AN: So i got impatient for 3x13 to just air already so I ended up writing this just to get it out of my system a bit. Its all based on spoilers, so if you've avoided spoilers, you don't want to read. One week 'till we have our beautiful blondes back, its going to be an epic journey! Enjoy fellow NS fans!

When he shifted in his sleep he winced at the stiffness in his neck. Reaching up he massaged it lazily wondering why the hospital didn't have more comfortable chairs. Than again he supposed most people didn't sleep in them, though it hadn't even been a question in his mind that he would. Everyone had started to head back home but he had found a red-headed nurse to flash his flirtatious smile at and asked charmingly for a blanket, and headed straight back to Serena's room. She was already asleep but he hated the idea of leaving her alone for very long. He'd spend the night at her bedside, he couldn't think of anywhere else he could be.

As he tried to get comfortable in the chair again he slowly stilled his movements as a sensation he'd been honing for years washed over him. He knew what that feeling meant. As he fluttered his eyes open in the morning rays sneaking through the blinds, he found her ocean blue eyes watching him. Her forehead was slightly creased and she seemed to be in deep concentration. He began to fill with concern.

"You okay?" He asked in his hoarse early morning voice. She rolled her eyes at the same time as a corner of her mouth twitched into a small smile. He realized how many times he'd probably asked her that question in the span of twelve hours, but he couldn't help himself. Having to see her laying there in a hospital bed, his lively, hyper, enthusiastic Serena looking so small and fragile made him clench his slightly swollen first, fighting the urge to call Tripp back to the hospital just so he could punch him again. She was still watching him intently and he almost couldn't hear her quiet words when she finally spoke,

"I'm sorry, Nate." He shook his head, sitting up straighter, fully alert now.

"Serena, this isn't your fault. It was my douche of a cousin that was lying to you." She sat up, mirroring his motion, ready to debate him.

"But I should have known better. And I did so many-"

"Hey," he interrupted her, coming over to her bed and grabbing her hand in his to get her attention. "I do not want you beating yourself up about this." He had hated the whole situation, but he also hated seeing her drown herself in guilt. She sighed knowing he was to kind and forgiving of her, but it was them, they didn't judge each other, and she must have decided not to fight him on this. He followed her gaze to their intertwined hands and he felt some blood rush to his cheeks. He probably shouldn't have taken her hand. They were just friends. She had made that crushingly clear when she had left (twice) with his lying douche of a cousin. Who had then betrayed her, gotten her hurt and left her. She needed a friend right now. Yeah, definitely shouldn't have held her hand. He abruptly dropped her hand back on the bed and stood up. He awkwardly ran his hand through his already messy hair. When he chanced a look at her she wore a look he couldn't decipher, and he didn't try to. His senses were all already filled with Serena and he needed to get out of this room so he didn't have to look at her perfect, soft skin marred by her cuts and scrapes, or smell her fruity shampoo. He needed a breather to collect himself so he could figure out how to go back before his thanksgiving plea for her to stay, his bar confession, back to when they were so good at pretending that it wasn't there. That illusive "it" they had never named, never really acknowledged, but was always there thrumming beneath the surface. They had spent years perfecting this charade, he could do it again if that's what she wanted and needed. He just needed a minuet to detox his senses of Serena. So that his head would be clear and he wouldn't be having thoughts of wrapping her up in his arms and holding her until she was smiling, happy and his Serena again. At least he hoped so. So he mumbled something about finding coffee and shuffled out of the room, feeling her eyes on his back.

Later that morning he had gone to fill out a couple last minuet forms while she got dressed. When he had come back into her room he simply picked up her bag and said,

"Lets get you home." She had given him a small smile and they had walked out of the hospital in silence. She had been so caught up in all her racing thoughts she hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings, trusting him to guide her. So she was surprised when the elevator doors oeped to reveal Nate and Chuck's suite. Hadn't he said he was bringing her home? She had expected him to bring her to her mom's or maybe even to her suite. But as he sat her bag down in the hallway like it belong there, and she saw Chuck and Blair stand up in the living room to greet her. Blair rushing over to encase her in a tight hug, Chuck's trademark smirk in place as he said,

"Welcome back, sis." his words teasing but his eyes serious. She wondered why she had been surprised he had brought her here. If any place felt like home it was with these three. And she definitely needed the healing touch of home. When she asked if her mom knew she was staying here Nate just nodded saying he already called her. A smile had tugged at Serena's lips, Lily had always been so easily charmed by Nate.

