I got an unexpected rush of inspiration after watching the season finale and ended up with this. It's going to be three parts (plus possibly an epilogue), all fairly long. I'm not sure how coherent it is but feel free to tell me =) Read on if you've got the time!
Chuck kept his eyes on the cards the croupier placed on the table, taking a sip from his scotch while pondering how big of a bet he should place. Thanks to his uncle Jack's ability to count cards he had managed to win a fair amount already, occasionally losing on purpose to keep the croupier from getting suspicious. One or two nights of successful gambling would not be enough to help them take down Bart Bass but it was a start. For Chuck it wasn't so much about the money at the moment as it was about finding some smidgen of dignity back and proving to his so-called father that he had been wrong to oust him from the company. No matter what Bart said or thought Chuck knew he had saved Bass Industries on more than one occasion and he couldn't understand why Bart had left the company to him in his will if he had such a low view of Chuck's abilities to run it. Then again Bart's aversions seemed to be mostly about Chuck's inability to let go of Blair Waldorf. That would not be a problem from this point on. Blair was a part of his past now and that was the way he intended for it to stay.
To his left Jack slouched over the back of a chair, eyeing the cards carefully. It felt strange to be in cahoots with Jack Bass after everything that had happened yet for some reason Chuck felt like he could trust him. He had a sneaking suspicion that Jack's main objective had always been the same as Chuck's own – to prove to Bart that he was capable and a force to be reckoned with. To win Bart's respect. Chuck wasn't sure which one of them was more pathetic. Himself for being so desperate for the acknowledgment of a father who never seemed to give a damn, or Jack for so desperately seeking the approval of an elder brother even after almost forty years.
"Is there a seat available?" a voice said to his right.
Before she had gotten the whole sentence out Chuck had already turned to look at her. It was her. Of course it was her. He would know that voice anywhere and there was no other like it in the world. No other like her. Blair Waldorf, dressed in orange and gold, looking more like herself than she had in a long time, reminding him of a Phoenix rising from the ashes, her hand full of yellow chips. For a second he thought Jack must have put something in his drink to make him hallucinate. There was no reason for Blair to be there. He had made it clear to her that he didn't want to be her pity project and that he needed to be more than the man she was currently with. Why wasn't she in New York, convincing Dan Humphrey that he was the man she loved and that Chuck was a thing of the past?
"Here" he heard Jack's voice answer her. "Take mine."
Chuck turned and looked at his uncle, staring at him as if he had grown a second nose. Nothing was making sense at the moment. He was beginning to understand what Nate must feel like most of the time. Jack had a smile on his face like he was very pleased with himself even though he of all people should object to Blair appearing on the scene. Wasn't Jack the one who had said their gambling was important and they couldn't afford distractions? Didn't he find Chuck's obsession with Blair just as pathetic as Bart did?
He saw Blair share a look with Jack which only served to confuse him more. As did the words she said before sitting down.
"Thanks for the call."
Jack nodded slightly and pulled out the chair for her. In the corner of his eye Chuck saw him leave but his eyes were focused on Blair. Seeing her now, sitting down next to him, was like watching a beautiful painting come to life. One of the fairest sights he had seen in all his life but too strange for it to be reality. What was this new scheme? What did she plan on doing to him now? He wasn't sure he could handle one more round of this.
She looked up at him, cocked her eyebrows and looked at him with calm confidence. Determination. He knew that look very well. She wanted something and she was there to make sure she would get it.
"You fought for me all year" she said. "I've come to fight for you."
His own reaction surprised him. He should be overcome with joy right now but something was preventing him to have the proper reacting to the words she had just said. Words he had been desperate to hear just a week ago. Now he wasn't sure how to interpret them. Things were moving a little bit too fast for his liking. He could use a second to gather his thoughts and try to make sense of it all.
She looked over at the croupier and he could see her drawing a short, nervous breath. So she wasn't entirely confident after all, the calmness in her voice partly a façade.
"Will you be joining the game?" the croupier asked her.
"You said I always bet against you" Blair said. Chuck's eyes followed her every move as she turned her face to him. "But this time I'm all in."
To underscore her words she pushed her stack of chips forward, placing them as her bet. Fifteen yellow chips, each one worth $200 000. A minor fortune and more than what he had assumed she had in her trust fund. Where had she found this kind of money? His eyes were fixated on the chips and what they represented. She said she was going all in. Betting on him, on them, as he understood it. The chips on the table, were they part of Waldorf Designs? Betting part of her future?
"Your bet, sir?" the croupier's voice said.
He looked up at the man in the white suit, staring at him as if he hadn't understood the question. He felt Blair's eyes on him and turned his face to her. She looked at him with a bit of nervousness that faded into something else when their eyes met. A smile played on her lips. They looked into one another's eyes for a moment without uttering a word. She had placed her bet. Now she was waiting for him to place his.
He looked down at his stack of chips for a brief second and then up at the croupier.
"I'm out" he said.
In the corner of his eye he could see her jaw drop a little and he had a feeling that if it hadn't been for the noise of the casino he would have been able to hear a small gasp from her. None of that concerned him at the moment as he got up from his chair and gathered his chips, placing them in a small satin bag for easier carrying. He made it five steps from the table before her soft hand grabbed his and stopped him. He turned and looked at her, feeling irritation more than whatever it was she wanted and expected him to feel.
"Chuck…" she said, her voice a mixture of surprise, sadness and disappointment.
"I told you" he said. "I'm done. I'm out."
"Chuck wait." She looked down for a second and then her eyes met his again. "I know… you said you didn't want to be Mr. Blair Waldorf. That's not what this is. This is me… laying my heart out for you. I meant it when I said I was done running."
"This is not what I want" he said. "I want to be with someone who doesn't feel the need to run away from her feelings for me and doesn't desire to kill them. I want to be with someone who doesn't hate that she loves me. I think I deserve that. If you genuinely loved me I think you would want that for me too."
She grabbed a hold of his sleeve and led him with her to a more quiet corner. He was no longer looking at her with confusion, now all he felt was weary. It irritated him to see her reaction to his answer being one of surprise. Even after their last conversation had she honestly expected him to just take her back and be grateful for her affections?
"So much has happened" she began. "Chuck I don't want to run from my feelings anymore. I want to embrace them. I want to be with you and be happier than I could possibly be with anybody else."
"And what about my happiness?" he asked. "Where does that factor in?"
She looked confused.
"We'd be happy together."
"No Blair. I'm not happy. I haven't been for a long time. It's time for me to think about my own happiness and to build a future for myself."
