#genuinely terrifying Twitter notif man ..

[rivetgoth]

Dave Rave Ogilvie liked my tweet calling Al Jourgensen gay I guess you could call me an “influencer”

[chai-ssi-latte]

daylight 💞

Chris Evans

About: Nothing else matter but him, even if people still believe of you and your ex hopefully getting back together or them shipping you with your recent co-star.

Note: Actress reader. Fictional movie mentions. Sebastian Stan is your co-star. Pure fluff <3

Masterlist | Prompt List | Masterlist 2.0 (Taylor Swift Songfics)

Send a tip here :) | Donations/Tips are not required but is very much appreciated :> It will help me support myself in uni and my studies :)

Gif not mine :)

After a year of hiatus, you’re finally out here again promoting your latest movie. The press conference yesterday went really well, your fans have welcomed you back so warmly that it felt like you never left. Your co-star and leading man, Sebastian Stan, hyped up with the crowd which almost caused your heart to burn with appreciation. 

That one year hiatus did wonders to you, physically and mentally. The stress of working everyday and not having enough hours of sleep took a toll on your overall health. At first, you didn’t want to take a break. There were great projects that were already offered to you and you would not bat an eyelash to reject. In the end, you ended up dropping those to take care of yourself.

You have no regrets though. By the time your agency announced your return, new opportunities were offered to you; too many that you can’t even count, from magazine covers to product endorsements to movie roles. And you’re very grateful. 

“Ready?” Sebastian nudged your shoulder, smiling at you. 

“Of course,” You answered, hitting him on the ribs which caused him to topple. You laugh at his overdramatic reaction. “I’m more nervous about the twitter thing. Norton seems to be a big fan of the bird app.” Seb chuckled but agreed at what you said. 

Before you knew it, you’re already walking out with behind Seb. Graham Norton gave both of you a big smile. As you sat on your designated seat, you looked around at the small amount of crowd due to protocols. You can count them on your fingers but they’re loud. Your heart warmed at their bright smiles at you.

You and Seb were asked about the movie and your characters. It’s about two con artists falling in love unexpectedly. The movie was shot in Italy, the whole production team and cast live in Venice for three months for filming. You enjoyed your stay there, but you hated not being with your boyfriend physically. You didn’t mind the time difference, Chris was happy to adjust for you. You just missed his hugs and kisses that’s all.

“So, you both don’t have twitter. Am I right?” Graham asked. You and Seb nodded. “Why? Ladies first.”

“There’s just something about twitter that terrifies me,” You stated. “I would see my boyfriend open the app for news, but he won’t bother looking at his notification. I’m too scared to even try it out. I heard that twitter fans are different breed of stans.” You added, giggling. Graham smiled at the mention of your boyfriend, but didn’t push it yet.

“Yeah, I agree.” Sebastian concurred. “I’ve done this interview once with Anthony Mackie reading thirst tweets and um, I’m traumatized.” 

“Well, today is your lucky day Sebastian because we skipped the thirst tweets.” Graham announced. “But we still picked some questions on twitter that you and Y/N may or may not answer.”

You smiled. If only American interviewers are like this then maybe I would always go back in their shows, you thought. You recalled two or three shows in your mind that you haven’t returned to after one interview. The only talk show that you seem to go back to is Jimmy Fallon’s. Not only the guy knows boundaries, he’s also genuine and always look after his guests.

“Sebastian will you marry me please?” Graham read the tweet. “Now that’s a question.”

The crowd laughed along with you and Seb. He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling under his breath. “You know what. If only I knew who you are then maybe I would. For now, no.” He answered, honestly. The crowd ooh-ed. Some even hissed as if they just get burned.

“Now that’s what we call rejection, uh, at sebbemyhusband on twitter. I hope you recover well.” 

“Am I the only one who ships Sebastian and Y/N in real life? Their on and off screen chemistry is just *chef’s kiss*”

With a big grin on your face, you shrugged your shoulders. “We’re just really great actors, you guys. Sebastian and I actually fight a lot on set.” You revealed. 

It was true though, you and Sebastian pulled so many pranks on each other that sometimes there would be a day where none of you would talk to each other because of annoyance. “There was a time when this guy,” You pointed at Seb, “Ate a whole raw onion before our kissing scene. Who does that?!” You complained at the crowd. Their faces grimaced and ew-ed. 

“Hey, hey.” Sebastian interfered, “We both suffered, okay? Raw onion doesn’t taste good if it’s red. I went through that torture to torture you.”

You scoffed, “See?”

Graham Norton coughed to get you and Seb’s attention, “Chemistry,” he said before continuing his fake coughs.

You and Sebastian continue to answer tweets and some of Graham’s question, such as your experience on staying far away from home and adjusting a short term life in Italy. You answered confidently how much you enjoyed your stay there, but openly talks about how much you miss home and your boyfriend, Chris. You haven’t mentioned his name yet, assuming that everyone knows it’s Chris Evans.

Your instagram profile has become like a Chris fan account, full of stolen pictures of him at home and only a few selfies of you. Chris knows about this and every time you’d tag him in a photo, he always make sure to like it and leave a comment. Most of the time his comment is a teasing and mocking one, which then you would reply at his ridiculousness.

You once posted a stolen picture of him in the living room, drinking beer while watching a Disney movie. Oliver and Company to be exact. ‘boyfriend watching dodger with dodger. love my boys’ you captioned on the photo. It took for the whole movie to finish before Chris saw your post. By then, you’re preparing lunch for the both of you. Your music stopped for a second because of the notification you received. You have your instagram notification muted except for Chris and selected friends. It’s your way of not missing their comments on your posts.

chrisevans stalker officialyn :P

anthonymackie @ chrisevans i thought you’re going to watch cinderella man? chrisevans changed my mind last minute officialyn he said cinderella wouldn’t like beer chrisevans did I? @ officialyn

robertdowneyjr not @ my daughter officialyn not watching with chris officialyn lunch is more important, ‘dad’ robertdowneyjr susan said you’re our ‘illegally’ adopted daughter. tell your parents.

“Is there a chance in you and Adam getting back together? At Y/N.” Sebastian scoffed at the twitter question Graham read. Seb didn’t even hide the roll of his eyes. You may have picked up a fight with Seb a lot during filming, but he also became one of your closest friends. You told him about your ex, Adam. He said that he relates to the relationship you once had with him. Private yet public. 

Once the news of you and him breaking up, everyone wants you get back together with him even if they don’t know what happens behind closed doors. You loved your ex, yes, but there’s a reason why they’re just exes now and you’re happier with Chris than you have ever with any other man.

“No.” You answered, plainly. “We both moved on and I’m very happy with my boyfriend, thank you very much.”

“We’re talking about Chris Evans, right?” Graham Norton finally spoke out. He has been testing the water for the past few minutes on how comfortable you are talking about Chris. He didn’t want to scare you by suddenly mentioning your boyfriend. But since, you always bring up Chris, he assumed that you don’t mind the mention of your lover.

“Yeah, yeah. The Chris Evans.” You couldn’t help the giggle that followed. The crowd erupted in laughter, ‘causing more warmth on your cheeks. “No! Now, I’m blushing.” You covered your face with your hands when a picture of you and Chris appeared on the TV behind Graham.

“To be honest with you, Y/N. I have been observing how comfortable you would be with the mention of Chris. When I saw how confident you are at bringing him up, I called the queue on the director to hit up Chris,” Norton revealed. The photo on the TV changed with Chris sitting on a chair with the all too familiar background of his kitchen. The same house that you also moved into about nine months ago.

“So this was taken roughly ten minutes ago, but Chris was able to send a video from Boston.” Graham uttered. “Roll it.” The video played.

“Hi, honey. I haven’t seen you for about five months now, and I miss you. I can’t wait for you to come home. Dodger misses you just as much. Good luck and have fun on promotion, I love you and I’m very proud of you. Bye.” The video ended. You’re blushing furiously at this point, with tears welling up your eyes.

Looking up, you tried to dry your tears with the fan of your hands. Everyone laughed in the room. “I don’t want to cry. This makeup took hours.” You complained. A tissue was passed on you, Graham and Sebastian beaming at your current situation. “How dare you guys watch me in tears and just stare.”

“Awe.” Graham said, fondly. 

“She’s a real one. Very loyal.” Sebastian complimented.

“Can I just say, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve seen this year.” Graham added, with a genuine fondness on his eyes as he look at you.

“I just,” You sniffed, “I love him. Chris gave me the brightest days of my life and I couldn’t thank him enough. He’s such a ray of sunshine, and I really see my future with him.”

The crowd, Sebastian, and Graham clapped. “That’s true love, right there folks.” Graham said. “Everybody, Sebastian Stan and Y/N Y/SN! Their movie Cons of Venice now showing on selected theatres and now streaming on Disney Plus. Let’s give them our support and a round of applause.”

Thank you all for 500 followers. I love you all. Thank you for appreciating my works, no one has really appreciated my stories in real life. I’m glad I have you all <3

~chai x

[thefanficmonster]

Love For The Faceless

Corpse Husband x Youtuber!Reader(Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff 

Summary: Y/N is a YouTube gamer who has recently gained a much larger following thanks to the streams she does with her friends. Naturally, considering her faceless and bodiless nature, people are starting to get curious about her. When she finally follows her friend Corpse’s example, a lot more than her hands is revealed.

