Disclaimer: I do not own "Gossip Girl."
Author's Note: Thank you for the wonderful comments! I really appreciate each one. I'm behind with responding to them, due to things I've had to make-up from my hiatus, but I'm really glad to have your thoughts on the chapters. :D I'm also behind on all S3 episodes, so please, please don't spoil me in your reviews. ;)
Hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading.
***
His hand on her cheek slips into her hair and the sob she'd been holding back slides out soft and choked. She steps into him, her hands still gripping his shirt, her face pressing into his shoulder.
And he sighs, wraps both arms around her, turns his face into her hair.
She turns her face too, whispers, "Yeah?" a little fearfully against ear; seeking confirmation, tone not yet completely hoping…
And he closes his eyes, tightens his hold a little as he whispers back, "Yeah." Because he's not sure he can stop anyway, and trying to has been tearing him to pieces for weeks now.
There's another quiet sob then; her face turned back into his shoulder. And he holds her, silently, without telling her to stop.
"I'm sorry," she gasps after a long moment of silent tears, "I'm so sorry…"
He nods, starts rubbing her back gently; says again, "Okay…"
And she falls quiet, her tears soaking into his t-shirt.
When she starts to shake, he pulls back a little, says, "Hey…" softly, looking over at her tear-streaked profile.
She nods, draws in a deep breath as she lifts her face from his shoulder, but there's a trembling to her that makes him frown, makes him realize his t-shirt is still clenched in her hands. "Serena…" he says her name gently.
She nods again, but isn't looking into his face. She's sniffling and drawing in gulps of air even as he watches another tear slide down one of her cheeks.
"Calm down…" he begins.
And she looks right into his eyes then, says, "I'm sorry," again with a tremor in her voice and another tear slipping free.
He stares at her for a moment; and then he nods, brings his hands down to cover hers and gently rubs at them, "I know…" he tells her quietly and realizes then that he does. Can see how much torment this has brought her too.
He tugs at her hands lightly to get her to release him. "Just cal—"
She hides her face in his shoulder again, arms falling to her sides, still shaking, "So sorry…" she repeats, the words muffled against his shirt.
"Okay…" he tells her, rubbing at her arms now, "Just calm down…"
But she's not calming down; the breaths are still erratic and the tears are still flowing.
"Okay, let's… sit for a sec," he says, concerned. He guides her down with him as he lowers himself to the edge of the tile.
"… forgive me…" she whispers as they sit on their bottoms; lifting her face to look into his even as she is still pressed to his shoulder.
He starts a little at the words, arms still around her; looks into her eyes for a moment before bringing a hand up to brush at the hair that's fallen in her face, strands of it sticking to her wet cheeks.
"Please…" she continues brokenly, "I know that I— but I want—I just—I want things to go back…" a deep intake of breath, "Back to the way they were—I'm so sorry and I…" she trails off, big, wet blue eyes fixed on his face, "I love you so much and I know you love me too but I—I need you to—I want so much for things to—to go back to how they were…"
He stares at her for a moment; can feel the way she's shaking.
She wants it.
For him to forgive her.
For things to go back to the way they were.
And it's a tall order… because he can still feel the shock of seeing those pictures… the confusion and disbelief and pain of it…
She's watching him, and she wants it— and he's never not given her something she wanted... but this time…
"I know," he tells her softly as he touches her cheek gently, "I know you do… and I—" he cuts himself off before he can say I do too, because he's suddenly not exactly sure what he wants… the way things were led to this and this is something he never wants to be in again. "And they… they probably will… eventually…"
It's the best he can do right now; an I forgive you, if not quite yet an I trust you.
But she's nodding then, lip wobbling, and tears spilling, taking what he's offering with a greedy hopefulness.
He sighs a little, tugs her closer; his free hand slipping around her waist.
And her face goes back into his shoulder as she turns into him, her arms coming around him to his back, clinging to the fabric of his t-shirt again. It takes him a moment to realize she's crying again; or maybe still…?
"Hey," he says softly, his forehead pressing against her hair, "You gonna stop crying soon…?" He says it lightly, but there's a thread of please in it. He hates to see her cry.
