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I hope you don't mind my silly little prompt - Benedict Cumberbatch has been deeply distressed by his unmerciful work schedules. Fortunately, as he likes reading so much your blog was recommended to him. Deeply impressed by your fan fictions he knew that he must meet the author. Romance ensues. xx ps thank you for saving my message in your Ipod. I'm so glad that I could help. No worries, I'm just one of your many fans :-) Oh! Are you from UK?
*****Okay guys I'm sorry, I just had to do this one first because it has consumed my mind and I wouldn't be able to give proper attention to my other prompts. I will work on those straight away though! -kcolrehssemloh, Tiffany.*****
Fluffy with a hint of something more at the end. Mr./Mrs. Anon, I do hope you like this. ;-)
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"Benedict, take a few days off. You've been running like mad lately." My mum said over the phone.
"I've just got so much to do and I don't really have the time to take off. I've got so many projects coming up that need my full attention." I replied.
"My dear boy, please take a few days off. For me of not for yourself." My mum pleaded.
I sighed. "Alright, for you I will take some time off." My mum is a strong willed woman, I better relent and give in or I'd never hear the end of it. "I can't take to much time off though mum. I've got 'Hamlet' coming up soon and I must get prepared for it."
"Thank you dear. Now go take some time for yourself. Oh! Before I hang up, thank you again for taking me to the flower show in Chelsea on Monday. I loved getting to spend time with you. I love you dear. Enjoy your time off."
"Thanks mum, I'll talk to you soon." We hung up and I remembered one of my friends had recommended a blog of a fan fiction writer that she had come upon on Tumblr. It was an odd URL name but it was interesting at the same time. Kcolrehssemloh I remembered and typed it into my computer, it came up right away.
"Looks like she writes a lot." I thought to myself as I pulled up her stories. I decided to pick one of the most recent ones that had been posted, "We're Going To Be Alright" was the title. I made myself comfy and began to read. When I looked up the next time I had read several of her stories and then found the newest story that had been posted while I was reading. The title was intriguing but the story, wow, the story was amazing. "I Had No Idea", a very dirty story involving my girlfriend dressing up in sexy lingerie and surprising me by showing her dominant side. I'll admit by the end of the story I was blushing, I was very flattered.
"I have got to meet the author." I thought out loud. I was due to have lunch with the friend that had recommended this blog to me and I can't wait to sit down to chat with her about it.
*****
"Hello Angie" I said as I saw her waiting at a table for me.
"Hello Benedict. So great to see you again. Thanks for coming." She stood up to shake my hand and then we both took our seats. "How are you?"
"I'm doing very well thank you. Are you feeling better now?" I replied.
"Feeling much better today thank you." Angie sounded relieved.
"Angie, I took a look at Tiffany's blog. Thank you for recommending it to me, she's a great writer." I chuckled.
"Isn't she great? I love reading her fictions whenever I get the chance too." She smiled wide.
"She is great. Do you know how I can meet her? I have to talk to her. I'd love to meet someone with such great talent." I urged for her to tell me.
"I don't know how you can meet her, but I'd be glad to try to arrange a meeting for you if you'd like?"
"Please do." I nodded. "That would be amazing of you. Thanks."
We went on with our lunch, chatting about our careers and this and that and enjoyed the company of a friend. It's something I don't get to do as often as I'd like to due to my busy schedule. We parted ways after enjoying a cup of tea and some dessert and Angie promised she would try to contact Tiffany to arrange a meeting. I eagerly awaited for more details.
**********
The next day I got a phone call from Angie.
"Hey, what did you find out? Can I meet her?" I asked as soon as I picked up the phone.
"Well good morning to you to Benedict." She laughed. "Yes, I've arranged a meeting with her..."
"When? When can I meet her? Where?" I cut her off. "I'm terribly sorry to be so rude, she just sounds amazing and I want to meet her in person." I apologized for being impatient but I do get that way sometimes.
"I've arranged for Tiffany to fly here to London next week. She'll be staying at the Corinthia Hotel London for the week where I've made reservations for you to meet her over tea. Sound good?" Angie asked.
"Sounds amazing! Can't wait. What did she say? Is she excited?"
"Ben, she's a fan of yours, of course she's excited." She laughed.
"Yes, right." I realized what I had said sounded kind of silly. It's all still very strange when a fan gets very excited to meet you and they giggle it's all very funny to me so I laugh too.
