24 Gifts Of 2012 - Day Seven - Ryan/Blair Birthday
The OC/Gossip Girl crossover, Ryan/Blair (well... Ryan and Blair... they aren't a couple in this... lol). Art + Fic.
Click For Full Size
Ryan/Blair Birthday
Blair came downstairs the morning after her party to see Ryan standing in the foyer and frowned. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Come to say 'I told you so' about Serena?"
Ryan sighed. "Blair, go get dressed."
"Why?" Blair asked.
"Just... get dressed."
"Not until you tell me why you're here," Blair replied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I have a surprise for you," Ryan said. "And I guarantee you will smile and laugh by the time the day is over."
"What kind of surprise?"
"The kind that'll make you smile and laugh," Ryan repeated.
Blair stared at him a moment longer, then turned to go back to her room without a word.
"Something nice!" Ryan called after her and Blair fought the urge to go back and kick him out. When she got back downstairs, now in a dress and with her hair and makeup done, Ryan was waiting at the foot of the stairs with a blindfold.
"I'm suppose to let you tie that around my eyes?"
"You can tie it yourself if you want, and you don't have to until we are halfway there."
"Halfway where?"
"Our destination," Ryan said.
Blair wanted to hit him for the smirk on his face, but instead got her coat. "Fine, take me... wherever you're taking me."
~~~
It turned out they were going somewhere that smelled of good coffee and chocolate, and when Ryan pulled the blindfold off Blair was surprised to see the coffee house Ryan worked in. It had been transformed, though, with tacky balloons reading 'Happy Birthday!' and rainbow colored streamers. "What tacky hell have we stumbled into?" she asked.
"Your redo birthday party," Ryan told her.
Blair turn to him, horrified. "There's balloons with words on them."
"And streamers," Ryan said. "And the birthday cake? Is from a grocery store," he added as he walked to the counter and leaned over it to grab something, ignoring Blair's horrified expression.
"This is... why would you think I would want..."
"Because it's nothing like that over the top mature party that Serena ruined for you," Ryan replied, turning back to her with something cloth wrapped in his hands. "You may be a raging bitch sometimes, Blair, but you didn't deserve that."
"At least someone thinks so," Blair said. "My minions were laughing. And it's all over Gossip Girl."
"Gossip Girl is the only person in the world capable of out bitching you, Blair," Ryan said. "But that's because you at least have some scrap of human decency."
"I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted."
Ryan smiled and set the cloth wrapped object on the bar. "Open it," he said.
Blair sighed, but stepped over to unfold the cloth, smiling softly when she saw the plastic tiara sitting on it's own little red satin pillow within, but then covering it with a scoff. "A plastic tiara?" she asked.
Ryan lifted up the tiara and place it on Blair's head. "You deserve to be a princess for your birthday, Blair Waldorf," he said. "And don't think I missed that your first reaction was a smile."
Blair pursed her lips, trying to look angry, but finally let a small smile slip past. "It is kind of... cute," she admitted. "But this whole thing is so tacky..."
"That's the idea," Ryan said. "Next year, you'll have a eighteenth birthday party that is all elegance, lace, silk, and velvet. A cake made by a chef instead of an underpaid grocery store baker. Gourmet food instead of take out, and probably champagne instead of Italian sodas. But this year, that was taken from you, so you get a tacky birthday that will be so insanely tacky, you will remember it more than you remember last night."
"Why?" Blair asked. "I'm... I'm horrible to you. I insult your pedigree, or lack there of, and I accuse you of manipulating Kirsten and Sandy into adopting you, and you... you do this for me? Why?"
"Because, you may be a bitch, but... we've known each other for years, Blair. I know you well enough to know that you deserve better than the way Serena and Nate have been treating you. You deserve better friends than them."
Blair considered, looking down at her hands, then up at the mirror behind the counter, one hand reaching to straighten the tiara. "What other horribly tacky surprises do you have for me?" she asked, heaving an exaggerated sigh.
"A Barbie Princess birthday cake," Ryan said, laughing at the way Blair's eyes widened. "And some more plastic jewels of various colors, sizes, and styles. Oh! And hot dogs on tooth picks."
