#but Ben doesn't really show up in photos properly

[hackmansmaze]

Ooh, I have a story about this! A friend of mine actually domesticated one of these guys!

Now before I start, I don't want people to take it this as an endorsement to start bringing these guys home. My friend (lets call him Bob) is a former forest ranger, retired. He knows how to handle creatures like this, so don't go ripping these guys out of their natural environment, okay?

So Bob had gone for a hike with some friends and before long a forest mimic had joined their group, as they do. This mimic was on the older end of the age range where they can do this sort of thing. Bob calms down a few of his city dweller friends who don't know how to handle these guys and it follows the group on their whole hike. Near the end of the day, they get back to the trailhead, but even after waiting a while the mother still hadn't shown up to claim their young. Eventually after his friends had all left, Bob distracts the mimic by pretending to spot a deer, gets in his truck and drives off.

The next day he goes back to the trailhead to check on the mimic, and it's still there, hanging around the parking lot. He doesn't have a lot to do that day, so he goes on another quick walk, and the mimic follows him. When he gets back to the parking lot, it still won't leave, even after he hangs around for a while. Eventually he lets it get in his pickup with him, and drives to the nearby ranger station to maybe drop it off with the local park service. Turns out, the rangers found a mysterious circle of standing stones in the area about a week earlier, and that's a common form for adult mimics to take when they die. So Bob decides to take this guy home with him.

Now it's not easy to house one of these creatures, like having a pet wolf or a raccoon, but Bob makes him comfortable, takes him on walks in the forest behind his house, names him Ben. He wanted to name him Hugh, but Ben kept insisting that he's called "Ben Mann". Bob thinks that one group Ben followed tried calling him Mr. Mann, and another called him Ben, and the names just stuck. Bob's got to be careful when taking him on hikes in case they run into a family of other hikers. Not because Ben is bad with kids, but because Ben is too good with kids, and it can be scary for a little kid to suddenly Always Have Had A Brother and not understand what's happening. But Bob explains things to the parents, and if the kid is an only child, they get to find out what it's like to have a sibling and go play tag or whatever for a little bit.

Bob feeds Ben on a diet of jerky, trail mix, and granola bars, with smores as treats. Weirdly, Ben loves any kind of trail mix with M&Ms in it, but won't eat them by themselves. Ben is pretty shy when they're alone, but when Bob has friends over Ben always acts really friendly to the visitors, he's *great* with groups (as you might expect), the bigger the better. Whenever someone new joins their friend group, Bob just… doesn't tell them about Ben until halfway through the party or barbecue or whatever when the new guy goes "wait, why do I think I know you?" because, frankly, it's always kind of hilarious when that happens.

Recently, Ben's started getting older and doing the "vanish into the environment with creepy silence and foreboding aura" thing, but with Bob's house as the environment instead of the forest. Scared the crap out of Bob the first time it happened at 2 in the morning, but now he just finds it comforting, like a dog sleeping at the foot of your bed to guard you. He's mentioned he kind of can't wait to see what happens if someone tries to break in, and honestly, same.

What, the forest-dwelling entities with imperfect human mimicry who insinuate themselves into groups of hikers? Yeah, we had one of those. Clocked it immediately, of course. Honestly it kind of fell in that so-inept-it's-kind-of-charming range. We just played along until it'd had it's fill of marshmallows and shambled back into the treeline. We might have been violating some kind of killjoy wildlife contact best practices but what the hell, can't plan around every little thing. Why, what happened to you guys

[secretlyhuntokar]

Penumbra podcast Junoverse headcanons

(under cut because there are a Lot) ((Also spoiler warning up to Thief's Honour pt 2))

- Juno leaves notes in his and Nureyev's room on the Carte Blanche if he gets up before him so Nureyev doesn't worry he left again

- One of the main reasons Nureyev is scared of aging is because he's already lived a full hallucinated life and doesn't want to waste any second of his real one

- Juno wears a trenchcoat because Rita was really into old Earth noir detective streams when they first met and she bought a trenchcoat for him. And it was the first gift someone had bought for him in years.