"We once said we would build our futures together. I said I came to fight for you and I meant it. I don't blame you for being angry." She looked down for a second and then back up at him. "I made a choice. A choice to go after the man I truly love; the man who makes me truly happy. I understand that it might not happen at the blink of an eye but all I want you to know is that I'm fighting and I'm not giving up."
"I have to wonder…" Chuck said. "Are you here because you chose me? Because you realized you were distracting yourself with Humphrey since you were scared of loving me but now you're no longer able to lie to yourself about how you feel? Or are you here because you love Humphrey but you're scared to and you're scared of what that means so you're trying to distract yourself with me?"
"Dan is my past. You are my future."
"I wish I could believe you" he said. "But I don't. You placed your bet. You lost. Now it's time for both of us to move on."
He gently nudged her aside and walked away. In a strange way it felt good to say those things to her. He couldn't stand one more moment of her taking him for granted and it dawned on him that he had lost all faith in the honesty of her feelings. He had gone all in six months ago and she had given him every reason to trust that decision and place that bet. Every word out of her mouth had reaffirmed his belief in her feelings for him. Still he had lost. What did it matter that she came to him now and played that scene for him again in a different setting? He was still going to lose. That was the way things worked with Blair Waldorf.
Having lost all desire to gamble he headed for the lobby to go up to his hotel room. He didn't see his uncle standing by a pillar with his arm around a busty blonde but Jack looked up for long enough to see him. Quickly he dismissed the blonde and hurried after Chuck.
"Nephew!"
Holding back a frustrated sigh Chuck turned around and faced his uncle. If his mood had been brighter the look on Jack's face would have been almost comical.
"What, what just happened?" Jack asked. "I figured by now you'd be toasting in champagne, probably licking it up from Blair's bellybutton." A look of actual concern appeared on his face. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry Jack" Chuck said, managing a smile that didn't even almost reach his eyes. "I've done enough gambling for one night. We'll have to continue our quest for funds tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"Chuck" Jack said, stopping him as he was about to leave again. "Come on, I of all people know what that woman means to you. I thought you'd be happy to see her here."
"No, my father was right. Blair has done nothing but toy with me for years. If she's eager to have me now it's only because I took her toy away by telling her I'm done. If I get back together with her she'll grow tired again and move on to someone else. I will not be weak anymore. I will not throw everything away for her. I've done it time and time again in the past and I've been blind to my own weaknesses. Bart always saw my weaknesses better than he saw anything else. He took away the company because of it."
"So you're basing this reaction on my older brother telling you that you can't have both love and business?" Jack said. "Taking the advice of a man who's a huge failure when it comes to all his relationships? Do you really want to end up like him? Or like me?"
"However I end up I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and not be appalled by what I see. I have no dignity left; I threw it all away for her and for Bart. I won't come crawling to either one of them and I won't let either one of them try to tell me that they've done the things they've done because they care about me."
Jack shrugged.
"Eh, Bart probably hasn't. Nor do I think he'd ever try and make such a claim. If there are feelings inside that lobster-tanned robot they are only focused on what makes him feel good, which is usually business. My brother thinks you can't have a passionate love and be a good businessman. He thinks you can't be a real Bass and be with Blair."
"I know" Chuck said angrily.
"That doesn't mean he's right. You need to stop treating the words that come out of his mouth as gospel."
"Look, why do you even care? You were the one who set out to ruin Blair and me in the first place."
Jack smirked.
"I want to see my brother taken down a peg… or fifty. I want to get revenge for how he's treated me over the years and for taking everything away from me yet again. Masterminding him and casting him out for once would be even sweeter if you were to add insult to injury by proving him wrong and having both your princess and your empire."
"I don't care much for princesses" Chuck said dryly. "If you'll excuse me."
He strode off towards the elevators, leaving Jack rolling his eyes and sighing. Jack turned to go back to the blonde and spotted Blair standing ten yards away, looking upset and a bit frightened. He didn't care all that much for her mental state at the moment but judging by the look on her face he wouldn't be able to escape a conversation with her.
"I'm sorry" he shrugged when she came over. "Hey, all I said was that he was here. I never guaranteed he would be happy to see you."
"I don't get it" Blair said, her voice weak and with a hint of a tremble. "I thought this was what he wanted. What he needed. For me to prove to him that I'm willing to put all that I have into us and that we can build our future together."
"Judging from the conversation I just had with him your outlook is not so good" Jack said. "Guess it was a mistake calling you."
"No" she said. "I told Chuck that I will fight for him and so I shall." She raised her chin a bit and looked more confident. "It's not really fighting for him if he comes back to me right away. If at first you don't succeed…"
Jack rolled his eyes.
"The two of you really serve to remind me why I'm glad I'm no longer in my early twenties. All the drama, all the theatrics… Either be together or don't be. Make up your minds once and for all."
"I have."
"Yeah? Like you made up your mind to marry the prince?"
Her eyes turned colder and the look on her face decidedly unfriendly.
"I don't know why I'm wasting my time standing here talking to you."
"That's a hell of a way to thank the guy who at least gave you a chance to get your man back" Jack commented. "Guess 'thank yous' are not your strong suit."
"I am grateful that you called. Though maybe I should have been more suspicious. You're the reason we broke up in the first place. Why should you suddenly want to help us get back together? I don't know why Chuck trusts you at all anymore after all the time you spent trying to ruin him."
"That was business" Jack shrugged. "Nothing personal."
"Nothing personal?" she echoed with disgust and disbelief.
"Okay, fine, I was bitter for a long time. Bart should have entrusted the company to me, not to a seventeen year-old with more issues than he's got hairs on his head. I'm past that now. I always liked Chuck prior to Bart's death and as much as I do enjoy messing with him I think at this point he doesn't need me for that. Bart does a good enough job messing him up. Someone's got to be in Chuck's corner and since him and I share similar purposes at the moment it might as well be me."
"He won't need you in his corner" Blair said. "He'll have me."
"Good luck with that. If you'll excuse me. It appears we're done gambling for the evening which means that somewhere in this casino there's a lucky lady who will be reeling herself a Bass for the night."
He grinned at her and she made a disgusted face. He walked past her, heading back to the action. Blair remained in the same spot for a few minutes, trying to determine her next move. Then she looked over at the reception desk and strode over to it.
Eleven year-old Chuck rolled his eyes and sighed, stretched out on his side on Blair's bed, looking through a catalogue he had found among Eleanor's sketches downstairs. This was far from his idea of a fun afternoon. Nate had dragged him over to Blair's and now Chuck was stuck trying to entertain himself while Blair cried to the movie they were watching and Nate fought to stay awake.
