Set some time after 5x02, after the release of Dan's 'Inside'...

The golden girl. Dylan's blazing sunlight for so long, and so mesmerized was he; so blinding was its initial glow, that he would ignore all left in its long cast shadows. How underappreciated was the subtle but ever burning light of the moon, cooler and less bright; shrouded in darkness, but always persevering.

And though the effortlessly charming Sabrina would always stir something within him, Dylan Hunter knew that it was her 95-pound, doe-eyed, bon-mot tossing, label-whoring, intelligent, intuitive, weeps when she watches Nights of Cabiria, graceful, strong, and ever beautiful best friend, Belle, that had a firm and unyielding hold on his heart.

The words burned in Serena's mind as she swept down the streets of Brooklyn, her destination just in sight but without yet grasping a purpose. She quickly ducked into a narrow alley as a limo pulled up, and watched as Blair came barreling out straight into the building. Serena hurried to follow her, catching Blair just as she strode through the door of Dan's loft, without even knocking, as if she had done it a million times before. Serena couldn't help but wonder how many times Blair had indeed sauntered across that threshold. There were clearly so many things that had slipped past her notice of late. In her hurry, Blair did not properly sweep shut the doors, and though she knew it was wrong, Serena peeked through the crevice that was left.

"Humphrey what the hell is this?" Blair practically screeched, waving a hardcopy of Dan's Inside in his face before shoving it against his chest.

"Listen Blair I can explain…" Dan said, clearly expecting the outburst, his tone calm and rehearsed.

But Blair, with her flair for the dramatics and always consumed by her passion, cut him off. "Are you craving publicity that much, that you would invent some sort of tragic, unrequited love story between you and me?"

Serena was surprised at the strength of relief she felt at that statement. Though she was not currently with Dan, she still felt a sense of entitlement when it came to him, and the thought of him belonging to someone else, especially Blair, struck her more profoundly with a reaction of loss than she was expecting.

"And for what?" Blair continued in her rant, "So your blurb can include something about doomed star-crossed lovers and maybe tempt a few lonely housewives to buy a couple more copies of your book? Did you even think about what this would do to my reputation? Or how it would affect my relationship with Louis? Or how it would affect Chuck or Serena? I mean, was it too predictable for you to end up with the enchanting blonde that you were infatuated with from the start? So you decided to spice it up with some fictitious twist that you were in love with the bitch of a best friend? I'm just trying to understand what prompted that puny mind of yours-"

"Blair will you please shut up for a moment!" Dan blurted out, "I mean, for someone who is perceptive enough to spot a fake Gucci keyring from a mile away, how can you be so oblivious to this?"

Blair's forehead crinkled in confusion and anger. "What are you talking about Humphrey?"

Jaw clenched in determination, Dan admitted, "I didn't take any artistic licenses."

Blair paused to mull over the statement. Her eyes narrowed, "…Are you saying that Nate is really gay?"

Dan rolled his eyes, "I love you Goddammit! I'm in love with you Blair!" Dan exclaimed in his frustration, running his hands through his hair.

Serena clasped her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her uninhibited gasp, but it seemed the two in the room were too preoccupied to notice anyhow.

Dan sighed, "When I envisioned telling you in my head, it was never supposed to be a mode of attack."

Blair was stunned into silence. "Dan I thought we tried that path, and we both agreed that it wasn't meant to be."

"No you said there was nothing there. I just didn't disagree with you." He paused. "The truth is… I felt something then. And I hoped it would go away with time, but if anything… it only grew stronger."

"But you said nothing when I would come to you about Louis, or about what happened with Chuck and me-"

"It was better to be around you and be hurting, then not be around you at all." Dan said in a voice sounding resigned.

There was a long silence, as all occupants tried to process the meaning of these words. "Dan…"

"I know you don't feel the same way, Blair, you don't have to say it. I know the princess doesn't actually fall in love with the," Dan paused to search for the appropriate analogy "… stable boy."

