"What's this mama?" It was Thursday evening and that week had been so busy that Dianne hadn't had a chance to give Emelia the present that they had chosen her, and Joe being the gentleman he was had insisted on paying for, which Dianne was flattered by. "It looks really pretty."
"It is." Dianne smiled, sat on the edge of the bed with Emelia. Emelia was all ready for bed, but wasn't really all that tired. "It's a wind up dancer, you twist the thing at the side." Dianne demonstrated it, a dancer popping up inside and doing some turns, pretty music playing in the background. Emelia gasped, in awe.
"That's so nice! I love it I love it I love it!" Emelia placed it on her bedside table, diving into bed and watching it, Dianne shocked at the sudden reaction, making her smile widely.
"I'm glad you think so Angel. Joe picked it out actually, when you see him, remember to say thank you." She nodded, her eyes dropping shut slowly while the sweet song sounded.
"I will. He's very nice."
///
"Shattered. Absolutely shattered." was what Joe exclaimed as they both entered his dressing room that Saturday, just having run their dance three times in a row, not an easy task at all.
Dianne nodded in agreement, giving a little yawn in agreement, slumping down on the sofa next to him. "I second that. Oh I just remembered, you know that music box thing, the one we got Emelia?"
"Oh yeah?" Joe looked up from his phone, putting it away. "Did she like it?" She nodded, biting her lip a little.
"Yeah, she loved it! She listened to it for ages, what a good idea Joseph. Maybe now she will fall asleep quicker." Joe laughed.
"Maybe."
"Actually, speaking of sleep, I was thinking of a nap right now. What do you think? We've got ages, an hour or so."
"I'll join, Byron came in from a night out at two, woke me up." Dianne sighed, putting her phone on the little side table next to the sofa, which was comfier than the one in her own dressing room.
Dianne's first sign of bearing came from feeling something behind her, someone even. She also felt an arm cascaded over her, a hand over her stomach. She also noticed she was leant into the body of another, only to then to realise that Strictly Come Dancing had now changed to 'Strictly Come spooning.'
She sighed, but content, definitely not complaining about the situation. She flickered her eyes open a few times, before rolling over to face him, wondering if he was awake, which he wasn't. Taking this opportunity to admire all his features, she smiled as her eyes traced over his carefully carved out jawline, his pale skin and facial structure, his hair a little messy but making him seem in her eyes all the more adorable.
"Di, you're staring." He said quietly, almost chuckling. Thank goodness he was still asleep, for she had gone as red as her hair.
She went very shy, mortified to be caught out. grinning to herself, she rolled over to face the room, taking in all the scenery. "It's fine, I would have done the same."
///
"Ready to dance?" Dianne asked Joe, just having been in hair and makeup and now heading into the starbar where he would join the other couples before the show started, all excited and nervous, a frequent combination.
"Yeah, I'm actually feeling good about this week." They both sat down, next to Stacey Dooley. "We've managed to get the steps down really well so yeah, good." She nodded, cuddling into him a little.
Over the past few days they had began to break down a few boundaries, more comfortable with each other. This hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone at Strictly, who were all gradually becoming more and more intrigued into where their relationship could potentially go.
"Wish I could say the same, this cha cha, I just don't feel as good as when I did with the quickstep. It's definitely not my dance." Joe gave a sympathetic look, his arm loosely cascading around the Aussie's shoulders, who had leant her head on his shoulder a little.
"You'll be alright Stace, and no celeb is going to ace every dance, not even this one." she glanced up at Joe, who returned the same glance.
Once again, if funny one look can give so much away.
"I know, I know. I'm just waiting on my Charleston. Fancy a swap?" They both laughed, Kevin Clifton coming in the room dressed in his red ensemble, very dapper indeed.
"King Kev!"
"Sup Stace, ready to cha cha. Hello you two, everything alright?" He looked over at the couple who were sat beside Stacey, both looking at something on Joe's phone, cuddled up even more now unashamed.
"Yeah, and how long until the show starts?" Dianne looked up at Kevin, who shrugged.
"You're so helpful nowadays."
"I know. That's why they call me Kevin helpful Clifton." He sighed, sitting back in his seat. His three friend all looked at him, shaking their heads in sync, all thinking the same thing.
"Kev, darling. No one calls you that." Craig said, having been in the doorway for a few seconds.
"No one." Dianne added, raising her eyebrows and giving a smug look, before going back to her phone, not moving her body an inch. Kevin scowled, folding his arms, shaking his head. He looked Craig dead in the eye. glancing over at Joe and Dianne who were still on their phones, heads rested on top of one another and close, incredibly close.
Craig gave a little grin and a raise of the eyebrows. "That's adorable darling." He presses his lips together, having blurted the remark accidentally. Kevin made the throat cutting symbol with his hands, panic on his face. The two looked up, Stacey as well, all confused. "Well, what I mean is..."
"That's why they call me Kevin adorable Clifton."
"For goodness sake Kevin! No one calls you that!" Dianne laughed, the Grimsby boy holding his hands up in surrender mode. "Now What was I looking at?" Joe turned to her.