He saw Nate's head fall forward, sleep winning over Archibald. A quick glance at Blair told Chuck she hadn't noticed yet, too preoccupied with the movie, but it would only be a matter of seconds before she realized what was going on and the result would not be favorable for his best friend. With his foot he gave Nate a light shove to wake him up. The movement startled Nate who looked puzzled for a second and then realized that he had nodded off.
"I'm thirsty" he declared, needing an excuse to get up and move a little. "I'm just gonna run downstairs and get something to drink."
"Hurry back" Blair said, eyes glued to the TV.
Nate left and Chuck scoffed, turning the page in the catalogue.
"Poor Nathaniel" he said. "I truly do pity the boy."
Blair frowned and tore her eyes from the TV to give him a disapproving glare.
"What are you talking about?"
"I can barely stand one afternoon of this and he puts up with it several times a week. Come on Waldorf, you can be more fun than this can't you?"
"We're having fun" Blair insisted.
"Your idea of fun is watching something that makes you bawl like a baby?"
"It's about being moved by a compelling story."
"What's compelling about it? An alien who looks like something picked out of a garbage disposal spends a few weeks on our planet and then goes home without paying the phone bill. Such a waste of time…"
"Hey I remember you being glued to the TV set watching this movie."
"Yeah, the first time I saw it. You must have seen this movie a dozen times. Don't you ever get tired of it?"
"Tired of a classic?"
"There's no fun in it when you know exactly how it's going to turn out. Let me give you a spoiler: He'll come back to life in about ten seconds. Then they'll all race to get him to the spaceship and the boys and their bikes will fly and the alien goes home and everybody lives… okay ever after."
"I know how it ends; that's not the point."
"I'd argue that it's exactly the point. Where's the entertainment value in watching something where you know the exact outcome?"
"You've never read a book more than once? Watched a movie more than once?"
"When I was five I watched 'the Rescuers' every day for two months. I've evolved since then. Okay, I can admit that there's a certain charm to re-watching or re-reading. It's nostalgic. Just not when the last time you watched the movie was three months ago."
"I like knowing how things are going to turn out" Blair said, annoyed by the conversation. "Where is the charm in uncertainty and having your future being completely open?"
"I thought that was the charm of life" Chuck said, turning another page in the catalogue and raising his eyebrow.
"That just shows how simple-minded you are."
"Why are we even talking about our futures? I thought we were discussing your odd fascination with watching the same movies over and over and over and over."
"I happen to think that there is a connection. I like watching the same movies over and over because I like knowing how things are going to turn out. I mean to apply the same philosophy to my own life."
"Just do the same stuff over and over?"
"Make sure I know how things are going to turn out. I don't intend on leaving anything to chance or taking any gambles."
"Like I said…" Chuck said, eyes on the catalogue. "Poor Archibald. What a boring future he's in for if that's your attitude. You'll probably keep him glued to your side until you're eighty-six even if in a few years' time your feelings for him aren't the same anymore, all so you don't have to change the idea of your future that you've mapped out in your head."
In a sudden rush of anger Blair leaned over to snatch the catalogue from him and smack him over the head with it. She got as far as snatching the catalogue and then saw what kind of catalogue he had been browsing through.
"Lingerie?" she said with a disgusted gasp. "You're lounging on my bed ogling women in lingerie? God you're disgusting."
"I'm a guy."
"You're a perv. Isn't this a bit sleazy even for you at our age?"
"Let's just say that while you and Nathaniel are still children I have made the transition into manhood" Chuck smirked, enjoying the thoroughly disgusted look on her face when it dawned on her what he alluded to.
"Ugh, you are the most disgusting person who ever lived" she complained.
"That's not what Georgina Sparks seems to think."
"Ew, somehow you managed to make this conversation even grosser."
Nate walked through the door with a glass of water in his hand, looking a bit more awake now but oblivious to Blair's disgust and Chuck's amusement.
"So have they escaped the CDC people yet?" he asked, sitting down on the bed while hiding a yawn behind his hand.
"I have to go" Chuck said, getting up from the bed. "I forgot I had this… thing."
"I'm sure you do" Blair said, looking very uncomfortable.
"See you tomorrow, Archibald" Chuck said, grabbing his jacket from the chair he had flung it over.
"Yeah, see you" Nate said.
With a teasing smirk Chuck walked over to Blair and tapped her nose gently with his index finger.
"Be good" he said, imitating E.T.
Blair wrinkled her nose and gave him a disgusted look. With a shrug and a smirk he left the room, eager to head out and do something more fun. Not that teasing Blair wasn't fun but for some reason it never seemed as much so when Nate was there too.
Twenty-one year-old Chuck sat on his hotel bed with his legs stretched out in front of him, his eyes studying the green casino chip he was twirling with his fingers. Thinking back on that afternoon ten years ago it made him wonder if the conversation they had had back then was the answer to his questions or if you couldn't apply something Blair had said a decade ago to how she thought and reasoned now. Ten years ago she had been determined to have a certain kind of future and would make sure that she got it even if that might not be what actually made her happy. At that point he hadn't understood what kind of things she wanted her future to entail but by now it seemed obvious that the most important thing to Blair Waldorf was to have a man by her side, something that surprised him given how strong and independent he had always thought her to be. She had never been single for very long at a time and she had rushed into an engagement from a prince and then straight from her marriage to the arms of Dan Humphrey. From what Chuck gathered there had been some trouble in paradise between her and the Brooklyn boy for the past few weeks leading up to that night at the Empire. For all he knew this was nothing more than Blair deciding Chuck was the safer option since he had always been there when she wanted him in the past. She knew how much he loved her and that he couldn't let her go, therefore he was always an option. The perfect fallback.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. At first he barely reacted to it but when another round of knocks came he looked up from the chip. He stared at the door for a minute, wondering if it was Jack coming to drag him back down to the craps table. Then yet another round of knocks came and he got up from the bed and walked over to answer the door.
It was Blair, looking considerably less calm and confident this time. She swallowed and gave him half a smile, seemingly an apologetic one.
"What do you want, Blair?" he asked before she could speak. He didn't want to see her yet, he needed some more time to think things through.
"To explain." She looked down at her hands, her face looking apologetic for the first time. "I know you don't want to build your future based on my funds. You're too independent for that. Just like I'm too independent to want to be Chuck Bass' girlfriend with nothing to attribute to my own name." She looked up at him again and a hint of a smile played on her lips. "The gesture downstairs was symbolic. It's my heart I'm going all in with. We can figure out the rest eventually. We can build a future however you want to."
"It sounds lovely" he said. "Unfortunately… it also sounds like déjà vu. We've been down this road before. I always end up losing while you walk away salvaging what you can. What's to say this time will be any different?"
"You can trust me."
