Title: 42 minutes and 15 seconds

Pairing: Chuck/Sarah

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Don't sue.

Spoilers: Takes place after season 1.

Summary: Chuck and Sarah move in together. Cuz it's convenient.

--

Chuck: Look, if it's cool with you could you hang out for a little while? Look Awesome and Ellie think that I'm kind of getting lucky in here and I wouldn't want to disappoint...them.

Sarah: Oh, um, how long do you want me to stay?

Chuck: 42 minutes and 15 seconds?

--

Chuck stood before his Dune poster, reluctantly reaching for one of the corners but stopping midway instead, letting his fingers gently caress it. He bent his head and the tip of his nose touched the glossy paper in what could only be described as an eskimo kiss. "I'll never forget you," he whispered.

Behind him Sarah rolled her eyes. "This is getting creepy."

Chuck turned around, incredulous. "Creepy? Creepy? This is a limited edition poster that I won from Alf Mackenzie in a poker game at my Sci-fi and Anime club in college so you'll have to excuse me if I have an unhealthy emotional attachment to it. The least you could do is give us a moment before you make me take it down."

"I'm not making you take it down," she said. "I'm merely suggesting that Awesome and Ellie might have a hard time believing that any woman in her right mind would live in a room decorated with pictures of sand worms. And if they come to visit we have to make it looks like I'm living here too."

"You aren't even sleeping in my room," he muttered.

"We have to maintain the cover, Chuck."

"Fine. But you'd understand if you met Alf Mackenzie."

The move was Awesome's idea, naturally. For one reason or another he was always the firm hand that pushed Chuck and Sarah into the next stages of their relationship. It was because of what he said at the sushi place that Sarah and Chuck had decided to "make love." And one night over barbeque a very similar conversation took place.

"But come on, the apartment's much too big for just one person, Chuck."

Chuck gradually stopped chewing on his hotdog as he realized where Awesome was going with this. "So you think I should get a one bedroom?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Course not!" Awesome exclaimed, booming voice as confident as ever. "I think you and Sarah should move in together!" Chuck nearly spit out his mouthful when Awesome slapped him on the back and smiled, as if he'd just announce some happy news rather than made an ill-received suggestion.

"Devon!" Ellie said.

"What?" he responded nonchalantly. "Chuck, you know I'm a big fan of cohabitation."

"I think this is a decision Chuck and Sarah need to make for themselves, Honey."

The couple in question shared a look across the table. Sarah, smiling nervously, looked as if she was trying to think of what to say. Chuck finally swallowed. "We've only been goi–"

"You two spend every waking moment together s'far as I can tell," Awesome interjected. "Are you really gonna let your girlfriend keep living out of a hotel, Chuckles? If your relationship's not moving forward it's just standing still. Think about that," he nodded solemnly.

So over the next few days they did think about it. And while Chuck was preparing himself for her negative reaction to it, Sarah surprised him by agreeing with Awesome.

"So you want to move in?"

"It's the best possible situation for us."

"It is?"

"Yeah. I mean, if we're living together I can better protect the intersect and our cover."

"Right. Intersect. Cover."

Sarah smiled. "Don't worry, I'll stay in Awesome and Ellie's old room and you can keep your room as if nothing's changed. Pretend I'm not even there."

"I was actually thinking of playing Guitar Hero in the nude tonight..."

"Okay, slight adjustments may have to be made."

They hit their first snag the night Sarah moved in. She was just entering her new bedroom when she heard a noise at the window. Turning on the lights she found Morgan straddling the windowsill mid breaking and entering.

"Morgan?"

"Sarah!" he yelped, so startled that he fell the rest of the way in.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ok, please don't get mad, Sarah. I was just feeling kinda nostalgic about this room. Ellie's been living in here for like years which means I have memories of this room for that long. That closet over there? I hid in it. Several times. And under the bed? Yeah, I hid there too. It's not that easy to break the spell, Sarah. And now Ellie's gone and I've got a lot of mixed emotions going on that are just starting to come to the surface and ever since the wedding it's been a really hard time for me."

Sarah could hardly stand to hear his voice breaking. "Are you going to cry, Morgan? Please don't cry."

"I'm not crying, it's just–" he grabbed a handful of the curtains, brought them to his face, and sniffed. "You kept her old curtains. Sweet. Hey, what are you doing in here?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Aren't you supposed to be having rip-roaring sex with Chuck right now? That's kinda what he told everyone at work would be happening."

"He said that?"

"Well he said you were moving in today so technically it was implied. Either way, just so you know, I wasn't going to disturb you guys or anything. Did you two have a fight? I don't mind if you sleep in Ellie's bed but I gotta warn you; I'm a kicker."

Chuck sat up and smiled. He checked his popcorn: full bucket, lightly buttered. Both controls were on his right at perfect grabbing distance. The lights in his room were dimmed just the way he liked them, and the TV screen was just starting to flash with the studio logos. He had a special rule where he didn't touch the popcorn until the opening titles began but he did allow himself to start on his Dr. Pepper which allowed just enough time for the–

"Look who came to visit, Sweetie!"

Chuck turned his head to find Sarah and Morgan at his door. "Morgan? What the–"

"Hey! What are you watching?"

As Morgan made his way to the TV stand to look for the DVD rental case Sarah sat beside Chuck on his bed. "I would've knocked but I don't think live-in girlfriends are supposed to."

"Dude, I really want to see this movie! Angelina's Jolie's voice just really does it for me. "

"Morgan what are you doing here?" Chuck whined. "You can't just show up in the middle of the night."

"Uh, I can, and I did. If you really wanted to keep me out you would've locked the windows, buddy."

Chuck scowled, giving Sarah an apologetic look. "I'll take care of it."

Five minutes later Chuck was back in his room.

"That was quick," Sarah said, standing from his bed. "I thought you would've given him a ride home. It's kind of too late for him to be out there on his bike, isn't it?"

"It is," Chuck agreed, avoiding making eye contact with her as he circled his bed. "Which is why I said it was ok if he stayed the night."

Before she could even think of protesting he rattled off a laundry list of reasons why this was the only viable option they had. "It's too late to drive him home and I was just about to watch my movie." It was a short laundry list.

Sarah smiled through tight lips and nodded. "It's ok," she said. "I guess we should get used to late night visits from Morgan." She got into the side of Chuck's bed that she'd occupied for their first pretend sleep over. And although she'd spent little time in the bed it felt pleasantly familiar. Except for the remote controls digging into her side. She handed them to Chuck.

"Thanks! Popcorn?" he offered.

"I have work tomorrow, Chuck."

"You don't mind if I watch do you? I'll keep the volume low."

Sarah didn't mind. She'd been trained to ignore all sorts of peripheral distractions. The only thing that was keeping her from falling into a peaceful sleep was the way Chuck's side of the bed shook every few moments when he laughed. It was made even worse by the fact that he was trying to suppress it, for her benefit she was sure.

She turned to look at him. He was oblivious, munching on a handful of popcorn, a delighted expression on his face. She raised her head and looked at the TV trying to understand what was so funny. She didn't usually go for these types of movies but as she continued to watch she found that she was starting to get sucked into the storyline. She went from lying on her elbow to finally sitting back on the headboard, the way Chuck was, accepting the box bucket of popcorn he passed to her.

"Who are they supposed to be fighting?" she asked.

"Shhhhh!" he snapped.

"Well sorry! Their martial arts don't look very authentic."

"It's Kung Fu Panda."

"Still."

He had to smile.

--

TBC!