"Vol-au-vent?" John asked Mary brightly as a waiter with a silver tray passed by. She practically lunged at the platter.
"I'm starving," she gasped, piling the things into her hand. He chuckled a quick "thanks" at the waiter as, around a mouthful, Mary muttered, "I had to lose so much weight to get into this dress."
Sherlock turned away from the happy couple tittering and going about their business and did a quick deduction of the waiter as he passed by. Janine, next to him, grunted in approval.
"Mmm," she commented. "He's nice."
Sniffing in confirmation and doing a quick check of the room to make sure Elanor wasn't watching, (he still couldn't figure out how she might react), Sherlock frowned. "Traces of two leading brands of deoderant, both advertised for their strengths. Suggestive of a chronic body odour problem manifesting under stress." He finished, blinking at her. She had a mildly disgusted expression on her face.
"Okay, done there." She decided. "What about his friend?" Janine gestured with her eyes to a chef in the kitchen who was injecting a brine into a pile of ribs. Sherlock's eyes quickly scanned the man; his face, clothing, accessories, mannerisms.
"Long-term relationship," he diagnosed, looking back at Janine frankly. "Compulsive cheat."
"Seriously?"
"Waterproof cover on the smartphone." Sherlock explained, getting a little thrill to be pointing out these things that no one else saw. It was disappointing but enticing to be the only genius in the room sometimes. Well, not the only -- Elanor had re-entered and was standing with John and Mary, talking animatedly. He didn't allow himself to be distracted by the way the sunlight shone through her hair, lightening the colour and causing a halo of a glow. Or the glint of her green eyes as they caught its rays. Or the way her hands fidgeted in front of her, twitching around the rim of her wineglass, because she was anxious to be out in public and in the sunlight itself. Sherlock drew in a breath, clearing his thoughts, returning them to the task he was performing: ah, yes, his great explanation. "Yet his complexion doesn't indicate outdoor work. Suggests he's in the habit of taking his phone into the shower with him, which means he often receives texts and emails he'd rather went unseen."
"Can I keep you?" Janine said, a sly grin creeping across her face.
"Do you like solving crimes?" Sherlock asked immediately.
"Do you have a vacancy?"
Sherlock's flickered to John, and like he ignored how beautiful Elanor looked standing there in the sun, he had to ignore the way his heart gave a pang at the loss of his once-flatmate.
(John's POV)
"So, Harry?" Mary asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. She rubbed her thumb in little circles in the fabric of my tuxedo.
