over to poke the basket. "I gave Chuck some starfruit and I told him to try the juice. And then…that…I let him try this one."

"Rambutan!" he chirped, holding it up. He'd been nibbling on it in the time he'd been walking around the tent with girl he now knew was named Cat. Cat beamed and nodded.

"What?" Sarah's jaw fell open. "You've been eating that and didn't offer me any? Rude."

Cat and her mother laughed as Chuck widened his eyes in their direction and immediately held the skinned rambutan out towards her. Sarah winked at him and cupped her hands under his, gently lifting it so that she could lean down and take a bite.

"Careful of the pit," Chuck warned, and he got a look as she lifted her head and chewed.

"I've had rambutan. I've lived here for almost a year now. Sweet of you to look out for me, though." She tugged on his shirt hem affectionately. "Mmm. It's been a while since I've had some though and I forgot how refreshing it is."

He handed the rest to her and she didn't argue as he paid. It was much more than he'd meant to spend when he and Sarah first climbed into her car and made the mile and a half drive to Aolani Farm, but this was worth it. Not just because he was going to get to try new things, but because there was no way he could resist the excitement in Cat's face as he let her put things in his basket to buy.

Sarah snatched up the burlap sack filled with fruits before he could, sending him an arch look, making him chuckle and hold up his hands in surrender. They'd even opened up the coconuts for them, getting rid of the rind and sticking the milk in containers for them to refrigerate and drink.

And because he couldn't leave without a proper goodbye, he spun on his heel and thrusted his hand out towards his new friend. "Cat, it was an honor meeting you."

She took his hand and shook it wildly, grinning. "Nice to meet you, Chuck."

"If you two are ever in LA, be sure to look me up. In exchange for showing me what Kauai has to offer, I'll take you to In-N-Out. Los Angeles cuisine."

"Oh God," he heard Sarah groan, making the farmer and her daughter laugh.

They all waved goodbye and he strolled up to join Sarah who waited at the edge of the tent, a quiet smile on her face as she watched him, the sack slung over one shoulder jauntily. But before she could say anything, he heard.

"Hey! Hey, Chuck!"

He turned around again and watched as Cat dashed up to him, skidding to a halt in her flip-flops and holding up a beautiful flower, with long white petals and a yellowish inside. "That's for me?" he asked, warmth pooling in his chest.

"Yes." She grinned. "Welcome to Kauai. I hope you enjoy your fruit."

He gently took it from her fingers and smiled down at her. "This is so nice. Nobody's ever given me a flower. Thank you. I'll keep this very safe, I promise."

"'Kay." She waved and then went back to her mom, hugging the woman's waist as the twosome waved one last time.

As they climbed into Sarah's convertible, she slung the fruit into the backseat, smiling hard as she turned on the car.

"What?" he asked, unable to keep from smiling down at the flower Cat had given him.

"You," Sarah said with a shrug, pulling out of the dirt lot and back onto the two lane road flanked by tall foliage. "You really just charm everyone. It's so genuine and adorable."

He felt one side of his lips turn up in a crooked smile and he shook his head. "Oh. You mean this?" He held up his flower. "Me and Cat are pals now."

"I know. It's insanely cute. Her mom and I were watching you two bond over pitaya. You're really good with young people."

"Yeah, I'm okay with 'em. That particular young person is too rad for me not to have been best buds with her. She watches Doctor Who, Sarah." He got a blank look. "Oh. Oh, wow. I only have a few more days on this island and I not only have to squeeze in comic books, but Doctor Who, too? If only I'd known this before today. I feel like I've wasted so much time."

She laughed lightly, but the drive became quiet then and he looked down at the flower. He wondered if she was dwelling on the scant few days he had left here.

The way he was dwelling on it.

As they approached his hotel a few minutes later, he cleared his throat. "Um, do you…" He cleared his throat again.

"What is it?" she prompted, reaching over to squeeze his arm even as she swerved into the hotel's driveway and drove through towards the parking area in the back.

He waited for his heart to lower itself from his throat back into his chest after her death defying stunt to slip into a parking spot and screech to a jolting halt. And then he took a deep breath and reached back to snag the sack filled with fruit, grunting as he hoisted it into the front with them and sat it in his lap. "This is, um, a lot of fruit."

"Yeah, you really piled it into that basket," she chuckled.

"She just kept telling me about everything and it all looked and sounded so cool, and she was so stoked, just putting it all in the basket and I didn't have the heart to disappoint her, I guess." He winced as she pouted, melting back into her seat as she looked at him with soft, blue eyes swimming with something he actually couldn't read. "I, uh, maybe overdid it, didn't I?"

"Maybe. But you're so fuggin' sweet, the rest of it doesn't even matter." She reached up to fix one of his curls. Or maybe she'd tugged it further out of place. He couldn't tell. It didn't matter.

What did matter was that he had all this fruit he wouldn't be able to eat on his own.

No, that wasn't what mattered. What mattered wasn't that he had too much fruit, it was that he didn't want her to go.

"I was thinking we could make a night of it, actually. Have some drinks, slice up some of this stuff and you can make fun of me while I try most of these for the first time. Whaddya say?"

She smirked at him, then ducked her head, pursing her lips and twisting them to the side shyly. "I don't know how I could pass any of that up." She turned and looked up at the sky and he followed her gaze. It was getting more humid by the minute, and he felt it clinging to his skin, making him feel heavy almost. "Mind helping me get the top up on this thing, though? Those clouds over there are coming in quick and it's definitely going to pour in a few minutes."

"Oh, you got it."

They worked together to get it up, and just like Sarah said, large droplets began falling just as she began rolling up the windows.

Chuck let out a squeak as the droplets became full-on rain, and he grabbed the sack of fruit and lifted it up over his head, dashing after Sarah as she led the way towards the back door to get into the hotel.

"The key!" she yelled over her shoulder at him as rain gushed down over them. He was already soaked when he got to the door, the sack at his waist, his other hand having dug into the pocket of his shorts to grab the key.

They finally pushed inside and he was breathless, cracking up, in awe of just how insane the downpour had been. So intense and in only minutes. Literal minutes. It had been so sunny when they left Aolani Farm behind. "This tropical weather is so insane. Where'd that even come from?!"

She laughed, and pushed a hand through her wet hair. "Welcome to the Pacific islands."

A group of kids in full beach wear staggered out of their hotel room and ran down the hallway towards the door before they spotted the intense rain pouring down outside and skid to a halt, one of them nearly tripping over the other.

Their faces all fell as they realized their beach trip was ruined.

"Awww mannnnnnnn," the tallest kid groaned.

Sarah giggled. "Don't worry. It won't last too long. You'll be able to get out there soon. Trust me."

He gave her a wide eyed look and Chuck couldn't really blame him for the awe in his face that she'd just spoken to him. "O-Okay. Um. Thanks."

She smiled one last time at the kid and put her hands on Chuck's back then, unceremoniously pushing him towards the elevators. "C'mon, Fruity Tuti."

He cracked up and let her guide him into the elevator.


A/N: Thanks for reading! Review if you're able.

-SC