Author's Note: events immediately following the last chapter of 'Watersheds' (s/9616904/1/Watersheds)
The wedding had been exhilarating and, at the same time, overwhelming. When John and Mary had turned away to dance and mingle with their guests, Sherlock had taken the opportunity to withdraw quietly. The cool evening air and walk back to the main road allowed him to start settling his mind. The people, chatter, loud music and flashing lights were all too much. When combined with the turmoil of emotions Sherlock's mind was beginning to spiral uncomfortably. He needed peace to process all the data. He needed home.
Reaching the main road, he began walking towards London. A call to a local taxi company secured a cab. Ten minutes later the headlights of an approaching car, followed by two swift blasts on the horn signalled the arrival of his transportation. Forty five minutes later the cab pulled up outside 221B Baker Street.
It was barely ten o'clock when Sherlock let himself into Flat B, hung up his coat and scarf and made his way to his bedroom. His suit was hung up, the buttonhole carefully removed and placed tenderly on his dressing table next to his phone, wallet, watch and coin tray. His dress shoes were tucked away in the bottom of his wardrobe. Underwear was stripped and deposited, along with his dress shirt, in the laundry basket. Sherlock opened the door from his bedroom into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting it get up to heat.
The torrent of water over his head and shoulders began to massage out the tensions that had accumulated throughout the day. The ritual of his evening ablutions calmed his mind further, the gentle massaging of shampoo and then conditioner into his scalp easing the threatening headache. Within thirty minutes he was stretched out on the sofa dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown, hands crossed on his chest, his mind now relaxed enough to allow him to review the reception hall of his mind palace where today's accumulated data awaited processing.
By the time the newly married John and Mary Watson returned to the flat at 11:37 armed with a magnum of champagne and a data stick of photos and videos of the day, all courtesy of Mycroft, Sherlock was ready to face this new phase of his life: sharing a home with a married couple. John giggled as he struggled to carry a slightly tipsy and joyful Mary over the threshold into Flat B, the flowing lace of her dress wrapping between his legs and threatening to trip them both.
"Excellent, you're home. I trust you've had a wonderful evening." Laughter and joyful faces answered his question to his satisfaction. "Go and get ready for bed. I'll get the tea on."
Mary stepped forward clasping Sherlock's hand whilst John threw his arms around his best friend's shoulders in a gleeful hug. "Sherlock, you are a wonder. Give us twenty minutes or so to get out of these togs and we'll be back. A snuggle on the sofa and a cup of tea sounds the perfect way to round off this wonderful day, don't you think."
Sherlock's lips twitched into an affectionate smile as his two loves made their way up the stairs to their bedroom. He placed the now warm bottle of champagne in the fridge and plugged his laptop into the telly so that they could benefit from the larger screen. He was just fishing the teabags out of the three mugs when John came back downstairs, also in pyjamas and dressing gown.
The glowing man walked over to Sherlock and wrapped his arms around his love, nuzzling his nose into Sherlock's neck.
"It was a wonderful day. We were both so happy you could share it with us." A hand reached up to ruffle Sherlock's hair, stroking fondly through soft curls. "Have you filed away everything in your mind palace now?"
Sherlock sighed as his eyes fluttered closed at the gentle pressure on his scalp. A soft hum answered John's question.
"Oh, this is what I like to see. My two favourite men canoodling. And I believe that I am owed a waltz." Mary had entered the room, wrapped in a dressing down of ivory silk and waving the CD Sherlock had made for them. As John made to pull away to allow Mary her dance with Sherlock, Mary raised a hand. "No John, stay where you are. I'll just pop this in the lappy so you and Sherlock can dance properly. That is the dance I want to see. And as it's my wedding day I believe my wish is your command."
Mary sat on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her folded legs, knees tucked under her chin, hands stroking the ivory silk of her pyjama trousers and smiled affectionately at her two beloveds as they waltzed to Sherlock's beautiful composition. Both men looked enraptured as they gazed into each other's eyes. When the music came to a close, Mary let out a gentle sigh and rose from her seat to join the men in a warm embrace.
A minute later the trio broke apart as Mary led them by the hand to the sofa. They curled together to drink tea, watch images of the celebrations and laugh as they shared anecdotes, observations and impressions, consolidating their memories of a beautiful day.
Author's Note:
So you know, based upon the outcome of my previous story, 'Watersheds', I did some digging on how I see my characters identifying, even though, as John says, "I soon learned that the labels were actually pretty meaningless. I am John Hamish Watson and I am who I am."
In the story, John identifies himself as biromantic – the romantic aspect of bisexuality.
Based on John's diagnosis, which Sherlock agrees with, Sherlock identifies as demiromantic - he may feel romantic attraction once a reasonably stable or strong emotional connection has been created. However he hates to be touched by those he has no romantic attraction to except by the very few he has an established strong emotional connection with. This includes Lestrade and Mrs Hudson. Although his main area of casual interest in the past has been men, he now includes Mary in his sphere of romantic attraction.
Throughout the story Mary identifies herself as asexual or under more recent definitions, largely heteroromantic - "If you were to ask on the Kinsey scale I'm probably about a 2. I'm predominantly interested in men, but can be attracted to a woman. I have no interest in sexual intercourse."
As I said, I have no actual experience with this and have based this on internet research, but this is how I want my characters to be for the purposes of this story arc. If I've got anything badly wrong then please let me know. Any and all comments and constructive criticism are welcomed. Many thanks.
