A/N: Okay, so I will admit that I have not watched season 3. At all. And I have not read any of the books. So I don't know where I'm fitting this fic into in terms of timelines, and it's probably going to be a very, very cliche idea. You still want to read? Okay then.
Pairing: Dan&Blair friendship(?), Chuck/Blair
Disclaimer: Do we really need this? Fine. I don't own them. If I do, the show would be very, very, very different. (The fact that I didn't watch season 3 at all should have given you a hint)
"We should work out. We are supposed to work out. We must work out. We are Blair and Chuck." She says it with such determination that Dan almost misses the slightest tinge of weariness bordering her words. (Almost –sometimes being a helplessly sappy writer has its uses.)
To be fair, Dan could not disagree with what she said. Blair and Chuck is the couple of UES, and everyone thinks – believes – that they will end up with each other eventually because they attract each other like magnets. Are magnets happy when they smash into each other? Dan thinks. Like, wouldn't it be kind of painful? That clicking sound they make when they snap together sounds pretty harsh. Oh god he has had too much coffee.
Another proof that his mind is not working properly appears when he opens his mouth after he gathers enough courage – courage not because he is afraid of Blair, but because he is (blame it on the caffeine) worried about her after finding her alone in a park at almost midnight, wearing an impeccable mask of cold indifference yet projecting sadness in every other direction as much as she tries to contain it, so his savior complex inadvertently kicks in and he sits down next to her (well, technically not next to because she has demanded him not come any closer in fear of being contaminated by Brooklyn-ness, so they are about one person apart) - "Well, have you ever thought about, um, why?" he asks, and mentally kicks himself for thinking "do not hurt her".
Blair looks at him. There are two things he could possibly be asking – why Chuck and Blair are destined to be, or why they have not worked out.
Somehow they both know that he is asking the second question. Blair is silent for a long time and Dan thinks that she is not going to answer. But then she does.
"Of course I have thought about it, Humphrey. And I actually have the answer. So does Chuck. But we choose to ignore it."
She looks up into the sky and Dan follows suit, finding few stars looking back at them. Just then a firework breaks out, with a loud bang and a few seconds of brightness, before dissipating into blackness. Dan absentmindedly remembers that some party is going on today (Gossip Girl is all on it) and Nate has asked if he wants to go and he said no because he wants to work on his story (which he is having a writer's block on and so after too much coffee he decides to come out for a walk and that's how he accidentally runs into Blair).
Another firework slides across the dark sky and a glimpse at Blair makes Dan realize that Blair is watching the fireworks with a great intensity and focus, and her sadness has become much less confined as she focuses on the display. Something clicks and he understands what she is thinking. She and Chuck probably do both know why they have not worked out yet. And so does everyone who knows just a little about relationships, really.
Dan shifts his eyes back into the sky as he speaks, "Fireworks, huh? You know, I've always found it a little funny when a synopsis of a movie or a novel contains something like 'sparks fly' between so and so, and we automatically translate it to those two characters falling in love and ending up happily ever after. While it might be true that falling in love is like that – explosive, exciting, and never boring, being in love isn't always like that. Of course you still need the sparks, but sometimes you need the boring moments as well. Moments where you aren't doing anything but simply being together, and while it doesn't make you outwardly happy it makes you calm and content and warm inside; moments where you don't remind yourself that you are in love with that person or that person is in love with you, but you both know such things are true in the back of your minds because they are given facts; moments where you look at each other and there is no rush of adrenaline or electricity down your spine, but you smile at each other and it was so, so much sweeter than all that uncontrollable desire and blinding passion." He pauses. "Moments where nothing dramatic or significant takes place and the only thing that takes place is you – the two of you."
"If your writing is all helplessly cheesy like that, Humphrey, I would be surprised if you sell anything at all." Blair says without looking at him.
Dan laughs, because he knows that as cheesy as that sounds, Blair understands, or she would have simply given him a look of contempt and not said a word.
After some more silence punctuated by occasional fireworks, Dan decides to let it out, "well, have you ever thought that maybe, once in a while, you and Chuck should try to be – for the lack of a better word – normal?"
Blair gives him the what-did-you-just-say look. "Normal? Chuck and I don't do normal, Humphrey, unlike you Brooklyn broods."
"I never said you are normal. In fact, if either you or Chuck is normal, then the world would be a much, much scarier place. What I meant is, maybe you should try to not play games with each other or even be all-out romantic or dramatic with each other. Maybe just try some more ordinary or even 'unexciting' stuff. You know, have lunch together without being fancy or expensive, watch your favorite movies together without ending up in crazy make-out sessions, or just – you know, talk about trivial things that nobody really cares about with each other."
"Relationship tips from you, Humphrey? Last I checked, you girlfriend dumped you." She answers in a sarcastic tone, but there is no bite to it. So they recede to a little more silence.
Then Blair sighs, "We would not be Blair and Chuck if we do not have all the drama, Humphrey."
"Yeah – yeah that may be true. But I guess it doesn't hurt to try. After all, what is there to lose? If it doesn't work you can always go back to your 'exciting' ways, and mark it as nothing but a failed experiment and forget all about it. But if for some unexplainable reason you actually enjoy quiet, peaceful times with each other in between your sparks and fireworks, then congratulations, you may have a healthy relationship."
She looks at him and he could not tell if she is amused, annoyed, disgusted, interested, scared or all of the above.
Reviews are always welcome :)
And I must admit that this idea is not new or surprising. I'm fairly certain that it's been explored already. So if you feel like that you've read similar stories before, you are probably right...sorry ^^;