These Days

Accused of Happiness

"Daddy!" Hamish cried, walking into the entry way with a big lopsided smile. John surely hoped he heard none of that, but he picked him up and gave him a big welcoming hug. Sherlock slapped on another fake smile, for Hamish to think it was purely an educational meeting.
"I'm hungry, what's mommy making for dinner?" Hamish muttered as John let him drop to the floor.
"I don't know, I guess we'll find out." John decided. "Goodbye Mr. Holmes, and apologies."
"Nothing to apologize for Mr. Watson, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon." Sherlock agreed. They both nodded to each other, passing on their unshared secret. John smiled one last time and lead Hamish out the doors into the slightly blinding sun, inquiring about his day at school and making sure everything was going just fine.
"What were you apologizing to Mr. Holmes for?" Hamish asked as John helped him buckle his seatbelt.
"Oh nothing, just some math work I forgot to turn in for you." John shrugged.
"Oh, okay." Hamish shrugged. John smiled at him again, getting into the driver's seat and turning on the engine, driving back to his house/prison.
"How was work honey?" Mary asked as John walked through the door, her stupid smile on her face.
"Work was fine." John muttered, kind of trying to push past her to get inside. He was a bit grumpy, but also extremely relieved to know that Sherlock almost had the same feelings. Of course he was a bit apprehensive about swooping in and destroying John's livelihood, but John wasn't kidding, he wanted him to. It would be great to have an excuse to just take Hamish and run, and maybe that was a bit harsh but John knew deep down that was what he wanted. He wanted Sherlock.
"So I made macaroni and cheese for dinner, with some stewed tomatoes." Mary said as john hung up his bag and hard hat on the coat rack.
"Sounds good." John decided, walking into the living room and quickly jamming that cursed ring onto his finger. If only this were the Lord of the Rings, and this stupid wedding ring would turn him invisible. Maybe then it would be easier to have a life outside of all this family nonsense. Hamish was bouncing around once more with his Nerf guns, hiding on top of the staircase and shooting foam darts down through the banister with terrible accuracy. One almost hit john in the nose, but he just smiled up at his son and pretended like he didn't notice. Hamish swooped down the steps with his Batman mask on and some red generic cape, shooting darts at Mary as she bustled around and tried to prepare dinner.
"The evil villain is escaping!" he cried as she swatted him away with a dishtowel, moving to the other side of the counter to check on the food in the oven. John ignored the scene, hiding his nose in a newspaper and trying to imagine which stories would be worthy to be displayed on Sherlock's board. Probably this one about a murder, or one about a fatal car crash, anything that was bloody, disturbing, and enough to give children nightmares. John sighed, hoping he hadn't come on too strong in his confrontation. But it eased his mind to know that Sherlock had wanted the kiss as much as he had, there was nothing to apologize for, according to him. But still, Sherlock was feeling bad about it, like there was something he was doing wrong. He was doing nothing wrong as long as Mary stayed in the dark about the whole ordeal. The minute this affair comes into the light then there will be consequences, and John was sure they wouldn't be easy. He was digging himself into a hole, Sherlock alongside of him, and they could either reach the other side of the world or get caught, and once they were caught there was no getting out. There was only someone pouring hot magma on your head or something. And the deeper they went the more obvious the entire thing will be. At this point they just had to keep digging, as fast and as deep as they can in hopes of making it to a whole new world.        

