Less than thirty days had passed since when they had become husband and wife.
Chuck and Blair had spent New Year's together when they were younger and more innocent, but they had never spent that celebration as a lawfully wedded couple. Sure they had partied two years before when they were having their first real relationship, but nothing could compare to now. Now that they could spend each moment of their lives with the person they loved the most in the world, and no one would say anything about it. They were married.
Marriage had its privileges, one of them being privacy. They could pretend they had stuff to do and ignore calls coming from the phone of their house, or make others believe they weren't home so that they could enjoy themselves, if someone would ring their bell.
They had a couple of months – well, years, to catch up with. All those weeks spent apart after Chuck had flew to Prague and got shot, the agonizing days where Blair had gotten engaged with Louis and shortly after she divorced when she had decided to be with Dan... they hadn't been able to be together the way they wanted to, but now they were given the chance to.
They had all the time in the world to make up for the lost, that was the nice part of it all. Their bond was both legal and intimate, and nobody could ever come close to break it anymore. No princes, no paupers, no paranoid fathers. They were free. Forever.
This year Chuck would be with Blair and things wouldn't go as the previous one. He would not be standing in the same room as her and watch another man place his lips over hers. He would be that man. And he would be showing his love to her in multiple ways even after the new year would grace their lives; he would do anything to make her happy.
Their new life as husband and wife had started greatly. Right after they had tied the knot, Eleanor and Lily had made possible for them to have a reception. It looked more like a familiar lunch with friends and parents rather than a feast to celebrate newlyweds, but that was the aim. They didn't need anybody else at the Waldorfs that afternoon of barely three weeks before.
They had spent their first night as a married couple in a luxurious hotel, no less than the Plaza. Chuck wasn't sure how his uncle Jack had found a room for them since the hotel was pretty much booked for the whole year, but he had done it. "My wedding present for you" he had said.
Blair had been surprised, she would have been alright if she were to spend the night on her house's bed or in Chuck's Empire bedroom. When they were together, the location didn't matter much, because they had each other. But naturally she was cheerful that they would be spending the beginning of the new phase of their lives at that wonderful site who had witnessed Chuck's first I love you and many other moments of their love story.
And the surprises hadn't ended there. Thanks to Cyrus' real estate agent, the newlyweds had been able to find the house of their dreams before Christmas. That had been Blair's mother and step dad's gift for them; if they liked the townhouse of course.
Blair was ecstatic when she saw the three-floors building her parents had tried to find for them. They had also started to look for a place to live, but no penthouse or building they had seen compared to the one Cyrus and Eleanor showed them. That one was the house Blair had always dreamed of. The perfect place to live and to start a family with the man of her life. Chuck was pleased as well, although whatever his wife would choose, would be fine for him.
They had spent their first Christmas together at their own townhouse. It didn't matter they still hadn't many furniture in it – the house had some rooms already furnished with beautiful pieces anyway; they just needed their private place to do whatever it pleased them and for the moment they just wanted a bed and that the water and electricity would run.
By New Year's Eve, their bedroom and bathroom were almost done. They had chosen a beautiful bed and various accessories to go with it, and they had also bought a jacuzzi for their own fun. They weren't sure that was the perfect place for it. They reasoned since the house had many rooms, that they could well use a spare one to fill with some things made to relax. Although the bathroom for the guests wouldn't be that one so they shouldn't had to worry much.
That night, they had threw a small party at their house, only their friends and family were invited. The thing had to be intimate because they just wanted their closest ones to share their happiness with at the moment.
"Alright, they're coming over. Is the table with the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
Blair Waldorf-Bass – or now to everyone just Blair Bass, was excited for the guests that would soon arrive. That would be her first party at her new house and she wanted it to be perfect.
One of the people from the catering she had hired to prepare the food had nodded and had soon disappeared to the kitchen to arrange other things while other two waiters were adjusting flutes and bottles of champagne on Chuck's marble bar, located in a corner of the room.
Blair had let him have that space for his bottles. He had one when he was staying at the Empire and he couldn't not have another in his new house. Alcohol was also part of Chuck's life although he was now drinking in a more mature manner than the past. And what would be a billionaire's house without a bar?!