Requested by anon, you know who you are 😉 Thank you so much for placing a request and hope this fic fulfills the expectations you have for it.

“Hey!“ I greet the lobby as I finally hop into the Discord call after quickly saying ‘hi‘ to my audience.

I’ve been a YouTuber for four years now and I’ve only recently started streaming, encouraged to do so by my best friend Rae. She’s the one who got me in multiplayer games such as Among Us and Phasmophobia which led me to meet her amazing gaming squad that consists of some of the most famous names on the platform. They are all wonderful people and I will forever be in Rae’s debt for introducing me to them. However, becoming friends with Felix, Sean and the rest of the team brought not only a more fulfilled life, but also a small boost in following. Who am I kidding, it wasn’t small. It was overwhelming, terrifying even.

My YouTube channel had a little over a million subscribers at the start of quarantine and now....now it’s closer to three million. Speaking of three million, I’m about to reach it any day now and it’s really hard to believe. I’m a gaming youtuber and I’ve never considered changing my genre despite expecting to not get any attention whatsoever, with all the big names on the platform. I was convinced not even as many as a hundred people would stumble across my videos and now here we are.

My OG subscribers are very supportive of my sudden growth and are defending me when my newer fans ask for a face reveal or whatnot. While we’re on that topic I might have to mention that not even my YouTube friends, and that includes Rae have seen my face. I’ve been faceless and bodiless for the entirety of my time on social media. Some claim I do it to grab more attention or for dramatic effect, but the reason is beyond that. I’m not shallow. Actually, shallow people are the reason I don’t show my face. I’ve never been the prettiest, but my middle school bully thought that I wasn’t lacking self confidence enough. As a result, I ended up with a not so handsome scar on my right cheek that starts from the corner of my mouth and nearly misses my eye. Yeah, it’s a long and pretty noticeable scar that has thankfully become less and less obvious as the years have progressed. Still, it’s not something I’d like to show to my viewers.

Eight ‘hi’s greet me back, each making my smile grow wider. “Sorry I’m late guys. Technical difficulties.” 

“Don’t worry.“ Rae’s voice dominates over the rest, “Corpse still isn’t here so we’re waiting for him.“

I mute myself on the Discord call and take a look at my comments. I’m most flattered by the comments about my voice. Seeing as how they don’t have much to compliment about me other than my content, they make the nicest comments about my voice, personality and humor. Those comments are the ones who warm my heart most. Even when people in my day to day life compliment my appearance I can’t find it in me to believe they are being genuine. I’d like to believe these amazing people are being one hundred percent honest when they tell me they like me for who I am and not for what I might look like.

“Sorry I’m late guys.“ A deep voice causes me to even physically jolt, switching my focus from the comments to the Among Us lobby where my eyes land on the newly materialized black avatar.

“Hi Corpse.“ Rae greets him.

“Hello mister who broke Twitter!“ Sean laughs, provoking the laughter of the rest of the players.

“Yeah, congratulations man. That’s a big deal.“ Felix chimes in.

“Thanks guys, but I think you’re forgetting we’re talking about a picture of my hand.“ Corpse chuckles timidly. I have noticed how shy he gets when someone gives him a compliment - like a snail slowly withdrawing in its shell. I find it adorable.

“That’s what makes it even better!“ I unmute my mic, sending my own congratulations.

“While we’re on that topic...“ Rae begins, waiting for the rest of us to shut our traps, suggesting she has something important to say. “Y/N, do you ever plan on doing a reveal like that? Not a face reveal. Just a body part reveal.“

I have no problem talking about the subject with friends but I get nervous when I’m supposed to discuss it with my fans. Seeing as how everyone, including myself, is streaming right now, I get a bit of a stutter in my speech. “Haven’t thought about it yet. But I guess a body part reveal is harmless.” I cringe immediately after letting the words leave my mouth, “That sounds so weird.”

Rae knows that I’m not too fond of my face, but I haven’t told her about my scar yet. I let almost all people I’ve met online think I’m using my lack of appearance for effect. For the mystery of it all. Mysteries attract people which equals attention. Attention equals views and the domino effect continues.

“Just a suggestion. No pressure.“ Rae adds quickly, knowing full well I get anxious when the subject is brought up in front of cameras. “Let’s get this game started, shall we.”

                                                          * * *

The idea dwells in my mind, sitting on the back burner even after I disconnect from the Discord call. I’m sitting in my gaming chair, which was a gift for my two million milestone, and weighing out the pros and cons of the action Rae suggested I take.

“It’s a picture of your fucking hand, dummy. How bad can it turn out?“ I say out loud, shaking my head at my indecisiveness. “You’ll be fine.”

In a blur, two pictures are already posted on my Instagram. The first one captioned ‘Took a leaf from my friend’s book. Did I do it right @ corpsehusband?’ and the second ‘Thanks, Rae. These are on you.’

Rae’s POV

As I’m watching a movie in my living room, I get a notification from Instagram, informing me that Y/N has posted for the first time in a while.

I scoff, “More like the first time in forever.”

The first thing that comes to my mind is the possibility of her reaching that three million milestone that’s been long time coming. I bring the glass of water that’s sitting on my coffee table to my lips, taking a sip as I tap the notification. The picture I see makes me hurry to put the glass back down so I don’t drop it. Y/N’s hand. Her fingers are covered with several thin rings each. And here I thought Corpse had too many rings, this girl has at least two on every finger! 

Then my eyes land on the second picture she has posted only minutes after the first and my heart drops. I struggle to get the water that’s been sitting in my moth down my esophagus while my mind is struggling with the task to comprehend the picture I’m looking at. 

Another hand is resting on top of Y/N’s. A hand also covered in rings but fewer and larger. The nails are painted black. 

I think I know who it belongs to.

Before I can even finish the thought, I’m dialing Y/N. She picks up after the second ring, sound cheery as ever as she greets me. “Hey Rae!”

“Don’t you ‘Hey Rae’ me!” I practically scream. I hate being kept in the dark about anything ever so this is just driving me mad. On top of all, she’s my best friend, for fuck’s sake. “Is that Corpse in the photo with you?!”

“Ugh....“ the cheeriness to her voice is all but gone now.

I go on with my rant, not giving her the time to reply. Not that she would reply. I bet she doesn’t know what to say. “So he knows where you live?! Or was the picture taken at his place?! He knows what you look like?! You have seen him! He has seen you in real life but me, your best friend, haven’t!!! You are breaking Covid 19 protection laws to take pictures?! Are you fucking serious, Y/N?!”

There’s a long moment of silence which frustrates me even more but I literally have run out of things to yell and the power to be angry. I mean, I still am, I just can’t express it.

“Rae, sweetheart, please calm down. You’re scary when you’re mad.“ This girl has some fucking nerve! She’s on the verge of laughing!

“Listen here you...“ 

“Rae, please stop scaring my girlfriend.“ That oh so distinguishable, oh so familiar voice interrupts me.

I am flabbergasted, for a lack of a better term.

“Now that we’ve got you quiet, I can explain.“ Y/N pics up the conversation, “Corpse and I have been dating for six, almost seven months now. We started dating around Easter after talking for quite some time. We moved in together at the end of September. All thanks to you, Rae. You’re the best.” She pauses to breathe in real quick, “There, all caught up?“

I’m in no less shock than I was before she explained. Actually, I think I might be even more confused now. It all just feels like a fever dream. “Yes...no. I don’t fucking know! I need details, Y/N!”

“Details later.“ Corpse makes his presence known once again, “We’re watching Family Guy right now. Talk to you later.“

“Love you, Rae!“ Y/N calls out before the line goes dead.

My arm goes limp, dropping my phone on the couch next to me. 

“Motherfuckers” I mumble under my breath.

Y/N’s POV

It’s been a week since Rae has stopped talking to both Corpse and me. I know she just needs some time to cool off. In the meantime, the rest of our friends were informed and, as oppose to Rae, were nothing but supportive and overjoyed. I bet Rae feels the same way though. Sean, Dave and the rest of the gang have confirmed that she’s incredibly happy for us and says she noticed a spark between me and him since day one, but she can’t help but be mad at us, and especially me, for not telling her sooner.

“Any regrets?“ I remember Corpse asking me when we hung up on her after dropping the bomb.

“Not being able to see her face when she saw the picture.“ I beam at him, feeling as content as ever.

He laughs, agreeing with me before leaning down to kiss me.

