"Ms. Aria."

His voice was just as smooth as it had ever been, all silk and sin that caressed her senses. She had missed this, this odd aura that surrounded him, laced with pleasure and mischief and child-like wonder. Toby waggled himself through the door behind Kairi and made his way over to Sherlock with bounding steps.

She saw Sherlock smile then, kneeling to pet Toby and rub his fingers along the dog's jowls and scratch behind his ears. It hurt Kairi to see him be so affectionate towards Toby when he had always given Appa such a cold reception. She was frowning when Sherlock looked back up at her with a wide grin on his face. The grin was beautiful and unfiltered, a rare one she had been lucky to see only a few times during their previous encounters. Though today, it stung her.

He noticed her frown quickly and stood, clearing his throat and straightening to a more regal posture while Toby trotted away to sniff around the flat. Kairi was slightly irritated at him now, and then she was upset with the fact that after an entire year of them being apart, of so many nights wishing she'd wake up to him, she was pissed at him over a dog — even if the dog had been her very best friend. It seemed childish, but she couldn't help it. Everything in this moment was raw and confusing. She didn't know how to rein it all in and process it.

He cleared his throat again and motioned towards the chairs, John's red patterned and Sherlock's black leather still facing one another just outside the fire's glow. "Please..." He left his invitation unfinished, looking terribly uncomfortable.

Kairi nodded and sat in John's chair, hugging the Union Jack pillow as she got situated, with her legs bunched beneath her. It was a defensive posture that Sherlock was sure to notice and comment on. She watched him carefully as he moved through his steps with perfection and grace. He moved like a specter, flowing, yet deliberate, always with purpose and delight.

He sat in his usual manner, his back rigid and his face emotionless as he looked at her. They stayed in silence for a few moments, Kairi refusing to hide her frown and Sherlock desperately trying to maintain control of the situation in his stoic way. A full year apart had left them both so very unsure. Interactions usually filled with stubborn, fiery, and impassioned actions now seemed too foreign. It felt like a lifetime since they were both in front of one another. Since their parting, they had each become a fantastical obsession to the other; something that you wanted so badly, despite the fact that if you got your hands on it, you'd have no idea what to do with it. This moment could never be so perfectly described as two children faced with their wildest dreams and staring back in utter vacillation.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Sherlock finally sighed, "I know you are upset about Toby."

Kairi raised an eyebrow at him and replied, a little bit snitty, "Do you?"

He shot her a dark look, because of her tone, but responded anyway, "You're upset with me because I showed the animal affection, despite how cold I was to your previous pet." Kairi glared at him and he tried not to smile. The familiar crinkle of her nose and the narrowing of her eyes, her body curled around a cushion like a child having a fit. Just looking at her brought back memories that he'd displaced many months ago. Like most everyone he met, her anger was amusing, but to him, he felt it oddly resonate in his chest. He thought it was endearing.

He shook his head, refocusing on the fact that she was actually cross with him and deduced her easily, like always, "It is not that I disliked Appa. He was a decent and well-mannered beast, far more likable than any other creature I've come to know since childhood. I refrained from forming an attachment to him because that is what I do." He leveled her with a narrowed stare that seemed to make Kairi cringe inwardly, he sighed at his own impudence and continued, "It is not in my nature to attach myself to meaningless things: people, items, and pets." He waved his hand at the aforementioned, watching as Kairi seemed to stiffen again, anger no doubt bubbling because of the implication of Appa being meaningless, "However," He added with a weighty voice, "Much has changed within the last ten or so years of my life and I've come to regret that I was not as friendly to an animal who was so clearly deserving of your adoration."

Kairi blinked at him several times and tried to process just what he was implying. "I don't-," Kairi began, but the words wouldn't really formulate. She felt like everything was moving in slow motion, like her mind was sunk in a puddle of syrup. She was still just gushing over the fact that Sherlock was sitting in front of her, staring at her, talking about pets, and she wasn't completely imagining it.

Sherlock rolled his eyes at her slowness, "Upon the death of Appa, among other things, I decided to reform myself in some aspects. I regret it now, not showing him the appropriate amount of sentiment that he deserved. You obviously hold a great deal of meaning for your animals. I've come to understand I should be more respectful of what certain people deem important. In the end-," he cleared his throat, "-he died for you..." Sherlock left off the last part of the statement, the one that echoed in his mind, As I would have.