While his wife was checking that everything had been done as she asked, Chuck had just ended a call with his lawyer. After Bart had died not so long ago, his lawyer had informed him that he had left a will. He had been surprised – he thought that his father would be cautious this time and wouldn't draw up another paper like the first time he had died and they had thought he was dead while he wasn't. At least not so soon. Above all, Chuck was astonished that he had been included.
Between Chuck and Bart hadn't run good blood until he had tragically died because of his paranoid aim to kill his own son. His father had excluded both him and his uncle out of the company few months before, had displeased and threatened them. And he had treated them like shit instead as how you would treat the members of your family. But he had left something to Chuck on his will, although he wasn't sure he had also left something to Jack.
Chuck reached Blair in their yet-to-finish living room so that he could tell her about the will. He had only told her that the lawyer had let him know his father had left one, but not what was in it.
He kissed her cheek and surprised her from behind. She had smiled and had blushed. His chaste touch had moved her emotions and she had felt the goosebumps. "I thought you wouldn't come down anymore" the brunette had said with a coquettish voice. Chuck's little gestures made her sweeter. "Serena texted me she's coming."
"Thankfully Mr Greymore had to go to a dinner. He was pretty fast on the phone."
"What did he tell you?" she asked while fixing the jacket of his suit. Well, she wasn't really fixing it, she just needed an excuse to touch her husband. "I hope not bad news."
Chuck shook his head. "No bad news at all. He could reveal me in advance what Bart wrote on his will. Not all the details, but most of them."
"So?"
"It seems as if he didn't completely hate me after all" he raised both eyebrows and giggled. "Bass Industries are mine as well as all of his shares and whatnot. The lawyer could confirm me that he left me everything he owned."
Blair hugged her husband trying not to ruin her hair in the process. Dorota had managed to compose a bun and she didn't want to have something out of place right before their guests would knock on the front door. "I'm happy for you. Really happy" she kissed his cheek gently.
"Yeah, who would have thought he would have, after all we've witnessed through these last months? I surely wasn't expecting anything." He told her honestly.
She shrugged. "Maybe Bart trusted you after all."
Chuck grinned at his wife although no, he didn't believe his father believed in him too much. He had tried to kill him, for God's sake. And he had kept throwing shit on him and his way to do business... he surely wasn't fond of his son's abilities at all. But he had to admit, Bart had once complimented him in the past, but it had been one time.
He decided not to tell Blair that. They had talked once or twice about Bart and that night on the rooftop, but she had avoided that topic later on; she didn't want Chuck to be upset. She was aware that they had both gone through lots of stress during that year, they needed to settle down first and then they would discuss the rough patches they've hit. Of course Bart's accident wouldn't be forgotten, but they would have time to talk about that in the future.
Chuck was lucky that their first guests had arrived. His wife thought he wasn't comfortable of talking about his dead father. His eyes looked pensive and lost who knew were.
"The house looks wonderful, B" was the first thing Serena said once she entered the living room. "I can't wait to see when it's finished." Although she was Chuck's stepsister and Blair's best friend, the blonde still hadn't had the chance to visit their house. They had barely lived there for a week, and the building was off limits for anyone else but the newlyweds for the first days.
"Just a couple more furniture and you'll see how beautiful our house will turn. From duck to swan, wait for it."
Dan Humphrey followed Serena in the large room of the townhouse. After he had revealed he was Gossip Girl, the site had ceased to exist. He hadn't deleted it, but he had stopped updating it. The last post had only been his personal congratulations to Chuck and Blair and a picture of their wedding that Serena had actually snapped from her phone.
Blair had found it fun to read it now that she knew that he had always been GG. The comments were the most amusing part of it all. Between wishing the newlyweds to be happy and to soon have kids or other stuff, most of the people looked really sad that the site wouldn't post anything anymore. It was the end of an era, it wasn't acceptable. And Serena had confirmed them that Dan wouldn't log on it anymore. Blair was honored that her wedding had been the last post. She and Chuck were the ones who used to rule on the Upper East Side after all.
"Compliments for the house." Dan murmured, giving one of the waiters a bottle of champagne he had brought. "The... uhm, bar, over there, looks awesome."
Chuck smirked. "Thanks, Humphrey. I'm glad that even you can appreciate these things you don't seem too familiar with." Dan opened his arms as to say whatever.
Serena eyed her stepbrother and wasn't happy with his jokes, but decided to ignore that at least today. "I can't wait for later!" she exclaimed to Blair while Chuck went to fetch himself a drink and asked Dan if he wanted to come.
