A/N: This chapter will be longer because it is more complex. There are slight hints of Mollylock, but Johnlock is stronger and more prominent, I promise. It involves a sensitive subject, and while I have not experienced the things mentioned in the story, I think I've portrayed them correctly (tell me if I didn't, please!). I don't want to spoil this one because I like the plot twists...so without further ado, enjoy!
Sherlock laid on the couch, pretending to be asleep. He listened to his boyfriend's conversation on his phone.
"Listen, Molly, we'll be out of town next weekend, but this weekend is fine!...Ok, how about five o'clock?...Sounds good. See ya then." Sherlock grimaced as he listened to John making plans with Molly. He hated to be with her-she reminded him that even with his prodigious mind, he couldn't understand feelings. His inflated ego was slightly punctured when he was with her.
"Were you on the phone?" Sherlock asked, feigning weariness. John nodded.
"I invited Molly over for dinner this weekend." Sherlock whipped his legs over the couch and stood.
"What?!"
"Calm down, Sherlock. She's bringing some boyfriend of hers over and we're going to Gondolier's for dinner." Sherlock sighed.
"I hate being with Molly," he said, pulling on the jacket he had taken off for his nap. "Fine. Who's the boyfriend this time?"
"A man named Kris? I'm not sure. But, Sherlock, you have to be nice this time. You know how it is with Molly." Sherlock rolled his eyes crankily.
"There is no 'how it is.' She's just insufferable. I'm not in love with her and she's certainly not in love with her boyfriend."
"Quit being cocky, you git. She has a crush on you. It's understandable...I'm just the only one who actually made something of it." John smiled in spite of himself at his luck.
"But she doesn't accept it. That's what bothers me."
"Just let her be. She'll figure it out herself. Nonetheless, we're going to dinner with her. It'll be fun, we'll get to go meet her new boyfriend."
"Yippee," Sherlock said sarcastically, waving his arms in the air.
"This is Kris," Molly said happily. She waved her arm to a man walking in the door, having to duck because of his unusual height. He was extremely tall, taller than Sherlock, and had brown spiky hair and a stubble. He waved, but his eyes never wavered their stony hold.
"Hello, John, Sherlock," Kris said with a strong German accent. Molly smiled timidly. She was wearing a long, modest dress and he was wearing a suit quite similar to Sherlock's.
"We weren't sure where you wanted to go. Do you prefer anything?" John asked, smiling hospitably. Molly looked to Kris, shrugging.
"Anything is goot," Kris replied. Sherlock, John noticed, was glaring at him with an intensity he wasn't sure he'd ever seen before.
"Alright, we were thinking about Gondolier's. Let me go get my coat," John said. "Come here, Sher," he mumbled to his boyfriend. Sherlock obeyed, following John to their bedroom.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
"You were looking at Kris as if he had just murdered everyone you love. What's wrong?" Sherlock shivered.
"There's always something wrong with Molly's boyfriends. I didn't think I'd be able to tell so quickly, but..." Sherlock trailed off.
"But what?"
"It's obvious. She's wearing a modest dress, not normal for when she sees me outside of work. She looked shy and afraid, and didn't allow herself to exhibit any opinions. In fact, she said nothing at all except when introducing Kris. Meanwhile, Kris is incredibly intimidating. And, John..." Sherlock shuddered again. "She has a bruise on her ankle, and one on her arm." John looked confused, then afraid.
"He's abusing her." John understood now. The look of contempt he'd given Kris was his protectiveness over his acquaintances, in this case Molly. He remembered how angry Sherlock had been when those men had hurt Mrs. Hudson. The man did have a few soft spots, John just hadn't expected one to be Molly.
Sherlock nodded. "We need to help her."
"How?! He's terrifying," John admitted. His boyfriend nodded again.
"That's precisely why we need to help her."
"Jesus, Sherlock."
"I know. Let's go." Sherlock pulled his coat on and John followed him out the door.