@susceptible-but-siriusexual  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @hacker-ghost  @itsminniekat  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios

[strongelongitude]

ranking social media

1. tumblr

somehow became way less problematic once they banned porn

your clout is no good here

memes? political statements and news? fandom fuel? they’ve got it all

thank god there are no “tumblr influencers)

don’t want discourse? don’t look at replies lol

so much quality art and talent DAMN

2. pinterest

is pinterest actually social media? is there such a thing as pinterest famous? can you have followers? the fact that i don’t know is definitely a point in their favor

just a bunch of tweens-young adults saving DIYs they know they’ll never do.

live our your dream wedding from the comfort of your phone screen

pinterest REALLY wants you to download their app

crediting? crediting original artists and photographers? i’m sorry we don’t do that here

3. reddit

ultimate anonymity

creativity! wow!

the social media of categories. Wanna watch people be bad at driving? Read what basically amounts to creepy pasta? talk about your favorite youtuber? 100% there’s a subreddit for that

there’s also a lot of subreddits for the... creeps of society. the depths of reddit terrify me

hours of youtube videos worth of you tubers reading or reacting to posts on reddit. arguable whether that’s good or bad

4. snapchat

wait they’re still going?

ceo of having their features stolen by larger more expansive apps making them functionally obsolete

guess stories are cool or whatever

what the hell is going on with snapchat ads?

the location thing is kinda creepy ngl

the platform for teenage discourse. wanna badmouth your friend behind their back in a group chat? no prob it’ll disappear in a few hours. until someone saves it... damn

wayyyy too convenient for sexual harassment

5. tik-tok

can’t believe i’m comparing tik-tok positively to something

the youths really go all out on social activism here don’t they love that for them

gay tiktok 🏳️‍🌈 👏✨

*shudder* straight tiktok

how are there SO many attractive lesbians and bi ladies on this app, and how many of them are robots-

the company possibly definitely might be collecting consumer data for the purpose of furthering the agenda of a communist oppressive government and that’s??? not great tbh

don’t know if tiktok dances should be counted as good or bad

6. instagram

the kardashians selling laxative tea to their 13 year old female audience

feeling anxious? instagram will shoot that anxiety alllll the way through the roof

insta story activism?

no one cares about your selfies tiffany (i’m tiffany)

insta stalking your favorite celebrities is totally normal and definitely not at all creepy 

the clout machine is alive and well here

instagram comedy is one of humanity’s greatest mistakes I-

7. twitter

oh god, twitter discourse

white man get angr when kpop trend over apple lol

uh-oh here come the problematic kpop stans with their fancams (said the kpop stan)

do people actually use twitter. i genuinely don’t think i’ve ever been on the app for more than 5 minutes at a time

so, is twitter bankrupt or?

someone ban twitter from the white house i beg of you

hahaha major corporation did a funny on twitter that’s hilarious i love capitalism and exploiting the consumer

i have twitter solely to see tweets from people i like in my notification feed and nowhere else

8. facebook

need i explain

home of the anti-vaxxers

home of the karens

home of the concernighly racist distant relatives

home of the mlm babes

home of uninformed and self-important white americans dear god someone stop them

y’all remember minion memes? cause facebook sure does

speaking of problematic disgustingly wealthy corporations with a near monopoly over the industry

[lykaonimagines]

Where The Heart Sings - Tom Hiddleston x Reader One-Shot

(Day Fourteen) I missed the original day 14 sorry :S

Here’s day fourteen of my trying to post every other day of November. If all goes to plan you’ll be seeing another story on the 29th! If you’d like to be on any of my tag lists just let me know.

This one is sort of personal to me. I’ve been in a long distance overseas relationship now 4 1/2 years with (tbh) probably the guy I’m going to marry one day 😶I’ve been missing him a lot, and this story just sort of happened. Airports have simultaneously become the place of greatest happiness and sadness. So this one is taking from that moment of utter bliss in the airport when you finally see them again. 

(All Shakespeare quotes used at italicized, the rest is me.)

Paring: Tom x Reader

Word Count: 2,163

Description: Y/N and Tom finally reunited in the airport after a year apart.

Warning: Nothing really

(gif isn’t mine)

Checking the arrival screens for the seemingly hundredth time, Y/N finds herself pacing in the crowded luggage claim area. As the small sign twists in her hands, her mind races.

It had been a year since she last saw him. They had been in this long distance relationship for four years now. Both wanting to see where this would go, but not ready to give up their lives on a maybe.

The day she first met Tom, she both simultaneously thanked and hated, for bringing this wonderfully intelligent, dorky, sweet, and loving man into her life. She’d met him on a train on a vacation in London. The man next to her so engrossed in Coriolanus she couldn’t help herself from commenting. A megawatt smile turned up from the book to face her, and the rest was history.

He swept her off her feet before she even knew what happened, and by the end of the month she found herself kissing this man goodbye through a tearful gaze. Only one month and she was already smitten. That seemed so long ago now, the years that followed were full of late night FaceTime dates and seeing one another as much as possible for their schedule.

The past year however… everything went wrong, every plan to see one another. He had taken on so many roles he seemed to be in a constant state of filming or promoting that left him with little to no time to get away to her. And her attempts to go see him always ended in her boss insisting she head another project.

So there she stood in her hometown airport gripping a sign with his name, and waiting to finally see him after the long year apart.

She should be happy. In theory she is. But she’s terrified.

“It’s been an entire year,” she mutters looking down at herself with a frown. “What if it doesn’t feel the same? What if he doesn’t feel the same? What if I look different? What if he doesn’t like how I look anymore? What if when he sees me he realizes the women he’s around on a regular basis are better? What if he decides this isn’t worth it anymore- if I’m not worth it anymore,” she mutters to herself as she tugs at her outfit once again.

She knew some of it was crazy. He seen her on FaceTime every few days. And if he truly didn’t love her anymore he wouldn’t call her nearly everyday. Or would he? He’s so polite maybe he thinks it’s better to end things in person.

Y/N shakes her head roughly and pulls out her phone to check her makeup once again, then checks her messages.

“He should be landing anytime now, he thinks there’s a driver waiting for him, still doesn’t know it’s you. I’ll keep the business away for as long as I can, you two enjoy yourself. - Luke.”

Grinning down at the text with a new found confidence, she stands up straighter and finds herself a spot against one of the airport columns, slightly out of view from the escalators that bring the arriving passengers down.

She’d originally told Tom she couldn’t make it to pick him up, and in truth she really didn’t think she could. She had taken the next few weeks off, but her boss had insisted she come in today to take care of some work for him. Tom had been disappointed, she could tell by the tone of his voice but he played it off. So she pulled some strings and worked her ass off to get all her work done in the morning, and make it to the airport to fetch him.

She had texted Luke to ask of his ride plans, and had received notice he’d cancel Tom’s ride and not let him know it was her so she could surprise him. Something she was really excited for, nervous, but excited.

As the baggage belt near her begin to move, her eyes flicker to the digital screen above it, London.

Looking to the second floor as passengers begin their descent, she grips the sign with his name tightly in her fist. Her insides are churning and she feels somewhere between wanting to throw up or run away. Closing her eyes, she carefully breathes in and out slowly before forcing a smile to her face.

Seeing a familiar form appear at the top of the stairs, she smiles genuinely. Tom’s here. He’s finally here.

Her heart beating frantically, she lifts the sign up to hold in front of her chest as she leans back against the column.

As he finally reaches the bottom of the stairs, she finds herself admiring him. He has been working out, very clearly. His t-shirt clings to lean muscular frame in all the right ways, his hair tussled, and his expression clearly one of concentration as he searches the crowd for his ride.

A small laugh leaves her as a few fans finally notice him in the crowd, and a shriek sounds as her accepts pens and paper to sign whatever is shoved at him. Selfie after selfie, she finds she’s calmed down more than she thought possible. The same Tom. Kind and sweet to his fans no matter the setting.

Finishing up signing his last autograph, she sees him begin to search the crowd again, so she extends her arm high into the air with his sign.

Finally pinpointing his name, his eyes move down from it to her arm, and settle on her face, their eyes locking. What was that about being calm? His eyes widen as realization washes over him, and her heart begins to beat against her ribcage. Those brilliant blue eyes locked on her.

She can see him mumble something, probably excusing himself as he slips around his fans, heading directly toward her. Something snaps in her, as adrenaline courses through her and she starts speed walking toward him, he doing the same.

The closer they get, the more everything fades out. The sound of the airport, the crowd of people, everything except him just seem to fade into her subconscious as he gets closer. Both finally break out into a full sprint, and she finds herself leaping into his arms, him pulling her legs up to wrap around his waist as his lips find hers.

Perfect. All she can fathom in that moment. Perfect.

The feeling of his soft lips against hers, her arms around his neck, the smell of his familiar cologne and shampoo overwhelming her senses as she moves her lips with his. Her fingers tangle into his hair as a soft grunt escapes him. His teeth bite at her lip she as she starts to pull away, pulling her back in with a laugh from both sides. As their kiss finally ends, he presses his forehead to hers, and stares into her Y/H/C eyes with the most loving gaze she’s ever seen. God she loves this man.

“You said you couldn’t make it,” he mumbles, his voice ragged as he still tries to catch his breath.

“Surprise,” she whispers back with a smile, and that brilliant megawatt smile she first fell for graces his face once again.

And as quick as the moment came, it’s shattered by the sudden realization of countless flashes going off and the sound of cameras clicking.

“Shit,” he mutters, as she quickly untangles her legs from around him and drops to the airport tile, her face bright red.

“I’m sorry, I-,” she begins before he grips her hand and rushes to grab his luggage from the carousel and pulls her out the door.

“Not your fault love, we got a little excited,” he chuckles as he pulls a hat and sunglasses from his bag.

“Yeah I guess so,” she laughs nervously. “Let’s get back to my place?”