She makes a smothered sound into his shoulder, half-way between a sob and a laugh, and then whispers, "I'm trying."
He smiles a little. "You're getting my t-shirt wet…"
She nods against him; doesn't deny it or stop.
"And snotty."
She manages to shove him back a little and still remain attached to him; gives a wet and breathy laugh. She doesn't let go though, and he thinks maybe she can't just yet.
So he holds her, wraps both arms around her; takes in the feel of her in his arms and the scent of her hair against his nose. He closes his eyes too, because maybe she has the right idea— to just be quiet and still and together…
He feels it, when she begins to unwind, the way she relaxes in his hold inch by inch; feels his own tension seep away with hers, as if she were sweeping it away too. Her fingers loosen around the fabric of his shirt, start to smooth it down, her hands rubbing his back in small circles, soothing and affectionate.
And he realizes they're just sitting on the tile by the pool, under sun just, hugging— and it's probably the best thing he's done all month.
She turns her face then, lays her head on his shoulder instead of against it. Her nose pressing under his jaw. "I missed you," she says, lips moving against his neck.
He nods a little. "I missed you too," he admits.
She's silent for a moment and then says again, "I love you."
"I love you more," he replies without thought.
She pulls back at the words and he lets her. She straightens and looks into his eyes. Her hands come up to his face, one on either side so they're framing it, and she shakes her head at him, wisps of her blonde of hair waving in front of her, "Not possible," she says firmly.
It's a game they've played before— Sunny enjoys it tremendously— how much more do you love me? They'll ask each with a grin after a casual exchanging of I love you and I love you more.
He doesn't think now is the time to play this game.
Still, he waits for her to add it. I love you the moon and stars and sunlight more, is her favorite— makes Sunny giggle with delight… makes him grin, because it's adorable and silly and utterly her.
But she doesn't say anything more; just watches him, leaves it at that, at 'not possible,' her gaze telling him she's not playing a game this time.
Her steady blue eyes fixed on him, her hands warm on his face, her smooth voice still filling his ears.
And he loves her then. He feels it wash over him, fierce and powerful like a punch to the gut, the way it had been when he'd been a boy; devoted to a brilliant and untamable girl, she'd mesmerized him… so full of joy and laughter…
His hands come up to wrap around her wrists and he tugs her hold from his face, slides her hands to wrap around his neck and then he slips his arms around her— kisses her; slow and sweet and I love you most.
She edges closer to him, almost frantically, nearly climbing into his lap.
"I think…" the younger Serena says after a beat of watching their future selves kissing, "… that they're going to… to be okay." Her voice is soft, a little hesitant and a little amused—and a lot relieved.
Nate huffs a small laugh, watching the couple as well. "Uh, yeah, looks like..." and the amusement in his voice is more in response to Serena than their older counterparts.
She sends him a sidelong glance, "And you called it— that they would be…" she points out. Because he had; he'd been certain from the beginning that it would work out with their future selves, that his older self would listen to her, that Serena hadn't ruined his life…
He shrugs a little, says, "Yeah," again as he looks over at her.
She looks into his face, studies him for a moment and then she grins, teases, "Aren't you going to say 'I told you so?' Has Blair taught you nothing?"
And he laughs a little as his head ducks a bit, eyes her with a twinkling, blue gaze as he says obligingly, "I told you so…"
She laughs too, gives his hand a squeeze, "How'd you know?" She asks the question without thinking and the answer comes to her as soon as the words leave her mouth.
His gaze flits away from her face; and heat flushes her cheeks as the older Nate's words fill her mind.
Do you have any idea how long I've loved you?
They'd spoken of a lot of things— their future selves— of broken marriages and regrettable mistakes; and of a perfectly messy life and a love that spanned decades.
"Nate…" she starts, unsure of what to say. Because despite this future that's been spinning and unfolding before them— this, them, is in the past.
But he looks over at her abruptly when she says his name; his blue eyes colliding with hers as he shrugs and says almost casually, "It's not like it's a secret, right?"
And she starts; feels her eyes widen and her skin prickle with surprise at the words. "What!?"
