For starters, I was very relieved to learn people liked what I did in the last chapter with regards to the ceremony! A big thanks goes out to all of you who gave me your opinions (both the good and the bad). I value it a lot.
The flashbacks will continue in this chapter and the next. I would say this chapter is fairy disjointed compared to most others in this series, which is the result of me trying to include a number of different things from the reception which would happen with some time apart. To avoid a too long chapter I divided the reception into two, so the next chapter will be the continuation.
About the ceremony flashbacks, I've had so much trouble finding anything consistent for, well, any part of it. There are a lot of websites out there and they rarely agree with one another about how it's supposed to be done. And who knew there were so many variations of the traditional vows? After a while I decided that if the show writers can have wolves roaming about in the state of New York (seriously, why couldn't it have been deer? But I digress) then I can get off the hook if I get something mixed up or just plain wrong ;) Hopefully it will work the way it is now.
Also… Fluff alert! Normally I'm not a fan of fluff, but it seemed to belong here so I went down that road.
"Who would have ever guessed that we would one day be finding ourselves eating an exclusive dinner with a foreign name, in a room full of people all gathered to actually celebrate Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf?" Dan commented, treating himself to another sip of the very fine wine that had been poured in his glass.
"You didn't see this coming?" Rufus asked, finishing his entrée. "They've been together for years and I married his adoptive mother. Makes sense that they would end up married and we would end up on the guest list."
"Yeah but still" Dan said. "First of all, I never thought anyone would ever even remotely like Chuck Bass, let alone marry him for love. Second, who would have ever guessed he was even capable of loving anyone but himself? Third, Blair Waldorf? Let's not even get started on that subject…"
"That's Blair Bass to you" Blair said, having stopped when she overheard him on her way past their table.
Dan's face got a streak of panic for a second, wondering just how hard Blair would pounce on him for having talked smack about the bride and groom at their wedding reception. Serena, who was standing next to Blair, looked uncomfortable but at least didn't seem to be pondering whether or not she should throw herself in front of Dan like a human shield, which made him a little less nervous. But only a little.
"Hi Blair" Jenny said meekly, embarrassed by her brother. "Congratulations."
"Thanks" Blair beamed.
"It was a lovely ceremony" Rufus said.
"Yeah, congratulations" Dan managed to say, focusing his eyes on his food.
"Ignore Dan" Jenny offered. "He's just…"
"Oh who gives two hoots about what Dan Humphrey thinks?" Blair asked cheerfully.
"Well I'm glad he didn't manage to dampen your spirits" Rufus said. "We're very happy for the both of you, Blair."
"You couldn't bring my mood down today if you wanted to" Blair chirped, shrugging a shoulder. "I can't seem to stop smiling."
"Or kissing…" Serena remarked.
"It's been a week, what do you expect?" Blair chirped. "And nothing, not even the Humphreys, can make this day anything less than perfect. And you should be thankful, Humphrey. When Chuck and I are happy we are a lot less inclined to target and destroy. Enjoy the bliss while it lasts."
"I'm amazed you've even managed to leave his side" Dan remarked. "Like Serena said, you two have been locked at the lips, or at least attached at the hips, ever since the ceremony."
"I have to pee" Blair told him. "And that's one thing I don't mind doing without Chuck."
"And I, as maid of honor, has to help her hold up her dress" Serena said. "There are a lot of things that comes with this job which are in fine print."
"Come on S" Blair said. "The sooner we get to the ladies' room, the sooner I can get back to my seat."
"Yeah, it's the chair she's eager to get back to" Serena said with a smirk, causing Jenny to stifle a laugh.
Serena gave Dan, Rufus and Jenny a smile and a wave, then followed Blair in the direction of the restrooms. Jenny gave Dan a smack on the arm when they were gone.
"Try keeping your negativity to yourself at least until they have left for their honeymoon" she said. "She may be happy and smiling now but you know as well as I do that Blair is one beast you don't want to goad."
"The only one worse is her husband" Dan remarked, looking around to make sure Chuck wasn't about to pass by as well. "Aren't you scared Jenny? Now they're officially a duplex. If they were dangerous before they are ten times more so now."