The ride back to her apartment is mostly silent. Just the sound of the radio buzzing in the background as her thoughts race once again. Scolding herself for the display she caused in the airport. That’s why he’s being so silent. He likes his personal life private, and she just probably made them the front page of the tabloids.

Dropping all his things off in her room, he deposits himself on her couch with his phone in hand and holds out an arm for her to join him.

Hesitantly, she sits beside him as she tries to find a way to break the silence as she watches him go to Twitter.

And there it was. She swallows hard as she sees him scroll through various photos of all different angles and in all different filters of them in the airport.

“I- I’ll be right back,” she says quickly as she pulls herself up from the couch and races to the bathroom, a confused Tom watching her.

Sitting on the edge of her bathtub she sighs. A whole year apart. One perfect moment. And then ruined. She has no idea how to approach this topic with him. They’d both agreed on not exactly hiding their relationship, but making it sparse. The last thing either of them wanted was everyone in their business. Especially him, he put so much effort into keeping his private life just that, private.

Lost in her thoughts, she feels the vibration of her phone in her pocket. Pulling it out, she’s surprised to see a notification from Twitter… that Tom tweeted? She had forgotten she even had his notifications on, it had been so long since he last even tweeted.

Bracing herself, she taps the notification and waits for her app to load, gasping when it finally does.

He had posted one of the photos. Clicking it with a shaky hand, she looks at the photo of them, a simple black and white filter on it. Her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, and their lips locked. A smile spreads across her face as she notices how utterly blissful they both look.

Looking down to his caption, a few tears fight to break free, “Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service. I love you beyond measure.”

Flinging the bathroom door open, phone in hand, she rushes back out to her living room to see Tom sitting where she left him, a big grin on his face.

“You saw it I hope?” He asks.

She nods, “I did, I just… I thought you didn’t want this to be public? I thought you were mad about what happened.”

“Darling,” he calls out as he opens his arms to her.

Diving into his arms, her head immediately goes to his chest and he kisses the top of it.

“I apologize for the silence on the way back, I was thinking. About everything,” he says as he twirls a lock of her hair on his finger. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life than I was in that moment. And looking at all those photos, and seeing what I hope is the same look on your face. I don’t want to hide it anymore, I want the world to know I’m the happiest man on this planet because I have your love, and you in my arms.”

Stroking his chest, she looks up at him lovingly, “I’ve missed you Tom.”

“And I you, I love you darling,” he whispers against her lips as his press to hers.

The soft gentle kiss sends chills up her spine as she settles against him, making her mind up finally on one thought that’s been hounding her for months.

“I think it’s time,” she states as she strokes his facial hair.

“Hm?” He inquires, his eyes flickering back open. “Time for what?”

“Time that maybe I start looking for a new job,” she answers.

“Oh?” His brow furrows at her answer. “Are they giving you more problems?”

“No, nothing like that,” she continues. “I was thinking a change of scenery.”

“Such as?”

“Oh I don’t know. London maybe,” she says nonchalantly, fighting the grin trying to break through.

His eyes widen immediately, his mouth agape unsure how to respond, “I- are you certain?”

“Completely,” she nods.

“You’re ready to leave your home, for me?” He asks hesitantly.

“Tom,” she says, tilting his chin down so they’re face to face. “Home is where the heart sings, and it only sings for you.”

A smile spreads across his face as he takes in her reply, and he pulls her to him, falling onto his back as she lays on his chest, “I do love nothing in the world so well as you—is not that strange?”

“Very strange indeed,” she agrees as her finger traces along his lips. “Absolutely mad I must say, but I find myself equally mad for you.”

“Then don’t cure me of this insanity, for it’s sweet embrace is all I need.”

---

Masterlist  

(Had trouble tagging a few sorry :/)

Tom Tag List: @bambamwolf87 @thepowerofawkwardcompelsyou @theoneanna @mrshicks38​ @cute-mirei​ @chamberof0secrets

All Stories Tag List: @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @chezagnes @fuckthatfeeling @oatballsoffury  @thisismysecrethappyplace @xcasiferx @its-remy-not-ratatouille @dangertoozmanykids101 @izzywings @fairlightswiftly

[decandantfics]

More Than Words Could Ever Tell

It really shouldn't be this hard to get a good night's sleep, Dec thought idly to himself, as he rolled over for the twentieth time – yes, he'd been keeping count – trying to find a comfortable position in his and Ali's normally luxurious bed. Dec stilled momentarily as Ali sighed in her sleep beside him, and then breathed a quiet sigh of relief himself when she simply burrowed deeper into the covers and slumbered on. Auditions were underway for BGT 2019, and they had another full day of auditions tomorrow – today, actually, Dec corrected himself wryly. The display on the digital clock next to their bed glowed faintly in the dark, taunting him with the time: 1:30AM. He had gotten a grand total of 2 ½ hours of sleep so far tonight, and the way it looked right now, he probably wasn't going to get much more than that, if any. You see, it wasn't just any old day today: today was NTA day – the awards ceremony being held that evening at the London O2 Arena. He and Ant were up for three awards, as usual, but it was the Best Presenter Award that was causing his mind to race and turning his stomach to lead at 1:30 in the morning. He was terrified.

At heart, Dec knew it was silly – it was just an award, after all, and if they lost this year, it wouldn't be the end of the world....Or would it? He grimaced as he imagined the glee with which the press would hail "The End of Ant and Dec" if they lost tonight. And although he tried really hard to repress the next thought that came to mind, it bubbled up anyway. There would be a fair number of people who would be celebrating if Ant and Dec lost, and he wasn't thinking about the winner of the award. The amount of public hate being directed at him, and especially Ant, these days was horrifying, and try as he might to ignore it, it did sting a bit. He understood why so many people were angry – what Ant had done was indefensible – but it still hurt desperately to see the sheer depth of hostility towards Ant on social media. There was a reason they both tried to stay off of Twitter at the moment – it was too distressing to be on there and see all of the vitriol in their mentions.

And if they won that award tonight....His mind slid back to the NTAs, his heartrate speeding up and his mouth going dry. He didn't know how he was going to get through the day. It felt a bit like 2007 again, except this time it was actually worse; much, much worse, in fact. Yes, he knew the vast majority of their fans still loved them, and the love and goodwill directed towards him and Ant over the past year had been mind-boggling. It still choked him up a bit to think about all of the messages he and Ant had read together last year. But did he and Ant still have the public's trust? He wasn't so sure anymore. What had happened in 2007 was terrible, but the big difference there was that he and Ant had had nothing to do with the scandal. Yes, it involved their shows and they were listed as executive producers on SNT, but they genuinely hadn't had a clue what was going on. This time, though, it was Ant who had messed up. Big time.

Dec knew there would always be a small part of him that could never forgive Ant for what he'd done. Not because of the damage to their career or anything shallow like that. No, simply because he had put others' lives in danger with his actions, and that was something so far removed from both of their life values that he still couldn't believe Ant had actually done it. At the same time, he knew that the Ant who was behind the wheel that day was not the Ant he had known for 29 years. The Ant that day had been a broken and lost individual crying out for help. In some ways, Dec reflected, the crash was actually the best thing that ever happened to Ant. It was a desperate cry for help that resulted in Ant finally receiving the professional support he needed. It proved to be the catalyst for an incredible change in Ant as he found his true self again, got well, and turned over a new leaf in life. It was a horrible thing to have to happen in order for Ant to start to properly recover from his addictions and mental health issues, but if that's what it took for him to get his Ant back, then so be it.

Dec sighed and turned over again – 21, he ruefully counted in his head – before deciding to sneak another glance at the clock: 2:00AM. This was ridiculous. Another 4 hours until his alarm went off – it was an early start this morning due to meetings with their management and then the BGT producers – and he still couldn't get his mind to relent in its endless, panicked racing. Eventually he decided he'd had enough of tossing and turning in bed. He silently and oh-so-gently sat up on the mattress, swinging his legs over the side and sliding his feet into his slippers. Glancing at Ali to make sure she was still sound asleep, Dec grabbed his phone off the bedside table and stealthily crept out of their bedroom before peeking his head 'round the door to Isla's room. His heart swelled to see their little girl sleeping peacefully in her cot. He still couldn't quite believe he was finally a dad. Tiptoeing away from her door – the last thing he wanted to do was disturb either of his girls – he made his way into the kitchen, deciding a cup of decaf tea might help to settle his nerves and calm his mind. As he switched on the kettle, he idly checked his phone, surprised to see a notification flashing. There was a text from Ant:

"Stop worrying so much, Deccy, it's just a stupid award. Hardly the end of the world if we don't win. Go to sleep – dealing with a grumpy, sleepy Declan all day isn't on my bucket list! 😂"

Dec chuckled, his eyes lighting up with affection for the man who knew him so well and owned such a large piece of his heart. The text had been sent just after midnight – clearly, Dec wasn't the only one who had been struggling to sleep tonight, but he sincerely hoped Ant was having a better time of it than he was. Deciding it would be best not to reply right now – he didn't want to risk waking Ant – he continued to stare at the screen, trying to force Ant's words of wisdom into his brain in the hope that his racing mind might acquiesce and allow him at least another hour or two of sleep. He took his cup of tea with him to the lounge, where he switched on the telly and settled down on the plush couch, wrapping a warm blanket around himself. Putting a channel on with some mindless program that he hoped might bore him to sleep, he sipped his tea and opened Ant's text again, smiling fondly into his mug. It was uncanny how well they knew each other – some people might describe their relationship as being slightly freakish, but he knew better. Theirs was a relationship founded on trust and unconditional love – they just got each other, and they always had done, really. Ever since they became friends on the set of Byker Grove, there had been a special spark between them, it's just that they weren't necessarily aware of it at the time. They loved spending time with each other as youngsters, and if they couldn't physically be together, then they were always on the phone to each other, talking about anything and everything. And nearly 30 years on, that close interdependency they shared really hadn't changed. It was amazing what they had achieved in their three decades together. If it had all ended last year, they really couldn't have complained.

