A/N: Hey everyone! Seeeing as it's Christmas Eve, I felt the urge to write a quick, Chuck/Blair fluffy, Christmasy one-shot. This isn't set in the current timeline in the show, seeing as it's all angsty right now. And that said, I think we could all use some cute C/B fluffy goodness right about now. I hope you enjoy this one. I had fun writing it. As always, feedback is most greatly appreciated. They're like Christmas presents for me! haha. But yeah anyway, I'll shut up. Happy Holidays, everyone!
Disclaimer: Don't own Gossip Girl. Although if I find any one of those boys under my tree tomorrow morning, I'd be thrilled!
"They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods." ~Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome
Chuck Bass sat in Blair Waldorf's room on Christmas Eve; the former sat on the bed, his arms crossed, and was staring down the latter, who was pacing back and forth in front of him.
"Please?" Blair asked, pausing in front of Chuck to look at him with big, pleading doe eyes.
Chuck shook his head decisively. "No," he said firmly, holding his ground.
She let out a small, frustrated sigh before resuming her pacing. After a few moments, she stopped again. "Please?" she asked for a second time, throwing in a bite of her bottom lip plus the eyes for good measure.
He was determined not to budge. "No way," he said, showing his strength by allowing himself to look her defiantly in the eyes.
Blair rolled his eyes at his stubbornness and plopped herself down onto the bed beside him. "Please?" she asked, taking his hand and giving him the classic "puppy-dog look", no longer trying to be subtle.
"Not a chance in hell," Chuck said quickly, pulling his hand from hers.
"Please?"
"Look, Waldorf," Chuck said exasperatedly, shifting his body so that he was facing her. "I could probably name about fifty or so different phrases for "no." So, unless you'd like to hear them, I would stop that incessant begging of yours."
Blair looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Who's begging?" she asked, throwing her glossy hair over her shoulder. "I don't beg," she said, trying to keep a cool demeanor.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. If you were a puppy, your tongue would be hanging out of your mouth and your tail would be beating repeatedly upon the floor."
"I'd bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?" she said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
Chuck paused for a moment, thinking it over. "Well, now that you mention it…" he said, a sly smirk playing on his lips.
"Ew!" Blair exclaimed, smacking him on the shoulder. "Get those disgusting thoughts out of your head right now."
Chuck's eyes were dancing. "You only have yourself to blame for that one, Waldorf," he said with a laugh.
Blair turned her head away from him so he could not see the small hint of blush rising in her cheeks. She knew he was right. But after a moment, a plan popped into her mind and she turned back to him.
"You know what? You're right," she said, trying to keep a straight face so he would think she was serious. "In fact, I am so deeply ashamed that I am certain to have long-lasting emotional effects unless…" she said, pausing as she was unable to keep a smile off her face any longer. "…you agree to come with me."
Chuck sighed loudly and fell backwards on the bed so he was looking up at the ceiling. "How many times to we have to go through this before you get this through that pretty little head of yours? You would have a better chance of convincing Serena to actually run a brush through her hair than you would convincing me to go with you and since we all know that's not going to be happening anytime soon, I'd advise you to save your breath and not waste it begging."
Blair grabbed his arm and pulled him back into a sitting position. "Please?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.
He raised an eyebrow at her, a smug look on his face.
Knowing what he was going to say, she spoke before he had the chance to. "I'm not begging, I swear," she said, looking at him seriously. "I just really, really want you to come."
"Do I detect a hint of a whine in that voice, Waldorf?"
He did. But she wasn't about to let him know that. "No," she said sharply.
"Desperation?"
"No," she said again, this time slightly offended, as she smacked him in the shoulder once again.
Chuck could see right through her game and decided to call her on it. "Good," he said, getting up and snatching his jacket. "In that case, you can find someone else. I'm out of here," he said, making a move toward her door.
"Chuck!" Blair exclaimed hurriedly getting up too. "You can't leave!" she said, stamping her foot on the carpet and feeling her face immediately turn red at her blatant cry of desperation.
