Time stands still
beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything
Take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath,
Every hour has come to this
A thousand years
-Christina Perri
Before
There they were sitting in the Waldorf Penthouse, watching another showing of Breakfast at Tiffany's. He claimed it was only because Blair had threatened she would burn his bow tie collection if he didn't sit through it again because as she had put it, "I simply adore the classics." All he could do was roll her eyes and smirk in her direction before she threw a pillow at him. But when she had restarted the movie again his eyes immediately focused on Audrey as she sat outside Tiffany's. There was something about a classic that just caught his eye.
The movie captivated him. Maybe it was Audrey's faux attitude, maybe it was unforgettably cliché kiss in the rain, maybe it was the pearls and the parties Audrey wore so well, or maybe it was the way Blair looked when she watched it. She was so mesmerized, so utterly absorbed by Audrey's poise and glamour that for a second her life was Audrey's, her triumphs were Audrey's, and just for a second she was Audrey. She didn't need to tell him that as much as he didn't need to hear it. Just as she simply adored the classics, he simply knew why she adored them. It was all she had ever wanted, to be a classic, what she didn't realize yet was she already was a classic. Poised, perfect, and polished. A classic. He had always adored the classics.
When the movie came to a close and the credits began to roll, he turned to look at her and watched as she hastily began to wipe away the never forgotten tears that marked the end of Blair's escape into the bliss of being Audrey.
She returned his stare and said in a crisp voice, "Bass the classics never grow weary."
He smirked a little and said, "Waldorf, only Audrey could make you so sentimental. Your tears are inspirational."
She hit his chest and watched with vigor in her eyes as he fell back against the pillows at her touch and said, "Bass, Audrey is an inspiration. She is everything..."
He watched as her eyes glazed over and he knew what she was thinking. He saw her vision of her and Nate and their oh so perfect life together. Blair wanted her and Nate to be a classic. The perfect prince sweeping the perfect, beautiful, princess off her feet. She wanted her happily ever after, her fairytale. He bitterly thought that it was a cliché, not a classic.
He snapped back into reality as he heard her sigh loudly and he smarmily added, "Well everyone has a guilty pleasure I suppose and Waldorf if you ever require assistance fulfilling an Audrey fantasy do not hesitate to call me, your wish is my command."
She looked like she was fighting the desire to laugh or fake repulsion by his pathetic attempt at a come on. Her demeanor began to falter ever so slightly, but only slightly before she whipped back, "Bass if I did have perverse fantasies, you would be the last person I would call. Oh and leave your pathetic come ons for your whores."
She smiled triumphantly and watched as he mocked pain by pressing his hand to his heart before he retorted, "If you invited me here just to insult me then you should have just called Nate or Serena, they couldn't understand your wit on their best day."
She seemed to glow in light of the compliment and said, "Yes well I did call them first, but they were busy and I didn't want to watch movies in the middle of the day alone. That's tacky."
His smile faded for a second, but then he noticed that she was playing with the ends of her curls and suddenly it grew wider and his eyes had a glint to them that weren't there before as he said back, "Of course you did."
She looked indignantly back at him and stomped her foot in frustration and said, "I did."
He began to laugh in earnest and said, "You always play with your hair when you are lying and did you just stomp your foot, are you five Waldorf?"
She turned a deep crimson red and began to grow angrier at the sight of his gleaming eyes and mocking smirk and said back, "I do not! And Bass, because I am the only one who has a temper, last week you screamed at a maid for five minutes because she didn't iron your bow tie right."
His eyes flashed and he screamed back, "She missed the crease! Everyone always forgets the creases! Waldorf do not even get me started on all the things you do! Are you forgetting the Waldorf Ballet imposition of '05?"
Their fight went on until the sun was had sloped passed the window of Blair's penthouse and the moon had risen high into the sky. It ended only because Dorota had purposely set the fire alarm off just to get them out of the building. Looking back, Chuck thinks that may have been the moment he fell in love with Blair Waldorf.
What neither of them realized yet is that they were a classic. A boy searching for the light, a girl grasping at the ashes of a lost love only to realize that she was in love with a boy just as broken as her. A perfect match. A fire that had never tasted so sweet. A true classic.
After
Once upon a time a boy had read Hemingway by the light of the night, only to retreat into the shadows of promiscuity and easy woman in the sun's infinite light. Once upon a time a girl imagined ruling a Kingdom by the light of tomorrow, only to sell herself short by holding the arm of the wrong prince. Cards were played, delusions of grandeur were uplifted, and hearts became weary and grew tired of playing an old game. It was not until the door of a limo was held open that two sparks, who were so used to playing the same game smashed into each other that fairytales and grandeur shattered. But then again who needed fairytales when you could have a classic?