"Hopefully they'll have other priorities now, with little time left to worry about us" Jenny said smiling.
"Oh God, you mean like reproduction?" Dan groaned. "The spawn of Blair and Chuck… All that evilness combined into one human being. It will be… horrifying. Rosemary's baby, come back, all is forgiven."
"What makes you think they'll settle for just one kid?" Rufus asked.
"Unless they find a surrogate mother I'm betting Blair's desire to keep her waistline will factor in" Jenny commented dryly.
"Just imagine Blair Waldorf pregnant" Dan sighed.
"Blair Bass" Jenny corrected him teasingly.
"I'm serious, think about it. I'm scared of her when she's in her best mood. Wouldn't want to be around when she's all hormonal, carrying that evil spawn."
Jenny rolled her eyes and Rufus sighed.
"Try not to insult the bride and groom too much" Rufus said. "Someone might overhear you."
"They do look happy…" Dan said, softening a bit. "I will admit to that. And I guess it can be consider a good thing that they've banned together and won't be contaminating two additional people's DNA when they have kids."
"More eating, less talking" Rufus suggested. "Voice your dislike when we get out of here. Blair might not be as forgiving if she overhears you again."
Dan obediently concentrated on his entrée and tried to keep silent, but there were just too many impressions for one day to just leave it alone.
"You know what the weirdest thing is?" he said.
"Your inability to shut up?" Jenny suggested.
"This whole thing was actually… actually quite romantic. She did look gorgeous, does look gorgeous, and I've never thought Chuck Bass capable of looking the way he did when he looked at her in that cathedral. They're like a force of nature those two. Seeing those two of all people acting all lovey dovey was… quite the experience."
-
Nate's voice began reciting the passage Blair had selected. Chuck looked into Blair's eyes, keeping hers locked with his, wondering if she was thinking what he was thinking. How far they had come, and how strange yet somehow right it was to hear Nate read for them at their wedding. Chuck had the girl of his dreams, and he had his best friend's blessing for the union. That meant more to him than the blessing of the divinity in whose name they were being wed.
"Love is patient, love is kind" Nate's voice recited, reaching the part Chuck actually recognized. "It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."
It was a beautiful passage. He was glad she had chosen it, even if it was what most people had read at their wedding. It was tradition, and it worked for them.
"It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs" Nate continued.
His voice was distant in Blair's ears. She heard every word Nate said, and she loved that it was Nate who said them, but the only thing that was really in focus right now was her groom. And she hadn't even started blubbering yet. Once she started, if she started, she would probably not even be able to see him clearly through the tears. She didn't feel like crying yet though. She only felt like laughing for joy. She had to fight to hold back a bubbly laughter, realizing it would be out of place right now.
"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
As the familiar words continued Chuck let his eyes leave Blair's for a second, glancing down at her hand, which he held between his own. Her right hand, the bouquet being held by her left. He let his fingers gently stroke hers before giving her a mischievous smirk which caused her to laugh a little even though she tried to hide it. He was glad to see that little laugh. Things were getting a little too heavy, Chuck and Blair did not do overly romantic, at least not if he had anything to say about it.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love." Nate said, nearly finished.
He looked up, glancing over at his friends, smiling. He wasn't sure how they were doing it, but they seemed to be communicating although silent. He saw a twinkle in Blair's eyes in response to something Chuck had done. He had never seen them happier, and Nate himself felt happier than he had in a long time.
Throughout the engagement he had secretly been worrying that he wouldn't be able to view their union strictly through a friend's eyes. His best friend, the delinquent nobody thought would amount to anything, marrying before Nate himself did. The girl who had been earmarked for him back when they were kids sharing something Nate had once assumed he would share with her with his best friend. He had been worried old feelings of jealousy would resurface when he saw them together at the altar. It was a relief that the only thing he felt right now was genuine happiness. He had never been happier for them.
"But the greatest of these…" he finished his reading, "is love."
Chuck gave her hands a squeeze and the look on her face made him feel like he was welling up. Good Lord, he couldn't cry before she did!