Hearing the sound of her small foot hit the floor, Chuck turned around and looked at her with a very amused expression on his face. "Did you honestly just stamp your foot at me? Aren't we a little too old for the temper tantrums, Blair?" he asked, smirking.
She was silent for a moment, a battle waging inside her mind. Finally, she decided that she wasn't getting anywhere with the theatrics and maybe she should just be honest. She shuddered at the thought, but decided it would probably be her best bet.
"Okay, look," she said, sitting back down onto her bed. "I'm just going to lay it all out there. This means a lot to me and I really want you to come."
Chuck knew she was serious, he could hear a sudden hint of vulnerability in her voice. However, he wasn't ready to give in that easily. "Why?" he asked, still standing by the door.
"I can't explain it," she said with a sigh. "I just do, okay?"
"No. Not okay," Chuck said, putting his jacket on. "I am not going to go risk my life without more of an explanation. Goodbye," he said, once again, making a move to leave.
Blair couldn't help but laugh a little. Now who was the one with the theatrics? "Risk your life? God, could you be any more of a girl?"
Chuck shot her a look and then continued out the door.
"Okay, fine!" she called after him.
Once he reappeared in the door frame, she continued. "It's just something me and my dad used to do every year. And when he moved to France, Nate took his place. And well, now that that's over, you're the only one left."
He snorted. "So I'm Plan C? Not really helping your cause."
"No, no," she said quickly, inwardly scolding herself for her poor choice of words. "You're not Plan C."
She paused for a moment, her head tilted slightly to the side, thinking about that las statement. "Well, actually, you kind of are," she said, her nose crinkling with amusement. "Plan C... C for Chuck," she said with a giggle.
Chuck snapped his fingers. "Focus, Waldorf."
She shook her head, snapping herself out of that last ridiculous thought. "Right. What was I saying? Oh yeah."
She went over to him and took both his hands in hers and looked him straight in the eyes. "There's honestly no one else I'd rather go with tonight than you. And I can't explain why, but you'll see when we get there. Please. Just trust me," she said, no longer pleading, but a tone in her voice telling him she was completely serious.
A short while later, Blair sat on a bench at Rockefeller Center, lacing up a pair on rental skates, a triumphant smile on her face. Chuck, however, did not share her shame level of enthusiasm and was lacing up his skates with a slight scowl.
"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this." Chuck muttered under his breath, but still loud enough so that Blair could hear him.
"Quite complaining, would you?" she said sharply, not wanting to let him spoil her fun. "You're ruining the mood," she said, referring to the Winter Wonderland atmosphere surrounding them, the lights running along the boards around the rink, the buildings around them that were lit up, and of course, the famous Christmas tree that towered high above them.
He looked up, and as much as he hated to admit it, one couldn't help but be filled with the Christmas spirit in a place like that. But he wasn't going to tell her that. A half-hearted "Yeah, yeah," was all he gave her in response.
"Okay," Blair said excitedly, as she finished lacing her skates and stood up, smoothing out her skirt. "You ready?" she asked Chuck.
He had finished getting ready, but he remained firmly planted on the bench. "Why don't you go ahead? I'll catch up with you," he said coolly.
"Absolutely out of the question," she answered as she put on a pair of earmuffs and gloves. "We came here to skate and we are going to skate."
Chuck looked at Blair, then to the rink, and then back to her, subconsciously biting his lip- one of his nervous habits.
It did not go unnoticed by her. "Oh, my God," Blair exclaimed, throwing a gloved hand over her mouth in surprise. "I just got it," she said, looking at him incredulously. "You don't know how to skate, do you?"
A blush immediately rose to his face. He looked down, avoiding her gaze. "I never said that," he said, trying to remain calm, but so obviously lying.
"That's why you were so dead set against coming," Blair declared, pointing an accusing finger at Chuck. "You didn't want to embarrass yourself."
