Into The Near Future

Chapter 4 - The Lady in Pink (Part 3)

John frowns. Nearby, Mike smiles knowingly. John looks at Sherlock as he continues to type.

JOHN: Sorry?

"I find it so funny how Mike is just sitting there with that bloody grin on his face!" Lestrade says while laughing uncontrollably.

John just smirks, "It's because he's a jackass."

SHERLOCK: Which was it – Afghanistan or Iraq?

He briefly raises his eyes to John's before looking back to the phone. John hesitates, then looks across to Mike, confused. Mike just smiles smugly.

JOHN: Afghanistan. Sorry, how did you know ...?

Sherlock looks up as Molly comes into the room holding a mug of coffee.

SHERLOCK: Ah, Molly, coffee. Thank you.

He shuts down John's phone and hands it back while Molly brings the mug over to him. He takes it and looks closely at her. Her mouth is paler again.

SHERLOCK: What happened to the lipstick?

"Oh God, why does this have to show me at all?" Molly questions putting her head in her hands.

Everyone looks at her with sympathy except Sherlock and Mycroft, Sherlock somehow became oblivious again.

Maybe to ease her...

MOLLY (smiling awkwardly at him): It wasn't working for me.

SHERLOCK: Really? I thought it was a big improvement. Your mouth's too small now.

Lestrade starts getting confused be Sherlocks wording. "How can you compliment her and insult her in one sentence Sherlock? I swear you have a natural talent in that!"

"Well I didn't mean it like that, it was just a simple deduction of looking at her." He says smoothly.

This bloody idiot just happens to insult us by making deductions! Everyone had that one thought in mind.

He turns and walks back to his station, taking a sip from the mug and grimacing at the taste.

MOLLY: ... Okay.

She turns and heads back towards the door.

SHERLOCK: How do you feel about the violin?

John looks around at Molly but she's on her way out the door. He glances at Mike who is still smiling smugly and finally realizes that Sherlock is talking to him.

JOHN: I'm sorry, what?

SHERLOCK (typing on a laptop keyboard as he talks): I play the violin when I'm thinking. Sometimes I don't talk for days on end. (He looks around at John.) Would that bother you? Potential flatmates should know the worst about each other.

He throws a hideously false smile at John, who looks at him blankly for a moment then looks across to Mike.

JOHN: Oh, you ... you told him about me?

MIKE: Not a word.

JOHN (turning to Sherlock again): Then who said anything about flatmates?

SHERLOCK (picking up his greatcoat and putting it on): I did. Told Mike this morning that I must be a difficult man to find a flatmate for. Now here he is just after lunch with an old friend, clearly just home from military service in Afghanistan. Wasn't that difficult a leap.

"Are you kidding me? Not that difficult of a leap? What the hell! If I just met my doppelganger I wouldn't have been able to tell!" John has that proud look on his face when it comes to Sherlocks deductions.

"It wasn't that difficult... but Mrs. Hudson would you mind making some tea? I haven't had it in ages."

Mrs. Hudson gets up, "Of course dear! But I'm not you nanny! Only this one time because you came back from the dead."

"Thanks Mrs. Hudson, can you make some more popcorn?" John jokingly chimes in.

"And wait, Sherlock not having tea in ages? Actually what we're you doing the past 2 years?"

"John no, we will discuss matters after these films play out." Mycroft states firmly.

"Fine."

JOHN: How did you know about Afghanistan?

Sherlock ignores the question, wraps his scarf around his neck, then picks up his mobile and checks it.

SHERLOCK: Got my eye on a nice little place in central London. Together we ought to be able to afford it.

He walks towards John.

SHERLOCK: We'll meet there tomorrow evening; seven o'clock. Sorry – gotta dash. I think I left my riding crop in the mortuary.

Putting his phone into the inside pocket of his coat, he walks past John and heads for the door.

JOHN (turning to look at him): Is that it?

Sherlock turns back from the door and strolls closer to John again.

SHERLOCK: Is that what?

JOHN: We've only just met and we're gonna go and look at a flat?

"Alright! Here's everybodies tea!" She passes to everyone and sits down again next to Molly and Sally.

SHERLOCK: Problem?

John smiles in disbelief, looking across to Mike for help, but his friend just continues to smile as he looks at Sherlock. John turns back to the younger man.

JOHN: We don't know a thing about each other; I don't know where we're meeting; I don't even know your name.

Sherlock looks closely at him for a moment before speaking.

SHERLOCK: I know you're an Army doctor and you've been invalided home from Afghanistan. I know you've got a brother who's worried about you, but you won't go to him for help because you don't approve of him – possibly because he's an alcoholic; more likely because he recently walked out on his wife. And I know that your therapist thinks your limp's psychosomatic – quite correctly, I'm afraid.

John looks down at his leg and cane and shuffles his feet awkwardly.

SHERLOCK (smugly): That's enough to be going on with, don't you think?

He turns and walks to the door again, opening it and going through, but then leans back into the room again.

SHERLOCK: The name's Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221B Baker Street.

He click-winks at John, then looks around at Mike.

SHERLOCK: Afternoon.

Mike raises a finger in farewell as Sherlock disappears from the room. As the door slams shut behind him, John turns and looks at Mike in disbelief. Mike smiles and nods to him.

MIKE: Yeah. He's always like that.

"I honestly couldn't tell if he was hitting on you John, sure sounded like it."

"Don't even start Inspector, I have had enough people tell me that Sherlock and I are a gay couple." He angerly looks at him.

"I was trying to make a good impression in a way."

"What?" Everyone looks at Sherlock.

"I could see John as a good flat mate and I didn't want to scare him off right away."

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1059 words

Got the beginning down! 😅