There they sat thirty-six years later on a different couch, at a different house, watching the second showing of Tiffany's. Chuck claimed it was only because Blair had threatened she would burn his bowtie collection if he didn't sit through it again because as she had put it, "The classics only improve with time, especially Audrey, she is timeless." He had smirked and laughed at her and she had thrown a pillow at his head.
Everything had changed, but somehow some things had stayed the same. Some things were just timeless and void to ages is greedy coils. And when Audrey appeared on the screen Blair's eyes immediately took in Audrey's beauty and poise, but this time Chuck took in Blair. He watched her eyes dilate as Audrey met Fred for the first time, when Audrey threw her infamous parties, and most of all when Audrey and Fred shared their renowned kiss in the rain. And the entire time all he could think was that Blair was a true classic, and there was something about Blair that had caught his eye.
When the movie came to a close Blair looked at him with gleaming brown eyes and dry cheeks.
He was so used to drying her cheeks at the end of Tiffany's that he gave her a look of confusion and asked, "Why aren't you crying?"
She laughed a little and said, "Bass no need to be so trivial, it is only a movie."
He looked at her and said, "But its Audrey, you always cry during Audrey. She is a classic."
She rolled her eyes and said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Exactly she is a classic, I only cried at the end of Tiffany's because I wanted that. I wanted to be Audrey, but then all of a sudden I realized I already was. I have been for a long time."
He gave her a knowing look, but just to humor her because he knew she wanted him to he said, "What do you mean?"
She smiled a true smile that reached her eyes and said, "I have been classic with you."
He smiled a little wistfully and said, "What were you thinking back then?"
He didn't bother to elaborate anymore, he knew that she would know what he meant as she retorted clearly and without hesitation, "I was thinking of you."
He gave her a look of surprise and raised his eyebrows in doubt as he said, "Not Nate?"
She took his hand and slowly reassured him as she said, "No you...I guess I was a little high off Audrey, but I supposed I thought we would make a great classic love story. The perfect, poised, virginal girl being drawn to the dark side by the bad boy."
He laughed and felt the color rise in her face as she blushed and he said, "Blair, you make us sound like Grease, we are not that cliché. And just for the record, no one would have to draw you, without even trying you are just as dark as me."
She smirked back at him and said, "Bass you always did know how to flatter a girl."
He smiled, but then faltered a little as he said a little sadly, "You never got your fairytale did you?
She squeezed his hand tightly and said, "Chuck if you really think that after thirty years of marriage that I still want a fairytale then you are a foolish man indeed."
He looked confused and his eyes pleaded with hers for understanding as he said, "Then what..."
She cut him off with a small smile and said, "Chuck don't you see? I got one better."
"Which is?"
She touched his bow tie before leaning her forehead against his and whispered, "I got a classic. A classic love story. And to think it all began in a limo."
In unison, they both closed their eyes and remembered. An entire lifetime in the matter of minutes flashed through their minds. And it all had began with a limo.
A broken girl gave all she had to a lost boy. A forlorn question was asked. A reassurance was given. A chase ensued. Fire became ice. One desperate confession was denied. A broken fairytale resurfaced. That same fairy tale was left in the days of school books and first kisses. A broken girl gave a lost boy her heart. A cowardly retreat commenced. A fearless return. A lost boy gave a broken girl his heart. A relationship ensued. Hearts were tried. Flames were unleashed. A betrayal sparked the end. Two hearts were broken. A risk was taken and rewarded. Only to be disregarded due to a careless mistake.
A shot rang out and the lost boy fell. Two hearts tried to move on. A war began. Ties were tested. An affair began. An understanding sparked the end. Two hearts waited. The broken girl met a prince. The prince promised the world. A question was asked. An answer was given. Wedding bells rang in the distance. The lost boy gave the broken girl his heart for what felt like the thousandth time. A lost love became new again. Two sparks became one. An accident called for the end. A funeral like air took hold of them. But no one had died. Only their hearts. Wedding bells did ring. Divorce papers soon followed.
The broken girl fell for a pauper. The lost boy felt his heart die a little more. An ultimatum was demanded. The broken girl gave her heart to the lost boy for the final time. A verdict was given. Hearts were tried. And two hearts became one. A murder was committed. A proposal was given. Wedding bells rang again. This time the I love yous were forever. A true prince was born under the sun. A perfect princess was born in the late hours of the night. A family was united. And as for the lost boy and the broken girl well they were not so lost or broken anymore. They had transformed into a King and Queen. A classic had emerged from the ashes of one fateful limo ride to give the lost boy and the broken girl a home.
When they opened their eyes Blair could not help, but let the tears flow down her cheeks. Chuck cupped her chin and wiped her tears with his free hand as he whispered in her ear, "I always have loved the classics."
fin.
A/N
Happy Limoversary! This took forever so please send me a review with your thoughts and feedback on the piece because it seriously took like six hours. I really hoped you guys liked it! Anyways love you guys xoxo Kat.
Btw for the Tumbler prompt I covered classics and missing moments