- Juno still wears that trenchcoat to this day

- Nureyev once bought/stole Juno a new trenchcoat and while Juno thought it was a really nice trenchcoat and a sweet gesture, he never wore it because its not the one Rita got him

- Nureyev likes to see how many of Vespa's knives he can steal before she notices and yells/threatens him for them back

- Vespa taught Buddy how to play Rangian Street Poker

- The Ruby Seven is green because wherever it's from, Ruby is their word for green

- Rangian Street Poker varies very slightly across Outer Rim planets, and even more so on the Solar planets

- New Kinshasa's version of Rangian Street Poker is the most similar to the Solar version out of all the Outer Rim Variations

- Nureyev and Rita make each other jewelry. Rita hands the jewelry she makes to Nureyev directly, while Nureyev sneaks what he makes under Rita's door at night, or leaves it on her seat for her to find in the morning

- Rita is from the Cerberus Province or someplace similar to it. Or she spent a lot of time sneaking out to the Martian sewers while growing up and befriended the Martian sewer rabbits

- Jet didn't know how to wash his hair properly and one time it got especially greasy after changing the Ruby's oil or something, so Rita showed him how to clean it properly. Since then they try to have a 'spa day' sort of thing once a week

- The Mechanisms are somewhere Out There in Junoverse

- Buddy Aurinko has met the Mechanisms, and Vespa has not. She is definitely not jealous about that. Nuh uh.

- Buddy is naturally taller than Nureyev but she does not know this because Nureyev is always wearing heels that make him appear an inch taller than her. No matter what shoes she herself chooses to wear that day.

- Nureyev kept the handcuffs from the Murderous Mask ep

- The entire Carte Blanche has matching friendship bracelets that they made together (suggested by Rita and organised by Buddy). The Ruby Seven's bracelet was made by Jet and is tied around its steering wheel. Nureyev also made it one later on, which he hid under one of the seats.

- Juno has 10 eyepatches he frequently wears and they are all identical.

- Juno and Slip would've loved each other if they had the chance to meet properly. Platonically or romantically it doesn't matter. Either way, they would pretend to be jealous of each other around Nureyev for a while, until one day Nureyev catches them watching a shitty stream together, making fun of the bad writing.

- Slip didn't want to be revived

- Slip was sometimes conscious enough to hear everything that happened around him

- Slip calls Nureyev "Petya" either because that's the Brahman pronunciation of it or because he misheard the first time they met and it stuck as a nickname

- If Petya is the Brahman pronunciation of Peter, then Mag was the one who changed his name to "Peter" so it "sounded more Solar"

- Buddy and Vespa dye their hair together

- One time they were real tired while dying their hair, and accidentally switched the colours around. For a few months Buddy had green hair and Vespa had red hair. Vespa has a photo of her and Buddy with swapped hair colours as her comms homescreen

- Juno used to think diamonds were beautiful, and now can't stand the sight of them

- Ben would teach Juno to dance (I think this one is canon? Juno's "I had a good teacher" line in Man in Glass makes me think so? And it might've been brought up in other episodes too)

- Juno couldn't bear to do any sort of dance for years after Ben died

- Juno tried to keep the dahlias and roses Nureyev got him for his birthday alive for as long as possible, but they probably wilted either during the THEIA stuff or soon after he left Hyperion city. They still sit in his office though, and he has a photo of them from before they wilted that he looks at sometimes

- Buddy sometimes does her makeup in a green that matches Vespa's hair. Vespa does the same, but in red

- Nureyev used to not have a favourite colour, but it became gold after Man in Glass

[canirove]

Broken Hearts Football Club | Chapter 6

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"We shouldn't be going out tonight, Leah."

"Why not? It's New Year's Eve!" 

"Because we both are playing in two days. We should be resting."

"Don't be a party pooper, June. It'll be fun, you'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see" she sighed. "Where are you taking me?"

"To this new club the girls were talking about the other day. It apparently is very exclusive, you need an invitation to go in."

"And you got us one?"

"I did. Perks of being Leah Williamson and June Maxwell" she smiled. "Oh, shit."

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"You look amazing, June. Like… wow. If you were into girls, I would definitely hit on you. I may actually hit on you even if you aren't."

"You're gonna make me blush, Miss Williamson" she smirked.

"You're welcome, Miss Maxwell" Leah replied with a matching smile. "And you know, we should take a photo together and post it, show the world how hot we look to welcome the new year."

