I'm also thinking of continuing this fic too and turning it into some wild out-of-control love story where they really get to know each other and fall in love with each other and dine in fancy London restaurants, drink in the highest class of London bars, spend days desperate to see one another without the intrusion of the press or public eye, hiding in the back of overly expensive coffee shops, walks in the middle of nowhere, stupidly expensive gifts for her, nights unable to get enough of each other in his gorgeous London apartment and finally realising that they just cannot be without each other... did I just basically explain the pretty woman plot? idk man just imagine living your fancy London dream with Benedict on your arm
A/N: This is just something that has been stuck in my brain all week, and I had to get it out in order to move on with my requests...
If you haven't watched the Graham Norton Show, I highly recommend you do because it is gold, especially the episodes featuring Ben seriously go watch it
In any case, let me know what you think and wether or not I should write a part two... ;D
Summary: the reader and Benedict have been dating for a while, and she goes to the Graham Norton Show to promote a movie when she's presented with the most pleasant surprise...
Word count: 2347
Warnings: none
[Part 2] [Part 3]
"And without further ado, please welcome to the stage our first guest of the night, Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N)!"
You heard your name being announced, followed by the loud cheers coming from the other room, and tried to ignore the anxiousness churning in your stomach. Your hands went to smooth out the already unwrinkled fabric of your skirt, and you checked yourself in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was in place.
God, you were so not ready for this.
Your feet carried you up the few steps that separated you from the crowd, and your eyes were momentarily blinded by the bright lights of the stage as you could only listen to the clapping and screaming coming from the audience.
You were really doing this... you were in the Graham Norton Show, and those people were clapping for you.
"Ah, there she is. Come up here!" Graham Norton himself was standing a few feet away from you with his trademark cheeky smile on his face, and you mimicked his expression, climbing the few steps to get to where he was.
"Well, hello there, sir," you said playfully, hugging him before he motioned for you to sit in the long red couch.
Your stomach leaped as you saw the packed audience in front of you, and you thought you might just faint at the prospect of so many people watching you, so you looked at Graham instead.
"So, (Y/N), this is actually your first time on the show!" Graham said with an easygoing tone to his voice, and you immediately felt more relaxed.
"Actually, this is my first talk show like... ever," you answered, and he gasped with a raise of his eyebrows.
Graham smiled. "Well, it's an honour to have you here with us," he sat more comfortably on his chair. "But do tell me, how does it feel to be nominated for best supporting actress at the Oscars at such a young age?" He asked, and you had to think about your answer.
Fame wasn't really something you thought you'd grow used to. You'd never even imagined you'd one day become recognized in the acting industry, let alone be nominated for such an important category at the Academy Awards or be invited to one of Britain's most well known talk shows.
You'd always wanted to be successful in Hollywood, that was for sure, but the thought that you'd actually made it was still completely overwhelming. You'd stared in plenty of small productions before, from TV commercials to national soap operas, but it wasn't until you were cast to play the lead role in a pretty large Hollywood production that you actually became known in the world of celebrities.
"Honestly? I have literally no idea how this happened," you chuckled along with Graham, feeling some of your anxiousness fade away. "One minute I was doing small jobs here and there, and the next I was walking red carpets and all that sort of stuff," you answered truthfully. "I think not even my family thought I'd make it this far," you joked.
"Well none of us did," he countered playfully, and the audience laughed with you. Once the laughter had died down, Graham eyed you seriously. "Well, and since we're talking about family, a little bird told me you've been seeing a certain someone..." he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and you felt the blood rush to your cheeks.
Trust the mention of him to get you all worked up.
"Oh, did it?" you asked, a small smile on your lips as you looked at the floor, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear shyly.
Graham laughed his characteristic laugh, and you couldn't contain your own grin from spreading. "Tell me, (Y/N), how are things with Benedict?" As soon as his name left his lips, you felt your heart do a little loop inside your chest. You were sure you were blushing furiously now, but there was no use trying to hide it. The both of you had gone public with your relationship a few weeks earlier, after all.
The truth was Benedict and you had known each other for quite a while. You'd met at a play you both starred in together; an adaptation of one of Shakespeare's works. There had been an instant connection between you two, and you'd become friends right away.
