Love is all that I can give to you

Love is more than just a game for two

Two in love can make it

Take my heart and please don't break it

Love was made for me and you

He wailed again, it wasn't like they would never know for sure but it did sound imbued with wonder and appreciation rather than discomfort.

'Can you make him stop? I'd really like to listen to So Long My Love'

'Of course I could if I spoke dog, which I don't' Chuck smirked, his lips brushing a crease to her hair, 'Monkey likes the gramophone apparently.'

Her head was the softest weight on his chest as she stirred once more, 'I do too, very much so, hence why I'd like to hear it. Cyrus did not gift us an original HMV/Columbia with Sinatra's rarest turntables for his canine vocals to ruin the experience.'

His grin grew wider this time because Blair had just showcased remnants of her final, grumpy mood swings right as told by the textbook, but he made sure she would never acknowledge that from him; he murmured, 'I'll walk him back to the foyer by the time Blue Moon starts so that we can have our slow dance in total quiet.'

This had been the standard for their evenings lately; May was about to turn to June, spring was in its late blooming and candlelight flickered to the air breathing through the satiny curtains into their living room.

They adored to indulge in their intimate peace after a long day, snug together and lounging to old classics oozing from one of their many delayed wedding gifts, all while their dog seemed to share the same enthusiasm for music on the carpet below them.

'Soon you'll need an extra support for that, and look at those' she grumbled, her nose tipping in the direction of her faintly pink and imperceptibly expanded ankles. She'd been saying that for weeks now and Chuck was sure they looked just the same.

'Those are beautiful and I will carry you myself whenever we dance, tonight and forever.'

Her nose scrunched a little, all while her eyes glimmered a lot more.

'Ugh, you've become ridiculously mushy Bass, I can hardly stomach it.'

'Can't you? I thought I'd showed you how much of a romantic you made me already years ago, and I'm afraid I'll only be getting worse from now on', he whispered, his lips like feathers on her head once again as his palm drifted from the cushion to the finally visible belly Blair was carrying at her second trimester.

The first four, now almost five, crucial and scary months had been a challenge for the both of them, and they kept themselves grounded onto the certainty they couldn't expect everything to be nice and easy all the time, not now nor once their blessing would arrive. But their baby was there with them, they'd seen it, and then they felt it; they really made it and it was growing beautifully under their eyes and inside their hearts.

'You'll end up with calluses under that hand by the time our child is born.' she teased, smiling broadly at what she felt moving both under and above the pointed curve of her middle.

'Just making sure he feels as much fatherly love as I can manage at the moment.' Chuck said timidly but with an underlying provocation; he was always so amused at how convinced Blair was of her genetic determining powers. He was also curious to see who would cave in first between them and open the letter that they stashed into the soundboard of their piano.

'Trust me she already does, it's all flutters in here every time you stroke us' Blair sighed in awe, although in all honesty she still couldn't tell apart what was baby, what was butterflies, or if it was only her insides moving and changing; most likely the three things were brewing and nestling in happiness all together.

Chuck on his part started to quite literally count the days until he could feel those movements himself, for no matter how quickly and rounder Blair's stomach was growing he still couldn't believe it was happening at all, 'Maybe he likes Frank as much as we all do, Love has such a catchy rhythm.'

'Ah, yes I love this one. There was a time I used to listen to it so obsessively' she chuckled, her back shifting against him so she could look at him, 'and it was roughly around the same time you were neck-deep in love with me and I felt it but you couldn't say it to my face.'

His tongue clicked as he took her hit, then he charmed 'but when I did…'

'When you did, it was breathtaking. I couldn't believe my ears and we had the most marvelous afternoon, if memory serves me' she chirped back, sure to be finishing the sentence for the both of them.

The hand that wasn't treasuring their child reached for hers, and he brought it to his lips the same way he had time and time again before, and always would, 'It took me over a year to voice it for you the first time, and I'll put to use the rest of my life to never stop reminding you.'