He scoffed. "You're the one embarrassing yourself with these ridiculous accusations."
Her eyebrow shot up. "Oh, really?" she asked, her tone of voice indicating that she definitely did not believe him.
Chuck look at her, his jaw clenched and his expression firm. "Really," he reiterated.
"Fine," Blair said shrugging as she stepped onto the ice.
She turned back to Chuck, still sitting on the bench. "Prove it," she said, crooking her finger and beckoning him to join her.
With a determined sigh, Chuck placed his hands on either side of him and pushed himself up off the bench. So far, so good. Next, he took a few wobbly steps toward the edge of the ice. He could handle that. Then, he stepped tentatively out onto the ice. His hands gripped the side boards so intensely that the skin over his knuckles was white. But he didn't fall.
"There," he called Blair, who was a little ways down the ice. "Are you satisfied?" he asked smugly, as if he had notched a great victory.
"Not exactly," she called back in a sing-songy voice. "Skate to me," she said as if she were daring him.
Still determined to prove to Blair that she was wrong, Chuck let go of the boards. And promptly fell straight onto his ass.
"Ha! I knew it!" she exclaimed, laughing as she skated effortlessly back toward him. "Charles Bass doesn't know how to ice skate."
He looked up at her from his spot on the ice, his face as red as a tomato. "Stop laughing," he demanded.
Blair clasped her hands together in joy. "This is quite possibly the greatest thing I ever seen," she decided, still laughing.
Chuck scowled at her through narrowed eyes. "Are you just going to stand there uselessly or are you going to help me up?" he asked, thrusting his hand up in the air.
Wiping a tear from her eye, Blair grasped his hand and helped his stand back up. "I think I know a way I can help you out," she said, once Chuck had a death grip on the boards again. "Stay right there," she said, before stepping off the rink and walking away.
"Where in the hell do you think I'm going to go?" he called sarcastically after her.
After a couple of minutes, Blair came back to find Chuck standing there in the exact same position she had left him in, grumpy expression and all.
"Here you go," she said, placing a small, metal folding chair so that its back was to him in front of him
He looked at it for a moment. "What in the name of all things holy is that?" he asked, disgusted.
"That, Chuck, is a folding chair," she answered, smiling sweetly.
Chuck rolled his eyes. "I see that it's a folding chair, thank you very much, but I am wondering just what exactly it has to do with me."
"You hold onto it while you skate so you don't fall down," Blair said, grabbing onto the back of it to demonstrate.
"That's what the boards are for."
"You can't learn properly if you lean against the boards."
For the first time since they go to the rink, Chuck let out a laugh. "Learn? Who said anything about learn?" he asked, the sarcasm oozing from his voice. "You asked, no, begged, me to come, so I did. And now I'll just pass the time by hanging out. Right here," he said, daring to pick up his hands from the boards only to slam them right back down, marking his territory.
"Oh come on, you big baby," Blair said, nudging him in the side softly, not because she was afraid of hurting, she just didn't want him to fall over again. "It's not that hard. Look. Even the small children can do it with the chair," she said, pointing to a girl who was probably around 3 or 4, skating around the rink with a folding chair.
He shot her a look that told her he was definitely not amused. "Chuck Bass will not be lumped into the same category as a little girl with pigtails."
"Why not?" Blair asked, feigning innocence. "I'll bet neither of you can read."
"I resent that."
"You're right. That's not fair," she agreed, holding her hands up in surrender. "I'm not giving her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she's smart for her age," she quipped before taking a few glides down the ice.
Chuck was insulted that he momentarily forgot just where exactly he was. "Why you-"he said menacingly, making a move to go after Blair. However, he was unsuccessful because as soon as he took one step away from the boards, his feet flew out from under him and he landed with a "thud" on his back.
Blair glided back over to him. "You were saying?" she asked, looking down at him with a victorious grin as she offered him his hand.
Once he was back on his feet, Chuck muttered, "Give me the damn chair," as he refused to look her in the eye at the risk of seeing her self-satisfied expression again.