Nate walked back to his place, and Chuck lifted his eyes from Blair for a second to share a look with his best friend. They smiled at each other.
-
When Blair and Serena returned to their table they found they were the only ones there. The idea of a bathroom break had apparently occurred to everyone and Blair's smile faded for a quick second when she saw that the chair next to hers was empty. Then she smiled again and sat down, letting her fingers play with the petals of the flowers in her bouquet, which was sitting in a vase in front of her.
"They're lovely aren't they?" she said.
"Loveliest I've ever seen" Serena agreed. "When did you pick them out? I can't even remember that."
"I didn't. Chuck did. I didn't have a clue what the bouquet would look like until the florist arrived with them right before the ceremony. And they turned out to be perfect."
"You should save them" Serena said. "I know a lot of women who've done that. Once the garter and the flowers have been thrown you get both back, and then dry the flowers so you can keep them forever."
"Cute... I have different plans for them though."
"Oh?"
"I was hoping you would take care of them while we're on our honeymoon" Blair said. "And if you let them wither you owe me a new wedding."
Serena laughed.
"I think I can keep them alive for the duration of the honeymoon" she said. "Or at least hire someone who can."
"Then when we get back, I thought Chuck and I could go visit his father's grave and put the flowers there."
"Really? That's so sweet, but don't you want to keep them?"
"They're flowers. In a bouquet. They won't last forever and they're not meant to. I'm sure about this. Leaving them on my father-in-law's grave is like a way of making him part of this, and I think he should be."
"Who should be a part of what?" Chuck asked, returning with Eric, Aaron and Nate.
"Hey" Blair beamed. "There you are."
He sat down and gave her a long kiss.
"I had to go wash your lipstick off my lips" he teased. "Again. I was starting to look like a transsexual."
"Where did everybody else go?" Serena asked.
"I think Mom went to Rufus" Eric said. "She's kind of pissed that you didn't seat her with her husband."
"Sorry, no room for Humphreys at this table" Blair said and then turned her attention back to Chuck.
"I think most people went to the bathroom" Aaron said. "And Dad went to get some fresh air. And I think Harold went somewhere to put the finishing touches on his speech."
Blair giggled a little. Her dad had asked to get to deliver his speech towards the end of dinner, so that he could work on it for as long as possible. Blair knew her father well enough to know that this was a bad idea. So far a few speeches had been given, and each one was something Harold would feel the need to top.
"I'm glad I will be giving my speech next" Serena said and made a face. "I'm just not very good at these things."
"S, we've told you, you don't have to give a speech if you don't want to" Blair said, entwining her fingers with Chuck's and feeling his breath on her cheek as he leaned closer to her. "Screw traditions."
"No, I want to say something" Serena said. "How often does your best friend marry your brother?"
"Well if you dump me for Andy then in your case it might happen twice" Blair smiled before turning to Chuck. "How's dinner coming along? Getting to actually eat something?"
"It's going better than it did at the rehearsal dinner" he smiled. "I actually managed to finish my entrée."
"Good. I don't want a cranky husband tonight" she teased.
"Don't you worry, my dear" he said and let go of her hand to take a sip of wine. "I made back-up arrangements after how hungry I was on Thursday night. There will be food on the plane when we leave."
"Oh, so we're going by plane are we?"
"We are" he nodded. "Which doesn't really narrow down the possibilities for our destination unless you thought I was planning on honeymooning with you in New Jersey."
"Ew, you wouldn't!"
"You know I wouldn't."
One by one people returned to their table and soon it was Serena's time to give her speech. She took a deep breath, cast Tom a glance and then rose with her cue cards in her hands.
"As maid of honor it is my duty and pleasure to say a few words" she said, lying about the last part but shooting Blair a smile. "And as sister to the groom it is… even more of an honor. I won't ramble though, I will make this brief and to the point. I have known the both of you since we were kids and I've seen you both at your best and at your worst. Your best being the past three and a half years, when you've been together. I have never seen two people make each other happier, and even though the thought of you two in a permanent alliance is scary both to me and to a lot of other people, I have to say I have rarely seen two people better fitted for one another. I love you both, yes even you Chuck, and I think the best thing you've ever done is adding Blair to this family. We may have had our disagreements over the years, but one thing I know for sure, I will never get married unless I'm with someone who looks at me the way you look at Blair. I wish you both all the best… To the happy couple!"
