These Days

Hoping For Some Mistletoe

When John got back he was balancing two cups on two plastic trays, which had burgers and overflowing cups of fries on them. Sherlock got up to help him, taking the cups and making it a lot easier to make the final couple steps to the table.
"Lunch is served." John said with a little smile. Sherlock took his tray, the baconless burger, and took a couple of satisfied bites.
"It's been a while since I was out to lunch." He decided. "Well, actually, out anywhere other than work."
"You're just a social butterfly aren't you?" John laughed.
"I've got no reason to be social, I have no friends." Sherlock shrugged. "If it weren't for you I'd be Scrooge once again."
"Well good thing I'm here, the ghost of socialization past." John laughed.
"Even in school I had no friends, I hated everyone, probably even more than they hated me." Sherlock shrugged.
"I imagine that sucked." John guessed.
"Yes, it did. Even worse there were always some girls that had a crush on me, like, even the populars. They claimed they liked my hair, but I always turned them down." Sherlock shrugged.
"Did you ever have your eye on anyone in high school?" John asked.
"No, I never had a relationship and I never wanted one." Sherlock admitted.
"Did you know you were into guys then?" John asked.
"I didn't know I was into anyone then." Sherlock laughed.
"Well, I guess I'm lucky I met you this time." John decided.
"You act as if it was all you." Sherlock pointed out.
"Well, it kind of was, that night; I didn't see you making any moves." John pointed out.
"Because I was too scared to." Sherlock admitted. John was very taken aback, he had just imagined Sherlock had jumped on the bandwagon, was he implying what John thought?
"You mean you liked me before I kissed you?" John asked. Sherlock blushed, but shrugged.
"What can I say, you're an attractive guy, and you were nice to me, which never happens. Ever." Sherlock shrugged.
"I'm flattered." John laughed. "When did that start?"
"When Hamish first took the test." Sherlock admitted.
"I liked you after the first coffee visit. Jeez, that feels like so long ago, and I had felt so hopeless. Now here we are." John said with a smile, remembering all the way back to the pit in his stomach, when he had been sure Sherlock would never accept him.
"How do you think I felt? You're married, to a woman no less. I knew I had no chance, that's why the chair took a beating." Sherlock said with a little laugh.
"You mean that pile of wood next to your fireplace? I saw it when I was there." John guessed.
"That was the night my hope plummeted. I was planning on admitting my feelings to you, when I wanted to talk about Hamish, but Mary showed up. I had taken it as a sign that we were never meant to be, and I beat up the chair." Sherlock shrugged.
"She insisted, if you must know. I had wanted to go then, but she insisted that she had better go." John assured.
"That was probably the worst I've ever felt." Sherlock admitted.
"Well, forget all of that. Here I am, and I'm here to stay. I guess we're both pretty happy that I had made a move, or we'd both be in our houses wallowing the days away." John laughed. Sherlock smiled a nodded, eating a couple more French fries.
"You're my first boyfriend, so I hope I'm doing okay." Sherlock admitted.
"I'm hopefully your last as well." John added with a smile. Sherlock blushed and giggled again, the only good thing on this planet anymore. Right then John wanted to just chuck the ring off of his finger and propose to Sherlock, get it over with. Sherlock was the only one for him, and at the moment nothing else mattered. As long as they could spend their long, happy lives together he would be satisfied, he would be more than happy. John only hoped Sherlock was feeling the same way. When they were done with their food they dropped the trays off and went back into the snow, which was dying down. The sidewalks were shoveled now, so there was a lot more people out and wandering. Kids were sledding down hills, parents were shoveling their sidewalks, and plows were making their way up and down the street. It felt like a nice, normal snow day where the town just came to life. John had an urge to throw a snowball at Sherlock, but he wasn't sure how he would respond to that. Maybe he'd actually think John was attacking him. John also wanted to hold his hand, but considering the population of the streets he knew that wouldn't be a good idea.