"Do we really have to?" June said.

"Yes, come here."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Fucking hell, bro."

"Uh?"

"Look" Mason said, showing Ben his phone. "Can you imagine we cross paths with them tonight?"

"I hope not. I don't want to start the new year with June Maxwell around me."

"Not even when she looks this hot?"

"She looks ok" Ben said. But that was a lie. She looked stunning.

"Ok? Just ok? Chilly, she looks fucking hot. I know you don't like her, but you can't deny it."

"Meh" he shrugged.

"Well, unlike you, I'm not blind and I would not mind starting the new year with her around me. And on me. She is fire, bro."

"Mase, I don't care about Maxwell's sexual life. Besides, didn't she break your heart? Why do you want to sleep with her again?"

"Because one, she looks amazing, two, I haven't been with anyone in months and I'm horny as hell, and three, we already know what the other likes and how. It will be perfect." 

"But you could have any of the other girls you've been with, you know? It doesn't have to be her."

"Jealous?" Mason asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course not!"

"Then why does it bother you if I sleep with her or not?"

"Because you two already have history and you are my best friend. I worry about you."

"Sure, Chilly. Sure" Mason laughed.

"Whatever" Ben replied, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, are we leaving or not? I'm sure it is gonna be packed since it is a new club."

"Yeah, yeah, we are leaving. But imagine that we actually see them..."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Three, two, one… Happy New Year!" everyone at the club screamed.

"Happy New Year, June!" 

“Happy New Year, Leah!" she replied, hugging her friend. "But I need to go to the bathroom."

"What? Already?"

"I've been peeing myself since last year!"

"June!" Leah laughed.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself" she shrugged. "Wait for me here, ok? Don't go anywhere."

"What if I cross paths with the woman of my dreams?"

"I thought I was the woman of your dreams."

"And you are, love. Just not tonight."

"Ok" June chuckled. "Try not to disappear. There are so many people here…"

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Hey, careful!" June said after someone pushed her.

"Watch where you are going, bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"Are you deaf or something… bitch."

"Say that again if you are brave enough."

"Bitch" the other girl grinned.

"You…" but June couldn't finish her sentence or do what she wanted to do,  someone grabbing her by the waist and away from the girl who was insulting her. 

"I knew you weren't the cleverest of them all, but getting into a fight in a club's bathroom? That's beneath you, Maxwell."

"Chilwell? What are you doing here?"

"Saving you from showing up at your next game with a black eye. You're welcome" he smiled.

"I didn't need saving, I had it all under control."

"Sure" he chuckled.

"I did" June replied, crossing her arms over her chest. That was when Ben finally dared to properly look at her. She had looked hot in the photo Mason had showed him, but it was nothing compared to how good she looked in person. When had June Maxwell gone from just a pretty girl to a bombshell? "Chilwell, stop checking me out."

"What?" he said, feeling his cheeks get warm. Thank God they were in a kind of dark corner and she couldn’t notice. 

"You were checking me out."

"I was not."

"Yes, you were." 

"Ok, what if I was, uh? What if I was checking you out, Maxwell?" he asked, taking a step closer towards her, the few drinks he had had suddenly making him feel very brave.

"That's…" But she wasn't able to find the right words. She was too distracted by the way Ben was looking at her, by how good he looked that night. His beard was a bit longer than usual, his curls completely free. Were they as soft as they looked? And his lips… Dear God, he had the most kissable lips she had ever seen.

"Now you are the one checking me out, Maxwell" he smirked.

"What?" she said with a nervous laugh.

"You are, June" he said, closing most of the space between them. "But I don't mind."

"You don't… Ben, are you drunk?"

"Intoxicated. By you" he said before kissing her, both of them feeling electricity run through their bodies when their lips touched.

"What the fuck, Chilwell!" she said, slapping him and taking a step back.

"I'm sorry, June. I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened, I just…" But he wasn't able to keep apologising, her arms wrapping around his neck and kissing him again.

