Castle in the Air
By Steampunk . Chuckster
Summary: Sarah has opened her dream bookstore just before the holiday season, but when a corporate monopoly announces their reduced-price brick-and-mortar is going in a block away, she must band together with her fellow small businesses to fight for their lives, even if it means getting past a slew of bad first impressions to work with Chuck, the owner of the comic book shop next door. AU Charah.
A/N: IT'S A LEAP DAY. FAKE! IT'S A FAKE DAY! Just kidding. Have a good leap day. Enjoy this leap day chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck or its characters, and any similarities in this fic to any corporate entities are just coincidence... shh.
Sarah lost herself in belting the gravely voice of Nancy Sinatra, those strawberries, cherries, and an angel's kiss in spring…
A group of Baby Boomer women had abused the jukebox for the last twenty minutes, playing the same song over and over and over again. And at this point, the whole bar had heard it so many times that they all knew the lyrics and were all drunkenly singing it, whether they were at the bar itself, on the dance floor, or sitting in the booths.
"Woohhhhh-ooohhhh SUMMER WIIIIIINNNEEEE!" Sarah yelled up at the wooden ceiling.
She heard Ellie mimicking the brass with a loud, "Bweee-oooop bwee-OOOOOOP!"
This time when the song ended, everyone cheered as if they were watching some kind of sports game, the bartender cracking up. And the Boomer women finally gave the jukebox a break.
"That's such a good song 'n I think M'good fer the ne'gzt…rest of my life," Ellie drawled as she turned back to look at Sarah across the table.
"If I ever end up with something to play music, which izzint likely far off with both Marrrrtha 'n Chuuuuck on my case, M'getting wha'ever CD thaz on."
Ellie leaned her elbows on the tabletop and leaned her chin on her palm, looking both tired and boozy. "Oh yeah? On yer case how?"
"Chuck's been pushing music on one side 'n then I have the brilliant 'n lovely Marrrrtha pushin'—hic—on th'other side. S'great. I am hearing more music 'n I ever have b'fore." When was the last time she'd had this much to drink? She didn't remember. But it just felt like the right thing for tonight. She needed it. She needed to freaking let loose, have fun. For the first time in a long time.
And God, this had been fun.
She felt so good.
"The music of liiiiiife!" Ellie sang, lifting both arms up above her head and laughing drunkenly. Sarah laughed with her. "Music's good, hm?"
"Yeeah. Y'know, it's always been good but I…erm, I juz dinnit care. Y'know?! I juz dinnit really…I juz read books, y'know?! Thaz all I wann'ed to do!" she chirped, shrugging.
Ellie giggled. "I get it! I to'lly get it. Boo'gz are amazing."
"Books are the beeest!"
"I know. They really are. But don't tell m'brother that b'cuz he'll go oonnn 'n onnn about 'iz comigz." She lovingly rolled her eyes and giggled again.
"No, no," Sarah said, slicing a hand through the air in front of her. She couldn't help feeling a little bit defensive, even though Chuck's sister was only teasing. "I know iz comicz. I know. It juz…Like, 'e gave me one 'n I admit th'I still haven't read it. Oops." They both chuckled. "Bu' 'e gets it, y'know? Stories are big impor-dint. The most…like, impor-dint thing there iz." She tried to collect her thoughts but it was like being in one of those glass tubes trying to grab at the dollar bills that they blow into it, like those terrible game shows her mom would have on in the morning before school. "Stories!" she blurted, thrusting both hands out, her fingers spread. "Storytelling! Iz juz—Iz stuff th'can change lives, th'can fix yer view of th'world! 'N Chuck, like, understan'z."
Ellie didn't interrupt as Sarah felt herself spiraling. After all she'd had to drink, she couldn't, and frankly wouldn't, stop herself at this point.
"I can't egz'plain it, Ellie. I can't. When the shit would hit th'fan, I could hold up…a book." She grabbed an invisible book and held it up, open, in front of her face. "Like thiz. And I'd get lost in't, y'know? And all the shit, it-it'd be flying all over 'n th'book would be here keeping me safe from getting splattered with the shit, like-like a book tent 'r something."
Ellie's green eyes went wide as she continued with her metaphor. "Quite th'imagery, Sarah."
