Fic: The Corrupt and the Corrupted (Chuck/Dan, R) part c
***
“So...” Dan started with a tremendous amount of awkwardness.
“So...” Serena echoed, voice sounding vaguely lifeless. She was still too surprised to find actual words as she stared at her ex boyfriend/new bff. He was shifting nervously on the coach opposite her, hands fidgeting, trying vainly to cover up the marks that were scattered all over his skin with a torn shirt.
Chuck on the other hand was unashamed - as usual. All traces of whatever it was that was there only a moment ago was gone, replaced by the usual smirk that was plastered on his face as he slithered onto the coach next to Dan; arm draping over him in a gesture that was both taunting and possessive.
“So...” he mocked them. That single syllable sounding dirtier than Dan ever heard it.
Silence.
“Someone should say something,” Dan said, almost to himself.
Smiling smarmily, Chuck leaned in even closer to the nervous brunette and whispered something in his ear. Serena didn’t hear the exact words but she didn’t really have to. Judging from the way Dan’s lips thinned into a tight line and the tenseness of his body, Serena knew it was something she’d really be better off not knowing.
“Shouldn’t you go put something on that?” she said finally, gesturing to the droplets of blood on Chuck’s left nipple. It had left small but noticeable stains on his shirt.
“I’ll live.” Chuck replied, making her attempt at ridding the room of his ‘disagreeable’ presence, in vain. The only thing her comment seemed to have done was make Dan blush spectacularly as he tried to discreetly lick what was left of the blood off his lips.
Chuck ended up doing that for him though. For some reason, Dan didn’t protest, even as his body stiffened against it, the tension showing in every muscle.
Serena watched as Chuck put on a show for her, his tongue sliding over Dan’s bruised red lips. But what interested her wasn’t Chuck though; she was used to her step brother’s antics by now; instead all of her attention was focused on Dan; on the look on his face when he let Chuck touch him, the glimmer of something different, something dark and almost vengeful, something she’d never seen on him before.
It worried her. She didn’t get why, one minute it looked like she’d intruded on lovers having a private moment, and the next like... Well like Chuck was molesting Dan and Dan was about to run into the kitchen, grab a big knife and cut him up into little pieces for it.
And the other pieces of the puzzle weren’t any less confounding. Looking at the state of the living room, Serena couldn’t tell if the two of them had been throwing stuff at each other, or throwing each other at stuff. One thing she could tell though was that Dan gave as good as he got.
Chuck didn’t force himself on him. In fact if she remembered correctly, when she found them, Dan was the one on top. And yet here he is now, acting like the hands that grazed over his skin were acid; the tongue in his mouth, torturing him.
Of course, they were Chuck and Dan. Serena had never known two people who held so much contempt and disgust for each other as they did. The fact that these two were coming together at all was probably a sign of the apocalypse.
Still, Dan was her friend now, and she cared about him a lot, and he looked like he needed rescuing. Desperately. And in more ways than one.
“Chuck, don’t you have some poor unsuspecting girl to molest somewhere?” Serena tried again. She really needed to get Chuck out and away from Dan. There was no way she could get Dan to open up to her with the master of distraction and discomfort around.
“Why would I go somewhere else for that? I got one right here,” he gave Dan’s thigh a squeeze. “Well, more or less.”
Dan rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Apparently Serena was going to have to try and get rid of Chuck on her own.
She tried a different approach.
“Chuck,” she said, voice softening as she looked at him, “Me and Dan are going to talk about our feelings; the non-sexual, emotional kind. Would you like to join us?”
Chuck’s hands stopped moving on Dan’s body. There was the slightest twitch on his face.
Serena tried not to smile.
“Or you know, before we do that I also bought some DVDs. We could watch ‘Steel Magnolias’ together. I always loved that movie.” And just to show that she wasn’t bluffing, she pulled the box out of her purse and made her way over to the DVD player.
Chuck shot up from his seat.
