[Johnlock/Mystrade] Tears in rain

Chapter 12

*I just realized it was the Prison of Sussex not the Suches Prison. If you had seen "Suches Prison" in the chapters prior to this one, please comment and let me know.

March 2027  London Seventh year of the end of the Great Purge

It was Sherlock's 32nd birthday and also their 10th wedding anniversary.

It' s not that John didn't want to do anything special to mark the special occasion, he just wasn't sure if it meant anything. There's no point in having a vain ceremony when even the wedding ring was nowhere to be found.

It's been 7 years, his resentment had long since diminished, what's left was his gratitude for the present.

For those who had dispersed in life, upon remembering them was no longer matter of sorrow and remorse, but of gentle tenderness and hurt-less regrets. The lovely, the ugly, the loved and the loathed were all eventually filtered and fermented into memories in the river of time.

John had been surprised to learn of the detective's heritage, and he had kept asking the brunette why he had fallen in love with him.

He was short, unremarkable in appearance, he had no parent or relative aside from his very drunk sister, with that he was not even qualified to be compared to his distinguished peers.

Therefore he couldn't comprehend how the Holmes family's youngest son could have fallen in love with him at first sight.

The detective scratch his head in frustration, "If only I knew, if only I knew how I could quit you."

This was when John started to fall in love with the detective.

Irene was at Sherlock's birthday party, persuading him to admit defeat.

Sherlock narrowed his eyes.

Irene simply laughed "Three months have passed and I have seen no improvement. Mr. Holmes, it would be better to seek forgiveness."

"I never seek for forgiveness," Sherlock said flatly.

"That's a bet you're going to lose," Irene swept passed Sherlock with a casual laugh that was scarcely audible.

Sherlock didn't bother responding.

What Irene truly meant to say was, "You and I were dark, cruel souls who deserved nothing more than to dwell in the darkness, while people like John were destined to be a lifetime luxury for people like us."

Instead, Irene remained silent; if she couldn't burn Holmes' heart herself, she didn't mind if someone else did.

She was ultimately just as selfish.

On Andy's third birthday, John and Sally brought him to the park for a day of fun and games, eventually putting him to rest after a long afternoon of play.

Sally and John sat on a bench, sipping their hot drink and chatted for a while, enjoying their quiet and serene moment.

A camera in the distance silently caught it all, the man on the other end of the camera suddenly found himself, for the first time, jealous.

Such felicity would never be his.

Sherlock was soon disgusted by the random man he brought back from the club and was ready to leave even before they finished. Surprisingly, the other man was mentally ill and stabbed Sherlock out of irritation.

When Sherlock was rushed to the hospital and found John to be his doctor, he was pleased - even more so than he would admit - that he was actually secretly thrilled.