Here's my contribution to Limoversary. I know it's early, but I'm not home and I don't know if I will be able to use internet from my laptop in the next few days, so I thought, hey, better early than late! I hope you'll like it.

Prompt: "You can see right through me; can't you, Chuck? Into my core."

Entirely:

When Blair crossed the doorstep, leaving the icy air of an early December evening outside, the house was unusually quiet. She shivered a bit for the changing of temperature; she swept away some fresh snow from her coat, before hanging it on the hall stand and walking through the foyer. She sighed in frustration. No one was home.

Chuck had been in Vienna for a week, supervising the works in progress of his new hotel, and he wouldn't have come back before tomorrow. Although they were both used to staying apart for some days due to their work schedules, Blair didn't like when he wasn't home. Henry used to become grumpy and she could never stop herself from feeling nostalgic; missing him made hermore irritable than she generally was.

Normally Chuck would have put someone in charge of the overseeing part, but he had been more dedicated and enthusiastic about this project than usual. During the last five years he had worked on expanding his activity abroad by opening a chain of luxury hotels, all around Europe and Asia; and the Palast Henrys was supposed to be the final masterpiece

("It means Henry's Palace in German," Chuck had told her showing her the plan, months before, glowing with joy and passion. "It will be majestic. He'll know all of this was made for him one day," he had added and Blair had felt so utterly proud and lucky that she had needed to shut him up with a kiss, to stop him from moving her to tears).

The opening was planned for the Christmas week and they were going to spend the winter holidays there. It had taken Chuck some time to convince her to break her tradition of passing Christmas in New York (she loved hosting the Christmas Eve dinner party almost as much as she loved doing it for Thanksgiving) but, eventually, she had given in when heassured her that he was going to invite the entire family ("Our son would never accept to spend Christmas only with the two of us. He likes his traditions, just like his mother," Chuck had joked).

Both Henry and the dog, on the other hand, were having a sleepover at Nate's. It was some sort of habit they had gotten used to during the past months, once Henry had turned three and finally grown out of his fear of sleeping away from home (but only if Monkey was with him, because ever since Henry was born, Monkey had been sleeping in his nursery first and then directly in the kid's bed). Nate enjoined spending time with his nephew and Henry was absolutely in love with him, so she had happily agreed, pretending not to know that Nate was going to allow the kid to stay up till late and have gelato for dinner ("I can't tell you what we did, mom. Uncle Nate said it's our little secret," Henry had answered to her questions, after the first time he had spent the night at his uncle's place, causing Blair to roll eyes and shake her head).

So, knowing she was going to be alone, Blair had invited Serena for a girl's night. She had managed not to turn hysterical during that exhausting day of work at the atelier only by holding onto the thought of having some time to catch up with her best friend, eating macaroons and drinking red wine while gossiping about all the people they didn't like; but Serena had canceled on her an hour ago, blabbing about how Humphrey was going through some sort of writer's block and she couldn't just leave him alone ("He's going to be my husband in a few months, B! I have to be here for him!").

Blair had hung up without giving Serena the time to apologize. She had texted Dorota, asking her to make sure that dinner was ready by the time she would arrive, to dismiss the rest of the help and go home to her children and Vanya as well. She was so peeved that she felt like she could really use some time completely alone in her house.

Nervously, Blair left her keys fall on the small table in the center of the room and checked on the mails that Dorota had left there for her to read: they were all invitations to parties she and Chuck would have had to attend during that month. A satisfied smile appeared on her lips, as the thought of having to make a selection came to her mind and made her temporarily forget about how angry she was at Serena.

Ever since they had gotten married, they calibrated their public appearances with extreme care. Indeed, even though both of them enjoined having a rich and animated social life, they also considered themselves very exclusive guests; not just everybody was worthyof having Chuck and Blair Bass to attend their events.

Feeling a bit calmer, Blair sighed again and made her way to the stairs, before climbing them. Reaching the first floor, she immediately noticed a soft light coming from the dining room, which doors had been left open. She frowned in confusion, crossing the living room and stopping at the entrance of the chamber, from where she could see that four silver candle holders had been placed on the cabinet next to the door. They were the only source of illumination. She slowly stepped in.

Blair was just starting to look around when she felt the grab of two hands squeezing her hips. She gasped and closed her eyes for a brief moment, her throat tightened by the sudden scare, before recognizing that strong and familiar touch. She smiled, as he sank his face into her hair and she felt his lips on the curve between her shoulder and her neck.

