A/N: So, this is for Rikkys-Storys over at DA for Valentine's day! They wanted John/Sherlock fluffiness so thatclearlymeant kid!fic! Right? Wait, it didn't? Oops. :P I read people's prompts and somehow always manage to turn them completely around. I dunno how I do it, but oh wells. In any case I hope they enjoy it! :D
Anyways, this is my first kid!fic ever (technically) and so I would love to hear from you guys about it! Should I stay away from this genre like the plague or is this something I should dabble in more often?
John had always been a serious child, nearly grim at times and for that most of the kids in his class had been a constant source of teasing. But when you meet the boy who has yet to grow into his ears and appears to own a rather large assortment of oddly patterned sweaters, you were instantly drawn to him. John wasn't all that interested in all the boring things the other kids were- coloring and all that nonsense (though he did have a secret passion for dinosaurs you easily deduced)- and so you were certain that you would get along quite well. He didn't seem like he would be as easily put off by your intellect as the other children and you had a secret of your own- you had always wanted a friend.
It took three days of constant scrutiny for you to uncover enough of his hobbies, likes, and dislikes in order to maintain a steady stream of conversation and hopefully establish a friendly acquaintance. It had been a while since you had attempted to make a social connection though, so it took another two days to work up the bravery for an approach. This made you angry at yourself for the entirety of the weekend- why should you be afraid to talk to him? Why didn't you just walk up and say hi? Now you'll have to mull it over all weekend long.
When Monday finally comes the whole family is thankful to be rid of your moody presence and you're thankful to be rid of their constant complaining and rather unhelpful attempts to console you. John is wearing a black and white striped sweater today and you know that you should find it horrendous, an assault on the eyes really, but for some reason you can't quite figure you find the ensemble…. aesthetically pleasing. That's something nice right? It's a compliment and people like it when they get compliments. So you get up from your desk and walk over to where John is determinedly trying to make a car out of legos. He's got it all wrong, but people don't like being told they're wrong so instead you say, "I find you aesthetically pleasing today John."
He looks up at you with his eyebrows drawn and his lips pursed. It kind of makes you want to honk his nose, but that seems like it would be on mother's list of things you don't do to people so you try to hold it back. "Uhm… I don't know what that means." This makes your mouth twitch in that special way it only does when you get to explain something to someone and prove how smart you are. You like doing that.
"It means that the combination of your clothes and your face make me happy." You wait a few moments for the sincere thank you's that should follow a lesson and such an eloquently put compliment, but they never come. You frown when you see that John has gone back to trying to build a car and frustrated, you take it from his hands and take it all apart so that it's just a pile of bricks and the wheels are naked on their fragile axels. For a moment you feel satisfaction at the car's demise but when John looks at you with those large eyes that seem to be particularly wet, sniffling lightly you feel what must be guilt. You're not entirely sure you've felt it before, and you really don't like it.
So you drop onto your knees and start putting it back together (the right way this time) and when you place the finished product back in his hands, his expression changes so suddenly that it's a bit of a shock. John wipes at his eyes with his sleeve and marvels at the little model, a grin that reaches his eyes lighting up his face. "Wow! How did you do that?" He directs this newfound energy at you and you can't help but smile back. You feel really light and kind of…. giddy. It's nice. "You're amazing."
It's been two months since you and John became friends, and the way that he looks at you has been slowly changing. You're not quite sure how to explain it, and that bothers you, but you get over it when he gives you one of his giant 'I missed you' hugs every Monday after you've spent the entire weekend apart. You like to tell your parents and Mycroft that you sometimes find John to be cloying and needy, but that's a lie. You know lying is technically wrong, but you don't want them to know how much you like him, plus you like the little thrill you get when you successfully lie anyways.
On Tuesday when you enter the classroom it's been transformed overnight and there's paper hearts and cupids strewn everywhere. You start walking over to John's desk with a sneer on your face, ready to make fun of the ridiculous holiday with him when you notice that he's wearing an oversized red sweater with a pink heart that's been stuck with an arrow on it. His desk has a shoebox that been wrapped in red cellophane with hand drawn holiday imagery in white marker and a pile of handmade Valentine's ready to be passed out. You feel…. betrayed! "John?"
He turns quickly at the sound of your face and his easygoing demeanor of just a few seconds ago changes out for a nervous bashfulness that's a little confusing. You wonder if he's caught on that you're angry. "Ah! Sherlock, I w-was hoping you'd come today." You cross your arms and give him your best glare- clearly signaling for him to explain himself, and quickly. "I-ah. I made this for you." With shaky hands he digs a Valentine out from the bottom of his pile and hands it over while keeping his eyes averted.
You narrow your eyes at him to make sure he knows you're still angry, but take the card from him anyway. Instead of red and white hearts and frills like everyone else's your card is blue and black and on the front John has drawn a magnifying glass and glued paper question marks. In the lens there's meticulously neat print that says 'I wanted to ask you to be my Valentine…' you quirk your eyebrow at it before opening it up to see the tagline. The inside has foot prints leading to the next piece of text that reads '…but I bet you knew that already. John' Somehow the silly gesture makes you smile so much your cheeks hurt and when you look up to apologize to John you are shocked to find him standing much closer than he was before. He looks up at you from under his lashes before jerking forward and kissing the corner of your mouth. "Happy Valentine's Sherlock."