'Flat's all ours, John!' I said after I tacked the sign on the door and entered the room.

I stood in the doorway, hand still clutching the door handle. John was on his laptop. I was almost certain that he was typing up our newest case. God knows what kind of name he'd give this one. I rolled my eyes just thinking about it.

'Really?' he said, looking up at me questioningly. His hands were positioned just above the keyboard.

'Yes. I've sent Mrs H to her sister's for the night, and if she decides to come back early, I've made it very clear that she isn't to disturb us.' I untacked one side of the sign and showed it to him.

John and I would like an evening alone, Mrs Hudson. In the case of an early arrival on your part, kindly PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE. Thank you.

'See?'

'OK…' John said slowly, shutting his laptop and putting it down by the side of his chair. 'Have you got any plans in mind?'

I smiled. 'I have an idea… but that can wait. For the most part, I want to leave it up to you.'

His eyes widened in surprise. I sat in my chair opposite him. 'We can do anything you want us to do,' I told him softly, my eyes boring into his.

He smiled to himself. 'Play your violin,' he said after a while. 'It's been far too long since I last heard you play. One song will do, saves you from tiring yourself out, but feel free to keep playing as long as you want to.'

I stood up from my chair and walked over to where I kept my violin. For you, John, I could play all night and not waver.

'Seriously?' I heard from somewhere behind me. I turned away from the doors of my mind palace and faced John, who was looking at me, wonder shining in his eyes.

'What?' I questioned. And then I realised. 'I said that out loud, didn't I?'

John smiled and nodded. 'Yeah. You did. But it's OK. I liked it.'

I shook my head, still smiling. I went back to my violin and took it out of its case.

'Any preferences?' I asked him as I walked over to my spot by the window.

'Nah. Play anything. Anything at all.'

I positioned my bow. I closed my eyes, put it to the strings and played.

I love you.

We should do something together sometime. Something that doesn't involve crimes.

Are you OK?

Do you need anything?

What happened?

Do you need a moment to yourself?

I'm fine now that I'm with you.

As I played, thoughts, words spilled into my brain. Words that I'd tried to say to John but hadn't been able to, because of my fear, my pride, my ego.

I started to lose myself in my thoughts and didn't realise that I had finished my first song and automatically moved onto another.

After the fifth song had ended (each song was around five minutes long, so that calculated to about twenty five minutes of non-stop playing), I dropped my arms to my side, actually exhausted.

I took a deep breath, letting my violin slip out of my hand and onto the desk.

'Wow…' I heard John say.

I looked at John. He smiled at me encouragingly and I found I had the energy to smile back at him.

John looked me straight in the eye. 'That, Sherlock, was something I'd describe as beautiful. Truly beautiful.'

He stood from his chair and walked in front of me. 'I loved it.'

'I… Well… thank you,' I stuttered.

Get it together, Sherlock. Get it together.

'Hey, it's OK.' John threaded his fingers through mine. I looked down at our entwined hands, smiling. 'So, what next?'

'Up to you, remember?' I reminded him. 'I have an idea but that can be the last thing we do.'

'I was going to suggest the new Star Wars movie. Harry went to see it with Clara and apparently it's something we'd both like.'

I stopped. Could I really refrain from spoiling the story for John? I knew I'd be able to figure out the plot line in the first thirty minutes.

But then I decided that, yes, I could. I could for the sake of not annoying John. I was hoping for a smooth evening tonight and I was not going to be the one to ruin it.

'Sherlock?' John questioned.

'Yes, OK,' I said, snapping myself out of my reverie. 'Star Wars sounds fine.'

'Great, so I'll just go set up and you can get the snacks?'

'Alright.'

I left John in the living room and went into the kitchen.

After the movie ended, and I came back to Earth, I noticed that we'd shifted from our original positions.

John was still in his chair but somewhere along the line, I'd managed to sit on the floor between his feet. His hand was still wound into my hair; he'd been stroking his fingers through my curls for half the movie.

'Sherlock,' John muttered suddenly. I looked up to see him smiling.

'Yes?'

'What did you say you had in mind for us to do?'

I hesitated. I didn't know if John would agree. 'Would you like to eat later, then?'

John thought for a minute. 'Yeah.'

'Well…' I stood up, brushing off my suit jacket. 'Go and put on something nice. I'll call you back in when I'm finished.'

John raised an eyebrow but without a comment, went into our room.

While he was gone, I turned off the TV, and cleared a space in the middle of the room. I lit a few candles and arranged them around: I put a few on the windowsill, a couple on the desk and so on. Turning the main lights off was the last thing on the list.

'John!' I called.

'Yeah?'

'Come back in when you're ready!'

Five minutes later, John came back into the living room. He'd replaced his white t-shirt, beige woollen jumper and blue jeans with the black tuxedo Molly and I got him for his birthday last year, a white button up and a black tie. My breath caught in my throat: he looked absolutely gorgeous.

'Hi,' he said as he approached me. Then he smirked. 'Like what you see?'

Oh God. Oh my God.

My jaw was set in stone; I couldn't say a single word. John smiled.

'Very nice set up, love,' he commented, his eyes wandering around the room.

'… Thank you.'

'So? What's the occasion for all this?' He gestured around with his hand.

I took his left hand in my right and leaned in so my mouth was by his ear. 'Dance with me,' I whispered as delicately as I could.

I felt him stiffen. 'I… I can't. You know I can't dance,' he muttered back.

'I'll teach you,' I said.

John stepped out my grip, shaking his head. 'I'm sorry, love. I can't.'

I frowned. 'Are you worried that I'll laugh at you?' I asked gently, taking his hands once again.

His silence and the crimson in his cheeks gave me the answer. 'Oh, John,' I breathed. 'I would never laugh at you. Ever.'

'But you love to dance, Sherlock. I'd just ruin it for you.'

I smiled sadly. 'You wouldn't. I promise. I just want to share one of my passions with you.'

'Really?'

'Yes, really.'

'But Sherlock… you're so many things… and I'm just… me,' he sighed. Before I could protest, he continued. 'You're a consulting detective. You're a violinist. You're a chemist. And you're a dancer. Then there's me…' he trailed off and there was a sharp tug in my heart.

'Hey,' I interrupted. 'Don't you dare talk like that. You're not just 'you'. You're a soldier. You're an army doctor. You're my best friend.' I pulled him into a hug. 'And I love you.'

I felt his arms go around me as he hugged me back. 'I love you, too, Sherlock.'

'So come on. Can I have just this one dance? Please?'

'Alright, fine,' John sighed. 'You can have your dance. It's only fair after all.'

'Thank you, John.'

'But wait, wait,' John said, backing up. 'You said you wanted to share one of your passions with me. The 's' on the end indicates that dancing isn't your only passion. What are the others?'

I smiled. 'I have five major passions. Solving crimes is one. Playing the violin is another. Science is the third. And dancing. Dancing in one of my… bigger passions.' I paused.

'And the fifth?'

'The fifth, John, is you. My biggest passion, one that surpasses all the others, even crime solving, is you and the company you supply me with.'

'Seriously?' John asked me, smiling like a maniac.

'Very seriously.'

John threw his arms around me once again. 'Now I really love you.'

I chuckled lightly. 'Good. Because I really love you too.'

With that, I reached out to the CD player on the desk and pushed 'play'.

I was really glad that John had agreed to dance with me. Because it was putting two of my biggest passions together.