So that night they had ordered food in and spend the night hanging out just the four of them like they hadn't done in so long. Serena was reminded of all the nights they had spent exactly like this years ago. Except Chuck and Blair were together and both her and Nate were actually single at the same time. Serena had gotten tired embarrassingly early, but they all said it was understandable and Chuck made some comment about being perfectly fine taking Blair to bed early. Serena had gotten her bag from Nate's room and when she returned from the bathroom she found him already sprawled out on the right side of his bed in a pair of sweat pants and his old St. Jude's t-shirt. She couldn't help noting the t-shirt looked tighter and smaller on him than she remembered. He must had been keeping up on his sports playing and running in college. She kinda hated that she had to guess this and didn't already know. His eyes fluttered open when he sensed her standing there awkwardly in the middle of his room, starring at him. She saw his eyes flicker up and down her body, her cheeks warming like they always did when she caught him doing this. He then simply pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed and closed his eyes again. She hesitated for a moment before she crawled onto the bed and under the covers. She wasn't sure how she felt about all this. About Nate. About Nate's confession of feelings. About lying here beside him in his bed. About him not saying anything about it all. About him staying very clearly on his side of the bed. She wasn't sure how she felt about any of it. But she knew she didn't have the energy to figure it out tonight, so she let herself drift off to sleep.

It had been about a month since she has spent that first night in the suite and she hadn't left yet. She hadn't wanted to be alone and Nate (Chuck and Blair too of course) hadn't wanted her to be alone. It didn't take long for her living there to become totally natural. Serena had thrown herself into whatever she could to distract herself from the disaster that was Tripp. She had helped Nate study for his finals and spent a quiet Christmas with her family. And when Nate's new semester had started they had gotten into a routine. Each night they slept in his bed (both staying on their own sides, determined not to touch) and when he woke and went for his morning run she'd make sure breakfast was awaiting him when he got back. This breakfast usually consisted of pop-tarts, but he was always grateful and smiled a her as if she had spent hours cooking it for him. She had decided to try to take care of him in small ways like this, especially after he took care of her in so many ways. He'd then go off to a day of classes and she'd spend hers job hunting or with her mother who spent her time trying to convince her to reconsider college. Then they would usually go out to supper somewhere, (sometimes with Chuck and Blair, sometimes by themselves). After that she'd help him study (sometimes that meant her distracting him with silly games, sometimes it meant her actually helping him study.) And then they'd go to bed and repeat it over and over again, throwing in the occasional party or family dinner and that's how they'd been spending their time. Nate hadn't mentioned anything about his feelings and at first she had been grateful since she felt so messed up in the head because of everything with Tripp, but as time had passed she had expected him to say, or do, something. But he hadn't, and she couldn't deny she'd been feeling a bit disappointed.

She was contemplating all of this as she rode the elevator up to the suite. When the doors opened she saw the object of her musing playing a game of pool by himself. A smile arose on her lips as she walked toward him.

"Hey you." Serena greeted as she walked towards him with a smile upon her face. His own smile was instantaneous when he saw hers. Serena's smile had always been contagious but he found it even more irresistible now, since for the first couple weeks since everything went down her smiles had been rare. She seemed to be back more to her normal self lately though, and he was incredibly pleased to have his Serena back. She stepped in-between himself and the table, putting her purse and coat down on the edge, effectively stopping him from continuing to play and commanding his full attention. Not that she didn't already have it anyway. "So I just did something awesome." She says cheerily as she bounces a bit on the heals of her feet. His smile widens at her goofiness.

"Oh yeah?" he asks, "what's that?"

"You know when we found out the other week that they were going to stop selling your favorite flavor of pop-tarts around here?"

