Promises Series

Promise of Love - Better Strangers

The title of this chapter is "Better Strangers" by Royal Blood.

Sherlock breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of John's shampoo. He sighed contentedly and nuzzled his face back into his doctor's neck, tightening his arms around his waist.

John stirred in his arms. He let out a sigh and turned to face Sherlock, smiling softly.

"Hello, love. What time is it?"

Sherlock shrugged. "I didn't bother to check."

"Well, that might be a good idea."

Sherlock stayed where he was.

"Love?"

"I don't want to move. I quite like being tangled up with you."

John hummed in agreement. "So do I. Pity we can't stay in bed for the rest of the day."

"We can if we want to," Sherlock replied, wiggling his foot between John's. "Just you and I."

"Right," John laughed. "It's not as if we have responsibilities."

Sherlock groaned. "She's going to know what we did."

"Exactly? Wow. That would honestly be impressive."

"John, this isn't a joke. How am I going to explain that the reason she had to stay out of the flat for an extra-" Sherlock reached over John and grabbed his phone, checking the time. "-four hours was that we decided to-"

"Maybe you could put it a bit more delicately," John interrupted. "Tell her that you just didn't want her in the flat."

"There's no point to any of this," Sherlock sighed. "She knows. She won't be able to look at us for days." He giggled. "God, John, what the hell is wrong with us? It's half six and we're in bed."

"We're in love," replied John easily. "Not that that's a problem."
"No, not a problem at all."

"What is a problem is that we'll never be alone."

"Julia will be going off to school soon. It will only be a few weeks at most."

John laughed. "Have you talked to her about it yet?"

Sherlock shrugged. "It's a conversation I've been meaning to have."

"We'll add that to the list."

"I'd better take a shower," Sherlock sighed. "I've got to pick her up."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Probably Lestrade's or my mother's. I'll call her."

Sherlock rolled out of bed and trudged to the bathroom. He took a quick, warm shower and threw on new clothes. Wandering back into the bedroom, he found John still wrapped up in blankets, one muscled calf sticking out.

"You might want to put your clothes on before we get back."

"I know, I know."

Sherlock rolled his eyes and left John to his laziness. He took out his phone and dialed Julia's number.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Julia."

"Sherlock? Is something wrong?"

"No. Why would it be?"

"I just... I thought you preferred to text?"

"Yes, well, I've just called to find out where you are, exactly."