"Yeah. Sorry. Chuck's infl'oonz. He's rubbing off." She rolled her eyes. "But I know 'e is all about the stuff with pig-chers 'n the little talky-bubblies, I know that. But the way 'e talks to 'is customerz about stories. Th'way he sells storytelling. Like, I-I swear books 'n storytelling, iz-iz my whole life. Iz how I survived all these yearz. They got me through so much. They-They're life-saverz. 'N he unnerstandz." She huffed, a smile widening on her face. "We-We're very diff'ernt, Chuck 'n me, but 'n there-there'z thiz one thin' that's got us like…shyeeoomm…" She thrust her hands together and threaded her fingers, hooking them. "This connegg-shun."
"That!" Ellie pointed, then flailed her hand a bit. "That! That! Thaz wut e'erybuddy sees wi' you two! Connegg-shun! That right there!"
"I've had that b'fore, 'yknow? Connegg-ting wi' guys. Iz juz that thiz time, he-he conneggs with me on…something… Like, the connegg-shun is happening at this intense…level…'cuz iz the thing thaz so fucking impor'dint ta me. Th'moz impor'dint thin' ta me in th'world."
"Oh. Oh, I compleed'ly get that! I do!"
Sarah nodded, taking her phone out of her purse that sat next to her hip on the booth. She held it under the table, not wanting to be rude. But she also knew that she was fading fast. The drunken sensation was becoming exhaustion now that the adrenaline of that "Summer Wine" song playing on repeat had dwindled. And Chuck had given her explicit directions that she contact him if she needed anything.
What they really needed was a safe, sober person to gather them up and take them both home. And she knew beyond all doubt that Chuck would absolutely do that for them.
So she sent a text as Ellie continued: "So that firz date must've juz been you two talking nonstop abou' storytelling, hm?"
Sarah quickly typed "Pls come get? At Cacus Salon." Shit. She needed to turn on autocorrect when she was drinking. "Cactus Saloon. Ugh." She sent that too, then looked up at Ellie. "Not really. We, erm…we had a lot ta talk about. Other stuff, too."
"Another date? You think? I mean, y'two 'r going on another date…"
"Pfft. Yes. Not even a quez'jun." She waved her hand dismissively, earning a big grin from the brunette. "Ohmigod…" She snorted then, giggling a bit maniacally. "Ellie. Ellie ohmigod."
"Wut!"
She was picturing Chuck all hunched over in the young adult aisle of her store now, biting down on his fist. She knew exactly why she found him like that. She'd admittedly said what she said just to see if she could catch his reaction when she said it. And he hadn't disappointed, the freaking sweet man.
"M'sorry, I know I pro'lly shouldn' say thiz. He'd be so embarr'izzed. But thiz guy, he-he came in wi'iz kid an' 'e was clearly inner'ested. In me."
"F'course 'e wuz," Ellie said, shrugging.
Sarah tried not to blush at that. "An' when 'e wuz buyin 'iz books, there wuz this moment where 'e asked me to go out on a date wi'im. An' f'course I said no. But then I knew Chuck wuz in'the store. He came ta ask me ta go out fer, um, coffee wi'im. An' I know Chuck—I know 'im well 'nuff ta know 'e would be really adorable if 'e heard me say it. So I told th'guy that m'with someone."
Ellie let out a cute squeal sound, slamming her hands on the table. Thankfully both of them had empty glasses on the table, or they might have a mess of alcohol they'd have to try to drunkenly clean up. They might get themselves kicked out of this place, but at least they weren't as messy as the Baby Boomers in the tight tops. "OhGodpleeztellmewuthedid!" she rushed out in one breath.
"The guy left wi'iz kid 'n I went looking fer Chuck… 'e was on iz azz, sitting in YA, on th'floor, with hiz fist like thiz." She brought her fist up to her mouth and bit down on her knuckles, wrinkling up her face.
Ellie cracked up, throwing her head back, melting into the booth and fanning her eyes as tears of laughter lined them.
"When 'e saw me, thiz cutie burztz up ta 'is feet an' triez ta preten' 'e wuz juz lookin' at books," she said through a happy giggle.
"Oh m'brother'z such a cartoon charag'der. What a goofball."
"Bigg'izt goofball!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Yes!"
"Yeeeah," the younger of the two drawled, beaming hard. Her mouth just moved, then, sound coming out of it as something in her chest swelled: "Yeah, I love him."
Her beaming smile dimmed, what she'd just said slowly settling in her alcohol-soaked mind. It had come out so steadily, so clearly.
"Oh," she heard Ellie say.
Sarah sat up straighter with a breathed, "Oh." And then she raised her wide blue eyes to meet Ellie Bartowski's green ones. "OH."
Oh. OH. What in the fuck?