Blair began meekly, "I care about you—"

"I don't need you to indulge me—"

"Do I look like someone who would coddle you Humphrey?" Blair snapped, before taking a deep breath "Just let me say this. I genuinely care about you, more than I ever thought was possible…"

"But?" Dan prodded.

"…but I'm with Louis now. And there's also…"

"Chuck."

"Yes. There's also Chuck." Her voice was but a quiet murmur now. She looked down. "I don't want to even begin to think about you in that way, because things are complicated enough as it is…"

Dan's gaze snapped upwards and he took a couple of steps towards Blair, a new fire in his eyes. "Have you thought that maybe you're just scared to think of me that way, because you know there's something there?"

Blair stumbled backwards slightly, desperately avoiding his intense gaze. But Dan persevered, gently taking her by the waist and tentatively leaning forward. But Blair lightly laid a hand on his chest to stop him, closing her eyes. "Dan, please don't go there." She whispered softly.

Disheartened he moved back a safe distance, and bowed his head. "Blair, I don't think we should be friends anymore." He said slowly, bitterness colouring his tone. "Or whatever this relationship is between us."

Blair's breath was caught in her throat. She knew how naïve it was to think they could go back to the way things were before his wretched book or his tenacious declaration. She knew there would be no going back to long nights huddled on the worn-out plush sofa, gooey pizzas and stimulating conversations about Fitzgerald and Bertolucci passing their lips, but a part of her was hoping…

"I don't think I can handle being your confidante when it comes to your love dilemmas,"

"Dan, I won't talk about it anymore—" Blair promised, eager to find a quick fix, so that she could keep his company; the very company of which she used to detest but now found herself dreading the prospect of living without.

"I'm not rational when you ask me to run away with you, or pretend to be your boyfriend." Dan continued, ignoring her chiming in. "And I don't know how many more sleepovers I can take…"

'Running away? Sleepovers?' Serena couldn't believe the scale of their secrecy, and in her mind, betrayal. Last they told her, they were humiliated in each other's companionship. How did it come this far?

"Then I wont sleepover anymore." Blair pleaded, tears starting to smart her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she had come to depend on Dan Humphrey's always-present, steady shoulder; his sharp tongue and quick mind; his unfathomable ability to know the words she needed to hear in her most vulnerable states, until now.

"I don't think I can be around you at all anymore Blair." Dan finally croaked, his voice husky with emotion. "It's become too painful."

Serena turned away, leaning back against the open wall next to the door, squeezing her eyes shut as if that could erase what she had witnessed. This; Dan and Blair; Blair and Dan; previously separate entities tethered only through their combined love of her, now reduced to tears and heartbreak that she played no part in; it was just incomprehensible to her. She must be a masochist, she reasoned, because her feet refused to flee the scene, and though her eyes were closed, she kept her ears open.

There was not enough air in the room for the both of them, Blair realized, taking in deep shuddering breaths. "You said, that when everything else was lost, I would always have you." She hated herself for bringing up that card, almost wishing she could reach out and snatch back such selfish words before they reached his ears, but she had little else to resort to.

Dan's eyes were full of inconceivable pain when he brought them up to meet hers. "I love you so much Blair, that if you asked me to remain by your side as a friend always, I would do it."

Tears spilled down the side of Blair's cheeks.

"But would you really ask that of me?" He finished quietly.

It was the final nail in their coffin. All three of them.

Serena didn't know why, it was such a poignant moment, but the thought occurred to her wryly, 'Sabrina just can't compete against an eclipse…'

Authors Note: Have been trying to grasp inspiration for almost a year now. It was only with the latest bouts of Dair, that I was struck with this little musing. I know this isn't anything ground-breaking (I'll probably delete it soon); I got it all out in one go, very late at night –or early in the morning I should say- so the ending is very lazy. I'm not going to apologize for the beginning however, I think it's realistic of Dan to use unbelievably cheesy metaphors haha! And I may have took some liberties with the depth of the relationship between Dan and Blair, because I love this coupling so much for so long, I'm probably reading into gestures and looks way more than I should. Reviews are much appreciated!

XOXO