Maybe it's time for one of those Disclaimers again, just in case.
I own nothing but the plot.
"Oh my God! Fish, come look!"
The mane of red hair and the ecstatic cry, in an accent more prominent than ever from her bright mood, is gone and silent before he barely has time to register her presence in the doorway. He looks up from the files on his desk in confusion; at the doorway that is now empty, and for a second considers that he might have imagined it all.
"Come on, mate!" Al pokes her head back in and shoots him a highly impatient look, "You have got to see this!"
"Al?"
Okay, so he is stating the obvious, but he is leaving for Beijing in less than one hour and is still trying to make sure every single piece of very important document is packed. Seeing Al in the doorway of his office, looking like a child on Christmas morning, wasn't part of the plan. He is still standing behind his desk when Al's voice is heard from outside, impatient as ever;
"Fish! Come on! Get your ass out here already!"
"Are you freaking kidding me, mate?" It is Al's turn to look absolutely dumbfounded, and he narrows his eyes threateningly at her shocked reaction.
"What?"
Al keeps staring at him, though the astonished look on her face is slowly being replaced with a huge grin. Then, without warning, she throws her arms around his neck and pulls him into an enthusiastic, sideward hug, jumping and squealing.
"Hey, watch it!" He sneers, shrugging away from her embrace to protect the bundle in his hands. But for some reason he has a hard time getting the dismissal to sound even remotely hostile. He has to inhale slowly, reminding himself that he is Chuck Bass for fuck's sake, and half his staff is watching him. He will not be seen grinning like some fool. He sends the audience a threatening glare that doesn't scare them off at all. Forced to surrender, he drags Al with him back inside his office, and closes the door behind them.
"Stop frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles," Al beams, keeping a firm grip of his arm. "Seriously, Fish. She has got you hooked!"
"Please," he scoffs. "You are exaggerating."
Al only rolls her eyes at his remark, still unable to keep the grin off her face.
"Exaggerating?" She laughs, "I've known you for years, and I think I've seen you buy flowers for a date like, twice, if even that."
"So?"
"This is not even close to flowers," Al laughs, looking down at the bundle in his hands. "This is wicked! I have to tell Serena!"
"Like hell you will." He narrows his eyes at her, and Al has the decency to look at least a little guilty. Her reaction makes him hesitate, doubting his decision, and he is suddenly unsure if this is the right thing to do. She'll like it, right?
"Blair will be over the moon, Fish" Al reassures him as if she had been reading his mind. Her Cheshire grin has faded to something less creepy and obnoxious.
"You think?"
"Yes," Al smiles, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Who wouldn't be?"
She is contemplating calling Serena to ask the blonde to lunch, or try and find herself someplace where she can develop some of the film she has lying on her vanity, when the elevator signals someone's arrival.
"Ms. Blair! A guest for you!" Dorota calls out for her.
"Who is it?" She asks the maid as they meet on her way to the elevator, but Dorota only smiles in reply.
The person she finds waiting for her in the elevator is not someone she expected to see.
"Ms. Waldorf," Chuck's driver nods politely, not pretending to notice her dumbfounded expression. "Mr. Bass asked of me to deliver this to you."
He hands her a small white envelope, which she accepts after a second's hesitation. Expecting him to leave, she is surprised to find that the driver is making no move to leave. He simply motions for her to open the letter, and she does so on silence,
Blair,
She reminded me of you,
Chuck
She?
Frowning she looks back at the driver who is patiently waiting for her to finish reading. Who is she? Blair can feel a shiver run down her spine, old insecurities resurfacing and leaving a tiny know of fear in her chest.
"Is there anything else?" She sneers, and to her surprise the driver bends down and retrieves something from outside her line of vision. It is a cardboard box, not much bigger than a shoebox. The driver hands her the box, and she accepts it tentatively. It looks strange, and now that she peeks at it more closely she can see that there are holes in the cardboard too. To say that she is confused would be an understatement.
