More, Please had a wheelchair ramp, which saved them from having to move on. They got a table and sat down, getting comfortable.
"My name is Joseph if you need anything," a waiter said as he arrived at the table. "For now, what would you like to drink?"
"A coffee, please," Sherlock requested. John glanced over the beer menu and looked up.
"A Woodchuck cider, thanks." Joseph nodded and listed off the specials, then left.
"Did you see the way he was looking at you?" Sherlock insisted, looking over the menu.
"No, why?" he replied, taking a sip from his water.
"He's gay, obviously, you can tell by the cologne, and he was definitely checking you out. Ignore it, he's in an unhappy relationship with a banker and he's cheating on him," Sherlock informed politely. John chuckled at his boyfriend's jealous behavior.
"You don't have to worry about losing me to a waiter, Sherlock." The taller man looked shocked.
"I'm not worried about losing you, John, I'm worried about the likes of him taking you."
"There's really no difference, now is there? It's fine, I'll ignore it." Sherlock looked back at his menu, embarrassed.
"Good." The two men examined their menus until Joseph returned with their drinks.
"Are you ready to order?" They nodded. "Okay, what would you like, Mr. Watson?"
"How do you know my name?" John asked, taken aback.
"You're in the newspapers, aren't you? Famous Sherlock Holmes and his hot colleague, John Watson." John shuddered at the number of people who seemed to know who he was. "Why are you in a wheelchair?"
"Sorry, but it isn't your business," John said, smiling sarcastically. "I'd like the MP burger, please." Sherlock shivered. Hot.
"Okay. And what about you, Mr. Holmes?"
"Shrimp fillet, please. And John's taken." You just couldn't help yourself, could you? John thought, infuriated. You had to go and get jealous and ruin everything.
"Um, Sherlock," John said, kicking his boyfriend under the table. Sherlock nodded. Joseph looked between them, confused.
"I wasn't trying to make the moves on him, if that's what you're suggesting," he said slowly. "I'll get those orders in." He left and John took this opportunity to chastise Sherlock.
"Sherlock, you can't get jealous like that. Sure, it's hot, but you're going to give us away."
"Who cares if we give ourselves away? As long as no one is flirting with you I don't give a shit." The man was obviously as angry as John was, balling and unballing his fists and clenching his cheekbones.
"Oh, now you're on my side, eh? You don't want to put us in danger, but if anyone flirts with me it's a no-no. Sherlock, you don't seem to understand that I am in love with you, and no stupid waiter is going to keep me from that," John insisted angrily.
"I want people to leave us alone, and that won't happen if we come out."
"They will leave us alone in the way you want them to."
"No, they won't. I want them to leave us alone at all. I want to be normal, John." Sherlock shook with fury and frustration, but kept his voice low.
"That just can't happen," John insisted.
"We can work out a-"
"No, Sherlock we can't. We just can't. And I'm sorry but we will never live normal lives together, I can't and you can't. We both crave the adventure, the unexpected. Perhaps we can try to die down, but people will know our names. We have to make our decisions based on that."
"I don't want to." John shivered. He didn't want to play mummy anymore for this pathetic child. Sherlock didn't understand you just can't have it your way all the time.
"Then move to the bloody moon! You've started this, and we're going to live like this, so if you don't want this, then-" John stopped abruptly. He was lucky no one was snapping his picture, he couldn't draw attention to himself like this.
"I'm sorry, John." Sherlock looked down. He could feel the awful burn in his nose that meant the blurry vision and that meant crying. "I'm not good enough for you."
"That isn't true. Come on, eh?" John stroked Sherlock's cheek and he looked at his rough hand.
"No, I'm not. I am a child." John nodded.
"Yeah, you are. But I love you anyways, you know? And I always will. I'll never stop."
"Never?" John smiled as the word began to work magic on Sherlock, who looked up hopefully.
"Never." Sherlock nodded, regaining control of himself.
"Never," he repeated.
The food came, and for a while they were caught up in the greasy deliciousness. Neither of them said much except "Pass me a napkin" and "Mmm."
"Do you like it?" Sherlock inquired.
"It's fantastic, what about you?"
"Delicious." He sounded angry.
"Look, Sherlock, I want to resolve this," John began.
"No, we aren't going any further," Sherlock replied stubbornly.
"Yes, we are."
"In a restaurant? If we settle this, we need to do it at the house, in private."
"I don't want this constant barrier between us," John explained. "I can't go through an entire meal just exchanging small talk. You know I hate it. I hate just sitting here and not getting anywhere in our relationship."
"Okay," Sherlock surrendered. "Go on."
"I want to come out to the public because we can't hide anymore. I hate this, that there is this huge thing about us the media doesn't know. I'd like to come out."
"Why are you pressuring me into this?" Sherlock asked, restrained.
"I don't want to pressure you. That's why I'm talking to you about it. If you're totally against it, that's a different thing. But if there's something holding you back, out with it." Sherlock sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I feel like it is something in our private lives that shouldn't be shared with the media. If we keep it secret, we keep it sacred." John nodded.
"Sometimes you are so sentimental, Sherlock."
"Nonsense, I simply want to keep things sacred which need to be sacred."
"If we're talked about - which I will tell them to fuck off if they need a little push - then, big deal. Our love is strong enough to endure it, I believe."
"I think it's strong enough too, I just..." Sherlock looked away in frustration. "It feels like in grade school when you had a crush on someone but you didn't want to tell anyone because it was so close to your heart..."
"Why are you ashamed of this?" John cried.
"I'm not ashamed! I'm...I'm vulnerable. I do not like emotion, John, it makes me uncomfortable just to feel, and if anyone found out who had a bone to pick with me - which is pretty much anyone - I'd be dead. I would have shed a coat of armor they desperately wanted off. That's why. It's putting both of us in more danger than ever."
"Okay. You make a fair point. But...okay," John said, nodding. "How do you think we could keep that away? We die down, we shrink away. Then we come out. On my blog, whatever, it doesn't matter. I want the least danger possible, but I do want to tell the public."
"People will always know our names, though. We will always be in the backs of their minds. I don't want to be anywhere in anyone's mind I do not know."
"That's true. It always will be," John explained. "On a completely different topic, a few days after we leave here we have to go on one of the smaller talk shows. I'm going to have to say something about my wheelchair, they aren't going to ignore it."
"I still can't believe you didn't put it in your blog, it seems so important."
"Well, it's like you, it makes me feel vulnerable. Not something I enjoy sharing. Anyway, how do you suppose I'll explain?"
"Do you want to tell the truth?" Sherlock asked calmly, taking a bite of his food.
"I don't know. Would it be safe?"
"The police are on the case, obviously, but the more people who know about it the more will see that they have the opportunities to possibly..." He glanced at the wheelchair. "...injure us."
"Because someone has already gotten a chance, more people will want to."
"Precisely."
"Well, what else do you suggest?" John asked. "I mean, what lies are most believable and safest?"
"That you were in a car accident and got hit or something is probably the best choice. It's believable, and most wouldn't expect it to be sabotage. I'd go with that."
"Okay. And, Sherlock, if anyone, anyone, hits on me before we come out, I'm going to come out right then and there. Alright?"
"We aren't going to come out, but...okay."