It takes two

Chapter ten

"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.