The clock on the mantelpiece was showing the time to be nearly 3am, and the tea was actually having its desired effect, as Dec began to feel a bit dozy. Deciding he was too shattered to bother moving back to bed, he sleepily switched off the telly and curled up on the couch, snuggling into the blanket and letting the drowsiness take over his mind.

                                                          ~~~

It was now 7:00am on 22 January, 2019. Dec was tiredly waiting in the foyer for their car to arrive. Joe was picking him up first this morning, since Ant lived a bit closer to the building where their first meeting of the day was being held. As Joe pulled up outside their drive, Dec hugged Ali tightly and gave her a lingering kiss. Ali could tell how nervous Dec was today, even though he was trying very hard to act nonchalant about the whole "NTAs thing," and it was more than obvious that he'd had trouble sleeping last night. She'd woken to an empty bed this morning and had made her way downstairs, thinking perhaps he had fallen asleep on the couch, only to find Dec already up, sitting wearily at the kitchen table nursing a cup of strong black coffee.

Dec slid into his seat in the car, and leaned onto the window ledge, curling up slightly and resting his head on his arm. It would probably be a good half hour's drive in the busy London traffic before they reached Ant's house. He might as well try to catch a quick cat nap during the drive there. The next thing he knew, he became aware of a warm, familiar scent filling his nostrils. Yawning widely, Dec blearily opened his eyes and glanced over to his right. Sure enough, there was Ant, staring at his phone, as he scrolled through his emails. Noting the movement on his left, Ant glanced up and breathed out a quiet, "Morning," to Dec as he smiled fondly at him. "You were out like a light. Didn't want to wake you. We've got about 10 minutes' drive left." To his surprise, Dec silently unlatched his seatbelt and slid over into the middle seat, leaning into Ant as he buckled himself in again. Grinning affectionately, Ant awkwardly pulled his arm out from underneath Dec and placed it around his shoulders, drawing him closer in a little side hug. "Feeling cuddly this morning, eh?" he teased, while Dec pouted grumpily at him before a small smile curved his lips. "Only got about 4 hours' sleep last night," Dec whined, leaning his head onto Ant's shoulder and closing his eyes, muttering, "Bloody NTAs." Ant chuckled lightly, gently resting his head on top of Dec's. Really, Ant thought, Declan was so very predictable, always getting so worked up about things. He couldn't deny the fact that he himself had had trouble sleeping last night – he'd gotten about 5 hours' sleep – but he'd always struggled with insomnia, so that was nothing new for him. "It's all gonna be just fine, Dec," Ant whispered, tilting his head slightly to press a gentle kiss to Dec's tousled hair. They leaned against each other in comfortable silence the rest of the journey, just enjoying the warmth and comfort they found in each other's presence. As they climbed out of the car and their day officially began, both steeled themselves for what was going to a very, very long day.

                                                       ~~~

Meetings over, Ant and Dec were in the London Palladium, readying themselves to go on stage to open the day's first audition session. Entering to rapturous applause – they both still got a bit choked up when the crowd went wild every time they went on stage – the boys did their usual spiel about how the audition process worked, before beginning the judges' introductions. David Walliams was first, acting as camp as ever, running onto the stage and doing his signature high-kick routine that seemed to have become his trademark move this series. The boys started joking around with David, just like they normally did. It was all going so well until David started pretending to interview them: "Are you a bit nervous because it's the NTAs today, or are you excited?" Ant jutted his jaw out slightly in exasperation. He had really hoped no one was going to mention the NTAs unless it was absolutely necessary – like something to do with the live video links later – but now David had ruined that hope. Quickly taking the reins on answering this question with what he hoped was a nonchalant, "We're a little nervous, a little nervous," Ant turned to Dec and met his gaze for a brief moment, noting the way Dec was shifting his weight from foot to foot, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Dec clearly wanted nothing to do with this question, although he added his own nervous comment as Ant continued, "You always get nervous in the NTAs." Turning back towards the judge, Ant swiftly moved the conversation along by directing the same question back at David. Behind him, Dec felt his stress level skyrocketing again. Licking his lips nervously, Dec swallowed down the massive ball of anxiety that was clawing its way up his throat. He greatly appreciated Ant taking the lead on this, as just the mention of the NTAs had turned him into a quivering ball of jelly, and the last thing they needed was for someone to video this and have the tabloids pick it up. They'd be sure to run a story about them having a nervous breakdown on stage or something ridiculous like that. Although, come to think of it, maybe that headline wasn't so ridiculous after all....

                                                         ~~~

It was now mid-afternoon, and auditions were in full swing. Ant and Dec were both a little bit tetchy – not with each other, mind, only with those around them – and their exhaustion was more than obvious. Today had been the longest day ever – or so it seemed – yet it was still 4 hours before the awards ceremony even began at the O2. The boys knew they were going to be on standby for a live video link that evening, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Cameras would be trained on the judges' desk later that day, too, just in case David (or Simon) won the Best TV Judge award. It would be an interesting evening if David managed to beat Simon yet again, that's for sure! Dec let out a tired sigh as he sunk down onto his stool at the side of the stage, absentmindedly reaching into an open crisp packet being proffered to him by Ant, who was sat next to him. They were on a brief break during auditions, so they were taking the opportunity to grab a quick snack and rest their weary bodies while they had the chance. Dec studied Ant's face, taking in every line, every crease, the way his eyebrows quirked when he got another text from Anne-Marie – clearly she'd said something funny, as the corners of his mouth turned up and a small chuckle erupted from his lips. Honestly, Dec could spend all day staring at Ant. He could read his every expression, could almost know what he was thinking without Ant having to say a single word. He knew Ant was the same with him – they almost knew each other too well, at times.

Ant suddenly looked up at Dec, catching him staring at him. Dec gave him a sheepish smile and giggled as Ant cheekily raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, was miles away," Dec murmured, while Ant affectionately rolled his eyes at him and shook his head before checking his watch. The day was going so slowly. At least there were only a couple minutes left of their break, and then it was back to work again. But even that wasn't much help, as the auditions were seeming to take forever today, and quite a few of them had been rubbish so far. Ant wearily shook his head again and watched as Dec stood and stretched his arms out above his head, yawning widely. Ant knew Dec was bricking it about the NTAs – they both were, to be honest – but that it was best not to mention it right now. They were both trying to ignore it for as long as possible, although he knew they would probably end up having a little heart-to-heart about it nearer to the time. This meant a lot to them this year – albeit for slightly different reasons – and he sincerely hoped it didn't turn out to be a complete disaster. They both needed something positive after the year they'd had.

                                                         ~~~

The time was 7:30pm. The NTAs were beginning. Ant glanced over at Dec to see him staring in horror at the analog display on his Apple Watch. Reaching out towards him, Ant lightly grasped Dec's wrist, squeezing gently in an attempt to break him out of his thoughts. The last thing they needed right now was for Dec to have a panic attack. Dec's eyes met his, panic written all over his face, his green-blue eyes holding a strange sort of overwhelming trepidation. Ant could feel Dec's hand shaking as he pulled Dec towards him, wrapping him up in a tender hug. There was an act on stage right now, but if he was honest, they were absolute rubbish, and likely wouldn't make it to the screen – not even on BGMT. It was definitely time to have their little talk, he couldn't bear to watch Dec falling apart in front of him. Quietly wrapping an arm around Dec's shoulders, Ant guided him through the corridors towards their dressing room, despite Dec's weak protests that he was fine, and, really, they should be in the wings doing their job.

Closing the door behind them, Ant turned to face Dec, holding him at arm's length, lovingly rubbing his right thumb over Dec's shoulder joint in a comforting manner. "Now listen to me, Dec," Ant started, "Even if we lose all of the awards we're nominated for tonight, it doesn't reflect on you or all your hard work. I know I'm not the most popular person in the country right now, so if we lose, it's all down to me. Nowt to do with you or...." Ant was abruptly interrupted in the middle of what he thought was a reassuring speech by Dec, who had fury in his eyes. "Don't you dare say that! If we lose tonight, we lose together. It's Ant and Dec, remember? We win together, we lose together, simple as! You don't deserve any of this, I hate people for hating you, it's just so unfair. Yeah, you messed up, but you don't deserve to suffer for it the rest of your life!" As Dec's voice faltered and one of the tears that had been steadily gathering in his eyes made its way down his face, Ant automatically reached out and wiped it away, despite his shock at the heat of Dec's words. Ant felt his own emotions bubbling to the surface at the fierce protectiveness in Dec's voice as he continued, "You deserve to win, too, Ant. You might not have been on the telly a whole lot last year, but you worked hard. I could not be more proud of all that you've achieved in the past 10 months. We are in this together, and don't you ever forget that." Ant stood in stunned silence for a moment, tears silently running down his cheeks. Dec gazed into Ant's eyes, his own brimming with yet more unshed tears, a look of unspeakable love shining out at Ant, making its way deep into his heart. Wordlessly, Ant embraced Dec, the love and respect he had for the smaller man overwhelming him, forcing him into silence. They stood together like that for a long minute, just holding each other close and giving the other the reassurance he needed to face whatever might come tonight.

