It's in the little things: One-shots x2

From The Ground Up

This one is specifically for Tentenjoanne- she inspired not only this one-shot but my new love for Dan+ Shay and pretty much everything else in my life! Shout out to you friend! You've been my absolute rock over the last few weeks and I hope you enjoy this! I recommend you listen to "From the ground up"- by Dan + Shay whilst reading this If you can and also check out the insane edit made by our one and only Tentenjoanne.💚

Dianne's POV:

Sixty-five years.

Sixty-five years my Nana and Pops have been together, just wow! To a younger version of me, that seems like a long time to spend with just one person, in one house and I could never really imagine myself in that sort of situation- the babies I could always see but wild-child Dianne didn't have a plan for a husband or marriage; she didn't need it. In the thirty years that I have been in their lives, they have taught me a series of essential life lessons beginning with simple tasks like dishwashing, to the importance of giving your everything to what you enjoy and most recently, how to love and be loved by a genuine, kind and caring man. Every day, Pops writes a note for Nana, leaving it somewhere that she will easily find it, as a little reminder of just how much he loves her, even after sixty-five years of marriage, moving country and many, many children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren!

They taught me how to build my love for Joseph, from the ground up.

From those very early days of Strictly, when our lives were full of stress, sweat and an genuine friendship, I knew Joseph was special in more ways than one. Dealing with a messy breakup on my behalf, conquering nerves for him and learning to appreciate the mysterious way in which the world draws a small-town Australian girl to a quiet West- country British boy and creates what is arguably a fairytale romance.

But it didn't stop there, of course it didn't. Our Strictly journey will always form the foundation of our relationship, from 2018 finalists, to 2019 live tour winners and receiving that perfect score on the Christmas Special 2019 but much to my surprise, we kept dancing after it all and still finished every night with a goodnight kiss. We built our relationship from the ground up, going on to headline our own major show over Easter 2020 across the UK, developing both of our YouTube careers and our joint channel, which has branched out from cooking to now include home improvements, DIY projects and family life content. Yes, family content, because in 2022, Joseph and I welcomed our first child into this world; We didn't plan the pregnancy but one thing led to another and following the discovery, several emotional moments and eight and a half long months, we were blessed with the most perfect daughter. Her birth definitely marked the turning point in our relationship; it wasn't easy or smooth sailing but Joe stood by me through it all, holding my hand, leg or hair, depending on what i needed. When she arrived, screaming and announcing her place in our lives, she had ten perfect fingers and ten little toes and all six pounds, four ounces of her was perfect. From that moment on, we started building our family, from the ground up.

Bringing her home, to our Brighton house was easily the most terrifying experience of our shared life but soon our tiny bundle outgrew that little painted pink room, stretching and becoming the young woman we dreamed she would be. Hayden Blake Sugg is a carbon copy of my Joseph (Thankfully) and has grown to be the most placid, beautiful girl with his sandy coloured hair bright blue eyes and endless talent within the arts, choosing to focus on her painting and singing. With child like Hayden? The word "No" doesn't tend to exist, especially when it comes to Joseph; much like myself, she has the most beautiful bond with both her Dad and her Pops (both Graham and Mark). I can only dream that she will, one day, find the love I found in Joseph, that we can inspire her the way in which Nana and Pops inspired me.

To build her own relationships, from the ground up.

Joe's POV:

From the beginning of our relationship, I have always wanted to make Dot proud, which then developed into making her Dad proud, proving to him that I could look after his only girl. I will never forget the first "man-to-man" chat I had with Mark, on the balcony of Chewton Glen; where I promised for the first time, to love and care for his daughter forever and he eased my anxious mind with just five simple words..."welcome to the family, son." I didn't know it then but six months later, I would be on an Australian beach, spending Christmas with Dianne and her family and Mark would pull me aside once again, questioning my intentions for his daughter. In this moment, I would confess my love for Dot once again, seeking permission to ask her to become my wife in the near future and being met with a proud, yet tearful, fatherly hug when I received Mark's blessing-Furthered when I visited Dianne's Pops and Nana, who had been together for sixty-five years and were still going strong, their love evident and undeniable; I can clearly see where Dianne found her passion and romanticism. On the very day of our wedding, Mark cornered me once again but this time he simply placed one hand on my shoulder, thanking me for being the man he hoped I could be.