"Oh," he groans dramatically, "don't remind me of such dark times."

"Well, I made some calls today and I found one grocery store that hadn't sold the last of their stock yet. So look what I got." She smirked as she pulled the box out of her bag. He shook his head grinning as he took the box, thinking only Serena would do this for him.

"Thanks Serena," he says sincerely, "we'll have to make this last." She's looking at him as if in a bit of wonderment that he would share the last of his pop-tarts. Then she declares proudly,

"Oh, but that's not the only box! They had about 10 more. So..." she trailed off as she opened her bag revealing to him box upon box of pop-tarts. He barked out a laugh at the sight and the mental image of Serena VanderWoodsen going to the checkout arms full of pop-tart boxes. When he looked back up at her he saw that mischievous glint in her eye that he was so familiar with. "You know, I'd say this wasn't just awesome of me, it was incredibly awesome. So awesome in fact I think its deserving of a kiss." He stared at her for a moment, stunned by her words. This was the first indication she had given him that she'd be receptive to anything more than friendship. But she was playing it casual so he would as well. He braced himself to keep control and leaned forward, and she lead in as well, smiling happily. Their lips met and he kissed her gently, sweetly and much quicker than he'd prefer. But he pulled away before he lost himself, intensified it and would maybe scare her away. She had run from him so many times he wasn't sure if he could handle it again. He couldn't help the smirk that curled his lips when he saw the slightly dazed look on her face. Before either of them could say anything his phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket he saw it was Dan. He knew he should take it, over the past month Dan's Vanessa confusion had stayed constant. Plus he figured it'd probably be best for both he and Serena to have a little breather before they figured out how to move forward after that. He knew what he wanted but he was still afraid of what Serena wanted, or didn't want. So he excuses himself to take the call and spent the next ten minuets amusedly trying to calm Dan down after he had a particularly good dream about him, Vanessa and Mohitos that was making it even harder to be around her. When he was done Serena was gone, having left the pop-tarts and a note saying she would see him tonight. He leaned against the pool table for awhile, all thoughts on the blonde he had spent his life dreaming about. He than got an idea and grabbed his jacket to head out and take action.

She had been walking aimlessly around the city trying to sort out all her raging emotions after what happened with Nate. She wasn't sure how long she had been out but she had exhausted herself and had now headed to the safe haven of Blair's place, not sure she was ready to face Nate yet. Just as she was thinking this the elevator door opened and she stepped out only to find Nate sitting in the living room casually, looking like he'd expected her to come right at that moment. She felt an emotion she wasn't used to; shyness.

"Nate...what are you doing here?" She walked slowly towards him as she asked him this.

"I've been waiting for you." He says, smile full, and eyes twinkling with double meaning. "I wanted to tell you..." he says as he stood, "I just did something awesome." He used her words from earlier, she looked at him curiously and stepped closer to him, asking,

"Do tell?"

"You know that super exclusive new restaurant opening up downtown this weekend that you wanted to go to, but not even Mrs. Vander-Woodsen-Bass-Humphrey could get into?"

"Yeah..." she trailed off questioningly, eyebrows rasing.

"Well you and I now have reservations at 9:00 opening night." He declared. Her mouth fell open a bit.

"How did you..." she trailed off in wonderment. But than her eyes filled with amusement. "Wait, let me guess. Was it something to do with the Archibald/Vander Bilt name? Or you flirting with the hostess?" She asked him teasingly. He rolled his eyes when he admitted,

"Maybe a combination." She giggled at this, soaking in the way he was looking at her. "You know what I think?" He asked in a low voice taking another step closer to her. "I think this might deserve a kiss." Hearing him echo her words again made her breath catch.

"I would have thought the hostess would have already offered to take care of that."

"Maybe she did offer." Her stomach twisted.

"And you...didn't take her up on said offer?"