“I think I should go,” he said, giving Serena an annoyed look. It was one that said ‘I know exactly what you’re doing, even if it’s working.’ then leaned down to face Dan again and gave him a soft, slow kiss.
“See you later... honey,” he mocked one last time before leaving the room.
As the door clicked shut, Dan and Serena turned to look at each other.
Then they burst out laughing.
“Oh god! I can’t believe it was that easy!” Serena exclaimed between fits giggles.
“I know! Steel Magnolias! I can’t believe that’s all it takes to get rid of him! God if only we could bottle that. We could make Chuck repellents!” Dan chipped in.
“Oh yeah! We could win a humanitarian award for that!” Serena said with her arms wrapped around her stomach, trying to breathe through the hilarity and insanity of the situation.
Eventually the laughter died down, and Dan and Serena looked at each other once again, face red and flushed as they both tried to get back their breath.
Dan gave Serena a soft smile.
“Thanks. I really needed that.”
“No problem,” she smiled back, still a little winded.
A slightly more comfortable silence descended upon them again before Dan broke it.
“So, now that we got Chuck out of the way, let’s hear it then.”
“Hear what?”
“Oh I don’t know, ‘How could you do this?’, ‘It’s Chuck! Are you out of your mind you sick pervert?’ Something along those lines?” Dan tried to remain nonchalant, but ‘S’ knew him well enough to see how much he wasn’t. The shame had been written all over his face, right along with his anger the moment she stepped into the room and it was there now, written clearly on his face.
He was waiting for her judgment. Her disapproval.
Well, knowing her history, he should have known by now that she was hardly one to give him that. But still...
“Ok, I’ll admit I was a little surprised... Well maybe more than a little. I mean, it’s you Dan. My first boyfriend! The guy who said, sex is like art! And now I see you rolling around on the floor with Chuck of all people.”
Serena made a face as she said Chuck’s name like he was something gross that had gotten stuck in her hair. Dan almost smiled at that.
“Well for what it’s worth, Chuck would also insist that sex is like art. Just maybe a different kind of art than what I was referring to when I said that.”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Serena said dryly before continuing. “But anyway, as much as I don’t understand whatever it is that’s going on between you two, I don’t want you to beat yourself up over it. I mean, despite everything Chuck can be very persuasive when he wants to be and a lot people willingly sleep with him.”
Dan gave a short dark laugh at that. It left a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“It was willing, right Dan? I mean, he didn’t force himself on you or anything right?”
“No, of course not!” he answered a little too quickly and the bad feeling in her stomach grew.
“Because, if he did anything to you-“
“I can handle Chuck, Serena” He cut her off.
The words did nothing to reassure her.
Her face must have given her away because after a moment, Dan’s body stiffened again; that cold darkness returning to his eyes as he stood up from his seat.
“I think I should leave now.”
And before Serena could say another word, Dan walked out the door.
***
Dan couldn’t sleep last night.
He had tried to all night but he didn’t get a wink; not that that surprised him considering everything that was going on in his head.
There were ugly dark circles under his eyes and he wondered if he could get away with wearing sunglasses in the morning without anyone noticing. Knowing the Upper East Siders though, they’d probably all assume he got a black eye from somewhere and he’d really rather not call the attention of Gossip Girl or any of her eyes and ears right now.
It wasn’t that he was vain though. He might have been spending a lot time with Chuck but he wasn’t that far gone just yet. He just didn’t want his dad to worry about him, well more than he already is anyway. It wasn’t that he never pulled an all nighters before, but somehow, today, he looked worse than usual and his dad had enough to deal with as it is with everything that was going on with Jenny.
Still, dad would probably notice if he was suddenly wearing sunglasses indoors, even if he never did question his sudden attachment to scarves.
He wrapped the soft material around his neck again, fingers grazing over it as he looked in the mirror. It’d become a habit, putting it on; the mark of Chuck Bass. Even after everything he still doesn’t stop wearing it. Of course, there were still some marks left on his neck so he’d need something to cover it up. That’s what he told himself anyway.
