*A/N I do not own Sherlock, or any of the characters. I only own my own original character, Rosanne Jones. Contains spoilers for the series.
Rose P.O.V.
Rose heaved the last of the boxes down the hallway. She dusted her hands as she walked back to her flat in satisfaction. She'd just finished unpacking, and although there was a lot of tidying still left to do, she was happy with what she saw as she looked around.
Her things were all mostly arranged and the room bright and cheery. She'd gotten hold of a man who'd stripped the walls of the damp and mold, and then had it all freshly painted last week before she moved in. Mrs. Hudson had been delighted- she'd gotten a new tenant and the basement room was completely redecorated. The whole place actually looked livable now.
"Ooh, Ooh!" Rose smiled as she heard the kind old landlady's voice hoot from the open doorway. Speak of the devil. She thought humorously. "Come in!" She called out loud and the landlady walked in with a tray, carrying some hot tea.
"Thought you could use a cuppa." The old woman said, and Rose smiled at her as she accepted the tray gratefully. There was a steaming pot of tea and a small plate of biscuits. "Oh, look at this place. You've done a wonderful job with the walls." Mrs. Hudson said with an admiring look at the fresh mint-green walls.
Rose shrugged as she said with a smile: "Well, I happened to know someone who could help me out so it wasn't too much of a hassle." Mrs. Hudson nodded at all the boxes in the room as she chided: "You should've let me call the boys to help you- this is far too many things for a young woman such as yourself."
Rose laughed as she shook her head and said, bemused: "Mrs. Hudson, that's old fashioned thinking. Besides, I'm a big girl," she teased and the old woman smiled, "and I can use this as my workout of the day." Mrs. Hudson giggled at that when the front door to 221 banged open.
Rose looked up in surprise at the noise, and the two women could hear two men having an argument in the hallway as they came closer to Rose's apartment. "Sherlock, don't be rude, I'm sure it's a perfectly respectable-" An exasperated voice saying but it was cut off by a sharp: "No, John, it's a nuisance and I won't stand having to share a space with someone intolerable who will question my actions."
"I do that all the time!" The first voice, John, cried as the steps arrived outside Rose's door. "Sherlock!" But the door banged open and Rose lifted an eyebrow as a tall man with dark curly hair stormed into her apartment. This must be Sherlock. The other man, John, stood just outside the door, looking at Rose sheepishly.
"Get out." Sherlock snapped at her, his blue eyes icily meeting her green ones, and John winced while Rose's brows lifted. "Excuse me?" She asked and he repeated as he rolled his eyes: "Get out." Mrs. Hudson frowned as she scolded the man: "Sherlock Holmes, how dare you be so rude to this nice young lady?"
He snapped: "Dyed blonde hair, artificially curled, a lab assistant by the slight chemical splashes on her pants, mid twenties likely on the slightly later side, recently out of a relationship but not one she particularly cared about judging from the lack of a ring even though it was a long one judging from the damaged ends of her hair, and judging from the way the room's been decorated and the weights in that box, has a passion for art and keeping fit."
John groaned while Mrs. Hudson pursed her lips unhappily. Rose blinked but her eyes narrowed as Sherlock finished: "All in all, completely boring, mundane, and not worth my time, so get out." He directed the end of his sentence at her and then stood impassively, waiting for her to follow his directions.
She slapped him. John choked while Mrs. Hudson gasped and Sherlock reeled back, clutching his cheek. "What was that for?" He demanded and she replied coolly: "For insulting my intelligence and for distressing Mrs. Hudson and your friend. He's very rude, isn't he?" She directed her question to John, who was still standing by the door.
John seemed surprised but he quickly nodded as he walked over, saying: "Yeah, sorry about him. And yes he's usually like that so please don't take offence." "A bit late now." She commented as she leveled a matching glare back at the fuming man.
John held out a hand as he introduced: "Sorry for the late introductions. I'm John Watson, I live in 221B, right above you." She shook his hand warmly as she replied: "Rosanne Jones, but please call me Rose." Sherlock snorted at her plain name and John threw a warning look at the man, but Rose ignored him as she continued.
"Lovely to meet you, John," Sherlock heard the emphasis and scowled while John grinned, "and I don't hold you responsible for your rude companion." "Didn't you hear me tell you to get out?" Sherlock demanded. John closed his eyes and raised his head to the sky as though asking for patience.