She smiled to herself. "That's what I thought," she said, handing him the chair.
He grabbed onto it in the same fashion as he was holding onto the boards earlier. "Now what?" he asked, looking at her for instruction.
"Umm…well," Blair paused for a moment to think about it. She had never really taught anyone to skate before. "I guess you just sort of…go," she said, pushing her hands forward, trying to imitate what he was supposed to do.
Chuck shrugged and started down the ice, picking one foot straight up, then down and then the other, as if he was walking.
"Not like that!" Blair exclaimed, moving to catch up with him.
His head whipped around so he could glare at her. "What? You told me to go. I'm going!" he said, obviously a little more than frustrated.
"Yeah but, not like you're walking," she explained. "You have to glide. Like this," she said demonstrating by pushing off with her right foot and gliding for a few feet before she pushed off with her left.
She then skated back to Chuck and watched as he copied her motions. He got the hang of it quickly, and was soon able to move around the rink with the chair without much trouble, with Blair skating idly next to him.
Chuck, however, did not seem to be enjoying himself as he kept muttering obscenities under his breath. Finally, he spoke out loud. "This could not possibly be any more embarrassing," he said, looking at Blair for only a fraction of a second before turning his attention back to the chair in front of him. "People are staring."
Blair regarded him thoughtfully. "I thought Chuck Bass didn't care about what other people thought of him."
"Normally he doesn't," he answered, blowing a piece of his hair out of his eyes in frustration. "But when he is parading around an ice rink like a three year old, he can't help it."
Blair cautiously put a hand on his arm, indicating to him to stop. Once he had come to a complete and safe stop, he turned to her. "Just ignore them," she told him seriously. "It's you and me out there. That's it."
"Easy for you to say," he said with a dry laugh. "You're not soaking wet," he said, turning to show her the seat of his pants where he had fallen and was still wet.
Blair sat down backwards on the chair so she was facing him. "You and me, Chuck," she told him, putting her hands over his which were still grasping the chair.
Chuck took another glance at all the people around him, contemplating what Blair had said. Finally, with a determined sigh, he said, "All right," and continued to skate, pushing Blair who was still seated on the chair.
After a few more laps, Blair, who's eyes never left Chuck's so he could look down every so often for support, exclaimed with a huge grin, "You're doing it!"
Unable to help himself, a smile crossed Chuck's face as well. "Hell yeah I am!" he said, actually excited.
"Is that a smile on your face, Bass?" she asked slyly.
Suddenly again aware of his surroundings, Chuck immediately replaced his grin with a calm expression. "No," he said, playing it off like it was no big deal.
Blair put her skates on the ice, brining him to a stop. "All right, do you think you're ready to lose the chair?" she asked, as she slid off the chair.
Chuck smirked. "I haven't been this ready to lose something since I lost my virginity."
"Perv."
"It's true."
Deciding that it would probably be best just to ignore him, Blair lifted the chair over the boards and out of the way.
She stood next to him. "Okay, you just do the same thing as you did with the chair…"
Chuck, feeling a false sense of confidence, thought he could handle the whole skating thing now and tried to take off all hunched over like her was still pushing the chair before Blair could continue.
He took two steps before he leaned too far forward and landed on his face.
Skating to him, Blair finished her thought. "…except you have to stand up straight so you don't lose your balance."
Chuck pulled himself up onto his knees and looked at her scathingly. "It would have been nice of you to mention that fact before I faceplanted."
Blair's hands flew to her hips. "Totally not my fault," she said defensively. "I was getting there; you just didn't give me a chance."
Shaking his head in disgust, he held out his hand to her. "Help me up would you?"
Blair smiled to herself. Honestly, sometimes it was like he was a five year old. "All right," she said once they were once again standing side by side. "Stand up straight. One foot, then the other."
Chuck did as he was told; taking small, baby glides, while Blair followed closely behind him, watching. Once he was comfortable with that, he increased his strides.
