To Have and Have Not: John's Dream
John knows exactly when the dreams started. It was the day he met Sherlock in the lab at St. Barts Hospital. Sherlock had been dazzling and brilliant and enigmatic and charming and, well, frankly, just a little theatrical. Because Sherlock, whom he'd never met before that moment, after telling John a good part of John's own life story, seemingly out of the blue, departed with a wink. Not a wave, not a "see you later", but a wink. The dreams were definitely a result of that wink.
In the dream John is sitting in his chair at Baker Street. Decked out in a natty dark suit and crisp white shirt, something more out of Sherlock's wardrobe than his own, John, uncharacteristically, is smoking a cigarette. Well, he's not exactly smoking it, more like holding it nonchalantly in his right hand, and the smoke curls as it floats upwards giving his familiar living room an air of mystery and portent. Then he sees him, Sherlock, tall and pale and full of purpose, gliding across the room towards him.
Sherlock is wearing his well-worn silk bathrobe, the one he often wears about their flat when he's not working on a case. Although, in this dream, unlike reality, Sherlock's pajama bottoms and tee-shirt are absent, so that John, through his dream-eyes, gets a good look at the long alabaster v of Sherlock's chest, framed by the plunging neckline of the robe, as well as Sherlock's long, lithe, well-muscled calves, calves that appear more shapely yet on those occasions when John's dream-Sherlock is also wearing four-inch heels.
Sherlock is close now, looking down at him, the force of his personality burning through the small space of air between them, so that John can almost hear the atmosphere sizzle and pop.
"You know, John, you're not very hard to figure—only at times." Sherlock, bending down low and close, all but sitting in John's lap, continues, "Sometimes I know exactly what you're going to say—most of the time."
Sherlock leans in and kisses John. The kiss, just a press and blend of lips, is long and sweet and searching all the same. John's brain churns with a thrilling mix of shock and wonderful possibilities, yet he finds himself half-frozen, transfixed by Sherlock's spell. When Sherlock pulls back, John's head is still spinning and he's breathing hard.
"What'd you do that for?" John squeaks out as calmly as he can, still a little flustered by the brazen but so artful advance of his friend and flatmate.
Sherlock replies coolly, seductively, "I was wondering whether I'd like it."
John, eyes, now large with hope and longing, can only ask, "What's the decision?"
Sherlock remains cool, but his eyes too, dark with desire, betray his interest. "I don't know yet."
He leans in and kisses John again. This time John is kissing back, his hand reaching up to the back of Sherlock's head, pulling him closer so as to claim the deeper, more open kiss now on offer.
Sherlock pulls away slowly. With a rakish smile he says, "It's even better when you help."
Without an explanation, Sherlock stands up and drifts towards the door where he turns and pauses, holding John captive with a smoldering stare. His robe shimmers in the dim light as he leans his long body lightly against the doorframe. (At this particular moment, dreaming John is always happiest when Sherlock is, in fact, wearing heels.)
"I'm off on a case. If you need me, just whistle." Then, adding fuel to John's fire, he says, "You know how to whistle don't you, John. You just put your lips together and blow."
John's lips involuntarily pucker and, even now, at 221B, he sometimes wakes up to the sound of his own long low whistle echoing off the walls of his bedroom. And sometimes, when the dream has been particularly vivid, John's whistle is loud enough to cause Sherlock, who sleeps like the dead, to stir and shift in his slumbers beside him.
Note: This story is very largely based on a very famous scene from the movie, To Have and Have Not staring Humphry Bogart and Lauren Bacall. You can watch this scene in a video I found on Youtube with the title Lauren's Best Lines. I highly recommend it.