A/N: I said I never wanted to do this but I was very inspired by all the talented writers on here and I couldn't help myself! It'll probably be a two shot. Thanks for inspiring me and thanks for reading! xo
VERY BAD PEOPLE
She's married before she graduates University. Young, naive, and under a false assumption that marriage will mature her and give her the security she needs. She's superstitious so she borrows her mom's old, hair pin and buys a brand new, blue dress. She marries Chuck in the park while Dan watches from the sidelines.
He's a husband before he sells his first decent book. He's a father before he wants to be. He feels ambushed and stuck. The life he had laid out for himself disappears into something different all together. Out of obligation and no other option on the horizon he marries Serena in Blair's penthouse while she gazes out the window.
...
They arrive at six o'clock just as Blair had specified in her gold, embossed invitations and several times over the phone. The Bass penthouse is permeated with the smell of their lush spread of Thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin spice and warm vanilla candles. Everyone rushes together and greets with big hugs and double air kisses. Blair beams from the top of the spiral staircase. She's wearing a frilly apron but it doesn't fool anyone, she's dressed to the nines underneath and her hair is curled into perfect, long and shiny tresses. Chuck, dressed in a flamboyant, kelly green blazer steps out from the hallway and starts air kissing Lily. Blair rushes down to Serena. She holds her hands out before Serena has a chance remove her oversized scarf and peacoat.
"OH, S!" she digs her finger tips into Serena's shoulder blades. "B!" Serena smiles back then lets out a soft laugh at Blair's overly warm welcome. Blair runs her fingers through Serena's hair as they pull from their hug. "I've said it before and i'll say it again. I love it," Serena's hair is quite a bit shorter now, a shoulder length bob. Blair convinced her that carefree beach waves were unsuitable for a busy mother.
"Hi guys!," Blair bends down and greets Dan and Serena's daughters. "Henry is in the living-room," she lets them know.
"Lily," Blair steps aside to greet Serena's mother.
"Don't tell me you were cooking, Waldorf," Dan sneers while he unbuttons his coat and places it in Dorota's eager hands.
"I'm a wonderful sous chef, Humphrey," she reaches around and pulls at the string of her apron, then pulls the material away from her body, showing everyone her entirely black ensemble, complete with patterned tights and plunging V-neck. She gives the apron to Dorota without a single word exchanged.
"I need to see it to believe it," Nate jokes with Dan.
"Oh B! this is so cute!" Serena comments as she touches her waist.
"This?" Blair shrugs modestly. "Come on through. I hope everyone is hungry," she gestures for everyone to follow her into the dining-room where Roman is lighting candles at the table. Eleanor walks over to hug Lily while Dan and Harold engage in a friendly hand-shake. "Happy Thanksgiving,"
"Haven't seen you in forever," Dan smiles. "How was your flight in?"
"Don't get me started," Roman sighs dramatically. "Quel désastre!"
"The point is, we survived. And we have recovered from jet-lag just in time to leave Sunday morning," Harold rolls his eyes.
"I thought you were leaving Friday," Chuck says in a deep voice, not realizing how rude he sounds.
"We're leaving here Friday," Harold just smiles at his son-in-law in a nearly sarcastic way. "We're spending the last couple days in The Hamptons," he explains to Dan and now Lily.
"It's so beautiful in the fall," Lily says wistfully. "Serena,..." she swallows a gulp of her wine, "Serena just had family photos done in the Hamptons," she comments.
"Where are my copies?" Blair sounds nearly offended. "I want photos of my babies!" she exclaims causing Serena to laugh. "I have a whole wall in this hallway that needs photos!" she gestures.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head B!, I have a bunch in my purse for you to choose from," she digs into her purse and retrieves a large envelope.
"I'll take this one," she says quickly. So quickly Serena looks confused.
"I have more,"
"This is fine," she opens the nearest table drawer and throws it in, causing the hinge to fall with a loud smack.
They all sit together at a large table, Blair arranged the seating chart several times, Dorota and Chuck tried to help but she slapped their hands away, wanting full reign. The children's table was covered with colourful decorative pumpkins and cute little place holder cookies that Chuck tried to discourage for fear they would spoil their dinner. The adult table had an odd seating arrangement. In the end the guests undermined Blair and swapped out some placeholders to feel more appropriately placed.
