Things that belong together

Hiya, this is the last part of this fic. I'm really glad for the support I got and hope that you liked it. I apologize once again for my mistakes, sometimes I overread them or just don't see them, but well. Stay safe! Lots of Love, HH

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"Now hold up a damn second..."

Ant turned around. Stephen stood behind him and raised and eyebrow now. "You better come on-stage with me once again", he said, his voice gentle but firm. A confused whisper went through the audience and Ant also seemed to be completely taken aback. "Would you mind telling me what this is all about?", he asked his friend, who just shook his head. He seemed deeply disappointed.

Standing back on the stage again, Stephen leaned into the mic. "Ant. Ant, I'm quite sorry to say that now..." Ant felt his heart drop. Dec! This had to be about Dec. What was Stephen going to tell him? Had Dec been worse? The MRI today... had his internal bleeding increased? Was he... Ant couldn't finish this thought. He barely even noticed that his hands started to shake and his legs became wobbly. All he noticed was how his breathing started to get harder and harder, he couldn't get enough air inside his lungs, it was as if someone would squeeze the oxygen out again right after it had entered.

Stephen also seemed to notice his friends troubles now and interrupted himself. Leaving the mic be and turning to Ant, he placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Whoa, mate, calm down! Nothing's wrong, Ant, you need to calm down, okay?" Ant managed to open his eyes. "Dec... is he... what is..." Stephen smiled softly. "Don't worry, Ant. Dec is alright, really. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shock you like that." Ant closed his eyes and nodded than. "Alright, sorry, go on." He waved over to the mic.

The audience, who hadn't heard the dialogue between the two, was extremely worried now, muted gasps and whispers were sprawling around and Stephen had to speak up a bit to get the attention back on him. "Hey, hey, folks! Folks. What I was going to say was... Ant, I'm deeply disappointed in you."

If you had filmed it from above, the sight of the following actions would be pretty funny. Every, absolutely every head in the room turned to their seat-neighbour before turning to Ant, staring at him with big, asking eyes. The question What has he done? lingered in the air as if someone had spoken it aloud. To their massive surprise, Stephen smiled slightly. He turned to Ant, speaking up: "You know, I'm not the cleverest man on earth." Ant interrupted immediately: "Yeah, that's right." Stephen opened his mouth, glaring at Ant. The audience chuckled. Stephen shook his head. "Alright, okay! That's unbelivable! But what I was going to say - even though I mightn't be the cleverest guy in the world - no, shut up now! - I've realized something. You know, there are things in the world, that simply... they belong together, you know? Like... scones and marmelade. Or... christmas and a tree. You know? Things that you simply have to have together." Some people in the audience seemed to realize what Stephen was trying to say and started whispering excitedly. Ant, however, was completely clueless. "Yeah, alright Stephen, I got it, but why the heck are you telling me that? Where does that lead to?"

He was exhausted. He was completely shattered, tired and scared. All he wanted was to go home, or better, to visit Dec and then go home. This night had taken the last of him. He hadn't got any strength anymore. But Stephen couldn't be disturbed. Calmly, he went on: "Well, you can't have scones without marmelade or sandwiches without cheese. (Some people protested at this point), and that's why I'm so disappointed. Because I payed to see Ant and Dec receiving an award and I didn't get the whole thing! You do agree, don't you? That you simply can't have Ant without Dec?"

The audience cheered and Ant felt tears starting to sting in his eyes. Of course you couldn't have Ant without Dec. He hated every day of being without him. He needed him. No one knew that better than he himself. He turned to Stephen, a questioning look on his face, but his friend was busy typing on his phone. "Stephen!", Ant hissed. They were life on the telly after all! But Stephen just grinned and looked up again. "So, folks, you simply can't have Ant without Dec, can you? And that's why..." He handed Ant his phone.