"Nope. There's only one girl I'm interested in kissing." His eyes were holding her gaze intensely watching for her reaction. Only one word bubbled out of her,

"Good." She said before leaning up to give him a peck on the lips. But what started out as innocent quickly turned more serious as his hands found their way to her wait and pulled her gently up against him. Pulling away moments after she intended she tried to clear her head of the fogginess she was experiencing. She'd probably be more successful if she stepped out of his arms, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do so.

"I want to try this, Natie." she said breathily. "I want to try us." His eyes brightened as she spoke, his hands gripping her a bit tighter. She took a steadying breath. "I think we should try to take this slow." He nodded, still not speaking just watching her adoringly. It wasn't fair. She wanted to take things slow because she didn't want to rush and ruin them. She knew she tended to jump into relationships quickly, and didn't want Nate to be like the others. She was going to do what it took to give them a real shot. But it wasn't fair for him to look at her like that, making her want to go the opposite of slow.

She felt herself drifting closer and closer to him 'till their foreheads were touching. Her sense were on overdrive. The smell of his cologne ticking her nose. His thumbs drawing circles on her waist. She bit her lip. But when he let her name out on a soft sight she couldn't help it anymore. He seemed to feel the same as he met her lips halfway. His lips slid over hers heatedly igniting a passion in her long last felt. Her hands grasped onto his arms. And when he leaned her back slightly towards the couch she willing dropped onto it. She watched him crawl onto the couch, resting on top of her. Feeling his weight on her sent her body buzzing. She reached up and ran her hands through his hair, his eyes closing as she did so. She reached up and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. But before she could retreat he turned to capture her lips fully. A moan vibrated in her throat when he ran his tongue along her lips. Her hand tugged on his hair to bring him even closer. His hands dipped under the hem of her sweater and the tips of his fingers danced across the skin of her stomach. She let out a small groan as she pushed him gently back. Both of them were breathing heavily. It took her a moment before she could whisper,

"Slow." He chuckled and looking at his lopsided smile, his messy hair, and dancing blue eyes it took all her will power to not pull him back down into a kiss. He leaned down and buried his head in the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, one hand drawing patterns on his back, the other playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. She felt him let out a heavy breath against her skin, mumbling,

"Your right. Your right. Slow." She snuggled her head against his for a minuet before he sighed raising it again to look at her. "Besides you said you needed to go your mom's before tonight right?"

"Tonight?" She asked crinkling her eyebrows, her mind to fuzzy to think of anything but him.

"The state dinner for that Damien dude, remember?"

"Oh right, Jenny's boyfriend's thing. And yeah, my mom seemed kind of freaked out about something. I don't know what but something is definitely going on at home."

"You should probably get going than." He said reluctantly.

"Yeah," she sighed. A moment passed until she said, "Nate? You haven't moved yet."

"I know." He chuckled, her tinkling laughter joining his. He leant down and rested his forehead against hers, spending a moment just watching each other. She felt like she was just radiating happiness in that moment. And when he closed his eyes, muttering, "okay, okay," and got off her she felt cold where his body had just been touching hers. She felt warmed again when she accepted his offered hand to help her up.

"I guess I'll see you later." She told him while fiddling with a strand of her hair, making mental note to fix it, not wanting to go to her mother's with make-out hair. He nodded, bent down and bestowed a kiss on her nose, leaving her giggling.

She arrived at her mother's about a half-hour later. When she walked in she saw Eric in the living room.

"Serena, hey! How are you?" He asked casual in tone but eyes always conveying a deeper, serious concern. She hugged him tightly.

"I'm good. I...I'm honestly truly good for what feels like the first time in a while." She said earnestly, realizing its truth as she said it. He grinned at her, relieved to see that.

"Serena, darling, there you are." Lily came up and wrapped Serena in a quick hug.

"Mom, what's going on, you sounded stressed on the phone." As Lily went into the living room expecting Serena to follow, Serena did so after ruffling Eric's hair on his way out. She went and sat next to her worried looking mother.

"Its this new boy of Jenny's. He seems to be having a negative effect on her, and Rufus and I have become concerned. Ever since she started seeing him she's gotten an attitude with us, she's being mysterious about where she's been and what she's been doing..." Lily trailed off getting caught up in her thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Serena said sincerely, her eyebrows crinkled with concern. "But why did you want to talk to me about it?"