"I can't wait either, Serena!" Blair told her best friend after the men had left. "And, tell me." She had then took her arm and had started to walk away towards the small library they were trying to fill as soon as they could. "Is Humphrey your date?"
Serena's face became red. "No! What are you saying? We're just friends." She answered, but the brunette raised an eyebrow. "I swear, we are not together."
"Are you really sure of that? There's no need to lie, although I would not do the same you did. He's still Gossip Girl!"
The slender woman rolled her eyes. "He isn't anymore. He hasn't posted for a while and he doesn't intend to. Look, I moved past this. I think you could do it too since now you've had your happy ending."
"I'm happy for you if you're in love with him, S. It's just that... you know, he's written for years about the worst and the best days of our lives. Some of us thought he was our friend, while he was stabbing us in the front all along."
"I'm aware of this. But that is the past. I'm ready to move forward and so should you. Look at Chuck. He and Dan were never friends but he's forgiven him." Serena tried to say.
Blair nodded and glanced at her husband calmly drinking scotch next to the bar. "Chuck is a naturally forgiving and not judging person, Serena. And you know it."
"You just can't accept he's pulled the strings all along." She rolled her eyes. "But this year things will be different. For the both of us."
Chuck had spied his wife and Serena talking from afar. He was sure they were deep in a tough topic because they had glared at each other after the last words when they spoke. He thought the matter was the man who was drinking next to him. Blair still couldn't fathom that her best friend had forgiven him.
"Are you treating my sis well?" the man asked suddenly to the curly-haired guy.
Dan frowned, he hadn't listened to Chuck's question. "What?"
"I wondered if you and Serena were having a nice time." He repeated. "After she found out you were Gossip Girl, she wasn't angry at all. And I know fine well that she loves you."
"Well, she and I, we-we are not an item at the moment."
"Not yet?" Chuck asked. He wasn't surprised his stepsister still hadn't gotten back with Dan officially. Despite he wasn't Dan's biggest fan, he knew that Serena was in love with him.
Dan raised an eyebrow questioningly. He wasn't used of talking about those things with no less than Chuck Bass. He decided to drop the argument and luckily for him more guests came and soon everyone took place at the dining table to eat.
Chuck and Blair sat next to each other at dinner. Whenever both finished their meal, one or the other would search for their spouse's hand and held it. They would casually look at each other in the eyes and they would see the spark that enlightened their souls. There weren't people more in love than themselves and do such a simple gesture like that, was a blessing.
"You finally bought wedding bands" Lily noticed when the dinner was finally over.
Most of them had stood up and had gone to the bar to drink coffee or other drinks that wasn't champagne. Blair had forbidden everybody to get closer to those bottles because they were to use after midnight would strike. They needed those to celebrate later.
Blair looked at her husband and blushed a little that she needed to shift her attention on her hand instead that on the handsome face that was piercing into her soul next to her. "We were too fond of those snake rings that we didn't want to let them go." She informed her mother-in-law. "But we had to get these on Christmas because as much as those rings were original, they turned my finger green. We still have them in our drawers though."
The people sitting at the table – Lily, Jack, Rufus and Nate, giggled at Blair's words.
"That's one of the flaws of metallic rings."
"We had to get real wedding bands sooner or later. Otherwise people would think our wedding was fake as somebody was trying to claim." Blair explained.
Lily frowned. "Someone really thought that?"
"Yes. Few people on Gossip Girl were insisting that everything was staged because of those MET rings. They were the minority, I have to admit." Chuck explained. "It's not unusual that there would've been delusional people, Lily. I've married the most beautiful woman of Manhattan, some people must have been jealous."
Blair exchanged a quick look with the man she had close to her. She was used to Chuck's compliments, but since when she had become his wife, those praises made her even more giddy and in love. That just meant that she was irrevocably taken by him, and so was he.
The people at the table laughed again. "Look, it's almost midnight." Jack reminded them and left the table. Everyone turned on the big clock on the wall. Less than ten minutes left.
"We better fill those flutes with champagne before new year." Blair said as she stood up to give the order to the two waiters next to the bar.