"That Instagram story, Zoe I think." She nodded eagerly, going back to it.
"That's why they call me Joseph helpful Sugg." Dianne looks at him, grinning. Kevin looked at them both, dead in the face.
"Oh nice nickname, I might start using that one." Kevin stood up, walking outside along with Craig who was amused by it all.
"I'm done, I'm done. I'm done, I'm done!"
Joe and Dianne looked at each other amused, shrugging and turning to Stacey, Joe turning off his phone and going to speak. "So I take it he's done then?"
///
"We did it! We did! We are through! Movie week! Yes yes yes!" Dianne shouted, the two dancing their way into her dressing room, having gotten through to movie week. Susanna and Anton had been eliminated, but given their scores it was a given. Joe picked Dianne up, the two squeezing tightly before the red head reaching the ground again, the two not moving, just gazing.
After all the celebrating, it was as if time had stopped, and everything had slowed down, the world freezing around them. That was when the look had been released again. The look, the look of love.
Her eyes, almost instantly, fell, fell to rest on his parted lips. He took the hint, licking the seam of his lips while he started to lean in, Dianne doing the same.
After a matter of one and a half seconds, their lips finally locked, fitting together as if they were made for each other, a lock and key mechanism or a two parts of a pendant. It was like magic in that moment, a kiss that could make the characters out of fairytales green with envy, and want to jump out of their books. It had sparked fireworks throughout the pair of them, more vibrant and expolosive than New Year's Eve in London. as their lips began to move in sync, like the ebb and flow of the tide.
After a few seconds, his left hand came to cup the side of her face, right where her dimple sat, his thumb rubbing gently over her skin. Meanwhile, she had melted into his embrace, letting one of her hands snake to the back of his neck, holding him close to her. After four seconds, they both began to smile into the kiss, it deepening significantly before they pulled away when they were in desperate need of air, both panting.
"Wow. Di...I really, really...really like you." She pecked his lips once, over the moon for the words that had left his lips, the ones that had been on hers just moments before.
"I really, really, really like you too. But...I'm not just Dianne. Am I? I have a child Joe, who, who can't have someone enter their life to leave again, she is fragile, Joe. Underneath that bright, bubbly exterior there's a little girl who can't be left. Just say, things don't work out, you know? What happens then?"
Dianne hated saying this, despite it all being true. She was now sobbing, having to say the truth out loud. She knew Joe was special, but knew that there could be the chance it didn't all go like she wanted, that Emelia would be left heartbroken in the end. Joe held her close, the same protective feeling that he had for Zoe, and all his other family members.
"Dianne, I'm not going anywhere. This feels right, us, and that includes your amazing, bubbly, bright, caring, singing and dancing five year old." He lifted her chin so her elated face met his.
She cried tears of happiness, the man she had grown to love more than happy to welcome both her and Emelia into his life, grateful to the stars, which seemed to have aligned perfectly.
"Thank you, Joe, and yes, definitely." She kisses him again, he kissed back, Joe top shedding a tear himself, the warm tears soaking their skin, knowing that she was special, Dianne, and that Emelia was already special too, he just knew it. They pulled away, both a little emotional, Dianne very emotional.
"So what does that make us?"
Joe thought for a moment, which was more than enough time for him to say what he needed to say. They hadn't moved away just yet, and they had no intention to either.
"I would say see how things go. Like, we're dating but we don't put a label on things until we know Emelia feels okay about it, she's a part of this as the both of us, you know." Dianne leant her head against his chest, letting a few happy tears fall free.
"Sounds perfect."
The two stood in an intimate embrace, despite that everyone else outside was rushing around, heading home after a long day of dancing. On the other side of the door there was an urgency, a chaos, a fast paced atmosphere. Not in the dressing room though, for the two could have held each other for twenty minutes without any discussion, or anything else going on. They could have stayed there forever.
Eventually Joe knew that they had to leave at some point, plus Byron would be eager to know how his performance went. "I think everyone's heading off now." Dianne nodded, the two pulling away but staying close, arms locked.
"Yeah, I'm sharing a car with Amy so she'll probably be wondering where I've gotten to." She chuckled, hearing Joe chuckle with her.
"Alright, Monday, eight thirty?" She smiled and nodded, knowing that the next few weeks had just gotten a whole lot better.
"Yeah, don't be late."
"Wouldn't dream of it." The two leant in again, millimetres away from the most magical contact, longing to lock lips again, soon to be interrupted by a knock on the door, a rather loud knock at that.
"Di, are you ready yet?" Amy shouted from the other side. In reality Dianne wasn't even late, Amy was very prompt and liked to be efficient, in the best sense. They both quickly locked lips for a split second, not wanting to be left on a cliff hanger.
"Coming! Just...getting my stuff together." She heard Amy shout "Alright!" The two let out a giggle, knowing that they'd have to deal with a lot of interruptions in the future from the cast,
keeping the best secret of all time.
A/N: Sorry for the self promo forgive me but I'd really appreciate it if you check out my Instagram, maybe see what's going on in my little corner of the internet? - xoxo.poppy14
See you in the next chapter!