A/N - Hey you guys. So sorry for the delay in updating. Work just completely kicked my ass this week. Chapter 11 is almost finished so it should be up really soon. I think I got all of the typos, if I didn't please let me know. This chapter is kind of a filler but I hope you like it! Please review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
XOXOXOXOXOXO
"I should call Serena…" Blair says quietly as Dan unlocks the door to the loft and holds the door open for her. "I owe her an apology."
"It's late. You can call her tomorrow. Besides, Serena knows that it was misunderstanding." Dan murmurs, moving to slide his arms around her waist as he buries his face in her hair, breathing in her scent and crushing her against him just to prove to himself that she's really there. He pulls away to look at her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. The two of them stare at each other for a moment before Dan lowers his head to brush his lips across hers. "You scared me tonight."
"I'm sorry." Blair shakes her head as she looks up at him, gently running her fingers along his jaw. "I'm sorry that I always let my insecurities get the best of me."
"You have nothing to be insecure about." Dan smiles down at her, taking her face in his hands and pressing his mouth to hers again. "I love you, Blair." He whispers. "I love arguing Salinger versus Hemingway with you. I love the way you steal my popcorn at the movies. I love the way you laugh. I love being the one who makes you laugh." Dan pauses for a second, lacing their fingers together as he lifts her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly. "I love the way your hand feels like it was made for me to hold and how you look in my bed after we make love, when you're wrapped up in my sheets and your hair is a mess but you're still devastatingly beautiful." He kisses her again. "I love the fact that even though there's no love loss between you and my sister, when you thought there might be something wrong with her you were genuinely concerned, because you knew that if anything happened to her it would kill me." Blair looks away slightly embarrassed and Dan lifts her chin, forcing her to look at him. "And I love how fiercely protective you are of the people that you care about."
"Dan…" Blair looks up at him, tears swimming in her eyes and she quickly swipes at her cheeks.
"I can keep going." Dan smiles down at her for a second before kissing her sweetly. "I can go on all night if you want me to."
"I don't deserve you." Blair reaches up to brush her hand across his cheek.
"You're kind of stuck with me, Waldorf." Dan's hand moves to cup the back of her head and he pulls her toward him again, capturing her lips in a kiss that literally makes her dizzy. "Come on, let's go to bed." He kisses her once more. It's a soft kiss but full of meaning and Blair can only smile at him through happy, slightly disbelieving, tears as she holds onto his hand tightly and follows him into his room. Kicking off her heels, Blair sighs in relief when her bare feet hit the floor while Dan digs through his dresser and after a moment he pulls out a t-shirt for her to wear, turning to hand it to her.
She can't help but smile when she holds up the old Lincoln Hawk shirt, which she had inadvertently claimed as her own when Dan woke one night to find her curled up on the couch reading in nothing but said shirt. From the moment he saw her beautifully sculpted legs peeking out from under the hem he had known that he never wanted to see anyone ever wear that shirt again other than her.
Dan just smiles back as he strips off his suit and Blair can't help but think back to the tailor. Had that only been this morning? It felt like so much longer ago. All thoughts of suits and tailors leave her mind when Dan turns to look to look at her, wearing nothing but his boxers.
"Can you unzip me?" She turns around, glancing at him over her shoulder and Dan gaze is practically smouldering as he approaches, the tips of his fingers brushing across the exposed skin of her back as he slowly lowers the zipper of her dress and it falls to the floor in a pool of cloth at her feet. His hands come to rest on her hips lightly and she can't stop her eyes from closing as she leans back against him and he peppers light kisses along her shoulder and up her neck.
"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you." His voice is barely a whisper in her ear. "Because if you did, you would know that there is no way that I could ever want Serena, or anyone else for that matter." Dan's hands move to her shoulders and he gently turns her so she's facing her. "I don't want anyone but you." He takes the t-shirt from her hands and she looks at him for a second before lifting her arms slightly so he can pull the shirt over her head. "You're amazing, Blair, just the way you are."
"Did you just quote Bruno Mars, Humphrey?" Blair can't help but laugh a little as she looks up at him.
"Maybe, but it doesn't make it any less true." Dan shrugs, smiling a little before he leans in to kiss her again, his mouth exploring hers in a way that reminds her of their first kiss.
Reluctantly, he pulls away from her and takes her hand, leading her toward the bed and pulling back the sheets. They're both quiet as they climb into the bed and Blair turns on her side to look at him. Dan settles next to her, rolling to face her. Silently, Blair leans forward, brushing her nose against his for a brief second before pressing her mouth to his. Dan lets out a groan as his arm snakes around her waist almost of its own free will and he pulls her closer, hiking her leg over his hip, his hand running up her the smooth skin of her thigh and Blair shudders against him.
He buries his face in her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin there and all Blair can do is cling to him like he's a life preserver. Dan rolls them easily so she's pinned against the bed beneath him and she stares up at him. Her heart is pounding in her chest. It feels like their first time and she supposes that in some ways it is. Everything is new now, different. Every touch holds a promise of something that she can't quite put into words.
He touches her softly, gently, his fingertips barely brushing across her skin and Blair's heart swells to the point where is certain that it's going to burst from her chest. When their bodies finally connect, Blair squeezes her eyes shut in the hopes of stopping the tears that are swimming in her eyes but his fingers lacing through hers and squeezing gently causes her eyes to open and his eyes lock with hers for a long moment before he crashes his lips against hers.
"See, what did I tell you? Devastatingly beautiful." Dan murmurs into her hair afterward as she rests her head against his chest and Blair can't stop from smiling as her cheeks flush red and she struggles to keep her eyes open. "Sleep. You've got to be exhausted." Dan whispers, pressing a soft kiss on her neck and Blair finds herself smiling at the sensation it causes.
