The Detective and the Tech Guy
Authors: Steampunk . Chuckster & dettiot
Rating: T
Summary: A case of mistaken identity and murder brings Sarah Walker, Pinkerton agent, to sunny California. Protecting the heir to the Bartowski Electronics Corporation should be just business - but Chuck Bartowski fills out a suit nicely and makes a mean martini. Chuck lobbied to hire the Pinkerton Agency, but had no idea the detective they'd send would be as alluring, intelligent and fascinating as Sarah Walker. Will the detective and the tech guy solve the mystery, distracted by the riddle in their own hearts? An homage to The Thin Man movies co-written by Steampunk . Chuckster and dettiot.
Disclaimer: We don't own Chuck or The Thin Man series. And we're making no monetary profit from this story.
Author's Note: Here's part 2 of "Do Paris"! Once again, just as a reminder...Sarah POV is written by me, and Chuck POV is written by dettiot. Hope you all have as much fun reading this as we did writing it! -SC
XOXOXOXO
So that was that, Chuck Bartowski thought as he watched Sarah Walker walk away. Like something out of a romantic comedy or a tale of star-crossed lovers, he had run into Sarah in the middle of Paris. He had given her a sign, stepped in close to her and felt the banked inferno between them when he touched her. An inferno that he hoped would flare up into strong, steady flames because of his proximity, because of the power of his touch upon her arm. But the cold, pounding rain had doused the inferno before it had even gotten a chance to really burn. The rain and Sarah's decision to say goodbye to him.
God, he couldn't believe he had engaged in small talk with her. Meaningless, unimportant words about what they were each doing in Paris, speaking to her like she was someone he had met at a boring cocktail party. And even worse, he had lied to her. Because saying that he was good was so blatant a misstatement, so obvious a falsehood, that he was surprised that the passersby hadn't snorted from his gall. "Good" was a nothing word, a word that couldn't come close to expressing just how he felt. If he had known this was his last chance to talk to Sarah Walker, he wouldn't have wasted it like that.
Couldn't he have another chance? There had to be a way. A time traveler had to be lurking around, looking for someone to help. Or maybe there would be some kind of cataclysmic event that would throw them back in time and he'd get another chance. Something, someone that could come up with a way to help him out—something that was more believable and possible than a Star Trek plot. Help the man who'd just let the love of his life walk away again. Walk away without telling her just how important and special and amazing and necessary she was to him.
If he got another chance, he would have been clearer. Wouldn't have tried to be subtle about it, wouldn't have played it cute. He would have cupped her face in his hands, feeling that smooth, soft skin. He would have gazed into her eyes, taking in the myriad of shades that made up her beautiful baby blues. And then he would have said the four most important words he would ever utter.
"I love you, Sarah."
Chuck swallowed, gripping his umbrella. His feet were absolutely soaked—the Chucks had been a bad choice. The first of many he'd made today. He was probably going to get a cold now. If he was smart, for the first time today, he'd go back to his hotel and take a long, hot shower and order some soup. And maybe, just maybe, he might fall asleep and be able to forget about what had just happened.
But he doubted he would be so lucky. Because every single moment of this encounter was seared into his brain, all his dopey words and awkward gestures and his huge mistakes, and he was pretty sure that when he did finally manage to fall asleep tonight, he'd have nightmares about this. Picturing Sarah laughing in his face, telling him she had never loved him, saying that he had imagined it all and he had nobody to blame but himself.
Sarah was nearly gone. She was at the next intersection. He told himself that when she crossed the street, he would turn and take up his journey. The journey of the rest of his life, one in which each step took him farther away from her. And he knew that he was being melodramatic and nihilistic and ridiculous, but he couldn't help it. He was all out of hope, all out of courage.
Nothing had been as easy as falling for Sarah Walker. Nothing would be as difficult as getting over her.
The far traffic light had changed to the walk signal. Chuck pressed his lips together and waited for Sarah to step into the crosswalk. To take the extra forty steps to the opposite curb, because at that moment he would leave. Leave and figure out how to tape together the pieces of his heart so he could go on.
This moment seemed never-ending. He kept his eyes on her red umbrella, waiting for her to move.
And then … the signal changed to a flashing red hand. And then a solid red hand, halting the few stragglers who had been dashing up to the intersection. Yet Sarah hadn't moved. Her red umbrella, a solitary dot of color in gray Paris, hadn't moved.
Chuck frowned. Why hadn't she crossed the street? Was something wrong? No, no, he couldn't think like that. She was her own woman and he didn't have any claim on her, didn't have any grounds to worry about her like this and—was she turning around?!