"I have. I always have." He laughed shortly. It was utterly joyless. "I can't do it anymore. I can't live that way."
"Things are different now" Blair said. "The things that scared me about you, they're not there anymore. You've grown up. After all the bad things that happened between us I became afraid that if I devoted myself to you I would end up hurt but I don't feel that way anymore."
"Nor did you seem to six months ago, that night before the car crash. You were willing to raise your child with me. That's not a responsibility you entrust on someone you don't trust or you fear might hurt you."
"I know but then the accident happened and I…" She bit her bottom lip and looked away for a second, her eyes watering a bit. "Chuck I was afraid. I've been so afraid. Scared of loving you and what it would mean."
"Then you understand that I am scared now" he replied, gently but firmly. "You understand that I can't do this. Betting on us would be downright self-destructive for me at this point and after everything that's happened between us."
"What can I do to prove to you how serious I am about us?" she asked. "Just say it and I'll do it."
He was quiet for almost a minute.
"I don't know" he then said. "I honestly haven't got a clue. Trust can be regained but faith? I have no faith anymore. I'm sorry."
"I'm in love with you" she said. "You can have faith in that."
"That's an odd thing to say so shortly after you told me you're not in love with me and that I don't have your heart anymore. If your goal was to push me away for good then I think you succeeded. Blair we cannot have a healthy relationship like this. If we got back together now I would spend every minute questioning your feelings for me and just waiting for that moment when a better option presents itself and you leave me behind again. In the end that would drive you to doing exactly that even if that wasn't your intention at the start. Let's just walk away and salvage what we may."
"I can't. I spent far too much time running from what I truly want and from the future it could bring."
"Then you must not have wanted it to begin with."
"I do. I have. I always have wanted this but it's not always as easy as black and white. I needed some time but I'm in the right place now. I promise you, you have nothing to worry about with Dan or with anyone else. Never again."
"Blair you don't even seem to understand why I'm hesitant. Why I didn't take you back with open arms up on that rooftop. It's like you don't even see me. With that in mind how can I trust that you really want me?"
"Chuck I know how you feel right now" Blair said. "Like we've both said, it's about being afraid. No one knows what that is like and how it makes you think better than I do. Look at me Chuck and trust me on this. There comes a point when that fear goes away and it's replaced by a fear of a different kind. A fear that you're too late. That's where I am right now and believe me, that is the worst fear of all."
"Maybe" Chuck said. "But it can't hurt any worse than the things I have already gone through."
"I'm not giving up on you" Blair said, taking a step back as she realized he was getting ready to end the conversation. "Take the time you need. I'll be here. Always."
He nodded slightly, unsure of how else to respond. He hated the way he was feeling in this moment, standing there with her when all she wanted was for them to start over. There was a part of him that had been so happy and excited when she had shown up downstairs. A part of him that felt like his most desperate dreams were about to come true. He hated being unable to enjoy that and being unable to forget everything else and just dare to be happy. Too many previous occasions where he had been burned stopped him. He couldn't let himself fall into that same trap again. Especially not if he wanted to prove to Bart that he was more than what his father saw and that he was stronger and more capable than Bart gave him credit for.
"Will you be staying in Paris?" Blair asked.
"Not for long. We'll move on to other cities, other casinos."
"I'll be keeping an eye on you" she said. "I won't let you get away from me this time. Take your time… but know that I am here."
He closed the door and sighed heavily, his eyes drifting to his bed. All he had to do was open that door and ask her to come in and within a few minutes he would be on that bed with her, kissing, touching. It would be glorious. At least until morning and the point where they had to function outside of the bed. Getting back together with someone you loved shouldn't mean fear of awkwardness the morning after. It should be like when they got together after high school. Nothing but joy and excitement. If they couldn't have a reunion like that he would rather not have one at all.
Loosening his white bowtie he walked through the room back to the bed. He should clear his head and focus on the game ahead. If Blair meant what she said she would wait for him. Right now he needed to put everything into getting revenge on his father.
"I hope you can keep your head in the game" Jack said the following day as Chuck took his seat by the table, placing a stack of chips on the green mat in front of him. "After everything last night…"
"I'm focused" Chuck said.
"Good. No better way to prove the old man wrong than to completely zone out Blair Waldorf, huh?"
Chuck ignored the comment and waved to a waiter. The man came over and Chuck asked him to bring a glass of scotch. They still needed to raise another ten million at the least before they could move to the next step of the plan. The last thing he wanted to do was discuss Blair, having made up his mind the night before not to think about her until he had shown Bart Bass that ousting him from the company was a huge mistake. Bart had taken on a lot of enemies over the years but never his own son and he probably had no idea just how ruthless Chuck could be when provoked.
"Don't get too comfortable" Jack said, stretching his back and looking around the room. "I figure about an hour of blackjack is appropriate and then we'll move on to baccarat. You know how to play that, right?"
"Whatever game you want me to play it's fine" Chuck said, taking a sip of scotch from the tumbler that had just been placed beside him.
"Both at the casino and in the real world, I hope. Now… Focus, nephew."
Chuck did his best to do exactly that but it was far from easy. As much as he tried to ignore Blair she was on his mind every minute and there was a part of him that resented her for it. He had been doing better, had begun to move on with his life and finally let her go and then she had shown up and messed with his head all over again. It could be that she was serious and that if he took her back now they would be together forever but he needed more from her than her willingness to be with him again. He needed some recognition of the hurtful things she had done because without it he wasn't sure he could feel confident that she knew how it had affected him and that she wouldn't put him through it again. He needed to be able to trust her feelings for him and he needed to have something else in his life beside her to lean on. In the past he had made her everything important and by doing so he had been lost when he lost her. This time he knew he needed to have enough going on that he could stand on his own two feet without her, emotionally and financially.
In his mind he went through possible conversation after possible conversation with her, as much as he tried not to. He imagined the things he would want her to say and do to make him believe in her again, he imagined himself flat-out telling her every hurtful detail of how her behavior had affected him, he imagined them eloping together and he imagined himself walking away from her for good. It seemed like every possible future scenario ran through his head. He tried his best to focus on the game and not clue Jack in to where his mind was at but when he lost $500 000 on what should have been a safe bet he let out an exasperated sigh and emptied his tumbler in just a few gulps.
"Easy, tiger" Jack said. "Less drinking and more focusing."
"I am focused" Chuck sulked.
"Focus better, then. Do you want me to take over for a while?"
"We both know you're far too impulsive to be the one controlling the cards."
"Then channel your bitterness and vengefulness into the card game" Jack said. "Show both Bart and Blair that you don't need either one of them."
"I don't need anyone" Chuck said, waving another waiter over to get a refill on his scotch. "I just need a bit of luck with the cards."