Mrs. Hudson scolded: "Sherlock, where are your manners?" "He never had them." John muttered while Rose turned to the tall man. She said coldly: "Oh, was my right hand hitting your face not a good enough reply for the conceited man? If you need me to dumb it down," his eyes narrowed but she continued coolly, "that was me saying: 'Fat chance'."
Sherlock stared at her, fuming, before he abruptly stormed back out, slamming the door behind him childishly. They stood in silence as they heard the distinct sound of the door upstairs slamming shut as well. John sighed, and Rose turned to him.
"How do you live with him?" She asked and he said tiredly: "It's a question I ask myself a lot sometimes." He paused and then turned to her, asking with a frown: "Hold on, how'd you know we were flat mates?"
Rose replied: "You said you lived above me and he just stormed up there. And Mrs. Hudson said her two boys live up there," John grinned while Mrs. Hudson brightened up considerably, "so I assumed he was your flat mate." Rose concluded and John smiled.
"Very good, that. Yeah." John said, and Rose laughed. "Why, did you think I was a simpleton after what he said." She asked, and John shook his head, also laughing as he told her: "No, Sherlock's a genius but a sociopath. He thinks everyone's below him and that, in his mind, equals stupid."
Rose said thoughtfully: "What a lonely way to live." John looked at the blonde, surprised, but the girl just moved on, saying with a smile: "Well then, Mrs. Hudson, Mr. Watson. If you two don't mind the mess- I've just moved in, but if you don't mind- how about we have a cuppa?"
Mrs. Hudson beamed at the young woman while John said enthusiastically: "Yes, that sounds absolutely fantastic right now. And please, it's just John."
Sherlock P.O.V.
Sherlock lay on the couch, sulking, when he heard John come back up the stairs a good hour and a half after he'd left the boring woman downstairs. John walked into the sitting room, and Sherlock frowned, pulling his dressing gown around as he sulked into the couch.
"Well, she's a sweet girl, I don't know why you had to be so rude." John declared as he sat down, pulling open the papers. Sherlock groaned as he said: "I can't have her down there- she'll interfere with my work and bother me when I need to think!" He complained.
He knew how things would go- the new neighbor would try to get all friendly but not accept Sherlock's strange antics and most likely annoy him with her nagging as she tried to get him to be 'normal' or told him off for doing things, like his experiments.
John sighed as he put the papers down, saying to Sherlock seriously: "Look, she's not like that. She was really nice, even after you were so rude, and Mrs. Hudson adores her already." Sherlock snapped: "Oh, you're already all over her, a pretty woman living on her own downstairs, loves art." He scorned.
John sighed as he tried: "No, she's not like that. Look, she's a smart girl too- she's a lab assistant at Bart's. She'd have to be excellent to be there at her age- she's only twenty six." Sherlock sighed, sitting up and scratching his head with both hands furiously as he said: "No, boring, boring! Who cares?"
Sherlock's eyes suddenly gleamed as he thought aloud: "Maybe if I place those fingers in her fridge-" "Don't you dare!" John snapped and Sherlock frowned sulkily. John warned: "Leave her alone, Sherlock. At the very least, she pays rent for Mrs. Hudson to live comfortably. Think about it like that if you must, but don't try to scare her away."
Sherlock scowled, and turned his back on John. The latter sighed deeply, and picked up the papers again. That night, it was silent in 221 as the two men refused to talk to each other and downstairs the young woman finished tidying up her flat before going to bed early to prepare for work the next day.
3rd Person P.O.V.
It had been about two weeks since Rose had moved in. She and John got along well, and Mrs. Hudson loved having the cheerful young woman around. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for her relationship with Sherlock. Things were still cold between them as Sherlock refused to apologize and continued to make pointed remarks about her moving out, while she pointedly ignored him.
But otherwise, life moved on in 221 Baker Street. Rose settled into her work at St. Bartholomew's Hospital while John and Sherlock continued on some of their mad adventures, with the former becoming increasingly worried about his lack of finances as he adjusted back to London.
It also marked a month since John and Sherlock had started living together, when John returned home one day after failing to do the shopping by shouting at a chip and pin machine. And it is at this time where our story really begins…