Believe in This

Unlocking the door to the flat Ben and I were currently sharing, I struggled to hold all the bags while maneuvering myself through the doorway. Making it into the kitchen, I set to work unpacking all the groceries humming to myself as I did so. Once everything was in its place, I gathered up the ingredients for cheeseburgers and chips, it taking me just over forty minutes to finish up the meal. I hadn’t heard a sound from Benedict since I ran him a hot bath an hour and a half earlier so after sitting our food and drinks down in front of the telly, I headed down the hallway to see what he was up to. Lightly pushing the door to his room open, I found him curled up on his bed with only a towel protecting his modesty. At risk of looking like a pervert should he wake, I took a moment to admire his physique. Even though he had been on his Sherlock diet for a month or two, I could still make out the lines of his abs that the role of Khan had so gratefully bestowed upon him, lines that made me want to lick my lips and fan myself. Unaware of my movements, I was brushing one of his curls from his face and taking a seat next to his body, letting the movement of my fingers lightly running through his hair wake him up.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Locking his sleep filled eyes with mine Benedict gave me a lazy smile, “Your bubble bath did me in.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a nap but dinner’s getting cold. I’ll start our movie and once you have some clothes on you can join me.”

Leaving Benedict by himself, since I wasn’t sure how much longer I could sit in the same room with him and that body, I made myself comfortable on the sofa, setting up the latest season of The Walking Dead on the television. Five minutes later, sleeping beauty finally joined me, donning a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and eyeing up the plate of food I had set before him. I couldn’t help but laugh when he let out a moan with his first bite, a moan that told me my cooking was very appreciated.

“That’s what I was hoping for Mr. Cumberbatch. I’ll be starting our movie so when you decide to get up and put some clothes on you can join me.”

“Please tell me there’s more of these.”

“There’s two extra being kept hot in the oven.”

For the next three hours, we watched one of my favorite TV show, Benedict getting a kick out of me yelling at the screen whenever someone acted overly stupid. Once we were out of episodes, he insisted on washing the dishes leaving me time to shower and change before we started our movie. Somehow I found myself laid out on the sofa, covered by my Doctor Who blanket with my head resting near Ben’s legs.

I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it happened but as we watched Pitch Perfect Benedict’s fingers came to run through my locks, twirling the ends around his fingertips before beginning once again at my scalp. It was largely due to the gentle movements of his hands but also in part to the full stomach and run I had embarked on earlier that lulled me to sleep, as content and warm as a person could be.

The sun shining through the open curtains in the living room is what woke me the next morning, making me aware of the fact that I was still in said room and not in my own. As my body slowly awoke, I also became aware of the hand tangled in my hair and the pillow underneath my head, a pillow which turned out not to be an actual cushion but Benedict’s leg.

Slowly lifting myself from the couch I covered Benedict up with the blanket I had slept with before slinking off to my bathroom. After taking care of my business, I combed out my hair and brushed my teeth before slinking back into the living room. Glad that he hadn’t woken up, I left him sprawled out on the couch, a position that looked much more comfortable than the sitting one he had slept all night in, and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.

It didn’t take me long to whip up two cheese omelets, two halves of a grilled tomato, and seasoned potatoes. I had picked up the habit of having hashbrowns with my breakfast while in the States and it had now become a staple whenever I cooked breakfast. I had just set a plate of toast and jam on the table when Benedict walked in running a hand through his hair and letting out a yawn.

“I think I would have slept all day if the smell hadn’t woken me.”

“Well I’m glad I didn’t have to wake you myself. I’m rubbish at pulling people from their slumber. I just feel like I’m depriving them of something that I for one love very much.”

“Well if you ever have to wake me don’t feel bad. I usually fall into a sleep coma if I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep. That’s half the reason why I’m late to nearly everything.”

"I’ll keep that in mind.”

We sat down at the table and quietly talked over breakfast, the two of us still waking up as we ate. There was already a pattern forming between the two of us, if I cooked Benedict did the washing, claiming it was the least he could do since he wasn’t the greatest cook and no one, except his mum, cooked for him anymore.

While Benedict took care of the dishes I went ahead and got dressed for the day since we were joining Martin and Amanda for paintball. Since they were due to pick us up in less than an hour I slipped on a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt I didn’t have any attachment to. Pulling on a pair of old combat boots I grabbed a sweatshirt, knowing it was supposed to be rather cold and not wanting to get hypothermia. Shoving a lip balm into my pocket along with my license and a few notes I didn’t bother with makeup and headed back into the living room with my Kindle. I managed to read through about four chapters of Memoirs of a Geisha before Benedict came in, telling me that Martin and Amanda were waiting for us downstairs. He was dressed similarly to me, though if I’m being honest a plain old t-shirt did wonders for him while mine just looked well, rather plain. We took the elevator downstairs to see Martin and Amanda waiting for us at the curb in a rented Land Rover.

“Glad to see you didn’t opt for the Fiat this time.” Benedict voiced, sliding into the backseat next to me.

Pulling away from the apartment block, Martin looked back at his friend, “We didn’t want Charlotte to feel squished.”

“Right, the concern for me is overwhelming.”

It was a bit of a drive to the site of Delta Force and on the way there we debated on which courses we were most excited to run around. Amanda had called earlier in the day and apparently the four of us were the only ones scheduled to be on the property.

“I totally vote for London Apocalypse and the Zombie Crypt courses.”

“You’re only voting for the Zombie Crypt because we watched The Walking Dead last night.”