"Um!" the bookseller exclaimed, both hands grabbing at the edge of the table, as if the thing might come to life under her excruciating grip and say something, anything, to rescue her. If this had been Carina, she'd be mocked mercilessly, laughed at, so many mortifying things. But she preferred that to Ellie's sincerity, and the whole…being Chuck's freaking sister thing. For fuck's sake!
"I, um—" was all Ellie seemed capable of saying after the big revelation.
"I'm drunk," Sarah tried, wincing hard. "I'm juz drunk. Like, a lot more 'n I usu'lly get, y'know? So stuff juz… An' you know what? It's—One date in! Right? Thaz very early to say…" She stared down at the table and whispered a curse.
A warm hand fell onto one of hers, Ellie leaning across the table to catch her eye. It worked. Sarah raised her eyes to meet hers.
Ellie, somehow a little more clear-eyed, something brimming in her gaze, something wonderful, gave her a closed-mouth smile. "I've an idea. 'Kay? We juz forget you said that. Fwoof." She flopped her free hand away from her temple. "There it goes. What you juz' said. Z'gone."
"Yeah," Sarah said with an eager nod. "Yeah, thiz—thiz good. We juz' forget about it! Forget it happened!"
"Forget wut happ'ind?"
"Yes!" Sarah pointed at her. "'Zactly."
Her phone let out a sound and she glanced down at where she left it sitting in her lap.
God. There he was. His name. His cute text. His adorable freaking cute text. But she was forgetting what she said to his sister about her feelings for him, wasn't she? Because it was way too early for that shit, and she was just very drunk. That was all there was to it.
"Five mins away! Just stay where u are n Ill find ya inside!"
Her knight in sober armor.
God, please, anything to save her from this deeply embarrassing and intense moment.
}o{
He'd been expecting to find two drunk young women somewhere inside of the bar. How drunk? Sarah Walker had misspelled "cactus" and called a "saloon" a "salon", so he expected pretty drunk. She was Sarah Walker after all. Misspellings were not her thing.
Unless she wasn't sober, he guessed.
He was just so freaking glad she trusted him enough to ask him to come pick her up and drive her home. It felt good knowing she was comfortable asking him for something like this.
So he was expecting to find them inside of the Cactus Saloon.
What he wasn't expecting was a familiar face approaching the door of the bar but from the opposite direction. The familiar face beamed the moment they caught sight of one another. And he trotted the rest of the way to Chuck, clapping his hands together.
"Heeey, Chuuuucksterrr!"
Captain Awesome dove in for a tight hug. Chuck let out a soft chuckle and hugged the man back.
"Hey, Awesome."
They both pulled back, grinning at each other. And then it must've occurred to his sister's boyfriend at the same time as it occurred to him.
"What're you doing here?" they both asked one another simultaneously.
"Me? I'm making sure our li'l drunkies get home in one piece," Awesome explained, pointing inside of the bar.
"That's what I'm doing here," Chuck responded. They both blinked, and then they cracked up.
Chuck was putting the pieces together. "Did Ellie text you?"
Awesome slung his arm over Chuck's shoulders and they walked into the bar together. "She sure did. She must'a texted you too because she's wasted and forgot she texted me," he chuckled.
"No, Sarah texted me."
"Oh."
There they were. Chuck realized he must've seen them first because Awesome hung back a bit as he made a beeline for their booth.
Both of them seemed a little worse for wear. Ellie was all half-lidded, a woozy smile on her face, her chin in her palm. She looked very happy at least. And Sarah looked a bit more put together, maybe a little less drunk, but her head was tilted to the side and she looked exceptionally tired, her finger drawing patterns on the outside of her water glass.
She spotted him first and God that smile of hers. The way it was directed right at him, and just for him. Like her world had immediately gotten brighter at seeing him there. "Hiii," she gushed up at him, leaning her head back cutely as he slid to a stop beside her seat in the booth.
"Hi," he breathed back at her, loving the way she grabbed at his hand with hers and pulled it closer to her.
"Oh. Oooohhhh! Ohhhh myyyyy Gggg—"
"Sh!" Ellie admonished her boyfriend, swatting his forearm as he stopped beside her on the other side of the table.
Chuck watched as everything seemed to click in the other man's face. "Of course! Of coooourse! You two! Shit, yeah!"
"Here it comes," Chuck muttered.
"THIS IS AWESOME!"
"And there it is," he finished off with a satisfied nod.
"Of course she texted you! Because you two are finally riding the same unicycle!"
Chuck made a face. "What?"
Ellie craned her neck to give her boyfriend the most hilarious look. "Wh'the fuck's that e'en mean?"
