Title: Cross My Heart
Pairing: Blair/Chuck
Rating: T
Summary: "Spotted: B & C leaving JFK airport with more than matching clothes. Is that a gold ring on your ring finger, B? And it seems that C has one too. Could it really be? Are our former queen and UES's notorious playboy...married?"
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Gossip Girl.
A/N:First off, I am REALLY sorry for the major delay. It's been a while, aye? School's just been evil...five assignments due in the past two weeks. Grr. But anyway, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. It'll hopefully be some time next week or even this week, but I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. Hope you enjoy! PS. Natalia is a Legend and thank you to everyone who has reviewed! This story is for you guys.

"How the hell can a security tape go missing? It's supposed to be 'secure'!" Chuck yelled into the phone as he slammed it onto the dresser, irritated and annoyed at the incompetent fool who had the balls to confirm his worst suspicions. He glanced over at Blair who had stopped pacing the suite and nodded his head reluctantly, all their hope crushed from with phone call.

"This cannot be happening," Blair exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "How can something like this happen? Who would do something this low?"

"Well, we would, that's for sure. We're already hell bent on bringing down Hazel."

"You mean, I'm hell bent on bringing her down. You haven't done anything to help me!" Blair accused, walking up to him and poking him in the chest.

"And like you've done anything to actually bring her down. In fact, I reckon that's just an excuse for you to stay married to me," Chuck teased, waiting for Blair to grow uncomfortable, but to his disappointment, it didn't occur as she instantly rebutted back, "Oh, don't you humour yourself, Bass. It's an insult to clowns, but then again you were born one. And besides, weren't you the one to suggest all of this?" she waved her hands to signify the 'this'. She knew she had made her point when the colour in his cheeks rose and he seemed flabbergasted, unsure of what to say. And even though, she had been joking, Blair Waldorf suddenly realised that she might be right.

"Chuck," she stuttered, as Chuck walked away from her and headed straight to the bar suite. "Oh my god, am I right? Do you want to be married to me?" she questioned, gliding to the bar where Chuck had two wine glasses, filled to the brim.

"Define 'want'," he answered grudgingly, downing his drink. Blair's mouth dropped and a small sound emitted from her mouth as she swiftly grabbed the other wine glass and swallowed it in one whole, a feat that Chuck was surprisingly proud of.

"I thought those butterflies were murdered," she hissed, but Chuck merely rolled his eyes and faced Blair with a nonchalant expression.

"It was a joke, Blair. Those butterflies were long massacred," Chuck drawled, but the slight tremor in his voice sounded unconvincing to Blair. "If I had known marriage would make you this paranoid, I would've never said 'I do'."

"We shouldn't be married!" Blair exclaimed, raising her voice. "This is crazy! You and me acting married, living together like a real couple, having an 'engagement' party in two weeks, you buying me an engagement ring!"

"You can quit at any time. No one's forcing you to stay married to me," Chuck said, a dark shadow looming in his eyes as Blair felt the hidden ultimatium in his words.

"The sooner we take down Hazel, the sooner we can get things back to normal," Blair stated conclusively, but as she walked away from Chuck, she could feel his piercing stare on the curves of her back. Little did she know that as she disappeared into the bathroom, her husband had just received a text message with four little words that made his blood boil: 'We need to talk.'

That night, both Chuck and Blair had told each other lies.

As Chuck lay on the couch, listening to Blair's slow breathing from his bed, he could feel the butterflies rumbling angrily in his stomach, telling him that he was being a fool.

Hazel Knight. The basis for their unusual marriage. If it hadn't been for Hazel's overthrow of Blair, then none of this would've happened. Blair would still be the queen bee; he would still be a womanising player. Life would be normal. His only problem now was that his past seemed like a distant memory, a fabrication of the mind. And what scared him the most was that this crazy, eccentric, foolish marriage with Blair was the only thing in his life right now that he considered to be 'normal', which was why in the past weeks that they had been married, Chuck had purposely not done anything about the Hazel problem. All's fair in love and war, he thought to himself, a smirk hidden by the darkness enveloping the room. Although, he wasn't sure what predicament he was in, he knew that he was glad he had stepped onto the battlefield, ready to fight for Blair, heart and all.

But the biggest lie that had been told was from Blair herself when she had said that things would go back to normal.

As far as Chuck was concerned, things between them would never be normal after all this.

"Serena, just pull it!"

"I can't! It'll rip! It's just stuck. Just let me try harder."

"Oh my god, don't tell me I've put on extra pounds."

"Blair, you're insane! You're the thinnest person I know."

"Pull it! Harder!"

There was no way that Chuck wasn't aroused. As he stood outside of Serena's room, looking dashing – well, he thought – in his tux and his hair neatly combed, he had an ear listening intently to the two girls' conversation and whilst the context was obvious, he couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

"Chuck?"