A small talk-filled taxi ride later, the had arrived at Gondolier's, a cheesy Italian restaurant which had surprisingly good food. The couples sat in a booth, Molly and Kris on one side and John and Sherlock on the other. Sherlock noticed that Kris insisted on sitting on the outside, a sign of possessiveness and dominance.
"So, have you ever been here before?" John asked, attempting friendliness with this abuser with a feeling similar to plucking his fingernails out one by one.
"I have, once. Big portions, haha," Kris said. His laugh was stony and choppy, like he was saying it rather than actually laughing.
A waiter came to their table, asking for drink orders. Kris looked at him strangely before shaking his head.
"This is strange. A man serving us. Very strange," Kris said, distracting himself with a menu.
"Why is that, pray tell?" Sherlock challenged.
"I am used to women serving me. This England, very strange. It happened in Germany, too, but...I did not go out much."
"You know, men are waiters all the time. Just something you'll have to get used to, yes," Sherlock said, smiling condescendingly.
"I guess so." There was a moment of silence until Sherlock spoke.
"How long have you two been together?" John stared at Sherlock, surprised. He assumed that this was just investigation with a guise of small talk, but he was doing very well at it.
"Just one month, but we're already close. Love at first sight, haha," Kris replied. Molly smiled and blushed, but still hadn't said anything.
Their drinks came soon. The two couples gave the waiter their orders, Kris looking uneasy as he spoke to the male server.
"So, what do you two do for a living?" Kris asked.
"I'm a doctor," John replied. "And Sherlock's a consulting detective."
"Only one in the world," Sherlock said, beaming.
"Ah, I see," Kris said, looking confused. "I am an architect. I plan out the buildings and such."
The food was laid out before them by their waiter and they were quiet for a little, chewing their food and making small comments about the good quality. Kris began to get refills for his wine, and Sherlock was immediately wary. An abusive boyfriend was bad, but a drunk abusive boyfriend was worse.
"You should probably lay off the alcohol," Sherlock remarked on Kris' third glass. He shook his head.
"I am an alcohol-tolerant man, haha." Molly had a terrified look in her eyes, like a deer in headlights. She shook her head slightly at John, and John nodded, attempting to convey that he'd protect her as much as he could.
"Come on, mate, three glasses? It's not...right," John said uneasily. A fire lit behind Kris' eyes and he stood up, the table budging slightly.
"Am I not allowed to drink as much as a prefer? Why should you stop me? You are a weakling," Kris said angrily. A mix of emotions stirred in John's stomach: fear for everyone, regret for having provoked him, anger at this man for being so terrible, and pity for Molly. Sherlock stood and John withered into his seat.
"John is not a weakling! And you leave Molly alone," Sherlock said. Kris looked to Molly.
"What is this man talking about? Are you having an affair?" Molly took on a mouse-like look as she melted into her seat in fear. Sherlock face-palmed mentally at his stupidity.
"No, no, Sherlock's just a friend, Kris. I'm sorry-"
"OH SHUT UP!" Kris yelled, knocking over her glass of Sprite. John could practically feel the entire restaurant wince. Many people were looking over, wondering who this maniac was. He watched as Sherlock and Kris had a yelling match, and turned, whispering to the woman sitting behind him to call the police. She nodded fearfully.
Meanwhile, a group of waiters had been called to the table. None of them seemed to know what to do.
"Who is this guy?"
"Some sort of maniac?"
"Do you think we should help?"
"Somebody help them!"
"That poor girl."
Eventually, a man John assumed to be the manager stepped in angrily.
"Who is this guy?" he asked.
No one answered, but both Sherlock and Kris were silent. They looked at the asker, emotions plastered onto their faces. The entirety of Gondolier's was silent, it seemed-you could have heard a pin drop.
"He's..." Sherlock began. "He's a monster." Just then, two policemen pushed through the crowd.
"We were called," one said.
"Please arrest this man. He's abusive and dangerous," Sherlock said, stepping out of the booth. John stood too.
