The One Next Door

Cats, Coke, and Conversation

    When their sandwiches were made, the three of them settled down at the kitchen table, Hell Spawn pawing around, trying to get handouts.
"So, is it alright if I ask what happened?" Molly asked.
"No." Sherlock decided.
"It's not like she doesn't already know." John insisted.
"Then why should we elaborate?" Sherlock groaned.
"Is it such a secret?" John asked.
"It's a bit...personal." Sherlock pointed out.
"She's Molly." John insisted.
"I'm right here, in case you forgot." Molly pointed out, waving her hand in the air.
"Yes, unfortunately you are." Sherlock agreed.
"Don't be such a grump Sherlock." John insisted.
"So now he can control you? I like this relationship more and more." Molly decided with a smile.
"Well, we met on the staircase, and we had an exchange of words, and we kissed, and that kiss, well, lead into something more." John admitted. This time Molly made sure she didn't squeal but she tapped her feet very rapidly under the table in excitement.
"I knew it; I just knew it, for so long I told him, you're in love with John, but who didn't listen to me?" Molly insisted.
"Well, after the painting incident, I knew that I had to do something. Poor Sherlock, I knew he was never going to admit his feelings." John laughed.
"What do you mean by that? I was the one that took action." Sherlock defended.
"You weren't the only one with the idea to consult me." Molly pointed out. "Although, John was polite enough to ask before I went to bed."
"You came for advice too?" John asked with a laugh.
"At three o'clock in the morning." Sherlock agreed.
"I didn't know you cared so much." John said, almost triumphantly.
"I do care. Probably more than anyone can understand." Sherlock muttered, and Molly made an odd sound before hastily stuffing her mouth with sandwich.
"How very sweet." John decided, and Sherlock smiled with silent shame. Hell Spawn was purring, walking around John's plate and rubbing up against his arm, spraying her diseased cat fur all over the table.
"That thing is going to end up killing us." Sherlock decided, scooting his plate away from the cat.
"She has a name you know." Molly insisted.
"No she doesn't, she's a monster, unworthy of a name." Sherlock decided.
"Stop being so sour, Helen's a good cat." John insisted.
"Just because I like you doesn't mean you can tell me what to do." Sherlock defended.
"Yes it does." John insisted, tapping Sherlock on the nose and feeding Hell Spawn a little bit of cheese.
"So, any plans for the day?" Molly asked.
"Not really." Sherlock sighed. "But I'm not in the mood to take a family stroll in the park."
"I'm not up for that either. Maybe we could all watch a movie or something tonight." Molly suggested.
"That sounds alright, as long as it's not a romantic comedy; those are the definition of bad." John agreed.
"They're not all that terrible, and besides, there's worse out there. Pure romantic movies are worse, at least in a comedy something vaguely amusing happens." Sherlock defended.
"We live in a romantic comedy." Molly insisted.
"Nothing funny ever happens around here." Sherlock pointed out.
"Well, you're funny looking." Molly agreed.
"Shut up, I'm beautiful." Sherlock insisted.
"At least your self-confidence is boosted." Molly decided.
"I boost your self-confidence?" John asked doubtfully.
"Well, if someone like you could see the worth in me, I'm sure other people could." Sherlock agreed.
"Everyone sees your worth Sherlock, pretty much everyone except you. That's the curse of humanity, no one's self-confident anymore." Molly sighed.
"You're pretty self-aware." John pointed out.
"By loving myself, I hope I make the world a better place." Molly said proudly.
"You're actually just reminding everyone else how much of a failure they are." Sherlock pointed out.
"You're not a failure." Molly insisted.
"No, not anymore." Sherlock agreed.
"It's been an hour, and I'm already kind of annoyed." Molly decided.
"Sorry." Sherlock muttered, looking down to the left over crumbs on his plate.
"It's alright, I support you two." Molly assured. "And by showing my support, I'll do the dishes, and you two can scurry along."
"Just because we're together doesn't mean I'm going to take advantage of your hospitality. I'm not a jerk." John insisted.
"I am." Sherlock agreed. So while John and Molly did the dishes, Sherlock sat on the counter and ate from a container of mint chocolate chip ice cream, watching them work.
"You're so helpful Sherlock." Molly decided as he ducked to let her put away one of the plates in the cabinet behind his head.
"Oh yes, I'm here to help." Sherlock agreed, taking another big bite of ice cream and blowing softly at soap suds floating through the air.
"A child, honestly." John laughed.
"Shut up, I'm here to stay." Sherlock insisted.