"Why a unicycle?" Chuck asked under his breath.
But Sarah was tugging on his hand, and she scooted a bit in the booth so that he was forced to sit down next to her, very close. She slung her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head in to press her nose to his jaw, hugging him. "You came."
"Of course I did. You asked for a ride."
"You—?" Ellie pointed between them, and then she laughed gustily. "Oh God. Yeah, so…I def'nitly asked Devon ta come 'n take us home."
"You dinnit say anything!" Sarah exclaimed, also laughing. "N'I asked Chuck!"
"You dinnit say anything either!" Ellie wheezed, both of them losing their shit with laughter. Boisterous, loud laughter that filled Chuck with a deep, soul-enriching glee.
He turned to exchange a look with Devon Woodcomb who responded with an amused what can ya do? shrug.
"I get the brunette home, you get the blonde home?" the heart surgeon offered. But there was such a big grin on his face. There was extra meaning in that last part. "Dude. Duuude. I'm so proud right now."
"Yeah… Thanks." Sarah was right here… Could he maybe not?
"When'd you two figure out your shit, huh?"
"Heyyy," Chuck admonished in a warning tone, sent over his shoulder towards Awesome.
"Eggs-cuse us. All in good time," Sarah said simultaneously, making an offended pout at the other blonde, even as her giggles were dying down.
Chuck slowly rubbed Sarah's back, their arms still wrapped around one another. He'd never seen her drunk before. So far, she was pretty freaking adorable. She nuzzled her face in his shirt and hummed and he squeezed her tighter.
"They've been on a date," Ellie explained, one arm slung over her boyfriend's shoulders as he plopped down beside her.
"Wait. Have you been keeping this from me?" he asked, turning to give her a scandalized look.
"No!" she snapped. "I juz found out. She tooollld meeee. And then we got drunk. Good 'n drunk."
"Ah. So this is The Great Celebratory Drunkening. I commend you both," Awesome pronounced, swinging his arm out and through the air like a king speaking to his people down below.
Ellie piped up loudly. "I b'queath you Oh Hot Blond Sur'jun…" She pretended to knight him with a sword, but it was actually just a straw that she'd picked up off of the table. Chuck hoped it wasn't a straw that had recently been in one of her drinks, because the poor guy would have alcohol on his nice jacket if so. "Ruler of m'Heart 'n Defeater of Clogged Hearteries."
Awesome cracked up. "As cute as this is, I think we need to get you home."
"Mmmm yeah ya do," she drawled, leaning in to place a sloppy kiss on Devon's jaw.
"Okay, we're outta here before this gets any further," Chuck said quickly. He turned to Sarah, making sure she could meet his eye, and he asked quietly, "You doin' okay?"
"Pffft, yeeeaah. M'so good." She gave him a big, bleary closed-mouth smile. "Yer vrry handsome in…thsss lightning. Hic."
"But not in other lightning, huh?" he couldn't help teasing.
"I dinnit say that!" she blurted defensively.
"Sorry," he hissed, wrinkling his nose. "You're right. You didn't say that. And thank you."
"Okay, no. Lemme just sit right here and bask in how adorable you two are together," Chuck heard Captain Awesome gush. He rolled his eyes at Sarah and turned to look at the other man. "What? Am I wrong?"
"Yer sooo not wrong," Ellie agreed. Helpfully. And then she burst into giggles. "Awwww lookit how blushy he's gettingggg." She slapped at Awesome's chest lightly a few times with the back of her hand. Then she turned her unfocused gaze on Sarah and winced. "Uh oh Sarah'z azlip."
Chuck jumped a little and looked down. Sarah seemed to find her little spot to nestle in against him and he hadn't noticed her limp weight against him until now. "Oops. Time to go."
He gently pushed some hair out of her face, stroking her cheek, bumping her a little with his shoulder. "Hey. Sarah. Wake up. We're gonna walk out of here, okay? We're gonna get you home. Theeere she is."
Sarah blinked her eyes open. "Mmmmm," she hummed, looking up into his face with a supremely happy glow to her. "Izzit wrong to feel thiz good when erz a Cadabra Fucker bearing down 'n uz?"
"No!" Ellie snapped. They both turned to look at her. She was waggling her pointer finger. "You feel wut you feel, Sarah. You feel yer happy. You 'nnnjoy it. You dizzerv it."
"Thank you!" Sarah pointed back at her.
God, they were so fucking cute. But Sarah needed to get home and into her bed. Stat. He could see and feel how exhausted she was, all of the alcoholic beverages she'd had tonight notwithstanding.