He'd laid out enough suits to completely cover up the plush comforter on his bed. A bed that hadn't been slept in for over a week; he realized he didn't miss how silent and hollow his room and his hotel felt now that he was back, something was clearly missing. He knew who was missing.

In the past seven days he had seen an irrational amount of people and places for such a limited time, yet he never felt more lacking company, one in particular. Blair always, incessantly caught up with him everywhere he was, whatever he did. His touch-and-go through a few european countries was a mere, barely vexing necessity before he could rush back to her with a suitcase worth of gifts she probably wouldn't care about as much as the heart he would give her along with them. His very own, much beating heart that now overfilled with the same three big, heavy and fluttery words ready to fly out to her. It was a fear that had him choking on those words before, a fear that eventually vanished under the weight of the much bigger terror of losing her; a fear that at last turned into an urge to speak up.

The buzzing feeling was familiar, it brought him what almost felt like a special comfort; he couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, he could barely think past her smile, her scent, her voice. His inner voice instead would only keep repeating words like "stupid", "coward", "it was about time", "did you think it would just go away". Wasn't he so deeply, exhilaratingly in love he would probably have some room left in his heart to feel embarrassment.

He had taken off from London the previous morning there, and not a minute in those ten hours above the ocean did he not think about her and the way he would finally say it for her. Even if he knew that there was no chance he could imagine exactly how that moment would unfold, no matter the different ways he rehearsed it in his head. Would she listen to him after what he did to her? Would she accept him or was that still a wild dream of his condemned to stay one by himself ?

There was another infinite number of doubts and theories like these he could make up, but Chuck at last reached the point where none of that mattered anymore. He knew he was presented with the last chance he had to risk it once and for all; it was now or never and the mere thought of a future without her was enough for him to finally be ready to make the bravest gesture of his life up to this day.

Chuck kept staring at his Rolex, calculating whether it was too soon to go, perhaps too late; he knew from Lily that Serena had just left, meaning that Blair was probably out to her favorite malls and taking her mind off the distress he knew he caused her, again. He wanted that to be the last time.

When he finally picked an outfit, left the Palace with her gifts and flowers and started sifting through the main shopping streets, it wasn't long before he spotted her recognizable, bright coat and golden headband in the sea of people exiting Bergdorf; and he knew perfectly where she was to be found next.

Blair really liked green; it never was a boring color and tones like emerald and pastel truly suited her caramel hair. After one slow week that had her feeling blue, she finally felt like wearing green again, which was what eventually drove her picking for the coat of the day.

It was a color that meant harmony, balance, growth, nurture; everything she had promised herself to focus on now that Chuck had run away from her, again. It was over over; she had tried enough, her eyes cried enough.

Blair had made it a habit now; a quick paced stroll from Bloomingdale's on 60th down to Bergdorf on 58th, and then head to the pond crossing by the Plaza. She loved to pay a visit to the black and white tiled parvis here and there, it was a familiar spot and everybody knew that, especially he knew that.

Walking was therapeutic, it gave her a way to think, blow off some steam and channel the bad energy from her heavy mind all the way down and out through the clicking of her heels. And now that Serena was on her way to another continent, she had surrendered to brace for a summer of self care and future planning, dodging as many blasts about Chuck and his travels as her resistance could manage. It was a pretend resistance of course, she could list the date and time of his last sightings. Paris, Berlin, Milan, London; she wondered if that was his new form of self care since there was no way Europe could offer him what Thailand had, for sure.

Despite herself she still mulled over the last time he saw him at Nate's post-grad party, even when her eyes now travelled through various hangers covered in beautiful clothes, none of which however sparking her interest.

So much had happened that it felt like nothing now, in retrospect maybe none of it had ever been that meaningful. Her goodbye to Constance and to years of ruling a school as much as the people who attended it didn't hit her yet in the way she'd imagined it would.

