The Sign of Three: A Reader's Journey

Maybe We Should Keep Dancing

You reached out and straightened the boutonnière on the lapel of Sherlock's jacket. He gave you a small nod in return and you squeezed his arm reassuringly, whispering a quick "Good luck!" before getting off the small stage to join the crowd of people now forming a circle in anticipation of the newlywed's first dance.

Soon enough, everyone's attention shifted to John and Mary as they commenced dancing a slow waltz to the melody of Sherlock's violin piece.

It was safe to say that you had this composition ingrained into your head as a result of Sherlock practicing and perfecting it day and night up to the day of the wedding. So maybe it was the ambience in the reception hall that night or the fact that the music was being played in its final, intended moment that had you completely mesmerized by Sherlock's elegant stance on the stage with his violin placed delicately under his chin. The tunes reverberated through the room making the hairs on your arms spike up and the way in which his hands produced tunes of magical beauty with soft and slow movements took your breath away; to say that it was beautiful was an understatement.

Sherlock's eyes remained fixated on the dancing couple in front of him through the entirety of his performance. You were eventually able to tear your eyes away from the captivating violinist and back to the dancing couple, but not before quickly scanning the crowd. How no one else was just as mesmerized by the violinist and the tunes he was creating were beyond you, but you turned your attention back to the newlyweds and realized why.

They were completely infatuated with each other as they danced as if no one else was watching them. You let out a soft sigh; they looked like they were straight out of a fairy tale, and you wondered for a brief moment whether you'd ever be able to experience something like that.

As the melody drew near its end, John gently dipped Mary backwards, presumably out of the blue as Mary let out an audible gasp followed by a soft giggle. He kissed her which was met by an applause from the audience. You cheered for the happy couple, before shifting your attention back to Sherlock and directing your applause to him. You were not the only one who was appreciating his talents apparently, as Janine excitedly whooped at him as well.

This caught his attention. He smirked as he saw the two of you applauding for him and took off the boutonnière from his jacket, tossing it in the general direction of where the two of you were standing. The flower landed in your hands and you looked up at him slightly caught off guard.

Sherlock gave you a small wink which earned him a shy grin from you.

"Ladies and gentlemen, one last thing before the evening begins properly. Apologies for earlier, a crisis arose and was dealt with," Sherlock began to speak into the microphone. He was noticeably more relaxed now than he was at his speech earlier.

"More importantly, however, today we saw two people make vows. I've never made a vow in my life, and after tonight I never will again. So, here in front of you all, my first and last vow. Mary and John: whatever it takes, whatever happens, from now on I swear I will always be there, always, for all three of you."

A few murmurs went around the room and Sherlock noticing his small blunder, stuttered, "Er, I'm sorry, I mean, I mean the two of you. All two of you. Both of you, in fact." His eyes flickered across the room and settled on you before he quickly added, "And Y/N. Of course, it was the three of you I was referring to, er – anyway, it's time for dancing. Play the music again, please, thank you."

You blinked slowly in confusion.

What was that about?

Sherlock quickly got off the stage as disco lights began to flash and 'December, 1963' by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons began to play.