Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
Blair's favorite pink peonies greeted her at the breakfast table the next morning. She had been a little frantic this morning as she dressed for the day. She had forgotten to set her alarm the previous evening in her excitement over climbing into bed with Chuck, that she woke up later than she had planned. Fortunately Chuck had laid out her clothes for the day, so she wasted no time deciding on her final outfit for her freshman year. She smiled happily when she realized she was one year closer to her future . . . their future.
"What is that smile about?" Chuck inquired as he held out her chair for her.
"Can't a girl be happy on her last day of school?" she inquired as he bent over to kiss her cheek softly before he took his seat at the table.
"Cedric and Eugenia gave us an anniversary gift," Chuck told her as she eyed the present sitting on her plate curiously. "I thought you'd like to open it for us."
Blair's eyes lit up as she lifted the lid off the box and searched through the paper for the gift inside. She pulled out an envelope, which she handed to him to open. This was his assistant after all. He deserved to reveal the gift they had generously given them.
"You're going to love this," he chuckled as he read the contents inside the envelope, "A couples' spa weekend Vermont."
"That was so sweet of them," Blair stated as she took the gift certificate they had received it and read it for herself. A relaxing spa weekend sounded wonderful right now with all of the stress she felt inside her cause by her finals. "Will you remind me to send them a thank you note?"
He nodded as he lifted the box off her plate and allowed her to eat.
Her smile was hypnotizing. She was in the best of moods. He was sure if he looked in the mirror, his smile was as wide as hers. They made small talk as she ate, neither one actually acknowledging what the day was yet. She needed to focus on the task at hand before they could wrap themselves up in the monumental day.
"I'll see you after your exam," Chuck told her as he walked with her to the limo. He waved Arthur off to let him know he'd be getting the door for Blair.
"Right after my exam?" she fished for information.
"You will have to wait until then to find out," he told her as he pinned her against the vehicle and pressed his lips to hers. A small gasp left her lips as her arms came around his shoulders to pull him closer as he deepened the kiss. He forced himself to pull away as he whispered, "Good luck."
"I'll see you in a few hours," she told him as he opened the limousine's door for her.
"I love you," he told her.
"I love you," she relied as she paused to kiss him once more before she climbed into the car. Her smile impossibly widened as she relaxed against the plush leather as the limo pulled away. Her eyes stayed focused on Chuck until he turned towards their building, generously tipping the doorman as he returned to their penthouse.
Chuck did his best to kill the next few hours. He had finished reading and reviewing his briefs the previous evening as he waited up for Blair, so without work as a distraction, the hours dragged on. He found himself leaving their penthouse an hour earlier than necessary, going over his plans with a meticulous eye, which was unnecessary as Eugenia had taken great care to ensure every detail was as he had specified.
Finally after what felt like days instead of hours, he received the call from Arthur that he and Blair were en route. Chuck moved with a speed that surprised even him to get to where he needed to be. As a result, he had to wait longer than he had intended. Again the minutes dragged on. He felt his entire being on edge. He needed his beautiful Blair in his arms.
He took a deep breath as he saw the familiar limo approach from his hiding place. He was bordering on clichés with what he was he was about to do. He chuckled as he watched his driver tell Blair that she was to meet Chuck for lunch inside The Palace. He was taking a bit of a risk with this move. She could be angry with his intentional misdirection. With her fiery and often times unforgiving temper, she could be too angry for any further plans.
As Blair walked into The Palace, Arthur moved the limo back to where it had been a year earlier. He took his place against the limo just as Blair came back out, having been told by the maitre d that she had been misinformed. She was fuming mad, which he could see the moment she came into view. That anger mercifully vanished quickly as she saw him leaning against the limo with peonies in one hand, and three perfectly wrapped presents in the other.
"Careful, Bass, history appears to be repeating itself," she teased him as she accepted the flowers he was offering to her.
"Too cheesy?" he inquired as she rose up on her toes to kiss him. He leaned into her lips, hoping to prolong the contact. Five days of chaste kisses had really tested his willpower. He groaned slightly in protest when she pulled away.
"Perhaps a little, but today cheesy is a good thing. What do you have in those packages?" she inquired as she motioned towards the boxes.