Jack made a noise like he didn't believe him. Chuck placed his bet on the next round and filled his cheeks with air, slowly letting it out in a long exhale. His mind had already left the game and gone back to Blair. Had he made a mistake last night turning her down? Why couldn't his mind and heart just leave the matter alone? He had thought he was done tormenting himself over this but apparently there was still mileage on this particular vehicle. Jack was right. He needed to channel his emotions into the plan to take on Bart and he ought to be focusing more on his frustration with his father than his frustration with Blair. Either Blair would be there still when he was done taking down Bart or she would have never stayed to begin with. It was as simple as that.
Blair sat on a divan in her mother's Paris house, work samples from some of the best designers spread out on the coffee table in front of her. She should be focused on finding the one best suited for Waldorf Designs and going after that person until she had him or her on the payroll but she couldn't concentrate. The events at the casino had stirred her up and she couldn't put them from her mind.
Chuck had rejected her. Again. In high school he had frequently pushed her away but since then he had always been there when she wanted him to be. She had been surprised enough when he had turned her down that night at the Empire but when she had made her grand gesture without a favorable outcome it had really shook her. She had thought he would be happy to get back together, that he was still waiting for her. He loved her. She knew she had given him some mixed signals in the past year but he had said himself that there were no more secrets between them and that there was nothing left that needed to be resolved. When she had spoken to him earlier on the day when she made her final decision he had been hoping that she had left Dan and was coming back to him. For him to turn around and change his mind in just a few hours unsettled her and when he had walked away from the craps table it had made her lose her footing.
This was different from high school yet in a way the same. Once more he was afraid of giving his heart to her even though they both knew she had it anyway. In high school nothing she had tried had made any difference; he had not come to her until he was ready to. She wasn't comfortable employing that strategy now. She intended to wait for him but she most definitely didn't intend to just wait around and do nothing. He needed something from her but she wasn't sure what it was yet and maybe he didn't know either. Once she figured out what it was and gave it to him he would be hers again. They could be together and stop wasting time and start building the future they both knew would make them the happiest.
She knew she had hurt him over the past few months. What she didn't understand now was why he wouldn't let her make up for it. She had been lost and afraid and too weary to deal with everything that came with being Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck so she had opted for something simpler, something that demanded nothing of her because it didn't matter to her if it sank or if it swam. Being with Dan was the safest she had ever been because he didn't matter enough to be able to hurt her. He was someone who wanted to coddle her and save her and be her white knight and she had gladly let him. How he felt and what he needed from her had barely ever entered her mind. She had wanted to be in that relationship but she had not been emotionally invested the way she had been with any of her previous boyfriends. Looking back now she could see that "rebound" was probably the best word for it. She had lost Louis and she had been afraid to be with Chuck so she had taken the love she couldn't express to either of them and assigned it to someone who would never actually have her heart and therefore could do whatever he wanted with it without risking any real damage. Whether or not that was fair to Dan was not something that would keep her up at night. He had known full well what he got himself into. He had been there through her engagement with Louis, her running away with Chuck, her pact with God and her wedding. He knew how much she loved Chuck and that whatever love was left in her heart had been given to Louis and he had still been the one to drive their relationship status forward. He had known all along that he didn't have her heart when they got together, and if he didn't he was too blind to see her for who she truly was. Dan was not a romantic factor in her life now and he never genuinely had been. It was always about Chuck. Always had been and always would be. She knew that now without the shadow of a doubt.
The question remained, how would she win Chuck back? When grand gestures and promises of love and faithfulness didn't do the trick she wasn't sure what tactics to employ. One had to be careful when dealing with the emotions of Charles Bass. One wrong move and he might add another layer to those walls of his. She didn't want to be too aggressive but at the same time she couldn't retreat too far either. He needed to know every moment that she was there, fighting for him and for their love.
"Blair, darling, you've been looking at those same sheets of designs for the past twenty minutes" Eleanor said, walking into the room with sketches from yet another designer in her hands.
"Just being thorough" Blair replied. She didn't want her mother to think she wasn't completely focused on Waldorf Designs.
"Being thorough would involve actually opening the portfolios and looking at the designs" Eleanor pointed out, placing the portfolio in her hand in front of her daughter.
"There's a lot you can tell from an artist's work by just looking at the cover" Blair claimed, barely aware of what she was saying. She reached forward and grabbed a portfolio, opening it with as much interest as she could muster. "From what I've seen so far none of these feels right for the company."
"Maybe if you look at their actual designs you might get a better idea" Eleanor replied dryly. "Is your head in the game?"
"Of course. Always."
"If it's not it's not the end of the world" Eleanor generously said. "When I gave the company to you I didn't expect you to uproot yourself and come to Paris in just a week. If you need time then take it."
"I don't need time" Blair insisted, flipping through the designs. "I just… need a minute to figure out how to multi-task. There is still one piece missing before the puzzle of my life is complete."
"Would that missing piece be a man?" Eleanor asked, lifting her glasses off her nose.
"A soulmate" Blair said. "The person I need standing by my side, who will encourage and support me as I plan to courage and support him."
"Maybe if you're lucky you'll find him in one of those portfolios" Eleanor said dryly.
"Please, Mother. We both know it's not a matter of finding him."
"Perhaps not but if you're not out trying to reel him back in you might want to put a little more of your concentration to finding a new designer."
Eleanor walked out of the room and Blair gave her a look as she went. When the sound of her mother's clicking heels had diminished she sighed and tossed the portfolio back on the table. It was no use. Until she had a plan in place she couldn't concentrate.
Three weeks went by. He travelled around Europe with Jack, raising funds for their revenge project. She stayed in Paris, doing her best to concentrate on Waldorf Designs and everything she had to learn in order to run it, but always keeping an eye on his location. She had paid a private investigator to follow him wherever he went and update her on his location and his undertakings. With each update she got she felt a knot in her stomach, worried that the investigator would tell her about how he was seen with this woman or that woman and even though she knew that if he was seen with someone else it was just about brief companionship and sex she didn't want to think about it. The thought of him being with someone else, even for just a night, was nauseating. She didn't even realize at first that it made her into something of a hypocrite as she had put him through watching her marry another man, carry that man's child and later have a very public affair/relationship with yet another man. The more she thought back on what she had been doing the previous year the more she marveled at how Chuck had been able to stand it and how he hadn't walked away much sooner.
When Midsummer drew near the two Bass men returned to France. They had raised a substantial amount of money at that point and she wasn't entirely sure why they were revisiting France and not going back to New York but she aimed to find out for herself. Chuck was back in her city and she was going to go and see him.