This divulgence, no matter how true, still struck him deeply. He was not a man of half measures and when he deliberately decided to place meaning upon a person, it was to its fullest extent. John, Molly, Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade, all of them had taken up residence in his mind palace for their particular importance. Now there was Kairi, struggling for purchase in his thoughts, fighting off the last year's worth of effort to shut her out.

Kairi's eyes widened again and she took in a deep breath, "Oh." She managed. She took a moment to stare at the fire and let herself uncoil from her tense position. She tried to relax the arms and legs that were held tightly against her body. She leaned on the arm rest as she watched the flames dance inside the stone hearth, allowing her mind to wander. So much was going unsaid, so many things that she didn't know or understand. All of her fears were viciously prattling in her mind. With another exhale, she looked over to Sherlock who was still sitting, still unmoving, and staring right at her.

She let out a little nervous laugh, watching his eyes flick over her, taking in every centimeter, "I see you showered." She nodded towards him, indicating that the glitter and pigment from her nieces' make up was now gone.

Sherlock grinned slightly, "Yes, I didn't realize that you would have been done up in such a manner. I failed to recognize that you may have been with company when I formulated my plan to surprise you."

Kairi smiled, "Well, surprise me you did. That's for sure." She finished with a rueful laugh. "I'm sorry about, you know, erm, jumping you."

Sherlock let out a tiny chuckle, "No matter." He grinned as he sat forward, watching her annoyance for that phrase taint her features, "Yes, I suppose I should apologize or something as well."

Kairi replied with her own giggle, "Yeah, or something." She rolled her eyes at him and then looked back to his face. It was softer now and he seemed relaxed. Teasing each other was always something they could fall back on if intimacy was displaced. They could always rile a response out of one another, prodding each other until one of them finally broke through the stubbornness. After a few beats of silence and staring at one another in a challenging way, Kairi realized that she needed to be the one to reach out. There was so much vulnerability that they were ignoring. He had left for her sake and he wouldn't truly return, not the emotional part, until she took the first step.

She sighed heavily and sat back, admitting defeat, resigning to fate, "I missed you." She admitted in an almost bitter whisper.

Sherlock nodded slowly, his brow creasing as he looked away from her. After a few tortuous beats of silence, he finally replied, "And I, you." He said with a soft and serious voice, gazing at the fire. "It was unfortunate that in my time away, I was forced to place you out of my mind in order to focus." His eyes were still centered on the flames, reflecting the turbulent thoughts that plagued his mind.

She smiled at that. To him, her being a distraction was a compliment, "Did it work?"

He returned his glare to her, with eyes darkened in a serious air of annoyance and something else, "Hardly." He growled, a tone low and sensuous despite the annoyance on his face. He then cleared his throat, shifting in his seat to appear more flippant.

Kairi blushed wildly, the tone sending a spike through her system that pulled her back into a time before Moran, before Sherlock's absence, when sex with him was something she felt could sustain her indefinitely. She managed a weak chuckle, trying to dispel tension as she put her feet to the floor and sat up straight with Sherlock's eyes still on her.

She smiled tenderly at him, "So your work, did it go well?"

He chuckled at her meager attempts at small talk, "Yes, it went fine. It was a case of diplomatic importance. Not greatly stimulating, if I must admit." His voice reflected his earnest boredom for the matter.

"So it was a punishment." Kairi joked.

Sherlock seemed to take in a deep breath, "In a way, yes, it was."

She looked at him sadly then, "That's not what I wanted. I didn't want to punish you. You did nothing wrong."

Sherlock nodded in response, pressing steepled fingers to his lips as he closed his eyes, absorbing her voice and letting it echo in his mind. "Yes, I understand. You needed space and time that I could not give you if I were here." His eyes remained closed, "You don't need to regret that decision. I had certain...needs in the end that this case helped manage."

The guilt Kairi was feeling suddenly dissipated. She looked at him oddly now, cocking her head to the side and then becoming distracted when Toby shuffled into the room and plopped down in front of the fireplace with a dramatic huff.

Sherlock opened his eyes and focused on the animal shuffling about, trying to get comfortable on the floor. He spoke up again, bringing her back into the moment, "Has he been satisfactory?"

Kairi smiled wryly, "Yes, but you're not getting out of that so easily. What needs are you talking about?"

Sherlock sighed and dropped his arms to the sides of his chair, crossing his legs delicately and glaring at Kairi, "Perceptive." He reproached her.

She smiled in her bright way and touched her nose on the side with a single finger and Sherlock couldn't fight the smirk that appeared on his lips.

"I discussed these things with Dr. Sherman." Sherlock exhaled, "Did he not discuss them with you?"