Chuck.
His thoughts never seem to stray far from him lately. The way his smiled at him when they’re together, the stream of cruel words that never seem to stop coming from his mouth, the way his eyes looked when Dan had him on the floor. He wondered what game Chuck was playing then, what move he was making in his mind, what twisted ride he’d plan to take Dan on before Serena interrupted him.
If it was a move at all...
Chuck’s eyes had looked sincere then, sad and vulnerable; like that night they spent together in jail, that night that started it all. But it had to be a move right? Because Chuck Bass doesn’t do that anymore. He doesn’t let his guard down, not with him.
Whatever it was, it was gone the moment Serena walked in. Chuck made it perfectly clear then where Dan stood, both to himself and to her, touching him like that. Like he owned him and had a right to do whatever he wanted to him, whenever he wanted it. Not that he hasn’t touched Dan like that before of course; he touched Dan like that all the time. Still, he never did it in front of someone he knew before, never used it to humiliate him like that.
It had been bad enough when Nate found out, bad enough that Nate looked at him with those pitying blue eyes like he’s some kind of victim. Now it was Serena’s turn to look at him like that.
Well, Dan Humphrey isn’t a victim!
And he sure as hell didn’t need their pity. He can take care of Chuck all by himself. Was taking care of him, even. He just had to wait, bide his time until Bart Bass trusted him enough. A man like that had to have some secret he’s hiding. You don’t get that high up to the top without stepping on anything after all.
He checked his email again before heading out. There was a new one there, simply titled “About BB”.
Meet me Saturday, corner of Walworth and
Park, 10 AM. I can tell you something
about BB you need to know.
The message was unsigned and the email address sounded like it was pornographic junk mail. Still, it made him smile. He was playing a new game with Chuck Bass now.
And this time, he’s not going to lose.
Sequel here
Ok, yes, I know I said this would be a three parter, but this fic sort of kept growing and growing so it's not done yet. Anyway sorry for the long wait, hope it was worth it.
Again, please please comment :)
“So...” Dan started with a tremendous amount of awkwardness.
“So...” Serena echoed, voice sounding vaguely lifeless. She was still too surprised to find actual words as she stared at her ex boyfriend/new bff. He was shifting nervously on the coach opposite her, hands fidgeting, trying vainly to cover up the marks that were scattered all over his skin with a torn shirt.
Chuck on the other hand was unashamed - as usual. All traces of whatever it was that was there only a moment ago was gone, replaced by the usual smirk that was plastered on his face as he slithered onto the coach next to Dan; arm draping over him in a gesture that was both taunting and possessive.
“So...” he mocked them. That single syllable sounding dirtier than Dan ever heard it.
Silence.
“Someone should say something,” Dan said, almost to himself.
Smiling smarmily, Chuck leaned in even closer to the nervous brunette and whispered something in his ear. Serena didn’t hear the exact words but she didn’t really have to. Judging from the way Dan’s lips thinned into a tight line and the tenseness of his body, Serena knew it was something she’d really be better off not knowing.
“Shouldn’t you go put something on that?” she said finally, gesturing to the droplets of blood on Chuck’s left nipple. It had left small but noticeable stains on his shirt.
“I’ll live.” Chuck replied, making her attempt at ridding the room of his ‘disagreeable’ presence, in vain. The only thing her comment seemed to have done was make Dan blush spectacularly as he tried to discreetly lick what was left of the blood off his lips.
Chuck ended up doing that for him though. For some reason, Dan didn’t protest, even as his body stiffened against it, the tension showing in every muscle.
Serena watched as Chuck put on a show for her, his tongue sliding over Dan’s bruised red lips. But what interested her wasn’t Chuck though; she was used to her step brother’s antics by now; instead all of her attention was focused on Dan; on the look on his face when he let Chuck touch him, the glimmer of something different, something dark and almost vengeful, something she’d never seen on him before.