"Brief indeed" Chuck mumbled in Blair's ear.
"I think she got the important stuff in" Blair smiled and kissed him. "And I'm glad she deviated from her original plan, which was to basically have me write the thing for her."
"How inventive" Chuck said with a grin.
Serena glanced over at Tom, and then back at Chuck and Blair. She had meant what she said. If she would ever get married, it would be to someone who looked at her the way her stepbrother was currently looking at her new sister-in-law.
-
Blair began to feel nervous again when she realized she would soon be expected to speak. She didn't know if she could trust her own voice. Luckily Chuck would be going first, and luckily the first thing they would be required to say consisted of just two words.
Chuck looked calm, as always, while she had to force herself not to flinch when the congregation rose behind them. She took a deep, slow breath and felt Chuck squeeze her hand, making her feel a little more relaxed.
Father Matt began asking Chuck if he had come of his own free will to be married, and while the priest's voice went on Blair took another slow breath. How could Chuck seem so calm?
"I do" Chuck said, answering the priest's question.
Blair's smile got wider for a second, before she really began to feel nervous as Father Matt now turned to her and asked her the same question. She hoped her voice would carry, and that she wouldn't have to clear her throat.
"I do" she said, and relaxed when her voice came out just fine.
Prompted by the priest Chuck let his left hand leave her, holding her right hand with his. This was the part he was looking forward to. The vows which would bring them together.
"I Charles Bartholomew Bass do take thee Blair Cornelia Waldorf to be my wife" he began, repeating after the priest, feeling himself tremble looking into her eyes. "To have and to hold from this day forward." He had to take a pause before repeating the next line Father Matt gave him. "For better, for worse…" He realized his voice was dangerously close to quivering. "For richer, for poorer…"
She could see his eyes starting to glisten, in a way she had never seen them do out of happiness. Nobody could see it but her, nobody could feel his hand tremble but her and she was fairly sure that she was the only one able to detect the signs in his voice that he was getting emotional.
He got through his vows without his voice breaking and gave her a teasing look, challenging her to get through them as well. She decided to not even try. If he got this close to having tears in his eyes then she could allow herself to shed a tear or two. But she still didn't feel like weeping.
Her voice was steady and clear as she began to recite her vows to him. He had taken a second to compose himself before each repeated phrase but she didn't need to pause. The words were so natural to say, and she found herself feeling glad that they hadn't written their own vows.
"In sickness and in health" she continued her pledge. "To love and to cherish." She could hear her mother sniffle. "To be true to you in good times and in bad."
She could hear Cyrus sniffling too and neither she nor Chuck could keep in a little laugh. Someone else, Roman probably, joined in the crying and she shook her head slightly, more amused than touched.
"And to forsake all others" she repeated after Father Matt. "Until death do us part."
-
"I can't believe I actually finished my dinner" Chuck remarked, washing down his last bite with some champagne.
"Soon the speeches part of the program will be over" Blair smiled, letting her hand rest on his thigh.
"Careful Mrs. Bass…" Chuck said. "Put your hand in the wrong place and I won't be held responsible for my actions. Now that we're married I have fulfilled my end of the bargain and you are fair game."
She removed her hand while smirking at him. She couldn't decide if she wanted the reception to go on forever, or if she wanted it to be over so that the wedding night could finally begin.
Camille came up to their table and announced that the cake had finally arrived. Fifteen minutes later Blair found herself pondering the logistics of how the actual cutting of the cake would work. Why had she never paid attention to this at any other wedding she'd been at?
She grabbed the cutter and Chuck's hands wrapped around hers. She looked up at him and smiled, getting a kiss in return, then studied the cake carefully to decide where to cut.
"It's the same all the way around, you know" he teased. "Find a spot already."
