Rufus stood from the long table, clearing his throat slightly as he hit his glass with the back of his knife. Blair squeezed Dan's thigh where her hand gently rested and kissed him on the cheek. It was the night before the big day and the last thing on their to do lists was the rehearsal dinner, which Blair had mercifully allowed Rufus and Jenny (mostly Jenny) plan. Rufus looked slightly ruffled as he glanced around the room, and Blair followed his eyes seeing her carefully picked wedding party, her parents and their spouses, and even Dan's mother. It was a room filled with Blair's favorite people and she could feel the love pulsing in the atmosphere.
"I wanted to say thank you for everyone joining us out here in Brooklyn. I'm sure it was a hike for all of you," he laughed as people nodded their heads. "Maybe you will find your self surprised at what this little corner of the city has to offer just like Blair and stay here. I just wanted to say a quick few words in honor of the couple of the night, and I'm sure if Blair gets her way… the century." There was giggles filling the room and Blair jokingly raised her napkin as though she was embarrassed by her standards. "When my son told me that he was dating Blair Waldorf, I have to say that I was quite skeptical. Blair famously has exquisite taste and I wasn't sure that my son from Brooklyn could ever meet them. I'm still not positive what kind of witchcraft Dan learned to get Blair to think he stood up to her expectations but whatever it is, I'm glad it happened. These two, in ways that I could never have imagined, complete the other. I'm very happy to welcome Blair into our small, but very loving, family and only hope that these two can fill their future years with as much happiness as they've had these past few. With Dan's complete devotion and Blair's stubbornness to make anything she touches succeed, I can only see a bright and long future ahead of them."
Dan turned his head to smile and Blair, giving a quick kiss before the two rose to their feet. "Dad," Dan said, "you've supported me in all of my crazy dreams so I'm glad I have your support in this, my craziest dream." Dan and Rufus embraced before Blair gave Rufus a fast kiss on the cheek and hug. "We also just want to thank everyone," Dan said, resting his hand in the small of Blair's back, "for everyone trekking it out to Brooklyn. Thankfully, for you, it's just one night but for this woman next to me, it's hopefully the rest of her life."
"It's not that bad," Blair said, rolling her eyes dramatically before leaning into Dan's side.
"Do you think we can make a slight pit stop?" Blair said, her hand in her purse as she fingered the edges of the last invitation. Blair was sitting with her head rested on the window in the back of the cab heading for Serena's house in the Upper East Side. Her and Dan were sticking to the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding even though Blair thought it was a waste of time.
Serena turned her head from where she was looking out the opposite window to stare at Blair, "To where?"
Blair pulled the invitation from her purse, flashing the envelope at her friend. "The Empire."
Nate grabbed the invitation from Blair's hand and read the front of it out loud, "Chuck? Does Dan know?"
Blair snatched the invitation from him and traced Chuck's name on the front of it, "Of course he knows. He just thinks I mailed it when I mailed the rest of them."
"And you didn't?" Serena said, her body leaning over Nate's, who got the unglorified middle seat in the cab.
"No shit, Sherlock," Blair said, shoving the invitation back in her bag. "I was going to but when I got to the mail box, it just felt wrong."
"But you want him there?" Serena said, skeptically.
Blair shrugged, "Not really. I just feel like it would be the petty thing to do to not invite him. We were friends once."
"And more," Nate offered. Blair dug her elbow into his side. "Ow!"
"That's an idiotic thing to say, Nathaniel," Blair said. "Who in our friend group wasn't once more? We were. Serena and Dan were… do you want me to go on?"
"I got it, thanks," Nate said, rubbing his side where her pointy elbow had just jutted into. "I mean, the two of you… you know, it was different."
Blair shrugged, "Yeah, I know. I just feel like if I don't invite him, there's some kind of cloud over the day. I think not inviting him says more about me than just giving him the invitation and letting him decide."
Serena nodded, leaning forward in the opening in the divider in the cab, "Can we go to the Empire, please?"
"You said-"
"I know what I said earlier," Serena said, "but there's been a change in the plans."
Blair knocked quickly on the door to Chuck's suite, holding her breath a little. She had debated for a couple of long seconds to just slipping the invitation below the door and calling it a day but in the end, she decided that handing it off would be the adult thing to do. She had sent Serena and Nate away after the pulled up to the hotel, promising them they would see her soon and she would grab her own cab.
She could hear muffled sounds from inside the suite and she glanced down at her watch, hoping it wasn't too late and she wasn't waking him. It was barely 9 30, so she figured that she was in the clear in this aspect. Blair watched as the door knob moved and the door opened, revealing a disheveled Chuck standing before her. Maybe she had overestimated the time of Chuck's bedtime.
"Blair?" he said, his voice sounding gravely.
"I just wanted to give you this," she said, pulling the invitation from her bag and crossing the space between them to reach it out to him.
Chuck took it in his hands and started to laugh, running one hand through his hair, "A little late with this one?"
Blair shrugged, struggling to keep eye contact and not bolting from his sight. She did what she had came to and now she could leave. The last time she talked to him was at her New Year's party, although she had seen him at a couple of Nate and Serena's events but had done her best to avoid contact. "Yeah, I wasn't sure if it was ever going to make it here."