Blair didn't really care as much at the moment, just as she didn't that night over a week ago; her priority was always him, to drag him into a room, corner him and pull those words she knew he had for her out of his mouth. She failed and failed again, and now she walked everyday trying to move on from that face of stone that couldn't love her back the way she did, apparently.

It still frustrated her though, it still stewed inside. They had played their games, they had hurt each other, made amends and then hurt each other again. Yet, she knew there was real love laying underneath it all; it was even declared from both sides, just never to each other at the same time. She had come so close to it, so much that she could almost see those three little words rising up to his lips when she stripped for him in that room.

He just never let them out, he still wasn't letting her in; he wouldn't undress from his cover of sewn-on fears the same way she did. It wasn't about her tryst with Jack, and it definitely wasn't his with Vanessa; it wasn't anybody's fault, it seemed. But what was it then?

She stopped her train of thoughts as she looked left and right, and then crossed towards the black and white tiles awaiting in the crowded distance.

#

Blair didn't register the vehicle at first, she was distracted and glancing at the busy street; it was just another fancy black car from there, a fairly common image at the Plaza, although it did have a familiar air. But it couldn't be.

One bouncy step later, she realized it could be, and it was. She stumbled slightly as she stopped her feet and took in the car that lengthened into his limo in her vision. Her gaze immediately locked on the well-known, suited body leaning onto the polished varnish like an ordinary driver in wait.

'Why aren't you in Europe?' her words escaped her so rapidly she had barely noticed the relaxed look on his face and the interesting items he held on his hands. Her trained defensiveness took over her surprise; she wanted to get over this meeting and quickly, her voice inquisitive, but her arm pressed against her frame like a barrier. For a split second she wondered if maybe the time had arrived for them to unlock that divisive gate that stood in between.

'I was in Paris… but only to get your favorite macaroons from Pierre Hermé' he charmed, straightening on his feet as he closed in on her and passed her a blue papered box topped with a sheer black bow.

Her brows moved, her eyes widened.

She couldn't suppress a fleeting smile as his attitude and gesture seemed to ease the weight in her chest; she suddenly needed this encounter to last a little longer.

'and Germany?'

Chuck showed her an elegantly wrapped generous, flat box, 'to pick up your favorite Falke stockings, you know I adore them.'

Enough then, Blair got the message; what she still and maybe naively wanted from him laid much deeper than his kind presents and she let herself hope Chuck knew that, too.

'What are you doing here then?'

'You were right.' he said immediately and with a sudden and serious determination, 'I was a coward, running away again…'

Blair was looking down now, nervously fixating on the tile she stood on and at once afraid to read in his eyes anything different than what she desired.

Chuck continued then, and she could hear his tone slightly rise, quiver even, 'but everywhere I went… you caught up with me.'

His smile was genuine and shot right from his heart rather than in reflex, as the person he was talking to still stared away from his face, lost in her thoughts.

'So I had to come back.'

She let some tension huff out on a deep breath, her lips shaky in both fear and anticipation as she sensed their conversation speeding up and possibly turning towards one specific direction.

'I want to believe you. But I can't. You've hurt me too many times' she stated, and it was intended to be heard by them both.

But Chuck didn't hesitate, 'You can believe me this time.'

There it was, he knew he was about to say it; his teeth were tight in his mouth, so much that his jaw clenched in strength and nerves alike. He made effort to mask his tension by letting tenderness and excuses pool into his eyes.

'Oh,'

Those last words spoken on a much more affectionate face she'd ever remembered seeing from him stirred something in her gut; it fluttered onwards like a tingle dancing to her chest and then up to her cheeks that rose to her eyes. Blair looked back down to her feet one last time, 'that's it?' she stammered out.

It sounded like a joke out of her lips, for she tried to grab the thought that just occurred in her mind by its neck; Blair did not want to foolishly fall into that trap of her own doing again.

His lips thinned to the widest smile as to mirror what was erupting and finally unleashing from his heart. Actually, he almost felt like laughing too; to think for how long he had suppressed this instinct was incredibly ridiculous now that he had her smiley, scrutinizing face in front of him.