Kairi's eyes widened, "No! I never asked him about you." She added nervously, twirling a strand of her short hair between her fingers, "I figured, eventually, if you wanted to..." She let the statement trail off while she thought, "Wait! Does that mean...?"

Sherlock chuckled and shook his head, "No, he did not disclose information about you to me." He grumbled, "Despite my best efforts."

Kairi rose an eyebrow again, "You were spying on me."

He trained his grin back on her, a sparkle in his eyes caused by the firelight that made him look utterly mischievous and delectable, "No more than you spied on me." He tried not to smile, patronizing her, "Bribing Mycroft with sweets, now?"

Kairi huffed at his tone and glared at him, "You were God knows where, I just wanted to know if you were alive!"

He raised his hands gently, as if to showcase himself and gave her a coy grin, "As you can see, I am."

Kairi rolled her eyes and stood, stomping off to the kitchen for need of something. She wanted coffee or tea or whiskey, but the kitchen was empty. She cursed to herself and ran a hand through her hair, frustration and desperation flowing through her at rapid speeds. She heard him approaching behind her and she curled in on herself, fighting the violent urges to throw herself at him again.

She felt him there, at her back. He wasn't touching her, not even close enough to feel his breath on her neck, but she could sense him. His presence enveloped her and it caused her body to react in very unladylike fashions. She wanted to punch him, she wanted to kiss him, she even wanted to throw him on the table and ravish him completely. All in all, the process of their rekindling could be completed within a few volatile minutes of yelling and make up sex. She shook her head to clear those thoughts from her mind, she wouldn't let herself escape from this. She needed to face him, she needed to face what they went through, what they were to each other.

"What was it I said to upset you?" He finally spoke, his voice soft and tenuous.

Kairi turned, leaning back on the counter, putting further space between them, her hands gripping the edges of the cold surface. She didn't want to look at him, there were so many warring emotions that she could not control. The entire experience was overwhelming and it was taking every ounce of her consciousness not to just explode with all the possible feelings that were welling up inside of her. It would leave him horribly confused.

"I was just worried, Sherlock. I wanted you to be okay. I wanted you to be here. I wanted you to be on Mars." She allowed herself a rueful chuckle, "Every single day I prayed for you to come back, every single day I revoked that prayer and wished for you to stay away. I never stopped wanting you here, ever, but I couldn't exactly find the strength to face you if you had returned." She admitted softly and hazarded a glance at him. He was frowning, "It was a very difficult time for me, very confusing."

"Was Dr. Sherman not accommodating?" He muttered, pushing his hands into his pockets to keep himself from reaching out to her.

Kairi nodded and chuckled, "He is extremely accommodating Sherlock. I was a mess, an absolute fucking mess. He's helped me greatly with all of the things I went through, what we went through." She sighed again and dropped her eyes to her shoes, seeing Sherlock's feet edge just slightly closer. She tried not to smile, she was fighting the same urge to throw herself at him, "I couldn't talk about you much yet. I couldn't even process how to begin talking about you." The smile was gone and dread was gripping her chest, "I am terrified of you, Sherlock Holmes."

His toes almost touched hers now and she could feel the warmth of him curl around her, "Why?"

She shook slightly and looked up at him, "Because I still love you, after all that happened, I still love you. People usually fall apart after things like this, but somehow I didn't — I mean, I guess I did fall apart, but my love for you didn't change." She sighed heavily, "I can't even begin to tell you how much I care about you, Sherlock. I've never been good with relationships, with people in general! But with you it just seems...comfortable. Right." She closed her eyes and shook her head with her heart pounding in her chest, "I'm not going to try to stop it anymore, not unless..." She swallowed the words, she didn't want them out in the open. Once they passed her lips, she couldn't take them back.

"Unless?" His voice was almost a whisper. His hand reached out and he put a knuckle under her chin and with a rueful smile, he forced her face to meet his gaze. Her eyes were still closed and the muscles of her face were tense, fraught with her desire to hide. He laughed at her gently, "Unless?" He urged.

She sighed testily and opened her eyes, meeting Sherlock's gaze which was soft and open and nebulous, consuming her wholly. With a very small voice, which was stronger than how she felt on the inside, she finally admitted her fear, "Unless you don't want me."

Sherlock gave her a pained smile as he listened to those words. The nights he had spent imagining his time with her were practically all that kept him sane during his months away. It was the only thing that kept his rage bearable. Despite his desperate efforts to appear unattached and stoic, he had dreamt of her often, tasted her lips on a rare cigarette. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, "I'll say it again..." His voice was tender, full of need.