"That's honest." Chuck opened the door wider, "Do you want to come in?"
Blair looked around him before shaking her head, "No, thank you. I can say what I want to from out here."
"And what do you want to say?" Chuck said, his eyes meeting hers in, what she perceived to be, a challenge.
She knew, from Nate and from Lily, that Chuck and his wife-to-be had not, in fact, made it down the aisle and now she felt a little silly coming here to hand him an invitation. "I'm not trying to rub it in your face or anything," Blair said, crossing her arms defensfively.
"I didn't say you were," Chuck said, raising his eyebrows.
Blair took a deep breath, "Look, Chuck, I just came here to hand off that invitation in person. I'm sure you have something to do tomorrow-"
"I don't," he said, smirking.
"Well, then, please feel free to come and celebrate my nuptials with Dan." Blair turned to leave before she felt his hand around her arm and turned around to face him. "What, Chuck?"
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why are you inviting me? Now?"
Blair was out of practice with reading his expressions but if she was to guess, he looked hurt. She shrugged slightly, "I don't know, it felt wrong not to invite you. I didn't know when I was sending them what I wanted to do. You were a big part of my life for a long time, but that's been over for an equally long time. I didn't know what the right thing to do was. Tonight, we were having the rehearsal dinner, and I felt like there was something nagging me inside and I think it's the fact that everyone that I ever have loved was in that room besides you. I don't want to look back at my wedding and think I missed something by not having a big part of my life there even if we ended up like this."
"I get it," Chuck said, nodding his head slowly.
"You do?"she asked suspiciously.
"About the big part of each other's lives thing? Yeah, I get it. I've spent a lot of time thinking recently and I'm sorry for what I did at your party and how I acted since you and Humphrey got together… it was hard for me to see you with someone that is better for you. I'm happy for you, Blair."
"Thank you," she said, smiling slightly, and reached out to squeeze his upper arm. "Seriously, thank you."
Chuck nodded, "I'm very happy that you are getting everything you wanted tomorrow but I don't think I'll be able to go. I don't want to ruin it and sometimes I have low impulse control." Blair laughed softly and Chuck smiled. He held up the invitation, "And thank you for this… it means a lot." Chuck stepped towards and her and pulled her in for a hug, kissing her forehead. "I'll always love you Blair, but I'm glad you found someone that will love you in the right way."
Blair stepped away biting her lip, "I hope you'll find it one day too, Chuck."
Blair slid the key into the door quietly, trying not to wake anyone up in the apartment, but found that was for no reason at all when she opened the door to Rufus, Dan and Jenny all on the couch with glasses of wine. "Hi," she said sheepishly, kicking off her heels.
Dan stood up and walked towards her, "Hey, what are you doing here? Your supposed to be at Serena's."
"I don't want to wake up by myself on my wedding day," Blair said, circling her arms around his waist.
"I was just speaking to my dad and sister about the best way to break into a house so I could come see you anyways," Dan said, kissing the top of her head. Blair heard shuffling behind them and looked around him to see Jenny and Rufus getting up.
"You guys don't have to leave," Blair said, stepping away. "I'm just going to go change and I think a nice glass of wine would top this day off."
"We should go," Jenny said, taking her glass into the kitchen and placing it in the dishwasher. "Big day ahead of us. Come on, Dad," she said, walking to the door of the apartment. "See you guys tomorrow."
When the apartment was empty besides the two of them, Dan and Blair made their way slowly into the bedroom. Blair changed quickly into comfortable pajamas and snuggled up to him on top of the covers. Dan gently rubbed his knuckles across her back. "I didn't want to bring it up earlier but you smell awfully like a man's cologne."
Blair looked guiltily up, "I went to Chuck's."
"The invitation?"
"Did you know I didn't mail it?"
"I had an inkling. It was poking out of your bag a couple of times."
Blair rested her head against his chest, "Are you mad?"
"At you? Never."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"I just wanted to make sure everything is perfect tomorrow."
"And having Chuck there is your idea of perfect."
"No, but being petty and not inviting him when all of his friends will be there was not my idea of perfect either."
"So is he going to come?"
"I don't think so." Blair could feel Dan's chest as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you understand why I had to invite him?"
Dan shrugged, "You told me your reasons when we did the invitations Blair, but honestly I couldn't care less. If you had to invite him, you had to invite him. Don't be mad at me for being thankful that he's not going though."
Blair smiled, aching her neck slightly to look up at him, "I'm not. I was relieved when he said he wasn't going to go either. It actually went quite well. He seems more mature."
"That Chuck," Dan teased.
"Just think, if Chuck didn't exist to distract me I could have found someone before finding you."
"Well then, thank God for him."
Blair laughed, sliding down onto her pillow. "You know this is bad luck right?"
"With the rates of divorce anyways, I can't imagine that this little act of impropriety is going to hurt us that much in the long run," Dan said, reaching to turn off the light and then wrapping his arm around her waist. "How are you feeling about tomorrow?"
"Nervous? Excited?"
"Same," Dan said, kissing her shoulder. "I can't believe these are the last few hours you'll be a Waldorf."
"Oh," Blair said, turning over to face him, "this is awkward."
"What?" Dan said, looking concerned.
"I thought you were changing your name to Daniel Waldorf. No?"