[khodorkovskaya]

okay so i need to get this off my chest bc im so emotionally constipated oh my god. everything is so heavy but i can't fucking relax and let it all out and so im carrying around all of these bottles up emotions and it's frustrating and i hate it.

my grandmother passed away on thursday and i don't have the time to grief and it's the worst thing ever. she lives in another country and my mum went there immediately and we didn't talk about it but it was understood and accepted by everyone that im not coming to the funeral. like it was just kind of accepted as fact that i wasn't coming and that's it.

and fair enough, i don't have a say in this. because it's like halfway across the world and we poured our savings out for this plane ticket for my mum. our only source of income is our business and we shut it down for the time that she's away. i now have my internship salary, which is half of minimum wage, so i guess that's what me and my dad are surviving on for now. so like, fair, me going to grandma's funeral wasn't realistic money-wise. but it just sucks how i didn't get a say in this. and if i continue this train of thought, why didn't any of my relatives offer to buy me a plane ticket? im not blaming anyone for anything and whatever. and if i really wanted to go, i could've stated it. but everything happened so fast, i didn't even have time to process or think it through. anyway. whatever.

and now everyone's there, me and my dad are the only one out of the family who are here and i can't help but feel abandoned. and i know it's childish and doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. but everyone is grieving together and im missing out on the grief. they're remembering grandma and looking through old photos and videos and crying together. and im stuck here. and i didn't even have time to grief!!! that's the frustrating part!

when i found out, i was at work, so i couldn't cry. then i couldn't cry bc i had work the next day and i can't show up to work with puffy eyes can i? then i have a presentation on monday, so yesterday i was working on it. and i wanted to grieve today. but i hadn't finished the presentation, so that's what i spent the whole day doing today. and again, i can't be all puffy-eyed tomorrow. so every time i think about grandma, i just force myself to not think.

and i can't even cry. like tears just don't come out because im so fucking controlling of myself. like i legitimately can't cry. im so tense. like i can't let myself let loose.

and then im like postponing my grief. which is so ridiculous. because what is all of this for?? she is gone. what's it gonna do? what's the point of looking through old photos and making myself sad? i might as well put on a pink gown and open a tub of ben&jerry's like sad girls in romcoms while im at it. like this is so performative. what's the point? who is this performance for? she is gone.

and now im like constantly torn between like... feeling sad about my grandma's death, not having the time to grief and feeling like there is no point in grieving. and my mum is sleeping in the bed she died in. and my cousin said she visited her in her sleep. and i feel like im missing out on this like... sisterhood of grief.

i don't know, it's so fucked up. there is something so embarrassing about death. grandma was the pillar of everything. it felt like she was alive despite it all, out of spite almost. everyone else could die, but not her. and now she's gone. and i haven't even had the time to properly think about it. but i don't want to think about it because i don't want to accept it. because i feel like it's embarrassing that she died because she's so much cooler than death and it's just not fair. like it's out of character of her to die. she's supposed to be invincible.

so the funeral is tomorrow. everyone is there and im here. and i feel like if anyone has to be at the funeral, it's me. i have this childish hope that i was the favourite grandchild, which is so stupid. because ive always lived far and i guess grandma didn't know me much past childhood. and can i really blame a teenager for not being close with their grandma? but it really doesn't make sense why im not at the funeral. because i should be there, right? grandma loved me. but what's the point of funerals anyway? she's gone. it doesn't matter who's at the funeral, she's not coming back.

fuck.

[danglovely]

Regrading Taskmaster: S03 E05 The FIP.

*Score changes noted in parenthesis.

Series finale! Kind of excited to get through Series Three, because Series Four marks where I feel the show starts to become truly special. But I have some love for the weirdos here, so let's wrap it up right.

Prize Task: Photo of the most handsome relative.

Definition of Handsome - Of a man, good-looking. Of a woman, striking and imposing in good looks. -- I find it strange that Oxford Languages feels the need to gender the definition, so we'll just go for "good-looking," gender notwithstanding.

Let's get the non-relatives out of the way! Paul isn't a relative of himself, Sara is not related to a cat (adopting a pet doesn't create a legal relationship), Rob is not related to James Earl Jones.

So weirdly, this is a two horse race between Al and Dave. No disrespect to Al's grandfather, but Dave found the link to Cary Friggin Grant.