Kairi looked up at him, watching his features morph in front of her. He seemed confused and lost and unsure. Where was Sherlock Holmes? What had she done to him? Her stomach lurched and she felt a sob welling in her chest, fighting against the tightness of the anxiety crushing her lungs.

"Tell me that I may hold you." He finished in a whisper and she let out a shuddering breath that Sherlock felt deep in his gut. She nodded slowly and he reached out, hesitantly. He pulled her towards him, her body shaking and unsure until she pressed against his chest and melted against him.

In that moment, she felt a comfort within his arms that she had been searching for all of her life. She let out a sob as his arms enveloped her and she was surrounded by his scent and his warmth. He held her closely, almost suffocating her, but she didn't care, she wanted to mold to him, to latch onto him with a blinding intensity. All of her emotions, everything she had tucked away during his absence pulsed through her veins and she wanted nothing more than to love him fully. She didn't want to be half-cocked and scared for the rest of her life. She wanted to throw herself into her love for him and ignore the tenuous proposition of the future and what tomorrow would hold.

After her tears subsided and they held each other in the kitchen for what could have been hours, she finally exhaled her last shaky breath within his arms, focusing on the sound of his breathing, whirling within his chest, the sound of his heart beat, echoing in the chambers of her mind. He was real, he was there, and he wanted her.

He felt her arms shift, moving around his midsection to squeeze him tightly, her eyes were most likely shut storing away sensations, in the child-like way that she used to hold him. Sherlock had to admit that it soothed him greatly. Finally having her this way: feeling her skin against his finger tips and her soft body folding into his, it was perfection. A flint sparked within the darkness of his mind, one that had been so bland because of the clean and cold logical madness that consumed him this last year. Kairi held another piece of him entirely, she pulled from him a warmth that he could not quite muster for anyone else.

She sighed against him, breaking their reverie and finally admitted to herself that she needed to be honest, that she had tell him the truth of the last year of his absence, "Sherlock." She said quietly and he hummed his recognition, "I'll need to take it slow with you. I'm still..." She paused, trying to formulate just how she felt in her mind, "It's different with you, the way you make me feel. It's intense and it's difficult to process. I need some time to reintegrate you into my life. I haven't..." She lost the words as they formed in her mouth.

He tutted at her and she chuckled against him, "I understand and I will do my best to respect your wishes. It's been a long year without you and I'll admit, my desire for you has not weakened in the slightest." She hummed against him, "What was it you said during the holidays? Absence make the heart grow fonder?"

She snorted in his arms and then pulled back, looking up at him with a bright smile, "Yes. Do you think it's rubbish now?"

He allowed a curt laugh at that, "Perhaps it holds a bit more weight since I was able to collect data on the matter."

She gave him a coy grin, "Data? What's that then? Dirty tissues hidden in your trash can in the confines of your secret spy room? Hidden bottles of Jergen's under your bed?"

He gave her a sharp glare at the implication, "I have impeccable self-control."

Kairi pursed her lips, trying not to smile at his ire, "Only because you were halfway around the world."

Sherlock rose an eyebrow and brought his hand to her face, bringing her eyes to his so he could take her in. He would not deny the absolute need that pulsed through his veins as his fingertips played across the softness of her features, memorizing them all over again. He had been absent from her for so long and his desire was practically vibrating through him. He felt his jaw clench as he watched her pupils dilate and her breath hitch when their eyes met. His stomach stirred, like plates of molten fire shifting beneath his skin.

He smiled with a slightly sinister tilt, watching her tongue sneak out slowly to lick her bottom lip, "May I kiss you?" His voice was husky and his throat tight.

Kairi seemed to shake in his arms, staring into his eyes, looking almost scared and so very desperate. She glanced down to his lips and he smirked as he observed her. She nodded, hesitantly, and he leaned forward, keeping his eyes on her until he pressed his mouth against hers and the air seemed to erupt into pure heat.

There was nothing in the universe that could halt the moan that escaped Kairi's lips.

Hearing that noise ignited something furious within Sherlock. In an instant, as if it were never walled up within his mind palace, his senses were flooded by Kairi: her touch, her scent, her taste, it was maddening. His grip tightened around her and she seemed to whimper in his arms. The last thing he wanted to do was let her go, but he did. With great shame, he watched as Kairi pushed him away and stalked out of the kitchen with her hand on her lips, her features screwed up in a grimace. He followed her slowly, containing all of whatever was happening inside of his body behind the cold wall of his impassive features. He could contain it, he would contain it.