The year passed and our relationship grew from strength to strength, new ideas coming from the ground up as we explored married life, quieter months and less work burden's whilst cherishing every loving moment we could. With a break in our crazy schedules, it was no real surprise when we discovered that Dot was carrying our first child: unplanned but not surprising. Despite her perfect health, Dianne did struggle through the first pregnancy; morning sickness to begin with, tiredness, anemia, low blood pressure and low moods, all of which led to the arrival of our beautiful daughter a few weeks early and a very difficult labour. At 35 weeks and two days, Dianne's waters broke, she caught an infection and fevered for days, meaning she was admitted under constant supervision to the hospital and added to her growing fears and dark mood. The anxieties continued to build as her labour began, becoming established at 35weeks and five days- arguably too early for our child to grace the earth. Active labour for 16 hours, brought us to 35weeks and 6 days, when Hayden Blake Sugg entered our lives, fighting and screaming and perfectly healthy. Despite ending in sunshine, those months proved that despite the clouds rolling and skies shaking, I would stand by Dianne (and now our daughter), through the good and the bad, from the ground up.

This experience did not end our family though, If anything it strengthened us as a family and 18months after Hayden's birth, we welcomed our son; Finley Everett Sugg. Overall, Dot had a much more positive pregnancy this time, no issues, health problems and she carried to 40weeks and 3 days, with a relatively easy labour of 3 hours and 27minutes ( as far as labour could be easy, honestly, my wife is wonderwoman). Our son proved to be the image of Dianne, with honey eyes and honey blond hair, fiercely passionate, fiery and determined to be the best he could be, choosing to dance in his spare time but practice medicine as a career. So our family was completed, with a daughter and a son and the home that we built, from the ground up.

None of it was easy though, don't get me wrong: there have been more moments where I thought it was over than I care to admit, even now. From that stressful samba week way back during our strictly days, to the pressures of hectic schedules with little down time, the strain we felt being away from each other for weeks on end, to Dianne's difficult pregnancy and the days in which we felt totally helpless and unable to reach the other person. But as Dot reminds me, even now, there can't be a rainbow connection, without some rain first. So when those clouds rolled in and the skies shake, regardless of how dark it may get, we will always have each other to rely on, forever and always.

Founded on a relationship that Dotty knew, a sixty-five year love story between two amazing people, our very own relationship blossomed and grew into our own love story. For sixty-five years, I have loved Dianne Sugg and I will continue to love her for as many more as I can. Each night, we end the day with a goodnight kiss and say those three words; I love you. Glancing over at my wife, sat in her chair by the window, in our house in Brighton, as she watches our grandchildren and great-grandchildren play on the grass, that familiar flood of love washes over me again. Our daughter is in the kitchen, cooking up a feast with her faithful husband, whilst our son sits by his mother's feet, cradling his youngest daughter and relaxing under his mother's familiar touch. As the scenes continue to unfold around us, my eldest grandchild, Emilia, sits on the arm of my chair and sighs, before asking a question that truly makes me smile. "Grandad? How did you know you were in love with Nanny? I'm 23 and I think he is the one but I've watched the way you love Nanny all my life, what's your secret? How do you do it? I want a love like yours, Grandad." She finishes, staring at her lock screen- a simple picture of her, gazing into said boyfriends eyes like there is no one else in her world. Offering her a soft smile, I give the best advice I can.

Build this love, from the ground up.

For worse or for better

And I will be all you need

Beside you I'll stand, through the good and the bad

We'll give it all that we have

And we'll build this love, from the ground up

From the ground up.