I can't be bothered to use real awards in this story. So for this chapter, it will be dedicated to the Big Screen & Small Screen Entertainment Awards and others and the next chapter will be dedicated to the National Music Accolades and others. Also, we get a little Adelaide Kane reference if you watch her YouTube channel ;).
She wears a yellow dress. Her stylist had wanted her to stand out and she more than certainly stands out with her lemon bright sleeveless dress that has a train. The train has feathers and she wears gold, strappy heels pulled together with a matching gold clutch.
Her hair is loose and wavy over her shoulders, her makeup is neutral and she wears a nude lipstick colour that makes her even more kissable to Francis who craves a kiss that she teasingly avoids.
"You'll ruin my makeup before it's set," she says, using his hand to get off the stylist chair.
They've hired some for the night for the big awards night in London and they will fly out for the one in LA and then in New York where he'll also have his first music awards. It's very well planned and organised. The last awards show is a blend of music and the TV/film industry in France and they have been nominated multiple times.
After the stylists leave, they wait in the foyer of their home, waiting for their limo for the night.
Francis smiles, watching Mary look out the window, the sun hitting her raven hair perfectly in a warm glow. "Alexa, play 'Thinking Out Loud'."
Mary turns to him in surprise as he extends a hand. She takes it, chuckling as he spins her into his chest, the two swaying side to side. "Such a romantic," she mumbles, resting her cheek against his chest now that her makeup has set and won't transfer.
"Ed Sheeran has saved many relationships," he replies teasingly. "You look beautiful, I can barely take my hands off you."
"I can tell. Keep your hands on the north side of the equator, Monsieur," she tells him with a laugh when his hand removes from her arse to her lower back. "Good boy."
He tuts, leaning close to her ear. "You won't be saying that later on when I take this dress off you."
"How presumptuous!"
"What do you mean?" He almost whines out.
"We might go to an afterparty, Kenna has been schmoozing," Mary informs him. "Then an after-afterparty at Kenna and Bash's place. Then we might get home late and I'll be worn out-"
The doorbell rings and Francis scowls but presses a sweet kiss on her lips.
"Tomorrow morning, we're spending the day in bed," he tells her before telling Alexa to turn off and taking Mary towards the door.
"As long as we don't miss our flight out," she replies, squeezing his hand.
...
"...and those are the nominations for the Small Screen Supporting Actress Award," the host says before the co-host continues on.
"And the winner is... Mary Stuart of Spy of Hearts!"
Mary's eyes widen in surprise before Francis leans to the side to kiss her cheek as Kenna taps her shoulder to get up and grab her award in excitement. She laughs, hugging Kenna tightly before hugging Francis and then fist-bumping Bash as she can't reach him over Kenna.
She stands, leaving her clutch with Francis and lifting the bottom of her skirt to make her way over to the stage to collect her award for her part in SoH. She feels like a princess as everyone applauds her, other actors, actresses and the like clapping even harder when she passes them with a blush on her cheeks.
She's been an actress for a good few years and she's only ever been nominated for high-end awards although won a few low-end awards when she was starting out in UK soaps. This is her first-ever high-end award.
Reaching the hosts, she graciously accepts her award and is ushered to the mic to make her acceptance speech.
"'Ello, ladies and gentlegerms," she says, which makes everyone chuckle and smile at her greeting. She looks down at her shiny, clear award. "I really wasn't expecting this award. I want to thank the wonderful cast and crew of Spy of Hearts, especially Kenna Beaton and Louis Bourbon..." It's strange that since he's found out he's becoming a father, he's switched to his father's surname and dropped 'Condé'. "You both made me so welcome and supported me into bringing my character alive. I also want to thank the director, Michael for not getting too annoyed whenever I was not at my best. You're a great guy. Most of all, I want to thank my wonderful boyfriend who turned up on set with me to ease my anxiety of starting a new job, meeting new people and just being there as my lowkey cheerleader. Francis, you've brought a lot of joy and happiness into my life, you've made me jump into the deep end, proving to be successful in doing that... You've been an inspiration to me and I love you and thank you so much from the bottom of my heart." She grins when he blushes, shying away as Kenna reaches across to squeeze his arm as he pats her hand. "I also want to thank the fans for loving me and my character, I love them too." She laughs.
She gives the hosts hugs and waves as she exits off the stage, applause ringing in her ears.
After the ten minute break, she's back in her seat, award resting on her lap as Francis continues to hold onto her clutch. She leans into Kenna's side when the camera draws to them and she giggles at a joke her best friend's told her before letting Francis in on it, a smile gracing his face as he presses a kiss on her cheek.
"...and those are the nominations for the Small Screen Lead Actress Award."
"The winner is Kenna Beaton of Spy of Hearts!"
Mary hugs Kenna tightly, whispering into her ear, "You deserve this. Don't worry about anything else, you are amazing and I love you."
Kenna pulls away, cupping her cheek. "Love you too," she whispers before accepting a hug and kiss from Bash and as she passes Francis, she leans down to hug him too.
Kenna's speech is bittersweet as she explains what happened to her in little detail and she thanks everyone from Bash, Mary, Francis to the cast and crew of her hit show. She keeps it short and sweet and emotional, leaving the stage as everyone gives her a standing ovation.
It's a great night for Spy of Hearts, also winning awards for best Small Screen Director and Best Small Screen Ensemble and also best on-screen romance which was a difficult pick between Kenna's character and another character and Mary's character and Louis' character. She and Louis won much to Kenna's amusement.
Francis decides to join her for the afterparty and the after-afterparty afterwards.
...