Chuck quickly turned around, stumbling in his spot as he tried to distance himself as far away from Serena's door as possible while all the while attempting to look innocent. A guilty look flashed on his face but as he realised that the perpetrator was only his stepmother, he began to loosen up and release his infamous Bass charm.

"Lily, you look lovely," he said, meaning every word. She wore a cream, silk dress that gathered below her breasts with an antique brooch and flowed in layers to her feet. She looked the epitome of a Greek goddess with her hair swept behind her ears and her skin vibrant.

"Why, thank you, Chuck, but unfortunately that's not enough for me to suddenly forget seeing you outside my daughter's room, no doubt spying, I assume?" she said. "If you get me some chocolate, who knows…I might suddenly get amnesia," she joked, although they both knew she was deeply craving the confectionary.

"I'm pretty sure you can find a table downstairs filled with chocolate desserts. Eleanor had the finest Belgium chocolates imported and they're probably screaming your name," he said warmly, moving out of the way so that Lily could waddle past him.

"Ah, chocolate - a pregnant woman's deadliest desire. This will definitely show on my thighs after I give birth."

"Lily, even if the gods gave you cellulite, Helen of Troy would still be jealous of your beauty," he called out as she replied back in an amused tone before turning into the next room, "Just don't be late to your own engagement party. You don't want to give Eleanor a reason to hunt you down."

"Hey, was that my mom?" Serena poked her head out of room, allowing Chuck to catch a quick glimpse of Blair's dress. He nodded his head and tried to look past her, but she blocked his view.

"Blair, Chuck's here. You ready?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, let him in."

Serena moved out of the doorway and let Chuck walk into her room, sending him a small smirk. He returned the gesture, but suddenly stopped when his gaze fell upon Blair's figure. She stood in the middle of Serena's room, her black gown hugging onto her upper body before flowing out in a full-skirt style, reminiscent of the classic sophisticated dresses of the 1960s. Her hair hung loose over her bare shoulders in its natural curl and Chuck smiled genuinely when his eyes lingered over the pieces of jewellery that she wore.

"Nice necklace and ring," he said smugly, offering her his hand.

Her fingers reached to brush the necklace clasped around her neck before slipping into his, the ring shimmering with pride. "I know. Some arrogant ass gave them to me," she said, her lips curling.

"Well, at least the ass has style." Blair nodded her head in vast amusement as Chuck, like a true gentlemen, followed Serena and lead her out of the room.

"So Waldorf," Chuck said, as they left the suite, headed downstairs for the engagement party. "What are you wearing under there?"

Maybe he wasn't a total gentleman…

As was expected, Eleanor Waldorf had outdone herself.

The reception room of the Palace Hotel was immaculately decorated down to the very last detail. Every table was covered in a silk cloth with imperial silver cutlery and a fresh vase of lilies. The lights were dimmed to create a quixotic atmosphere, which was also achieved by the near set orchestra that Eleanor had employed. All the guests looked meticulous in the best formal wear and as Blair walked past them, offering them fake smiles, she couldn't help but feel like a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Here she was at her engagement party, but she just couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. Her eyes glazed over the room, looking for her husband and sure enough, she found him by the bar, engaging in conversation with tight-laced old men, stiff in black tuxedos. Of course, Blair couldn't help but smirk – Chuck was certainly rubbing off on her – as she noted proudly that Chuck looked the best dressed, his muscular body filing out his tux nicely.

She grabbed a drink from one of the serving waiters and began to stride over to Chuck who had caught her eye and sent her a small smile when she suddenly bumped into someone, her champagne spilling carelessly over the young man's clothes.

"Oh, I am so sor – Nate?" she said abruptly, taking a step backwards, startled by her ex's appearance. He stood silently, brushing the drink off his tux, his bright blue eyes concentrating on everything but her. "I didn't think you'd come," she said awkwardly as he finally looked up at her, hurt and anger still visible in his facial expression.

"I didn't really have a choice," he said coldly, his eyes flickering towards where his mother and Jenny were sitting. Blair subtly glared at the blonde wannabe who, wasting no time, had sprung off of her chair and made her way towards Blair and Nate.

"Blair," Jenny greeted frostily, slipping her arm around Nate's waist, giving Blair a fierce, tight grin. "Your party's totally amazing," she said, the fake sincerity shining brighter than Serena's hair.

"Of course it is. A Waldorf soiree is always unbeatable. I'd invite you to some, but you just always somehow slip my mind." Two could play at Jenny's game especially seeing as Blair invented the rules.

"It seems I didn't slip Nate's mind," Jenny said nastily, noting gleefully Blair's quick flinch at the reference to Nate. "And I think you mean Waldorf-Bass soiree. After all you are a Bass now. No longer a single woman."

