Chapter 1

John watched Sherlock leave the room and rubbed his forehead. This couldn't go on for much longer; being around his flatmate so much was driving him crazy and he didn't know how to stop it.

It had been two months since Sherlock's return, after an absence of two years. Things had been very rocky at first, with John being angry at Sherlock for keeping him in the dark. But even though they were now more or less where they had been before, something had changed.

He knew what it was; he'd missed his friend far more than he'd thought. It was only upon Sherlock's surprise return that he had realised how he'd truly felt. This was far more than just missing a friend, even a close one like Sherlock. He wasn't sure what to do about this; hadn't he always maintained that he wasn't gay? How many girlfriends had he had in his life? Quite a number, as far as he could remember. Or was that a sign of him being in denial?

But when he looked at Sherlock now, he knew deep down that he had never felt like this before. He hadn't even been hurt too much as woman after woman left him due to his close relationship with Sherlock. He'd failed to explain that he and the detective needed each other, but wondered if it would have done any good anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell ringing; he knew that Mrs Hudson was out so he headed down the stairs to answer it. Sherlock appeared just after he'd left, watching John with an expression of sadness and confusion. John wasn't the only one battling with feelings around here lately, but at least John could understand such things. Sherlock had no idea what was going on inside him.

John pulled the door open and came face to face with his sister. "Harry?" he asked, not expecting to see her. She grinned.

"Hey, little brother," she replied, looking well. She hadn't had a drink for a long time and was even in a new relationship; he was proud of her. "Been a while, huh?"

"Sure has. Um...come on in," he invited her, and she kissed him on the cheek. "So what brings you here?"

"Well..." she started, looking hesitant. "There was a flood at my flat after that storm and so my landlord told us all to find somewhere to sleep for the next day or so. Nothing major was damaged, except the walls. So they have to be redone. I got my stuff with me," she added, indicating the suitcase. He smiled fondly when he saw that it was pink; it was just like the one during his first case with Sherlock, when their bond had been formed.

"Alright. Well, we can only offer you the couch and I warned you about Sherlock playing the violin at three in the morning. If you think you can handle that..."

She laughed. "It'll be fine. How is he?" she asked as they climbed the stairs.

"He's alright, considering what's happened. He's no longer wanted by the police, it all got cleared up."

"Yeah, you said on your blog," she reminded him. "I saw it. Seems like you two are doing okay now," she observed, and he nodded. Female intuition told her that there was something more to this; John still seemed sad despite having his best friend back. She wondered what was going on there.

She got her answer as soon as they reached the flat; John's face practically lit up when he saw Sherlock standing there drinking coffee. "Sherlock? Harry's here..."

"Oh," replied the detective and he even shook her hand, raising a small smile. He at least wanted to make the effort for John. "Harry...good to see you," he told her, and she knew he was observing her.

"Yes, I'm still clean," she said to him, smirking.

"And...a new relationship?" he asked, glancing at her wrist. "Your birthday was two weeks ago and you're wearing what is clearly a new bracelet."

John smiled affectionately at this; they did get along in their own way. "Anyway, there was a flood at her flat and her landlord has to get it sorted. She managed to save her stuff, though. She needs a place to sleep for a few days."

Sherlock nodded; Harry was John's sister, so there was no way he could refuse her this. He was always trying to show John how much he had changed, and he knew that John appreciated it. "Of course," he said with a nod, and he was rewarded with a thankful look from his flatmate. He didn't understand what was going on with him at the moment; things had been strange ever since he came back. He remembered John's reaction when he'd turned up at Baker Street out of the blue.

"You bastard!" John yelled at him, striking out. "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!"

"John, calm down," Sherlock tried to placate him, ignoring his stinging cheek. He'd deserved that. "John..." He awkwardly put his arms around his trembling friend; John initially tried to fight him off but soon gave him, slumping against Sherlock's chest.

"Don't do that again..." he said quietly, hanging onto his friend. Sherlock swallowed and nervously rubbed his back.

"I won't," he replied in a strangled voice.

It had been in that moment, during the awkward yet emotional reunion, that things had changed. Both of them were aware of what they thought were new feelings, or maybe the feelings had been there all along. But they both remained convinced that nothing would come of it, so the tension was leaking into their recently repaired friendship.

Harry could see this now, looking at them together. It was plain as day how they felt about each other, so she wondered why they weren't together yet. Maybe they both thought they were alone in feeling this way. She smiled to herself; maybe she could be of some use while she was here.