"I love you." Blair murmurs, pressing closer to him as Dan tightens his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.
XOXOXOXOXO
Blair wakes the next morning to an empty bed and a note from Dan saying that he was gone to get coffee and would be back soon. Smiling, she grabs her Lincoln Hawk shirt from the floor and pulls it on before spotting Dan's robe on the chair in the corner and she slides that on as well, lifting the sleeve to breathe it in his scent. Tightening the robe around her, Blair makes her way to the living room, curling up on the couch and flicking on the TV. She looses herself in some stupid reality show for a few minutes when a knock on the door causes her to jump.
"Blair!" Serena throws her arms around her the moment Blair opens the door. "Dan texted me this morning and said that you were OK, but do you have any idea how worried I was?" Serena pulls away to look at her with a pained expression. "If I had anything to do with you going off with Chuck, I'm so sorry. You have to know that it wasn't like that…"
"I know, S." Blair stops her, hugging her again. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have ran away." She shakes her head before moving to let Serena in. "Come in. Dan's gone to get coffee."
"Um…" Serena looks a little uncertain as she throws a glance toward Ben's closed bedroom door.
"He's not here." Blair says as Serena looks back at her. "Dan said last night that Ben texted him, told him that he was leaving." Serena's mouth drops in a slightly surprised 'O' and Blair frowns. "Sorry, S."
"No.. it's OK." Serena shakes her head as she comes into the loft and Blair shuts the door. "I didn't come here to talk about Ben. I came to check on you." The two of them sit down on the couch. "I wanted to make sure that you and me are OK. Whatever Vanessa said…"
"It's OK, S." Blair nods. "I trust you. I do. I was just so afraid that history was going to repeat itself. But, you're right, Vanessa didn't help matters."
"I can't believe that Chuck brought her, especially considering the role she played in what happened to me." Serena shakes her head in disgust. "That's a new low, even for Chuck."
"Chuck's not so bad." Blair whispers, staring at her hands and she can feel Serena's eyes on her. "He was actually really great to me last night. He's even the one who called Dan."
"Chuck?" Serena stares at her as though she's sure that she heard Blair wrong. "Seriously?"
"Yeah." Blair nods slowly. "I saw a side of Chuck that I haven't seen in a long time." Blair looks down for a second. "I think in some warped way we both needed last night to finally let go, I mean really let go."
"Wow, I'm impressed, B." Serena smiles. "You're really maturing. So, what about you and Dan? Are you guys OK?"
"Yeah." Blair nods with a smile. "We're better than OK. I… um… I told him that I loved him."
"Finally!" Serena exclaims, hugging the brunette again, pulling away with a huge smile and Blair looks at her a little confused. "Oh, B, I knew a while ago that you felt that way about Dan - or at the very least I knew that you could just open yourself to the possibility." Serena smiles again. "I'm really happy for you guys. You both deserve this. You both deserve to be happy."
"You deserve that too, S." Blair reaches for the blonde's hand. "You never did tell me what happened with Ben. Are you OK?" Blair asks, feeling more than a little guilty. "If I hadn't had my little meltdown, you could've talked to me. Talk to me now. What happened?"
"Actually, I don't really know?" Serena shrugs a little and Blair watches her friend with concern. "I thought that we were fine but ever since that visit from his mother, I don't know, he's been distant. It's probably for the best." Serena pauses and Blair gives her a slightly sceptical look. "No, it's true. Ben was like a fantasy; a school girl crush. I don't know if we could have ever made it long term, considering everything that happened with my mom."
Blair is quiet for a long time as she watches her friend and a proud smile slowly etches it's way across her face.
"It's looks like I'm not the only one who's maturing." Blair smiles again and the two look at each other for a second before laughing.
"I guess it was bound to happen eventually." Serena shrugs and Blair chuckles again as the door opens and Dan comes in with two coffees in hand.
"Serena! Hey…" He looks at the girls in surprise, turning to lay the coffees on the counter. "I didn't realize you were coming over."
"Yeah, sorry for not calling. I just needed to see Blair." Serena gives him a sheepish smile.
"No, no. There's no need to apologize." Dan shakes his head with a smile, picking the coffees up again and making his way toward the couch. "I would have brought you a coffee if I had known…" He looks down at her apologetically as he hands Blair the cup. "You're welcome to mine."
"No, no." Serena shakes her head quickly, standing and Blair follows suit, sipping her coffee as she did so. "I'm going to go." Serena reaches for her purse before turning to Blair. "Call me later?"
"I will." Blair nods, hugging her friend again. "Thank you for coming, S."
"I'll always come, B." Serena throws a quick smile at the two of them before disappearing out the front door and Dan and Blair are left alone.
"Did you guys work things out?" Dan asks as he and Blair settle on the couch again and Blair nods, resting her head on Dan's shoulder when he wraps an around her and pulls her closer.
"Yeah." Blair nods, sipping her coffee again and she smiles up at him. "Thanks for the coffee but you didn't need to go out."
"I didn't mind." Dan shrugs. "Are you OK?" He looks down at her seriously, his eyes searching hers.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Blair nods, snuggling closer to him.
"Good." Dan whispers into her hair. "So, what do you say we turn off our phones and stay here for a while?" He looks down at her and Blair glances up at him.
"Do you want to reinstate the Brooklyn bubble?" Blair laughs a little.
"I guess I do. Is that OK?" Dan laughs as well, a smile spreading across his face.
"I think that's a great idea." Blair whispers and Dan leans down to brush his lips over hers, causing Blair to smile again as she settles into his arms, her eyes turning back to the television.