"Well I've tried to talk to her about it, but considering I found them making out earlier today, I don't think anythings getting through to her. I thought perhaps you could talk to her?" Her mom asked hopefully. "Talking to someone closer to her age might make it easier to relate to whatever she's going through." Serena brushed hair out of her face.

"Yeah, I know it would've been good to have someone older to talk to when I was that age." A pained expression crossed Lily's face. "Oh, mom, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Don't you apologize. It was my fault, I should have been there for you. And I don't think you'll ever understand how much I regret it."

"Mom..." Serena whispered. They had had a strained relationship for as far back as she could remember, maybe really starting after her dad left, but she had always found it in herself to forgive her. Serena reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Well," Lily said collecting herself, "come, Jenny should be in her room." Serena nodded and they headed upstairs,. When they got to Serena's old room (Jenny's now) Lily stopped dead in her tracks. When Serena looked in the room she saw Jenny and Damien in a intense make-out session.

"What is going on here?" Lily demanded. Jenny and Damien sprung apart. "I thought you left." Lily told Damien curtly.

"He did." Jenny said sarcastically, "then he came back."

"Well than you already know your way out." Lily stared Damien down until he left. Tension filled the air, and Serena stood there awkwardly. "Jenny we'll discuss this when Rufus gets home, like I already said, but for now I'd like for you to talk to Serena." With that Lily turned to leave giving Serena's shoulder a squeeze. Jenny's eyes turned questioningly to her.

"So what exactly did we just walk in on?" Serena asked in a friendly tone, trying to figure out how to approach this.

"I think its pretty obvious." Jenny replied defensively, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well its obvious it was quite the make-out session, what's not obvious is if that's it, or if it was leading to more." Serena said calmly, walking over to the window casually.

"So what if it was?" Jenny asked eyeing her curiously.

"Well this would....wouldn't this be your first time? I mean you're a virgin aren't you?" Serena questioned awkwardly.

"For now..." Jenny muttered.

"There's no need to rush." Jenny rolled here eye at this but Serena got a serious look on her face. "I mean it Jenny."

"How old were you?" Jenny challenged.

"Too young." Serena replied stoically.

"So my age, or younger?" Serena stepped towards her fiercely proclaiming,

"Just too young. And I regret it." Serena pinched the bridge of her nose before sitting in the chair and nodding to Jenny to sit down on the edge of her bed. "Look, this isn't a decision you want to make hastily or lightly. Its something that stays with you forever. And if you make the decision for the worng reasons, it can be haunting." She saw flashers of losing herself to a boy she barely knew, her mom bringing home new boyfriend after boyfriend, her dad leaving, a brunette gushing about finally hearing those three words, a very unattainable boy, alcohol, drugs and many other faceless boys following. She shook her head of these thoughts. "Just make sure your not settling, Jenny. There really is such a thing as the right time and the right guy. There is a guy out there who understands you, sees the best in you, never judges you, sees you as special and worth waiting for. Don't compromise that." Serena told her, her eyes unfocused on Jenny but rather something distant. Jenny interrupted her thoughts,

"I'll keep that in mind." And Jenny shared a sincere smile with her.

Nate was pissed. He, Serena, Chuck and Blair had gotten ready for the state dinner. (He was pretty sure he practically drooled when he saw Serena walk out in her dress. From her sly smile he was also pretty sure she had noticed.) And while they were driving there he had happened to see Damien doing something he was way to familiar with. When Serena had told him about how her mom and Rufus were worried about Damien's influence on Jenny he hadn't been expecting this. Serena had noticed something was bothering him and asked what it was, but he hadn't told her until they arrived. When Chuck and Blair had headed inside he had pulled her to the side and told her what he had seen. Serena had been concerned as well, and as they were talking they saw Jenny walking towards the building. Serena had then asked if the would try talking to Jenny, since she had already done so today and didn't want it to be to much coming from her. "Plus," she had teased, "you do have some experience in dealers." He rolled his eyes at her good naturedly. Then sighing he had pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before heading over to catch Jenny and talk to her before she went inside. The conversation hadn't gone well. He didn't really know what was going on with her but she had seemed totally ambivalent to what he had said. He wasn't a fan of the attitude she'd been showing either.