"That's precisely what I'm afraid of." John agreed. Sherlock just smiled, but took another large spoonful and put the ice cream back in the freezer, hopping off the counter and handing his spoon to John, who still had the sponge in his hand.
"Oh, you're too kind." John sighed, but started washing the spoon anyway.
"So, I guess I'll do some shopping, I'm kind of dry on food, and I could use some flowers, this place looks pretty sad." Molly decided.
"Compared to mine, your apartment is a palace." John pointed out.
"Well, this palace is getting to look pretty sad." Molly decided, grabbing her purse and coat. "As much as I trust you two, you're not staying in my apartment alone. I'm sure Sherlock will kill the cat."
"Very wise Molly." John agreed, opening the door and letting Sherlock out first.
"Do you guys want anything?" she asked.
"No, I'm good. I stocked up yesterday." John assured.
"Well, then, Sherlock?" she asked.
"I'm fine." He shrugged.
"Alright then, I'll see you two later; try not to destroy the place while I'm gone." She decided, and with that Molly went down the stairs and out the door.
"Let's go destroy the place." Sherlock decided.
"Shut up Sherlock." John insisted, slapping him lightly in the arm.
"Do you want to come over to my place?" Sherlock offered.
"Nah, Dudley misses you, come on over to my place." John insisted.
"Well, then I can't argue there. I'm sure Dudley is just dying to see me." Sherlock laughed.
"I'm already regretting this." John sighed.
"I'm sure you are." Sherlock agreed, but nevertheless the two of them walked over to John's apartment. When the door opened, as John had promised, Dudley the bumbling bulldog dive bombed Sherlock with kisses and a wagging tail.
"Told you he missed you." John pointed out as Dudley tried to jump high enough to reach Sherlock's face.
"Hi Dudley." Sherlock said with a smile, leaning down and letting the dog crawl all over him and lick his face.
"Maybe Dudley knew you were special even when I couldn't." John pointed out, closing the door and walking into the apartment.
"Maybe he did." Sherlock agreed, petting the dog and scratching behind his ears.
"So, do want a beer or something? I've got soda too, if you're not a drinker." John offered.
"I'm fine." Sherlock assured, pushing the dog off of him and walking over to where John was grabbing a can of Coke out of the fridge.
"So, how was your day at the office?" Sherlock teased, leaning against the counter and watching John pull the tab on the can.
"Oh, it was fine. I have some interesting coworkers." John sighed.
"You're telling me. You know they had all placed bets on whether or not we would get together? Even Jeanette bet with Carl, scored five bucks over it." Sherlock pointed out.
"Thankfully my coworkers don't do that. In fact, I don't even know who they are." John shrugged.
"And yet you still make more money than me." Sherlock sighed.
"No, I doubt that. It's just that I've been working longer, so I have enough money to buy delicacies like Coke." John pointed out. Sherlock nodded, looking down at the floor where Dudley was sliding over the linoleum with his nails.
"I don't need delicacies, I need necessities. I was living off Molly's rabbit food for a good month before I finally got a job of my own." Sherlock sighed.
"Molly's a good friend, honestly. I don't know where we'd be if we didn't have her." John decided.
"She had nothing to do with us." Sherlock pointed out.
"I beg to differ. She knows all about you, I knew nothing. I was actually talking to her about you before the painting incident, not romantically of course, but I was curious. I didn't want you to hate me." John shrugged.
"What did she tell you?" Sherlock asked.
"Well, she told me to be gentle with you, that you were fragile, and you were scared to admit your feelings. And she told me not to be too stubborn, because it would most likely take you a while to adjust, and to just let you take your time, and when you were ready, you would be ready." John said with a smile. Sherlock smiled shyly, blushing but knowing that he was right.
"You don't...you don't think we're going too fast with this, do you?" Sherlock asked.
"What do you mean?" John asked.
"I mean, I don't want this all to diminish, I like you John, a lot. And usually people take it step by step, they admit their feelings, they share their first kiss, and then they share their first...night, but we kind of just combined all three at one time. I don't want to have messed up with you John; I don't want to lose you." Sherlock insisted.
"Our first kiss was two days ago Sherlock, it would've been at least. We were both very prepared to have our first kiss when you painted me, and if that phone hadn't gone off, then we would've. And as for admitting our feelings, I think we both knew, a while back, that we were destined to be more than friends. In fact, I think everyone saw it except us." John decided. Sherlock smiled again, feeling his cheeks start to glow.
"So, you actually like me then?" he asked unbelievingly.