"Hot dogs on tooth picks?" Blair asked. "You mean Vienna Sausages?"
"No," Ryan said. "Little cut up pieces of hot dog on tooth picks. With ketchup to dip them in."
Blair laughed despite herself, and smiled at Ryan. "Thank you," she said.
"Anything for Princess Blair," Ryan said. "Now, what first? Tacky gifts? Tacky food? Tacky cake?"
"Tacky food," Blair said. "Then tacky gifts, and lastly tacky cake. That's how it goes in civilized society."
"As you wish," Ryan said. "Have a seat at the royal table, and I will bring the first course."
"The pieces of hot dogs?"
"On toothpicks."
~~~
Despite herself, Blair enjoyed her Tacky re-party. Laughing as the food got more and more trashy, then as she opened comic pages wrapped gifts of plastic jewelry and Disney princess movies, and finally when she saw the little plastic Barbie figurine on top of her cake, which was surprisingly good for store bought. Finally, when Ryan had finished cleaning up and taking out the trash, leaving just the presents on the table, he returned and sat down across from her.
"So?"
"So... you kept your promise, I smiled and laughed."
"I never break my promises if I can help it," Ryan replied. "Two final presents," he said.
"More?" Blair teased.
Ryan chuckled. "The first one is more of a... cover. I thought about giving you a brown paper sack to carry your gifts in, just to complete the tacky, but I thought better of it. So, instead, I called in a favor and got Eric to steal the bag from Serena's latest shopping trip so that not only can you pretend you're carrying something from Tiffany's," he said, lifting the bag up. "But you can know that Serena is going to be going crazy trying to figure out where her bag went."
Blair laughed. "I like that," she said.
"And, finally, this," Ryan said, pulling a small gift out of his jacket pocket. Unlike the other gifts, this one was covered in burgundy wrapping paper with a white ribbon wrapped around it. "Here. It's what I was going to give you last night. I snagged it so I could close out today with it instead."
Blair smiled and took the gift, carefully unwrapping it to find a jewelery case. When she lifted the lid, she found a necklace, with a delicate silver chain and a pendant with a single pearl. "It's beautiful."
"It's not from some fancy store, and probably costs less than one of your socks does, but... I saw it and it reminded me of those earrings you wore to party Sandy and Kirsten threw when the adoption was finalized. I don't even know if you still have those, I haven't seen them since, but..."
"I have them," Blair said, smiling. "Thank you."
Ryan nodded. "Like I said, you deserved better than last night. Birthdays are suppose to be... fun, and the birthday girl is suppose to smile and laugh and be happy, not hide in her room because people suck."
"You are always just so eloquent," Blair teased.
Ryan smiled. "Happy Birthday, Blair."
"Thank you," Blair repeated.
~~~
When she got home, most of the gifts were stuck in the very back of her closet, hidden where no one would ever see them and ask, but the tiara found a home in a hat box, sitting on a little velvet pillow, and whenever someone hurt her or let her down, she would take it down and remember the time that a boy from the Bronx, who she had spent years treating like dirt, had made her feel like a princess just because he thought she deserved better than heartbreak.
And later, when she was a grown woman with children of her own, she would let her daughters play with the plastic jewelery from that day, all except for her tiara. That was just for her.
The End
Okay, so... yeah. I have rediscovered my love of Ryan/Blair. This AU basically transfers the events of The OC to New York, but plays with the timeline so Ryan was officially adopted by the Cohens when he was fourteen or so, and has known the Gossip Girl gang since about a year before that. For the sake of this universe, Serena never took off for boarding school pre-series, and instead she and Nate basically screwed around behind Blair's back for a year. And Ryan had tried to warn Blair that something was going on but she'd refused to believe it and in fact insulted him even more for suggesting it, only to have him proved right when Georgina 'accidentally' played a Serena/Nate sex tape at Blair's party.
