just another twist of fate
Title: just another twist of fate
Ship: Dan/Blair
Rating: PG
Spoilers: set about two seconds after the end of 4.17
Disclaimer: Say it with me now ~ me ... don't ... own. Title comes from Twist of Fate by Siobhan Donaghy.
Summary: "A date, with Dan Humphrey." Her face is scrunched up again as she says the words slowly, as though her brain is trying to reconcile having those two concepts in the same sentence.
Authors notes: A big welcome to all the new Dan/Blair shippers - welcome to the most awesome GG ship there ever was. This one goes out to all the old shippers, who have waitied for years for even a taste of being canon. Can you believe this? And, as always, to my queen, holycitygirl. ILU, and your fics are a thing of beauty. Seriously, everyone needs to stalk her fics - they are like oxygen.
just another twist of fate
"Many a time from a bad beginning great friendships have sprung up." - Terence
- i -
She pulls him towards her, hard. Their mouths meet in a kiss that lasts barely five seconds. It's over quickly. No muss, no fuss.
"See, told you," she says, ignoring the catch in her throat.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right. I don't know what I was thinking."
She nods, satisfied. They look at each other a moment before they simultaneously move forward, arms thrown around each other, lips eagerly seeking their mate. He grabs handfuls of material at the small of her back. Her hands move from his shoulder to his chest before she pushes the coat from his body. He squeezes her closer. Their mouths move effortlessly, greedily. He starts walking her backwards towards the staircase but before they can get too far she breaks their kiss.
She takes a step back and they stare at each other, breathless.
"I was not expecting that," she says.
"Me neither," he confesses.
Her face screws up in confusion. "Mr We Were Afraid There Was Something More didn't actually expect there to be something more?"
"I guess not. At least, not to that extent. Blair, that was-"
"You have to go, Humphrey."
And she is picking up his coat from the floor, pushing him back towards the elevator.
"Blair, wait-"
But they are already standing by the elevator doors. Blair moves around Dan and presses the button.
"We'll talk tomorrow. Promise. I just need some time to think," she says, not unkindly. He nods, understanding, and the doors open behind him. He steps forward and presses his lips to hers in a soft kiss before stepping into the elevator and leaving without a word.
- ii -
Dan has been staring at his phone for nearly two hours.
Watching the minutes tick by is painfully slow. As soon as the clock reads 9.08am he gives in and dials her number.
"Hi," Blair answers on the second ring.
"Hey," he says, and he can't help the smile that his lips form. "How are you?"
"We need to talk. Can you come over?" her voice is ominous and it scares him.
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
The line goes dead and he stares at the phone in confusion. He runs out of the loft and heads into the city, the whole time terrified that this is it; this is how it ends, before it's even begun.
He enters her apartment and she is sitting still on the sofa. He hastens to her side and can't help but notice how forlorn and tired she looks.
He tries to break the ice. "You like tired, Waldorf. What's wrong, kept up all night thinking about me?"
He doesn't get a smile in return. "Actually, I was kept up all night by Chuck."
His face falls. Whatever is about to happen can't be good. His stomach hurts. He turns away from her, can't bear to look at her face as she tells him the inevitable.
"Not long after you left last night, Chuck and Serena came over. Chuck is going through something. I won't bore you with the details but he is questioning his whole relationship with his father and he needed to talk to someone." She pauses. She vowed to not be disingenuous. "He needed to talk to me."
Dan shifts slightly further from her and she pretends not to notice.
"I know how you feel about Chuck, but the truth is, I care about him a great deal. No matter what he has done, I used to be in love with him, and that's something no one can change."
He looks at her now. Did she just use the past tense when talking about her feelings for Chuck?
"Even before we were together we were friends. I will always care about him. But as we sat up all night, talking through everything, I realised something." She reaches over, takes his hand in hers. "I'm not in love with him anymore. When I sat there, listening to him talk, it felt just the same as if Serena or Nate had come to me in the middle of the night needing my help."
He grips her fingers tighter, not quite believing what he is hearing. She finally looks up at him, and when she does, she is smiling.
"And yes, you idiot, it was you I was thinking about before I went to sleep."
He laughs, the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. He leans over to kiss her, but she puts her hand up to block him. His mouth meets her fingers, so he kisses those instead.
"If we are going to do this, we need to go slow."
"I absolutely agree," he says. "And I have the perfect idea. A date."
"A date, with Dan Humphrey." Her face is scrunched up again as she says the words slowly, as though her brain is trying to reconcile having those two concepts in the same sentence. But then she smiles. "Deal."