"Have a good day, Ms Waldorf." The driver nods, a tiny smile playing on his lips.
"Thank you," She manages to choke out in reply. Then the box stirs in her hands, and her attention is no longer focused on the closing doors of the elevator.
Her heart is beating a mile a minute as she drops to her knees, carefully putting the box down on the floor. It is still stirring slightly from something moving inside of it. The thing moving around inside the box creates a scratching sound, and then there is a muffled sound from inside the box.
It couldn't be, could it?
Biting her lip, she slowly opens the lid of the box. A pair of bright, green eyes - wide in alarm - look back at her.
"Oh, my, God!"
"Blair? Where are you?" Serena calls out as she comes running into the living room. "What's the emergency? Are you…"
The blonde is cut off at the sight of her sitting on the floor with a tiny bundle cradled in her lap. Letting out a delighted sigh, Serena kneels beside her and gives her a look of both relief and awe.
"Don't wake her up," Blair admonishes calmly, barely having dared to breathe over the last twenty minutes.
"She's so precious!" Serena smiles and slowly reaches out to touch the kitten's black, silky fur. Careful not to wake the tiny thing who is sleeping soundly in Blair's lap.
"Isn't she?" Blair smiles, "Her name's Princess."
"Where did you get her from?" Serena asks, carefully patting the sleeping kitten on the head with her index finger. "You just woke up this morning and decided to get a cat?"
"I didn't," She objects, carefully changing her position in a vain attempt to get some blood back in her legs. "She was a gift."
"A gift? From who? Cyrus?"
"No," She can barely keep from grinning, and keeps her eyes fixated on the kitten in her lap. Her something. It's not a glorious career, or an engagement, but it's something perfect and precious that is only hers. And he gave her that. She can feel a blush coloring her cheeks, and knows that Serena has noticed too when the blonde gasps and covers her mouth with her hand, eyeing her in shock.
"Chuck got you a kitten?" Serena gasps. Disbelief and something else, something oddly proud, in her voice. When Blair looks back at her, Serena's look moulds into one of pure joy. "B, he gave you a kitten. Chuck! A kitten!"
She rolls her eyes at her friend's surprise, but can't help but grin. When Serena breaks out laughing she is quick to follow.
To: Chuck
Dude, seriously, a kitten?
You make me look bad.
To: Nathaniel
Most people do when compared to me.
The fourth day in a row that he wakes up and immediately ticks off another day in his head, he realizes something. Or rather, he comes to the conclusion that there is no turning back now, so he might as well stop faking indifference. He has been convincing himself that he has been inches from the edge of the cliff, almost but not quite ready to tumble over the edge, when the truth is that he never stopped falling in the first place. He jumped off that cliff of indifference years ago, and nothing has broken his fall yet.
He says the words out loud, in the privacy of his hotel room, and smiles. The smile lasts a full two seconds. Then the feeling of having a steel chain around his chest becomes a sharp contrast to the happy fluttering in his gut. Old insecurities and fears resurface - the feelings that still have him reaching for the edge even when it is horribly out of reach, and has been so for a long time. What if she doesn't come to the same conclusion? What if she decides they're not worth it?
Well then, you'll just have to change her mind.
Something is wrong. Everything is the way it always is, the way it has been since she returned from Paris. Even though she has Princess to keep her company - and keep her up at night - there is still something that feels wrong. Something is missing.
It takes a couple of days for her to realize what, exactly, it is that's missing. Or rather, it takes her a couple of days to allow the truth to cross her mind: it isn't something that is missing, it's someone.
"I miss your daddy, P." She whispers to the kitten. Her feline friend pays her no attention, busy chasing after the piece if string she is dragging along the floor. The play lasts for a while longer, but soon the kitten's attacks and jumps becomes less energetic, and soon she finds herself a resting place in Blair's lap.
"Do you think he misses us too?" She asks, stroking the kitten's soft, charcoal fur and smiling at the purring sound the cat lets out in reply.
I hope he does.
tbc