It took 15 years for Bart Bass to die of a heart attack. For real this time.
The death of someone is usually a sad time, but for many people, the day that Bart Bass finally died had been a day of relief.
Lily was free from acting like the perfect partner for Bart so that she and her family wouldn't be in danger for knowing his secrets.
Nate was free from Bart and the Spectator was returned to him.
And Chuck and Blair were able to be together again.
When Bart had forced Chuck to move to Moscow to protect Blair, Chuck hadn't returned. He and Blair had tried to communicate through the phone, but Bart was firm about Chuck truly being away from everyone he loved. It wasn't long before Bart found out and told Chuck that all contact had to be cut off. The only way they were able to successfully contact each other without Bart knowing was through letters, which they would send to each other through close friends and family who would take trips between New York and Europe. Blair had never been more thankful for her father moving to Paris with a male model. They devised a system so that not even Bart could discover it. It meant that there were only a few letters over the years, but it was still something.
It had been 15 years since Blair and Chuck had seen each other, touched each other, heard each other's voice or spoken to each other.
Chuck was seated in a limo on his way to Lily's home, pondering his return to New York. Lily was the first to know, and she called Chuck as soon as she found out that Bart had a heart attack in the middle of a board meeting. As soon as Lily had arrived at the hospital, Bart was pronounced dead. Chuck certainly wasn't sad to see his father go this time, as he held a strong resentment towards him for forcing him to live away from everyone he loved, as well as physically threatening the love of his life. He wanted to call Blair to tell her that he was coming, but call him crazy, he didn't want that to be the way he first spoke to his beloved again. This meeting was sacred to him.
Chuck knew that Blair was currently on top of the world, judging by the articles he had read which detailed her various successes as the head of Waldorf Designs. He always knew that his Blair could do it, and now she could believe in her natural talents too.
He closed his eyes as he felt other parts of his body stir when he thought of her other natural talents, one that he hadn't experienced for an unbearably long time. God, he couldn't wait to touch her again, to kiss every inch of her and to hear her voice. He had wrote about this quite a lot in his letters, and while Blair was shy about it at first, Chuck recalled a time when he read a letter of hers that was so full of sexual longing for him that his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets as he read it. He had to... take matters into his own hands every time he read it.
Chuck wondered if she had changed much, if she had dated other men without him knowing. The tabloids never revealed any relationships, but he knew better than anyone that Blair was capable of conducting secret relationships. A surge of blinding jealousy and hurt ripped through him at the thought. He didn't know about Blair, but he had barely looked at another woman for the entire time he had been away from her. The only thing that put him at ease was that his bet had been on them since that night in Monte Carlo, and he had faith in their love. Blair still had the Harry Winston ring that he had given her as a promise, and his heart ached at the thought of finally being able to place it on her finger in proposal.
Blair picked up her tea cup with shaking hands as she sat with Serena at Lily's apartment. To say Blair was a nervous wreck was an understatement. Serena had called her as soon as she found out that Bart had died. Dorota had watched her worriedly as she helped her to quickly dress and prepare to head over to Lily's place. Blair was extra-snappy and adamant that Dorota make her look perfect. After all, this could be the moment Blair had been waiting 15 years for.
She was going to be with Chuck again. And this time, she wouldn't take any excuses from him. They had waited an abnormal amount of time to be together. Blair had been strong, hard-working and focused on building her empire which was inspired by her faith in Chuck. She was happy with her successes, but it didn't stop her from crying herself to sleep on the nights when the loneliness became too much. Even if Blair wanted to, she could not accept any dates from the strings of men who asked her out. How could she? Chuck had her mind, body and soul.
Blair missed him in her bed. When she got her hands on him again, she wanted to spend a good day on each part of his body, caressing it and feasting on it. All of her panties had been ruined at some point from reading his letters to her over the years, and once she even naughtily sent him a pair. Nobody had ever come close to Chuck when they had sex, and she had been craving it for over a decade.
God, over a decade. She was almost 37.
"Serena!" Blair cried, startling her friend.
"What's wrong?" Serena asked with a concerned look.
"How do I know Chuck will still be attracted to me?" Blair asked in a small voice, feeling like a teenage girl again. She hadn't changed all that much she guessed, excepting for the fact her hair was longer and she currently wore it how she did in junior year. But maybe there were frown lines or grey hairs that she had missed. As though Serena sensed her impending panic, she quickly gave her a soothing hug.
"B, breathe. You are Blair Waldorf of Waldorf Designs. A beautiful, strong and highly sought after woman. Chuck Bass would be lucky to have you" Serena said firmly, giving her a bright smile. Blair nodded and straightened up at her best friend's words.
Blair took a steely gulp of her tea as she waited in anticipation of Chuck's arrival, which Lily had said would be any moment.
The first person Chuck saw when he got out of his limo and entered the lobby of the building was Nate who had entered at that moment. They froze as they eyed each other, taking in how much the other had grown up. They both looked like older, more distinguished versions of their 21 year old selves, from their fashion to their hair cuts.
Then Nate pulled Chuck into a long hug that lasted well over a minute. Chuck had a lump in his throat, and he swore he saw Nate wipe a tear from his eye as he pulled back to stare at him.