"I'll send you all the details, until then have a good week Benedict. See you soon."
"Thank you again Angie." Soon after hanging up I got an email with the meeting details and set it on my calendar. Now just to wait till next week to meet Tiffany, until then I'll keep reading.
*******
It had been a long week but finally the day was here that I would get to meet one of my new favorite authors. Someone that just a week ago I never knew existed but thanks to Angie I was made aware of and now I'm going to meet her.
I decided to take a car down to the hotel since I hope to be able to get Tiffany to hang out with me at some places around London, give her a little tour you know.
The ride only takes about nineteen minutes from Hampstead but with traffic it usually ends up being almost thirty minutes. Arriving at the hotel I walk in and ask directions to The Northhall restaurant where I would be meeting Tiffany. Upon arrival I was escorted to a private dining room in the restaurant where Tiffany was already seated. She stood up as I came in and we shook hands before taking our seats once again. Tiffany had the prettiest red hair I've seen, it shined like new copper. She had plenty of freckles and joyful eyes when she smiled. She was a bit on the short side but adorable in every way.
"Hello Tiffany, it's so nice to meet you."
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My (Tiffany) POV:
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"I-It's a-a great pleasure to meet you sir." I stuttered like an idiot. "Chill out" I scolded myself silently.
"Please call me Benedict or Ben. I'm so happy Angie arranged this meeting with you Tiffany. She told me about your stories last week at the Chelsea Flower show and I read them the next day. I'm very flattered." Ben smiled warmly and chuckled just a little as he apparently remembered my latest dirty story.
"Angie is great, she's been one of my number one supporters for a while now. Honestly sir...Benedict when she told me she had recommended my blog to you I kinda freaked out. It's a huge honor for my favorite celebrity to be so...so entertained by my silly little stories." I tried to calm my nerves, I felt like I had a Mexican jumping bean inside and I'd explode any moment and make an ass of myself.
"Well it's an honor to meet you Tiffany. Your stories aren't silly, they are well written and I've enjoyed all the ones I've read so far. I wanted to meet you right away and when I learned you lived in the states and not in the UK I was disappointed but good ol' Angie came through for me. So, Tiffany, tell me about yourself." I needed to pinch myself to make sure this was all real. Benedict Cumberbatch, sitting across from me in a hotel in London, asking about me! Little insignificant me.
"Um..." I cleared my throat, mainly to just try to get control of my mind once again. "Well, I'm twenty five years old although most people think I'm much younger. I was born and raised in Chesterfield, Virginia but in 2010 I moved with my mum and dad to Eureka, Missouri after my dad got a job there. He had traveled for two years around the country and settled in St. Louis."
"I have to agree Tiffany, you don't look like you're twenty five years old. So is it just you and your parents in St. Louis? Did any other family come along? Any siblings?" Ben looked genuinely interested in finding out more about me, which baffles me.
"It's just my parents and I. I'm an only child. I know you have your half sister but she was much older when you came along so I guess in a way we are alike in that aspect, growing up alone. We go back to visit family in Virginia every year, two or three times a year actually."
"It must be tough being away from family like that." Ben said, a slight frown appearing on his lips.
"Yeah sometimes. It was at first but I enjoy exploring my new home and I've been going through so much lately that I haven't missed anything besides my old self." I wiped a tear away quickly before I ruined my make up.
"I've heard you've been going through some rough patches, I've seen it on your blog. It upsets me to think of anyone doing that to themselves Tiffany. You must know that people care, you may think they don't but they do, I care. Please stay strong, the world wouldn't be the same without you. Your followers and fans such as myself would be deeply saddened if anything happened to you. You have talent Tiffany, you make others smile and you make their days seem brighter. People love you and your work, please keep writing, always." Ben had a few tears settling in his eyes that he wiped away.
"Wow." Is all I could manage, I had to wipe my tears away as now I was practically balling. "I'm sorry. You probably think I'm a mess." I chuckled through my tears.
"I don't think anything of the sort." He offered me a tissue which I took happily and dabbed my eyes.
"Sorry. I'm good now I think." I smiled and took a sip of my tea that had been placed on the table while Ben and I had been talking.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to let you know how important you are and what a great gift you have to share with the world. Moving on now. How long are you in London for?"
"Just till Saturday I'm afraid." I replied and frowned excessively gaining a laugh from Ben.
