His Favorite Melody

Pursuit of Happiness

Melody had declined going to the library, choosing instead to go back to the flat and do a bit of research. The symbols they had found were really bothering her, and she was determined to find out just what they meant. The group parted ways and went to their destinations, a particular goal in mind.

When Melody arrived at the flat, she grabbed John's laptop, dragged Sherlock's chair to the window where she could get some natural light, and typed in the password, then opened the browser, trying to find a match to the symbols. Nearly an hour and a half later, Sherlock walked in to see that she had made a collage - pages and pages printed off the internet. Upon closer inspection, he could see that there were pictures of language systems and archaic symbols. Egyptian hieroglyphics; the Greek alphabet; Hebrew letters; Arabic letters; Chinese words... she'd stuck them all around the edge of the mirror, trying to find a match for the strange yellow squiggle.

"Nothing fits. The tag is too messy - it defies interpretation." Melody grumbled to herself, her nose stuck in the laptop, eyes glued to the screen. She hadn't noticed him yet, and he used the moment to get a closer look at the pictures. He had Raz on the lookout for any more of the paint around town, and with Melody's work, maybe they could figure the mystery out just a little quicker.

"How long did this take you?" Sherlock asked, looking over her shoulder at the laptop screen.

She jumped and gasped, nearly knocking the laptop from her lap. She looked up at him, a hand over her now racing heart. "Maybe twenty minutes? This has just been bothering me since we saw it. These damn yellow symbols are gonna haunt my dreams." She said with a frown. She noticed that John was nowhere to be seen, but figured he had other things to attend to.

Sherlock chuckled deeply, shutting the laptop and taking it from her. "Let me help. I have some books on runes that may be of use." He offered.

He took her hand and helped her stand up, smiling down at her. She had at some point put her hair up in a bun, but it was now falling out in places, framing her face. She was beautiful, he couldn't deny it. Quite probably the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with the things that he was feeling, but he knew that whatever they were, he wanted to figure them out with her.

"Do I have drool on my face or something?" Mel asked, worriedly wiping her mouth with her free hand.

"No, no. Nothing like that. I just, eh, you look beautiful." He admitted quietly.

Melody looked up at him with wide eyes, her jaw slightly dropped. Had he really just called her beautiful? The man who distanced himself from anything as trivial or silly as emotion or traditional beauty standards. Her face turned a shade of red that rivaled a strawberry, and she averted her gaze.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

Sherlock put two fingers under her chin and pulled her face up, so that her eyes met his again. "Melody, I am not sure how to describe what I am feeling right now, but I would very much like to try and show you." He said, noting how her heartrate had sped up exponentially.

Melody couldn't even manage a sentence. Instead, she stood with her heartbeat pounding in her ears, lips slightly parted, and mind in a haze. She merely nodded at the man in front of her.

Sherlock slowly and cautiously leaned down and gently pressed his lips against her own in a soft, sweet kiss. The kiss lasted barely ten seconds before they broke apart and looked into each other's eyes in a state of mild shock.

"Wow." Melody said quietly, the word barely audible as it passed her lips in a breath.

Sherlock simply looked down at her, his own heartrate now skyrocketing, the feeling of her lips lingering on his own. "That was...new. Not bad. I would, if you are interested as well, like to pursue these feelings further."

"You mean like dating?" she asked, trying not to show her surprise.

"Yes, I suppose so. Of course, only if you want that."

"Yeah! I mean, yes. I would. Like that...very much" she said, fumbling through her sentence.

Sherlock chuckled and squeezed her hand, before stepping over to the bookshelf. "Well then, now that we've settled that, lets get to the symbols, yes?"

Mel smiled widely and nodded. "Yes."

Two hours later, Sherlock sat at the desk, and Mel was back in his chair at the window.

John opened the door, quietly furious, not paying attention to the pair.

"You've been a while." Sherlock said without looking up from his book.

"Yeah, well you know how it is... Custody Sergeants don't like to be hurried, do they? Just formalities. Finger prints; a charge sheet. And I'll have to be in Magistrates Court on Tuesday..." John said, rather steamed.

Melody turned with wide eyes to look at the man. "What??!!"

"Me. In court on Tuesday. They're giving me an ASBO. Criminal damage."

"Good. Fine." Sherlock said, still not really listening.

"You want to tell your little pal: he's welcome to go and own up, anytime..."

"Christ, I leave you boys alone for a few hours and you manage to become a full-blown criminal." Melody grumbled, looking at John with a frown.

"This symbol - I still can't place it. I want you to go to the police station. Ask about the journalist..." Sherlock said, walking over to John who was attempting to take off his coat. "All his personal effects will be impounded. Get hold of a diary - or something that will tell us his movements..." He said as he pushed him out of the door.

"Melody grab a coat and come along, darling. We've got a bit of legwork ahead of us." Sherlock said, grabbing his own coat.

As soon as he was out of earshot, she began mumbling to herself. "I knew it. What did I tell Croft? Legwork."

They made their way out the front door - John still only half-wearing his coat, and Melody pulling hers on.

"We'll go and see Van Coon's PA. If we can retrace their steps, somewhere they're going to coincide." Sherlock said as he grabbed Mel's hand and took off running up the street.

John was left alone, yet again. He sighed and acquiesced, hailing a cab.

Meanwhile, Sherlock was dragging Melody across London, making the woman wonder why on earth they couldn't have just taken a cab to Van Coon's office. Once they arrived, Sherlock stopped long enough to let Mel fix her hair and clothes before they headed inside.

//AN- FINALLY. They're together!!! Please let me know what you think about this chapter! Also a HUGE thank you to VMCastleRock and Sherlock221BENNEDICT for being absolute darlings!!! xoxx-Tiff\\