He was also stupidly convinced it would take him minutes at least before the first sound would find its way out of his mouth; until he was proven wrong by his own feelings and those three words rolled up straight from his chest and flew out to the person who was holding her breath in anticipation to finally hear them.

'I love you too.'

His spelling was loud and clear, his tone was steady, determined, full and warm; and somehow, and with good reason, it didn't match the faintly quivering of his lips nor the shiny glint of emotion in his eyes.

It happened fast, so fast that it was difficult to imagine it had taken them two years to come to this point. Her heart immediately leaped, doubled and beat ever quicker with the loudest thuds well before she could even fully process what had just occurred and even if she created a mental sound to his voice affirming those same words so many times before. Had not she been so fast in cutting the only distance left between them to kiss him, she would have wondered if any passer could hear the frenzied thrumming under her green coat.

But as cliché as it was, everything did stop moving around them as soon as their lips met at last, a feeling so whole and so right it had them both close their eyes and lose themselves in their embrace. They didn't need to look at each other to know how high their cheeks had risen with their smiles, or how emotional and nearly teary they were as their lips further exchanged what he had just professed to her.

No wonder Blair's abrupt, spontaneous reaction was to trap the traces of the words that still lingered warm in his mouth and let them crystallize on her lips. She wouldn't miss any of that after such a long and strenuous purgatory, and she deserved to delight in that overdue heavenly moment, especially if that meant she could steal his love confession with a deep kiss and forever treasure it with her.

A kiss that turned into two, then three until he held her tighter to him and turned them around in a dance, with their lips picking up the same increasing rhythm their hearts were composing for them.

'But can you say it twice?'

A giggle and a smile, both echoed by him in unison. Blair couldn't remember ever feeling this exhilarated in her life before. It was a high drive on sheer happiness.

Her laugh was intoxicating to him, so much that he kissed her back even more fervently although in his heart he wouldn't ever want her to stop laughing like this.

'No, I'm serious, say it twice.'

They laughed again, completely lost in their bliss together. He obliged her immediately as he realized he never heard a more delicious command before and it certainly was the first one he was absolutely happy to follow; and something suggested to him that it would be the first of many.

It wasn't the easiest task to stop kissing her and talk in between their lips, but he wanted to say it as much as she wanted to hear it over and over as he went on, 'I love you. I love you, there's three, four...'

Chuck kept saying it, tilting his head and so their kissing side to side at each time until they lost their count.

What happened next had them laugh even louder; not only were they showcasing the most cinematic moment in the middle of a crowd, with her leg popped up through each touch of their lips, but the sky had also decided to play its part as it started pouring rain on them - quite literally the cherry on top.

It was a windy summer storm and it showered them even under the awning; when the drops drizzled her nose and cheeks, he made sure to kiss those too.

'Mh, can we stay here a little longer? I kinda like this' she giggled.

Had it been any other day in his life Chuck would have probably thought about it twice, but there was no way he would do so now; what was a ruined suit and hairstyle compared to the fulfillment of every one of her wishes?

He resumed his kissing her, pulled her even tighter to him as he moved them swiftly with a tug of his arms and a quick step. He spinned her once more and her dampened coat was now flattened against the side of his limo, with him covering her body, and with his lips falling on hers just as interminably as the rain on their heads. Her peonies landed on the black car top, their strong scent seeping to them under the fresh water, and her gifts were still squeezed between their bodies, with their pretty wrappings disintegrating in their tight clutches.

It went on and on, they had no idea how many times again they kissed, smiled, sponged the rain drops on each other's lips. Arms squeezing and bodies stroking against wet fabrics and the growing heat of their skin underneath. It was a broken film that kept rolling for them only even when they knew that people around them were unfairly judging and scowling at something of a beauty and importance they just could not grasp.

