The Loving Detective

Zwei

The morning rolled around as fast you could roll a pair of dice. Sherlocks presence inside of his room surprisingly helped John sleep better than he had in his life, so how does he asked him to do it again? John could never just ask Sherlock to sleep with him.

Sitting in Johns room all night was surprisingly therapeutic to Sherlock. He stayed awake all night, well, almost all night. At around eight in the morning, he couldn't keep his eyes open and focus straight, so he dozed off in his own bed. But throughout the night, he watched John sleep peacefully, like he was finally able to take a break from the stress in his life. Almost the entire time, he kept his hand sitting on Johns ankle, only removing it wake you back up after the nerves fell asleep.

In the morning, John woke up and immediately took a warm shower, like he does nearly everyday. It was fast and to the point, and he was out of the shower within five minutes. Since it was a Wednesday, he wasn't scheduled to work, so John put on a simple pair of sweats and one of his favorite sweaters.

"Good morning." Sherlock greeted from his chair in the living room. John combed his hand through his damp hair as he nodded sitting down into his respective chair. Sherlock watched John's hand trace down his scalp, and through his hair. Tingles on the back of his neck made the hair stand up, but Sherlock attempted to rub away the imaginary feeling.

"Any case today?" John asked while examining the newspaper for that previous day.

"No, the criminals must be at work or something. It's quiet." Sherlocks responded in a low, quiet voice, causing John to look up from the newspaper.

"Let's go out, then? For lunch or something."

"I'm not a fan of 'going out'."

"Oh, Sherlock, this is the one day we have no case, no job, no parties, we can spend it together." John had rolled up the newspaper in a more crooked fold, compared to how neatly Sherlock folded it.

"We spend nearly everyday together. I'd like to stay home." He glanced at the newspaper and a little tiny part of his heart broke seeing how destroyed the newspaper had become.

John had gotten up and started to tug on Sherlocks arms, but his under-average body could only pull so much, and Sherlocks body did not fit in the category, "up! I cant do this myself, help me!" John wined. Sherlock scoffed playfully and finally stood up, only inches from Johns body. They both let out almost silent breaths, staring at each other. Sherlock was the one who broke the tension as he walked to his room to change. John, staying in the same spot, had too many things running around inside his mind. The flutter in his heart and the mish-moshy feeling inside his stomach could easily answer his feelings for Sherlock, but even now, he was afraid to admit it.

After just 20 minutes, they were both ready to leave the flat. John had worn simple black pants and kept on his favorite sweater. Sherlock went for an all black look with his long coat as the finishing piece of the outfit.

"You're going to be cold, John. It's only about 40
(4° C) outside." John rolled his eyes and cheerfully skipped down the steps and out onto the street, with Sherlock filling behind at a slower pace.

Sherlock waved his arm into the street, and a cab pulled over to let the two men inside. "Where to?"

"Smiths Sandwich Shop." John replied.

"Smiths? That's a bit far, don't you think? There's plenty of sandwiche shops in this area."

"Sherlock, calm down," John placed his hand onto Sherlocks knee, "I can get free food at this place whenever I want. And I just realized I forgot my wallet." Sherlock kept his eyes at the hand on his knee.

"I brought mine?"

"Looks like we have someone to pay for the cab." Sherlock squinted his eyes at John, smirking, and letting him have this moment. Even if John had brought his wallet, Sherlock would've paid.

The ride there was a bit longer than normally, since it had to go into more of a wooded area. "Listen boys, I'm not sure if I'm even supposed to drive you guys out here," the cab driver started, "but I'll let you two have your date. I do take tips though."

"Oh no, we're not-"

"John." Sherlock stared at him with a look saying 'don't even bother'. It was true, they get asked and told this nearly everyday, but the most they can do is just ignore it.

After just a few minutes, they got to the sandwich shop. Sherlock handed a hefty tip to the driver and walked in the shop alongside John.

"John!" The shop owner shouted after seeing John and Sherlock enter the building.

"Hey Marty!" John shouted back, and then took Sherlock to the booth he always sat in.

"Didn't know you were so familiar with these gentlemen." Sherlock remarked.

"You sound jealous." John joked, but started to notices that Sherlock maybe wasn't joking either. Sherlock didn't reply, and just read through the hand-held menu.

"Alright, John," Marty had come over to them, "I know your regular, what does your date want?" John rolled his eyes, but this is normal behavior for Marty, and decided to not say anything.

"I'll take a plate of chips, that'll be all." Marty grabbed the menus and took their order back to the kitchen. "John, how do you know that man?"

"Y'know, the more you say, you sound more jealous," Sherlock gave a blank stare at John, "we were in Afghanistan together. He talked about opening a sandwich shop when we got back, said I'll get free food."

"That man was placed in war?" John laughed. He had heard that exact response from many people.

"He's a bit more charismatic now, he said being happier helped him with PTSD."

"Could just be him masking his emotions."

"Sherlock, I don't want to go into a therapy session right now, I just tell people what I've been told."

"I know," Sherlock smiled, "I just like reading people." After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Marty came back with a sandwich and a plate of chips. He 'secretly' winked at John while motioning to Sherlock, but he was actually very obvious about it.

"So," John started, "why don't you say anything when people think we're dating?" The question came as a surprise to Sherlock, causing him to think for a minute.

"It's not necessarily worth to deny it. It'll just make you look more guilty to it, and it's a waste of energy. People will always think things," John nodded in reply, "so why do you always try to deny it?"

"Well," he took a moment to think, "people always think things, but you can always tell them the truth. There's always nasty rumors spreading about everyone."

"Are you implying us dating would be a bad thing?"

"No."

"Great. Given our circumstances, I'm sure we'd be a great couple." Those words hung in the air, causing more questions John wanted to ask, but he kept them to himself. Sherlock could just be making a joke, and he would just embarrass himself.

They finished their meals pretty quickly, and it was close to three in the afternoon, considering how late John and Sherlock left for lunch.

"Bye Marty!" John chimed as they walked out out the shop. Sherlock called for a cab, which was actually the same man from before. They got into the car and headed back home to their flat.