Falling For You

The Meeting

John Watson stood in the dark, waiting.  He was on edge and he found himself wondering if Sherrinford was even going to show up at all.  John thought that maybe he should go because it didn't seem like he was going to show up.  He shouldn't have gone behind Sherlock's back to try and negotiate with a Holmes anyway.  He shouldn't have tried to be a good person.  It wasn't his problem to fix whatever had happened between the two, but he still felt like he should have been helping Sherlock anyway he could.

Just as John started to give up hope, he heard a noise.  Then a voice.

"Sherlock?" a deep voice asked from behind him. John turned with his heart racing.  In front of him, he found a tall, slender figure with dark, slick hair and an eerie grin.  He wore red sunglasses even though it was pitch black in the warehouse.  John marveled at the lost Holmes boy and wondered if he was like his brothers.

"No," John said, clearing his throat.  "I'm John Watson, Sherlock's..." John found himself unable to say what he was to Sherlock exactly.  Did Sherrinford need to know that he was Sherlock's boyfriend? Did he need to know anything at all?  If he was anything like Mycroft, he already knew everything there was to know.  

"Boyfriend.  Right, I've heard about you," Sherrinford said, his voice like a cold whip cutting through the jagged silence of the London night.

"Right then," John said.  He shifted uncomfortably on his legs, moving his weight over to the right side of his body.

Sherrinford stared at him curiously.  "How's the limp treating you?" he sneered.

John frowned.  "How did you-"

"Sherlock thinks that Mycroft is the British government," Sherrinford sighed, moving closer to John with cautious strides.  "I'm more than that.  I taught Mycroft everything he knows.  I taught Sherlock too, back when he wasn't so human.  I own secrets, Dr. Watson.  I have a monopoly on everybody's secrets."

John looked around.  He tried to figure out an escape route, but he was almost positive that Sherrinford Holmes had already thought of every route possible.  He probably knew what John was thinking at that very moment.  John swallowed the lump in his throat and decided to try and be stronger.  For Sherlock.

"Where is my brother, anyway?" Sherrinford asked, tilting his head ever so slightly at John.

"He doesn't know I'm here," John whispered as if it was a crime to sneak behind Sherlock's back.  John tried to make himself feel better about it by telling himself that he was doing this to help his love and not hurt him, but it still made his stomach feel hollow.

"That's good. Guess he won't be missing you then?" Sherrinford asked, a sickening grin taking over his face.  John started to back up as the slender man began to progress, is strides eager and full of ill-fitting life.

"Wha-"

Sherrinford grabbed John's neck, his fingers wrapped around it.  He started to tighten his grip and John couldn't breathe anymore.  He managed to pry the man's fingers off and even get a few steps to catch his breath.

"What the hell?" John asked breathlessly, tugging at his collar to try and get more air through his tight throat. 

Sherrinford frowned.  "What's the matter, John?  Not having enough fun?"

John shook his head and tried to get away, but Sherrinford was too fast.  He pulled John back and threw him down on the ground.  His back met the cement with a horrible snap and then John moaned in pain, but Sherrinford didn't stop there.  He picked John back up by the collar and then dropped him back on the ground, his back slapping the ground with a horrible noise.

"Oh, John Watson," Sherrinford grinned. "I'm going to enjoy this."