He now stood watching Jenny and Damien whimpering to each other. He got such a bad feeling from that guy. Nate just knew he was going to cause some kind of trouble. He felt Serena sidle up beside him. When she reached out and took his hand in hers he instantly felt calmer.

"How did your talk go?" She asked, her voice giving away she already suspected its outcome. He gripped her hand a bit tighter when he admitted,

"I may have done something stupid." She looked at him questioningly. "Well, maybe not stupid, but really badly timed." She was about to ask what he meant when out of the corner of her eye she saw Rufus now standing with Jenny and Damien. He was wearing that uniquely parental look of being both pissed off, disapproving and protective all at the same time. She glanced back at Nate.

"Did you tell Rufus?" she wondered cautiously. He gave a small nod as his answer.

"Nate..." She breathed out hesitantly. "Don't you think we should have given a bit of the benefit of the doubt?" His eyes swizzled to her face.

"To him?" he asked incredulously.

"No. To her. I mean, don't get me wrong I don't get a good vibe from the guy, but who are we to judge who she hangs out with? Its not like we haven't hung around with plenty of sketchy people ourselves."

"Its not about judging Serena, its about being worried. We're definitely not gleaming examples to look up to, but its no like we got out of those situations unscathed. The only reason we've made it through all the crazy things and people we have is because we've had the four of us. We've always looked out for one another. But what about Jenny? Who does she have?" He asked earnestly. Here eyes softened and she brought her free hand to rest on his cheek. Rubbing her thumb lightly over his cheek, she had a wistful smile on her lips as she softly spoke.

"Always protecting people..." He rested his other hand on her waist. His sense being all filled with Serena again. He was about to lean down to kiss those teasing lips of hers when Rufus's voice broke his Serena stupor.

"I cannot have you hanging around someone who would do that." Both he and Serena turned to see what was becoming a scene between the two Humphrey's and Damien. He sighed.

"This is kinda my fault. I should go help.."

"Nate..." But he left her side before she said or did the smallest thing that would make him unable to resist doing whatever she asked.

She watched him trying to make peace amongst the chaos, but was apparently failing miserably seeing Damien's face scrunch up in frustration. Before she knew it Damien was swinging a punch that landed squarely on his jaw, and Nate fell to the ground. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Firstly because she couldn't believe it had reached those heights, and secondly because Nate was the one being punched. She has seen Nate throw a few punches in her lifetime but she had never seen him be on the receiving end of one. The role reversal was strange and unsettling.

She rushed over, dropping to the ground beside him. He was touching his chin gently, his look of annoyed shock mirroring hers.

"Nate, are you okay?" He agave her a small smile to reassure her before she helped him back up. She only spared a glance at the others before she ushered him out into the hallway. Once they were alone she turned to him, inspecting the attacked area. She tutted her tongue as she looked over the red mark stinging his jaw. She brushed her hand over it lightly, but didn't miss this slight wince. She bent forward and touched her lisps to the the skin beside it in apology. When she didn't immediately remove her lips from his skin, but rather slid them slowly up his jaw he leaned against the wall.

"Serena," he breathed, his hands gripping her waist like earlier.

"You sure your okay?" She mumbled against his skin, making him shiver a bit.

"Not like I haven't been punched before, babe." he told her as he bent his head down and dropped a kiss to her collarbone. She snuggled closer to him.

"Yeah? Cause I couldn't think of any I knew of." He chuckled as he nuzzled his nose in her hair. Under other circumstances she may have said something about ruining her hair, but his hands slowly moving up her back were much to distracting. Her hands gripped his shirt and she couldn't help thinking there were way to many layers between them.

"Nate?"

"Mmm...?"

"What do you say we just get out of here?" He paused for a moment and she lifted her head to look at him. Blue meeting blue they simply watched each other before he replied softly,

"Sounds like a good plan to me." She bit her lip when she saw the lopsided smile growing on his lips.