Chuck gestured to the tall glass of ice water in front of her. "Ice water. Good girl."
"I'm vrrry rezponzible."
"Yes. Why don't you finish that off before we go?" There was still maybe a third of the glass left.
"You fini'j it off." She blinked, giving him a sheepish look. "Sorry."
"S'okay," he giggled, watching as she downed it. "Okay, c'mon, you two. Up we go." He gently unwrapped Sarah's arms from around him and she immediately decided to play with him, going even more limp and giggling gustily.
"You got 'er, bro?" Devon asked.
"Yeah, I got her," he chuckled, shaking his head as he scooted out of the booth and hoisted Sarah up to her feet very carefully. He held her tight by her torso. "You good? You okay?"
"M'good. M'okay."
He carefully took his hands off of her and she swayed. So he grabbed her again as she giggled an adorable, "oops".
Chuck stepped in close and protectively wrapped his arm around her torso. "That's okay. We'll walk together."
Ellie seemed to be struggling as well, making a woozy but happy "Wooooo!" sound when Awesome got her standing. "Oh wow I hvvvn't tried to walk sinz, lik, an hour ago when I had ta break th'seal."
"Walking'z hard," Sarah mumbled. "Like, what are legz really?"
Chuck grinned, guiding her to the door. "What are legs, indeed?"
"They're stupid."
He giggled, enamored out of his mind.
But then a woman who looked to be in her early forties stepped in his path. "Not lookin' for trouble, my guy, but I need to make sure these ladies know you two. They're clearly not in a state to be making decisions about…anything."
Chuck swelled with gratefulness, smiling at her. "No trouble. You run this bar?"
"Yeah, I run it." She stood up a bit straighter.
"You just got yourself four frequent patrons, ma'am. I appreciate you looking out like this." He began to dig into his pocket for his wallet, but Sarah was giggling and batting at his hand, making it hard. "S-Sarah, just a sec. I'm tryin' to get my ID." He finally got it out, Sarah hanging on him with both arms around his shoulders thankfully, because he needed both of his hands to get the ID for the bar owner. "That's me, I'm Chuck Bartowski. That's my sister right there. Ellie Bartowski. And her boyfriend, Devon. They called us to take them home safely."
The bar owner smirked, letting him put his ID away, leaning forward to look when Awesome flashed Ellie's ID. "I saw that one already, a couple times since these two got here. You check out."
"Thank you," Awesome gushed. "You're a very upstanding establishment."
"Ain't no ladies comin' in here leaving with no strange assholes. No way."
Chuck still had his wallet out, so he grabbed a clump of twenties and handed it to her. "Thanks for taking care of 'em tonight. I have a feeling they both needed this."
She looked down at the money, eyes wide. "Well! Thank you. Y'all can come back anytime."
And she stepped to the side, allowing them to push through into the fresh air. The rain had stopped, but the air was still cold and damp, causing him to shiver a little bit. He turned so that he and Sarah were both facing Ellie and Awesome.
"Well, this is where we part."
"Wait, now that I've got you both standing in my immediate vicinity…" Awesome pulled Ellie along and they enveloped both Chuck and Sarah in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you twooooooo," he drawled.
Sarah giggled and Chuck just rolled his eyes, trying not to brim too much with the extremely good feeling in his chest.
When they stepped back, Chuck got a better hold of Sarah, but the fresh air and cold seemed to be helping her sober up just a little bit.
"Thank you for tonight, Ellie," she said, smiling a little shyly.
"Ugh, thank you. C'mere."
And they stumbled together, hugging tightly. Both Chuck and Devon stepped close, hands out to catch them if they swayed too hard and began to tip. But everyone survived the situation just fine and they pulled away, stepping back into their respective men's protective embraces.
"Byyyeeee looooove yoooouuuuu!" Ellie sang as Awesome guided her down the sidewalk towards his car.
"I loooove yooooouuuuu!" Sarah sang back over her shoulder as Chuck guided Sarah towards his car, and he knew he was brimming quite a bit actually.
"Love yooou, Chuuuuck!" he heard Awesome call.
He chuckled and turned back to wave. "Love you toooooo, Captain Awesoooooome!"
Ellie groused out a loud, "OH GODDDD!", making Chuck laugh as he got Sarah to the car. It wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be to unlock the passenger door, get it open, and guide Sarah inside. She was standing on her own now, being outside definitely helping.
He got the heater going the moment he turned the car on, making sure the vents were mostly directed at her. "Comfortable? Feeling okay? Listen, if you're gonna throw up, it's okay. I was planning on getting my car detailed anyway."
