Disadvantageous

Chapter 7

"You're positive that this is a good idea, yes?" Sherlock asked, glancing over at the toddler playing with a toy piano on the floor of his flat.

Lydia placed her hand on his arm, "Sherlock, you're wonderful with her. A bit hesitant, yes, but I'm sure that will go away with time. Besides, Mrs. Hudson will be right downstairs and my mobile will be next to me all night should you need me for anything."

He nodded at her words, swallowing nervously as he glanced back at his daughter. Noticing how he lingered uncertainly, Lydia let out a small sigh. "Do you want me to stay the night?"

"I'm sure Liam wouldn't be very happy with that," Sherlock replied, attempting to use the attack on her fiancé as a distraction for his own anxieties.

"Sherlock, don't be like that. Besides, Liam understands what I'm trying to do and he agrees that you should be given the chance to be a part of Willow's life."

"What, so he doesn't have to help raise another man's child as much as he used to have to?"

Lydia, who had been trying to be patient with Sherlock up until this point, growled, "Liam loves Willow and would do anything for her, at least he's not afraid to have to watch her overnight if I have somewhere else to be!"

"Are you sure he doesn't just hire someone to watch her for him? Seems like the type of thing he would do."

"Does it?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what do you know about Liam, you've only met him a handful of times."

"It seems you have forgotten that I can deduce a person with just a glance."

"And it seems you've forgot that there are those who you misread," Lydia shot back, refusing to let Sherlock win the argument.

Sherlock's tone softened as he rebutted, "you don't count, Lia."

"Don't I?"

"No, you- you're special. That's what made me first become intrigued by you. I think I can understand you, that I can tell your life story in just a glance, but you can hide things from me. I never understood what made you so difficult to read. It isn't merely your profession, I've met other actors who have been as easy to read as John. But you, you I never could get a grasp on."

Suddenly aware of how the atmosphere had changed in the flat, Lydia's cheeks rose in colour. Her eyes met Sherlock's gaze and her heart skipped a beat, the familiar sensation of being drawn in by his softened gaze washing over her once again. How she had loved to analyse those eyes, fluctuating between shades of blue and green, to determine the shade of the day. But it was becoming increasingly clear to her that that word shouldn't have been in the past tense, she still loved the sensation of staring into his eyes, feeling them interlocking with her own and making her feel that she was the only person in the world - or at least his world.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed how her body migrated towards his, her lips greedy to taste his own after so long spent apart. It wasn't until she registered his warmth breath fanning over her face, that she quickly snapped back into reality and turned from him.

"Well, I'd best be off. Give me a ring if there's an emergency," she quickly spoke, trying to get out of the flat as quickly as possible. She crouched beside her daughter and forced a large smile across her face, "you be good for daddy, ok? Mummy will be back in the morning to see how everything went."

Willow matched her smile and reached out towards Lydia's face. Lydia took her hold of her little hand and placed a kiss on it before leaning in and kissing her cheek as well. In response, Willow gave her mother a kiss on the cheek as well, or rather pressed her lips against Lydia's cheek and managed to cover the skin with saliva.