"You almost gave me a heart attack, Chuck," she whispered, her heart still beating fast from the shock. "You were supposed to come back tomorrow."

"The devil lies, Blair," e said in her ear, before slithering his hands to her waist and making her turn to face him.

Blair smiled at his sight and took a moment to study him, a satisfied smirk crossing his face and his dark, oblique eyes, staring at her with that ill-concealed bit of lust and all of their charm. The first time she'd seen him again after being forced to renounce to his presence for some days was always a thrilling experience: he never failed to look more handsome than usual to her eyes, as if being apart from him had worn thinner her ability to resist him.

"Where were you hiding?" she asked him, as she slid her hands on the red velvet of his jacket. "I didn't see you when I came in."

"In the corner," he answered, pointing out to his left. "Being my wife I thought you were a master at spotting things in the shadows," he joked, pulling her closer to eliminate any distance between their bodies.

Usually Blair would have found at least ten proper answers to that statement – which was so incredibly true and deep even in its irony, because Chuck was always nothing but an extremely acute person - but all she could do in that moment was stare at the shape of his lips, at their elegant and aristocratic curve. She suddenly kissed her husband, grabbing his hair with one hand. As soon as their tongues met she shivered. All of the frustration she had accumulated during that day disappeared at the moment she tasted his mouth.

"I see you've missed me," Chuck told her once she parted her lips from his, to catch her breath. Blair bent her head on one side and reached for his neck, smiling in pleasure when she felt him tightening the grip around her waist, all of his muscles suddenly tensed.

"Let me show you just how much," she purred into his neck, trailing kisses across his collar bone.

If only she had been able to see him, she would have noticed he was doing his best not to give in. But, since her eyes were closed, Blair felt surprised when he let go of her waist and stepped back, separating from her body. At first she looked at him in confusion. Then, noticing he had started smirking mischievously at her very disappointed expression, she gave him an offended glance.

"Are you rejecting me, Bass?" she asked, her voice suddenly more acute. Watching him, still grinning pleased in front of her, she felt anger rising in her chest. How dare he? He had been away for a week and now that he was home he was having fun torturing her. She crossed her arms, wrinkling her eyebrows in annoyance.

"I could never," he assured her, using his best dramatic tone. He got closer again, taking her hand to kiss it.

Blair swallowed, feeling the anger rapidly fading away, replaced at his touch by the unbearable desire to have him. It was a game, she realized, as he let her hand go and walked towards the table in the middle of the room; and now she knew she wouldn't have been able not to give up to how he was making her wait, because there was always something so absolutely fascinating in the many ways he was still able to surprise her.

"Resisting you is always an agony and I wouldn't dream of being able to do it after not having had you for this long," he added. She couldn't see his face anymore, because the candle lights weren't strong enough to enlighten him properly now that he was a few steps far from them, but she could still hear his low voice. Blair trembled, holding her breath.

"But there's something I want you to have first," he said, coming back in her field of view. He was holding a leather box in his hands, a certain indefinable sparkle in his glance.

Chuck took her by the hand and she let him guide her closer to the candles, where the light was a bit more powerful. Blair was still in front of him, waiting.

"I hope you have something in there worthy of the torture you're making me go through, Chuck," she complained, but he could feel how the curiosity had made her voice tremble with excitement.

Chuck stared at Blair, intensely focused on her eyes. They were shining from so many different things, there wasn't just arousal in the way her dark chocolate irises stayed fixed on him; there was also a glorious mix of vitality, energy and love. Even though she was still, nothing about her seemed to be passive, not the way she was biting her lips and breathing hard, her shoulders shaking every time her chest lifted and lowered. She looked magnificent; full of a mystery he knew he still couldn't completely understand, something about the power she had to make him feel contradictorily both weak and strong only by standing in front of him.

This image of Blair, her seductive complexity, the way she always seemed to shine from her shadowy sensuality, had been one of the many things running through his mind when he had seen the piece of jewelry he was still hiding in the box. Although buying her gifts when he was away was an habit he couldn't – and didn't want to– fall out off (choosing things for Blair wasn't just a way to show her his devotion, but also a way to feel like she was somehow always with him and to realize every time how deeply he knew her), this one time it had been different. Remembering her, he had felt the irrepressible need to have it.

"I can assure you it will be worth every minute of this painful wait," he said and opened the case so that she could finally see what was inside.

