(A/N: I know I said I would be taking a break for an indefinite period of time, but I couldn't resist not writing, not after this epic end to episode 21. I hope you guys enjoy, it's SUPER DERENA. Set just after Serena gets into the car, based on my imagination and a little bit of the finale promos and Taylor Momsen's spoiler interview! XOXO,gghearts/XODS) italics are flashbacks!
Serena puts her head on Dan's shoulder, it feels so familiar and nostalgic. She remembers how just over a year ago, this was what she did all so often. It wasn't something she did with Nate often, their moments hardly were the same as what she had with Dan. But this wasn't what she should be thinking about. She was with Nate, after all. Just then, Dan put his arm around her, rubbing her shoulders gently. That little gesture, spoke so much. He didn't want to probe further, but he was right where she needed him to be, he was the only one who understand. Ironically, he should have been the one who was the angriest with her. After all, she had wronged Rufus, wrongly believed Holland.
She must have been sighing unconsciously, Dan gave her a sad look, one that brought her back to her mum's wedding, when they had broken up; it was a look she told herself she never wanted to see on Dan's face again. That expression, spoke a thousand words. His eyes said it all, he understood but he didn't want to speak, he was on control-the-ramble mode, and it hurt to think that she could still read him so well after such a long time. Somehow, after their breakup and Dan had gone to NYU, they had barely met. Somehow, she had been able to avoid him so well. She knew why, deep inside. She missed Dan so much, she was afraid if she saw him, she would collapse into his arms and cry her heart out.
"Serena, hey, wake up. I didn't think you would want to go back home, so, you mind staying at the loft tonight?" The limousine had pulled up at Brooklyn, Dan's loft, and she smiled as she recalled one night when she had popped up, all of a sudden, without any reason at all. "I need to know why you love me." Dan gave her a small smile, one that betrayed his face, he was trying not to show much expression, but she knew, he had a lot to say. She could just recall the passion in his eyes. "Because I actually like it when you interrupt me, which is, often, by the way." She nodded her head shyly at Dan, "I actually miss this place." He laughed, "You're completely unaware of your effect on me." His voice, those words, started ringing in her head. And she wasn't bothered by it, she missed it so badly.
"I don't think you're going to want my dad's bed, and Jenny's room is pretty much a junkyard of stuff at the moment..." Dan trailed off, looking nervously at Serena. "We'll share your bed, is that fine?" She regretted saying that immediately, he looked confused, and jittery. God, how could she have forgotten. Technically, he was still with Vanessa. "I mean, I'm really tired, and I think so are you, the couch isn't a viable option, and there are no other beds and all, so your bed's pretty much the only choice." Dan grinned, and looked at Serena, the same way he looked at her the first time he picked her up for their date. "The rambling, it's my thing. But I got the point, it's fine, really."
As they settled in the bed, each having one half, blanket in hands, fully clothed, Serena looked at Dan. He tossed and turned, it was obvious he wasn't going to sleep. She let herself drift off to sleep, and the sounds of turning grew softer.
The next morning, Serena woke to the smell of waffles. She rubbed her eyes, and it was only after she looked at the shirt she was wearing that she realised, she had just slept in the same bed as Dan. The previous night, she was so weary, it didn't really hit her this way. She walked to the counter, and Dan was just serving up the waffles on a plate. "I'm sorry, I know it's not ideal, but somehow, it's all we've got, so enjoy Dan Humphrey's waffles speciality!" He took a small bow, and laughed softly.
Everything about Dan made Serena feel different. It felt strange, yet familiar. She hadn't realised how abrupt her relationship with Nate was. Conversation interrupted with a kiss, and it would never continue. But with Dan, each pause was just to make the sentence seem right. After breakfast, she walked to the room, about to get her things, when Dan stopped her. "Serena, I've never stopped loving you. Last night, I was thinking of all those times we had together, you can't have forgotten them. You were my first love, I thought you would be my last. I can't help myself, you know." Serena didn't know what to say, it was what she was thinking, but she was shocked. It wasn't something Dan would say off the top of his head, he had obviously thought about it for some time.
She leaned in, for a hug, but Dan went for the kiss. Startled, for a moment; Serena froze, but his lips, they fit. Lock and key, a perfect match. Somehow, it never felt this way with anyone else, but only with Dan. After a long kiss, Dan breathed. He looked at her, that intense look she couldn't resist, "Serena, I can't do without you much longer." "I know, soon we'll be free. Soon, when it's the holidays. We'll go to Paris, even the countryside of France, we'll go somewhere where Gossip Girl won't know. No one will. It'll be just me and you."
Dan looked at her, a blissful look. "And I love you, but I have to go." She remembered her exact words, and it was to be the same. "I'm sorry, Dan, but I've got to go. I've got to be with my mum. Promise, you'll drop by later? I've so much to say to you."
"I'll be there. I guess, it never ended for you too?" Serena left him a lingering laugh, "You're also completely unaware that you laugh like a four year old."
Serena had been right, "When I told my mum not to leave with Rufus, it was because I knew you and I were forever; I know I was right." They were forever. The little break in between, could be made up for. They could, and they would.
(A/N: I'm sorry if it gets a little dull and all, but I loved quoting from Season One, when DS was really forever. I just hope that the writers get it right this time, because Derena's got to be endgame. Why? Read my next fic. It explains it all.)