"John, it's not that hard!" Sherlock threw his hands up in frustration and turned to rewind the track on his iPod, which was seated on a speaker set. He turned back to John and stretched one arm out and the other as if it was holding something. "It's one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three," he moved his feet to the counts.
John sighed in his own frustration and folded his arms across his chest. "In my defense, I'm not the most coordinated person in the world-"
"Well, I can see that…"
"Shut up, Sherlock, I'm trying! It's just a bit hard to watch both my feet and yours and still count and listen to the music and then not look at my feet because at the actual wedding, I'll be trying to talk to my wife." He shook his head and rubbed his forehead.
Sherlock put his arms down and sighed. "I know, I'm sorry." He licked his lips. "I know you want this to be perfect. I'm just trying to bring your dancing closer to that level. Although, I doubt, even with my help, that it will truly ever reach that point-"
"Sherlock." John threatened, giving the man a disapproving glare.
Sherlock chuckled in response. "Sorry. Just try again." He pressed play on the iPod and turned back to John. "Now, put your hand on my hip."
"I swear, Sherlock, if you ever breathe a word of this to anyone…" John swore under his breath, but complied, and pulled the detective closer, then stretching out his other hand for Sherlock to place his in. Sherlock placed his own free hand on John's shoulder and breathed in before starting to count in time to the music.
"One-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-"
John stepped on Sherlock's foot by accident and dropped his hands, stepping away and sitting on the arm of his chair. "I can't do this."
Sherlock switched off the violin melody again. "No, you can, you've got the steps, well, mostly... you just have to dance with confidence."
"No, I really can't do this."
John looked up pleadingly. Sherlock stopped, his next sentence catching in his throat. He sat down in his own chair.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" John asked. He fell backward to land in the seat of his chair. When Sherlock didn't respond, John repeated his question. "You're okay with this?"
"Hm?" Sherlock looked confused. "Teaching you how to dance? Yes, of course-"
"No, me. Marrying Mary."
Sherlock sucked in a breath. "Oh, that." He cleared his throat. "Yes, it's fine. It's all fine." He steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and dropped his gaze to the floor.
John knew it wasn't really 'all fine'. He stared at Sherlock for a moment, trying to get him to say what was really on his mind, but when it became apparent that wasn't going to happen, he spoke again, "When this wedding is over, it's not going to change anything."
"I know that."
"You don't seem like you do." John straighted up and leaned forward. "I really couldn't imagine myself doing anything except solving crimes with you." John smiled.
Sherlock looked back up. "What about the last two years? It certainly looks as if you'd moved on."
"Yes, well, that wasn't actually my fault, in case you'd forgotten, you bloody idiot. I'm not the one who faked his death and failed to tell my best friend I was alive!" John sat back and tried to cool himself down. Sherlock swallowed; he had no answer. "Sherlock, I still want to solve crimes with you. You'll just have to get used to Mary coming along, or me leaving early to have dinner with Mary, or me not wanting to get up in the morning because Mary and I were-"
"Yes, okay. I understand. You really love her. I guess I was just afraid that once you had something better to do with your time, you wouldn't want to come along with me anymore…" He trailed off, still not making eye contact with John.
"Seriously, for a genius, you can be completely daft sometimes." John laughed. "I love solving crimes with you. I love the thrill it brings me, I love the complexity of the puzzles, and most of all I love the smile you get when you solve another murder or another robbery or another threat."
Sherlock finally looked up, his eyes watering in the slightest. "You- I mean, really, you don't mind the deductions?"
Another laugh. "No, not anymore." He smiled, watching with delight as Sherlock's surprise turned into surprised pleasure. "Now, shall we try this again?"
Sherlock jumped up immediately, striding over to the speakers and pressing play. John shook his head and followed him over. He placed his hand on Sherlock's hip and pulled him closer. The violin melody started again and John counted, "one-two-three, one-two-three…"
When the song ended, John stepped back from Sherlock and cheesily bowed, to which Sherlock responded with a hesitant curtsy, which in turn sent John into a fit of hysterical giggles.
A/N: Hello! I watched 'The Sign of Three' today and wanted to write a cute ficlet about John and Sherlock's dancing practice. I actually saw a post about this on Tumblr like a week ago, but when they actually said they'd danced together in preparation in the show, I knew I had to write something. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are inspiring and wonderful and always welcome!