What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't want to be alone.

16

"Sherlock, wait up!" I groaned and continued on at my original pace.

"Finally we have a case, and you want me to slow down? Why don’t you go faster?"

"I’m going as fast as I can!" John called, now several steps behind me.

"Not my fault your legs are too short." John huffed and muttered a reply under his breath, causing me to smirk.

"Where are we going anyway?!" I turned so that I was walking backwards facing him.

"Three people mysteriously disappear, no trace of them, and they all work at the same shop? And you think we’re not going to check out the shop?" I turned back around and grabbed John’s hand, dragging him along behind me despite his protests.

(John)

"John, why don’t you go interview some of the employees here. I need to go check something."

I furrowed my brow. We just got here and hadn’t talked to anyone. What could he possibly have to check out already? He ran off in one direction before I could say anything, leaving me alone. Same as usual then.

"Umm excuse me?" The lady at the jewelry counter looked up at me and smiled. "Yes, hello. I was wondering if anything unusual has happened around here lately."

“Well, Mary Warnock saw Don Petheridge snogging Andrea Groom outside the Conservative Club on his so-called day off golfing.”

"Yeah. Right, okay. Never mind."

"And then of course there’s that silver rat. Come to think of it, you’re the second person who asked me about that..."

"Who was the first?"

"An employee here actually. Try the toy section." The lady pointed in the general direction of the toy section. I followed her finger, not really paying attention to where I was going until I bumped into something solid.

"Sorry," I said reflexively, before looking up to see that it was Sherlock. "Sherlock, the woman at the counter, she said that man might know something." I pointed across the shop at a man in the toy section. He was surrounded by a mob of children, "demonstrating" some of the toys. Sherlock followed my finger to look at the strange man in front of us. He had on suspenders and a deerstalker hat and was twisting around in an odd yet comical way. "Are you sure that’s the man?"

I shrugged. "That’s what she said." The children around him scattered as we approached, the plane he was demonstrating plunged to the ground once he noticed us.

"Sherlock!"

Sherlock cocked an eyebrow as the man said his name. "You’ve changed your face again." I stood a little distance behind Sherlock, trying to figure out what he meant by "changed his face."

The man turned his attention from Sherlock to me. "And you must be John! Hello!"

"Sorry, I don’t believe we’ve ever met..."

"John, this is my friend the Doctor."

"Oh hello." He held out his hand politely and I shook it. "You know, I’m a doctor myself. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?"

"That is my name."

"The... Doctor?"

The man smiled and nodded. "Yep, that’s me! Hello." I threw Sherlock a puzzled look, but he just shrugged, as this overall thing was normal behavior.

"What is that thing on your head?"

The Doctor took off his hat and flipped it around so he could look at it. "It’s a Sherlock Holmes hat. I wear a Sherlock Holmes hat now, Sherlock Holmes hats are cool." Sherlock glared at the Doctor, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Sherlock turned his glare to me and I did my best to hide my smirk.

"Oh for the love of..."

"Well, he has got one thing right." I took the hat from the doctor and reached up to put it on Sherlock’s head. "Sherlock Holmes hats are cool," I said, stealing a quick kiss as I dropped back down from my toes. Sherlock rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across his face.

"So, nothing I can do to help then?" he asked, turning back to the Doctor.

"No, I don’t think aliens are quite your area..." Sherlock nodded and turned away, but turned back after a few steps. "You know, I never really thanked you before. If there’s anything I can do..." My jaw dropped. Never did I expect to see Sherlock thank anyone. The Doctor bent in and whispered something in Sherlock’s ear. I swear I saw Sherlock blush. He nodded. "Of course."

Sherlock took my hand and spun me around, leading me out of the shop. "What that’s it?"

He shrugged. "If the Doctor is here, we won’t be much help."

I nodded, but my mind was latched on something else, something Sherlock had said earlier. "You said he was your friend. You don’t have friends."

"I have you." he pointed out.

“I don’t think I classify as a friend anymore, do you? At least, I hope you don’t sleep with all your friends.”

“No, I suppose you’re right. You’re a bit more than that…”

“I’m sorry, what? Did you just say I was right?”

“No.”

“Really? Because I distinctly heard the words ‘you’re right.’”

“I think you need your ears checked. You’re starting to hear things.”

"So," I started, knowing I would never win the previous conversation, "what did the Doctor ask?"

Sherlock turned red and I observed this rare sight. "He asked me to invite him to the wedding."

"Wedding?" I asked, my mind clearly a step behind. Sherlock nodded.

"Yes." He stopped and coughed nervously. "Our wedding, if you’ll agree of course. Not right now obviously, but you know, eventually I was hoping…” He trailed off, fumbling for words. I had never seen him so flustered.

“Eventually,” I agreed.