They had been apart for almost a month. Ample time for him to think about her offer and hopefully reach a place where he was ready to be together again.
"We met our financial goal and exceeded it by five million" Jack grinned widely, leaning back in the wicker chair at the café where they were having breakfast.
"I'm not surprised" Chuck said, eyes locked on his computer screen where he was reading a collection of articles about what his father had been up to in the past month.
"Are you okay? You've barely touched your mimosa."
"I'm fine" Chuck said. "I'm focused. Now we reach the hard part. Crafting the perfect plan to take down Bart Bass."
"I love it when you say his full name instead of calling him Pops" Jack guffawed, as if Chuck had ever used such a word when speaking of his father. "When we do get our vengeance, can't you call him Bartholomew? I would love seeing the look on his face."
"You have such simple pleasures" Chuck said, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, now I see why you're not touching the mimosa" Jack said.
"What do you mean?"
"You mean you didn't order that fine bottle of Dom that's approaching our table?"
With a confused frown Chuck looked up from the computer and spotted the waitress approaching them with a champagne bottle in her hands.
"Must be for the table next to ours."
"The one no one is sitting at?" Jack scoffed.
"Monsieur Bass?" the waitress said as she reached them.
Chuck nodded, eyeing the champagne bottle suspiciously.
"This was sent for you" she said in French, placing the bottle on the table in front of him. "Along with this."
She handed him a card and walked away. Chuck eyed her retreating figure suspiciously and then studied the card. It was small and white with no patterns or decorations. He opened it and found Blair's dainty handwriting.
"What does it say?" Jack asked.
"Nothing" Chuck said, not in the mood to share it with him. "Just a 'Welcome back to Paris' gift from a friend of mine."
"I didn't know you had such good friends in Paris."
"Neither did I."
He put the card away and ignored the bottle for the time being. His eyes returned to the computer screen where he had open an article about Bart and Lily attending a barbecue at the marina. His focus was somewhat less than it had been a few minutes ago and his mind almost immediately went back to the writing on the card.
"Welcome back to Paris. I hope we can rendezvous before you head out again. All my chips are still on the table. XO XO."
"So should we crank open this baby?" Jack grinned, gripping the bottle.
"Leave it alone" Chuck said without looking up from the computer screen. "We're saving it. It could make for a sweet celebration when we win over my father."
"Or we could just buy another bottle for that occasion."
"Focus Jack. It's nine in the morning and we have a lot of work to do. I need your brain sharp, not muddled by champagne, no matter how fine it is."
"As you wish" Jack said, putting the bottle back down on the table. "What do you say we pay the check and get the hell out of here in favor of some place with air-conditioning? I know it's late June but it's getting annoyingly hot."
"Sure" Chuck said, clicking down the article. "We'll go back to the hotel. We need to craft our plan and it has to be the best one yet."
"We're two great Bass minds" Jack smirked. "How can it be anything but?"
"There's just one small problem" Chuck pointed out as he got up and gathered his things. "Bart is also a Bass. Bass minds think alike."
"You're saying we should outsource?"
"Or at least think outside the box. I was hoping we could get Lily to help us out on this one but it seems she's decided to give Bart a second chance. Either she actually cared about him more than I thought or maybe she's just tired of having waffles for breakfast every day." He put his computer bag over his shoulder and grabbed the champagne bottle with his other hand. "Bart is probably on his best behavior with her at the present so I don't think he's going to slip up and if she wants their marriage to work out I'm not going to disrespect her by telling her she should join forces with us instead."
"Forget about Lily" Jack snorted, making his way through the tables to the door. "I know she's the answer to all of your mommy issues but she's hardly the kind of person who could be of use in a good take-down."
"She took you down" Chuck reminded him.
"Lily's not an option" Jack said, a bit sullen at being reminded of what had happened at the opera. "Try using your own devious mind instead."
"I have a few ideas."
"Good." They walked outside and Jack grinned widely. "If any of them involve forcing Bart back into hiding I won't be complaining."
"I'm not out to humiliate him" Chuck said. "I'm out to get back what he stole from me and prove to him that he's wrong about me."
"Right. But it would be so much sweeter if he's utterly humiliated in the process."
"The two of you must have had the oddest childhood" Chuck remarked, shaking his head slightly.
They walked back towards their hotel, Jack continuing to talk about the different ways he wouldn't mind seeing Bart publically humiliated. Chuck listened but didn't feel comfortable with it. In spite of everything he still did love his father and the idea of publically humiliating him went against his every instinct. The end goal of this whole operation wasn't to crush Bart completely, at least not for him, at least not anymore. In the end he wanted Bart to be proud of him and to see what he was capable of and what he had accomplished. The rift between them was wide enough as was and even though he knew it was crazy to think it might work out that way there was a large part of him that hoped that when all the dust had settled they would be able to grow closer.
Unfortunately this was not a Disney Channel movie or an episode of a TV show where every episode had a Lesson To Be Learned. People in real life did not just change their ways after one incident or one speech made them see the light and the error of their ways. In all likelihood the outcome of all of this would be that Chuck lost whatever emotional contact he still had with his father.
He heard Jack say that deep down Chuck must want to see Bart run to the ground just as much as Jack did. Chuck had to admit that there must be some truth to what his uncle was saying. If not then he wouldn't be charging ahead with this plan knowing that the outcome might be that him and Bart lost sight of one another for good. If that was the price that came with getting Bass Industries back and proving Bart wrong then at the end of the day that was a price he was willing to pay.
Very slowly a plan began to take form. There were a million holes to it and they would not be able to launch it before having it being completely airtight but there were some parts that could be instigated already. One of them was Chuck making sure he was seen out on the town, drinking and womanizing and generally acting like the teenage playboy who never grew up. He wanted to take Bart off guard and as Jack had pointed out, playing into his father's expectations of him would give him all the room he needed to mastermind the scheme without his father suspecting a thing. Bart would have no problem believing the worst about him so it would probably not take a lot of effort at all.
He went out to one of the hottest restaurants in Paris, a fairly new place named after its head chef, someone Chuck had never even heard of. It was the kind of establishment where you dressed up nicely and behaved yourself so Chuck went there together with a crowd of people of which he only knew two, and didn't even know them very well. His company for the evening were all party animals, two of the women were strippers and none of them had any inhibitions whatsoever. Chuck pretended to have a blast even though he was more and more beginning to feel like this kind of lifestyle was way behind him.
To make sure Bart knew about the evening he had taken two steps. One was to have Jack send an anonymous tip to some of the paparazzi and the other was to make sure they were loud and obnoxious and that he probably wouldn't be welcome there ever again. It worked like a charm. By ordering in a large Jack Daniels before he had even taken a seat at the table he was able to misdirect his dinner company and give them the impression that he was drinking as much as they were even though all he actually had with his food was the water put out on the table. He was therefore practically sober all evening and could control it any way he wanted to.