It worried her. She didn’t get why, one minute it looked like she’d intruded on lovers having a private moment, and the next like... Well like Chuck was molesting Dan and Dan was about to run into the kitchen, grab a big knife and cut him up into little pieces for it.
And the other pieces of the puzzle weren’t any less confounding. Looking at the state of the living room, Serena couldn’t tell if the two of them had been throwing stuff at each other, or throwing each other at stuff. One thing she could tell though was that Dan gave as good as he got.
Chuck didn’t force himself on him. In fact if she remembered correctly, when she found them, Dan was the one on top. And yet here he is now, acting like the hands that grazed over his skin were acid; the tongue in his mouth, torturing him.
Of course, they were Chuck and Dan. Serena had never known two people who held so much contempt and disgust for each other as they did. The fact that these two were coming together at all was probably a sign of the apocalypse.
Still, Dan was her friend now, and she cared about him a lot, and he looked like he needed rescuing. Desperately. And in more ways than one.
“Chuck, don’t you have some poor unsuspecting girl to molest somewhere?” Serena tried again. She really needed to get Chuck out and away from Dan. There was no way she could get Dan to open up to her with the master of distraction and discomfort around.
“Why would I go somewhere else for that? I got one right here,” he gave Dan’s thigh a squeeze. “Well, more or less.”
Dan rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Apparently Serena was going to have to try and get rid of Chuck on her own.
She tried a different approach.
“Chuck,” she said, voice softening as she looked at him, “Me and Dan are going to talk about our feelings; the non-sexual, emotional kind. Would you like to join us?”
Chuck’s hands stopped moving on Dan’s body. There was the slightest twitch on his face.
Serena tried not to smile.
“Or you know, before we do that I also bought some DVDs. We could watch ‘Steel Magnolias’ together. I always loved that movie.” And just to show that she wasn’t bluffing, she pulled the box out of her purse and made her way over to the DVD player.
Chuck shot up from his seat.
“I think I should go,” he said, giving Serena an annoyed look. It was one that said ‘I know exactly what you’re doing, even if it’s working.’ then leaned down to face Dan again and gave him a soft, slow kiss.
“See you later... honey,” he mocked one last time before leaving the room.
As the door clicked shut, Dan and Serena turned to look at each other.
Then they burst out laughing.
“Oh god! I can’t believe it was that easy!” Serena exclaimed between fits giggles.
“I know! Steel Magnolias! I can’t believe that’s all it takes to get rid of him! God if only we could bottle that. We could make Chuck repellents!” Dan chipped in.
“Oh yeah! We could win a humanitarian award for that!” Serena said with her arms wrapped around her stomach, trying to breathe through the hilarity and insanity of the situation.
Eventually the laughter died down, and Dan and Serena looked at each other once again, face red and flushed as they both tried to get back their breath.
Dan gave Serena a soft smile.
“Thanks. I really needed that.”
“No problem,” she smiled back, still a little winded.
A slightly more comfortable silence descended upon them again before Dan broke it.
“So, now that we got Chuck out of the way, let’s hear it then.”
“Hear what?”
“Oh I don’t know, ‘How could you do this?’, ‘It’s Chuck! Are you out of your mind you sick pervert?’ Something along those lines?” Dan tried to remain nonchalant, but ‘S’ knew him well enough to see how much he wasn’t. The shame had been written all over his face, right along with his anger the moment she stepped into the room and it was there now, written clearly on his face.
He was waiting for her judgment. Her disapproval.
Well, knowing her history, he should have known by now that she was hardly one to give him that. But still...
“Ok, I’ll admit I was a little surprised... Well maybe more than a little. I mean, it’s you Dan. My first boyfriend! The guy who said, sex is like art! And now I see you rolling around on the floor with Chuck of all people.”
Serena made a face as she said Chuck’s name like he was something gross that had gotten stuck in her hair. Dan almost smiled at that.
