My Favorite Things

Author’s Note: thank you for your patience. This is the end of what I like to call a ficlet. It was never intended to be very long. But, I’m sure brain has plenty more DS in store for you as the season treks along.

Dancin' in the dark
Middle of the night
Takin' your heart
And holdin' it tight

Dan’s gaze followed Serena’s steps as she glided across the room and whispered in the dj’s ear. She came back with a huge grin on her face and a sway to her hips. He loved seeing her like this. Tonight she seemed liked the Serena he had fallen in love with. He hated seeing her so miserable and not quite herself. The party was pretty slow and Serena seemed like she wanted to single-handedly liven it up. He chugged the rest of his beer and went looking for another. The music had gone from somber piece to an upbeat song that he tried to recall, but that was so familiar to him. He wasn’t really big on music. He had his favorites but it wasn’t something he was passionate about, but Serena just loved music. She loved fast songs, slow songs, quirky songs. But, she wasn’t the sort to snootily dissect it, it was more something that just made her feel good. He watched her gyrating on the dance floor and smiled to himself. He watched as people started to join her, one bye one. They were like a moth to a flame. Serena Van Der Woodsen was like a magnetic force whose energy could not be denied. Even he found himself walking towards the dance floor. Dan knew he was an atrocious dancer, but there were times where he just didn’t care and like to just forget the world and have fun. But, it wasn’t till he had met Serena that he had even realized that about himself.

Serena turned and pulled him closer to her. Together they bounced to the rhythm of the music. She noticed that he wasn’t looking around him in awkwardly. Actually, he seemed comfortable in his own skin, like he wasn’t a stranger to parties and dancing. He had transformed into this whole other person while she wasn’t looking and she wondered what else she didn’t know about him. What else did she miss? Serena shoved those thoughts from her head and let the music carry her away. Song after Song, she found herself bouncing to the beat with Dan right there beside her.

“You want something to drink, “he said after the last song had come to an end. The DJ had switched to a ballad and people quickly coupled up as the soft sounds echoed across the room. Serena grabbed him and wrapped her arms around him. “Later. Dance with me?”

“Okay,”he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They swayed gently to the music, their eyes locked together neither of them willing to break the magic of the moment. Dan touched his forehead to hers and let the moment sweep him away. In his head, she was his again and he was free to love her. He lifted his hand to her face and gently grazed her cheek with his fingers. His thumb traveled along her mouth, outlining the shape of her lips. His eyes remained focused on hers as his hands moved as if they had a mind of their own. He didn’t care that they were in the middle of a crowded party. He just didn’t care. Dan bent his head and touched her lips with his own; an action that was met with a reaction so powerful and passionate that it nearly knocked the wind out of him. Serena held him as close as she possibly could. She didn’t want this moment to end. All she wanted was for it to go on forever.

When they eventually came up for air, Dan whispered “Let’s get out of here.”

Emotional touch
Touchin' my skin
And askin' you to do
What you've been doin' all over again

Dan could not keep his hands off of Serena the whole way back to her dorm room. He always seem to be touching some part of her. He would caress her hair, touch the small of her back, wrap his arm around her shoulders, kiss her neck, her lips. It was like he couldn’t help himself. It was almost as if a damn had broken and all his inhibitions were let loose and all he wanted to do was hold her, touch her and make her his again. Serena said nothing, but simply enjoyed the feel of him. She had debated how to tell him how she felt, but the nights events made that unnecessary. They finally reached her dorm and Dan had his arms wrapped around her waste as she unlocked the door.

“Hurry up, “he muttered as he kissed the back of her neck. Serena could barely concentrate on turning the key as the feel of his lips made her tingle all over. She pushed the door open and Dan pulled her on to the nearest bed. “I want you so bad,” he said as he pushed up her top and kissed a trail up her abdomen. Serena closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations he seemed to stir up so easily inside of her. She didn’t know what had made him make a move, but a part of her didn’t care. She missed him and nothing felt right without him. Dan lifted his mouth from her half-naked body, looked into her eyes and said “I never stopped loving you. Sometimes it hurt to just look at you.”

“shh, no negativity.”

“I need you to understand,” he pleaded.

“I do, I get it. I just, I want tonight to be about us; only us.”

Dan kissed her lips hungrily and said, “Agreed.” He reached behind her and unclasped her bra and tossed it across the room. Serena pulled him closer letting his presence overwhelm her senses. There was something so utterly intoxicating about being in his arms. Maybe it was simply the pheromones that he released that drew her to him, but she knew it was far more than sexual, rather it was an emotional need, a connection established long ago that had yet to be severed.

Oh, it's a beautiful thing
Don't think I can keep it all in
I just gotta let you know
What it is that won't let me go

Later they lay in a sweaty heap on the floor, their limbs intertwined, aching to catch their breath. It’s like the night had no end and their bodies refused to be satiated for they continued to hunger for each other like they never have before. Dan could remember the very last moment that he had touched her like this. It was just before his fathers big revelation. They had finally gotten each other back only to have their love torn away. He still found hard to believe that she was lying in his arms again; that she was his again.

“You’re beautiful,”he said as he ran his fingers through her blonde hair.

Serena smiled up at him, her body aching for him once again. “You too.”

“men aren’t beautiful.”

“Okay, you’re pretty.”

“Pretty? You make me sound like a girl,”he said jokingly.

“Oh pretty is not manly enough for you? Okay, how about hunky? Is that manly enough for you Dan?”

Dan couldn’t help but laugh at her teasing him. She had this way of just making him feel good. What he loved best about her was that she brought laughter into his world. The darkness in his soul had been rapidly been replaced with glee from the moment he set on eyes on her again. He held her closer and kissed the top of her head. There was something about her love that made him feel free, like all the chains that held him back were finally undone. Dan Humphrey was a man unchained and free when he had Serena in his life. She was his muse and his belief in art and all that was good in this world.

“Can we talk now?”he asked cautiously.

“Sure,”she said as she leaned into him even further.

“How is this going to work because there is no way I am letting you go again.”

“I don’t want you to let go, but I think you are right if I am gonna leave I have to do it the right way.”

“So, we do the long distance thing until xmas?”

“Until Christmas when I come home,”Serena said.

“Christmas has always been may favorite time of year, “he said as he kissed her passionately.

THE END ……………………………….