She was facing his bookshelves, on the other side of the room with one arm wrapped around her stomach and the other, most likely pressing into her mouth, containing her sobs as her body shook frantically. He looked down at his feet as they moved towards her without his permission. He stopped by John's chair, frozen with guilt — an emotion he was not greatly acquainted with prior to Sebastian Moran's presence in their lives. He wanted to say something, to apologize, to pull her out of wherever she was that made her uncomfortable and ashamed. He remembered that look, a cowering, frail woman afraid of everything around her. The last thing he wanted on this earth was for her to fear him.

He was brought out of his reeling mind by the sound of her voice, but he was so focused on his own thoughts, he didn't register what she had muttered, "Pardon?" He said looking up at her, worried that his own voice would betray him. He wanted her, needed her. It was an overwhelming sensation that surged through him and clouded his mind. She finally turned to face him, her hands dropping to her sides, fisted tightly. He would have thought that Kairi was angry, she was so stiff as she looked at him, determined. His heart seemed to falter. He feared that she would reprimand him for his untoward display.

"Again." She stated with more fire, insisting it upon him with a ferocity in her eyes that Sherlock could not deny.

He stalked over to her with purposeful strides and she reached out to him. As his hands seized her waist, her fingers dove into his hair and their lips met with a symphony of hormones rushing through their veins. In a flurry of movement, they pulled each other closer, opening their mouths and losing all logical thought to their pent up desire.

Kairi moaned against him, grasping the cropped hair in her fists as much as she could. She was alight with passion, a furious sexual need that she feared had left her entirely after the incident with Moran. She was ecstatic, Sherlock's lips on hers did nothing but wash away the shame left by the poisonous intentions of Moran. He adjusted his hands on her, one pressing on her lower back, forcing her into his hips, the other resting between her shoulder blades, his fingertips digging into the cloth as if he could will it to disappear. Her fingers moved to the sides his face, splaying across the soft warmth of his skin and he moaned, stepping forward to invade her space completely.

Backing her up further caused them to collide with the bookshelf, eliciting a surprised yelp from Kairi that was silenced after her lips claimed his again. She pulled herself up against him, onto her tip toes and Sherlock obliged, his hands shooting to her waist to lift her so she could wrap her legs around him, locking her ankles at his back. He pressed into her further, crushing her against the bookshelf, elated at the thin material of her leggings that allowed him to press into her heat. His hips rolled against her and tore a groan from her throat that sent a spike through his bloodstream, straight to the pleasure centers of his brain. He resigned to the fact that he would gladly do anything to hear her make those noises for the foreseeable future. His mouth abandoned hers for a moment and attacked her neck, allowing her a brief respite to breathe properly. He tasted every inch of available skin, allowing the sweetness of her to consume him as her moans played a concert in his ear.

Kairi's mind was reeling and she couldn't focus. So many nights she had imagined this, unsuccessfully. Nothing could compare to the way his hands grasped at her thighs, how his hips pushed into hers and his chest invaded her own space for breathing. She turned her head slightly as he nipped at her shoulder and she pressed her lips to his lower jaw, along the line of neck that she could reach, and nipping on his earlobe, allowing her tongue to taste him and revel in the way he made her feel alive again.

The sharpness of her teeth against his skin elicited a growl within his chest and he felt Kairi shiver against him, her thighs clenching for a moment around his hips. Grasping her as a lifeline, he fought desperately against the coldness in his chest that demanded he stop and demonstrate some control. A faint part of his mind registered that his mobile was ringing.

Kairi let out a gasp, feeling his phone vibrate against her inner thigh, pulling her out of her lust-induced haze and bringing her back to reality. The reality where she couldn't just dive back into his bed. The reality where he could not just consume her life all over again. She shook her head, biting her own lip and hating herself for going to therapy to become a wholesome, sane human being.

"Sherlock..." She gasped as he bit against her raging pulse and she felt herself warm perfectly against the bulge pressing into the apex of her thighs.

He groaned at the wavering tone of her voice and his mobile rang again, infuriating him to no end. He was absolutely enraged that answering his phone would require detangling his limbs from Kairi's and leaving the warmth of her embrace. He pulled away with a growl and pressed his forehead against hers, their heaving breaths intermingling as Sherlock's muscles tensed and Kairi shook.

He watched her lips tremble gently and he sighed, "I understand." He whispered and she let out a small sob, "I'm sorry." He admitted and kissed her gently on the forehead. He helped her stand, her feet planting on the ground as his hands fisted in the loose material of the skirt that had gathered at her hips.