She snorted. "M'drunk but I don' have alc'ol poiz'ning, don' worry. Actually, being outzide helped."
"Good," he said, pulling away from the curb. "I'll take you home. Need anything? I might have a water bottle in this center console here…"
"No, m'good. Juz gon' close my eyes."
"Okay." But then her hand slid over his where he rested it on the gear shift and she picked it up, holding it tightly. "I'm here," he felt the need to say, glancing over at her.
She was still awake, her eyes still open, and she had shifted low in the seat but faced him, her shoulder against the door, head leaned back against the window. "Thank you fer coming to take me home. I 'ope I dinnit inner'upt anything."
"Morgan and I had just finished up a few levels in this game he just bought, so it was perfect timing. I was heading home anyway when you texted."
"M'sorry you couldn' juz go home. You hafta come 'n take yer drunk…whadevver to her…" Her voice drifted off and she turned to glance out of the window, before turning back to him. "I tol' Ellie. Aboud'us."
"You did. I know. I really appreciate that you took that on your shoulders. Not that I didn't want to be the one to tell her."
"Mmmm hm." She snuggled deeper into the seat, the heater finally working as he pulled his car onto the freeway for a few minutes to get to her place faster than he would using surface streets. "Know wut sh'said?"
"What?"
"Thank fuck."
He laughed. "Everybody is being very patronizing about us."
"THANK YOU!" He nearly jumped at the way she barked it, sitting up and letting go of his hand to grab his shoulder instead. "I thought I wuz th'only one who thought that!"
"It's like they all know better than we do. Like, excuse me for making sure I get it right this time, because this time I really don't want to misstep or…fuck up or anything. Like, damn, I'm so sorry. Good thing I've got all of you folks who know everything. Phewww."
She laughed. "Seriously. Bunch o' know-it-alls aroun'ere. I am…approa'jing this situa'jun with…utmost intent, okay? M'not taking my shot 'nless I know iz gonna count. Damn it."
"Exactly." He sighed. "They mean well."
But especially now with her all cuddled up in his car's passenger seat, drunk but slowly sobering up, trusting him to take her home safely, spouting words about approaching this maybe-relationship with 'utmost intent' and not taking a shot unless it was going to count, Chuck also knew he was firmly ensconced in that dangerous territory. If this didn't work, if she pulled back or pulled out, if she changed her mind, if things didn't pan out, it was going to hurt. And it was going to hurt badly.
They were right next to one another now, their dream stores were literal neighbors. So much would be wrecked. It would be so miserable for him to see her everyday.
And that was why it had taken so long for him to do anything about this powerful pull between them—both the physical part and the emotional part, especially the emotional part. He wasn't going to say it out loud to Sarah right now, maybe further into this thing they were just starting, but God, if he dove in headfirst and immediately asked her out and they got swept up in this whirlwind thing and it didn't work out?
That would destroy him.
It would destroy a lot of things.
And so he was careful.
By the time he pulled up against the curb outside of Sarah's building, it was close to one-thirty in the morning, and Sarah was comfortably bundled up with his extra jacket he kept in the backseat draped over her torso, her cheek squished against her seatbelt.
He turned off the car, unbuckled his seatbelt, and put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle nudge. "Hey…Sarah…"
She slowly blinked her eyes open and he felt a sense of relief. She wasn't so badly off that she'd passed out cold. He wasn't going to have to carry her.
"You okay?" he asked when she made a disgruntled hum and looked at him as if he'd just insulted her and her entire family line going back to the Dark Ages.
"Oh. Yeah. We at my place?" she asked tiredly, looking out of the window.
"Yep. Lemme get out and come around. I'll help ya."
Within minutes, they were at her door and she was rummaging through her purse for her apartment keys. At least she was standing on her own now, but he kept a hand cupped under her elbow anyway.
She let them in, swinging the door open wide. He stayed close as she shrugged off all of her outerwear, her jacket and scarf and whatnot and he went with her to the bedroom to make sure she didn't collapse halfway there and spend the night passed out in her hallway.
Sarah grabbed the tight black half-sleeve shirt she was wearing and tugged it out of her jeans, but her usual grace was dulled by the alcohol, and the shirt caught on her face and her watch on her left wrist all at the same time.
Chuck rushed in to the rescue. "H-Hold on, just a second. Lemme help. We'll do face first. Don't move." He carefully eased the shirt over her nose, revealing her beautiful and tired features. She hummed out a giggle, smiling at him. And then he got to work untangling the sleeve from her watch, one of the threads having gotten stuck on the crown.
