Four Times Ant and Dec Were Mistaken For A Couple, And One Time They Weren't

Chapter 5

They're sitting outside, on a bench, in a garden, at Stephen Mulhern's birthday party of all places. With Takeaway and BGT and everything going on, it feels like ages since they've been alone together.

His eyes flicker over Dec's face as he slumps in his seat, drawing a line across Dec's forearm with his thumb. He hasn't noticed it, staring off somewhere into the distance, looking as gorgeous as ever, Ant's mind helpfully supplies.

He does look good, though. Bloody fairy lights make everything look good these days. His thumb goes down lower, now stroking over his knuckles, and he bends down to press a soft kiss to the back of his hand.

Dec turns now, looking at him curiously. Ant says nothing, just smiling as he rests his chin on Dec's shoulder, looking up at him through his eyelashes. He inches closer, just slightly, near enough that he could bite Dec's earlobe now if he wanted to. He doesn't do that, though, just nuzzles closer, lips softly brushing over his neck.
Declan shivers at that, turning again to look at Ant, silently questioning. And well...Ant doesn't really know what he's doing either, so he just shrugs, going back to lightly kissing Dec's neck.
He moves a little closer, and he can smell him now, safe, comfortable and oh-so familiar.

He doesn't know how they got to this point; when they crossed the line from just mates, to....whatever they had now. It was almost like, the more time they spent together, the older they grew, the more they just- wanted each other. He'd never really thought about the two of them growing old together, but now that they actually were, it felt like the only thing he'd ever wanted.

He looks over at Dec, whose eyes are now closed, breathing softly, his head slumping slightly forward. He straightens up a little, letting Dec's head rest on his shoulder, looking up at the sky and shivering slightly at the cool breeze.

He suddenly feels like a teenager in love, full of newfound happiness and hopes and dreams, and bright futures full of of love and laughter. He almost wants to cry because the euphoria he experiences at that moment is like no other. Having Dec near him like this, peaceful and happy and comfortable is just all he ever wants.

"Awww."

Ant looks over his shoulder to see Stephen walking over, looking endeared and amused at the sight of them.

"You guys just have the sweetest friendship, you know."

Ant's eyes flicker over Declan's sleeping form, smiling fondly at him, and then looking back at Stephen, chuckling lightly.

"Happy Birthday, Stephen."

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