"I'm sorry — it's just a lot. I liked it, a lot — it's just…" She choked out. He pulled her to him and held her close.

"Don't apologize." He whispered against her dark hair. "You and I have a lot to rediscover."

His phone began to ring again and it startled Kairi so much that she let out a squeak. He chuckled stepping back enough to allow an extra inch of space so that they were no longer crushed against the book-case, but he stayed near. Kairi was gripping his suit, not quite willing to let him move further, it seemed.

"You've been round Molly too much, with all that squeaking." He muttered with distaste.

Kairi let out a hysteric laugh and covered her mouth as he pulled his phone to his ear and answered it.

"Yes?" He said into the receiver with a coldness in his tone that made Kairi waver. He looked down at her for a moment and gave her an affection smile. It was quickly replaced by an eye roll and a growl as someone spoke over the phone, "I'm quite busy." He snarled testily.

Kairi chuckled and patted his chest, stepping around him and moving back over to John's chair with shaky legs, trying to ignore the daggers that Sherlock was shooting at her. She sat down slowly, trying to contain herself and rein in her hormones and emotions while Sherlock talked on the phone. She stared at the fire again, allowing his voice roll over her and supply her comfort despite the menacing tone. The level of distaste he demonstrated through his speech meant it must have been Mycroft on the other end. That, or he was truly perturbed over the fact that the caller had interrupted their reconnection.

Saved by the bell, indeed.

With a bitter chuckle, Sherlock ended the call and glanced back over to Kairi, who was sitting in John's chair with an elusive smile on her face and a far off look in her eyes. He walked over to her and stood a foot away, waiting for her to refocus. He cleared his throat and she finally looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling, while a wide smile spread over her swollen lips.

He took a moment to really look at her and appreciate her beauty. Her face was bare of any make up, so her features were soft to him, something comforting. Her hair was shorter than he'd ever seen on her and the strands were dark. Despite the drastic difference to her appearance, it pleased him. Her body had transformed from the frail structure he remembered before to one of plush curves and strength. She seemed healthy, happy. He couldn't deny the absolute mirth he felt seeing her put together again, smiling and alive and strong. Especially after he had repentantly left her so splintered and frail.

"That was Lestrade. There's a corpse he wants me to investigate, quite urgently." He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, the churning heat in his gut was doing nothing for the seriousness of the situation. "It seems that we will need to have this conversation another time."

Kairi nodded, smiling knowingly at Sherlock, "Yeah, of course." She stood slowly and adjusted her dress, shifting uncomfortably to battle the wetness in her pants. She felt herself flush again and looked at Sherlock who was fighting a grin as he watched her. She glared at him with a certain vexation in her eyes, "Your hair looks a mess and you've got a tent pitched, don't make fun of me!"

He chuckled slightly and did his own minute adjusting. "However," He went on as if she hadn't spoken, "if you'd like to continue, I wouldn't mind if you accompanied me to the crime scene."

Kairi hid her smile by turning away from Sherlock, "Really Sherlock? Jumping from having your tongue down my throat to taking me to murder scenes?" She shook her head and turned back to him with a coy grin on her lips, "I thought we were going to take things slow."

The corner of his mouth hitched and he rolled his shoulders to straighten his posture, "Are you not ready to be seen with me yet?"

Kairi sighed gently and her shoulders slumped, "It's not that Sherlock, you know that I love you. I want to be with you, everyone knows that, so hiding it is silly at this point. I'm just worried about jumping right back into where we were before Moran." She had to fight the bile that rose when that name crossed her lips. "I'm not quite that girl anymore. I'm not saying everything has changed but..."

"Yes, well, everything has changed, hasn't it?" He chuckled lightly and she moved towards him, which was a marked improvement. When her arms wrapped around his waist he returned the gesture with hesitant hands, "I put forward my best effort to distance myself from you Kairi, but now that I am home, I feel as if I can finally breathe. The case that I was on, the things that were required of me were difficult." He swallowed heavily while his hands adjusted on her, trying to keep himself from touching every inch of her, to make sure this wasn't a dream, "For the last year, I was not entirely myself." He felt her shift in his arms and she looked up at him, curious and sad, so he continued, "I need to re-tune myself to this life here, but your presence is a driving force. All I had when I was away were memories…"

Kairi smiled, "I know. I can feel it. You're just sort of coiled up inside there." She poked a finger in his chest and he managed a smile, "You're home now, you'll jump right back into being Sherlock Holmes. Whatever it was you did, whatever you had to do, I know you did it to help people. That's all you ever do."

