Cause no one really wins here (except maybe us)

She chooses Nate. Nate? He's surprised, Dan is honestly surprised this time. He shouldn't be, he knows that, but yeah, he's a little stunned. She made this big declaration on his voicemail and then it all goes out the window when Nate confesses his undying love to her. He wonders a little if he could have changed things. He thinks maybe, had he gotten to her sooner, before Nate showed up all shiny and pretty distracting her with his perfect smile, he could have won her heart instead. He didn't get there first though, Nate did, Nate always gets there first, he thinks, and yeah, he guesses that's just the way things go for guys like him.

It takes her only three days to decide, and then she shows up at his place one day all unexpected and so very Serena and tells him. There is a quiet I'm sorry, as she breaks eye contact and stares down at her shoes before looking back up at him again. When he asks if she's sure, really sure, this time she nods and says she knows it's what she wants. I love him and it's like suddenly it just makes sense or something. It is different this time, the way she seems so sure, so calm about everything. It feels final somehow, she loves Nate, she wants Nate, and there is nothing he can do about it.

He laughs and tries not to roll his eyes in front of her. Of course, it all makes sense, he thinks. The UES always wins out, he should know this by now, he'll always be Brooklyn, and Nate and his perfect smile and charm will edge him out every single time. I just, I just want to make sure we're okay, still friends right? Still family? You're important to me Dan, really you are.

He assures her they are still friends, and yeah still family too because he knows that'He says the words, smiles the smile, and then gives her a warm hug as she walks out the door. He can't help but wonder as he watches her go, how long it will be until she's back in Nate's arms. Thanks to Gossip Girl, a photo on his phone an hour later shows the blissful couple walking hand in hand in the streets of New York. Just seconds behind that he gets a text from his sister that really says it all. Should have saw it coming bro, you seriously should have saw it coming. And yeah, Dan has to admit, he really should have, because when it comes down to it, the rich and beautiful almost always choose the rich and beautiful and that's never going to change.

She picks him. She really picks him, and Nate can't help but feel like the world is kinda perfect again. She's all smiles when she tells him and even though he's nervous and not real sure at first, when he sees her eyes go all bright on him, he knows this time it's for real. I think I've just always been scared to totally love you, because it all feels so perfect, and nothing ever goes perfect for me. He laughs and sweeps her up into a hug, because he needs her in his arms, needs to know that this is real. He tells her that it's always been her, it will always be her, and that this time, this time will be forever and always and all the other things he's dreamed about.

She's kissing him, and giggling and it feels so right this time. There is no hesitation from her, no question in her eyes or voice. She wants him, loves him, the way he has always, always loved her. He thinks maybe it's too soon, but somehow this time he's already seeing white picket fences and blonde babies running everywhere, and it all feels kind of surreal.

Natie, I don't ever want us to not be this again, please don't let us ever not be this again. He kisses her, holds her and promises her that this is what they will always be. It makes him feel good that he really believes it too. He believes it because she just seems so sure. There's no mention of Dan, no mention of what almost could have been there, just his Serena, telling him she's sorry it took so long to just say what her heart had known for so long.

They spend the whole day together, just being Nate and Serena. They have ice cream and pop-tarts, and drink coffee and laugh until it hurts, and Nate thinks it's the best day of his life. He tells her to just always herself and he'll be himself and they will be imperfectly perfect, or perfectly imperfect, one of those anyway, but they'll be it together. Natie, I think that's the best plan ever! He just laughs and tells her that he's just awesome like that, and she smacks him on the arm playfully before she kisses him through a fit of giggles. And yeah, Serena picked him, because this is the way it's suppose to be. He's never doubted it really, he's just glad that she finally decided to stop doubting too..

She chooses Nate. She finally chooses Nate for real, because she knows she doesn't want to be scared to love him any longer. It's not that she doesn't care about Dan, because she does, and she almost picked him. She left him a voicemail and everything, and she thought it was the right thing until she saw Nate, and her heart fluttered and she just knew. Images of them as children came flying back and she remembered how long she had run from the one perfect boy that loved her for her.

Still, she gave it a lot of thought, just to make sure, even asking Blair for advice. S, close your eyes, no seriously close them, who do you see by your side thirty years from now as you watch your eldest child graduate from high school? Nathaniel or Humphrey? Because that's your answer, and be honest S, deep down you already know. And she did know, because it was Nate that she saw, Nate holding her hand, looking at her the same way he had looked at her their entire lives.

When she tells Dan, it breaks her heart to see the surprise in his eyes. He looks so wounded, and she hates that once again she has to hurt him. This is the last time though, because she's ready to commit herself to Nate. She listens to Dan as he tells her all the right things, he's okay, he understands, and they will always be friends. It helps a little, but still, she knows she's hurt him, and that in itself hurts her too. When he hugs her one last time, and tells her to be happy, she smiles, because for the first time in ages, Serena feels free.

Telling Nate she's his is the best moment she has had in forever. He's so beautiful, and perfect and he's all hers. She doesn't deserve him, but he loves her anyway. He loves her flaws, loves her when she screws up, loves her for just being her and she loves him the same way. So this is real? Really real, this time? You and me S? You really want to try again? She tells him yes over and over, and they're both laughing and she's crying and it's really all kind of amazing. Nothing has ever made more sense to her than her and Nate.

I love you, you know that right? I've always loved you, always knew this is the way it should be Serena. This, us, it's the best thing ever She listens to his words and she smiles, kissing him and holding on to him, because she knows that this time, she won't let go, this time it's for keeps, Nate and Serena, it all sounds kinda perfect. She's just relieved that she's finally figured out, what her Natie has known all along.