"Let me just go tell Blair, okay?" He nodded, and she leaned forward pressing the lightest of kisses to his lips, pulling away before he could deepen it. Leaving his side she headed towards the door, glancing back teasingly with a wink. Her whole body felt tingly when she saw his eyes glossed over, following her every move. She took a steadying breath before going into the other room.

When she walked back out into the hallway Nate wasn't where she had left him and she couldn't see him anywhere. Sighing she began walking down the hall to look for him. She hadn't gotten very far when an arm reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her inside a closet. She barely registered what was happening when his lips crashed down on hers. Between kisses she let out a giggle that turned into a moan when she felt his hands graze the side of her breasts.

"Nate..." she sighed into his moth. "We...slow..." she petered off knowing she was contradicting herself as she ran her hands up his chest, pushing his tux jacket off him and winded them around his neck.

"I want this." He kissed down the column of her neck. "I want you." He said huskily before he stopped to pay close attention to her pulse point. His lips smirked against her when she twisted her hand in his shirt and breath quickened.

"I want this too." She breathed. "But shouldn't we wait?" She pulled him closer. "I mean that's what most people seem to say, that for things to really work, you should take things slow." He pulled his lips off her and moved away just far enough so he could look her in the eye.

"Serena...who cares what other people say or think? This feels right. Isn't that what we should go by? Besides, since when have you and I done anything the conventional way?" She giggled. Images flashed behind her eyes of bathtub water fights, a first time on a bar stool and a fake relationship. "We've had such bad luck with timing...and this finally feels like the perfect time. Shouldn't we take advantage of that? We've been waiting a long time for this." She couldn't hold back a smile, leaning forward she nuzzled her nose against his.

"Your right. It does feel like the perfect time...for us." He flashed her that special smile she used to like to pretend was just for her...she was starting to think maybe it really was. His lips slid against hers in a dizzyingly sweet kiss. He then pulled away from her and bent down grabbing his tux jacket. She watched him, thoroughly confused.

"What do you think your doing?" He looked back at her,

"I thought we just decided this. I'm taking you home." He stepped closer again. "To bed." He smirked playfully.

"Natie, Natie...what we decided was its the perfect time. Right now."

"Right here, right now?" He asked, his eyebrows raising. Her eyes twinkled mischievously closing the small distance still left between ten.

"You're the one who pulled me in here. We're alone, in a huge closet..." she started kissing down his jaw, happy to see the skin had returned to normal and hadn't left any real marks. "With a room full of people just down the hall..." His hands began wandering her body freely. "Anyone could come in..." He was smelling her hair. "It's a bit dangerous..." His hand had snuck down to touch her leg, tugging lightly on the skirt of her dress. "A bit spontaneous..." He kissed her shoulder. "Its very us..." She whispered, nipping at his ear as she asked, "don't you think?" she had posed it like question but knew there was no question about it anymore. Their lips met heatedly. He pulled her with him farther into the closet, she lost one of her shoes in the process but paid it no mind. Her hand went up to touch his face, reminding her of a party of white and a fake kiss that was a little to real. His tongue swept in her mouth, and she pulled him so close that every part of their bodies were touching. Just as one of her hands went to attempt undoing his bow-tie, he dipped her down and they tumbled to the ground together. A messy heap of perfection.

They had walked home that night instead of taking the limo (Blair would later be scandalized to hear how far Serena had walked in those shoes). They had walked slowly down the sidewalk, arm in arm, talking quietly. Their hair was a mess, clothes rumpled, but neither could wipe the smiles of their faces. They stopped to kiss leisurely every once and awhile, just because they could. And Nate couldn't help but think this is what he'd been waiting for.

AN: So I realized after I wrote this, while watching the promo (yet again) that Nate and J/D's outfits were totally different during the punch scene, so its a different event. But I didn't want to change it cause I wanted to keep the S taking care of him afterwards part lol so otherwise I tried to keep this as consistent with spoilers as far as we know. Now we just have to wait one more week and we can see how it all actually unfolds!