With some slight fumbling they cut a slice of the cake, and with a lot of fumbling moved it over to a dish. Chuck's hands left Blair's and she lifted the dish up, receiving some applauds from the people around them, and used the spoon Chuck handed her to feed him a piece.
"Raspberry" he noted, nodding to himself.
He hadn't been sure if she had gone with her favorite cake which had been raspberry, or if she had gone with the blackberry one. He hadn't cared either way when they had done their last phase testing together. Blair had of course fretted endlessly over the issue.
He took the spoon and fed her a piece as well, to more applauds from everyone, and a few disappointed comments from people who had hoped one of them would throw cake at the other. He gave Blair a kiss and then cut off another slice, moving it over to the same dish as the first one.
"We should have cut a bigger piece, that would have been more romantic" he noted with a grin. "Guess we'll have to settle for sharing a dish and a spoon."
Before long they were back at their table, passing the spoon back and forth between them while working on their cake.
"I think I made the right call" Blair mused.
"It tastes just fine" Chuck said. "Everything so far has been just fine. Better than that, actually."
"Did you tell Camille to make sure the little bride and groom at the top of the cake are secured?" Blair asked. "I want to keep them."
"For what? When are you ever going to use them again?"
"Memorabilia!"
Chuck rolled his eyes but made no further comments. Absent-mindedly he fed Blair another piece and kept in a groan when the toastmaster announced it was time for another toast. Was it too much to ask for to get to spend more than two minutes at a time eating something?
Nate rose to give his toast and Chuck's smile was back. He hadn't known Nate was even planning on speaking.
"I have known both of you since way back when" Nate began. "Which means I'm under some pressure to give this great toast since I have all kinds of stories to tell about the two of you. But I'm not going to tell any stories tonight. I'm also not going to talk about your love for one another, how happy I am for you, or how great the future is going to be for you. Everyone else has already done that, and you know those things to be true, so no need for me to repeat them. And I don't feel the need to say anything about the obstacles you faced to get to this point, since I know better than anyone that trying to get in the way of you two being together is as likely to succeed as standing at the gates of Pompeii, kindly asking the lava to go around the city. I also can't welcome either of you to my family, like the best man or maid of honor have done. Not that I would need to. The three of us, and Serena, are already family, and have been for a long time."
Blair blew Nate an air kiss, causing him to blush. Serena rose from her seat, winking at the bride and groom.
"Now I know Chuck, while appreciative of the Biblical readings during the ceremony, would not have objected to readings from a non-Biblical source. So Serena and I found a text we thought fit the two of you, and the occasion, and we would now like to share it with you." Nate smiled and paused for a second before continuing. "Now we feel no rain, for each of us will be shelter to the other."
"Now we feel no cold," Serena continued, "for each of us will be warmth to the other."
"Now there is no loneliness, for each of us will be a companion to the other."
"We are two bodies, but there is one life before us and one home."
"When evening falls I'll look up and there you will be."
"I'll take your hand, you'll take mine and we'll turn together" Serena continued, her smile growing wider.
"To look at the road we traveled to reach this, the hour of our happiness" Nate said.
"It stretches behind us, even as the future lies ahead" Serena continued.
"A long and winding road, whose every turn means discovery."
"Old hopes, new laughter, shared fears."
Nate and Serena looked at each other and picked up their champagne glasses, lifting them for a toast.
"The adventure has just begun" they finished the recital together.
"Is this wedding sappy enough for you yet?" Chuck asked Blair while clinking his champagne glass to hers.
"I don't know, see any dry eyes?" Blair asked, wiping a tear from her own.
He chuckled, and caught Nate's eye as the latter sat back down. He lifted his glass to a private toast between them, then turned and did the same with Serena.
Like I said… fluffy =) The text Nate reads during the ceremony is, as mentioned in previous chapters, I Corinthians 13:1-13, and what he recites with Serena is an Apache poem (in case anyone is interested).
Anyway, thanks for reading, hope this wasn't too disjointed and sappy, and… the second half will be up at some point. I just have to start writing it first *hangs head in shame*