Al: 4 (0) Dave: 5 (0) Paul: DQ (-1) Rob: DQ (-3) Sara: DQ (-1)

VT 01: Move the water from Bucket A to Bucket B. You must not move the buckets.

Dave cheats. Taskmaster's cheating policy never forgives. But . . . does Al cheat? Greg says no but he also gives Sara a bonus point to address perceived injustice. I'm of the mind that Sara could have paid Alex to move the bucket, just like Al.

One more note, Taskmaster isn't about being fair, but Rob really got hosed by the weather in this one.

Al: 5 (0) Dave: DQ (0) Paul: 3 (0) Rob: 4 (0) Sara: 2 (-1)

Team Task: Wearing one of these hands on each of your hands at all times, communicate to your teammates the names of these films, books or TV programs. You may not raise your voice.

Greg is right, nothing in the task says you can't have Ben Fogle shout the answers across the Thames. I'd normally say the split should be 4-1 except Rob was just openly shouting at Sara, which is forbidden.

Al, Dave, & Paul: 5 (0) Rob and Sara: DQ (0)

VT 02: Do something that looks brilliant when sped up or slowed down.

I actually thought Dave's was really cool. Sara's robot dance was fun . . . "brilliant" might be a stretch. Al's is funny and I like that it comes back in Series Four. However, banging a gong is not improved by slowing the video down. Paul's is interesting because he both speeds up and slows down the video. Interesting idea, looked okay.

Rob did maybe the simplest thing in just hitting a bunch of stuff, but I have to say it's the only one that actually benefitted from the tempo change.

Al: 1 (0) Dave: 4 (+1) Paul: 3 (0) Rob: 5 (0) Sara: 2 (-3)

Live Task: Place one or more donuts on your stick. The person with the lowest unique whole number of donuts wins.

For a second I thought maybe only Al and Dave should be able to participate in the second round because they had the fewest donuts. On review, this task was scored properly.

Al: 0 Dave: 0 Paul: 0 Rob: 5 Sara: 0

Final

Al: 15 (-1) Dave: 14 (+1) Paul: 11 (-1) Rob: 14 (-3) Sara: 4 (-5)

So here I would give Rob's win to Al. Mostly because I thought he should have been disqualified for bringing in James Earl Jones as a relative.

Series Final

Al: 80 (0) Dave: 83 (+2) Paul: 68 (+2) Rob: 78 (-9) Sara: 63 (-9)

So, as predicted, Rob doesn't win the series in my regrade. He honestly got really lucky in a lot of situations and benefitted from not being disqualified when he should of. I wasn't expecting Sara to land below Paul, but she did lose a lot of tasks.

[socialseasons]

It didn't take a genius to see that Ben cared deeply for his brother, the loss weighing heavy even in the way he spoke his name, the uttered memory a beacon of sunlight amidst a grey topic. Francesca couldn't begin to try to relate to the pain. She may have known grief, having lost her father, but it was different when she only had a select few memories of him -- Even now, she wondered if such memories were real or merely one of the hundreds of stories she had been told over the years.

"If your brother doesn't go to massive lengths to get rid of you when you're being annoying, is he truly your brother?" she grinned, relaxing back into the conversation as they passed over the cloud of grief. As much as she wished to know more, it was safer to leave certain topics -- Prying was never a good look.

"Are you planning on having me taken out, or something? And not in the romantic sense..."

Scoffing, Francesca shook her head. "That's not the intention. I was thinking more along the lines of you quitting and running for the hills -- If not because of me, then my brother."

"I also wanted to be a teacher. If kids aren't being noisy and excitable, then I don't think I did my job right."

A teacher. Perking up at that, a grin spread across her lips as she imagined a classroom full of little ones, paint spatters and scribbled drawings galore. "Really? I guess I could see that," she replied, pensive as she looked at him - Properly looked. "So why aren't you? Working in teaching, that is. I think I would've liked teaching if I didn't go into music -- The kids I meet at my shows are always the sweetest."

"It's worth it to your family. You're a good person caught up in a bad situation. And if I can help...then I'm going to. Whether you like it or not."

Whatever she had expected his answer to be, it certainly had not been that, a silence crossing her as she tried to find the right balance of gratitude in her response. Instead she only smiled, nodded. "Fine," she finally replied. "I have a free afternoon tomorrow. Let's say we go out: Walk in the park, grab some food, pose for some photos..." Pause. "You sure you want to?"

