Coming home again

A/N: This is a Dan and Vanessa one shot because there's a desperate lack of this pairing out there. And let's face it; they are tailor made for each other. Two artistic weirdo peas in a pod that you want to throw in a room together. And well, that's kind of what I'm doing in this story. It picks up straight from 2x03, the Dark knight.

--

"Well am I crazy or is it actually getting colder?" He almost whines, gazing at the view of the city. It was actually quite beautiful, if not for the freezing temperature threatening to turn him into an ice block. But Dan Humphrey found himself here, with Vanessa Abrams. He wasn't all that into fate, but when Dan Humphrey actually gets a chance or ten with Serena van der Woodsen, what else can you call it?

"About time." She replies with relief. Vanessa faced her best friend; the one guy in the world she was sure wouldn't hurt her how Nate had tonight. Nate Archibald broke hearts. Blair's, Serena's (although she'd never admit to that) and now it was Vanessa's turn. Next up would be Jenny of course. He certainly liked to work his way through them, which was certain. "You sure you're okay?" She inquires intently.

But of course he's not okay. You don't break up with a girl like Serena and be okay. She a girl that doesn't come around often, and when she does you grab her and cling for dear life. At least that's what Dan first thought, back when it was all pool tables and spontaneous dates. Now it just felt like a vicious cycle. Step one: Oh, you're quite different, let's fall in love! Step two: You're the most understanding guy in the world Dan, NOT! Let's break up. Step three: Lets get back together; maybe things will be different this time. Step four: I'm beginning to think this was a super bad idea, let's just be friends. Lather, rinse and repeat.

"Yeah." He nodded, sort-of in a way that indicates to Vanessa's he's not. She can read him like a book anyway; there was no point in trying to sugar coat things now. "Yeah," he states again, more sure of himself this time. "It was the right thing to do."

Vanessa agreed with that part.

"I ah…I ah…I'm sorry, I cannot believe that Nate Archibald is a gigolo." He remarked back, taking his moment of tenderness and turning it into banter. Vanessa hit his shoulder playfully, but her voice was serious in tone.

"You can't tell anyone, remember?" She pleaded, because Dan was addicted to Gossip Girl. And we wouldn't want GG to hear that little secret about our golden boy, am I right?

"Who would I tell?" He deadpanned. Well, you never know. Humphreys have a habit of turning dreadful situations into fire ones. Just ask Blair Waldorf. "Who would I tell except everyone I've ever met?" He smiled.

He always had to have the last friggin' laugh.

"I won't." He says more apologetically. "Though, I thought at that hotel with the woman that you know that you liked him." He tested, just to see if V was really over him. Because he'd be a fool not to notice that she wasn't for quite some time. And that felt good to him, reassuring. Like that feeling when a really big adventure in your life is over and you're battered and bruised, that you can always come home again.

"I do." She responded earnestly. She was a fool really for doing so and Dan saw it in her face and he knew that she knew it too.

Talk about reading people.

"That's why I did it." She added sadly, desperation creeping into her voice. Like Serena, Nate was a guy that represented something else. But there was more to him and Vanessa saw that. Really, he was just lost. Dan furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't understand." He didn't understand a lot of things, did he?

"She told me that if Nate left her she would go to the FBI and tell them where Nate's dad is hiding out." She confesses. Vanessa's drama went from zero to a hundred in the space of a year.

And it was one of those rare moments where he understood. He didn't understand why girls done a lot of things, why Serena was so…everything he wanted and yet everything he didn't want. Why Blair and Serena stuck by each others sides. Why Nate didn't fight him for Serena when Dan first became involved with Scarf boy's crew.

"So…I really didn't have a choice." Vanessa gasped, verging on tears. Dan gave her a look of what only can be described as completely astonished and he placed his hand on her right shoulder but she pushed it away. Because its been so long since they had something like this, physical contact, that she's afraid that if they even touch, the flame inside of her would ignite again and ruin everything.

And Dan thought he and Serena had it bad.

He wrapped an arm around her. And when he did, things got a little warmer.

"He's a complete fool." Dan remarked snidely. He knew he was right. Nate's attempt to grow a brain, when it came to school or women always failed. There was only one girl he'd ever taken a direct course of action over and well, she was still Dan's in his eyes.