           Sherlock POV.  "You're quite chipper today Sherlock." Mrs. Hudson decided. Sherlock was sitting at her dining table, having been invited to eat with her that night. According to Mrs. Hudson, she hadn't estimated that the turkey would be this big, but Sherlock knew that was a lie. You could see how much meat you buy when you actually buy it. Maybe she had wanted company, or maybe she wanted to know a bit more about his new love interest. Of course she didn't know there was a love interest, but being around the world for so long, he was sure she could pick up on signs.
"I've had a good day I suppose." Sherlock shrugged, cutting his turkey a bit more and drizzling gravy over the majority of his plate.
"What made today so good?" she asked.
"The children didn't make me want to bash my own brains out." Sherlock shrugged.
"Well I suppose that's a good omen." Mrs. Hudson sighed, sounding disappointed on the lack of gossip.
"I suppose it is." Sherlock agreed. Of course it wasn't the children, but it was true he didn't want to bash his own brains out. It was enough to notice the absence of the globe to make him smile, remembering the events that had occurred only a night before. The confrontation from John had been quite a shock, but it had thrilled him to see how passionate John was about their upcoming relationship. Obviously this entire ordeal wasn't just a joke, maybe he actually wanted this to be a thing.
"You're smiling again." Mrs. Hudson pointed out.
"Is that a crime?" Sherlock asked.
"It's a miracle, which makes me wonder just what brought it to us. It has to be a girl Sherlock; it's the only explanation to all of this nonsense." Mrs. Hudson decided.
"There's no girl." Sherlock insisted.
"Then what, do you have a puppy hidden in your house somewhere?" she asked.
"I wish I did." Sherlock admitted. Mrs. Hudson frowned, obviously not knowing what to make of Sherlock's sudden happiness.
"Then what Sherlock, come on you can tell me!" Mrs. Hudson insisted.
"Am I allowed to be happy? Do I need a reason?" Sherlock asked.
"I've known you for years Sherlock, and I'm sure this is the first time I've seen you smile without someone getting injured." Mrs. Hudson pointed out.
"Am I that morbid?" Sherlock asked.
"Yes." Mrs. Hudson decided. Sherlock sighed, eating his food without a word. He'd love to tell Mrs. Hudson, of course he would, but the moment she found out the whole town will find out, somehow the information would be leaked. Sherlock didn't want to trust this information with anyone other than himself, and it wasn't just his reputation he was protecting, it was John's. He was the one in jeopardy of this entire thing, Sherlock had no reputation and nothing to lose, John had an entire life that was already extremely fragile.
"Well then, sorry to disappoint." Sherlock muttered. They finished their dinners in silence, Mrs. Hudson seemed very anxious to know what it was that was making Sherlock smile, but he didn't give her the information she craved. He was sure she had her own secrets, and he had his. When dinner was over Mrs. Hudson topped the meal off with an apple pie she just made with the apples she had bought from the farmer's market. She claimed they were the best baking apples, and when fall came around there were so many apple flavored baked goods that she sometimes left them on people's doorsteps. It was simply too much for the two of them to eat alone.
"I was thinking I could make you some cookies to take into school one day." Mrs. Hudson decided.
"Why?" Sherlock asked.
"Because the children will like them." She pointed out.
"They're fat enough already." Sherlock shrugged.
"Sherlock!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed, as if that were some sort of insult.
"What?" Sherlock asked.
"You can't call other people's children fat." She pointed out.
"But they are!" Sherlock defended.
"I'm sure they're not." Mrs. Hudson sighed.
"I invite you to see the classroom." Sherlock grumbled.
"That's quite rude." Mrs. Hudson decided.
"Well that's me." Sherlock pointed out.
"Yes, I suppose it is." She sighed. Sherlock smiled guiltily, finishing off his piece of pie and retreating upstairs. He stood in his apartment and sighed, looking around as if he had expected something to have changed. Maybe, with any luck, John would be sitting there, lounging on his couch and asking what had taken him so long. But no such luck, it was as empty as it always had been. Sherlock smiled to himself though, he wasn't such a lost cause after all. John wanted him as much as Sherlock wanted John; they were meant to be together. Maybe John was only lying though; maybe he was only saying such sweet things to get Sherlock to believe them, to fall for his tricks. Of course Sherlock had heard of stories where men only say things to get an easy relationship. The only reason Sherlock was positive John wasn't just toying with him was because he knew that no one in their right mind would try to date him unless they actually wanted to. He was a horrible person of course, Mrs. Hudson had said it herself, and it's not like he was attractive. John must really be messed up in the head to see anything in him. Sherlock changed into his pajamas and sat up a little bit in the chair, not bothering to start a fire but just sitting there, thinking about John and replaying that glorious kiss in his head, over and over again until finally he just went to bed, for the second night in a row he actually had a smile on his face. The second night where he knew he wasn't just a waste of food, oxygen, and space.