"This isn't so bad," he called back to her.
But no sooner as he said those words, he was down on the ice with a "thud."
Wincing along with him, Blair caught up to him. "Ouch. Famous last words, huh?" she said with a slight laugh, automatically reaching her hand down to help him up. "Oh well, maybe it was too much too soon," she said, as she moved in front of him and turned so that she was facing him and she held out both her hands to him.
He looked down at her hands, unsure of what she wanted from him. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like, Chuckles?" she asked, trying to seem innocent, but unable to hide her grin.
"I thought I told you never to call me that again," he said sharply, not enjoying her use of his childhood nickname.
"Okay," Blair shrugged. "Fine," she said, turning around and taking off down the ice.
Chuck bit his lip, fighting with himself until he couldn't take it any longer. "Wait!" he called.
Coming to a quick stop halfway down the ice, Blair turned back to him. "Yes, Chuck?" she asked sarcastically, batting her eyelashes innocently.
Chuck's yelling seemed to have gathered the attention of a few other skaters who were now watching him, all with amused expressions of their faces. Now embarrassed, Chuck's face flushed and he looked down at the ice. "Youcan'tleavemehere," he mumbled softly.
"What was that?" Blair asked loudly, cupping her hand to her ear.
"Youcan'tleavemehere," he said again to the ice, a little louder, but still too quickly for it to be coherent.
"I can't hear you!" Blair practically shouted, obviously enjoying this and earning a few laughs from their audience.
Chuck's head shot up to look at her, his golden eyes blazing. "I said, 'YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!'" he shouted before remembering his audience as he quickly looked away from her.
Feeling like he had been humiliated enough, Blair relented and skated back to him.
"Oh, Chuckles," she said once she reached him. "I would never do such a thing," she said giggling.
Chuck shot her menacing look. She had used his dreaded nickname once again. Knowing she had the upper hand in this situation, Blair made a move as if she was going to skate away.
"All right, all right," he said, his voice letting her know that he was surrendering. "You win."
"Good," Blair said, patting the top of his head like a dog, mocking him. "Now take my hands," she said, holding them out once again.
"Why?"
"You've graduated from the chair but you're not quite ready to fly solo. Take my hands."
Chuck didn't take them, only looked at them, a confused expression on his face.
Blair sighed exasperatedly as she rolled her eyes. "For the love of God, Chuckles, I don't have cooties."
Finally, Chuck conceded. He put his hands in hers. "Skate," she commanded.
As he moved forward, she moved backwards, although she was mostly using her momentum to pull him forward.
After a few minutes, Blair looked at him with a glint in her eyes. "Are you ready?" she asked, an evil smile appearing on her lips.
Chuck, who had mostly been just enjoying the ride, now looked at her nervously. "Ready for what?" he asked, biting his lip.
"GO!" she exclaimed, pulling her hands from his and quickly moving out of the way so he wouldn't run her down.
Now flying forward with more force that he had encountered before, he had no choice but to skate. One foot, then the other. "Hey, look! I'm doing it!" he announced excitedly, turning his head so he could make sure she was watching this amazing feat.
She was watching all right. And she saw what was coming next and yet she was too far away to do anything about it. "No, Chuck! Don't look back!" she yelled hurriedly. "You have to keep your eyes-"
She was too late. He had turned his head back just in time to see the boards directly in front of him and he hit them with an astonishingly loud crash. "Forward," Blair finished quietly, a pained expression on her face.
She flew over to him to find him lying sprawled out on his back. Once she got there, she knelt down beside him. "Oh, my God. Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, brushing some of his hair out of his face.
"This is not fun for me, Waldorf," he told her through gritted teeth.
Realizing that he wasn't actually hurt, except for maybe a bruised ego, Blair couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry," she said, looking at him apologetically. "I thought you would know to stop before crashing into the boards."
He pulled himself into a sitting position and just stared at her. "Do I look like the kind of person who would know how to stop?" he asked incredulously.