Eventually, they drew away from each other, looking into each other's eyes as Ant finally found his voice. In the end, though, all he could choke out around the lump in his throat was, "Thank you," those two words conveying everything else he was too emotional to say. Dec seemed a bit more in control of himself now, no longer panicky – their talk and long hug clearly having helped to ground him – as he simply pulled Ant close again and enveloped him in a loving embrace, whispering a fond, "I'm so proud of you, Ant," into his ear before walking to the en suite to wash away the evidence of his tears. Having made themselves presentable for the camera again – they both were going to need some touch ups on their makeup, that's for sure – the boys walked in silence to their area at the side of the stage. A couple of acts had come and gone in their absence, but neither really cared. They had needed that time together, those intimate moments of frankness with each other, in order to get through the remainder of this so far very draining day. Dec checked his watch again, noting the interminably slow march of time with a tired sigh before feeling a nudge on his shoulder – Ant was staring at him in amusement, shaking his head and rolling his eyes in mock exasperation at Dec's impatience.

                                                           ~~~

The moment of truth had finally arrived. Dec felt like he was going to either throw up or faint, probably both. He was greatly regretting the ham and cheese sandwich he had decided to munch on earlier to try to calm his nerves – he was always prone to stress eating at times like these, but then, so was Ant. Speaking of Ant, Dec raised his eyes to take in Ant's expression. Yes, he was obviously nervous, but his face wore a sort of resigned stoicism that was so unlike the Ant he knew. It was obvious Ant didn't expect them to win tonight, and Dec could tell that, despite his stern lecture earlier, Ant was already blaming himself for their loss. If he was honest, Dec didn't expect them to win, either. He managed to catch Ant's eyes, seeing his own dread reflected back at him. Dec tried to give Ant a reassuring smile, but all he could muster was a slight quirking up of one side of his mouth. Their shows had taken home the gongs in the categories they were nominated for, but those were their shows, not they themselves. Hilarity had ensued earlier in the evening when David had won Best TV Judge yet again, with Simon throwing a hissy fit that had the boys in hysterics and helped to distract them from their nerves. But now it was time for their category.

They got into position on stage, facing the camera that seemed far too close and intimidating, before turning to stare at the massive London Palladium screen as the O2 Arena appeared and Dermot O'Leary introduced Ant Middleton to present the award. Dec's breath caught in his throat as the nausea threatened to overwhelm him again, his legs feeling wobbly and his palms sweating profusely as his mouth became unbearably dry. He swayed on his feet for a moment as his mind went dizzy, before a calm, familiar hand reached out and steadied him, giving a small squeeze before letting go again. Dec glanced over at Ant as Ant Middleton messed around with Dermot, noting how the pulse in Ant's neck was racing and his chest shallowly rose and fell at a rapidly increasing rate as his nerves intensified. Dec called out a quiet, "Ant," snapping Ant out of his panicked state and bringing him back down to earth. They both turned back to the screen as they heard Holly Willoughby's name being called out, Dec wincing as he and Holly appeared on screen together, doing a link for I'm a Celebrity.... He was surprised to hear Ant chuckling beside him, a proud grin on his face as he watched Dec being his amazing, entertaining self. Ant shared a look with Dec as Holly's VT ended and Bradley Walsh's began, their eyes locking for a few seconds in silent solidarity before they turned back to the screen. Finally, all of the nominees had been read out and it was time to announce the winner.

Dec's heart was in his throat, he felt like he couldn't breathe, dizziness and nausea threatening to overwhelm him. Ant wasn't much better next to him, although he was better at hiding his distress, seeming relatively calm on the outside now that the moment of truth had arrived. They turned away from the screen, facing the camera instead, Dec angled slightly towards Ant – Ant was his lifeline right now, he needed to see him, couldn't bear to look at the camera...."And the National Television Award goes to..." Ant Middleton's voice rang through the Palladium, pausing for a moment that seemed to drag on for an eternity. Through the haze of panic and nerves, Dec felt Ant's hand land on his shoulder, holding him securely as they awaited their fate.

"...ANT AND DEC!"

As the crowd went wild, Dec nearly collapsed in shock, gripping desperately onto his knees, using them as crutches to stay upright as his mind reeled. They had won?!?!? After everything that had happened over the past year, they still had won? The public still loved them, trusted them enough that they voted for them? He vaguely felt Ant's weight on top of him as Ant laid his arms on Dec's shoulders, leaning his forehead against his arm as they stood there numbly, shocked to the core. That brief moment of contact was enough to shake Dec out of his dazed stupor, and the next moment he heard Ant speaking into his microphone in a thoroughly shocked voice, "Oh, wow....Oh, wow."

Oh, right, they had to do a speech now, they were on camera! Dec was in no shape to speak, however, his throat closing in on itself yet again, except this time it was due to a massive lump forming as he felt tears coming to his eyes. Their incredulous gaze met for a moment and they shared a relieved smile before hugging briefly, Dec's hand intimately wrapping around the back of Ant's neck as his heart swelled with love and pride for the man holding him, and gratitude towards the great British public. Sensing Dec was too overwhelmed to say anything, Ant – always the calmer of the two when it came to situations like this – began to speak. He honestly didn't know what to say, the speech he had rehearsed in case they won having been erased from his mind as soon as their names were called out. He stumbled through the first few sentences, his mind racing as he tried to form coherent sentences. Suddenly the Palladium's screen flashed beside them, and he and Dec turned around in surprise to see Simon having pressed his Golden Buzzer for him. But what really caught their attention again was the audience – the whole place was on its feet, including the judges, giving them a standing ovation. It was all so overwhelming.

As Ant faintly became aware of Dec beside him, desperately trying to control his emotions, part of the speech he had so carefully prepared came rushing back to him. He and Dec had had this conversation weeks ago when the voting shortlist was released, and although Ant knew Dec didn't agree with him on this, he was going to go ahead and do it anyway. He was going to dedicate the award to Dec. As soon as Ant started talking about how he didn't feel he could accept the award this year, Dec knew what he was planning. The emotions he had fought so hard to push down so that he wouldn't start sobbing on live telly came flooding back in as Ant turned towards him. "The one reason we've won the award this year is because of this guy." Ant reached out, affectionately pressing his palm to the side of Dec's face before wrapping his hand around the side of Dec's neck, squeezing warmly before continuing, "His hard work, dedication, wit, funniness, and being the best mate there is out there. I love you, man. Well done."

It was all Dec could do to not break down right then and there. Desperately swallowing down the lump in his throat, his eyes met Ant's as Dec replied, "I love you," lunging at Ant and tightly wrapping his arms around him as the love he had for this man nearly burst his heart. Ant closed his eyes, savoring the hug – and feeling deeply grateful that he had been able to give Declan the recognition he so deserved live in front of the nation – holding Dec in a strong embrace. Neither of them wanted that hug to end, but the live link was still running, and Dec still hadn't said a single word. He somehow managed to get through his half of the speech, with an arm wrapped around Ant's shoulders for most of it, just needing that physical contact to keep him from losing his battle against his emotions. They finally signed off with a bit of a cheeky joke aimed at Dermot for his foolish comments regarding them winning the award this year, and yet more thank yous to the public who had voted for them. As the cameras switched off, Dec suddenly realized his legs had turned to jelly. He collapsed onto the stage dramatically – he was still Declan the show-off, after all – and closed his eyes. Ant kneeled beside him, both still unable to comprehend what had just happened. They had just won the award for the 18th time!!! The tears finally broke free as reality sunk in, but Dec was unashamed as he repeatedly wiped tears away while the judges congratulated them. He and Ant were both in a state of shock, this was not what they expected to happen tonight, but they were more than happy to be proven so completely wrong.

The judges eventually went back to their seats, leaving Ant and Dec to make their way back to the wings as preparations began for the next act of the night to come on stage. They gazed at each other for a moment in dazed silence, tears shining in their eyes, before Dec completely broke down, relieved sobs coming thick and fast as he stood rooted to the spot, overcome with emotion. As he felt loving arms surround him in a tight embrace, he haltingly whispered into Ant's ear in a trembling voice, "Thank you, Ant. I love you." As they held each other close, letting out all of the emotions of the day, they knew one thing: This day marked a new beginning in their life. And as long as they were together, no one could ever bring them down. All they needed was each other. And that meant more than words could ever tell.

[mooosicaldreamz]

Cat Grant sets up Kara and Lena

this one took forever, anon friend!!!!!!!! feel excited that i devoted this much time and effort to this. also??? i’m still doing this prompt extravaganza to celebrate 1k followers, so send ‘em if you got ‘em. also? my baeta is back in america but she’s busy being jetlagged, so this is unedited and long and don’t judge me on my mistakes. 