"So, want to go to the park or something?" John asked.
"It's frigid out." Sherlock pointed out.
"So, it's pretty." John shrugged.
"Sounds good to me." Sherlock agreed. They walked down the sidewalk until they came to the town park. It wasn't much, just trees and paths and a playground, but it was the number one form of entertainment for a lot of people. Sherlock and John simply strolled through, walking very close together so that every so often their arms would clash mid swing. It was the closest thing to holding hands as they could get, since it was socially acceptable. When the two were about done with having to hop over kids on sleds or dodging around parents they found a semi secluded park bench, off of the path a little ways but close enough for people to see them. Never the less John sat very close to Sherlock, and they held hands very discreetly, but it was enough for them. As long as they were able to be close, John didn't mind.
"It's actually quite nice out." Sherlock decided.
"Snow is always great for a day, but then when life starts back up and the snow gets brown a patchy and gross, then it's just an unnecessary inconvenience." John admitted.
"It's always a pain to try to park on the corner when there's a mountain of snow blocking your way." Sherlock agreed.
"I've got a garage, so it's not all that bad." John admitted.
"It must be nice living in a house like that; you don't have to walk up a flight of stairs just to get to your flat." Sherlock decided.
"It's got its advantages I suppose, but the fact that it's also inhabited by Mary is enough to make me scowl." John decided.
"She can't be that bad." Sherlock insisted.
"That's exactly what I mean, she's not, but she's not you, and that's just not right." John insisted.
"She's a bit, intimidating, but I suppose the only time I had a decent conversation with her was when I had a massive, embarrassing crush on her husband." Sherlock admitted. John just laughed, laying his head onto Sherlock's shoulder for a brief moment.
"Well, I suppose that's bit unfortunate." John decided.
"Where did you say you were going today?" Sherlock asked.
"Out with Greg." John admitted.
"Does she not know we're friends?" Sherlock asked.
"Well, she does, but not the type that hang out on free days. More like friendly acquaintances." John admitted.
"I certainly hope we're more than that." Sherlock said with a little laugh.
"Definitely more." John assured.
"Good." Sherlock said with a small smile. Unfortunately John's phone started ringing before either one of them could say anything else, and when he picked it up he was horrified to see that it was Mary.
"It's Mary." John groaned.
"I'll be silent." Sherlock assured. John hated it, but he had to pick up.
"Hello?" he asked, as if he hadn't seen the caller ID.
"John, where are you?" Mary asked.
"I'm at the park with Greg." John groaned.
"Well we were thinking of going sledding as a family, Hamish is having so much fun out there we thought you might want to join us. I've got cookies in the oven and hot chocolate on the stove as well." Mary pointed out.
"Well, I guess I can come." John decided, doing all he could to hide the disappointment in his voice.
"Thank you honey, opportunities don't happen like this all the time." Mary pointed out.
"No, they don't." John agreed. He wasn't talking about family sledding night.
"Okay, I'll see you soon, love you." Mary agreed.
"Love you too." John said through his teeth, clenching his fist as he said it. Mary hung up, and Sherlock was silent.
"I've got to go." John sighed.
"Sledding, yes, I heard." Sherlock agreed.
"Don't buy a thing I just said, I don't love her Sherlock, I love you." John assured.
"I know, I know, I'm not jealous or anything. You do what you want to." Sherlock agreed, but he was looking a bit mopey.
"Oh come on, don't be like that. I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully." John decided, scanning the park. There were people around, but they weren't paying any attention to the two men on the park bench.
"Hopefully there's no school." Sherlock agreed.
"If there is, then you'll see the van." John smiled. He quickly pecked Sherlock on the lips, so no one saw, but it was still more efficient in warming the two up than an industrial sized heater.
"Love you." John said with a smile, getting up from the bench.
"Love you too." Sherlock agreed, staying where he was. John nodded, his heart breaking that he had to go, but he walked down the snow mashed path, his now cold hands alone in his pockets.