Sarah was walking back towards him. He felt his heart pound and his lungs seize up. What was she doing? He wondered if he was really hallucinating now. His whole body seemed like one enormous knot of tension and disbelief and shock and a few other emotions he couldn't identify. Not right now, not with Sarah approaching him and coming to a stop right in front of him.
There was no way one human being could handle such stress, such emotions. He was going to have a heart attack, he was going to drop dead from a stroke or aneurysm, he just might pee his pants from nerves. He couldn't handle this waiting. Watching her approach him, all he could think was, What is she doing?
XOXOXOXO
Her mind was a blank as she moved down the sidewalk and neared the intersection. She forced all thoughts down into the deepest recesses of her brain and was numb to the throbbing ache in her chest. Each step became harder.
And then she stopped, the toes of her boots hanging off the edge of the curb as she watched everyone else cross the street.
Then with the same numbness as before she spun on her heel again and started walking back towards him. She could see him still standing there, having not moved even an inch, a pillar with a black umbrella.
What in the hell was she doing, walking away from Chuck Bartowski again? The numbness was fading, but instead of a painful ache in her chest, there was only longing and hope. She felt invigorated by the drops of mist hitting her face. Because there was absolutely nothing in the world that stood between her and Chuck.
Was she afraid of the sheer power of the emotions broiling inside of her? Emotions that nothing and no one had even come close to eliciting in the way Chuck had? The truth was that she was terrified. But this time she didn't care.
She had run before. And it took four months of soul searching and longing and trying to move on but being unable to, even as she continued on in every other aspect of her life.
Chuck wasn't her client. His father wasn't paying her. His life wasn't in danger. And this was freaking Paris. The City of Love. Since the moment she stepped off the plane in this damned country, she'd longed to be here with him. And here he was in the flesh, now so much closer as she hurried her steps to reach him. She'd really tried to walk away from him again?
What did she have to lose giving this a shot? And whatever it was that she had to lose, God help her but she trusted him with it. Trusted him not to do what she'd already done to him once.
And then he was standing there, gaping. And the poor man looked liable to pass out any moment. And he was confused, stunned, frozen in place.
Instead of letting him suffer a moment longer, Sarah stepped forward and almost growled in frustration when their umbrellas bumped together. A curse almost exploded from her mouth, but she bit her cheek instead and just dropped the piece of crap onto the sidewalk at her feet, feeling the rain smack her in the face for a moment until she stepped under the sanctuary of his large umbrella and into the warmth and safety of him.
She could feel his body heat and it was intoxicating, and then she gently set her fingers on his wrists, looking in his eyes as she slowly stroked up his arms until she clutched his biceps. His muscles twitched beneath her fingers and she licked her lips, her gaze dropping to his own parted lips.
Sarah fought to control herself as she rose to her tip toes. The one thing she wanted most in the world, more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life, was to kiss him, to wrap her limbs around him and never let go. But instead, she gently bumped his nose with hers, gave him a secretive little smile, and turned her face to brush his ear with her lips in a mimicry of what he'd just done to her. Her voice was a mere whisper amidst the rain pounding against the pavement around them, outside of their warm little refuge beneath his umbrella.
"Will you have any free time between your meetings?"
XOXOXOXO
If he had ever felt the urge to smoke, this would be the perfect time to do it, Chuck thought lazily.
What else would capture the complete and absolute contentment he felt? The extreme state of lassitude, the way his body felt boneless and totally relaxed?
A cigarette after sex was a classic. He was almost tempted to get up and find some smokes. But he immediately ruled out the idea, because that would mean leaving this bed that his whole world had narrowed down to.
Because this bed had Sarah Walker in it. A naked Sarah Walker. A naked, sleeping, sated Sarah Walker. And he was the one who made that happen!
Chuck grinned widely. He felt like a god.
Although he doubted gods would be getting cricks in their backs just because they were hanging halfway off the bed.
He probably had the world's dopiest expression on his face, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything except Sarah. Not even the crick in his back.
Wait. He could throw out his back. That would mean no more sex. And that was just not acceptable. So carefully, he shifted around and pushed himself up into a sitting position, taking a deep breath at the view of Sarah stretched out on her back, one perfect leg hanging off the bed.
Actually, all of her was perfect, really. From the tips of her toes, up those long legs that he hadn't been able to stop looking at from the start, to the swell of her hips and her narrow waist, the breasts that were exquisitely shaped, the strong shoulders and graceful neck, all leading to her face. The face that had captivated him and become part of his dreams.
She was so amazingly beautiful. But even more earth-shattering was how her personality was just as beautiful. Strong and smart and funny and completely, totally perfect for him. She was patient and kind, talented and so full of life.
He felt his heart clench in his chest at the strength of his love for her. At the amazing turn of events that had happened, thanks to chance and luck and risk-taking. The last three hours had been so life-altering that he couldn't help remembering just what had happened to bring them to this point.