"Oh now well we can't have that. You've only been here since Sunday right? You've only got two days left. Barely enough time to scratch the surface of London. Won't you stay another week? I'd like to thank you for writing and making me and your fans very happy."
"Well..." I started.
"Please?" He gave the most adorable puppy dog face I've ever seen.
"I don't have the funds to stay any longer. The only way I got here was by a miracle from Angie. I'd love to stay forever if I could. London is so beautiful and it's been a lifetime dream to come here."
"Leave it to me. You'll stay another week, I need to get to know you better, I'm such a big fan of your work." Ben said and I blushed instantly.
"A big fan of mine? I think you've forgotten who the celebrity is here Benedict." I laughed.
"No, I haven't forgotten. Right now you're the celebrity." Ben smirked then gave a little wink to which I would have fallen off my chair if it didn't have arms to grab ahold of. "Please stay?" He asked again.
"Yes, alright." I nodded with a big grin. "How can I say no to someone as gentlemanly as you?"
"You can't, it's the Cumberbatch smile apparently." Ben and I laughed loudly. We ate our tea sandwiches and sipped out tea while we continued discussing our lives and views on different things. He's really educated and well mannered, a brilliant person to carry a conversation with. I avoided work talk because the poor guy had been working so hard lately. After we finished up I stood and prepared to go our separate ways but as Ben stood in front of me he said something that surprised me.
"Lunch was delightful but I'd really like to take you out to show you around a little today if you wouldn't mind." He held my hand gently even though his hands were much larger and stronger than mine.
"Are you sure? You aren't too busy?" I asked.
"Never too busy for a friend. Luckily my mother told me to take a few days off so I'll have all next week to spend with you too. So, what do you say?" He turned and offered his arm for me to take. I looked up at him to see his giant beautiful smile.
"I'd love too." I linked arms with him and we headed to his car.
********
We hung out almost daily since our tea date, a few times for dinner together which felt like dates much to my delight. Ben took me to all the theaters that he's performed in, drove me by different filming locations for Sherlock and other films he's preformed in. We went to the Tower of London, viewed Big Ben and spent a lot of time chatting like old friends. Ben was so comfortable to be around, he was silly yet sophisticated when he needed to be, intelligent but sometimes nerdy and always could make me smile.
Today Ben took me to one of his favorite spots, The Heath as the locals call it, Hampstead Heath as it's know to most outsiders.
"You're incredibly lucky to live so close to London but yet have this amazing paradise to escape to." I said as we walked along the paths.
"Hmm, yes I am very lucky. I enjoy running and jogging along it's paths." Ben replied, he sounded like he was deep in thought.
"Ben?" I said in a quiet tone as we headed into a secret garden on the west side of the park.
"Hmm?" He hummed in reply.
"I wanted to tell you something but it may make me sound incredibly fan girlish but I wanted you to know how important your work is to me."
"Tell me, please." Ben looked down to me as I walked beside him, we walked up a path that was covered in trellises with Wisteria covering them.
"Um...this latest round of depression hasn't been my only. Last year I feel into a pretty dark period in my life. I had failed at a job, failed my family and myself. I had assumed a permanent position in my room tucked away from everyone to wallow in my darkness. That was until one day I watched Star Trek Into Darkness again with my father and I grew a overwhelming fondness to Khan. I had to know more about this amazing actor so I looked you up online and found many things and videos. I grew so fond that I began to tell everyone. My best friend said 'you should check him out on 'Sherlock' sometime', so I bought the first episode of the show, then the second and third right away. Then the second season came next and I had watched and bought them all in a weeks time. Finally I had something to distract myself from the horrible thoughts I had swirling in my mind. So thank you. Thank you and the whole 'Sherlock' team because you all saved my life." Ben took both of my hands and pulled me into a big hug. He never said anything, I don't think he knew what to say but I said what I wanted to and I was just happy he knew how he helped me.
That evening after dinner at the "The Wells" in Hampstead Ben took me back to my hotel and to my room.
"Thank you Benedict, I had a lovely day." I said with a small smile.
"I did too. It was a wonderful evening." He leaned down a little and pressed a small kiss to my lips, his eyes smiled as he stood back up. I pulled him back down and kissed him harder, he relaxed and returned the passion. I opened my hotel room door and we stumbled inside in each other's arms, firmly closing the door behind us.