He doesn't look away; and she's suddenly completely aware of the warmth of his hand surrounding hers, of the wryness glinting in his gaze, and the twist of his full lips. "He said it," Nate tells her simply, inclining his head towards where their future selves sat.
She doesn't look over.
Because Nate's voice, 'feels like my whole life sometimes,' echoes around them then and she feels her mouth go dry. She pulls her hand free instinctively, because they don't talk about this, they don't think about it…
There's a flash of hurt on his face at her movement and he looks away, the wry twist of his lips fading.
There's a beat and then she speaks, reminds him, "You have a girlfriend," because he always did.
And his gaze swings back to her at the words; fast and stunned, because… was that the problem? He's opening his mouth to speak when a there's a hiss from the older Serena.
She says, "Ow," then on a tiny, breathy laugh and they both look over.
She was underneath her husband, her legs wrapped around his waist, dress riding up her legs; he was leaning over her, one arm wrapped around her, the other supporting their combined weight. She had let her head drop down onto the tile and he was following her down, his mouth moving over hers, going to her jaw, to her neck…
"S'hard…" she breathes as she arcs into him, closing her eyes and pressing her body closer to his, "… the tile…"
Her husband offers a quiet, "Hm…" as a response and she slides a hand into his hair; slides the smooth strands through her fingers as his hand slides the straps of her dress off her shoulder.
"Have they been kissing this whole—"
But the younger Serena's question is interrupted by her older self's quiet laugh, "m'serious…" she tells him, "… roll us..."
Nate doesn't lift his head from his wife's though, his lips moving back up to her face and the woman smiles; her eyes still closed. He drops onto his shoulder turns her to him so they're lying facing each other, shoulders digging into the hard white ceramic.
"Missed you," she whispers as their legs intertwine, "This."
"Too long…" he agrees huskily.
"22 days," she tells him.
"We should go," Nate tells his Serena when his future self begins to slide down the straps of his wife's bra. Their own conversation put aside for the moment—the way it always was.
"Are you kidding?" Serena laughs, taking a step closer to the couple, watching them delightedly, "It's us."
Nate blinks at her, follows her a step and then stops short, averting his gaze. "You're getting more related to Chuck with every day…" He says dryly.
She rolls her eyes at him. "I doubt they're going to— you know— right out here by the—"
The older Nate makes his own hissing sound then and speaks over her words; says, "Friggin' tile…" as he clutches his wife a little tighter and does as she had asked. He rolls them, saying as he does, "It's really—"
Rolls— right into the pool.
Both Serena's shriek loud enough to be heard over the splashing water.
Nate hisses, "Holy crap," as his older self mutters, "Fuck," around a mouthful of chlorinated water.
"They fell into the pool!" The younger Nate cries, bounding over to the edge to look.
The younger Serena nods, squeaking, "Oh my god!" As she follows Nate, "Do you think—"
She cuts herself off as the two of them peer down at the now very wet couple coming up for air. They're shaking their heads and gasping as they keep themselves afloat, looking at each other in astonished stupor.
"We're in the pool!" Nate shouts at her, still spluttering a little, as if this were something she could have not noticed.
But there's a grin on Serena's face, long tendrils of her golden hair wading around her, "Roll towards the other side, Nate!" She teases and splashes him a little, "To the grass!"
And he's grinning then too, shakes water droplets off of his head, strands of his hair sticking to his forehead.
She splashes him again and he splashes back. "Say something!" She cries laughingly.
And he grins, "Whoops."
She splashes him once more as she wades closer to him. "Whoops? That's all you have to say!?"
He reaches out and pulls her to him, the water swirling around them. "Yeah," he says, "Whoops…" he pauses, puckers his lips, "And my sneakers are ruined…"
Their clothes are sticking to them like a second skin, and when she grins even wider, a burst of delighted laughter escaping her— he leans in to kiss her again.
She giggles when he lifts his lips from hers; her blue eyes sparkling as brightly as the glimmering water around them. She wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist; trusting him to keep her afloat.
And he does while she presses little kisses to his face. "Remember our wedding," she says on a breathy laugh as he twirls them out further into the pool.