He'd been dating at the time, so you'd known there was no chance of romance between you two even though there was something about him that made your insides melt; something oddly unique about the way he held himself that made you a complete mess around him.
For the two years that you'd been friends, that was strictly what you were. Until, that is, he decided to take a step further.
You remembered the night he confessed everything to you. His girlfriend had been out of the picture for a while, but you'd never even considered the possibility that he could also harbor any feelings for you, so when he'd spilled it all out after having a couple glasses of wine, you had been shocked to say the least.
There was something very Benedict about the way he'd stuttered, clearly trying to choose the best words to say to you that would convey what he was feeling. You'd sat on his couch the whole while, trying not to smile; dying to take him by the collar and just kiss him senseless, and that had been exactly what you'd done - after waiting for him to finish, of course, because that moment was just too precious for you to ruin; you wanted to remember it for the rest of your existence.
"Well, Graham," you began, because honestly, things were actually pretty great between you two. Much, much more than great, if you had a say in it. "We're doing fine..." you answered as shortly as you could while adverting his eyes, and Graham chuckled, his eyes glinting mischievously.
"Ah, fine, yes," he said almost absentmindedly, his fingers drumming on the armrests of his chair. "You know, I actually have some pictures here to show the audience what 'fine' actually means, if you don't mind," Graham said with a little laugh, and you closed your eyes with a shake of your head.
"Oh, god..." you groaned, and prepared yourself for the worst.
Graham pointed to a screen near you, an image of you and Benedict popping up immediately. "So here we have you and your boyfriend at the British Independent Movie Awards, and you're, uh... sitting on his lap. I guess they'd run out of chairs, right? That was probably it," he said jokingly and you face palmed, because you were in fact sitting on Benedict's lap, his hands placed on your ribs dangerously close to your cleavage and his mouth almost touching the shell of your ear. There were whistles and shouting in the crowd, and you felt your cheeks burn.
"You know, I'm sure there's an innocent explanation to that," you said defensively, and Graham merely shot you a look before changing the image.
The next one showed you and Benedict in running clothes at the Hyde Park. The photo depicted a pretty normal setting around you, but you felt the embarrassment shoot right through you and settle on your face. You and Benedict were embracing each other closely, and you could see the sweat trickling down your forehead and his neck. But the worst of it was the fact that you two were kissing fervently, his hand holding your head and the other pulling you closer by the waist, and you were mortified upon realising that his tongue was just barely visible, the rest of it disappearing inside your mouth.
The crowd roared again, and you felt like running back to your dressing room in embarrassment.
You covered your face with your hands. "Oh, for fucks sake," you murmured lowly, because you had no recollection whatsoever of that moment, but there was no denying that it had happened as the screen clearly showed the both of you sticking your tongues in each other's mouths, completely oblivious to your surroundings.
"Oh, yes," Graham chuckled, his tone as playful as ever, "I'm sure there's an innocent explanation to this one as well." You were certain your whole face was of a deep crimson shade at that point, and you had a hard time looking into Graham's eyes. "I could go on, you know, but then I'm sure we're going to be stuck in here for a while," he smiled and you laughed freely. God, you were actually really good at embarrassing yourself on TV. "So, (Y/N), now that we've seen how well your relationship's going, let's talk about your upcoming birthday!" Graham clapped his hands excitedly, crossing his legs.
"Ah, yes. It's tomorrow, actually," the crowd clapped, and someone yelled 'happy birthday' from the back of the room, to which you mouthed a smiling 'thank you', grateful for the change of subject.
You weren't surprised in the least when Graham went back to the Benedict matter, though. "And do tell us what are your plans to celebrate it. From what we've seen, I'd say Benedict is great at giving presents," he said with an indiscreet wink and you blushed at the innuendo.
"Oh, I wish I could spend it with him, but we're probably not going to be able to see each other," you said sadly, and pursed your lips at the disappointed cries from the audience. "Yeah... we actually haven't seen each other in over a month, since he's still in America filming Doctor Strange," you revealed, and Graham put his hand over his heart with a soft 'Aww'.
"Well, then I've got just the thing to cheer you up," Graham said, and you looked at him confusedly. "I got you a birthday present," he smiled, and you felt your face brighten up.
"Oh my god, seriously? You shouldn't have," you said as he urged you to stand up right beside the couch.