"You'll be able to guess the first two," he told her as she snatched the top two from him.
"Silk stockings and macaroons," she concluded as she shook each box.
"The third you will have a little more trouble with third," he told her with a shrug to let her know she was right about the first two packages.
"Did you rifle through my lingerie drawer and dig out your silk scarf?" she inquired as she shook the mysterious box. It was light as a feather and made absolutely no noise as she gave it a healthy shake.
"I thought about it," he admitted, "But a Bass is above re-gifting, especially something that is no longer mine to give."
"Are you going to tell me, or are we going to play twenty questions?" she kidded him as she continued to shake the box. Her curiosity was amusing as she tried to work out in her head what he could have possibly given her. "Lingerie?"
"No," he shook his head with a chuckle.
"Jewelry?" she listed.
"You were closer with lingerie," he laughed out as he turned her around.
"Come on Bass, you know I'm not good with surprises," she whined.
"Come with me," he told her as he extended his hand to her as he lead her back inside The Palace once more.
"Could you have picked more comfortable shoes for all this walking you have been making me do, Bass," she whined as she looked at the four inch Louboutin stiletto heels he put her in that morning.
"I could have," he chuckled as he kissed her hand as they continued walking across the lobby of the hotel to the elevator, "But these are my favorite because they accentuate your beautiful legs and ass." He rubbed her backside affectionately to prove his point. Any other day she would scold him for such a public display of affection, but today it turned her on that much more. It had been a long week of studying.
"They're giving me a blister," she pouted as he continued rubbing her butt. She suddenly picked up her pace as the elevator came into view. She needed to have his arms around her and her body against his. "I haven't worn these shoes enough to warrant this type of abuse."
"You won't be wearing them much longer, I assure you," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her once they were alone inside the elevator. He heard a relieved sigh escape. It took him a moment to realize it was hers. He backed her against the wall as he blindly searched for the button he knew was behind her while her lips began attacking his. There was something to be said for familiar surroundings, he thoughts as she continued her assault on his senses as she wrapped herself around him. He didn't need to see what he was doing to know that he had pressed the button for the correct floor.
"Slow down, Waldorf," he chuckled as he fought through the haze of lust she induced. "We have all the time in the world."
"It's been over four days since we last made love. I don't have a slow button right now," she told him as she attacked his lips yet again, "I need you, Bass."
"I guarantee that you'll have me," he chuckled as he freed himself from her grasp as the elevator chimed their arrival on the correct floor. Miraculously he had managed to keep her from realizing which floor they were on. "First you have to close your eyes."
"Why?" she looked at him curiously.
"Humor me," he requested as he tilted his head to one side as he gave her his puppy dog eyes that had her instantly caving to his wish as her eyes slid closed. He pulled her out of the elevator and down the hallway towards one of the surprises he had waiting for her. He unlocked the door and led her in. When he turned her towards him, he expected her eyes to have opened, but they were still clamped shut. He kissed each eyelid softly before he told her she could open them.
"1812!" she exclaimed as she looked around at their familiar surroundings.
"The very same," he confirmed as he watched her spin around to take in the room. He had gone to great lengths to be sure that the suite was the same as when they last stayed there, "We were here one year ago today. It felt like the right place to celebrate our anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Beautiful."
"Happy Anniversary," she replied as he stalked towards her. After handing her the final mystery present, he swept her into his arms and whisked her into the bedroom.
"One year ago, I succeeded in sidetracking you into not opening your third present until the next morning," he told her as he laid her out on the familiar bed, the same bed they had christened the year prior. "I'm not going to attempt that miraculous feat again. I actually want you to open this."
She nodded as she began shaking the present once more in the hopes she could decipher what it was before she eagerly tore through the paper. Inside was an envelope, similar to that of what she opened earlier that morning from his assistant.
"Before you go any further, we have to talk about something," he told her as he reached out to still her hand when she went to remove the piece of paper inside. He took a deep breath to calm his sudden nerves.
"Okay," she nodded as she looked at him expectantly.
"This year with you has been amazing . . . on so many levels. Emotionally, you and I have grown so much, not only as individuals, but also as a couple. We wouldn't have succeeded with our relationship if we tried this the previous year."