Their dinner lasted about an hour before they were asked to leave. One of the women, Dominique, came up and wrapped her arms around his neck, cooing like a dove and pressing her chest up against him.
"Looks like we need to take this party elsewhere" she cooed in French. "I know the perfect place to continue it…"
"Tell me more" he replied, pretending to be interested even though her tricks did nothing to arouse him.
"I have a loft not far from here…"
"I'm not a fan of lofts."
"Are you a fan of art? Or of naked women?" She smirked and pressed her chest to him even more. "I model for one of the art schools. Some of the students have given me their paintings of me. You could take a look and tell me if the paintings do me justice."
That didn't sound the least bit interesting. Not that she wasn't attractive but he had grown rather tired of women like her who seemed to be broadcasting their sexuality at all times. It was more fun and more alluring when you didn't get everything served to you at once.
"Sounds great" he said anyway.
She smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist, walking with him through the room. He planned on following her to her place and then leaving as soon as he possibly could but for now he played the part of the excited party animal eager to get home to her place and subsequently get lucky. He knew the paparazzi were still outside the restaurant and he might as well give them a good show.
They stepped out into the foyer of the restaurant, laughing together at something she had said which wasn't particularly funny. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Blair standing ten feet away, dressed in a gorgeous apricot dress, her hair and makeup arranged for an elegant night out. Her cherry lips were parted in a surprised expression, her big eyes looking at him with surprise and disappointment. What on earth was she doing there?
"Some other time, Dominique" he said, dropping his act immediately and dismissing her without a second thought.
"It's a shame" Dominique said, looking at Blair like she was far beneath them both.
She walked off with her friends, casting a lingering look at Chuck who didn't notice. Blair had closed her mouth and looked like she was battling with her pride. He walked closer to her and wondered if she was going to turn around and walk away.
"Fancy running in to you here" he said, knowing it sounded lame but fresh out of better things to say.
"Yes" she replied. "Certainly surprising."
She had gone there knowing full well that he would be there but given what she had just seen there was no way she would let him know that. It hurt enough as it was without revealing that while he was leaving dinner parties with scantily clad women named Dominique she was dressing to the nines to stage a run-in with him at a restaurant in the hopes of getting the chance to speak with him and get an idea where his mind and heart was at.
"Jack and I still need a real plan" he said, surprising her by what seemed like a non-sequiteur. "While we craft it I've begun my act of misdirection. I want Bart to think that he was right about me and that I've gone back to parties and loose women and acting out. That way he won't see me coming."
"Did it ever occur to you to just point out to him the hypocrisy of his judging you for that kind of lifestyle when the reason we found out he was still alive was that we caught him at a brothel?" Blair asked.
Chuck laughed a little but there was no joy in it.
"Like most of us he is blind to his own faults and hypocrisies" he said.
"Maybe I shouldn't keep you" Blair said. "Your… friend is probably waiting for you."
"I sure hope not" he said with half a chuckle. "I thought it might be useful if the paparazzi got a shot of me leaving with a random woman but to tell you the truth I was having a hard time coming up with a good excuse to leave her as soon as we got to her place."
Blair smiled a little, relieved at what he was saying. She wanted to believe he was telling the truth and saw no reason why he would be lying. While he knew where she stood and how she felt he had made no commitment to her and was a free agent. He hadn't given her any promises or any encouragements and was free to sleep with, or date, whomever he chose. She just wasn't sure how she would handle something like that but she knew she would have to bear it. Like he had had to bear watching her marry Louis and date Humphrey. Suddenly the thought of that, and how it must have affected him, made her cringe inwardly.
"I should let you get to your dinner" he said. "It was nice running into you."
She opened her mouth to reply but could think of nothing good to say. She closed her mouth again and nodded.
"It was nice seeing you too."
"Take care."
He walked past her and she turned to watch him go. When he walked out into the streets she saw him put on a performance like he was drunk and heading for some other place to party. She hoped this would not all come back to bite him. It seemed like a poor strategy when the endgame was for Bart to take him seriously and see that he had changed.
She stood there and watched him until he disappeared from sight. Then she walked inside the restaurant, figuring she might as well eat since she was there. Or maybe order food to go. Eating alone at a four star restaurant seemed a bit too sad.
Chuck and Jack stayed in Paris for another two weeks, crafting their plan but both of them knowing that it was still far from being good enough. Not that they didn't have a lot of ideas but everything they could come up with seemed like something Bart would be able to see coming. They needed something unpredictable. Eventually Jack grew restless and wanted a change of venue, deciding that they should either go to his place in Australia and see if they could rally troops there, or they should go back to New York and put the finishing touches back home. Chuck preferred to wait with returning until they had a plan to set into motion but Jack argued that if they came back and did nothing to retaliate against Bart at first they might be able to lure him into a false sense of security.
After being pestered by Jack for two days Chuck finally agreed to go back to the US. They seemed to be stuck with their plan and a change of scenery might be beneficiary. If nothing else, maintaining his lecherous image would certainly be more convenient back home where all he needed to do was spend a few nights at week at Victrola and call a few prostitutes he knew and ask them to come over to the Empire every so often. They could always entertain Nate or just hang out. The important thing was what Bart would think.
He spent his last Parisian afternoon in his hotel room, a large suitcase open on his bed while he packed. It would be kind of nice to return home. He hadn't seen Nate in a while, Monkey had been at a kennel for long enough that he might have forgotten his master and he hadn't been able to get a hold of Serena since he left. Resuming his life back home might be just what he needed to get some inspiration for the take-down.
There was a knock on the door and he went to open, expecting to find Jack but seeing Blair standing there instead. She was wearing a light summer dress and a straw hat on her head. Under the brim of the hat he could see a few beads of sweat. Was it that hot outside today?
"Hey" he said, surprised to see her.
"Hi."
"This was unexpected" he remarked.
"Is this a bad time?"
"No" he said. "You just caught me packing. Jack and I fly back to New York tomorrow evening."
"I know" she said. "That's why I'm here. I know I promised to give you space but you're heading back across the Atlantic so you don't give me much of a choice." She cocked her neck and tried her best to look confident. "Can I come in?"
He stepped aside to let her enter, wondering why she was there. It felt a bit better seeing her now than it had when she showed up at the casino but he was still a bit wary and had his protective walls up. He had promised himself not to let her back in unless he had good reason to believe she was sincere about them and he had a reason to believe that she understood why he was hesitant.