And, while I can't exactly prove it since I never posted it until tonight, the art for this gift and the detail of the plastic tiara have been in my head since January 2012, two full months before the Gossip Girl ep where Dan got Blair to dress up in the fancy gown and the tiara to make her feel like a princess for one day. so I swear, I didn't do it to steal a Dan/Blair Moment. lol
Click For Full Size
Ryan/Blair Birthday
Blair came downstairs the morning after her party to see Ryan standing in the foyer and frowned. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Come to say 'I told you so' about Serena?"
Ryan sighed. "Blair, go get dressed."
"Why?" Blair asked.
"Just... get dressed."
"Not until you tell me why you're here," Blair replied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I have a surprise for you," Ryan said. "And I guarantee you will smile and laugh by the time the day is over."
"What kind of surprise?"
"The kind that'll make you smile and laugh," Ryan repeated.
Blair stared at him a moment longer, then turned to go back to her room without a word.
"Something nice!" Ryan called after her and Blair fought the urge to go back and kick him out. When she got back downstairs, now in a dress and with her hair and makeup done, Ryan was waiting at the foot of the stairs with a blindfold.
"I'm suppose to let you tie that around my eyes?"
"You can tie it yourself if you want, and you don't have to until we are halfway there."
"Halfway where?"
"Our destination," Ryan said.
Blair wanted to hit him for the smirk on his face, but instead got her coat. "Fine, take me... wherever you're taking me."
~~~
It turned out they were going somewhere that smelled of good coffee and chocolate, and when Ryan pulled the blindfold off Blair was surprised to see the coffee house Ryan worked in. It had been transformed, though, with tacky balloons reading 'Happy Birthday!' and rainbow colored streamers. "What tacky hell have we stumbled into?" she asked.
"Your redo birthday party," Ryan told her.
Blair turn to him, horrified. "There's balloons with words on them."
"And streamers," Ryan said. "And the birthday cake? Is from a grocery store," he added as he walked to the counter and leaned over it to grab something, ignoring Blair's horrified expression.
"This is... why would you think I would want..."
"Because it's nothing like that over the top mature party that Serena ruined for you," Ryan replied, turning back to her with something cloth wrapped in his hands. "You may be a raging bitch sometimes, Blair, but you didn't deserve that."
"At least someone thinks so," Blair said. "My minions were laughing. And it's all over Gossip Girl."
"Gossip Girl is the only person in the world capable of out bitching you, Blair," Ryan said. "But that's because you at least have some scrap of human decency."
"I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted."
Ryan smiled and set the cloth wrapped object on the bar. "Open it," he said.
Blair sighed, but stepped over to unfold the cloth, smiling softly when she saw the plastic tiara sitting on it's own little red satin pillow within, but then covering it with a scoff. "A plastic tiara?" she asked.
Ryan lifted up the tiara and place it on Blair's head. "You deserve to be a princess for your birthday, Blair Waldorf," he said. "And don't think I missed that your first reaction was a smile."
Blair pursed her lips, trying to look angry, but finally let a small smile slip past. "It is kind of... cute," she admitted. "But this whole thing is so tacky..."
"That's the idea," Ryan said. "Next year, you'll have a eighteenth birthday party that is all elegance, lace, silk, and velvet. A cake made by a chef instead of an underpaid grocery store baker. Gourmet food instead of take out, and probably champagne instead of Italian sodas. But this year, that was taken from you, so you get a tacky birthday that will be so insanely tacky, you will remember it more than you remember last night."
"Why?" Blair asked. "I'm... I'm horrible to you. I insult your pedigree, or lack there of, and I accuse you of manipulating Kirsten and Sandy into adopting you, and you... you do this for me? Why?"
"Because, you may be a bitch, but... we've known each other for years, Blair. I know you well enough to know that you deserve better than the way Serena and Nate have been treating you. You deserve better friends than them."
Blair considered, looking down at her hands, then up at the mirror behind the counter, one hand reaching to straighten the tiara. "What other horribly tacky surprises do you have for me?" she asked, heaving an exaggerated sigh.
"A Barbie Princess birthday cake," Ryan said, laughing at the way Blair's eyes widened. "And some more plastic jewels of various colors, sizes, and styles. Oh! And hot dogs on tooth picks."
"Hot dogs on tooth picks?" Blair asked. "You mean Vienna Sausages?"