He only halted when his hand couldn't find one dry curl to caress on her head and as she shuddered for the third time between his arms.

'I hate to be the mood breaker, but-' he gasped.

She smiled, rubbing a few raindrops off his brow, 'No, I agree, let's go.'

Chuck gently pulled her back on her feet and gathered her flowers as he opened the door for her, teasing 'Where to?'

She let out a snort, 'You're kidding, I hope.'

He grinned back at her as he realized how far deep did he have to be lost in the moment to forget they hadn't been together in over a year, only ever and painfully teasing each other in the time in between. At once though the haze that invaded his mind until then had vanished in the clear, and not an inch of his body felt cold anymore despite the drenched clothes he had on.

Blair found her spot on the well known comfortable backseat and she looked at him excitedly, lovingly. She didn't lose one second more and glided up the side seating with a question hanging in her shiny eyes. Chuck nodded gladly and waved his arm in welcome all while relishing in glee, exhaling, smiling and sinking into the leather.

'Hello Arthur, would you please take Mr. Bass and I back to the Palace? We're rather in a hurry.'

Coats, shoes, a golden skirt and a blouse, a fully dismantled outfit, flowers and boxes; it was a colourful path they left behind from his door to the ensuite.

They did need a hot shower and dry clothes anyway, although their washing lasted shorter than they envisioned because their rush and a wet condom don't make as good a pair as them.

That didn't stop them however from a first round of reacquainting, and by doing so Chuck also ensured her a more dignified blissful performance for what was next in line once they'd make it to his bed.

#

'A few hours ago I was hoping they'd quarantine you in Europe' her voice was a feeble squeaking against the slope of his neck where she'd been resting.

'But I actually think I'll be the one to lock you up in this room for a while'

'By all means, do that.' he husked.

'Also, you have to excuse my… standard so far. It's been too long for us. You take my breath away… literally.' Chuck was murmuring now, his lips caressing her lustered skin.

And Blair was gloating to say the least, although she was stunned by what his worst capacity, according to him, already did for her.

It definitely had been too long. She knew they both already internally swore to whoever their gods were to never go this long without sex ever again in their life, wherever that would take them. The mere thought of how much better everything was bound to become now that they found their ground immediately had her roll back up on him.

'Ah, you tell me.' she hummed, making herself comfortable on his taut skin that had already started to heat again under her delicious weight, 'I guess we're lucky we have time to catch up.'

Her fingers trailed from below his chest up to his jaw and then she scoffed when her gaze met an overly grinning face, 'What's so entertaining?' she fussed, using her thighs to squeeze around his stomach.

'I really thought I was going to survive a life without this sight' his elated expression was nearly annoying as he let his eyes wander up and down her naked glory.

'Huh, so your Waldorf-themed Grand Tour and today's public declaration were just a charade to secure yourself this "sight"?' she whined playfully, making sure her lower body would tease his at the same time.

'Mh, the only charade I'm interested in is our movie' he drawled in a raspy voice, his thumb drawing circles to her inner thigh, his other thumb rubbing to his lip as he decided how to pleasure her next - unless she would decide herself first, that is.

'I'm sorry I've hurt you Blair, I mean it. I love you and I missed you more than what I can put into words' he stated seriously this time, moving his cheek under her palm so that he could kiss it.

'And please pardon me if missing you includes missing these visuals too.'

'Fine, you're excused. And I love you.'

His smugness was back in its full force as he lifted his back to sit up and reach for her smiling mouth, with his hands on her hips stroking and holding her close.

The first kiss was tender, a taste of her lips. She reacted and opened to him with the second, tasting him back the way she wanted. Their tongues met in a soft stroke through their third; then they were deeping, greedily by the fourth, and lustfully by the fifth. They both smiled on the sixth because they noticed how their kissing still worked like an automatism; they smiled a little wider hoping that it would never change a bit.

Blair gasped in surprise and then chuckled under him as he rolled her on her back with a swift movement; of course he was on her neck in no time, his tongue and lips plucking at her skin in a way that had an immediate effect start to brew between her legs.