“So? I am merely preparing myself for the zombie apocalypse and learning how to impress Daryl.”

“Daryl? You’re on a first name basis with him now? First of all, Daryl Dixon doesn’t exist. Secondly, if he did and the zombie apocalypse was a real thing you don’t exactly have a way to get to him in Georgia.”

Not wanting to admit that Benedict had discovered a flaw in my plan I turned my head towards the window trying to find a loophole.

“Then I’ll just have to learn how to fly a plane. It’d be easier than being stuck with Sherlock and Watson. All you’d want to do is deduce zombies and all he would be concerned about was impressing the ladies.”

Benedict and Martin turned to frown at each other while Amanda couldn’t help but laugh chiming in that she thought they would both be rather bad off in the zombie apocalypse.

“Excuse me, I did learn how to shoot a gun for War Horse and I’m sure in certain situations I could remember some of my stunts from Star Trek. I think that puts me way above Daryl Dixon in the zombie apocalypse.”

“Sure it does Benny.”

When we finally arrived at Delta Force after an hour long car ride it felt like we had stepped into a completely different country. The woods surrounded us and I could just make out the setup of a few courses through the trees. Since it had rained earlier in the day the ground had turned into a wonderful muddy mess, which made me glad I hadn’t worn anything of value.

We met with our leader for the day, Luke Richards, who helped us choose our gear and equipment. We decided to split into teams for the day, Amanda and I going against the boys for our first course three courses. Hiding and running through the Tomb Raider, Zombie’s Crypt, and Castle Wolfenstein was a great deal of fun, especially when Amanda and I came out as the victors. All four of us were covered in mud as we headed towards the canteen for lunch but we didn’t mind as the fun we were having outweighed the state of our clothing. Pulling off my helmet I shook my hair out hoping not to have a terrible case of helmet hair and took a seat next to Ben, looking at him with a knowing smile that reminded him of his loss.

“Alright, Charlotte’s with me this time around.”

“She’s my partner!” Amanda protested.

“Nope, I’m claiming her for my own.”

Benedict slung his arm around my shoulder pulling me closer to him as I nibbled on my slice of pizza, not getting a say so in the matter. I glanced up from my plate at Martin and Amanda finding that was she had a knowing stare locked on me, causing me to wonder just what she knew that I didn’t and Martin as well, since he was looking at Benedict in the same way.

“Oh fine, just don’t complain to us when we beat you.” She said, wrapping her own arm around Martin.

“Right, like that’s going to happen.” Benedict laughed. “Clearly, Charlotte’s the best out of all of us and we both know she could beat all of us by herself. Well just let how she came to be so handy with a paintball gun remain a mystery.”

After we finished with our lunch and sat around for a few minutes talking with Luke we headed back into the woods for our next four courses. Between my on target shooting and Benedict’s aptness for hiding, we demolished Martin and Amanda from the start and proved to be an unstoppable force. By the end of our day, Benedict and I, though the muddier of the teams, came out on top with only ten splashes of paint shared between the two of us. Ridding ourselves of our protective gear we posed for a few photos with Luke and the rest of the staff to be uploaded to the company’s website before beginning our journey back into Cardiff.
Rain had begun to fall just as we started our last course and the heaviness of it proved just enough to soak through our gear and into our clothes leaving the four of us just a cough away from pneumonia. Martin had the heat up as high as it would go but I was still shivering in my seat, having ditched my boots and peeled off my soaked socks. The sun had already set as we pulled off the grounds and my body began shivering without my permission, showing just how cold I truly was. I stared out the window as Martin drove down the dirt road hoping some semblance of warmth would return to my body.

“Come here.”

I glanced across the backseat at Benedict, who was watching me shiver quite closely. Holding up his arms, I didn’t even think before sliding across the seat and into them, not caring that the man I was slowly but helplessly coming to adore had me wrapped in his arms or that Martin and Amanda kept shooting glances at the two of us. Wrapping his arms around me, I relished in the warmth his body gave off, my head laying on his chest as my shivering finally ceased. Benedict had told me once before that he was a naturally hot person and in that moment I couldn’t have been more thankful.

Martin, Amanda, and Benedict fell into their own conversation while I opted to remain quite, the sound of their voices becoming background noise as my eyes slowly shut and I drifted off. I must have slept the entire way back into Cardiff because it was the feel of the car pulling to a stop that woke me up. Lifting my head from Benedict’s shoulders, I blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust before fully sitting up and seeing that we were in front of our building. Benedict and I said our goodbyes to Martin and Amanda, both of us thanking them for such a fun day before heading upstairs.

“So I was thinking I’d take a quick shower and pop out and get us some take-away. Fish and chips sound alright with you?”

“At this point anything sounds good, I’m starving.”

Forty minutes later, after I had spent a good amount of time soaking in a hot bath I slipped into a long sleep shirt and my slippers, having heard the door open not too long, and joined Benedict in front of the television.

“I think your nutritionist would have a fit if they saw what you’ve been eating in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Probably, but I think I deserved it. Besides, the both of us both worked off enough calories today to indulge ourselves a little.”

“I agree, though I’ll probably feel guilty and go running tomorrow afternoon.”

“Mind if I join you? I could use a good workout.”

“Nope, just don’t complain when you get left behind.” I teased.

“Oh Ms. Hughes, I do believe that’s a challenge.”

“Take it as you want to Benny boy. I’m just merely stating the facts.” I replied, shooting him a grin.