Sherlock: His Lover Called A [Sherlaide II]

The Arcade Date

The Next Day

Sherlock couldn't help but grin when he saw how bundled up Adelaide was. Only her face was peeking out of the winter gear; warmed by a red scarf and covered with a green cap. She looked up at him and giggled, "Good enough?"

"Indeed. But first we must fix that scarf," He rearranged it, making sure it matched his own, "There. Shall we, Love?"

"Of course, Darling."

Sherlock offered his arm and she looped hers around it, locking up her flat. Then they walked down the stairs and into the winter weather of London. He had wanted to take her on a special date- one out of the ordinary. She was blissfully unaware of where they were headed and didn't pry. Sherlock, however, knew she would love where they were going.

They got there and she lit up more than her own Christmas Tree, "Really, Sherlock!?"

"Yes. Do you approve?"

"YES!!" She jumped, clapping her hands together before hugging him tightly, "Thanks, Sherlock!"

It was London's largest Arcade with a variety of classic and modern games. Adelaide had a fondness for the older games like Pac-Man or Q*bert, and had some of them at home via a joystick console. Sherlock had played her a few times and had lost miserably. She was extremely competitive and had more gaming experience, so he deduced that the arcade would be the perfect date. He could simply watch and enjoy her facial expressions and exclamations.

He had taken her Lazer-Tagging once and he was in no state to challenge her again so soon. She was a merciless opponent and had put him to shame (she was a master at using the arena mirrors to snipe at people) so he was more than happy to stand back and let her beat as many virtual opponents as she wanted to.

It was not long before she was glued to a particular game called Mappy. It seemed like a simple game to Sherlock but she assured him that was anything but as she used the joystick to move Mappy the police mouse and collect the stolen valuables. Sherlock couldn't see the logic in having to use trampolines to navigate the five story mansion and evade the pink criminal cats and their ringleader, but soon enough he wanted to try too.

"May I?"

She looked up, "You want to play now?"

"Yes."

Her eyes sparked and she smiled, "Okay then. Let the game reset and then you can play."

They switched places and Sherlock, in an effort to prove that he wasn't incapable of reaching the second level, focused as hard as he could. It took a couple tries before he got the hang of the controls and passed the first two levels. Adelaide cheered him on and he made it to the fifth level bonus round before giving up on the "blasted game".

A few games later they found a two player Pac-Man. This time Sherlock started strong because of all the former practice he'd gotten, but Adelaide caught up and they were pretty evenly matched. This ended up being where they stayed for most of the afternoon- trying to beat the console's high scores and best each other.

Eventually, however, they called it a day and headed back to her flat. They stopped on the way up so she could get the post. She opened her box, chatting on about how much she had enjoyed the date, and grabbed a stack of envelopes. Sherlock held them as she reached in again, this time extracting a glossy white card. Her face fell and she stopped talking. Sherlock stiffened, "What is it, Love?"

"Th-This."

She turned it towards him and he darkened.

Miss Me?

Thank you for reading!!