Dan wasn't going to delude himself into thinking that Blair sought him out. Sure, she turned up at Brooklyn, or at venues she swore she'd never attend (not with him), but that had more to do with her no longer planning his demise. They invariably did share things in common, and despite the well-intentioned refusals (on both their parts) to this fact; it was accepted. Acceptance did not make preference and their lives would go back to normal; he was sure of it.
Eric like any outside-party wasn't getting the full picture; there was nothing between him and Blair Waldorf. Waking up at his Loft with a stiff neck and deadened wrist (what was he thinking?) at 3am with Blair sleeping next to him had been new if not wholly unexpected, but not life-changing. More likely just an example that she did in fact get that tetanus shot she swore she'd get one day. Because if sitting three feet away from one Dan Humphrey required one, resting her head on his shoulder should've put her body into epileptic shock. Her flight response hadn't been activated though instead she had him smuggled into her bedroom so they could plan their Joseph Beuys outing. She'd taken it a step further by chiding him for standing around citing that "a pacing Humphrey was a dead Humphrey." She didn't call him out on selecting the bed.
Maybe there was a factor at play here? Dan wasn't going to make any claims at repudiating all unknowns. Blair did seem to be making it a habit of turning up at his doorstep. She came all the way to Brooklyn unannounced; Blair Waldorf came to Brooklyn. Compounded like that… it really did make you wonder, didn't it? Perhaps, Eric wasn't all wrong after all.
They had chosen to part ways: the world wasn't ready for a Humphrey-Waldorf friendship. They were supposed to be there for the van der Woodsen brood, and they were going to do it as separate entities. They shook hands on it and that would've been it, but then he couldn't let his dad's words go. They may have found their answer, but they hadn't parted ways at all; it was if that night just didn't happen because instead of following the plan they were back to aimless banter and friendly jibes.
If he'd learned anything in the four years of knowing Blair: it was to be on equal footing and that was impossible if he didn't know what that footing was.
-―-―――
She spotted Dan before he'd closed the final five or so feet. She sighed audibly; this day was such a disaster.
"How was Eric?"
"Taking it slowly, but he'll be fine."
Blair nodded, "Serena too. I think it'd be better just to face things head-on, but I guess they're just going to wait it out."
"Yeah, that seems to be happening a lot lately."
Blair shrugged. There was something about his posture that made her uneasy.
He took a step forward. "Wanna clear something up for me?"
"I suppose. Wouldn't be right if I didn't have to tweak Dan Humphrey somehow." She smiled.
He tapped her wrist, and her eyes immediately fell to sight of contact between them. Her throat tightened, and she couldn't help but be struck by déjà vu.
"Outside?"
Blair raised her gaze at last and shook her head fiercely. "No, not outside. Upstairs, the foyer."
She started in the direction of the staircase but stopped as Dan fell into step behind her. Blair spun around, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Going upstairs?" He smirked.
"Not like this you don't!" She hissed. "At least wait five minutes." She didn't wait for an answer just stalked off.