"I can't believe you made us almost miss our flight," Mary breathes out as she calms her heart down from having to leg it through Heathrow with Francis.
They've packed light luckily but got stuck at security checks because of her bra strap and then their gate was all the way on the other side, Francis having to bribe a cart rider to drive them down at least with a quarter of the way left as an elderly couple were also expecting to get to their departure gate too.
"Sorry I couldn't resist whatever you were doing to me," he quips. "It's your fault."
"You shouldn't have wanted it to last, stupid," Mary retorts lightly, putting her belt on as he does the same.
Francis blushes. "What can I say? I was thoroughly enjoying it."
"Complimentary champagne?" The flight attendant asks them.
Mary nods. "And water, please," she tells her as she settles back into her First Class seat.
She gratefully takes the glass and bottle of water, forgoing the glass to down half the bottle as Francis chuckles, sipping his champagne. She gives him a light glare, thinking how much she needs to go to the gym as he's been doing pretty well in their home gym as he doesn't need to leave the house for work.
When the attendant leaves, Francis takes her hand and says, "My father is going to be in Los Angeles."
"Oh," she says. "For what reason?"
"Business," Francis mutters. "He found out that we'd be in town and made a reservation at one of his friends' restaurant. He wishes to spend time getting to know you and Kenna better."
Mary nods. "That's fine," she replies, wondering how Kenna and Bash are getting on with their own flight. They decided to accept Francis's family's jet for privacy when deciding details of their wedding but Mary and Francis swung for a normal flight as they weren't picky or in need of privacy.
"There won't be any pressure," he assures her. "It will probably mostly be diverted towards Bash and Kenna's wedding plans because they're obviously having it at home in France..." He bites his lip. "If we got married one day, where would you want to do it?"
Mary turns to him in surprise before smiling widely. "Scotland. I've always been more in tune with my Scottish roots, my mother made sure of that. She wanted me to remember who I am, who my father was so she never stopped me from seeing my father's side of the family. They're all still friendly with each other and I'm happy about that." Then she grips his hand a little tighter when the attendant announces that they will be in the air soon. "There is this chapel near my family's home. It's small, peaceful and it has the most stunning stained glass pieces you've ever seen. I remember being a little girl and, whenever it got close to Dad's anniversary, my mum would take me and my brother there and we'd just sit. It was the chapel they met in and... we felt him."
Francis presses a kiss on the back of her hand. "Scotland it is," he promises her. "No matter when we'll have that chapel and your father will be there."
Mary sniffles, wanting to hug him but they can't as the plane starts to move. "I love you."
"I love you too," he replies, pressing a kiss onto her lips.
...
Even though she hadn't won any awards in this awards show, she was nominated multiple times and she was just glad to be a part for it with meaningful roles instead of her typecast roles that barely got her any awards other than nominations for Best On-Screen Couple.
She's now tired of getting dolled up and paraded about and she welcomes the dinner date with Henry, Kenna and Bash with open arms, relieved to have a night off from being in the limelight with family.
"Order whatever you want. It's on the house," Henry says with a coy smirk as he winks at his friend who is the chef of the place.
Mary scoffs lightly, smiling as she glances down at the menu and peeks over at Francis's page. "Really?"
"I'm French, what did you expect?" Francis replies lightly as he places his menu down. It's a French restaurant but it has fusion meals as well as native dishes. He whispers into Bash's ear what he ordered, making his brother smirk as he nods, placing his menu down.
"I'll have what you're having."
"What are they having?" Kenna asks, her brows furrowing as she continues to scan her menu.
Francis grins. "Frogs' legs and snails."
"Oh!" Kenna cries out, gagging as she turns to Bash. "I won't kiss you if you eat that."
Bash rolls his eyes. "You've kissed me many times after I've eaten that," he replies, making her eyes widen in horror.
"I think I'll stick to the duck," Mary cuts in, laughing. "But I wouldn't be opposed to trying frogs' legs and snails. My mother has always tried to coax me into eating them whenever we went to visit family in France but I kept rejecting her offer."
"Guess you needed a boyfriend to get you there," Francis says, kissing her cheek as she beams happily.
Mary turns to him. "Guess I did."
Halfway through their meal, their conversation switches onto the topic of her and Francis and Mary blushes as she meets Henry's eyes.
"You seem very well-matched," Henry is saying as Francis stops, hovering his snail mid-air. "You're from a very good family. You've been raised well and you make my son happy. Bearing in mind, he's always been an edgy, little man. Is that the word? Edgy?"
"Papa," Francis mumbles.
Henry chuckles, sharing a glance with Bash. "His teenage years were difficult. Many horrible choices regarding girlfriends. You are one I can actually breathe easier with."
"Phew," Francis mutters.
"Because his first ex-girlfriend, Dana-"
"Okay, Dad, that's enough wine for you," Francis says, taking his father's glass away from him with a warning glance.
Henry grins. "You're too easy," he says, culling a waiter for another wine glass.
"But honestly," Bash begins. "We're glad he met you. You've been exactly the kind of woman he needs in his life and when you have your first child, name it after me."
Mary laughs as Francis groans, covering his face. "Only if you name your first child after me," she retorts, sharing a mock handshake with Bash.
"Bash!" Kenna cries out, laughing.
"We can be evil parents, my love," he tells his fiancée. "If we name our future son 'Mary'. Because we'll totally have a son first."
"How about 'Maurice'?" Kenna ponders.
"That's awful!" Mary cries out.
Bash sighs, tutting. "Guess we can't name our kid after you then."
Francis rolls his eyes playfully, downing his wine. "You guys are so weird."
"But you love us," Mary says, kissing his cheek before the conversation shifts to the wedding planning.