“Well for what it’s worth, Chuck would also insist that sex is like art. Just maybe a different kind of art than what I was referring to when I said that.”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Serena said dryly before continuing. “But anyway, as much as I don’t understand whatever it is that’s going on between you two, I don’t want you to beat yourself up over it. I mean, despite everything Chuck can be very persuasive when he wants to be and a lot people willingly sleep with him.”
Dan gave a short dark laugh at that. It left a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“It was willing, right Dan? I mean, he didn’t force himself on you or anything right?”
“No, of course not!” he answered a little too quickly and the bad feeling in her stomach grew.
“Because, if he did anything to you-“
“I can handle Chuck, Serena” He cut her off.
The words did nothing to reassure her.
Her face must have given her away because after a moment, Dan’s body stiffened again; that cold darkness returning to his eyes as he stood up from his seat.
“I think I should leave now.”
And before Serena could say another word, Dan walked out the door.
***
Dan couldn’t sleep last night.
He had tried to all night but he didn’t get a wink; not that that surprised him considering everything that was going on in his head.
There were ugly dark circles under his eyes and he wondered if he could get away with wearing sunglasses in the morning without anyone noticing. Knowing the Upper East Siders though, they’d probably all assume he got a black eye from somewhere and he’d really rather not call the attention of Gossip Girl or any of her eyes and ears right now.
It wasn’t that he was vain though. He might have been spending a lot time with Chuck but he wasn’t that far gone just yet. He just didn’t want his dad to worry about him, well more than he already is anyway. It wasn’t that he never pulled an all nighters before, but somehow, today, he looked worse than usual and his dad had enough to deal with as it is with everything that was going on with Jenny.
Still, dad would probably notice if he was suddenly wearing sunglasses indoors, even if he never did question his sudden attachment to scarves.
He wrapped the soft material around his neck again, fingers grazing over it as he looked in the mirror. It’d become a habit, putting it on; the mark of Chuck Bass. Even after everything he still doesn’t stop wearing it. Of course, there were still some marks left on his neck so he’d need something to cover it up. That’s what he told himself anyway.
Chuck.
His thoughts never seem to stray far from him lately. The way his smiled at him when they’re together, the stream of cruel words that never seem to stop coming from his mouth, the way his eyes looked when Dan had him on the floor. He wondered what game Chuck was playing then, what move he was making in his mind, what twisted ride he’d plan to take Dan on before Serena interrupted him.
If it was a move at all...
Chuck’s eyes had looked sincere then, sad and vulnerable; like that night they spent together in jail, that night that started it all. But it had to be a move right? Because Chuck Bass doesn’t do that anymore. He doesn’t let his guard down, not with him.
Whatever it was, it was gone the moment Serena walked in. Chuck made it perfectly clear then where Dan stood, both to himself and to her, touching him like that. Like he owned him and had a right to do whatever he wanted to him, whenever he wanted it. Not that he hasn’t touched Dan like that before of course; he touched Dan like that all the time. Still, he never did it in front of someone he knew before, never used it to humiliate him like that.
It had been bad enough when Nate found out, bad enough that Nate looked at him with those pitying blue eyes like he’s some kind of victim. Now it was Serena’s turn to look at him like that.
Well, Dan Humphrey isn’t a victim!
And he sure as hell didn’t need their pity. He can take care of Chuck all by himself. Was taking care of him, even. He just had to wait, bide his time until Bart Bass trusted him enough. A man like that had to have some secret he’s hiding. You don’t get that high up to the top without stepping on anything after all.
He checked his email again before heading out. There was a new one there, simply titled “About BB”.
Meet me Saturday, corner of Walworth and
Park, 10 AM. I can tell you something
about BB you need to know.
The message was unsigned and the email address sounded like it was pornographic junk mail. Still, it made him smile. He was playing a new game with Chuck Bass now.
And this time, he’s not going to lose.
Sequel here
Ok, yes, I know I said this would be a three parter, but this fic sort of kept growing and growing so it's not done yet. Anyway sorry for the long wait, hope it was worth it.
Again, please please comment :)