"He is, I witnessed it. Molly, come on." She shook her head, tears in her eyes. Kris was still blocking her from getting out, until a policewoman pulled him out of the booth.
"You're coming with me." Molly straightened up and looked around. Everyone was still silent, watching the scene as if it was from a movie. John looked to Sherlock, who looked fantastically beautiful in his angry glory. In a moment of forgetfulness, of stupidity, and of love, John kissed him.
It wasn't a normal kiss. It was feverish and short. It was filled with regret as John pulled away quickly. The weirdest thing of all, though, was that despite all of these things, their "audience" of sorts applauded.
The couple grinned despite themselves as the restaurant exploded into clapping. With the bad guy arrested and the good guys victorious and romantic, how could they help themselves? Molly looked shocked and sad, though, and guilt immediately filled John's heart.
"We need to go," he whispered to his boyfriend. They pulled Molly out of her booth and walked away, waving as people congratulated them on their "act of heroism."
Sherlock didn't think it was heroic at all. No, it was simply that no one else was willing to do it, and it infuriated him. Kris infuriated him. Sure, Molly annoyed him, but he was still protective over her, especially when her idiotic boyfriend was so blatantly obviously abusive. He had to fight against idiocy, if anything. When John pulled him into a kiss, it was almost the cherry on top of their victory with Kris. Of course, now John looked embarrassed and guilty and regretful, which made Sherlock want to come out so much more.
Sherlock hailed a taxi expertly and they piled into the car. Molly shattered the silence as they drove away from the restaurant.
"So...you're gay," she said. Sherlock nodded. "Then why the fuck didn't you tell me?!" He turned, surprised at having heard Molly curse for the first time.
"I-I wasn't aware at first, either. I believe John and I both felt attraction towards each other. It took awhile to admit it, though," Sherlock said nonchalantly.
"Come on, I suppose John isn't gay, but, Sherlock! Oh God, all the things I did..." She blushed, remembering her attempted romantic advances with regret.
"It's fine, I just don't think I've really been attracted to many other people until John. And even then, it took awhile to really show up, plus I was suppressing it. I'd always thought I was asexual," Sherlock admitted. John's face grew hot at the indirect compliment characteristic of his boyfriend.
"Oh. Okay," Molly said, turning to the window and allowing silence to fall again like flurries of snow all the way home.
"God, that was embarrassing," Sherlock said from their bedroom, undressing. John stood in the kitchen, making tea.
"How so?" he replied.
"Everything. Kris and his idiocy and the whole scene at the restaurant and our 'daring rescue' and the kiss, which, by the way, I thought was quite nice, and talking to Molly in the cab and everything."
"I can understand being embarrassed in the cab. But everything else was wonderful, I think. Maybe not the kiss though. I felt so bad. I could practially hear Molly's dreams being crushed."
"I guess I'm just not an emotional person," Sherlock stated.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," John sassed. Sherlock sighed.
"It was embarrassing to get in a bloody yelling match with Kris and have the entire restaurant watching, and to...expose myself, you know?"
"I don't know." Sherlock pulled on his pajama pants and walked out of the room shirtless.
"I feel like Spock. I have emotions, but they make me feel weak. Exposing those emotions was a nightmare," Sherlock said.
"I think it was humanizing. And brave. And perhaps a few drinks helped you along the way," John said, smirking. He immediately averted his eyes from Sherlock's bare and attractive chest. The shirtless man blushed, looking at the ground.
"I think it was embarrassing. And with all those people watching!" John walked over to his boyfriend, tipping up his chin.
"I think you did a bloody fine job."
And during that long, sweet, messy kiss, they could both hear applause.
A/N: I feel like my chapters are usually really short, after having written one about twice as long...I'm not sure. What did you guys think? This one kind of included a villain, unlike my other ones in this story. Please review! I beg of you. Thanks for reading! See you soon. I'm not sure when the next one will be up, but soon.
Okay, see ya!
Sarah