“Kiera,” a voice says, just behind Kara, and she startles so badly she whacks her desk, and it cracks just the littlest bit under her hand. She had been so entranced in a video about this dog named Terrance who had rescued a little boy from a pond that she hadn’t heard Cat Grant saunter up behind her.

“I see you are earning your salary,” she says, when Kara manages to turn around and fumble out of the video window. She’s smirking at Kara, as if she can read her mind - which is terrifying to think about, but probably possible. She should ask J’onn how to know when someone is reading your mind - if there’s a way to know at all.

“Well, I’m on my lunch break,” Kara says. She tries to grin as widely as possible. That had almost always distracted Ms. Grant from a lecture, but it becomes apparent that perhaps she hadn’t come down to the bullpen to terrify Kara into doing her work, because she waves her hand around in the air as though this detail is irrelevant.

“I have heard something extraordinary from James,” Cat says. Kara blinks, tries to imagine what that could possibly be, but thankfully, Cat keeps talking. “He told me that you’ve befriended Lena Luthor.”

Kara smiles at the mention of her best friend, and then frowns when Cat’s eyes widen in surprise, one hand coming to rest on Kara’s desk as she stares down at Kara.

“Um, yes?” Kara says. She is friends with Lena - she needs to call Lena, actually, about setting up dinner, she should write that down -

Before Kara can grab ahold of a post-it note, Cat snaps her fingers in front of Kara’s face.

“Kara Danvers,” Cat says, and she watches Kara some more as Kara blinks up at her boss.

“Yes,” Kara says. “That’s me.”

“Lena Luthor,” Cat says, now looking contemplative and crossing her arms. Kara feels like an auxiliary part of this conversation - Cat is clearly only interacting with herself at this point. So she subtly grabs ahold of her post-it note and writes down Lena’s name, drawing a little heart underneath her name so she remembers to call. When she looks back up from the pad of paper, Cat is staring down at it.

“Is there - something I can do for you, Ms. Grant?” Kara asks. Cat turns away without a word then, marching away from her desk, back toward her own office. Kara blinks, watching her walk away, then turns back to her desk, picks up her phone, calls Lena.

-

The next day, Kara wakes up to an avalanche of text messages and so many Twitter notifications that she thinks her phone might vibrate itself to death. When she gingerly starts to probe the root of the problem - maybe her new article about the shoe factory had somehow blown up? - she nearly breaks her phone when she sees the heart of the problem.

On Cruze Gossip’s main page, there’s a photo of her and Lena sitting outside on some rooftop patio, having drinks. It’s from last night, Kara’s sure of it - how had she not seen the photographer? Lena’s got her hand on Kara’s knee, laughing uproariously, and Kara is laughing at Lena, her arm resting on the back of the couch behind Lena. It’s a nice photo, one that Kara would consider framing and keeping for herself. But the caption beneath it hints at the real problem: Lena Luthor and girlfriend Kara Danvers enjoy dinner at Ringo.

Oh no.

-

At work, several people stare at her when she manages to wade through the crowd of reporters from other companies hanging around outside the CatCo entrance. The bullpen actually falls silent when she walks in, and Snapper yelps for her to get in his office. When she scrambles her way in, he looks at her with a look of such immense disappointment that she feels like she’s been sent backward in time.

“Gonna say this once, Danvers,” he says, rubbing his forehead. “You don’t sleep with the people you’re interviewing.”

“I’m not - no, Snapper - ” Kara says, but he throws his hand around in the air, as though he doesn’t have time to listen to Kara fumble around for an explanation.

“No more L Corp stories for you,” he says. “Get back to your transpo story.”

-

“I don’t understand,” Lena says, laughing as Kara rubs at her eyes. They’re in some restaurant, meeting for lunch that apparently valued privacy, according to Lena. “Why are you freaking out again?”

“Because people think - people think we’re dating,” Kara whispers, leaning so far across the table that she nearly gets her hair set on fire by the candle in the middle of the table. It can’t really catch on fire, but Lena looks concerned anyway, moving the candle out of Kara’s way.

“Yes,” Lena says, reaching for her glass of wine and taking a sip. She says nothing else.

“Well, we’re - we’re - ” Kara says, stumbling over the words as she watches Lena swallow her wine and raise an eyebrow at her.

“Isn’t Cruze Gossip owned by CatCo? The editor probably works in your building,” Lena suggests, setting the glass of wine on the table just as the waiter arrives with the three orders of fancy breadsticks they had ordered as an appetizer. Kara almost claps in excitement, and Lena laughs as she restrains herself from doing so. She barely waits for the waiter to walk away before she shoves one in her mouth, and it tastes so amazing -

“Oh my God, I love you,” Kara says, staring down at the basket of breadsticks on the table. Lena laughs then, even louder.

-

Kara Danvers proclaims love for girlfriend Lena Luthor in romantic lunch is the headline, barely three hours after she gets back to CatCo, toting another round of breadsticks to keep her well-fed while she finishes out her workday. Kara actually hears the alerts come through, looks up at the screens tracking high-ranking digital stories and their current hits to see the story with her name on it climbing in hits so fast that the screen can’t keep up.

“No!” Kara says, standing from her desk and looking around in the room for an ally. None of them will look her in the eye. So she leaves, eats a breadstick while she walks to the elevator, frantically pressing at the button for the floor labelled with Cruze Gossip, ignoring the sly looks of the other people in the elevator.

When she walks out of the elevator, Cat Grant is standing there, talking to a woman with a shock of green hair and a smile that turns sly when she turns to look at Kara.

“If it isn’t the star of the show,” she says. Kara frowns, crosses her arms, glares at this person.

“I’m not dating Lena Luthor,” she says, and then frowns some more, coming closer to look at the woman more closely. She recognizes her now - she’s the editor of Cruze, who Cat had roundly loved and demanded be sent the “nice” Christmas cards - Samantha Topper. “Can you - please stop?”

“Would you tell me if you were dating Lena Luthor?” Samantha asks, and Kara gapes at this woman.

“It’s no one’s business who I date - and I’m not dating her, and it’s - it’s slander,” Kara says.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s an attack on your character to claim you could be dating a hot CEO,” Samantha says, rolling her eyes.

“And Kiera, it would be libel,” Cat says, looking bored. “For the record.”

Kara groans, and stomps right back out of the Cruze offices.

-

“Is there a possibility that maybe you are actually dating Lena?” Alex asks. Kara’s eating a morose order of breadsticks, watching the television screen as the Cruze Newz details the salacious love affair of Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor. Apparently they had been introduced by Supergirl, and had fallen in love very quickly. They even had anonymous quotes from CatCo and LCorp employees detailing their various dates.

“I think I would know if I were dating Lena,” Kara scoffs, taking a vicious bite of the breadstick as footage comes up from the gala that the armed men had attacked. There she was, laughing with Lena as Lena touched her arm.

“I’m just saying,” Alex says. “You’re not great at social cues sometimes. You guys barely go a day without seeing each other. You don’t shut up about her. Last week, when you were drunk, you told me all about how you thought she was the prettiest girl alive and you apologized to me seven times for saying she was prettier than me.”

“I’m not - I don’t - I don’t even - “

“Right,” Alex says. “Just thought I’d put the possibility in the ether.”

“Lena doesn’t even like girls,” Kara says, shoving the rest of her breadstick in her mouth as Alex starts guffawing.

“I want you to remember this moment before you google Lena Luthor’s dating history later tonight.”

-

“Oh no,” Kara whispers, thumb hovering over a blurry photo of Lena kissing a woman in a beautiful dress at some event from four years ago.

-

Lena Luthor seen buying flowers in Midtown. Could they be for Kara Danvers?

She watches the story climb in hits, frowning unhappily until she spots the delivery man walking through the bullpen’s doors, carrying a beautiful bouquet of tulips adorned with a playful note that reads: For my once and forever girlfriend, complete with a drawing of a smiley face with its tongue stuck out.

-

They meet for dinner at a little bistro around the corner from LCorp, where Kara orders way too many crepes and Lena tells her all about her board meeting and how Jess had requested extra security be devoted to keeping reporters away from the front entrance.

“I’m sorry,” Kara says, reaching out across the small table and placing her hand on Lena’s. “I tried to talk to the editor, but she sort of hates me, I think.”

“It’s fine, Kara,” Lena says, smiling gently and genuinely, turning her hand palm up to grip Kara’s fingers. “I’ve been the subject of rumors my whole life. Being connected to you is by far one of the more flattering ones.”

“Right,” Kara says, watching her and Lena’s fingers lace together on the tabletop. “Right.”

“Did you ask how the editor even got on the story? We’ve been friends for much longer than these articles have been popping up,” Lena asks, reaching out with her fork to nab a bite of crepe off Kara’s plate. She lets Lena do it, and that’s how Kara knows - oh no, that’s how she knows. Alex is going to smirk so much.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?” Kara asks, leaning closer to Lena across their tiny table, gripping at her fingers as gently as possible. Lena blinks, and Kara watches as she nearly chokes on the crepe. But once she manages to swallow, she smiles, so prettily that Kara can’t help but grin back.