As soon as she had finished asking her question, about whether he had time between his meetings, Chuck hadn't been able to wait any longer. He had crashed his lips against hers, kissing her with all the love he had inside him. Answering her question without words.
They had spent so much time getting to this moment. He wasn't about to wait any longer.
Only being in the middle of a crowded street—and the intervention of a firmly polite gendarme—brought their kissing to a temporary halt. But that was all right, because it just encouraged them to cover the two blocks to his hotel as quickly as possible. God, it was as if they were fated to find each other here in Paris, on that street, and take this step together.
Chuck held his hand out to her and Sarah took it, lacing her fingers through his. He gave her a wide, happy smile and held his umbrella over both of them as they walked, their hands locked together and refusing to yield to other pedestrians. The rain had slackened enough that he let the umbrella fall to his side, enjoying the feel of the final raindrops on his hair and shoulders.
Sarah looked even more beautiful with raindrops shining like diamonds in her hair and on her face. And for a moment, he let himself imagine her with real diamonds, to reflect her beauty until she shone like the stars that were just starting to peek through the clouds above them.
He'd never felt anything like this. Never felt this swirl of lust and passion and heat mixed with tenderness and respect and friendship. Like he could have as much fun with her talking as making love.
The sight of his hotel ahead combined with his thoughts made his whole body grow hotter. They were nearly there. And from the sparkle in Sarah's eyes, the flush in her cheeks and the grip she had on his hand, he thought she was feeling something similar to what he was.
They waited until they were in the elevator to pick up their kiss where they had left off. Sarah, with all those amazing Pinkerton skills, managed to keep kissing him even as he led them off the elevator and down the hall to his room. He stopped long enough to swipe his keycard through the lock. And once they were inside his room … the wild party began.
Clothes went flying and shoes were kicked off with no care where they went. His elbow hit against one of the antique sconces, knocking it loose from the wall. Bodies crashed against each other as hands explored bared skin. When Sarah pulled him away from the door, kissing him as she yanked his shirt loose from his pants, she backed into a tray table that hit the floor, splintering into pieces. Chuck felt greedy and wanting, desperate to become part of her.
Sarah panted and seemingly read his mind—she was just that perfect. Because she put her hands on his shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Chuck …" she moaned into his ear, nipping his earlobe.
Feeling her body so close to his, having her trust him to hold her and keep her safe, brought out something in himself he hadn't expected. Chuck felt the fire increase inside him as he pressed against her, leaning into her and taking advantage of the closest wall. "Sarah, Sarah …"
"Bed, baby. We need a bed!" Sarah's voice had risen in volume as she spoke, thanks to him pressing his hips hard against her center.
"God, yes. And call me that again," he said, tightening his arms around her and turning to carry her to the bed. He felt his muscles straining, but there was no way he was going to let her down.
She pressed soft kisses against his temple, then whispered in his ear. "Need you, baby …"
His whole body shook as he lowered her carefully down onto the bed. The caveman thrill he got out of her calling him baby was decidedly not what a modern, enlightened man should feel. But right now, he was too busy trying to fish his emergency condom out of his wallet.
"Is—is that the only one you have?" Sarah asked, sounding a bit frantic.
When he nodded, Sarah wiggled away from him, making his eyes cross from the sensation, and reached out for the phone on the nightstand. She pressed a button and spoke in a stream of rapid French to whomever answered the phone. Then, with a quick "Merci!" she hung up and turned back to him.
Chuck grinned widely at her. "You just ordered condoms, didn't you?"
"You bet I did," Sarah said, a saucy smirk on her face. She lifted her arms over her head, clearly very aware of what it did to various parts of her body and how that affected various parts of his. Her smirk grew positively sinful before she pointed a finger at him and crooked it in the universal "come here" gesture.
And Chuck didn't have to be told twice. Especially not now that the condom was on.
Their bodies collided at the same time as their lips did, kissing and touching and shifting against each other. The king-sized bed wasn't large enough to hold them. Just like his body wasn't large enough to hold his feelings for her. He had to keep peppering her face and neck and shoulders with kisses, in order to have some way of releasing his emotions.
When he paused and hovered over her just before he entered her, he realized her head, neck and one shoulder were totally off the bed and she was holding herself up with one hand braced on a nightstand.
"Let me—let's move—" he started to say, only for Sarah to roll her hips and pull him inside her.
"Now, Chuck," she said, her blue eyes meeting his and holding him captive. Making him forget anything but her. Taking him to a paradise filled with love and hope and really, really, really amazing sex.
A paradise he never wanted to leave.
XOXOXOXO
Author's Note: Pssst. We'd love it if you showered us with reviews now. 'Kay, as you were. -SC