"I probably shouldn't, but I have a feeling you'll like this one," he joked, and you laughed as he positioned you to face the crowd. "Okay, now close your eyes," Graham said, and you closed them feeling the excitement flutter in your stomach.
For a few moments, the room was completely quiet. You heard a few giggles here and there and there was a gasp in the crowd, but apart from that you couldn't really tell what was going on. Then, a pair of warm hands were placed on your shoulders, and you jumped slightly as you opened your eyes and turned around.
Your hands immediately went to cover your mouth, and for a moment you were left speechless.
"Happy birthday, love," his deep voice said lowly, and you felt your eyes water slightly.
Benedict was there in flesh and bone, his hands holding you dearly, and you didn't suppress the urge to pull him closer. "Oh my god," you exclaimed breathlessly in between the loud cheers of the crowd, wrapping your arms tightly around Benedict's tall frame. He returned your embrace in kind, feeling your beating heart against his chest. "Oh my god, you're really here," you said again, unable to believe what was happening. Benedict smiled that kind smile of his, pulling back slightly to look at your face before giving you a quick peck on the lips, making the audience go wild again.
"Oh, well, I guess I better be off now. Things are going to start heating up, everyone," Graham pretended to head off-stage, and you laughed as he returned to greet Benedict.
The two of you sat together on the couch, and Benedict made a show of sitting as close to you as possible, making everyone laugh. You wiped at your waterline, careful not to ruin your makeup, and the two men beside you chuckled together.
You looked at them with fake anger in your features. "You bastards!" You said crossing your arms. "You lied to me!" your hand slapped halfheartedly at Benedict's chest, and he merely laughed as he captured it in his.
The rest of the show was spent talking about your upcoming movies and projects. Other guests were invited to the stage, but you never left Benedict's side and he never let go of your hand. Eventually your eyes would meet, and you'd both smile at nothing and everything.
Your heart was beating erratically in your chest as you exited the stage, and when you finally reached the confines of your dressing room, you threw your arms around his shoulders again, breathing in his scent as he chuckled.
"Missed me that much, did you?" he asked, putting a finger under your chin to make you look up at him. Your eyes gleamed at the sight of the adorable wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled, and you nodded speechlessly.
God, you'd missed him so much. You had known the distance would be hard to cope with sometimes, and it was something you'd been willing to go through in order to be with him, but the past month had been torturous.
You looked up at Benedict with a small smile gracing your lips. Your hands sneaked around his neck, and you slowly pulled him down to a long kiss. His slight stubble grazed your cheeks, and you grinned at the feel of it. "What?" he asked pulling away, and your smile only widened.
"I love you," you replied in response, feeling giddy and warm on the inside. Benedict's eyes glinted, and he kissed a slow path from your cheeks to your forehead and then down to your neck. You giggled. "And thank you," you muttered, making him stop his ministrations to take a proper look at your face. You lifted your hand to touch his jaw, tracing a pattern all the way to his collar bone with the tip of your finger. This time you gave him a full blown grin. "Thank you for the best birthday present anyone could've ever given me."
Summary: The little fight between an American and a British couple
Credits to this video for the awesome interview: https://youtu.be/eX2M6Lf8WKc
“So, the interview is tonight at eight, right?” I asked, standing behind the scenes of The Hobbit, Ben had just finished his scene as Smaug with the sensors and the tech stuff.
“Yes, but don’t get nervous. You’ll be fine” Benedict smirked, mocking me.
Oh, seriously Benny? He started the game, not knowing I was going to win again. This little game consisted in making fun of each other because of our nationalities, that cute british bastard.
“Of course I’ll be fine” I responded with my head high, I was too proud to quit now.
“But don’t forget that we’re in England. I’m worried people won’t understand what you’re saying, that’s all” He said.
“I can speak properly and I’m sure everyone will get my words, darling” I added with a british accent.
“But I can speak sexier” He winked at me.
“I’m afraid you don’t. ‘Football’, really? Soccer says almost everyone”.
“Everyone is only America? C’mon. At least I don’t say ‘math’, the right way to say it is Maths, you uncultured woman”
I was quiet for a moment, “FREEDOM” I shouted, and the fight began.