"What was their name?"

Ben smiled, a glimmer of pride shining within his eyes at the thought of his older brother. He was always proud of him -- his convictions, his talents, his impish way of making everything just feel okay -- and absently rapping his knuckles against the arm of his chair, Ben lifted his head again before offering, "Samuel -- or Sam, as he was mostly known. Growing up, where he went, I was sure to follow." His grin widened. "I don't remember this, but apparently when I was three, Sam got sick of me following him around, so he stuck a hose inside my diaper and filled it with water, hoping that the distraction would allow him to escape. No such luck."

Francesca was quiet for a short while. Ben was accustomed to discomfort -- people never knew what to do or say -- and yet he wasn't resentful. No, he rather appreciated that she asked, because that was far more than what most ever offered.

"Well, if you're around long enough then I'm sure you'll see a the Bridgertons in action," she announced.

"If?" Ben echoed, raising a brow. "Are you planning on having me taken out, or something? And not in the romantic sense..." Chuckling, he assured her, "I intend to be here for the long haul. I didn't drive out all this way just to turn back around."

It wasn't a long drive at all, but Francesca didn't need to know that.

"Family dinners are known to be loud and chaotic, so I would understand if you decided to quit upon receiving an invitation to one," she continued.

Ben hummed. "You seem to think that growing up in a household full of boys would be any different. I can assure you, it was not, even with just the two of us." Draping his arm over the back of his chair, he added, "I also wanted to be a teacher. If kids aren't being noisy and excitable, then I don't think I did my job right."

A hint of amusement traversed Francesca's eyes. "I'm not doubting my abilities as a fake girlfriend," she said. "But you said it yourself - You hate attention. And there would be a lot of it."

Ben paused, finally understanding what she'd been alluding to. "I'm aware of this, yes."

"Your picture would be everywhere, people would be talking about you, speculating and making up rumours. It sounds stupid and shallow, I know, but..." She paused. "To do all that just for the chance of maybe catching this guy, is it worth it?"

Ben's features melded into something softer, more pensive. "It's worth it to your family," he lowly pointed out. "You're a good person caught up in a bad situation. And if I can help...then I'm going to." He nudged her with his foot. "Whether you like it or not."

[turkisherlockian]

The Hat - Request [Benedict Cumberbatch x Reader AU]

Summary: Y/N is a young director who worked with and has a crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. He finds out that she used to write fanfictons about Sherlock and decides to give her a gift.

Word count: 1941

A/N: Happy birthday @shackleschains 🎂🎉❤️ I hope you like it! 😸

-----

''You never worked with Y/N before, have you?''

Benedict smiled and turned to Y/N. They developed a great friendship while working together, Y/N got on well with everyone and they all had so much fun.

''Yeah,'' Benedict said, ''I wish I met her earlier, though. She's a great director, she's energetic, magnetic, amazing...''

''Tell them something they don't know, Ben!'' Y/N nudged him and they all laughed, ''I'm just kidding...''

''No, seriously, that's what everyone thinks about you.'' He smiled.

''Aww... Thank you.''

''Alright, love birds...'' This made them both chuckle, ''So, Benedict, what was it like working with Y/N?''

''I had so much fun, it was great. She was great. She might be young,'' He grinned, teasing Y/N, ''But she has a brilliant mind and she's going to prove that in the film. Not that she needs to.''

The interviewer smiled as Y/N blushed, he turned to her, ''What was it like to work with Benedict?''

''You know, I'm known for my short films and this is my very first time directing a film, so I was really anxious because... Well, he is Benedict Cumberbatch!'' Benedict smiled as she continued, ''He's been very helpful, understanding... He's very clever! Just amazing. It was an honour to work with him, and I hope we can work together in the future, as well.''

''I hope that too, young lady.''

''I'm not that young!''

Benedict grinned, ''Yes you are, and that's great. You're a genius.'' He hugged her with his left arm, pulling her closer as she blushed.

''Well, turned into a complienting competition...'' Y/N grinned, ''Thank you so much. You're so kind.''