"It doesn't make sense for me to sit at the end B," Serena said. "Come here. Sit at the head of the table,"
Blair glared at Dan for taking a seat she didn't assign to him but forced a smile and took her rightful chair at the head of the table.
The table was a source of clinks and pings as people toasted and began to enjoy their privileged dinner. They discussed Chuck's business plans which everyone politely feigned interest in for the majority of the dinner. Blair would almost rather sit with the kids who were giggling hysterically at something clearly more entertaining than Chuck's projections and figures. Lily can't help but smile as Nate fails to steer the conversation in other directions. Blair gets Serena's attention and they engage in their own side conversations about the possibility of going to Paris to see a coveted Fashion Show the following week.
"Mode à Paris,..." Blair sighs. "I've missed it three years in a row now. I would have loved to go this year," she picks up her wine glass and sips slowly.
"Why can't you?" Serena's eyes begin to squint. "C'mon B! let's do it!"
"I,..." she lowers her wine glass. "I don't know,..."
"Let's go!" Serena proposes. Dan blinks at her, wondering how she possibly came to the assumption that she could just leave her daughters again for another week. "C'mon Blair, Mode à Paris," She then looks to Dan hoping he'll be embrace the plan. "Dan?" she smiles while biting her bottom lip.
"Um,..." he clears his throat and can't help but look at Blair who is eagerly waiting for his response.
"Yeah you should go," he nods. "absolutely," Dan agrees causing Serena to smile brightly.
"Book it! let me see what I can do with work," Blair smirks at her best-friend.
"I don't know Chuck,..." Dan desperately tried to understand Chuck's investment opportunity all while negotiating how many more bites of dinner his daughter needed to eat before he could leave the table. "Two more,"
"You said that five bites ago!"
"Dan, just let her..." Serena sighed.
"She's going to be hungry in an hour," Dan explained.
"No she won't be," Blair said. "There's dessert," Blair placed her wine glass back on the table after taking a generous gulp. Dan shooed Anna off and told her she could be done now.
"So dessert you say?" Dan's eyebrows raised.
"I made apple pie..." she beamed being completely proud of herself.
"Did you actually make it?" he veiled his disbelief hoping he wouldn't offend the brunette.
"Why is that so unbelievable to you?" she stood and entered the kitchen.
"Well, I have to see this," Dan got up and threw his napkin on to his empty plate.
Serena laughed and took a gulp of her wine before making a snarky remark that dinner was no place for business talk. Chuck glared and Nate laughed.
The kitchen was a well oiled machine, there were trays upon trays of food lined up. "Think you have enough?" Dan joked at the superabundance of mashed potatoes. There was no way Blair's dozen or so guests could put a dent in it.
"Oh shut up," she rolled her eyes. "Everyone loves thanksgiving leftovers," she opened the oven where her apple pie had been warming. It was browned perfectly. The lattice on the top was something any pastry chef would be envious of.
"You actually made this? no help?" he asked skeptically as she pulled it out with oven mitts.
"No help," she smiled proudly. "I'm a lady of many hidden talents,"
"It's beautiful," he says with admiration.
"Thank-you," she offers with a soft smile. "We should get back before someone comes looking for dessert," she whispers as he approaches closer. Dan's eyes quickly glance up at the door but he doesn't stop. His hand finds itself on the back of her neck. Her eyes become heavy, her knees weak, she fears she may drop the pie. "Dan," she gulps as he stands behind her and kisses her bare shoulder and up her neck.
"Dan?,..." she barely gets out as he nuzzles her, kissing her cheek now and smelling her hair. Blair's neck is practically turned all the way around as she reaches his lips. Her body seemingly determined to deliver the pie to her guests and her lips eager to reunite with Dan. One kiss turns into more, innocent and chaste turns into illicid. It takes all Blair has to not put down the pie and let him lift her up onto the counter. She opens her mouth wider and wider to him, she's breathing in pants, her hands shake.
"Don't drop the pie, Blair," Dan whispers, he takes the dish from her. "It would be a tragedy," he smiles. Blair steps away from him and towards the door. Dan presses his lips together trying to gather himself before they go back out to their friends and family members.
"Wait," Blair inspected his face and used her thumb to remove what might be a trace of lipstick before they head back to the dining-room. Dan looks at the pie again. "I'm going to have to sit here and witness you baking next time,"
"Just get the door," she rolled her eyes lovingly.