"Just the one suitcase?" she remarked, left eyebrow raised. "Chuck Bass travels light these days."
"I have two more… They're in the other room."
"Oh good. For a moment there you had me worried."
"Why are you here, Blair?" he asked, walking closer to her. "I thought we had said everything there was to say between us."
"No" she said, turning around to face him. "No we haven't. Not by a long shot. Nothing has changed for me between now and when we were at the casino. I'm still all in. I still want this, you, more than I've wanted anything else."
He looked at her in silence and it made her hesitate a little. She could see in his eyes that he was resolved not to be persuaded by a bit of sweet talking. They were way past such things. What she needed to do was to find the right thing to say.
"Things are good with my mother's company" she said. "I like it. It's a good job for me. The only thing is… I miss you. I know I once said that I had to be Blair Waldorf before I could be Chuck Bass' girlfriend and that I needed to be strong and independent on my own. Finally it feels like I'm on my way to getting there, though I know I have a bit left to go, but being Blair Waldorf and running Waldorf Designs is not enough. I wake up every day feeling this huge void in my life and there's nobody else but you who can fill it."
She looked into his eyes and hoped to see him relenting at least a little but his face hadn't moved a muscle and his eyes hadn't changed a bit. She was beginning to think he didn't intend on saying anything at all to her when he finally spoke.
"There's just one thing I need to know…" Chuck said. "Why is this time different?"
Blair hesitated for a second, not sure at first that she had understood his question.
"Because you're different" she then said. "You've changed. Matured. You've become the man I always knew you could be; someone you have shown signs of being in the past but never stayed with. The difference now is that you've bettered yourself and grown up and you've done it for you. Not to win me back or to prove something to someone. That is why it's going to stick this time. Because you did it for you." Realizing she might be sounding like the person he had used to be was impossible to love she quickly continued. "I'm different. Losing you and the future I thought we would have that year after high school broke me. It took me a long time to be ready to bet on us again and the point where I am now is the same point I was at six months ago when the accident happened, just as you suggested. Losing my baby in that accident and you being dead, it shook me to my very core. It made me panic. I think… I think I realized once and for all how devastating it would be and how horribly it would hurt if I lost you for good. So I didn't dare to be with you because the only way I could protect myself from that pain was to never allow myself the luxury of us being together. Like… Like a detox. Keeping you in my life but not an essential part of it. That way I always had a small part of you, hopefully enough to sustain me, and if something bad was to happen to you the loss wouldn't be so deafening."
"So you chose to lose by default?"
"Until I realized that by living my life that way I lost out on so much more. I'd rather love you and be with you and die from grief if you were taken from me than to never feel the happiness only you can bring and not give you all the love and happiness I have to offer in return. Not to mention I realized that no matter what it would still hurt to the point of insanity to lose you and if I didn't take the opportunity to spend my life with you then I would one day be looking back wondering why I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me and why I denied myself true happiness."
"I still don't understand."
"I'm sorry" Blair said.
"What?"
"I'm sorry for not taking your feelings and your wishes into account. I'm sorry for refusing to give you credit for your good deeds and your growth. I'm sorry for flaunting my new relationships in your face and showing so little regard for your feelings. I'm sorry for asking you to wait for me and then getting into a relationship with Humphrey. I'm sorry for the way I treated you after the car accident. I'm sorry for all the double-standards. I'm sorry for telling you I was no longer in love with you when nothing could be further from the truth. Most of all I'm sorry for acting like I took you for granted, and for perhaps not just acting like it, expecting you to take me back with open arms whenever it suited me." Her voice trembled a little as she finished her apology. "Also I'm sorry for putting you through the thing that scared me the most. Thinking you've lost the love of your life for good."
"Thank you" he said, his voice filled with so much emotion it almost brought tears to her eyes. "I never needed you to grovel or even to apologize… I just needed you to see me."
"I do see you" she said, a tear falling down her cheek. "And I know, trust me, I do. I know your fears and why you have them. At first it upset me that you wanted to get your company back from Bart or get something of your own to build a future on before you could be with me again but you were right to think that way. I was too wrapped up in myself and in my own emotions at that point. Now I see that what you need is good. It doesn't mean that you don't love me enough. It means that you can't make me the thing your whole life circles around and I think that's good. I don't want to be what holds your whole life together. I want us to be complete before we complete one another."
"I'm not ready to be us again" he said. "I need to handle my unfinished business with Bart. As you say, I need to have my own future first."
"Then let me help" Blair said, taking a step closer. "Let me be there, every step of the way, as a friend. Let me be your best friend, the way I used to be."
He looked at her in silence for a moment, excitement at the prospect building inside him.
"Okay" he then said. "Just as friends."
"As friends" Blair nodded.
For the first time all summer Chuck smiled genuinely. Having Blair beside him without having to bet his heart again and without the pressure of rebuilding a relationship sounded like the best possible outcome for him right now. Maybe this was exactly what they needed to find their way back to one another and to find a place where they were both ready and comfortable. Rebuilding the friendship that had been lost.
"It's not going to be easy" he said. "Nor will it be glamorous."
"Basses fight dirty" Blair said. "Just like Waldorfs. Bart will never know what hit him."
"He'll be shocked, that's for sure" Chuck smiled. "He thinks Jack's and my relationship is far too frosty for us to be able to join forces."
"Just like Cassius and Brutus he'll discover that when you betray those closest to you triumvirates can form among the most unlikely of allies."
"I'm glad you came here to talk" Chuck said with a little laugh. "Not just because of the things you said to me… but because it seems we have just gained a very valuable ally."
"You can count on it."
"Jack and I need someone who's not a part of the family tree to help concoct this scheme, that much is clear by now."
"Bart may be able to see you two coming but he's never gone up against Blair Waldorf" Blair smirked. "Especially not Blair Waldorf on the warpath."
The idea of taking on Bart Bass thrilled her. She had had front-row seats to his treatment of Chuck over the years and knew better than anyone what the fallout had been. She had long since lost count of the times she had seen Chuck broken over something that had to do with his father, fighting day in and day out with the issues he never thought they would get to work out. Now that Bart had returned he had only made things worse and it angered Blair. She held him partially responsible for hers and Chuck's relationship failing. So many of Chuck's issues were the product of Bart Bass' parenting and she knew that if it hadn't been for Bart Chuck would probably have taken her back up on the roof of the Empire. Bart Bass was way overdue for being on the receiving end of a Blair Waldorf takedown.
"It will be glorious" she smiled, stepping closer to Chuck and plucking a stray hair from his shirt just as an excuse to touch him. "We're going to teach Bart a lesson he will never forget. And we're going to do it together."
Expect an update in a week or two. Let me know what you thought!