They stared at each other in speechless awe for several long moments, and then chuckled because they were basically long-lost brothers.
"I honestly started to think that I'd never see you again man" Nate finally choked out.
"I'm here now" Chuck could only murmur in reply as he shrugged.
"What you did," Nate said with a sigh, "is more noble than anything I could ever imagine. I'm sorry that I never got the chance to tell you. I'm sorry that my unforgivable mistake cost you this when you could have taken him down long ago."
Chuck studied his best friend who looked like he was on the verge of breaking down right in front of him. Nathaniel had been carrying around this pain for so long, and Chuck wondered how much this whole thing had weighed down on him. He couldn't hate Nate in this moment, because once upon a time Chuck's self-hatred and horrible mistakes had held him back from everything. Over Chuck's years in solitude, he had come to realise that he had already defeated his father by being a real man. A man takes care of his family, instead of being the cause of all of his son's loss. His father was a weak, sick monster that Chuck would never understand, and he had stopped wanting to.
"It's okay," Chuck said gently, squeezing his shoulder, "it was my issues with my father which were partially what got you into this mess to begin with."
Nate was struck by how much his friend had grown up, and he wasn't referring to his looks. You could see it all in the way he spoke and the serious expression on his face. The only phrase that came to Nate's mind was that Chuck looked beyond his years in wisdom.
"You are a better man than most, and your father never was one" Nate told Chuck with all the sincerity he felt. Chuck gave his friend a lop-sided smile, and then asked what he was dying to know.
"Is Blair here?" Chuck asked nervously.
"Come and see for yourself" Nate said with a huge, boyish grin, pulling Chuck to the elevator.
When Blair heard the sound of the elevator opening, she just knew it was him. Lily was the first to meet him at the elevator, bursting into tears and embracing him tightly for a long moment, which Serena joined immediately. But Blair hadn't moved off the couch, and she hadn't even turned to look at him as she listened to their sobs. She was paralysed by the fear and anticipation, her body shaking as she felt heat rush to her cheeks.
When the two blondes finally released Chuck, he had to wipe tears that had dropped onto his cheeks.
"Where's Blair?" he choked out. The heart-breaking desperation all over his face caused Serena to release a sob as more tears streamed, because her best friend and her brother being separated lovers for all these years was more tragic than anything she had ever known.
Lily seemed to pull it together enough to motion towards the couch, and Chuck finally glanced at the woman who had consumed his thoughts for 15 years. His heart lept into his throat.
Serena, Lily and Nate watched as Chuck ran over to Blair, kneeling before her and taking her hands in his, waiting for her to look up at him. When she did, her big brown eyes filled with tears immediately. They stared deeply into each other's eyes for a moment, seeing all the love, longing and pain and everything that they needed to see for that moment. It was like all the past 15 years of their own personal development and growth had fallen away, and all that they saw were the Chuck and Blair who just wanted to find a way back to each other.
"Is this a dream?" Blair finally asked softly, breaking the tense moment between the two, and Chuck leaned forward and hugged her to his body tightly. Blair gasped as she trembled, overwhelmed by what was happening. When she felt his sobs against her body, she fell apart. Blair burst into the most heart-wrenching cry a person could ever hear, clutching at his hair, his shoulder, his arm, anything she could, rocking against him as she wept.
Lily, Serena and Nate felt intrusive watching their intense moment, and quickly got into the elevator leaving them alone. Lily made sure that nobody was allowed up there for the next few hours.
Chuck pressed a long kiss on Blair's shoulder, and she did the same to him lovingly.
"My Blair," she heard Chuck cry brokenly into her neck as he held her. She let out a sob in response, clinging onto him desperately. They stayed that way for several minutes, basking in the feeling of each other.
Chuck leaned his head back, still embracing her closely. Their eyes were closed in pain as they leaned their foreheads together, sobs still wracking through them. The moment was as equally relieving as it was heartbreaking.
He pressed his lips to hers firmly, unable to help himself. She responded eagerly, opening her mouth to him and allowing him to greedily taste her. Blair felt his tears mix with her own as they kissed passionately, his hands running through her curls tenderly.
"You let them grow out" Chuck whispered with a watery smile, Blair just whimpered in response, returning her lips to his in another long kiss.
"I've missed you more than you will ever know" Chuck continued huskily, when he pulled back, cupping her cheek and looking into her eyes with the most open look of love Blair had ever seen on his face. Blair closed her eyes in focus on everything he was doing and saying, memorising it all. She leaned her face into his palm and held onto it tightly with her own hand, keeping it there as she breathed heavily.
"I know exactly what you mean" she murmured softly, finally opening her eyes, with a smile that made Chuck's heart race and eyes water again. It was a sight that he had longed to see for 15 years.
I actually had a lump in my throat as I wrote this. Seriously my eyes watered because something like this makes total sense when it comes to Chuck and Blair. I've always loved the idea of them separating and coming back together in a sweet angsty way. I'm writing more parts to this story. There's no way I'm done with 37 year old, horny and in love Chuck and Blair. Review me on your thoughts :)