As soon as Blair's gaze fell on the jewel, she gasped. The necklace which was laid down on the silky fabric covering the inner of the box was one of the most incredible things she had ever seen. Though its chain was a trail of sparking diamonds, the pendant was an oval-shaped black stone, which seemed to shine from its own darker light. It was breathtaking.

Chuck smiled as he saw her staring at the necklace, her eyes completely captured by its beauty. Now the black diamond was reflecting Blair's irises and the soft candles' flames in a dazzling union of shadows and lights. He held his breath, thinking back to the moment he had seen that object for the first time and found Blair in its unique charm, in all of its dark shades. It had reminded him of her in such a violent and powerful way that all he had been able to think about ever since he had bought it was seeing it worn by her.

"It's beautiful," Blair whispered, still looking at black diamond. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she brought her gaze back to Chuck.

When he met her eyes again, he lightly stroked her hip with the hand that wasn't holding the case and she turned, obeying to his touch and giving her back to him, so that he could take the necklace from the box and lace it around her neck. In the moment she felt the pendant on her skin, laying gracefully on her chest, Blair shivered. She reached for the diamond with her fingers and touched it softly.

Like he had done earlier when he had surprised her by grabbing her hips from behind, Chuck pressed his body against hers, one arm possessively wrapped around her waist and his free hand covering Blair's, right over the black stone. He slowly caressed the back of her hand with a finger, before making her spin, so that he could finally admire her with the necklace on.

When he did, Chuck felt out of breath. The dark diamond, contrasting with the pale skin that was left visible by the neckline of her dress, gave her the exact glow he had expected, something that reminded him of the moment he had really seen her, the night she had exploded in his arms, shining from passion and wildness as he had never expected her to be.

He still cherished in his mind every memory of the way she had let him have her for the first time, knowing that she hadn't given him just her body, she had showed him a part of herself she had fought to cancel, to pretend it didn't exist. Blair had elected him as the person she wouldn't have hidden from, as the one who could see and understand every shade of her soul. She had chosen him and no one had ever chosen him before.

"As soon as I saw it I knew it belonged to you," he explained, trying to put into words what he felt. "And to me too, because everything you are is something I belong to."

"Why a black diamond, Chuck?" Blair asked suddenly, her voice a bit broken by the overwhelming emotion he could see in her glance. She put her hands on his hips and then made them slide till his chest, looking at him straight in the eyes.

Chuck smiled. "Because you let me see you. I was the one you chose to show yourself in your completeness to," he confessed her, touching her chin and entrapping it between his fingers. He raised it up, so that their noses were almost touching and their mouths were separated by less than an inch. "All of you, even that darkness you thought you had to be ashamed of. I want you to never hide it, Blair. It makes you unique. It makes you mine."

A moved tear fell on Blair's cheek, as a happy smile lighted up her face. Chuck dried that drop with his thumb.

"Entirely yours," she said.

Chuck felt Blair's back curving under his arm and her legs trembling and surrendering under his weight when he bent down to kiss her.

That night he had her on the table, because they didn't make it to their bedroom. They got rid of their clothes in a matter of seconds, before finally giving into the passion and enjoying the pleasure they had been forced to renounce all week.

The necklace stayed on her neck for the whole time just to remind him of all the ways she belonged to him. He was the only one who could see all the faceting of the black diamond she was: rare, precious and complicated. Chuck still felt proud, surprised and grateful for that privilege as the first time she had showed herself to him.

The ballroom of the Palast Henrys was full of people. The opening a few days earlier had been a huge success and they were now hosting a Christmas Eve party. Blair, along with Serena, who had finally accepted Chuck's offer to work as PR for his hotels chain (it had taken Chuck months to convince her, because his sister had never liked people trying to help her understand what to do with her life), had organized the event and made sure it was absolutely unforgettable. Even if he wasn't in New York, enjoying the only company of his family in his home, Chuck couldn't be happier: all of his loved ones were there.

From where he was now, in a corner of the room, he could spot every single one of them. Jack was dancing with Georgina, his hand peacefully placed on her butt, even though the music was a waltz and that move wasn't exactly appropriate. She seemed particularly happy about it, Chuck noticed with a smirk.

Nate was chatting with Serena, who was clearly only pretending to listen (she kept on checking on her phone, probably waiting for Humphrey to call her – and make her feel guilty for not being in New York with him, even though he had received an invitation and chose on his free will not to come, Chuck thought bitterly).