Two hours after the little chat with Benedict, we were at home having lunch before getting prepared for the interview. We looked at each other giggling, both of us knew what was going to happen, and we were prepared for the battle. At the beginning it all started as a joke, but now was a whole new rivalry. Ben was chosing a few cookies to eat and I was making some tea, it was a relaxing silence but then my dear husband started screaming.
“That is not how you make tea!” He cried out trying to sound attacked.
“Oh my God, are you serious? We’re not having that conversation again. I highly recommend you to leave the kitchen or…”.
He kissed my cheek interrupting and I smiled wildly.
“I love you, you know that? But maybe we should change tasks. Let me take care of this and you pick the cookies. Deal?”.
I sighed dramatically.
“Yes, we better”.
“Yeah, you can’t just squish the tea bag with the spoon. That’s wrong, love”
“Sorry Mr. Britishguy Sillyname”
He laughed and so did I.
Now we were waiting for someone to tell us to enter the room where the interview was held, everyone took turns, first was Richard Armitage, then Martin and Benedict and I were the last ones. As an actress I was in a lot of movies with Ben. Directors and writers had told us that we have an unique chemistry, but I didn’t appear in The Hobbit trilogy. I joined the crew as a make-up artist and helped with the script, as a big fan of Tolkien I couldn’t miss that opportunity for anything in the world.
“They’re taking a lot of time, aren’t they?” Benedict said, I couldn’t tell if he was worried or excited.
“Is there anything you know about this interview that I don’t?” I asked calmly, “you’re into something, right?”
“Me? Nah. Oh, wait, do you smell that?”.
“Smell what?”.
“Fear”.
I rolled my eyes.
“Okay Smaug the Almighty Destructor of Villages, what have you done?”
“Nothing, I swear!”
He stroked gently my waist.
“Mr. and Mrs Cumberbatch, it’s your turn” announced a blonde woman who happened to be the interviewer.
Before doing so we greeted Martin and talked with him a few seconds. Then, Benedict held the door for me to walk in, so british of him. The purest gentleman.
“Good evening, and thanks a lot for attending me, it’s an honor to have you both here”.
I smiled at her and he shaked her hand.
“My name is Meriah Doty. So, firstly, how are you today?”.
“Great, yeah. Great indeed, although it’s brass monkeys out there”.
Damn.
“It means it’s cold outside” He whispered.
I could see in his smiley face he was forcing himself not to laugh.
“You don’t say!” I answered sarcastically.
Meriah cleared her throat and started to ask Benedict some questions fans sent her via Twitter and Facebook. I was getting a bit bored but then an interesting question popped up.
“So, @CumbercookieLove34 asked: how is it to work with your wife? Is it any competition between you two?”
I crossed my arms, paying full attention now.
“Competition?”.
He pretended to be searching for an answer.
“I wouldn’t name it a competition, but he’s always insulting me. Not in a bad way, you know? But… he’s very silly most of the time, ‘cause I’m the only American in the crew, with Lee Pace of course, but he’s as glorious as Thranduil so Benedict kind of forgives him somehow” I said suddenly.
“The thing is,” Ben started, ”she can’t manage my britishness and she’s mad because she only speaks a simplified version of English” he played the victim.
“Watch your mouth Buttercup Cumberpatch” and I rolled my eyes for what seemed the 10000th time. Meriah laughed again, ”See?” I turned around to face her, “I’m so tired”.
Ben patted my back and gave me that Puppy Eye’s Look, he really knows how to do that look and make you feel guilty.
“You can’t really imagine how is living with him. Complains about the tea and when I send him a text sometimes I spell words with only an ‘O’ instead of ‘OU’ and it drives him crazy, for instance, but he truly does everything he can just to irritate me” I said releasing a sigh. Meriah laughed again, really this girl is just supposed to laugh? “But then he’s a complete sweetheart and his polite self takes control so he says sorry all the time” I chuckled.
Benedict laughs uncontrollably.
“But hey, we love each other after all, so don’t worry, we’re gonna stick together until the end” I said looking straight to the camera.
“‘Gonna’” He repeated.
“Yep” I stated marking the ‘p’.
“Well, you guys are definitely the cutest couple of all time. We’re playing a game now. I searched photos of the cast and you’re going to guess who are they just by looking at their feet” The interviewer said excitedly.