"No," Ryan said. "Little cut up pieces of hot dog on tooth picks. With ketchup to dip them in."
Blair laughed despite herself, and smiled at Ryan. "Thank you," she said.
"Anything for Princess Blair," Ryan said. "Now, what first? Tacky gifts? Tacky food? Tacky cake?"
"Tacky food," Blair said. "Then tacky gifts, and lastly tacky cake. That's how it goes in civilized society."
"As you wish," Ryan said. "Have a seat at the royal table, and I will bring the first course."
"The pieces of hot dogs?"
"On toothpicks."
~~~
Despite herself, Blair enjoyed her Tacky re-party. Laughing as the food got more and more trashy, then as she opened comic pages wrapped gifts of plastic jewelry and Disney princess movies, and finally when she saw the little plastic Barbie figurine on top of her cake, which was surprisingly good for store bought. Finally, when Ryan had finished cleaning up and taking out the trash, leaving just the presents on the table, he returned and sat down across from her.
"So?"
"So... you kept your promise, I smiled and laughed."
"I never break my promises if I can help it," Ryan replied. "Two final presents," he said.
"More?" Blair teased.
Ryan chuckled. "The first one is more of a... cover. I thought about giving you a brown paper sack to carry your gifts in, just to complete the tacky, but I thought better of it. So, instead, I called in a favor and got Eric to steal the bag from Serena's latest shopping trip so that not only can you pretend you're carrying something from Tiffany's," he said, lifting the bag up. "But you can know that Serena is going to be going crazy trying to figure out where her bag went."
Blair laughed. "I like that," she said.
"And, finally, this," Ryan said, pulling a small gift out of his jacket pocket. Unlike the other gifts, this one was covered in burgundy wrapping paper with a white ribbon wrapped around it. "Here. It's what I was going to give you last night. I snagged it so I could close out today with it instead."
Blair smiled and took the gift, carefully unwrapping it to find a jewelery case. When she lifted the lid, she found a necklace, with a delicate silver chain and a pendant with a single pearl. "It's beautiful."
"It's not from some fancy store, and probably costs less than one of your socks does, but... I saw it and it reminded me of those earrings you wore to party Sandy and Kirsten threw when the adoption was finalized. I don't even know if you still have those, I haven't seen them since, but..."
"I have them," Blair said, smiling. "Thank you."
Ryan nodded. "Like I said, you deserved better than last night. Birthdays are suppose to be... fun, and the birthday girl is suppose to smile and laugh and be happy, not hide in her room because people suck."
"You are always just so eloquent," Blair teased.
Ryan smiled. "Happy Birthday, Blair."
"Thank you," Blair repeated.
~~~
When she got home, most of the gifts were stuck in the very back of her closet, hidden where no one would ever see them and ask, but the tiara found a home in a hat box, sitting on a little velvet pillow, and whenever someone hurt her or let her down, she would take it down and remember the time that a boy from the Bronx, who she had spent years treating like dirt, had made her feel like a princess just because he thought she deserved better than heartbreak.
And later, when she was a grown woman with children of her own, she would let her daughters play with the plastic jewelery from that day, all except for her tiara. That was just for her.
The End
Okay, so... yeah. I have rediscovered my love of Ryan/Blair. This AU basically transfers the events of The OC to New York, but plays with the timeline so Ryan was officially adopted by the Cohens when he was fourteen or so, and has known the Gossip Girl gang since about a year before that. For the sake of this universe, Serena never took off for boarding school pre-series, and instead she and Nate basically screwed around behind Blair's back for a year. And Ryan had tried to warn Blair that something was going on but she'd refused to believe it and in fact insulted him even more for suggesting it, only to have him proved right when Georgina 'accidentally' played a Serena/Nate sex tape at Blair's party.
And, while I can't exactly prove it since I never posted it until tonight, the art for this gift and the detail of the plastic tiara have been in my head since January 2012, two full months before the Gossip Girl ep where Dan got Blair to dress up in the fancy gown and the tiara to make her feel like a princess for one day. so I swear, I didn't do it to steal a Dan/Blair Moment. lol