The other people who were sitting reached their other friends. Chuck reached Blair and the others went here and there, some closer some further from their flames or exes. Dan and Serena were next to each other while Lily was sitting on the couch with Dorota. Jack was incredibly close to Georgina and this made Chuck expectant, he was sure something was going on between them.
The countdown started soon and the couple of newlyweds stared into each other's eyes. When they heard the fireworks that announced the new year, they were the first to kiss.
Chuck grabbed her towards his and closed the distance with a lip lock. His wife's hands traveled through his hair and on his cheeks, in a vortex of emotions that they didn't care to show publicly to their friends. The worst they could do would be comment that they needed to get a room. Once they broke the passionate kiss, they took a flute of champagne from the bar and sipped it. "To us." Chuck had murmured, and his wife had echoed him with her own vow.
While they kissed, things hadn't changed much from how they expected. Dan and Serena weren't kissing but they were hugging. From where they were standing, both could see the childlike smile on Serena's face. Blair turned to Chuck and he grinned knowingly. Then he nodded. He knew that it wouldn't be soon before his stepsister and the anonymous ex blogger would get back together.
Lily was texting with a flute in her hands, while Nate was talking on the phone. He probably was speaking to Sage, the girl who had been with him recently, but they wouldn't know. After Chuck had left the suite he shared with his best friend, he was unaware of his love life.
The only missing people in the room were Jack and Georgina. His uncle had left shortly before midnight, he was probably attached on the phone as well as Sparks, who still had a child at home and a husband and needed to check on them.
"Come with me" Chuck whispered to Blair as he took her hand and lead her out of the room. "Let's grab our coats first."
"Are we going out?" she wondered as he passed hers.
"Not exactly." He smirked, letting her wear the dark blue piece of clothing before moving again.
Blair followed her husband on the long row of stairs that lead to the top floor. Now she understood where he was taking her. Their wonderful house also had a rooftop whose previous owners had decorated with a Japanese garden. She wasn't sure she was a fan of that, but they had time to decide if they wanted to get rid of it.
She hunched her shoulders and shivered from the cold once outside. That was a chilly night. Chuck noticed she felt a little uncomfortable because of that, so he pulled her in a hug but in a way that would still allow him to look her in the eyes. "I couldn't wait to be alone with you." He confessed her as his hands brushed her back to make her feel a little warm.
She agreed. "I'm happy everyone is here but I'm excited for the moment they'll go... they are not welcome in our bedroom."
"Waldorf, look at you. Being all so thrilled to jump on me." Chuck smirked, licking his lips and already imagining in his head what would happen later when everyone would leave for real.
Blair looked down for a moment, she loved the subtleness between them. She giggled and he frowned. He didn't get why he had made her laugh so tenderly. "You're the only person who still calls me like that."
He nodded. That was true. Although she now was Blair Bass for the rest of the world, her husband still teased her with her maiden name. He had called her with her new one a couple of times, but not very often. "Am I?" he wondered. He still wasn't used that she now was Mrs Bass.
She nodded her head. "Yes, Mr Bass. You are. And you need to fix this as soon as possible otherwise I'll ask for divorce. And your billions." She teased him with a smirk.
"Divorce? So soon? I won't let you go away with it, Mrs Bass. Never. I'd rather become homeless."
Blair made a disgusted face for his remark but it turned into a warm smile as soon as she reached his lips. "There's no need to talk so desperate, honey."
"I'm desperate for you" he murmured as he placed another kiss on her lips. "Mrs Bass." He added once their lips parted for a moment.
She felt so amused that he kept on repeating her new surname over and over again while their lips encountered. She wasn't tired of hearing it from people she worked with and naturally she would never get annoyed of listening to her husband's voice pronouncing it.
Chuck broke their deep hug to collect two flutes and a bottle of champagne he had put on a table not so far. Weirdly, the bottle was already open and most of the liquid was gone. He didn't remember he had drank it earlier, but maybe he was just forgetting about it.
He moved on and decided to stop guessing as he poured the alcohol into the two glasses, then he gave one to Blair. He told her to hold on before drinking. He wanted her to make some wishes for the new year since this one in particular was special.
"This is our first year together. The first of a long series. What I wished for last year, only realized in the middle of it. You know I'm talking about Montecarlo" he grinned, and Blair nodded. Of course she hadn't forgotten. "But my biggest desire only turned real few weeks ago. I'm the happiest man on Earth and I don't need anything or anybody else from life, but you. The only wish I'm asking for the new year is to keep spending our lives together."