"Of course I like you, how could I not?" John asked.
"Oh, you'd certainly be surprised." Sherlock laughed.
"I really would Sherlock." John insisted.
"Come on, I'm nothing special, honestly." Sherlock defended, and John just looked genuinely surprised.
"Then you don't see yourself as I see you, as Molly sees you, even Dudley loves you." John pointed out.
"Oh, the dog likes me." Sherlock laughed.
"If I could paint I would show you your true beauty, like you did for me, I would paint you not as my eye sees you, but as my soul feels you, but for now, all I can do is prove it to you." John decided, stepping a bit closer and pressing a loving kiss to Sherlock's lips. As usual, Sherlock's entire body went numb with delight, but it was a short kiss, and John pulled away before Sherlock could really react.
"I'll take your word for it then." Sherlock decided.
"You're a beauty Sherlock, and I feel beyond honored to call you mine." John assured.
"So, we are a thing now? We're together?" Sherlock asked.
"As long as you want to be." John agreed.
"Oh, yes, yes I really do." Sherlock agreed enthusiastically.
"Then we are together." John agreed, and Sherlock smiled modestly.
"I've never been with anyone before." Sherlock admitted.
"Yes, Molly told me." John agreed.
"Certainly you've been around, right? I mean, someone like you, probably doesn't go unnoticed by the female population." Sherlock guessed.
"Are you saying I'm a player?" John asked with a half a smile.
"What, no, of course, I'm just implying that you've probably had a girlfriend or two in the past." Sherlock insisted.
"Well, you'd be right in assuming that. But you're my first boyfriend." John pointed out.
"So I guess we're both experimenting then." Sherlock decided.
"I guess we are." John agreed with a smile. Sherlock leaned farther back on the counter and John took a sip of his soda, looking out the window with a sigh.
"It's a nice day out." he decided.
"It is, yes." Sherlock agreed.
"Usually Molly would be asking us for a walk in the park." John laughed.
"She probably will when she gets back." Sherlock decided.
"Do you think she genuinely wanted to spend time with us, or did she just want us to spend time together?" John asked.
"Yes, I think is the answer to that." Sherlock decided, and John just laughed a little bit.
"Well, that clears that up then." He decided.
"I think her, like Dudley, knew that we were destined for something more." Sherlock insisted.
"Girls are like that." John agreed.
"She was always insisting that I give you a try, she was always wining about how I should get to know you better. Well, here we are. I guess I know you pretty well." Sherlock guessed.
"More than most people." John agreed.
"Only you and Molly know me for who I am." Sherlock insisted.
"Not even your parents?" John asked doubtfully.
"Especially not my parents. They were supportive, yes, but if they knew that I was gay, I was sure they'd kick me out of the house. My uncle is a priest, so you could guess how that would work." Sherlock laughed.
"They still don't know?" John asked.
"I don't know why they should, until yesterday it didn't have much of an impact on my life." Sherlock shrugged.
"Are you going to tell them now that we're together?" John asked.
"I suppose, if the conversation comes up, I'll have to." Sherlock sighed.
"I'm still in for Christmas dinner." John pointed out.
"When did I ask you that?" Sherlock asked.
"On the fountain, right before we went swimming." John laughed.
"Well, now I'm definitely sure you won't want to meet my parents. I'm sure the whole coming out party can be said over the phone." Sherlock decided.
"I want to come; I'm not going to leave you at the fate of your ruthless parents all Christmas. You're supposed to be with the ones you love." John pointed out.
"If everything goes to plan, I'll always be with the one I love." Sherlock insisted. "What makes Christmas so different?"
"Do you not want me to come now?" John asked.
"I feel like if you met my family, you'll see me much differently. I mean, my brother alone is a real treat." Sherlock decided.
"I'll do you the favor of not introducing you to my family. You think yours is dysfunctional..." John muttered.
"Oh, yes I do." Sherlock insisted.
"My sister is the worst, she's honestly a demon." John pointed out.
"My brother is worse than a demon. He's more of an angel with a blood feud against humanity." Sherlock decided.
"They'd get along great then." John laughed.
"Mycroft doesn't date." Sherlock sighed.
"Harry is a lesbian." John agreed.
"I guess that's not going to work out then." Sherlock decided.
"No, it really wouldn't." John agreed.
"Well, it's almost December, I'll get the invitation in the mail any day now. Painful, seeing that envelope." Sherlock decided.
"Come on Sherlock, it'll be fun, I'm sure of it." John assured, and Sherlock smiled doubtfully.