He rolls his eyes at the question, says, "Vaguely…" in a teasing tone.
"Remember our dance…!" She continues, leaning forward so her nose skims his, so their foreheads touch.
"Is it really a dance if the bride, groom, wedding party, and guests all end up in the ocean?" He wonders.
"The wedding party were the guests," she points out; laughing as she adds, "And yes! It counts!" She pauses and then bites her lip a little, "We did this! Twirled like this!"
"Yeah, except that water was freezing…"
"It was not! It was only September!"
"They're totally in love," Serena says then; the words are hushed and little awed as she watches the older couple spin around in the pool. Wet and smiling with arms wrapped around one another and gazes fixed on nothing but each other.
She'd heard them say it, listened to an entire conversation where they discussed it, questioned it, fought for it— but it wasn't until this moment, that she'd seen it.
"Well, yeah," Nate responds to her words; his tone underlined with a quiet duh.
She looks over at him. He's watching her.
"Why does that surprise you?" He asks her when he catches her gaze.
"It doesn't," she denies— not exactly, anyway.
"Yes it does," he insists, his tone oddly irritated.
She blinks a little; he's frowning at her and she feels a knot of anxiety form inside her. "No—that's not—I just… I mean… it's— it doesn't." She amends quickly, but the words are disjointed and his frown intensifies.
"What is it then? Why can't they be in love?"
"I didn't say they couldn't be!" She replies, and even to her own ears, she sounds defensive.
"You might as well have!" He snaps at her, "It's what you meant!"
She blinks, "What I—? No, it's not— I just meant that—?"
"That's its totally inconceivable for them to be actually in love, right?"
"No! That's not—" she shakes her head, can't figure how this conversation took this turn; can't find the words to set it right— is too surprised by his abrupt outpouring anger.
"Yeah, fine. Whatever, Serena," he mutters, glaring at her a little before turning his gaze away from her.
She gapes at him. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so mad?"
"Nothing. I'm not mad," he bites back, clearly upset. "It's fine. Whatever," he repeats, "I mean, it is unthinkable, right? The two of us in love."
There's a caustic tone to his voice that makes her wince, makes the knot of anxiety in her twist and the back of her eyes sting with hurt; and it's not fair, she thinks suddenly— he's the one with a girlfriend.
"You're the one with a girlfriend," she points out again, with more bite to the words this time; her blue eyes are narrowed onto his profile, the bubbling of her own anger stirring inside her.
He looks over at her again, face blank, eyes still a touch angry, "Like that makes a difference."
And her eyes widen, "Oh nice, Nate," she hisses, takes a step away from him.
He stiffens, realizes what he said, and the blankness fades into a look of remorse then.
He shakes his head, moves towards her, "No, that's not— I don't mean—" he cuts himself off, the rush of anger leaving his gaze.
And she knows he didn't mean it...
He looks at her imploringly, "I just… even when I didn't have a—"
She huffs at him, doesn't let him finish as her own irritation bubbles over. "And when haven't you?" She asks him, her voice rising despite herself, "I'm not going to take a number and join the queue, Nate!"
The words hang between them for a breaths time and then Sunny's voice, youthful and exuberant, fills the yard. "Oh, oh! I want to swim too! Can I swim too?!"
The younger couple starts, their glares at each other fading into widened eyes as both Serena's and both Nate's, turn in Sunny's direction.
The boy's parents straighten, Serena letting her legs fall from around Nate's waist. They'd been in the center of the pool, still clinging to each other, talking in low voices, smiling at one another. Now they begin to drift back towards the edge of the pool, both their gazes intent on their son.
"No, buddy! Stay on the tile!" Nate calls out.
His wife smiles, "Sure," she whispers to him, "You keep him dry."
Her husband sends her a quick suggestive glance, "Wet looks good on you," he murmurs. Her smile widens into a grin.
Sunny sighs dramatically as he reaches the platform, "But you—"
"What are you doing?!" His Auntie B's shrill voice reaches them next and the younger Serena and Nate cringe a bit. They know their Blair can't be far behind—and isn't going to sound any more pleased.