"Thanks," she breathed, tossing the shirt onto the floor. She was only in her jeans and a bra now as she kicked out of her heels.
And Chuck felt like he should make a hasty retreat as she unbuttoned the jeans, the tantalizing sound of the zipper feeling a little bit like it was mocking him. She pushed the jeans down her long legs and stepped out of them, but one of the skinny leg jeans' hems got caught on her foot.
She stooped to try to tug it off, but tipped. Chuck lunged for her, catching her and easing her back to sit on the edge of the bed instead of falling painfully to the cold floor of her bedroom. "You good?" he chuckled.
She blushed, ineffectually yanking at the hem, trying to get it over the heel of her foot. "Who invented skinny jeans? Fuck them."
Giggling, he crawled down onto his knees in front of her, cradling her foot in one hand and skillfully easing the hem over her heel, pulling the article of clothing all the way off of her. "Thanks again," she whispered.
"I've got you. Now where d'you keep what you sleep in? I can grab it for you and you can stay sitting right here." He put his hand on her knee and he felt her shiver.
But when he lifted his gaze from where he set the jeans on the floor, meeting her eyes, he felt heated sparks emanate from her. Before he could do or say anything, Sarah had a fistful of his curls and she was using her grip to pull him up from his knees, hungrily leaning in to smash her lips to his when he was at eye-level.
Awkwardly crouched in front of where she sat on the bed, Chuck had to brace his palms on either side of her hips, letting out a soft whimper. Oh God, her mouth. Her lips, her tongue. Her teeth even clattered against his a little.
As distracted as he was by her kiss, he had no idea how she managed to push his coat off of him. Only he heard the swish of it landing on the floor behind him and then she was grabbing him, pulling at him, turning him, not stopping until he was pinned to her bed.
Sarah rolled on top of him, making a wanton sound that made his blood absolutely boil in the best way. And she attacked his lips again, her fingers going for his hair, grabbing on with both fists and pulling.
Jesus Christ.
God.
He needed to get hold of himself before this went much further.
Because she was absolutely still drunk. And her body was hot to the touch, dear God.
Chuck broke the kiss with a wince, pressing his thumb to her lips, his other hand on her hip, gently pushing on her so that her lower half wasn't jammed up against his. That was…torturous, to say the least. "We can't. You're drunk." Her mouth fell open in shock. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"You're…serious," she breathed, still gaping.
"Yeah. 'Fraid so."
"Huh!" She rolled off of him and flopped onto her back on the mattress next to him, both pairs of legs hanging over the edge. "You know what isn't fair?"
"What?" He braced himself, aware that he might be upsetting her, making her feel patronized or something.
"You not having sex with me because m'drunk is even more of a turn-on."
He chuckled, not expecting that, blushing at the implication. "Listen, you have no idea how bad I want to. It just isn't right."
"You really are some kind'a comic book hero. But not. 'Cuz yer real," she drawled. "Can-Can you…get one of my spaghetti strap camis out of the top drawer of my dresser? I've got PJ pants in that same drawer. It's really comfy just lying here like this 'n I don't wanna get up." He grinned at the ceiling and when he didn't move immediately, she added a sweet, drawn out, "Pleeease?"
Chuck giggled and pushed himself up, having to take a deep breath after how intent she was on having her way with him just moments earlier. "Top drawer?"
"Top draahhhhr!" she confirmed in a pronounced accent he couldn't place. She sounded like an actress from one of those classic films Ellie watched sometimes.
He went to the dresser, pulled out what she asked for, and brought it back, turning away as she sat up and unclasped her bra.
She giggled. "…Freakin' gentleman. You can turn back now."
He did with a smirk, seeing that she'd put the top on and was now bouncing on the bed to tug the pajama pants up over her hips, tying them shut securely thank God.
Chuck helped her tug down the sheets and he held them so that she could crawl under. The way she snuggled into her pillow, he felt acutely how tired he was himself all of a sudden. He couldn't wait to be home and in his bed. No way was he headed to Venice. He'd take the short ride to his LA apartment instead. He was way too tired.
"I'm gonna grab you a glass of water, okay? Where, uh…where are the glasses again?"
She smiled up at him from her pillow, eyes half-lidded already. "Cupboard all the way to the right."
"Gotcha. Be right back."
It took him less than a minute to come back with a tall glass of ice water for her, and he helped her sit up just enough to drink some of it, before she splayed herself out in the bed again.