If looks could kill, then Jenny Humphrey would be sprawled over the floor, blood streaming out of her body onto her handmade dress, but no matter how much Blair wanted to claw Jenny's eyes out, Blair kept her cool, smiling sinisterly and standing up close to Jenny.

"That's right, Little J. I'm a Bass now, and whilst a Bass by itself may give you nightmares, a Waldorf-Bass is pure and utter hell," Blair said. She brought her head next to Jenny's ear and whispered, "You better watch out, Little J. Hell's got a new queen."

And with those final words, Blair proudly walked away, leaving behind an aggravated Jenny and a bitter and confused – as always – Nate.

"You know I love it when you talk dirty," Chuck said from behind Blair, siding up to her placing his hands over her bare shoulders.

"What are you on about, Bass?" she said, amused but feeling slightly tingly from his touch.

"Your conversation with little Jenny Humphrey. I've never made a blonde flush like that – well, I have actually," he said, his face lightening up, "but seeing you do it, turns me on so much."

Blair scoffed and slid out of Chuck's grip, spinning around to face him. "Well, little Chuck's going to have to suffer because there's no way you're getting anything from me."

"You and I both know that 'little' is an understatement," Chuck implied, wagging his eyebrows at Blair's slight hilarity.

"Chuck, trust me. 'Little' is perfect," she said, stretching out the last word as a man from across the room called Chuck's name. "You enjoying the congratulations from everyone?"

"It's exhausting but pleasing none the less," he said, waving at the man. "But we're in this together and besides this will be over soon. You'll get the last word with Little Jenny Humphrey," he assured her, taking her hand and placing a gentle kiss on it. "By the way, have I said, you look beautiful tonight?"

Blair shook her head, her lips curling.

"You look beautiful," he said softly, gazing at her, making Blair feel like they were the only two people in the room. The intensity from his stare, made her look away bashfully and when she looked up, he was gone, walking towards the man across the room.

She remembered when he made her feel that way last year, when every look he gave her would literally make her feel worthy and truly beautiful. As she began to journey off and mingle with the guests, she stopped when she heard her being name called and spun around to find Chuck facing her. From across the room, he had didn't hesitate to shout out with a genuine grin, "Save the last dance for me," before continuing to the waiting man.

And there was no doubt in Blair's mind that she would.

"Are you having fun?" Serena said, sitting next to Blair at their table, the party was overflowing with people, most of them congregating on the dance floor.

"Well, talking to my ex and my favourite blonde wannabe has certainly been eventful," Blair replied, taking a sip of her drink. She looked for Chuck once more and suddenly grew concerned when she couldn't find him.

"You know," Serena began smirking, "he's right there," pointing to where Chuck was standing alone at the bar. "Admit it Blair, you're falling for him again."

"Serena," Blair jeered, rolling her eyes. "I've never fallen for him and I never will. Remember, marriage of convenience." But that repetitive lie had no effect on Serena anymore.

"Come on, B. If this was only a marriage of convenience, then you wouldn't have spent most of the night staring at Chuck," Serena pointed out, poking Blair with enjoyment.

"Serena, spending all night stalking me is not really good girlfriend behaviour. Where is poor Cabbage Patch? Don't tell me that you're left him to fend off the vultures?" Blair answered, trying to avoid her best friend's suspicions. The truth was, she wasn't sure of what she was feeling and all the time she spent with Chuck was just confusing her even more. She wasn't sure of what she wanted, she wasn't sure what she felt towards Chuck anymore and right now, the only thing she was sure of was that Serena had better intuition than her.

"Any development on who's blackmailing you two?" Serena asked seriously. Blair shook her head and replied, "Chuck's investigating into it, but so far we've got no clue. I'm not worried, though. It's Chuck. Surprisingly enough, he's got influe-"

"Blair," Serena said, suddenly interrupting, "is that who I think it is?" gripping onto Blair's arm and pointing towards the direction of where Chuck was standing, unaware of the woman walking towards him.

"It can't be…" was all Blair could utter, as she and Serena watched the devil in Prada and her spawn.

"Charlie."

Chuck froze. The sophisticated venom in the voice was enough indication for him to know who was standing behind him. What was fuelling his anger though wasn't the fact that she had arrived unannounced but that she had the audacity to call him by that name. Spinning around slowly, he kept his eyes drawn to the ground, first seeing her manicured feet tapping against the ground in four-inch stilettos. He raised his head, trailing up her slim body dressed in a tight red gown that barely concealed her cleavage. Finally, his gaze wondered over her full bloodstained lips, her high cheekbones and her dark, ebony hair pulled together in a tight bone. He felt disgusted as his dark, hollow eyes found themselves staring into their unwanted identical and with an acid tone, he snarled, "Mother."