"Mycroft I am not a babysitter," I groaned.
"You'll like him," Lestrade insisted.
"Not you too Lestrade, you said it yourself. The man's a psychopath."
"Sociopath," Mycroft muttered under his breath.
I sat and rubbed my temples, staring at the lease form sitting on the table before me. It was for 221C Baker Street. The two men before were practically begging me to move there, going so far as to offer to pay the rent for the first few months. It all seemed great until I realized who lived next door. It's not like I hated the men, there are very few people I hate. I have merely heard of the ruckus they cause on a weekly basis.
"You pay the rent?" I questioned defeated.
"For the first year," Mycroft agreed.
"Why?"
"He needs a friend," Lestrade chipped in.
"So you're paying off some poor girl to become friends with your brother? Wish I had a sibling like you," I laughed.
Holmes shrugged with a sheepish grin.
"I also need you to keep an eye on him."
So there it is. He needed a spy. With a sigh, I gripped the pen in my hand so tightly it nearly snapped before using it to scribble my signature onto the form. After all, I needed a change of scenery and police work always interested me. Most people thought I was too friendly to be part of any secret operations, making me perfect for the job.
"Perfect," Mycroft clapped, shooting me a smile.
"Don't sound so excited. You two practically cornered me," I huffed, knowing I had been manipulated.
The two men grinned and the air of the room grew stale.
"If you will excuse me, I have to pack," I said, pushing myself from the comfortable chair onto my feet.
"Already done," Mycroft informed.
"For gods sake man. Privacy!" I exclaimed, shooting a playful glare in the direction of the eldest Holmes brother.
"Instead, I will be bringing you to see your new place.-"
Mycroft's phone rang, interrupting him before I could. The smile he bore quickly melted into a scowl and his eyes lost their childish gleam. Something needed his attention and he did not fancy being interrupted. He hung up the phone and sent me an apologetic smile.
"Scratch that. Lestrade will take you."
"I will?"
"You will," Mycroft ordered.
And with that, the playful aura was gone. Unfortunately, Lestrade had been a little late on catching the memo which allowed him to be the target of his superior's annoyance. As Mycroft turned to leave, I grabbed him by the arm and held him in place. His eyes narrowed as my gaze met his own. With an innocent smile, I embraced him in a warm hug. It only took a moment for him to return it. I tended to have that effect on people.
"You know I hate when you leave like that," I mumbled, patting him on the back before giving him a light shove in the direction of the door.
He exited with a wave and a less murderous expression donning his features. I looked to Lestrade and hooked my arm with his playfully.
"Onward!" I cheered, dragging him outside to his car. Mycroft had picked me up in his own and apparently my vehicle resided at Baker Street so there wasn't much of a choice. We were on our way to my new home almost immediately, sending me into a slight panic.
"He isn't going to shoot me is he?" I asked Lestrade for the third time.
"NO. Sherlock Holmes will not shoot you. What makes you think that?"
"To be fair, his brother did and Sherlock is supposedly worse," I groaned.
Silence was his only response. How reassuring. As he drove, my thoughts only became worse.
"Will he experiment on me?"
Lestrade remained silent for a moment and had a thoughtful expression on his face. Great, I am going to die. Lord help me. I was so lost in my own mind that I did not notice when we finally stopped until Lestrade poked me.
"Time to go," I muttered, stepping out of the car and into the cool outside air.
"Come with me?" I asked.
"Nope," he responded, shooting me a grin before driving off so quickly that his tires screeched.
I groaned in frustration but could not help but giggle at the way the two professional men acted so playful and childish around me. It was nice to be a friend to people. With a smile adorning my face, I raised my fist to knock on the wooden door before me. Before I made contact, the door swung open and my fist tapped against a chest. It was a tall man with curly dark hair and startling blue eyes.
"Sherlock," I smiled, only to have the door nearly shut in my face.
"Rude," I added, shoving the door open and looking around for the landlady, Ms. Hudson.
Sherlock stood in between me and the door, inspecting me as one might inspect a crime scene. It wasn't long before he seemed to come to a conclusion.
"I see you think you know me Mr. Holmes. Would you care to share your findings?" I asked happily.
"My brother sent you. You drove here in Lestrade's car. You live alone but are quite the animal person as you have a pet cat, a dog, and a horse. Fairly social but also pretty boring. You work at a coffee shop- wait no. He would not have sent a barista. You work with my brother but happen to visit the coffee shop frequently. You are right handed and are currently in a relationship."
"Why did I move here?" I questioned.
"My brother sent you and you wanted a change of scenery."
"Nice," I smiled at him.
"Are you not impressed?" he asked, seeming baffled.
"You got some of it correct but still have yet to say anything relevant about my personality. By the way, the cat's not mine," I shrugged as Ms. Hudson entered the room.
Sherlock retreated to his room solemnly, seeming quite upset that he was not completely correct about me. In the meantime, I handed the contract to Ms. Hudson and headed up to my new room where I found my husky puppy, Echo, waiting for me. Apparently, Mycroft had convinced the landlady to allow my dog to stay here despite the rules against pets in the building. My belongings had already been unpacked an set up, from the fridge and table to my dresser and underwear drawer. Pervert. I flopped down on the couch and allowed Echo to curl up beside me as I pulled my phone from my back pocket and texted Mycroft.
Hope everything is going well. Thank you for
getting everything set up and making sure
that Echo could stay
EM
The message sent and I was finally getting comfortable on the couch when Sherlock burst in, looking like an addict who needed a fix.
"What did I get wrong?" he questioned angrily, causing Echo to raise her head and growl in defiance.
I ran my hand over her back gently to calm her before grabbing her toy off of the floor and waving it in front of her nose, gaining her attention for a moment. Ultimately, her attention returned to the unfamiliar man before us.
"Silly puppy. He isn't a danger," I said playfully, as though I was talking to a child.
"Tell me," he seethed.
As soon as I began to speak he shushed me.
"My brother sent you to look after me, that much is certain. You are single but haven't been for long," he said hopefully.
"I guess you could say that," I laughed, throwing Echo's toy across the room absent mindedly.
Echo ran after it happily and played alone in the corner of the room as Sherlock and I stared at each other. He seemed to ponder something for a moment before breaking the silence again.
"Selfless," he concluded.
I nodded in agreement before scanning the man before me.
"I assume you believe I am quite air headed, but may I make a deduction?" I asked carefully, gesturing for him to sit in the chair across from the couch.
He scoffed in response, looking quite arrogant as he took a seat. "Have at it," he laughed.
I looked over him once more for a moment. Arrogant, cocky, rude, and clever were the first things that came to mind. Despite his clean appearance, I noticed a small amount of rosin residue on his coat.
"Violinist. I would say former drug addict but I suppose one never truly stops being addicted. You have merely learned how to cope. You preferred shooting up over most others," I mused.
He nodded but looked quite unimpressed. 'What are you Sherlock Holmes?' I thought to myself before meeting his eyes with my own.
"Ah.." I realized, sending Sherlock a sympathetic smile which caused him to return it with a questioning glance.
"Alone."