'I missed this' he groaned as he nipped and kissed down the soft line of her throat, 'and this' when his lips reached the heartline of her breasts. Both his palms curled to cup around them, to which Blair responded with a soft moan and a rising splash of goosebumps as her skin hardened between his fingertips.

'Missed you too' Blair mewled, still in a way so that he knew it wasn't just about sex. It never was with her.

His lips worked on them, slowly and carefully until he needed more and resumed his arousing descent to the planes of her stomach and then to her mound.

'And most of all, this' a growl, before he stopped talking at all, bringing his right hand where his mouth was, while his left blocked her hips and kept her spasms and jerking in place. Then he sank his lips and disappeared far below her line of vision, if her eyes ever opened up again from her pleasure.

Her throat was dry and her voice hoarse by the time he was done with her, since "done" to Chuck meant having her come on his tongue as many times as he could manage until the pain in his jaw became unbearable.

And by the time she gathered back her senses, Blair still wanted more.

When Chuck found himself under her once again, he raked a hand through his ruffled hair as he took her in, exhaling and at the same time aching with the increasing pressure rushing to his erection. Blair thought her face muscles would hurt the next day with how much she'd smiled at the way he looked her. Chuck was on another planet; her body glistened in beads of sweat that trailed down her every soft curve, her cheeks as red as her swollen lips, her happy eyes a glint in the dusking light in his room. His growing love for her made her appear even more otherworldly to his eyes; he didn't have enough breath or focus in himself to voice it now, but he promised himself to prove it to her every other day, and in every way.

He stroked down her arm as he guided her into him to kiss her lips again; it was addicting to do, it was maddening to resist. Chuck whispered another I love you to her ear, then another to her mouth, and a third before she kissed him back.

Blair only pulled back to stretch her arm and search inside the small, opened pack on his nightstand.

'Wait, let me-'

'No, I want to do it' she said calmly, biting and breaking into the wrapper. She slid back on his legs so that she could roll the latex on him, but only after she rubbed her thumb over his head, proudly eliciting a nice, low groan out of his throat.

Once her work was finished, she raised to her thighs and positioned herself right above his length, hovering for a second as she stared at the astonished, gasping face below her.

'You're so beautiful'

'Because I walk the path of safe sex?' she grinned, blushing even past the glow already present on her face.

'Also, yes, but you're just about the most beautiful person I've ever seen' he murmured with honesty, fixing a curly strand of hair behind her ear.

Blair saw so much love and adoration in those dark, deep eyes that it had her say something before she could even fully reflect on it; she didn't feel the need to.

'But speaking of… I think we could change of method now, make a more suitable choice... Not that the cost of these could ever be a burden, but since you decided to make an honest woman out of me, so to speak...' she laughed softly.

'You know I'll be happy with whatever you decide,' he hummed, bringing the back of her hand to his lips, 'Of course I'd be honored if you... let me experience this to the fullest. That would be a first for me, too.' he added on a wide smile.

Blair knew her heart was probably overreacting after such a day filled with emotion, but acknowledging what Chuck had just told her made her feel incredibly relieved, glad and even happier to be walking another important step together.

A beeping tune broke into their intimate moment and Chuck groaned in irritation this time as he picked up the phone, 'Yes? Mh. Thanks for informing me Hannah, but I can't get to the concierge right now, could you please have Thomas look at those for me? Tell him I'll get back in the morning, I'm with my girlfriend now.'

His grin was devilish as he watched her jaw drop inch by inch; his amused expression won him a shove into his shoulder.

His what?

That was it, that was enough for Blair to pry that phone off his hand, crash it back onto its stand and then crash herself on him with a smooth, slick slide.

They gasped and they kissed, they moaned and they moved; all of that over and over with a single, simple thought on their minds, the same song thrumming with their hearts. They were in love, and they were making love as boyfriend and girlfriend at last.