“This is gonna be so much fun” I said already laughing, oh my God, I turned into Meriah.
“So, this is the first one” she showed us a picture of a person with his face and body covered.
“Ugh, whoever that is they got some weird looking feet” I commented.
“Martin Freeman” Benedict said without thinking twice. The interviewer giggled.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, how could you… how ca… Wait what? Do you have a foot fetish for Martin? Oh my God I knew it!” I fangirled in front of camera, “just so you know, people…” (I paused to create a little of dramatism) “I ship Johnlock”.
Both Benedict and Meriah laughed so hard that I swear I heard a snort.
“That’s actually quite right. I took her to the Sherlock Set once and every time we finished a scene with strong content, like the one in the pool or when I jumped… well, you know, spoilers. The point is that she always clapped and hugged Martin and I, and I remember perfectly she said ‘You two are so shippable’. Oh, was that too long? I’m sorry I just wanted to tell the story” He giggled shyly while blushing.
“Oh, and by the way, sorry Martin, you have wonderful feet” I smiled.
“You two are so cute, guys” Meriah complimented. “So, the second one is… this!” She showed us another picture.
“Mmm… James Nesbitt?” I guessed.
“Peter Jackson” Benedict said. No hesitation.
“Yeah! Point for Benedict!” Meriah told us.
“What?! I swear this guy has a foot fetish” I tried to mask my bad loser mood.
“I’m so good at this” He said proudly.
“Okay, so this one is a bit difficult but the black and white is the key” The interviewer said revealing the photo.
It was pretty obvious that it was taken a lot of years ago.
“Mmm...”
“Richard?” Ben inquired.
“Ian McKellen!” I literally shouted, I was sure it was him.
“Correct! You’re good Y/N” Meriah greeted me.
“In your face Buttercup!” I did a short but intense party dance in the chair, “I guessed it and you didn’t!” Ben just watched me as he smiled sweetly. “Maybe the feet are overexposed”
“Yeah, I don’t know why Ian McKellen’s feet are overexposed” He said in his Sherlock kind of voice, “that was rude…”
The three of us laughed.
“The next one,” Meriah said “is this one!” She showed us a photo of two people jumping in the air.
“Mmmm…” I started thinking, “one is Benedict, I know it, but the oth…”
“Me and Jonny Lee Miller” He said quickly, “Jonny Lee Miller and I” He corrected himself.
“Amazing! And Martin Freeman corrected me because his face was plastered in Johnny Lee Miller’s…, my bad” Meriah said.
“Yeah, that’s bullshit. Who did that?” He went to grab the photo.
“I thought it was him, I found it like that on the internet” She explained. “Okay, next and last one”.
“Oh Lord” I exclaimed. Benedict stretched out in his chair and approached the lady with the photograph.
“Richard… Armitage?” He wondered, confused.
“I… don’t know… Stephen Hunter?”
The interviewer showed us the whole picture.
“Evangeline, oh my God” Benedict covered his mouth, surprised, “Oh my God” He laughed really hard, “Fuck” He kept laughing, covering his eyes with the palm of the hand.
“Well, that" I pointed at him with my finger ”is definitely rude”
I was super tired so I decided to sit in the back of the car so I could lay down and fall asleep more easily, but instead of that, I was staring at Benedict’s side profile.
“You’re beautiful” he declared suddenly.
He kept his eyes on the road but I noticed he was grinning.
“You are beautiful too, and I love your accent” I said sternly and he smiled sweetly, “and I also love your otter face”
He tried not to laugh too much so he couldn’t get distracted.
“You have the otter face… otter face.” He tried to make a good insult and failed.
“You sure it’s me who has that face? Your cumberbitches and probably the rest of the multiverse says it’s you who owns that title, my love”
“It’s cumbercollective” He sighed and rolled his eyes, copying me.
“We all know it is and will always be cumberbitches, get over it Buttercup”
“Not gonna happen”.
“Gonna? It seems like I’m who rules the relationship”.
“You’ve always ruled the relationship”
“I’m glad you’re day by day recognizing facts. Today’s been ‘gonna’, I’m curious about what’s gonna “I laughed hard when I said that” be tomorrow”.
“Oh, shut up”
That night, as we did since the very first time we shared a bed, we slept cuddling, then in the morning our innocent little verbal war continued.