Chuck set it on the nightstand where she could reach it. "Are you gonna be okay now?" he asked. "No dizziness? Nausea? Can you feel your fingers and toes?" He teasingly reached up to wiggle her pointer finger where she laid her right hand next to her head on the pillow.
She giggled and rolled her eyes. "M'fine. Thanks fer taking care o' me."
"You're welcome," he said, and he leaned down to press a slow kiss to her forehead. "Anything goes south, call me, okay?"
But when he made to get up, Sarah curled her fingers around his wrist and held fast. "Chuck?"
"Yeah?" He turned back, blinking down at her. "Need something else? An aspirin or something?"
"I need one thing." She paused as he raised his eyebrows in question. There was a shy look on her face then and she bit her lip, glancing to the side. When her blue eyes swept back to meet his gaze, she said adamantly: "I need you."
Oh.
Well, then.
His heart raced. "Me…"
"Will you stay? I know I'm asking a lot. You already did so much. I'm not sick or anything; I-I just want you to…not go."
He had the final meeting with Proefrock and Vivian tomorrow afternoon. Once that meeting concluded, the land on which that warehouse stood would be his. Well, it'd be Volkoff Industries' land. The next step was getting permission as new owners of that land to do rezoning. If the board granted their request, they could proceed with making that warehouse a community center that would improve Del Rey. That would leave Cadabra in the dust.
Which was where they belonged.
No, they belonged in a dumpster fire.
And Daniel Shaw could get tossed in there with them.
More importantly—most importantly—this drunken bookseller of his had just asked him if he could stay with her, and she was wearing that tentative shy look of hers. And he had every intention of accepting her invitation. He'd just have to leave with enough time to get home, shower, and put on a suit—something professional to make a good impression—before meeting Proefrock, Vivian, and their respective lawyers.
Chuck had half a mind to tease Sarah, give her a put-upon sigh, a flirtatious "fiiiiiine", but she was so sincere, waiting for his answer… He didn't want to be anything other than sincere back.
"I'll stay. If you're sure."
"I'm sure."
The way her eyes lit up, he felt like he wasn't going to be getting to sleep anytime soon, as full of her as his head and heart were. "Okay, just don't steal all the covers like you did last time I stayed over," he finally teased.
She giggled and rolled her eyes. "You're such a liar. I didn't steal any covers. I barely move when I sleep."
Chuck got up from the bed and she relinquished his wrist. He gasped, turning to face her, backing around the bed to the other side he'd slept on last time. "If that wasn't you who took the covers, then who did? Or should I say…what?" He made creepy horror film soundtrack noises with his voice, all high pitched and eerie.
Sarah groaned. "I'm too drunk for you to be this nerdy, Chuck. And at this hour?"
That made him laugh as he took off his coat, his sweatshirt, tugged off his flannel, and sat on the edge of the bed to untie his sneakers.
"How many layers d'you put on?" she asked, her voice a little more slurred with what he thought was exhaustion this time.
"I'm an LA boy, okay? I protect myself from cold weather. You have to layer in the winter, Sarah. Layering saves lives." He smirked over his shoulder at her, his sneakers thumping against the floor as he took them off. He scooted them mostly under the bed, stuffed his socks in them, and stood to take off his jeans.
"You mean I'm gonna have a bonafide LA boy in my bed?"
"Born 'n bred," he quipped, draping his clothes over the closest chair he could find. "Can I leave my stuff here?"
"You need to hang anything up? You can use hangers out of my closet if you want."
He shook his head, just wanted to crawl into that warm bed, snuggle up against the bookseller, and hold her close until she fell asleep. She wordlessly smiled, pointing at the lamp he'd turned on when they first came into the room minutes earlier.
Flicking it off, he lifted the covers and dove inside, making her laugh tiredly. But then she grabbed at him in the dark, pulling him close. The way she clung to him, her fingers digging into his back muscles, her leg draping over him as she pushed her face up against his neck, nuzzling the underside of his chin with her nose…he could get dangerously hooked on this. And still, they had yet to go on a second date.
It felt like that didn't matter. Not to either of them.
This wasn't normal.
It hadn't started normally, and it wouldn't progress normally.
He was going to have to be okay with it, and he decided he was.
"Y'okay?" he asked her in a whisper, stroking the backs of his fingers down her side.
"Mhm," she hummed. Her chest buzzed against his. "M'go to sleep now."
"Go to sleep, Bookworm. I've got you."
It took less than a minute for him to fall asleep right along with her.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'd appreciate reviews if you've got 'em in ya.
More soon.
-SC