She strolls out then, Chuck a pace behind her, as the two take in the scene.
"It was an accident," the older Serena calls out.
"I want to swim!" Sunny insists.
"Later," his Dad tells him.
"An accident…?" the older Blair repeats disbelievingly. She's eyeing them like they're a pair of misbehaving puppies that somehow got into her rose garden—not that, that would ever happen.
"A miscommunication," Nate replies; and then he laughs a little, because it's a concept that applies to more than just their current predicament.
"Ooooh, so what is it that's going on out here?"
Blair rolls her eyes, "Precisely what we need— Greg."
"And me," Eric points out cheekily as he walks out with him.
"We just wanted to check and make sure Sunny would be able to stay out here after he ran off…" Greg says sweetly, waggling his eyebrows at Blair, "You know, giving the shrieking…"
"Just in case…" Eric picks up, "… if you needed to stay out here… we could take him back inside…" he shifts his gaze to his sister and brother-in-law, "Are you needed out here?"
Serena giggles at her brother, leaning back into the water to float. "Nope. She's not. Does this mean you left Chuckall alone with the rest of the kids?"
Nate splays his finger over her stomach and she wiggles with laughter as she breathes, "That tickles!"
"It does," Eric answers her, grinning.
"But s'not fair!" Sunny insists, pouting as he eyes his parents in the water.
"Okay, seriously," the younger Blair says then as she approaches her Nate and Serena. The four are now standing by the side of the pool and she waits until she has their attention before asking, "What is going on?"
Nate and Serena stare at her, and then share a quick glance with each other, before looking back to Blair-- where exactly should they begin?
Chuck sighs at them, brings a hand out in front of him in a motion that encompasses both versions of Nate and his sister. "Must the two of you be placed under constant supervision?" He drawls, sounding weary and exasperated.
"It really was an accident," Serena tells him.
Just as her older self wades over to where Sunny's standing, looks up at him from the water with a smile. "We can all swim together later, sweetheart."
"Yes, but why are you swimming now?" The older Blair hisses, her eyes narrowed, "In your clothing?" She adds, tone a little scandalized.
Serena laughs a little; Nate grins.
"Is it symbolic of the everlasting, destructive and yet healing powers of the ocean in relation to your marriage and the vows you aren't willing to forgo?"
Greg's question sucks the noise out of the yard as they all pause to turn and look over at him. The older Nate and Serena are still in the pool, though they've moved closer to the steps and railing, clearly intent on getting out of the water. Blair is poised delicately at the very edge of the tile, her arms crossed in front of her; Eric and Greg a bit behind her and to the side, both standing on the grass. The four of them are still standing on the tile, beside the pool.
Greg blinks when he realizes the silence is directed at him; his green gaze going from one person and then to another, before shrugging expansively and giving a sheepish, "What?"
The older Serena laughs as she wraps her hands around the stair railings and pulls herself up from the water. "Um, no, not exactly what we had in mind," she says with a shake of her head; her wet hair sending droplets of water onto her Blair.
The brunette frowns, takes a step back away from her and Nate.
Nate, who is right behind his wife, a hand to the small of her back, as he adds, "It really was just an accident..." he says wryly.
Greg turns to Eric and sighs, a little grin on his face, "My rationalization was better."
Eric nods at him, pats him on the cheek, says, "Infinitely so."
And Greg beams at him.
"But you got to swim now!" Sunny accuses as he runs up to his parents. The two are standing on the tile now, dripping. And Sunny watches as his Mommy turns into his Dad's chest a little bit and as he reaches around to hug her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.
Eric clears his throat a little, catching Nate's eye as he makes a tiny motion towards Serena's shoulder. Nate's mouth quirks into a little smile and he quickly adjusts her bra strap.
"Yes," Blair says tightly, "Could you please sort yourselves? You look like teenagers."
Nate rolls his eyes at her, runs his free hand through his hair. "We'll swim later, buddy. You can change into your trunks!"
"But you're not wearing trunks…" Sunny says, eyeing his Dad doubtfully.
"But now our clothes are all wet," Serena tells her youngest son as she smoothes her dress into place, before sending her sister an amused look.
