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: Enjoy dettiot's awesome in "The Detective and the Tech Guy In Transition"! This will be d's last contribution to the story. And I want to take this opportunity to say it was a blast writing this with her. So so so much fun. She's still around, just in another fandom! Check out her Arrow stories if you like the show! From here on out, it'll just be me. Sorry! (wince) - SC
XOXOXOXO
It was a bit hard for Chuck Bartowski not to let out a sigh as he set down the box he was carrying. It wasn't a sigh of relief, although honestly the box was heavier than he thought it would be after carrying it from the small moving truck and up three flights of stairs.
No, he was sighing because he was helping his girlfriend move into her new apartment. The girlfriend who was moving out of his apartment.
Which he was totally fine with, Chuck reminded himself. Sarah had good reasons for wanting to be on her own, to have her own place. Reasons that were good and logical and would help make them a better couple and make their relationship stronger. And he couldn't deny, he had kind of missed the ability to wake up in the middle of the night and eat Red Vines for two hours if he felt like it, without any commentary about how much sugar he was eating.
But he was really going to miss her.
"Chuck!"
Whirling around at the sound of Morgan's voice, Chuck couldn't help grinning a little at the sight of his friend trying to balance two large wardrobe boxes. He hurried over to lift one out of Morgan's arms. "Why did you take two at once?" Chuck asked, carrying the box towards the bedroom.
"Because your leggy Valkyrie said, 'Oh, these aren't too heavy–Morgan, can you take two?' with that look in her eyes," Morgan grunted. "That look that says you can do anything, like you're some kind of superhero. Jeez, Chuck, that whole Vicki Vale comparison keeps making more and more sense."
He couldn't help laughing. "Yeah, I know that look. It's awesome." Like pretty much everything else about Sarah.
Morgan set down his box with a loud huff and straightened up, rubbing his back. "Dude, you owe me for this."
"I do," Chuck agreed. "You and me, pizza and video games all day tomorrow. We'll get the fancy pizza and the good beer, on me."
With a grin, Morgan slapped Chuck's shoulder. "Gotta say, I'm kinda glad to be getting my best friend back. At least a little bit. Not that I'm saying Sarah took up all your time or anything, but …"
"I know," Chuck said, smiling a little at Morgan and choosing to focus on the good in what he was saying. "We were moving pretty fast there for a while. This whole separate places thing is gonna be good for us, I think."
"And it'll help get your mom off your back," Morgan pointed out.
Chuck rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. If she's not being politely rude to or about Sarah, she's bugging me about work."
"You, who put the 'aholic' in 'workaholic'?" Morgan asked, tugging off the bandana tied around his head and making a show of wiping a barely-damp patch on his forehead.
"She thinks I've been letting work slide for the last few months," Chuck said, leaving the bedroom and heading towards the front door of the apartment, knowing that he had caught his breath enough to face bringing up another load of Sarah's things. Morgan followed him, tucking the bandana into his back pocket.
"Which isn't true," he continued, looking over his shoulder at Morgan. "But what I prioritize and what she prioritizes are two very different things."
Morgan nodded as they headed towards the stairs. "Parents, man." He began riffing on how his mother had reacted when she found out he was going to Benihana training: a story Morgan had told several times, which let Chuck focus on his own thoughts for a moment.
His mom was definitely off-base in her accusations … except that she kinda wasn't. Because he had been slacking some at work. Letting things wait as much as possible, only to have the deadlines for various projects pop up and therefore require all-nighters. That wasn't giving the company his best work, and he had always prided himself on doing just that. Even if working for Bartowski Electronics hadn't been what he planned when he was at Stanford.
Back in those days, Chuck had been idealistic. He thought that computers and technology could change the world for the better for everyone and not just to the benefit of big corporations. Connect people like never before, bridge the gaps between the haves and the have-nots. Level the playing field for the people who weren't like him, blessed with all the equipment and training they could ever need.
He still thought that. But six years in the corporate technology world had made him tamp down a lot of that idealism. When he had graduated, he thought he'd work for Bartowski Electronics long enough to get a feel for how business worked, to develop some contacts, and then he planned to leave, start his own company, put his ideas into practice. It wasn't what his mother had wanted, though, and somehow she had managed to keep him at BE.