"Can I ask you why?" Vanessa questioned, eyes glazed over.

"Why what?" Dan replied, rubbing his eyes. Poor guy was tired.

"Why you're so in love with me." Vanessa proclaimed, and it certainly woke him up. "Why you ended it with Serena." She corrected.

"We still love each other." He informed her, eyes wide. "Can we go get some coffee?"

Vanessa emitted a hollow laugh. "Okay, so you still love her but you broke up with her?" Daniel Humphrey, you're stupid." She exclaimed to the world.

"I'm not. Okay this is what we need; it was the right thing to do." He repeated, trying to convince himself that this was not a mistake.

"I know you're poet and all that jazz, but Dan. Seriously, I know that all the dark desperation and pining seems poetic and needed, but its not. It's just...crap." She sighed.

"And how would you know, huh?" He coaxed. And here we go. She was in love with him and he'll never let her forget it.

"Shut up. Come on, coffee awaits." She tugged on his hand and led him away from their gorgeous view. "You know, I really should've brought my camera. That would have made a good short film." She noted.

"Stalker." Dan whispered into her ear. "Hey. Let's leave the coffee and go drown our sorrows instead." He offered. "God knows I need it."

And by this stage, Gossip Girl probably did too.

--

On the way over, Dan had bought Vanessa a rose. If Nate Archibald wasn't going to treat her how she deserved to be, Dan would. Now that Serena was out of the equation he could go back to a drama free life, which in a way he missed. He wasn't sure if he would miss Serena more right now. But for tonight he'd try to cheer up instead of moping.

"Which bar is gonna be, Humphrey?" She asked. She missed it too. Maybe this was for the better, if they'd just gotten rid of their Upper East counterparts once and for all.

"The next one we find. They better serve us." He moaned. Dan stopped on the sidewalk and held Vanessa's hand for a moment. He pulled her towards him.

And he wasn't even drunk yet.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly, feeling intruded. Like he was opening up a piece of her she'd spent so long hiding.

"I don't know I just…" His eyes locked with hers. "I'm just desperate for a drink."

"Alcoholic." She whispered in his ear.

Vanessa was pretty sure he'd considered kissing her for a fleeting moment. Because she knew she did.

--

They tumbled up to the Humphrey residence together; drunken Dan was certainly more vulnerable than drunken Vanessa. She let him drink the most because well, he and Serena had a relationship. She and Nate kissed a few times but they were no Dan and Serena. She practically dragged him up the steps and once they reached the door, Dan proclaimed, "You wanna know the conclusion I've eventually reached and spent all night contemplating, my dearest Vanessa? Screw Serena, screw Nate. They suck. They're just bad people I tell you."

Vanessa hid her head in her hands in disbelief. She never witnessed him drunk before, partly because was never drunk before. They walked into his bedroom and he collapsed on his bed.

"We crossed over to the dark side, Vanessa. We should have expected this. But no, we thought it was going to be all good times…" he trailed off. There was a photo of him and Serena on his desk. And a photo of him and Vanessa when they were younger.

"You're right. We crossed over to the dark side." She relented, collapsing beside him.

"Its okay now, we came back into the light." He quipped, making some sort of strange gesture with his hands. Vanessa giggled. And all of a sudden they were fifteen again. "I love you, you know that?"

Drunk or not, it still sufficed as a declaration.

Dan turned his head so it rested on Vanessa's shoulder. He felt the brown curls against his forehead, unfamiliar to the blond strands he adored so much.

"I love you too." She murmured, smiling knowingly.

It couldn't possibly hurt for one night, could it?

"Without you I'm…all weird and lost." Dan trembled. "I missed you." He wrapped his arms around her; they both reeked of liquor and heartbreak.

Then his lips were on hers.

At the time it was so simple, but they both knew it would contemplate things beyond belief tomorrow morning.

So she pulled away and they just held each other.

Vanessa was at home. She made a promise never to leave again.

"I was just thinking of how I never want to leave home again." She whispered to Dan, who just smiled and dozed off to sleep.

--

Hope you liked (: feedback is more than appreciated.