Sherlock had been gone for a while. The Doctor was bored, which he'd thought was impossible with a Holmes on board. He took off his jacket and hung it next to the navy dressing gown already draped over a wire and took off upstairs to look for the detective. After five minutes of corridors, he entered the wardrobe, thinking of bright ocean blue and drinking dragon fruit wine with Sarah Jane at the Rain of Enigma. Amongst a rail of shirts, he found Sherlock, wearing nothing but a pair of suit trousers. He was thinner than The Doctor remembered, and his milky skin was looking slightly anemic.
"You've lost weight."
"So have you, Doctor."
"There's an awful lot of running to do. Eating takes time."
"I couldn't agree more. Why don't people understand?"
"Living is easy with eyes closed."
This stopped Sherlock in his tracks, leaving him frozen in place trying on a asphalt shirt. He smiled and said quietly, "Misunderstanding all you see."
They both caught each other's eyes and held gazes for what felt like hours, possibly days. They were referencing 'Strawberry Fields' by The Beatles, which was playing the first time they went out together. They went to Liverpool in 1974 and stopped a high-profile con artist, before going to dinner and gorging themselves on chips and curry sauce.
"You didn't delete it."
"How can you possibly think I ever could? It was... extraordinary, even by my standards. What about this shirt? Is it appropriate?"
"On you, a bin bag is appropriate."
"It'll have to do then." He hesitated, holding The Doctor's gaze and then added, "It's strange. I've missed you." with a smile that made him look far younger than his years.
"When was the last time I saw you?"
"Well, for me it was about three years ago. We went to the Vortis landings."
"Good. No- Brilliant. Everything in the right order. Don't want to make that mistake again."
"Are you going to end up marrying me as well?"
"Only if you keep running off. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Come on, I didn't pick you up just so I could watch you get dressed."
"I'll never believe that."
"Hmm... Didn't think you would. Let's go, at any rate. Hungry?"
"Not particularly."
"Yes you are."
"Yes, I am."
When they stepped out of The TARDIS, Sherlock couldn't believe his eyes. Golden buildings glinted under an amaranth sky, the white marble (Well, it looked like marble) cobblestone was slightly warm under his feet and the part he liked most was the fact everyone was dressed like they were from the 1930s.
"Welcome Sherlock, to Carding. Home to no less that 2 billion people in the system of Ruche."
"What kind of time frame are we talking?"
"31st Century, but they move a lot slower than The Human Race, and there's a lot less of them. Bless."
They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before The Doctor led them to a large white building. It was open plan and only one storey in height, with vines creeping up the pillars that supported the low ceiling. Smartly dressed people sat on ornate golden chairs around short round tables, whereupon they drank perfumed tea out of dainty cups.
Sherlock and The Doctor walked to the nearest available table and sat down opposite each other. The Doctor thanked the sharply dressed waiter as he placed down a powder blue teapot and a bowl of something that looked suspiciously like digestive biscuits and grapes.
The Doctor incredulously cleared his throat and took a sip of his tea before asking, "So, you're fine about not being so close to John then, are you?"
"Yes. Perfectly. Are you going to keep asking?"
"Until you give me a straight answer."
Sherlock sighed and put down his cup. "I want him to always be here. I want him to want to be here. I want, just for once, for no one to question our relationship or the nature of it, not even him. I just want us to be. Just to be together."
"Sounds pretty romantic."
"No. It's far too possessive to ever be considered romance. Anyway, the thought of being intimate with him makes me feel nauseous. It's so... messy."
This made The Doctor laugh into his golden tea. "I can always trust on you to dismiss sex. Here, have a biscuit, I think they're lavender... Or a very close approximation of lavender."
Sherlock bit into one of the star shaped biscuits and savored it. He decided he liked the planet. It was beautiful, the customs made sense and there weren't too many people.
"So..." he began. "What should we do next?"
The Doctor grinned and replied "Let's go dancing."