Benedict nodded with a smile, then turned to the interviewer who asked a question to Y/N again. ''We've been told that you're a Sherlock Holmes fan and you used to write fanfictions... Is that true?''

Y/N facepalmed as Benedict turned to her with a frown, ''Why didn't I know this?''

She pulled back, her cheeks burning. ''It's embarrassing!''

''No it's not!'' Benedict chuckled, ''It's adorable.''

Y/N rolled her eyes playfully, ''Alright... I was a huge fan. I wrote and read a lot, just like any teenager would do.''

''That's why it's not embarrassing, darling.''

''So...'' The interviewer interrupted them with a smile, ''You started filming things at a very young age, didn't you?''

''Yeah... I started with small things, really. I filmed my toys, my pets, making short clips, you know. Then I started filming nature and went to courses as I couldn't get accepted to a film academy. However, my short films got thousands of views overnight - which was crazy, and now here I am. And I'm so happy to be here.'' She smiled and turned to Benedict, which he replied with a comforting touch on her back.

The interviewer turned to Benedict, ''How would you describe your character, Benedict?''

Y/N couldn't focus on what he said as she watched him, he was beautiful. She could study his features as they were still so close to each other. His lips, eyes, eyelashes, beautiful skin and every single detail on it. She wanted touch him terribly.

''Y/N?''

''Huh? Sorry, I got distracted...''

''You must have been tired... Thank you for the interview, Y/N, Benedict, it's been fun!''

They shook hands as they got escorted outside, a car waiting for them.

Benedict got into the car after her and sighed, ''You're exhausted, aren't you?'' he asked with a smile.

''I am... How about you?''

''I'm shattered... As I'm old...''

Y/N chuckled, ''You're not old!''

Benedict shook his head with a grin, then turned to her. ''You'll get used to it. Interviews, fame, fans... Papparazzi and their cameras that follow you anywhere you go. But I need you to know that, Y/N, you're really good at your job. I didn't get the chance to say it properly earlier, but I really enjoyed working with you. I hope we do it again.''

She teared up quickly, feeling honoured. ''Thank you so much,'' she smiled, ''I feel the same way.''

Benedict nodded and smiled, squeezing her hand gently, ''I didn't say it to make you cry...''

''I know,'' She nodded and wiped her tears with her shirt's sleeves as the car got closer to the hotel. ''So... Are you free tomorrow?''

''Yeah. What for? I mean, doesn't matter why you asked, I just...''

He chuckled as the car stopped and he opened the door before getting out and giving her his hand. She took it with a smile as she sniffled, then got out of the car as well. ''Would you like to... Have dinner with me? In my room?'' He blushed, ''I mean, I have something to show you...''

Y/N nodded and smiled, ''I'd love that...''

They walked into the hotel together and got into the elevator. ''What time should I come?'' Y/N asked.

''I'll be back at around seven. How about seven thirty?''

''Sounds good...''

Silence filled the cabin as Y/N bit her lip, then it stopped and Benedict followed her outside. ''I'll see you tomorrow, then.'' He said with a smile.

''See you... Sleep well.'' Y/N smiled too and nodded, unlocking her room's door.

Y/N couldn't sleep, not at all. She kept thinking of what he was going to show her, what could it be? Also, she tried to avoid the embarrassment of the fact that she did write fanfictions and smut. People still knew even though she deactivated her account. And Benedict found out. He found out!

She was just a teenager, she had no idea that she could meet him one day, let alone work with him!

However, her eyes were aching and she was really tired, so she drifted off to sleel quickly.

-----

Y/N woke up to the sound of her phone, it was vibrating violently.

She sat up in horror and took it, unlocking it quickly. Y/N checked WhatsApp first to see what's going on.

Her friends texted her asking if Benedict and her were dating, the interview was posted on YouTube - that was surprisingly fast, and a photo of her looking at Benedict in love, was everywhere.

Y/N took a deep breath, everyone thought they were dating! Did Benedict know about it? If he did, how did he react? Would he be angry at her? No - she's done nothing wrong. Except for having a crush on him and looking at him like that...

She bit her lip and replied to her friends' messages, but didn't post anything online. She didn't know what to do, she didn't even have an agent or someone she could ask what to do. Maybe I could ask Benedict, she thought, but she was too embarrassed by the way she looked at him. What would he think? Did she ruin his reputation? Did he have a partner already? Y/N sighed and got out of the bed.

