A dry tongue flicked over cracked lips, shaking hands filling out the crossword with a fountain pen. Sherlock smiled a little as he got the last few letters done, pushing his glasses up his lined face. John was sat beside him in his chair, gently dozing, his white hair ruffled and a hand on Sherlock's arm, wedding band glinting in the light.
Sherlock smiled to himself and got up with aid of his walking stick, taking his reading glasses off and popping them on his seat. More than likely, he would forget they were there and sit on the blasted things, requiring another trip to Specsavers on pension day.
Humming to himself, he leaned down and kissed John's brow, smoothing his fingertips over the wrinkles of his cheek. Smiling happily he shuffled off to the kitchen, his long, arthritis bent fingers trailing in John's hair for a moment.
"Love you." he whispered, as he always did when he left the room, left John's side, which wasn't very often these days.
John shifted in his slumber and frowned, his eyes opening and looking at the empty chair beside him. He heard it, a loud thump from the kitchen, followed by the clatter of Sherlock's walking stick hitting the tiles of the kitchen floor.
He was up in a second, the pain in his limbs forgotten as he hurried into the kitchen to find his love on the floor, his face slack and peaceful. A sob made John quake as he fell to his knees, his old fingers finding Sherlock's wrist as he checked for a pulse.
Nothing.
Large tears dripped from John's eyes, splashing onto the lenses of his little round glasses, clouding his sight. Shaking fingers ran through soft grey curls that had become fluffy and soft in Sherlock's old age.
"Not again. Please, don't leave me again, Sherlock." John choked, resting his head on Sherlock's chest and holding his hand tightly.
They say that when a love bird dies, their mate doesn't hesitate to follow. The same is said about soul mates, when one dies, the other follows to join their partner into whatever adventure comes next. The same was true of that old couple, found together hand in hand, happy smiles on their faces.
Because somewhere new, smooth pale fingers met a callous tan hand, holding onto each other. Young faces smiled and they ran, just like they used to. On to the next great game.
