Disadvantageous

Chapter 31

The ride back to 221B was oddly silent, making Lydia wonder if she had crossed a line while at Irene's. She hadn't meant to upset Sherlock, but perhaps she did let herself get a bit carried away. Nervously playing with her fingers in her lap, she sent a few glances over to Sherlock, wondering if she should discuss anything that had happened at the estate or if she was just overreacting.

Finally Sherlock heaved a sigh and asked, "are you going to say what you want to say or are you just going to sit there silently this whole ride?"

"I- er, I just wanted to make sure you're ok, you've not said a word this entire time. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. But you enjoyed it, didn't you? Part of you would have been content staying there."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. One that he desperately wanted disproven, but a statement nonetheless.

However Lydia shook her head, "perhaps under different circumstances, but I would never choose to give up you or Willow, not even for that lavish lifestyle. Sure, I may have enjoyed it there, but I much prefer our little life together."

"Are you sure? You seemed to have grown quite comfortable around those women, particularly Sevda."

"She was nice and incredibly pretty, I'll give you that. But when she touched me, it only made me think of you. I don't think anyone could ever compare to you, Sherlock, and can't ever seeing myself feeling the way I feel about you with anyone else. I love you, Sherlock."

Whatever Sherlock was expecting to hear, those three words had not been it. He was half convinced that Lydia was going to confess to him that she would rather run off with this woman, not believing she would ever actually choose him after everything.

"Does it bother you?" Lydia finally asked, uncomfortable with the silence that had once again befallen the car.

"Does what bother me?"

"Knowing that I'm bisexual. I've never actually told you that before."

Sherlock shook his head, "your sexuality doesn't matter Lydia, all I care about is that it's me you love."

"Of course it's you, Sherlock. You don't seriously think I would have returned to you after all of the shit we went through if I wasn't deeply and helplessly in love with you, do you? I wouldn't leave you for the world, Sherlock."

A familiar sensation crept through Sherlock's body and his hands tightened around the wheel, "you'd better stop saying things like that, Lia. Otherwise I may not be able to control myself until we get home."

A mixture of relief and arousal washed through Lydia as she heard Sherlock speak those words, suddenly wishing that Irene's estate was much closer to the city. Brushing her fingers across Sherlock's cheek she tempted him, "well it's getting quite late, surely John and Mary would understand if we left Willow at their house for the night. I mean, what is the point of waking her up when we'll just have to put her down again once we get back to 221B."

Lydia didn't miss how Sherlock's foot pressed a down little more on the gas, speeding the car up a bit as he led the way back home. It turned out that the drive wasn't much longer, especially with Sherlock pushing past the legal limits and Lydia's lips were on his the minute that they got up the stairs to the flat.

Sherlock closed the door behind them, pressing Lydia up against it once he heard it latch. His fingers found the button of the coat that Irene had given her and he quickly unfastened them, pushing the fabric off of her shoulders so that it fell to the ground. He took his lips off of Lydia's as he took a step away from her, taking in how the outfit Irene had dressed her in emphasised the curves of her body.