Ginger and Fred
xoxo
Sandals in hand, she twirls, sand spraying in whorls as her red and white sundress flares out around her.
Grabbing her hand and pulling her close, Dan laughs into her ear. "Nice suits you, Blair."
Blair bites her lip, strands of hair falling in her face as a breeze sweeps across the beach. "And the Upper East Side doesn't?" she teases, dropping her white sandals onto the sand.
"The Upper East Side," Dan starts, resting his hand at the small of Blair's back, "doesn't have miles of exotic shoreline to bring out the Anna Pavlova in you."
He spins her out, draws her back to his chest like an ebbing tide.
Blair follows Dan's sway, her left hand wrapped around the nape of his neck. "I consider myself more of a Ginger Rogers," she remarks matter-of-factly.
A quirked smile ripples across Dan's face. "Uh, I'm guessing that make me Fred Astaire?"
"If you can keep up with me," Blair sasses playfully.
Dan's bare feet lead the couple in a circle on top of the warm sand. "Oh, I can more than keep up with you, girlfriend."
Laughing, Blair rises on tip-toes and presses her lips to Dan's in a content kiss. "Damn you and your charm, Humphrey," she says, pulling back with sparkle in her eyes.
"My charm is awesome," Dan replies, grinning.
A minute passes and the couple finds their feet slowing to a stop. Blair peers up at her fiancé through long lashes, looking as though something's on her mind.
Dan purses his lips thoughtfully. "What's up?"
"I was just thinking," Blair hesitates. "I love it here. I love us here."
"And…" Dan trails off, brow raised.
Blair shrugs. "Serena and Nate live in Beverly Hills now that S is America's Sweetheart. Jenny's doing her fashion thing in London. Everyone's relocating and I was thinking, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to extend our roots, so to speak. And what better place to move than Nice, land of Gilles Simon and Salade Niçois?"
"Erm, Gilles Simon?" Dan asks, blinking in confusion.
Blair tilts her head. "My father's a tennis enthusiast."
"Ah, but of course."
"So…"
Bending at the knees to roll up the bottoms of his linen pants, Dan gives Blair a muffled, "So what?"
Throwing her hands on her hips, Blair huffs, "So what? Do you have sand in your ears or were you just not listening to me Daniel Randolph Humphrey?"
"The dreaded middle name? Oh no!" Dan holds his hands up with a laugh. "I didn't answer because there's nothing to discuss, Blair."
Blair's about to open her mouth in protest when Dan adds, "I would be honored to live here with you, Blair. It'll be a new experience. Hell, Nice might get my creative juices going again. When we get back to New York, we'll talk to your dad and Roman and do a little research. How does that sound?"
Eyes widening in surprise, Blair tugged the corners of her lips upwards in a smile. "Perfect, absolutely perfect. Why are you so good to me, Humphrey?"
Kissing her softly on the forehead, Dan murmurs, "Because you deserve it."
xoxo
Ten years later…
"Sam splashed me!" a little girl with brilliant hazel eyes pouts from the knee-high shore water.
Hands slapping the surface of the water, the boy accused counters with an indignant "Did not!"
"Are you taking this one or am I?" Dan asks, meeting his wife's stare with a twinkle in his eyes.
Blair pats him on the shoulder with a victorious smirk. "It's all yours, darling."
"Yes!" Dan pumps his fist in mock enthusiasm.
He makes his way towards the sparkling seashore, the hem of his white pants dragging carelessly through wet grains of sand. "Sam, viens ici!" he calls out to his son.
Sam, hazelnut curls matted to his forehead, wades through the water towards Dan. "But I didn't do anything!" he whines.
Crossing his arms firmly, Dan raises a skeptical brow. "Now why would your sister lie?"
"Nina always lies!" Sam protests, bottom lip jutting out.
"Nuh uh!" Nina shouts in defense.
Dan sighs. "Alright, guys, I'm thinking the two of you are getting tired. How about we eat some lunch and relax?"
The twins groan in unison.
"Let's go! Out!" Dan prods them, an amused grin spreading across his face as he watches the six-year-olds grumble complaints to one another.
Awaiting the father and twins is a large picnic basket atop a yellow blanket. Dan beams as Blair ushers Sam and Nina to dry off, a kiss planted on each of the children's foreheads ("Aw, come on, Mom," Sam gripes).
After setting the twins up with their lunch of pan-bagnat, Blair turns to Dan with a wistful smile fixed on her lips.
"You know, that look kinda brings me back to your scheming days. I'm not entirely sure whether I should be excited or petrified," Dan teases, reaching out for Blair's hand.
Blair laughs lightly as she accepts Dan's hand, stepping towards him. "No need to shake in your Berlutis, Humphrey. I was just thinking about when we first moved here. We were both so young. It was scary, wasn't it?"
"It was," Dan agrees, sliding an arm around Blair's waist, "but look at us now." He peers over her shoulder to glance warmly at Sam and Nina. "How did – how did I get so incredibly lucky?" Dan breathes as they begin to sway.
Blair rests her head against her husband's sturdy chest. "You didn't get lucky, Dan. You deserve it," she sighs happily. "We both do."
xoxo
AN: Hope you enjoyed! Yes, I know, totally fluffy and sappy but I was in the mood =) On another note, a lot of people have been wondering if 168 Hours is going to be continued. My answer to that is yes, it will, but I can't give a time frame of when as I've been incredibly busy wrapping up my senior year of college. At any rate, thanks for sticking with me on that one!