Surprise flits over Blair's face then and she takes a step back, looks at Nate and Serena askance for a moment, her sharp brown eyes taking in their proximity to each other, their bright eyes, their relaxed poses, their smiling faces…
"But wet clothes aren't so bad!" Sunny exclaims.
"They have to go change their clothes now though," Greg points out to the little boy, "And you don't want to have to do that." He says with a smile.
Sunny's brow un-furrows a little as he considers that, his big, blue gaze fastened on his Uncle Greg. "Yeah, I guess…"
"And so your friends…" Greg continues, switching subjects as he hops over to stand by the little boy, "Are they out here? The ones that look like your Mom and Dad?"
Sunny starts a little and whirls around to face the four of them. "Oh!" He cries excitedly, as his eyes scan over all of them, "They're all here!" He tells Greg, "B and C came too!" He says, pointing at the younger Blair and Chuck.
"Wonderful!" Greg exclaims.
"So the two of you… you worked out your… difference then?" The older Blair asks the still dripping couple; her voice a touch skeptical and a touch hopeful, but mostly neutrally curious.
Greg and Eric look over at Nate and Serena then; the four of them too turn to look at the couple. And they in turn look to each other, Serena's smile dimming a little, her gaze becoming hesitant. There's a breath of silence and Nate smiles at her, tightens his hold on her a tiny bit, before looking over at Blair. "We're a work in progress…"
Serena smiles at his profile, leans in and presses a kiss to his cheek.
And something in Blair's face eases, her arms uncross and she purses her lips a little, "Is that supposed to be news?" She teases them; a twinkle in her brown eyes, "You two've always been disaster zone, have you seen you're living room?"
"There's nothing wrong with our living room!" Serena defends immediately.
"There's a DreamGym in it!"
"I like the DreamGym, Auntie B!" Sunny cries, turning away from the four of them and towards his Aunt.
Serena giggles. "He likes his DreamGym," she echoes and her tone of voice is decidedly smug.
Eric laughs. "Okay, since the shrieking didn't actually indicate bloodshed— I'm goin back inside."
"And I'm going with you," Blair announces, moving towards Eric.
"Hm," Serena says softly, "What about us?" She asks Nate and there's a teasing lilt to her voice, "Should we go inside?" Her eyes motion quickly in Blair's direction.
He grins at her, looks over at the brunette quickly too, "Good question..." he says slowly, "I don't know… what would we do if—"
Blair scowls at them, snapping as they'd known she would. "Oh for heaven's sake, would you two go change. You're dripping! And go around to the front. Don't drip that through the kitchen—the staff is in there. And do it quickly, please, so you—where are your shoes Serena?"
"Oh!" The blonde says, with a smile, "Right over there!"
"I'll get them for you, Mommy!"
She giggles, reaches out to ruffle his hair, "Thank you, sweetheart!"
Sunny bounds over to where his parents had been sitting.
Nate grins at Blair and says dutifully, "Yes, Blair—we'll be sure to somehow not drip while we make our way inside wearing our wet clothes."
Sunny races back with his mother's sandals in his little hands. He drops them down in front of her and then turns towards the four of them; his gaze going to Nate and Serena.
"I was telling Uncle Greg all about how you're lost and the necklace is going to help you go home and I'm going to help you with the necklace and—"
"Oh hey Sun!" Greg calls, interrupting the little boy's tirade. The boy looks over at him. "Since your friends are all out here," he says, "Go on and ask them what it is exactly they want…"
The little boy nods and looks back to them, "Did you hear?" He wonders sweetly, "What my Uncle Greg wants to know?"
"Yes, sweetheart," Serena says to him, "We heard."
"Tell'm we're just trying to figure out how we got here and how to get back."
Sunny nods. "They just wanna figure out how's they got here and how's to get home."
"Eric?" Blair wonders with a half-smile, extending her arm a little.
And he nods at her; takes it and tucks it into the crook of his elbow, "I'll see you back inside," he murmurs to Greg.
Greg nods; glances at Eric and Blair briefly as they leave the yard.
Then he turns back to Sunny, grins as he lowers himself down to be eye-level with the boy, "Why do you think this necklace is so important?"