He chuckled at her and shook his head, "Now what have you done to the teasing girl I left who used to insult me?"

Kairi smiled at him, "What happened to my brooding, stoic consulting detective? All I see is this husky, impassioned man looking to fuck me through a wall."

Sherlock's eyes widened at her brashness and a blush inadvertently glowed on his cheeks, "What?!" He sounded affronted, though in fact he had every intention to engage in vigorous intercourse when she was ready and willing.

Kairi outright giggled and laid her face against his chest, "Ah, there's a bit of him, I thought I had done too good of a job desensitizing you to sex." She hugged him close and he chuckled.

They stepped back from the embrace and adjusted themselves again. The silence was tenuous as they looked at one another. There were gaps that needed to be filled, questions that needed answering. Time spent apart had done them good, for the most part, but there was still a lot of healing to occur. The wall between them was shoddy and falling down, but there was a hint of uncertainty towards what they would find on the other side. Two new beasts needed to be tamed.

"Well, since you know me so well, would you accompany me to the crime scene?" He tried to hide his eagerness.

Kairi sighed dramatically, "I don't know Sherlock, that's like third date material right there." She finished sarcastically.

Sherlock rose an eyebrow and stepped closer, raising his hand to hold the side of her face and her neck, the fleshy bit of his palm pressing against her pulse as it began to race, "Third date material?" He muttered in a confused way, but his eyes narrowed and he grinned at her, "I've had the fortuity of being inside of you, Kairi. I think the preamble of dates is a little excessive."

She rolled her eyes and snorted, pulling out of his grasp, "You are impossible!" She rasped at him but couldn't hide the smile on her lips. She began to walk away until he spoke.

"However, I could use a second pair of eyes." He added with a hint of disdain which made Kairi turn back in curiosity.

"You want me to be your assistant?" She chuckled and eyed him with suspicion. "Why? Is the body inside a computer or something?"

He rolled his eyes at her attempt at self depreciating humor, "My blogger seems to be missing. Judging from the state of this flat, I'm under the impression I'm currently the sole tenant." He growled and then added in a hiss, "Sentiment does such odd things to people. I'm not sure why they felt the need to find a new flat together when the previous living situation was perfectly adequate."

It was Kairi's turn to roll her eyes, "They're engaged Sherlock. That's what engaged people do: move in together, get married, have babies."

He scoffed at her, "Precisely, sentiment makes people do stupid things."

She could only chuckle.

He turned back to her, ignoring his previous thoughts. Grinning fully now, he relished in the excitement of a new case that suited him, "The body is only approximately four hours old. Vital evidence could be present, so we mustn't waste time." He reached out his hand to her, "Will you come?"

Kairi sighed and stepped forward, reaching her hand out to grasp his, "I really have no other choice." He frowned at her and Kairi just chuckled, "But don't expect me to get all doe-eye and willowy at the mention of a case," She added scathingly with a squeeze to his hand, "I'm not John you know, I'm not going to run around London like a madwoman with you two. After this case, unless you need my computer prowess, I'd very much like to just hear about your cases in a bath with a glass of wine."

Sherlock gave her a warm look, "I believe that could be arranged."

Kairi rolled her eyes, "You tart, the only way you're getting close to that tonight is if I phone you during my bath!" She took the hand that wasn't holding his and poked his chest. He swatted at her finger until the poke became a caress, picking at a button on his shirt, "I mean, that doesn't sound half bad really, sitting in the bath and listening to you talk about a case," She gave him a saucy look, but then became stern, "but you're not getting naked with me just yet Mr. Holmes. I'm not that easy."

Sherlock chuckled and pulled her along, grabbing his coat while Kairi whistled for Toby to follow, "That's not a fact I'd be willing to testify to in court."

"Prick." Kairi grumbled and then yanked her hand from his as she pushed past him and strode out the door of 221B. "I'm going to my flat to get my jacket and boots. I doubt I should show up to a crime scene in slippers."

He grabbed his coat and followed her down as she skipped in front of him, gleeful and excited. He had missed the thrumming calm in his mind that Kairi provided. Thoughts of her had their own affect, but being near her, being close was an entirely different feeling. Despite the miles between them he truly hadn't been that far from her, not always.

He waited outside her door for a few moments, until he realized that she was taking far too long to just grab boots and a jacket. He pushed through the door and a smile graced his lips as he looked around. Her flat was very much the same as it had been when he left, but he was honestly surprised to see that Kairi now had photographs on her mantle and art graced the walls. The pictures were rudimentary and simple, but aesthetically pleasing, ranging from pictures of flowers, to unique curves of the human frame, and then to one painting that made him chuckle slightly.