And honestly, he hadn't minded too much. He enjoyed his work, since he felt like he was helping his family's company stay strong, and it helped preserve a measure of peace within his family. But lately … there had been a niggle. Something telling him that maybe it was time for him to go out on his own.
And when he saw his girlfriend, standing beside the moving truck and narrowing her eyes at the packing list in her hand, he knew what had prompted that niggle.
As he approached, passing Morgan who was on his way back to the apartment with another box, Sarah looked up at him with a frown on her face. "There's a box missing. I knew I should have gone to Chicago myself instead of trusting the movers I hired."
"Are you sure?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her. "Maybe what you think you're looking for, based on the description, isn't what you're really looking for." Chuck frowned himself. "And that made more sense in my head."
At least it made Sarah smile at him. "You're probably right."
"Thanks," he said, dropping a quick kiss on her nose. "You'll be able to figure it out better once the truck's unpacked. Where's the next heavy box that my poor broken body will be carrying upstairs?"
Her eyes ran up and down his form, then she smirked. "You don't look that broken to me." She punctuated her words with a swift pinch to his ass.
Chuck jumped and mock-glared at her. "See if I give you that housewarming gift I got for you. After helping you move and everything, I get sexually harassed."
"You love it," Sarah said, leaning up to kiss him.
He kissed her back slowly, pulling her in tight against him. Because yeah, he did love it.
"Mmmm," Sarah said, using her hands on his chest to push him away. "Later, tiger. I've got an apartment to move into. Can you grab that box?" she asked, pointing to a box sitting right inside the truck.
"Seems to me that it's Morgan and me doing the moving while you stand around out here," Chuck said with a grin.
Sarah quirked an eyebrow at him. "Is that really what you want to be asking? Because your answer might determine if you ever see me naked again."
With a laugh, Chuck scooped up the box, which was fortunately a light one. "No, but then, I think you're just faking. Because you could hold out about as long as I could when it comes to getting naked." He waggled his eyebrows at her and Sarah practically giggled.
"Move," she said, pushing gently against his back. "We don't have much more to do and then we can talk about whom could hold out longer."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, throwing her a grin over his shoulder as he stepped inside.
XOXOXO
"You're sure you want to be alone tonight?" Chuck asked, standing by her front door and looking just slightly wistful. "You'll be able to sleep?"
Sarah smiled at him and ran her fingers up and down his arms. "Chuck, I don't want you to take this the wrong way …"
"But your answers are yes and yes?" he asked, a soft, warm, lopsided smile filling his face. It was one of her favorite Chuck smiles and definitely deserved a kiss, so she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.
And just like always, there was that spark, that sense of life, filling her up and making her feel so special. It had been there from their first kiss and Sarah never wanted to take that feeling for granted. Never wanted to get used to it. That was why she was now standing in her own cozy studio apartment, the one with the amazing view and the washer/dryer included. Because she needed to be back on her own, just for a little while. Long enough to work out some of her own issues, long enough for them to be ready for their futures.
Because there was no doubt in her mind that Chuck Bartowski was it for her. Which meant preparing for the next step in their relationship, moving at the right speed and doing things in a somewhat proper fashion. They both needed some time to adjust to being able to see each other whenever they wanted. Going right from long-distance to living together was moving too fast, and she didn't want to mess up what she had with Chuck.
But that didn't mean not having this–not having all six-foot-four of warm, handsome, amazing male–around all the time wasn't hard for her. It was. It was only because of how much she loved him that she was doing this.
She nuzzled him. "You are so sweet. The best boyfriend in the whole world. You know that, right?" she asked, looking up at him as she kept moving her fingers over him, her hands now rubbing his ridiculously firm shoulders. "You know why I'm doing this?"
Chuck nodded, brushing his nose against hers. "I know. And I even agree with you. But it doesn't mean I'm not gonna miss you some of the time."
"Some of the time?" she asked, grinning at him. "Could I get a percentage on that? Just so we can be precise here?"
Snickering, Chuck brushed a kiss over her lips. "I fully anticipate missing you 100% of the time you're not with me."
"That was my answer, too," she said, sighing a little as she took a step back, letting her hands drop from his body. "Call me tomorrow?"