"Agreed," she nodded with slightly sad eyes. They never would have made it through the tragic end of Bart's life. Had they been together then, he still would have disappeared like he had. He still would have pushed her away. He still would have hurt her deeply.
"Physically . . . well I don't need to tell you how satisfied I am our sex life. That's fairly obvious," he chuckled darkly as he eyed her lustfully.
"We both are well satisfied," she agreed as she leaned in to kiss him again.
"There is something about our physical relationship that we've never discussed, something we've just been doing without any thought," he told her, holding her away from him slightly when she tried to seek out bodily contact. They desperately needed each other, but he had to follow through with his plan first. It was important to him.
Her eyes looked deep into his with a confused expression.
"Protection," he told her, "Miraculous as it may be, we have been very diligent in using a condom each time we've ever been together. I'm convinced that you and I have single handedly kept the condom companies in business over this past year."
She giggled at his very truthful statement, but her eyes turned curious again. Where was he going with this talk he had initiated?
"With my sexual history before you, I guess there has always been this fear in the back of my mind that I could inadvertently infect you with something I picked up. While I was always very diligent in handling my business with other woman, there is still that possibility that I could have caught something," he explained, "So, I've always made sure that we had a large quantity of condoms on hand at all times in all corners of our penthouse."
"Where are you going with this?" she finally vocalized out loud.
"You and I have made love in virtually every position, against every flat surface, vertical and horizontal that we've managed to find, but there is one thing that we've never done, make love without protection," he explained with a nervousness that surprised them both, "When I began coming up with ideas for our anniversary, I had this one crazy thought that kept popping into my head. I want to make love to you without any barriers between us. I want to feel you, and only you, and I want you to feel me."
Blair gasped at his revelation.
"To even think that this could be a possibility, first I had to be sure that I wouldn't hurt you in any way," he told her as he motioned for her to remove the paper from the envelope. When she did she wasn't even sure what she was looking at. All she really saw was his doctor's stationary and his full name at the top. "Test results for every STD possible, amazingly all of them came back negative. Someone in the heavens must have been looking out for me because after all the women, all the horrible one night encounters with prostitutes and sluts, I managed to dodge the biggest of bullets."
"My anniversary gift is a batch of test results that tell me your clean and healthy," she summarized. Her voice sounded different, even and monotone. He'd never heard her talk in that manner. Her entire body gave away nothing. He didn't know if she was happy, angry, ready to run out of the suite and away from him forever. She was a complete mystery to him at that moment in a way she had never been before.
"Yes," he nodded nervously.
"And now you want to make love without protection," she continued on in the same voice.
"Yes," he agreed as the nervousness in his voice increased to the point that his answer came out an octave higher than was typical for him.
"So, you're now putting the whole burden of birth control squarely on my shoulders and those small little pills that I take each morning," she added.
He nodded his agreement as he could no longer get the word out. He still couldn't get a handle on her mood. Her choice of words made it sound like she was angry, but her eyes, the true window into her emotions, didn't convey that. She wasn't that good of actress, not with him.
"And you trust that I'm not going to try trapping you into spending your life with me by purposely getting pregnant," she added.
That statement made him angry as the blood rushed up his neck to his face. On their anniversary of all days he felt himself ready to explode in anger.
"How could you ever say something like that to me?!" he exclaimed as his face turned red with anger. She flinched as he spat out the words. "You would never do something like that to me . . . to us! If you ever got pregnant before we were married it would be solely on accident! And you know spending my life with you is anything but a trap! I proposed to you only a few weeks ago! I want a forever with you!"
"I'm sorry," she responded quickly as she caressed his face repetitively to get him to settle down. Her motions had the desired effect, as he calmed down instantly. "You're right, that was inappropriate."
"Why would you say anything like that?" he inquired as he felt the tears begin to sting his eyes as they welled up. His eyes were searching hers for some sort of explanation. He never thought their conversation would go like this. It was meant as a romantic gesture, and she somehow managed to turn it into something sterile and clinical.
"I don't know," she admitted as she threw herself into his arms.
"Do you feel trapped by our relationship?" he rushed out as he wrapped her in tight against him. His stomach dropped at the mere thought he could be right.