The one that hung over her mantle was a larger canvas and it was a depiction of a door with the familiar cream stone around a thin black entryway. A gold knocker rested in the middle of the door, slightly askew. It was a painting of the entrance to Baker Street. It came as a shock when he realized that brush strokes and swooping lines all resembled the paintings that were hanging within her home. Kairi had painted each one.

She emerged a moment later, her face delicately smoothed over with her usual make up. He gave her a frown, disappointed to see that she still felt the need to hide behind such a mask. The paint on her face did nothing to hide nor enhance her beauty, except to provide a harsher contrast in her features, which remained pleasing. Yet it still struck Sherlock as disagreeable. She paused when she saw his face and the blood-red lips curled up in a smirk.

"Un-pop your collar and I'll take off my make up." She said jestingly and Sherlock grinned.

"Well, if you must..." He added fleetingly, "Your paintings are very nice. Not exactly fit for the Louvre, but nonetheless adequate."

Kairi chuckled, "Thanks, Molly would take me to painting classes — they'd give you free food and some wine and do an instruction. I always went my own way a little bit, but I liked it. Helped me express feelings and such." He scoffed at her tone and she rolled her eyes in response.

"You've got personal pictures up now." He glanced over to a photo of her family when Kairi was very young.

"Yeah," She smiled, "It was an exercise, really: don't be afraid of the past, let things hurt a bit. Now I can look at them and not hurt so much, even remember good times." She admitted wistfully as she joined Sherlock as he looked over pictures of her family at varying ages.

"And how is Deanna?" Sherlock questioned, investigating the photo of Julie and Danni in twin frames. Their features had only slightly changed, but he could see what a difference a year had made in their development. Seeing them had made an impression on just how much time had passed. His attention was diverted from the photos when he noticed Kairi's silence. He could practically feel the tension that rolled off of her in that moment, so he turned and saw her looking sad.

"She passed away in August." She frowned, staring down at nothing, "It's better, we buried her with dad — thanks by the way, helping identify him." She cleared her throat, "They're at peace or one with the universe or something, but at least they're no longer lost to the world." She looked up at him with a tiny smile.

Sherlock straightened and walked to her, placing unsure hands on her shoulders, "I find no pain in death Kairi, however, I am sorry for your loss."

Kairi gave him a sad sort of grin, "Well, whatever you were up to sure instilled a bit of manners." She eyed him and nodded with real appreciation, "Thank you."

He nodded in return and stepped away from her, looking at nothing in particular before turning back with a smile. She seemed at ease, so he intoned, "Crime scene?"

Kairi chuckled and nodded, "Crime scene."

With that, they dashed off into the night, ridding in a cab in an invigorated silence.

Midway through the drive, she glanced at Sherlock who looked smug to have placed his hand on her thigh, tracing faint lines along the soft material of her skirt. "Getting a bit handsy, aren't we?" She joked, his smirk deepened.

"If you are uncomfortable, I will stop." He looked down at her, still with his smirk.

She scowled at him. Of course she didn't want him to stop touching her. She'd been waiting a year for that, "Its fine, but don't get any ideas." She huffed with an upturned nose that looked out at the city lights. She scowled when she heard him chuckle, but she refused to satisfy his pride with her ire.

As she watched London fly by her, she tried to grasp exactly what was happening and who it was happening with.

Sherlock returns and drama begins anew. A part of her thought it would be wiser to fling herself from the vehicle, to search for a life spent doing mundane things like gardening or coupon clipping. She knew that having Sherlock in her life meant that adventure was always around the corner, whether she liked it or not. And if she were being truly honest with herself, she never really liked gardening or coupons anyway.


AN

*glorious squeeing*

Soooooo...?

Thoughts? I'd love to hear how you think their first real interaction went down. I don't even know what to say as there's just so much going on and I just want to hear what you think...Please Please PLEASE?!

Also, I had a silly little one shot in mind that I got on the back burner, I'm not sure if any of you would be interested because it involves copious amounts of smut between Kairi and Sherlock and it resonates highly with some BDSM and Dom/Sub culture... It wouldn't be story related at all, it would just simply be using those characters in an AU of sorts... I got Sherlock!Dom in my brain and Kairi!Sub in there and they've just been playing around and I've been tempted to put it on internet paper in my "one shots"... Any interest?

Either way, read, review, favorite, follow, lurk, whatever your little hearts desire... More on the case in the next chapter :D