"Of course," he said, smiling at her. "I want to hear all about how you couldn't sleep, with thinking about me all night long and not being at all tired since you barely carried in any boxes …"
"In your dreams, Bartowski," she retorted, even as she leaned in for one last quick kiss. "Good night."
Chuck smiled against her lips, even as he lingered for a moment. "Enjoy your new place. Talk to you later."
Sarah stepped back and opened the door for him, then watched him walk down the hall. Right before he stepped into the stairwell, he turned and waved to her, and she couldn't help the smile she gave him as she waved back.
Even though she felt so incredibly content at being in her new apartment, having someplace that was hers and no one else's, she still sighed as she closed the door. She didn't like seeing Chuck walk away from her, even if it was just for the night. But then she looked around, at the boxes waiting to be unpacked, at the furniture that had been in storage since she quit her job, and she felt that same flood of contentment and happiness and purpose.
Sure, she was still jobless. But having her own place gave her a reason to keep trying, to consider new ideas and possibilities she would have never thought possible if she was still living with Chuck. Not that he held her back or anything … he thought she could do anything. Be whatever she wanted to be.
That was the problem, though. She wasn't sure of who she wanted to be right now.
Pushing off from the door, Sarah headed to the closest stack of boxes and got to work. As one part of her brain began focusing on unpacking and organizing her belongings, it let another corner of her mind think about her job situation.
What was she going to do? It was becoming more and more clear that the long arm of Pinkerton reached farther than she had ever imagined. It wasn't that Langston Graham had given her a bad reference. But the fact that she had resigned in order to not be fired … it created questions. And since she had refused to answer interview questions about why she had left, beyond replying that it was personal, no other detective agency seemed willing to hire her. Nor would any other business that valued client confidentiality.
So what did that leave her? She could change professions, she supposed. Try something new. Or go back to school and get another degree, maybe teach …
She blew out a breath, stirring the hair around her face. None of those options really appealed to her. Sarah knew she was a good detective–would go so far to say she was a very good detective. She didn't want to do anything else.
Looking down, she realized the box she had just opened had dishes in it, so she lifted it up and carried it into the kitchen. As she unwrapped each dish and figured out which cabinet it would go into, she found herself wondering how she could be a detective without working for an agency.
Suddenly, the solution popped into her head, so obvious that Sarah didn't understand why she hadn't thought of it sooner. She could work for herself and be an independent detective–a private investigator!
Sarah immediately put down the mug she had been unwrapping and started hunting for paper and pen. She had to start writing down the ideas that were swirling in her mind. All the time she had spent, trying to get hired by a detective agency or law firm, and she had been going about things in the wrong way. It was time for her to stand on her own two feet, in every way. And that meant going into business for herself. Work her own cases, take the jobs she wanted and turn down the ones she didn't. Well, eventually she could have that–at first, she'd probably have to take what she could get, but still, she had enough savings, even with the new place, that she should be able to get something off the ground.
But still, she could do this. She was logical and focused and practical–she could run her own firm. Get some office space, hire a receptionist, maybe eventually hire another detective or two, more staff …
She was getting ahead of herself. She didn't even know what she had to do to be a private investigator in California. Pinkerton had always handled the licensing paperwork for its agents–she wasn't even really sure what state she had been licensed in, if any. And there was insurance and a million other details to figure out …
Yet none of that mattered. She wasn't one to make decisions at the drop of a hat. But this one wasn't overwhelming or scary, because Sarah felt the certainty rise up in her like a bubble in a pot of boiling water. This was the next step for her.
A smile spread over her face as she used a marker to write on a box, unable to find any paper. Making notes and lists, writing reminders, feeling her confidence grow even as more and more questions occurred to her. She couldn't wait to tell Chuck!
And that thought made her smile even wider. Because … because she had someone to tell her dreams to, someone who would cheer her on, someone who had her back, always.
The fact that someone was Chuck was the icing on the cake.
There was so much to do. So much to plan. And Sarah couldn't wait to get started.
End.
XOXOXOXO
Author's Note: Things are moving right along for our detective and tech guy. I will get you all caught up with updates as soon as I can so that you see my new chapters at the same time as everyone following me on tumblr! Love you all! Thanks for being so loyal and patient! - SC