Sunny shrugs, "I dunno…" he says emphatically.
"Do you think maybe it's important for them to have something to hold onto— since things are so different for them?"
The boy shrugs again, eyes going to his parents who are watching intently and then back to his Uncle Greg. "Sure, I guess…"
Blair huffs a little, "He thinks Sunny made us up."
"Well what else is he supposed to think, Blair?" Serena points out, "That there's time travel involved?"
"I refuse to be psychoanalyzed by this crackpot," Chuck mutters.
Sunny giggles. "C says— he refuses to be psychonalized by this crackpot," he reiterates for Greg.
"Sunny!" His mother says, "That's not nice!"
The boy nods as he lifts his wide, innocent eyes to her. "I know Mommy. I don't think C is nice all the time like me."
Nate snorts a laugh; the same reaction his older self has.
"The word is psycho- ana-lyzed," Chuck says, breaking it down for Sunny.
His sister frowns at him, "Chuck…"
"Well, he has to learn, Serena." Blair points out and Chuck nods his agreement.
"By handing out insults?"
The brunette shrugs. "Why not?" They're standing together, her and Chuck, holding hands—and Serena fears suddenly, the things their boys know.
Sunny is nodding and repeating the word to his parents and Uncle, "Psycho-ana-lyzed." He tells his Uncle Greg.
Greg smirks. "C said that, huh?"
Sunny nods. "Yes. He's grumpy today."
Chuck scowls. "I am not grumpy."
But Nate laughs. "You kind of are, man."
"Well who wouldn't be?" Blair points out, her voice smooth. She moves closer to her Nate and Serena, drops her voice an octave to prevent Sunny from hearing as she says, "Your child is utterly inane."
Nate and Serena frown at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" Serena asks.
"It means that in the 47 minutes we spent attempting to guide him into procuring answers for us, he somehow managed to discuss dinosaurs, rice crispy treats, roller blading, grass, and germs."
"The last three could be related," Nate states.
The words earning himself a laser hot glare from Blair before she continues. "He cannot stay on point."
Serena shrugs, steps around Blair and Chuck towards Sunny. "Hey Sunny…?"
The little boys shifts to her, "Yeah, S?"
"Did you ask your Uncle Chuck and Auntie B about the necklace?"
He nods his head, "Yeah, well, sorta… I was tellin' Uncle Greg 'bout you?"
"Could you tell Uncle Greg about us later please and ask Auntie B and Uncle Chuck about the necklace now?"
"Oh... okay, sure!" He says happily, nodding at her. He turns back to his Uncle Greg then, who'd been watching him very intently, "I'll tell 'bout them more later, 'kay? I gotta ask Uncle Chuck and Auntie B a question!" He exclaims and then he runs past the older man without another word.
He's half-way across the yard when he stops and whirls around, "Can I ask Cash!? To swim with us later too!?" He shouts at his parents.
His Dad nods, shouts, "Sure! Ask everybody if you want!"
"Oh yay!" Sunny shrieks and spins back around to race into the house.
Greg stands slowly after that as the younger Serena arcs an eyebrow at Blair, "He responds fine to me…" she teases.
Blair frowns, eyes following the path Sunny had run for a moment before going back to Serena, "We told him—"
"Maybe you could ask him next time," Nate says, grinning a little, "Instead of telling him…"
Chuck rolls his eyes. "Lovely. He's fastidious."
"Did his imaginary friends just tell him to blow me off?" Greg wonders bemusedly before any of them can respond to Chuck's comment.
"They're invisible." Sunny's parents reply simultaneously, with matching grins.
And Greg returns their grins, delighted. "Congratulations, by the way, on managing to mend your rift before anything more than moderate psychological trauma was inflicted on your children. I'm really proud of you."
Serena stares at him, her grin fading. "Not really funny."
He shrugs at her, still grinning. "Not really joking…"
She rolls her eyes. "Oh great, well thanks," she mutters and takes a step forward, tugging Nate with her, "Let's get inside, I want to—to talk to the kids later…"
He nods, "Yeah…" he agrees solemnly; before adding, "And I'm kinda starving…"
She giggles. "And wet."