"Never," she assured him, "Sometimes I think you feel trapped by it, but feel obligated to stay because I cannot bare to let you go. The longest relationship you had before me was allowing one of your many conquests a chance to order breakfast."
"That never happened," he told her. "I don't feel trapped, nor obligated, by what we have. I feel free . . . free to finally be who I am, not what someone else expects me to be. I can be the hopeless romantic that has been in love with his best friend's girl since they were in kindergarten. I can be the leading man in someone's classic romantic movie. I can be the white knight. I can be the Chuck Bass I've always wanted to be, which is hopelessly in love with Blair Waldorf."
"Make love to me," she gasped just before her lips crashed against his as the piece of paper in her hands fluttered to the floor.
Their clothes melted away as they began to ravage each other's bodies with well-practiced ease. This was different than a year ago. He had practically attacked her then having gone so long without her gorgeous body. He hadn't known all the placed she liked to be touched, what drove her over the edge. All he knew then was that his body needed hers. A year had changed that. He knew where to put his hands, where to place his kisses, which parts of her luscious body to focus on, and he used all that pent up knowledge to his advantage.
"Chuck," she pulled away slightly as he hovered over her poised at her entrance. She wanted to watch his eyes as they came together for the first time without the latex barrier.
"We don't need to do this," he told her, his eyes sincere. "We can wait until you're more comfortable with the idea. I did spring this on you. I brought condoms."
"I don't want to wait," she told him as she shook her head, "I've been wanting this for a long time without even knowing that I wanted it. Make love to me, Chuck, without the barriers."
"Are you sure?" he hesitated, his gently eyes penetrating hers. For his own benefit, he had to be sure that she wanted this as much as he did.
His gaze reminded her of another time he had asked her that question. "You've asked me that twice now, and my answer is going to be the same as it was our first time in the back of the limo . . . I've never been as sure of anything in my life," she told him as she kissed him. She then pulled him down to cover her body as he slid inside of her.
"Oh god!" Chuck exclaimed as the liquid warmth inside her surrounded him so completely. He'd been imagining how this would feel since the idea first hit him, but his fantasy had nothing on the reality. He had to pull out, as the sensation was too overwhelming to control. Her whine of protest was barely heard as he tried to figure out what had just happened.
"Please, Chuck!" she moaned as she tried to coax him inside her again, "Don't stop. That felt amazing."
"I need a moment," he whispered into her ear. He had to figure out how he was going to achieve his ultimate goal of satisfying her on their anniversary. His perfect record of not releasing until she was satisfied was in serious jeopardy.
"Are you okay?" she inquired as her lustful eyes turned soft as she caressed his face gently.
"More than okay," he nodded as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he tried sliding inside her again. "I've never felt anything like this in my life. It's too much." He had to pull away again. He heard her second whine of protest. "I'm sorry."
"Please stop doing that," she pouted. "Please, Chuck, just take me."
"I want to," he told her as he dove into her lips, "And believe me, I'm trying, but this is more than I ever expected. You feel magnificent. I cannot control myself. Every time I feel your heat around me, all I want to do is explode inside you."
"Then do it already," she growled.
"Not without you," he told her. "There is no acceptable circumstance in which I will allow myself to be pleasured without satisfying you first."
"Right now you aren't pleasuring either of us. All you're doing is pissing me off," she hissed, "Each time you slid in I feel myself so close to my orgasm. All I need is a second thrust, but you are denying me that, and I feel like I'm going to explode without you."
"Promise me a second thrust is all you need," he locked eyes with her.
"I promise," she nodded as she felt him poised at her entrance once more.
He dove into her once more. His eyes rolled back inside his head as the flames inside her consumed him. She let out a low growl of satisfaction as he finally gave her the second thrust she so desperately needed. The usual flutter of her internal muscles as she found her climax was more powerful than anything he'd ever felt and he came apart.
"Oh god!" was Blair's turn to exclaim as he spilled himself inside of her.
Their heavy breathing was the only thing that filled the room for several moments as they laid in each other's arms looking deeply into each other's eyes. Blair wanted to look away from his intense stare, but she couldn't. She was mesmerized by him, dazzled perhaps.
So . . . what do you think? Should I keep going?