"I guess I should have thought of that earlier, huh?" she asked, biting her lip to try and keep herself from laughing any harder. She didn't want to wound Chuck's ego more than it already was.
"I'm glad you think this is funny."
"Okay, look," Blair said as she got up off the ice, pulling Chuck up with her. "You can take a break if you want to," she said, motioning to the benches that lined the outside of the rink. "I'm going to take a couple of laps and then see if I can remember any of my old figure skating moves from, like, 7 years ago."
And with that, Blair took off, leaving Chuck to skate gingerly off the ice. As soon as he sat down, the sky opened up and snow started to fall. Most people began to leave but not Blair. She just continued around and around the rink.
After a few laps, she moved to the middle of the ice, the spot designated for skaters to practice moves instead of just skating in circles. She paused there for a moment, trying to remember how to execute some of them.
Finally, she began backwards crossovers and before she knew it, her body naturally moved into a scratch spin. She only did a couple of rotations before coming out of it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to push it quite yet.
From his bench, Chuck saw Blair throw her head back and laugh in delight, the snow falling around her. He continued watching as she did a few more spins, gaining more and more confidence each time.
By this time, the ice was completely abandoned except for her. She knew she should go in too, but she wanted to try one more- one more perfect spin. She did a few back crossovers, quickly shifted to push herself forward, and just let go.
Chuck watched this final spin. Her arms were crossed tightly to her body, and her skirts and her hair were flying out around her. This, he thought, combined with the snow falling all around her and the large Christmas tree in the background creating a halo of lights around her, made her look like an angel. And suddenly, Chuck felt feel his heart in his throat as he looked at her in a whole new light.
Unable to take it anymore, Chuck braved the dangerous ice and slowly made his way to the center of the rink and to Blair, who was standing there flushed, probably from the cold, the exertion, and the excitement of having pulled off her goal.
"How did I look out here?" Blair asked him, a giant smile radiating from her lips and lighting up her whole face.
"Devastatingly beautiful," he answered, gazing at her with his infamous smoldering look.
Her eyes widened. That was definitely not what she had been expecting. "What?" she asked, wanting to make sure she heard him correctly.
He took one of her hands in his. "You took my breath away," he told her honestly.
"Stop that," Blair said, looking at the ice, her face growing even redder. "You're embarrassing me."
Chuck placed to fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I can't help it," he said, his golden eyes searching her darker ones.
Blair sighed breathlessly, hardly daring to believe this was happening. "What the hell has gotten into you, Bass?" she asked softly.
"I don't know," Chuck admitted, smirking. "Maybe it's the fact that it's Christmas Eve. Maybe it's the lights. Maybe it's the snow. Maybe it's just because you look so damn cute with your nose all pink like that from the cold."
"Chuck Bass, a romantic. Who knew?" Blair rhetorically asked with a gentle laugh.
"I think you knew. It was your plan all along wasn't it?" he asked confidently.
She was taken aback for a moment. She couldn't believe he called her out like that. That was exactly her plan. Blair knew that no one, not even the infamous playboy Chuck Bass, could resist the magic of Rockefeller Center. But she wasn't about to admit that to him. "Maybe. Maybe not," she said, shrugging, trying to seem nonchalant.
"Was this in your plan?" Chuck asked, lacing his hands around her back and pulling her in for a kiss.
But before he could seal the deal, his skates got caught with hers and he fell forward, taking Blair with him. Luckily, however, he twisted around so that she landed on top of him, instead of the other way around.
"Maybe I should rephrase that previous statement," Blair said untangling herself from Chuck and getting up. "Chuck Bass-a romantic? Maybe," she said, crouching down close to Chuck, who was still on his back on the ice, her lips so close that he could feel her breath on his neck.
The suddenly, she pulled away and straightened up. "But Chuck Bass-Ice God?" she asked, smiling brightly. "Absolutely," she said with a laugh as she promptly skated away, leaving Chuck alone in the middle of the ice, just looking incredulously after her.