- iii -
They walk slowly through the city streets. Their reservation is in ten minutes but neither is concerned about time.
"So, tell me Humphrey-"
"Dan," he corrects.
"Humphrey," she repeats, and he lets it go with a smile. "Why did you decide that for our first date we should go to dinner and see a movie? I mean it's just so … generic."
He laughs. "Well, first of all, it's the classic first-date scenario for a reason. But mostly because the movie thing is something we have been doing for a while, so I figured it was the best way to ease you into the idea of dating me."
"Dinner is new for us."
"Yeah. Although to be honest I almost cancelled our reservation." Off her quizzical look he adds, "I wasn't sure you would be okay with being seen in public with me."
His bashfulness is so endearing, and such a welcome change, that she can't help the grin that covers her face.
"Dan," she says, and already he knows he has won, "when have you ever known me to go halfway on anything. We said we were going out on a date, which means being seen in public. And here we are, halfway through and we haven’t killed each other yet."
He takes her hand, and this time she doesn't pull away. He smiles to himself. Small victories and all that.
"You know, you are absolutely right. The evening is going unbelievably smooth. But I think there is one deficiency so far."
She stops walking, turns to face him. "Seriously? You picked me up at my apartment, like the gentleman I knew was buried in there somewhere, you took me to my favourite movie, bought my ticket and popcorn and we are now walking through one of the best cities in the world to a beautiful restaurant to have dinner. This date has been nothing short of textbook. What could we possibly have missed?"
He has been grinning the whole way through her speech, not at all surprised that she took his comment as a personal attack on her ability to have a perfect evening. But he has thought of something she hasn't.
"This," he replies, leaning over to kiss her. Her lips are soft and move easily against his. It's simple and uncomplicated and makes him feel things he never imagined possible.
He wraps his arms around her, loving the feel of her burying her face into his shoulder. But then he sees something from the corner of his eye that makes him frown.
"I hate to say this, but I think our perfect date was just damaged."
"And why is that?" she asks, her breath tickling his ear.
With a sigh he leans back so he can look her in the eye as he breaks the news. But he keeps his hands from around her waist, stopping her from running. "I'm pretty sure I just saw someone take our picture, no doubt to send to Gossip Girl."
"Eh, who cares," she grins, surprising them both.
She kisses him again, and when their phones start ringing a few moments later as news of their relationship spreads, they simply ignore it.
"It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ship: Dan/Blair
Rating: PG
Spoilers: set about two seconds after the end of 4.17
Disclaimer: Say it with me now ~ me ... don't ... own. Title comes from Twist of Fate by Siobhan Donaghy.
Summary: "A date, with Dan Humphrey." Her face is scrunched up again as she says the words slowly, as though her brain is trying to reconcile having those two concepts in the same sentence.
Authors notes: A big welcome to all the new Dan/Blair shippers - welcome to the most awesome GG ship there ever was. This one goes out to all the old shippers, who have waitied for years for even a taste of being canon. Can you believe this? And, as always, to my queen, holycitygirl. ILU, and your fics are a thing of beauty. Seriously, everyone needs to stalk her fics - they are like oxygen.
just another twist of fate
"Many a time from a bad beginning great friendships have sprung up." - Terence
- i -
She pulls him towards her, hard. Their mouths meet in a kiss that lasts barely five seconds. It's over quickly. No muss, no fuss.
"See, told you," she says, ignoring the catch in her throat.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right. I don't know what I was thinking."
She nods, satisfied. They look at each other a moment before they simultaneously move forward, arms thrown around each other, lips eagerly seeking their mate. He grabs handfuls of material at the small of her back. Her hands move from his shoulder to his chest before she pushes the coat from his body. He squeezes her closer. Their mouths move effortlessly, greedily. He starts walking her backwards towards the staircase but before they can get too far she breaks their kiss.
She takes a step back and they stare at each other, breathless.
"I was not expecting that," she says.
"Me neither," he confesses.
Her face screws up in confusion. "Mr We Were Afraid There Was Something More didn't actually expect there to be something more?"
"I guess not. At least, not to that extent. Blair, that was-"
"You have to go, Humphrey."
And she is picking up his coat from the floor, pushing him back towards the elevator.
"Blair, wait-"
But they are already standing by the elevator doors. Blair moves around Dan and presses the button.
"We'll talk tomorrow. Promise. I just need some time to think," she says, not unkindly. He nods, understanding, and the doors open behind him. He steps forward and presses his lips to hers in a soft kiss before stepping into the elevator and leaving without a word.
- ii -
Dan has been staring at his phone for nearly two hours.
Watching the minutes tick by is painfully slow. As soon as the clock reads 9.08am he gives in and dials her number.