Lily was making Henry spin to the rhyme of the melody. His son looked joyful in the suit he had appositely made his tailor sew for him (an exact copy of the one Chuck was wearing, because Henry loved "Looking like daddy."). There was a Christmas tree waiting for him in their suite upstairs, surrounded by so many gifts that Chuck had lost the count of how many he and Blair had bought and how many had been brought by all the others; and he couldn't wait to enjoy Henry's face next morning, when he would see all of those colorful packages.

He felt something warm in his chest when his eyes finally found Blair. She was laughing at something her father had said in her ear. Even though the room was full of people chatting and the music was loud enough he thought he could hear the sound of her laugh, silvery and bright. She was wearing a gold gown and the black diamond necklace fell perfectly on her neckline.

Chuck smiled glanced down. He made his hand slide till the pocket inside his dark purple jacket and reached for the letter he had put into it. Blair had given it to him that morning, along with her Christmas gift, a pair of cuff links with black diamonds set into platinum circles.

"I'm giving you this gift earlier only because I want you to wear whatever is inside tonight, Bass," Blair had told him, handing him the small box all wrapped up in purple paper. "And I want you to read this too, but when I'm not around," she had added, showing him the letter.

It was the perfect moment, Chuck thought, as he brought his eyes back on Blair, who had been approached by her mother and was now engaged in a conversation with her.

Chuck opened the folder and extracted the paper, before starting to read.

"Dear Chuck,

I'm writing this letter while we're on the plane that is bringing us to Vienna. I know you've been secretly worrying about this opening and about spending Christmas away from home, but everything is going to be fine. I've never seen you failing in business and Christmas will be perfect anyway; like you told me, as long as we have us and our family, it doesn't matter where we are.

You can't see me writing because you're trying to make Henry sleep. Don't feel bad about it, it's not your fault if he can't, you're doing your best, but unfortunately you're not Monkey and you know he can't sleep without his puppy. Maybe we should have brought him.

You're a good father, Chuck. As simple as it may sound – and probably, Chuck, it's supposed to be simple -, the best thing you do for him is letting him know you love him. He's still too young to understand the great man you are, but one day he will. He will treasure all the memories you're building with him and know that all you're doing is meant for him to be happy.

I went to buy your Christmas gift this morning, while you thought I was busy ordering Dorota what to pack (I don't have to, she already knows). It didn't take long. The moment I saw it, I knew it was perfect for you. Buying it, I completely understood what you meant when you gave me that necklace a couple of weeks ago (again, thank you, if I could I'd wear it every day).

I am such a lucky person, Chuck, and not just because you loved everything I had to offer, even what I thought it was impossible to love. You also accepted what I couldn't accept about myself and fought hard to finally make me do it. I know now, and I've known it for a long time, that you would have never let me hide my dark side, because you love me as a whole.

I know it because I wouldn't either. I love you too much not to want everything about you, Chuck. I belong to every part of your soul, in such a deep and unconditional way that the power of my feeling used to scare me. I'm not scared anymore: I know who I am now and I know who you are.

You, like I did, let me see you. Even though it used to terrify you, you found the courage to show me the lightest part of yourself and I found the strength to accept and want the darkest. I've loved and still love them both. I love them equally. I could never renounce to one to have the other. And I would never want you to. I wouldn't let you, because losing a part of you would be like losing a part of

me.

Our darkness is a piece of who we've been, who we are and who we will be. And it is, most importantly, part of our love. It's like a black diamond. It may shine from a darker light, a deeper light, but it still shines. And it'll keep on shining.

Merry Christmas, Chuck. I love you. Every part of you.

Entirely yours,
your wife

Blair."

Once he finished and raised up his gaze he realized she was standing in front of him. He didn't know how long she had been there, because the reading had taken some minutes, since he had to stop to dry his eyes a couple of times. She had always had the power to make him cry – for joy or for pain.

"Did I manage to make tears appear in the eyes of The Great Chuck Bass?" Blair teased him, putting her hands on his shoulders to let him know she wanted to dance. He folded the letter and put it back in the inner pocket, where it would have been safe.

Even though his eyes were still wet he smirked, wrapping her waist with his arm.

"Shut up and dance with me, Mrs. Bass," he said, without answering to her question. Blair shook her head, but she let him take her to the middle of the room, where he made her whirl fast till she had to grasp to his jacket not to fall, because her head was starting to spin. Chuck smiled, before kissing her.

She was his. Entirely.

"I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses."

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

[1] Black diamonds are extremely rare and precious. In real life Chuck would probably have a really hard time finding a necklace with a big stone, but hey, it's fiction!

[2] English is not my language, I'm Italian. I apologize for the possible mistakes.