He smile at her, looks at her intensely, the way she's looking at him—their whole world right there; and then he says, "Yeah, that too…"
Greg nods, bounding out ahead of them, "I'm starving too!"
"You were eating when I sat down!" Serena cries after him.
He turns around, walks backward a few paces as he shouts back, "So?!" with that grin still in place.
"Are they… the two of you… future you's… are they good then?" Blair wonders as they watch the three adults head back towards the house; Nate and Serena disregarding Blair's request and walking in through the kitchen door.
"Yeah," Serena says and her amusement fading a bit as she shoots Nate a quick look, "They're fine."
It's an odd emphasis in her response and Chuck and Blair pick up on it immediately. They don't exchange looks, don't need too, but both their gazes sharpen on their friends.
"I'm certain you had a more entertaining 47 minutes than we did," Chuck prods, eyes on his best friend.
Nate blinks and then nods. "I dunno, man… they just… talked about stuff…"
"And fell into a pool." Blair points out.
"It really was an accident," Serena says, echoing her future self.
"They accidently walked into the pool?" Blair wonders skeptically.
"More like rolled into it," Nate corrects.
Chuck sighs, looks over at Blair. "And we get stuck with the four-year-old."
"You were supposed to be getting him to ask about the necklace." Serena admonished.
"We tried!" Blair cries, "He's easily distracted!"
"Actually, we did manage to get him to ask about the necklace," Chuck says, "We just couldn't keep the conversations on track long enough to get any information. Though you will be pleased to know that your eldest son is entertaining a girl today, that my eldest plans to tag along, that your daughter plans to further torment her…" he pauses for a moment, and then looks to Nathaniel and switches tracks, clearly unsure how to mark the relationship "Your daughter… and that Blair and myself have plans to… entertain… each other later tonight."
"Oh gross Chuck!" Serena shouts, "Too much!"
Nate nods. "Yeah, man."
Blair says nothing, but the smirk on her face speaks volumes.
"Alright," she says after a moment of silence, "Let's track Sunny down and get him to corner my future self."
Chuck nods, slips his hand out of hers to wrap his arm around her waist as they move back towards the house. "I do love it when you talk tracking and cornering…" he whispers in her ear.
She arcs an eyebrow at him, "Just because our future selves are going to entertain each other tonight, doesn't mean we'll be going about in the same way, Bass."
"Come on, Waldorf," he presses, "They're leading by example… who are we to disregard them?"
Behind them, Nate and Serena walk in silence.
They've made it through the kitchen, past the dining room— now empty save for the staff, and into the also empty living room when Blair halts abruptly, turns around in Chuck's hold, right in the middle of his suggestion that they even observe their future selves, so as to get any a head-start on any future penchants that might develop…
"Okay, what happened?" She asks them, "Why are you two so quiet?"
Chuck turns to her with a slight frown, "Don't ruin it," he tells her.
She sends him a quelling look and he sighs. "They're certain to have gotten into a little spat, no?" He says, looking at the two blondes.
"Nothing happened," Serena answers quickly.
"Right," Nate agrees, but his voice is tight and he's not looking at either Chuck or Blair. His gaze is fixed into the space above their heads. "Nothing happened."
The four are quiet then, standing amid the living room—their first glimpse into this other world.
"—except Serena found it incredibly astonishing that we could ever actually be in love," Nate snits after a long moment of silence.
Serena whirls towards him, expression a mask of incredulity, "I did not! That is not what I said!"
He turns to her, blue eyes blazing, "Oh right. It's my fault. Because I have a girlfriend."
Serena blows out a breath, her hands coming out to her sides, "I don't even know why you're mad!" She shouts, frustration coloring her voice.
And Nate's eyes sizzle with heat. "Because it shouldn't be that shocking, okay?!" He growls at her.
"I didn't say it was!"
He doesn't pause, continues as if she weren't responding at all.
"— because we could be that in love!"
"I know that!" She cries and tears spring to her eyes.
"— because we were once!" He shouts at her.
And she shouts back, "I know!" without a moment's hesitation.
***