He had been very succinct, direct to the point. After a tumultuous year where he had seen his woman snatched away by two men, he had thought everything was lost. But then she surprised him last summer, she went to his hotel to risk it all to be with him. And his flame was even more relieved, that he couldn't let any more moments pass after she had showed up, he just needed to love every ounce of her body again and again. In fact they had spent hours sexing up in that luxurious bedroom to make up for all the time they had lost, that she had had an actual fever.
Her wish wasn't any more different than his. "I want the same thing. I want you, me, forever. And I want to give you what you couldn't have. Since you've asked me what is my biggest desire for this year, I would have to be honest about it." She paused, then she took his empty hand and squeezed it. "I can't wait to build a family with you."
Chuck's eyes lightened up. He was sure his wife wanted them to expand their unit to more than just the two of them. He just thought not so soon. "Are you?"
"I am eager to have little Chuck babies with bowties and little Blair babies with headbands running around our townhouse."
"We have plenty of spare rooms" he commented. "It would be a waste if we don't find other people to occupy them." He winked.
She nodded. "I suggest we get down to it before Spring. Even tonight."
"Later I'm free if you're up to it... Mrs Bass." He proposed with a smirk.
Blair was surprised of his openness about it. She didn't think he would love to start a family with her so soon. She was sure he wanted children in the future, he had proved her that fatherhood and the idea of it was indeed in his DNA, but she had reasoned that he would want to wait a couple of years before having a kid. "Luckily for you, I have nothing to take care of." She promised him, then the two finally clashed their flutes lightly to toast to their new year's resolutions.
Chuck kissed her for the third time since the new year had arrived. This time his lips smell of champagne, they were so delicious. The only thing they needed to do now was return to their guests and pretend they were tired so that they would leave them to their night of fun. This was their only thought while their tongues fought against each other in their mouths.
He tried to prolong the kiss as they heard fireworks around them. But at some point the noises got odd. It didn't look like New Year's explosives anymore. Chuck slowly broke their kiss. "Have you heard that?" he asked her.
His wife was still dazed because of their hot effusion. "Mmmh, no."
Then he heard it again. "This. Have you heard it now?"
"It looks like broken glass." She turned towards her right. "The noise seems to be coming from behind that little tool shed. Oh my God, someone got inside our house!" she said nervously as she was holding Chuck's big hand.
He looked at her and without putting their flutes back on the table, they moved closer to where they had heard that noise. If someone had really sneaked in, they could use the glasses of champagne as a self defense. "Stand close to me." He whispered in her ear as they walked towards the source of the noise.
Blair nodded and she advanced by gripping her hand on the back of her husband's coat, while her other hand was carrying the flute she had just sipped her champagne from. Those moments looked so intense as they proceeded, but once they found out what or who had caused that clatter, they couldn't not do anything more than giggle. "Oh. My. God. Oh my God!" Blair exclaimed, so loudly that the 'invaders' turned with astonishment towards the couple.
Chuck shook his head and smiled widely. Now he knew who had drunk half of that bottle of champagne he had taken up earlier. "Can't say I wasn't expecting this."
"We can explain." Georgina said, trying to recompose her outfit. Tiny pieces of glass were scattered on her side. "Oh, wait. We don't need to explain anything to anybody."
"If Gossip Girl still worked, this would be a big headline." Blair commented, still surprised of what was before her eyes right now.
"You weren't supposed to find it out like this." Jack Bass said, putting his coat on. "But now you know, nephew. Hope you don't mind."
Georgina just glared at Chuck, and sighed before she left. They could tell she was fuming, but she wasn't embarrassed at all. "Mind? I'm happy for you indeed. You got yourself the biggest psycho of the Upper East Side. Of course I approve." Chuck told his uncle jokingly.
Jack patted Chuck's shoulder and smiled at him before he left. They could hear him calling 'Sparks' from the stairs behind them.
Chuck and Blair looked at each other and laughed. "Who would have said...?" she wondered.
"I expected something like this. They are kindred spirits after all. Just like us."
"They are indeed." She agreed.
"Let's forget about them now." Chuck reminded her. "Didn't we have something to do, Mrs Bass?"
Blair smirked and then took his hand. The real party was about to begin and they couldn't wait.