Author's Note: This is my first of hopefully many one-shots! Just as a thing: most of these are how I wish scenes would have happened, added scenes that I wanted in the respective episode, or continuations of scenes I felt weren't long enough! So it's all cannon as in the show (for the most part) and I will be sure to let you guys know when it is not (or you will be able to tell). This particular fic is how I wish the scene w/Blair and Serena in 4x02 happened i.e. for context "I love you Nate or I love you Dan?"

Please read and review! I welcome any and all thoughts!

You know you love me. xoxo. (I crack myself up *Stephanie Tanner voice*)


She laughed. She couldn't help it. But the way he called her 'baby' just then, with a touch of mockery and with what sounded like the biggest smile in his voice made her lose her cool a little bit.

"Okay."

She was realizing that this wasn't supposed to be much of a satirical moment, for crying out loud, they had just kissed and made up, and not in the theoretical sort of sense either. More in the literal one.

Touching her fingers to her lips ever so slightly, she smiled to herself. Her bottom lip remained more tender than the top, and it didn't surprise her for two reasons; one, he always went crazy for her bottom lip, for some reason when they would make out he paid special attention to it – not that it was her place to complain, and two, when he's apologetic, he's also rougher. Again, not her place to complain.

"Okay, I will."

In fact, she kind of loved it. Don't get her wrong, she loved other things about him too, of course, like the way his curls felt between her fingers, and his smile – he smiles with his whole face and when it's directed at her, she wasn't going to make any promises to restrain herself. And that's how the kissing started. Then never stopped.

There were the pinkish beginnings of a hickey on the left side of her neck, one she was going to have to go to great creative lengths with one of her turtlenecks, or given that it's summer, a very high-necked cardigan, to hide tomorrow. But for now, she let it be, because if she concentrated hard enough, she could still feel the shape of his lips against her skin there, which very much reactive. And he knows that. Bastard. He could get her to say literally anything when he's kissing her neck like that.

She'd told him that she wanted to be with him, and nobody but him, and it wasn't a lie, but honestly, she'd wanted it to come out right, in the moment – a perfect, lovely, thought-out moment, but instead it came out in a breathy tumble of words, enshrouded by the distractions her body was feeling. The words were not what she had been focusing on. It was his hand pulling on her hair as he got to work on her neck; it was her hand pressing itself into his chest and feeling his heart beat tenfold; it was his soft moans of approval each time he took a breath, as her other hand wound themselves in his curls, her rings probably scratching his scalp.

When she told him to stop, he did, but was confused. They both took deep, revitalizing breaths as they stared at each other and slowly, she watched as the lust began to fade but took satisfaction from the fact that it never really disappeared completely. She realized with a start that he was looking at her the way he always did when they were together.

And, in all honesty, when they were apart, too. While there was a little bit of dirty in his eyes, because, let's face it, she's Serena van der Woodsen, and even though she hates to admit it sometimes, when guys looked at her, there was always a sparkle in silent, or not so silent, acknowledgement of her sex appeal. It was just part of the deal. But with Dan, there was something more. Something that she wanted to hold onto and never let go.

Abruptly, she flashed back to that moment when they were laying in his bed for the first time together, dressed as down as one could be before being naked, both with clear intentions. That is, until she backed out. She couldn't have sex with him. Not if that look on his face was going to go away. When they finally did and it didn't, she was so relieved, and made a vow to herself right then and there that if that look ever left his face, then she had done something really wrong, and would not rest until she fixed it.

So, when it went away one day, she couldn't stand to be around him. And so, she did the next best thing that she knew how to do. She threw herself into a relationship with the wrong person and clung to them. She clung onto Nate, had began to feel that familial love shift, but knew all the while that Nate brought comfort, he was not the one her heart was set out to have.

Which led her here. To the kissing, then some talking, and then she said it. And the look came back. It started in his eyes and then slowly spread outwards, and when he smiled at her, crinkles in the corners of his eyes and all, she swore she had never been more attracted to him than she was in that single, solitary moment.

Which led to a lengthy couple hours spent holed up in the loft, blankets tying knots around their ankles and clothes carelessly thrown anywhere that wasn't on their bodies.

Which then brought her here, to now, in her and Blair's place, as she paced the floor and talked to him on the phone. She could picture him leaning against the kitchenette counter, the window opened a bit to get some air in, doing just as much tousling to his curls as he was, while he smiled in that great, beautiful, every-muscle-in-the-face way of his. The image in her mind's eye right now was tangible enough to make her swoon.

And that was when Blair walked in.

"I love you too, bye."

Blair shot her a look that only Blair would get away with.

"'I love you Nate', or 'I love you, Dan'?

Serena gave her a look right back. She almost went with 'I love you Mom' because she wasn't totally sure if she wanted to say anything right now. Was it because she didn't want to jinx it, maybe, or was it because Blair could be a judgemental bitch when she wanted to be, which was most days, and to most people, and knowing that she wasn't one of Dan's biggest fans made her that much more likely to judge their relationship. It had gotten better over the years, but still, Serena was wary.

But when it came down to it the girl, with her hip cocked, her left eyebrow raised in inquisition, and a bit of a smarmy smile, was her best friend. And when you promise not to tell people things, even if that promise was to herself, best friends don't count.

She sighed. Then grinned. "You swear you're not going to judge?"

Blair rolled her eyes and sighed too, but there was a smidge of excitement that she could tell Blair was trying to conceal from her.

"I swear, S. Now come on, tell me."

She took a breath. Then another. She sensed Blair's anticipation and took one more deep breath just to piss her off a little bit.

"I love you, Dan."

Blair's eyes widened. "No way," she drawled, chuckling. "Humphrey came out on top."

Serena chuckled too, but with her mood currently it was more of a dumb, girlish giggle.

"Don't act so surprised. I'm not. I've known that Dan's the one for me since I met him. We're tethered. I can feel it."

Blair shook her head and tried to mask the disgust on her face. Okay, it's Blair Waldorf, the girl didn't try, nor would she ever, so Serena decided to pretend not to see it.

"Okay. That's great, S. I'm so happy for you, blah, blah, blah, but right now I need to get going with things for the fashion show."