She put her phone away and turned it off.

Y/N had the whole day for herself until dinner if Benedict wasn't going to cancel it. She knew he wouldn't do such rude thing, but... She felt exposed. It was embarrassing. However, she wanted to look nice for him, so she spent an hour deciding on what she was going to wear. Y/N did her best to spend time, but there were still a few hours until dinner, so she turned her phone on and started reading what people think.

''I'll kill myself if they're not dating!!!''

''He's too good for her.''

''She looks so in love! I mean, who wouldn't?''

There were a few memes too, she was grinning and sending them to her friends before an unknown number called her. With hesitation, she picked up.

It was Benedict's PR team, asking her to not make a comment about the situation yet.

If his team knew, Benedict would know it too.

Thankfully, it was 6 PM and she could start getting ready. Y/N chose a white, puff sleeve and square neck summer dress and combined it with a chain necklace. She put on some makeup after getting her hair done, then checked her phone to see what time it was.

7 PM.

Time passed quickly as she tidied her room, and she put on her perfume before leaving her room right at 7:30.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N knocked on his door and smiled when he opened it.

Benedict couldn't take his eyes off her for a while, ''Hi, umm... Come in...''

''You look lovely...'' He said as he gestured her to take a seat.

''Thank you... So do you... Handsome, I mean. You look handsome. Not just right now, you always do, Oh God, please never compliment me again...'' Y/N blushed and covered her face with her hands as she sat down. Benedict chuckled, ''Thank you darling.'' He sat down in front of her, ''What would you like for dinner?''

Y/N hummed and shrugged, ''I don't know... You decide.''

''How about pizza? You love pizza.''

This made her smile. ''Sounds great.''

He got up to call for room service, then ordered her favourite. Y/N was fiddling with her fingers as Benedict came back, ''What's wrong?''

''Nothing... I mean, you heard about the rumors, didn't you?''

Benedict smiled, ''Do you really care about them? People always make assumptions.''

Y/N smiled too, Assumptions, she thought, but I do like you.

She sighed as he offered his hand. Y/N looked up at him in confusion. ''I'll show you something.'' Benedict said with a smile, then led her to the bedroom when she held his hand.

Y/N's heart was beating fast as she saw a gift box on the bed. Benedict picked it up and turned to her, ''This is for you.''

She was surprised, ''I... Why? I mean, it's not my birthday...'' Y/N chuckled mervously. ''You receive gifts only on your birthday? What a shame. Well, it'll change, darling. Now, open it.'' He said excitedly.

Y/N smiled and bit her lip, opening it. She looked up at him in shock, ''No.''

''Yes.''

She chuckled, can't believe her eyes. It was a deerstalker. The deerstalker that Benedict used, actually.

Tears welled up in Y/N's eyes as she put the box on the bed and took the famous hat out of it, touching it. She couldn't help but smiled as he spoke, ''I wanted to keep it after filming the last season.''

''This is the best gift I have ever received! Thank you!'' Y/N exclaimed as she hugged his neck on tiptoes, earning a chuckle from him and a warm hug back. ''You're welcome, sweetheart. I'm glad you liked it.''

Y/N pulled back but her arms were still on his shoulders, and she felt her cheeks burn as he looked into her eyes and then, at her lips. Y/N closed her eyes as she felt his soft lips on hers, feeling like she ran out of oxygen in a second. Benedict pulled back quickly for her liking, so she kissed him lovingly. ''I like you.'' she whispered, and then regretted it immediately. What if he told her he did not? It would break her heart.

However, Benedict grinned. ''I like you too.''

They kissed again and Y/N pulled back as someone knocked on the door. He let out a low groan, which made her wet, and then pecked her lips. ''It must be room service.''

Y/N nodded with a smile and followed him, the hat still in her hands. Benedict turned around with the tray to see her wearing it with a grin.

-----

After dinner, Y/N posted a selfie of them, her wearing the hat. Then they started reading comments together.

"He made her wear the hat!'' Someone commented, making a reference to Janine's words in the newspaper.

And in the end of the night, he did make her wear the hat.

---

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