-

Nice! #Karlena caught kissing on the corner is the next headline, and Kara is grinning probably way too much as she’s kissing Lena in the photo, and she probably grins too much when she sees it roll across the boards in the office. There are some titters and a small noise of someone - Kara can’t place the voice - whispering nice one, Danvers.

“Don’t tell me you’ve come here to tell me to pull the article,” Samantha says, when Kara strolls into her office. “It’s real news.”

“I wanted to say thank you, actually,” Kara says, plopping a box of breadsticks on Samantha’s desk. Samantha leans back in her chair, looks up at Kara and squints before she shrugs, looking back down at her computer.

“Don’t thank me,” Samantha says. “I got a tip from someone.”

“Who?” Kara asks, mostly out of curiosity - she’ll have to order another box of breadsticks as a gift for that person, too.

“A reporter never reveals their sources,” Samantha says, waving her pen in the air before she picks out a breadstick from the box and starts eating it.

-

“Kiera,” Cat’s voice sounds from behind Kara, once again catching her doing something a little strange - this time, she’s texting Lena furiously, and she’s definitely on her lunch break, so she can’t be lectured, but Cat is talking more, uncaring about Kara’s squeak of surprise.

“I can only assume you’ll be attending the LCorp charity gala this weekend with your significant other,” Cat says. Kara nods, and Cat smiles then, a cheshire cat grin that fills all across her face.

“Good. I’ll see you there,” she says, and then she’s sauntering away. Kara watches her go, mostly confused, but then she hears a soft my work here is done and she can’t help but smile at Cat’s retreating form.

She turns back to the texting, and can’t shake the smile from her face for the rest of the day.

[gyrlversion]

I hope you drop dead in the next 100 yards: Remain marcher jeered

My husband took his dose of Remainer abuse cheerfully enough. After ten years in frontline politics, he accepts it as part of the job

With every passing day, the Brexit shambles more and more seems to resemble a half-built Ikea daybed.

It looks nothing like as enticing as it did in the showroom, none of the bits fit together as they are supposed to — and the chances of getting a good night’s sleep any time soon are distinctly unlikely.

Joking apart, whether you voted Leave or Remain, the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that Brexit is driving us all bonkers.

It’s got to the point where most people don’t care what happens — they just want it to stop. And who can blame them?

I sincerely hope Parliament manages to do this, either by approving Theresa May’s deal at the third attempt or by some other means. But whatever the final outcome, one thing is certain: we have to change the tone of our national conversation.

The process of trying to exit the EU has done more than simply underline the intransigence of Brussels; it has also exposed fundamental flaws in our own political system.

In particular, the way certain individuals may have seen Brexit as an opportunity to further their own ambitions, to manipulate perceptions, to capitalise on the difficulties of obtaining a deal, to attack rivals and thrust themselves into the limelight.

There are examples on both sides, from the shocking case of Remain MP Anna Soubry, who can no longer return home because of death threats, to the experience of my husband Michael Gove this weekend when, walking back from a meeting in London, he came across a People’s Vote marcher

It’s understandable the voters should feel frustrated. But there is something about the level of vitriol our politicians face that goes beyond an expression of dissatisfaction — and shades into something more sinister.

There are examples on both sides, from the shocking case of Remain MP Anna Soubry, who can no longer return home because of death threats, to the experience of my husband Michael Gove this weekend when, walking back from a meeting in London, he came across a People’s Vote marcher.

‘I hope you drop dead in the next 100 yards,’ the man shouted, to the delight of his companions. And when I then observed, in a tweet, that any Leave voter was at risk of being ‘lynched’ by furious Remainers, I was subject to so much online abuse I was forced to turn off my notifications. Ironically, I was reported to Twitter for using offensive language.

My husband took his dose of Remainer abuse cheerfully enough. After ten years in frontline politics, he accepts it as part of the job. But it’s undoubtedly getting worse.

Death threats and intimidation are now the norm. And while very few people ever follow through, it only takes one nutter. None of us will ever forget MP Jo Cox, whose murder remains one of the great tragedies of our times.

But even if no blow is ever struck, the long-term repercussions of such a siege mentality can leave lasting wounds. I know how being the object of constant low-level hostility can deplete one’s capacity for resilience and ultimately lead to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

And if I feel like that, God knows how someone like Labour MP Luciana Berger — who has suffered a torrent of anti-Semitic abuse — or Anna Soubry cope.

There’s no doubt this rise in abusive behaviour is part of the reason Parliament is so paralysed by Brexit. They are terrified of what might happen to them if they get it wrong.

The result is a House of Commons that is exhausted at a time when, more than ever, we need MPs to be fighting fit and focused 100 per cent on the job in hand.

Of course, politics is by its nature passionate, and no modern debate has elicited quite as much passion as Brexit. But it’s one thing to care deeply about something; quite another to use it as a legitimate excuse for abuse, hatred and the threat of violence.

The sooner this chapter in our history draws to a close, the sooner we can begin to repair the rifts and divisions.

I just hope that it’s not too late.

Car hire firms run out of credit 

Yet another brilliant Mail campaign pays off: the regulator has ruled that car hire firms abroad will no longer be able to rip off customers with hidden fees. But they’ve got another scam under the bonnet. If you book and pay online using a debit card (as I do), when you pick it up they will not release the car unless you have a valid credit card (which I do not).

The upshot is that the only way to obtain your car is to pay for the hire firm’s own insurance — even if you have already taken it out through a third-party broker. Either way, car hire companies fleece everyone. Plus ca change.

It pains me to admit it, but I am one of those tipsy women shoppers making headlines, who, after a couple of glasses of wine on the sofa, ends up online buying their 427th handbag. Of course, there’s the risk that, under the influence of a chilled white, one might splash out a little too much. But there’s always free returns. Cheers!

It’s a subject that divides families, comes between spouses and has, in the past week, been the subject of much online debate. Not Brexit, but crisps.

On Sunday night, Channel 5 set out to find the nation’s favourite — and concluded it was a toss-up between Pringles, Walkers and Doritos.

But the matter is far from settled, with many contesting the result of the referendum. Sorry, survey. I think the results say more about Channel 5’s viewers than the crisps. Had it been Radio 4, the winner would have been those truffle ones you get in M&S which cost a fortune.

Channel 4 would have chosen something artisan and free-trade. BBC2? Tyrrell’s, for sure.

As for me, I can’t resist a Wotsit. No idea what that makes me. Fat, probably.

Full Marks from me

Anti-obesity campaigners say High Street shops are posing a risk to ‘public health’ by using vanity sizing to lure customers, and kidding them into thinking they’re not as tubby as they really are. Apparently, even Marks & Spencer is at it.

Maybe — but so what? There are so few genuine pleasures left in life these days, are they really going to take this last one — the joy of presenting a size 14 at the till instead of a 16, or noisily requesting ‘a smaller size’ in the changing room — away from us, too?

Former Spice Girl Mel B is desperate for one last hurrah. But her latest revelation, that she and Geri Halliwell had a Sapphic encounter, has backfired, since Geri is now reportedly reluctant to extend the band’s lucrative reunion tour. The irony is that Mel B badly needs the tour for financial reasons.

If she’s not careful she’ll end up like Katie Price: flogging the depths of her soul in exchange for ever-scanter rewards.

A rather sour Apple 

After posting a snap with her 14-year-old, Apple, on Instagram, Gwyneth Paltrow was told off in no uncertain terms. ‘Mom, we have discussed this. You may not post anything without my consent’

It’s a relief to discover that even such super-soignee celebrities as Gwyneth Paltrow are cut down to size by their teenage daughters.

After posting a snap with her 14-year-old, Apple, on Instagram, Paltrow was told off in no uncertain terms. ‘Mom, we have discussed this. You may not post anything without my consent.’

Impressive — and, believe me, a lot more politely expressed than what own my daughter says if I so much as come within ten yards of her with my camera.

Emily Maitlis, the new lead presenter of Newsnight, struck a chord with me when she said: ‘I weep after interviews.’ Some people interpret this as a sign of weakness, but it is actually a tremendous strength because it shows that as well as having a mind like a steel trap, Emily also possesses a degree of empathy.

You get a far better insight into people by treating them as humans than you do from barking at them à la Jeremy Paxman.

25 years on Liz wears its swell 

I think Liz Hurley wears it rather better now than she did back then. Sure, the face and body were more youthful in the first version, but there is something about the assuredness and life experience of the older woman that trumps the bloom of youth

It’s not quite the same — the safety pins are in strategically different places — but there is no mistaking the look: 25 years after she stepped out in ‘that’ dress, Liz Hurley proves, in the new Harper’s Bazaar, that age is no barrier to glamour.

Actually, I think she wears it rather better now than she did back then. Sure, the face and body were more youthful in the first version, but there is something about the assuredness and life experience of the older woman that trumps the bloom of youth.

I certainly know which one I would rather sit next to at dinner, anyway.

The post I hope you drop dead in the next 100 yards: Remain marcher jeered appeared first on Gyrlversion.

from WordPress https://www.gyrlversion.net/i-hope-you-drop-dead-in-the-next-100-yards-remain-marcher-jeered/