"There's no way she made this right?" Dan followed behind Blair. He placed the pie in the middle of the table and everyone gave it a good look.
"Oh my god, B! it's gorgeous," Serena clapped.
"She bought that at Whole Foods!" Nate protested.
"How dare you say that Nathaniel!" Blair looked offended.
"I've been here all day, I witnessed every step!" Harold testified for his daughter.
"You're very talented, darling," Chuck came behind Blair and kissed her cheek.
"Thanks," she began slicing into the pie and placed the pieces on dessert plates that Chuck held out for her.
"Be honest Harold. How much did you help?" Dan asked. Harold's eyebrows raise but he doesn't say anything. Blair glared at Dan, he responded with a playful shrug and she couldn't help but laugh.
Once everyone was so full they couldn't possibly eat another bite, they retired to the living area and sat by the fire with coffee and mixed drinks. "Darling, you're missing an earring," Eleanor pointed. Blair touched her earlobe and began scanning the carpet for her lost diamond. "I just had it," she walked the length of the carpet as everyone else tried to help her. After about five minutes she decided she could look for it later and accepted a drink that Chuck placed in her hand.
"Look what I almost stepped on!" Dan held up Blair's lost sparkle.
"Dan saves the day!" Serena exclaimed. "What would you do without him?" she teased Blair.
"Serena would you care for a Manhattan?" Chuck asked while holding a crystal bottle filled with amber liquid.
"I would!" she giggled, getting up to witness his drink making skills.
With their spouses engrossed and everyone else seemingly focused on Henry's sudden tantrum, Dan helped reunite Blair with her stray earring. "Here," he moved closer and closer still, gently running his thumb behind her ear all the way down her neck.
"Come over tonight," she breathes as he puts her earring in.
"I can't,"
"Please?"
"No,"
"Dan,..." she started.
"There you go. Good as new," he looked at her symmetrical ears. "Good thing too because i'm sure it was throwing off your balance," he rambled. "Chuck what are those ten Carats each?"
"Twenty," he said simply in his usual gruff voice still playing bartender.
"And that tells you what I know about diamonds," he laughed.
"Thank-you Daniel," Blair says with a near scoff. "It looks like we need another bottle of wine,"
As Blair looks over the hundreds of bottles in the pantry cellar, Dan walks in and startles her. "Announcing your presence is a common courtesy," she rests her hand over her heart.
"Looking for anything in particular?" he asks. She ignores him and keeps looking. Dan looks out the door to make sure no one is in ear-shot then walks closer to her.
"Blair, c'mon," he sighs.
"If you're not coming tonight then don't bother for the rest of the week," she pulls a bottle from the rack and it makes a slight ting sound as the glass scrapes the iron.
"Don't threaten me," he says under his breath.
"Then don't make me," she sneers.
"What do you want me to do?,"
"I want you to go be with your wife, Dan." she goes back to the wine rack, looking for another French bottle. Dan walks a little closer, picks a bottle off the rack thinking if they are caught in here together it won't be suspicious if he's helping her. "Did you not hear me?" it rolls off her tongue like poison.
"What's happening?" he asked. "Blair,...this is what you wanted,"
Blair continued to ignore him. "Please remember,...this is what you wanted, not what I wanted..."
...
"He treats me like a stepmother," Blair whines. Her back is pressed against Dan's chest as they lounge on her sofa.
"You are his stepmother," Dan says with amusement while stroking her hair and placing it behind her ear.
"No I mean Chuck, Chuck treats me like i'm Henry's stepmother,"
"Again, you are," he says simply.
"I'm the only mother he's ever known!," she says hotly. "I'm not just his dad's wife! I've been with Chuck since before he was even thought of!" her hands raise into the air in frustration. Dan's hands reach around and link with hers. She relaxes slightly as he strokes the backs of her hands with his thumbs. ",...and now it's done. He has his heir, his son to pass on his name. I never planned for this. It was just thrown at me and I try to act like i'm fine with it and I embrace him but it's not fair," she sighs. "It's not fair to me that his father spread his seed all around Europe before we got back together,..."
"It's not Henry's fault," Dan says simply.
"I know that. It's just not my ideal,..."
"Things are rarely ideal."
Blair glanced up at Dan and Serena's family photo she made Dorota hang.
...