"Hi," Blair answers on the second ring.
"Hey," he says, and he can't help the smile that his lips form. "How are you?"
"We need to talk. Can you come over?" her voice is ominous and it scares him.
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
The line goes dead and he stares at the phone in confusion. He runs out of the loft and heads into the city, the whole time terrified that this is it; this is how it ends, before it's even begun.
He enters her apartment and she is sitting still on the sofa. He hastens to her side and can't help but notice how forlorn and tired she looks.
He tries to break the ice. "You like tired, Waldorf. What's wrong, kept up all night thinking about me?"
He doesn't get a smile in return. "Actually, I was kept up all night by Chuck."
His face falls. Whatever is about to happen can't be good. His stomach hurts. He turns away from her, can't bear to look at her face as she tells him the inevitable.
"Not long after you left last night, Chuck and Serena came over. Chuck is going through something. I won't bore you with the details but he is questioning his whole relationship with his father and he needed to talk to someone." She pauses. She vowed to not be disingenuous. "He needed to talk to me."
Dan shifts slightly further from her and she pretends not to notice.
"I know how you feel about Chuck, but the truth is, I care about him a great deal. No matter what he has done, I used to be in love with him, and that's something no one can change."
He looks at her now. Did she just use the past tense when talking about her feelings for Chuck?
"Even before we were together we were friends. I will always care about him. But as we sat up all night, talking through everything, I realised something." She reaches over, takes his hand in hers. "I'm not in love with him anymore. When I sat there, listening to him talk, it felt just the same as if Serena or Nate had come to me in the middle of the night needing my help."
He grips her fingers tighter, not quite believing what he is hearing. She finally looks up at him, and when she does, she is smiling.
"And yes, you idiot, it was you I was thinking about before I went to sleep."
He laughs, the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. He leans over to kiss her, but she puts her hand up to block him. His mouth meets her fingers, so he kisses those instead.
"If we are going to do this, we need to go slow."
"I absolutely agree," he says. "And I have the perfect idea. A date."
"A date, with Dan Humphrey." Her face is scrunched up again as she says the words slowly, as though her brain is trying to reconcile having those two concepts in the same sentence. But then she smiles. "Deal."
- iii -
They walk slowly through the city streets. Their reservation is in ten minutes but neither is concerned about time.
"So, tell me Humphrey-"
"Dan," he corrects.
"Humphrey," she repeats, and he lets it go with a smile. "Why did you decide that for our first date we should go to dinner and see a movie? I mean it's just so … generic."
He laughs. "Well, first of all, it's the classic first-date scenario for a reason. But mostly because the movie thing is something we have been doing for a while, so I figured it was the best way to ease you into the idea of dating me."
"Dinner is new for us."
"Yeah. Although to be honest I almost cancelled our reservation." Off her quizzical look he adds, "I wasn't sure you would be okay with being seen in public with me."
His bashfulness is so endearing, and such a welcome change, that she can't help the grin that covers her face.
"Dan," she says, and already he knows he has won, "when have you ever known me to go halfway on anything. We said we were going out on a date, which means being seen in public. And here we are, halfway through and we haven’t killed each other yet."
He takes her hand, and this time she doesn't pull away. He smiles to himself. Small victories and all that.
"You know, you are absolutely right. The evening is going unbelievably smooth. But I think there is one deficiency so far."
She stops walking, turns to face him. "Seriously? You picked me up at my apartment, like the gentleman I knew was buried in there somewhere, you took me to my favourite movie, bought my ticket and popcorn and we are now walking through one of the best cities in the world to a beautiful restaurant to have dinner. This date has been nothing short of textbook. What could we possibly have missed?"
He has been grinning the whole way through her speech, not at all surprised that she took his comment as a personal attack on her ability to have a perfect evening. But he has thought of something she hasn't.
"This," he replies, leaning over to kiss her. Her lips are soft and move easily against his. It's simple and uncomplicated and makes him feel things he never imagined possible.
He wraps his arms around her, loving the feel of her burying her face into his shoulder. But then he sees something from the corner of his eye that makes him frown.
"I hate to say this, but I think our perfect date was just damaged."
"And why is that?" she asks, her breath tickling his ear.
With a sigh he leans back so he can look her in the eye as he breaks the news. But he keeps his hands from around her waist, stopping her from running. "I'm pretty sure I just saw someone take our picture, no doubt to send to Gossip Girl."
"Eh, who cares," she grins, surprising them both.
She kisses him again, and when their phones start ringing a few moments later as news of their relationship spreads, they simply ignore it.
"It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow