Sherlock woke up slowly.
He was very warm and even more drowsy than usual when he first woke up. His mind never quieted for more than a few hours before stirring back to life, keeping him from waking up slowly like he was now. Mind pleasantly blank, Sherlock let his eyes drift open. The first thing he saw was the shockingly vibrant head of Felicity. She was curled up close to Sherlock's side, her wavy locks just tickling the bare skin of his arm. Her face was buried into his collarbone; he could feel the gentle puff of each of her breaths through his cotton pajama top. To Sherlock's fuzzy surprise, his arm was around Felicity's back, keeping her gently in place, his fingers barely woven into her fiery hair.
The family-like intimacy was a shocker for Sherlock. His family had never displayed affection like this growing up; Sherlock hadn't even been aware that he was capable of such a loving act. He looked down at Felicity curiously, trying to get a glimpse of her face. He could see the smooth line of her cheek, her pale skin, and a tiny bit of the edge of her lip. He could make out the smudge of her eyelashes resting on the delicate skin underneath her eye, and then the edge of her eyebrow above it. The rest of Felicity's face was pressed to his chest and collarbone in apparent contentment; Felicity was fast asleep. More curious than ever, Sherlock leaned over as far as he could to see more of her face. He'd watched people sleeping from time to time and had read plenty of studies on the nature of a human being's sleep cycle, but he had never seen anyone sleeping so peacefully. It was hard for him to think of any other person he'd seen sleeping to compare (the only person he watched while sleeping on a regular basis was John, and John was plagued with nightmares of the war so his sleeping patterns were always irregular). supposed that a fair amount of emotion went into a good night's sleep; if you trusted and enjoyed the company of the person you were sleeping next to, chances were your sleep would be deeper and more beneficial to your health.
Evidence to support that claim was Sherlock himself. He couldn't remember waking up from such a long sleep feeling so refreshed. As a general rule Sherlock did not sleep well or for long periods of time. This…this was nice. He could get used to it, he reasoned. Deciding to test his luck, Sherlock slowly planted a kiss into Felicity's locks. It was hesitant and cautious, so much so that Felicity's wild hair blocked the gesture from ever reaching the top of her head. Despite that, Sherlock was flushed with success. Displaying emotion, affection, love even seemed so much easier with Felicity than it did with anyone else. The fact that he was comfortable around a child made Sherlock oddly proud of himself. Before he could dwell on the changes he'd made to what he deemed as 'emotions to safely show in public' thoughts, Felicity stirred, one of her tiny arms stretching out from where she'd tucked it against her chest. It was an innocent, sleepy gesture, but the resulting complications from the movement were not so easily handled.
Sherlock was rarely physically touched by others. He'd received the occasional slap for being rude and he'd been in more than enough fights and brawls. In none of those altercations, however, had anyone rested their fingers so lightly by his side. The ghosting feeling of Felicity's fingertips barely hanging there (her arm was small and his torso was long, leaving her fingertips just brushing his ribs) was more than he could bear. He hated to admit it, but Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective to have ever lived, was ticklish. Unable to squash his reaction, Sherlock tried to squirm out of the way, biting back lethargic laughter into low chuckles. Roused by Sherlock moving and the vibrations of his laughter, Felicity raised her arm sleepily. Still half asleep, she reached up as if to adjust her pillow and ended up plunging her hand into Sherlock's curly hair. The half confused, half drowsy noise she made only made Sherlock laugh harder as tiny finger felt over the texture of his hair. Without opening her eyes, Felicity suddenly shot her arm back down, her fingertips fluttering and spreading back over Sherlock's ribs in a merciless tickle.
The detective practically barked with laughter as he released his arm around Felicity in an attempt to use that limb to defend himself. His effort was useless, however, as Felicity was small and fast. Ducking under his arm, she poked and prodded, her own giggles already joining Sherlock's. Deciding that he wasn't the only one who should suffer, Sherlock found a way underneath the many layers of Felicity's hair and to the nape of her neck. The skin there was, as Sherlock found out, extremely sensitive. Felicity shrieked with laughter, flailing uselessly as the two of them got tangled up in the sheets and duvet in an attempt to escape one another's tickle-attacks. "Oh-oh! Mercy!" Felicity begged, gasping for air she was giggling so hard after just moments of Sherlock tickling the back of her neck. Sherlock relented instantly, pulling up the covers and sheets in an effort on actually locating his friend. In their mock-battle he'd only been able to follow her because he could feel her moving. Now that their fight had stopped, Sherlock was stuck half on his knees, his one arm stretched as far it would go under the covers from his attempts to tickle Felicity.
"It's not very polite to wake someone up by tickling them." Sherlock told her, still chuckling under his breath as he picked up all the covers at once. Peeking underneath the tent he'd created, he easily found Felicity curled up in a ball all the way at the end of the bed, her wild hair obscuring her face.
"Everything alright in here?" John's voice made Sherlock's head shoot up to find him standing in the doorway, looking more amused than ever. "I heard the sounds of someone being viciously attacked. Is anyone hurt?" John asked in mock concern, unable to keep the grin off his face. His gaze lingered on Sherlock, on his fluffed and mussed hair, his flushed and happy face. There was something about it that made his heart want to leap into his throat; he liked seeing Sherlock that way. He had seen Sherlock in what he thought was his best and worst moods, but what he was seeing now was clearly the very best of the great detective. Sherlock stared back at John, something a lot more serious underneath his obvious happiness. He was staring at John like he wanted something…
"I think I'm dying," Felicity interrupted dramatically, uncurling from her ball to flop open across the bed, puffing her hair out of her face before lying perfectly still.
"Oh, really? Well, excuse me, doctor coming through-" John crawled onto the bed and under the covers Sherlock was still holding up to examine his patient. Felicity faked death as John took her pulse. "Hmmm…" John mused, and shot a glance back at Sherlock before flipping his hand around and tickling the back of her neck. Felicity squealed, leaping up in a ball of limbs and fiery hair as she tackled John in an effort to get away. In turn, they fell into Sherlock, making him sprawl out onto the bed, all of the air leaving his lungs in a whoosh.
John didn't relent his attack however, switching to tickle Felicity's ribs. Whenever his hands skated off, they landed on Sherlock's sensitive sides, making the detective eventually roar with laughter at the sensation. Finally he got his wits about him enough to start tickling Felicity as well, changing their tickle battle to two against one. He found himself on his knees, at John's side, tickling Felicity mercilessly. The two of them bumped shoulders more than once, their hands brushing when they accidentally aimed for the same places as they concentrated on their task of tickling Felicity. "Oh! Uncle- please!" Felicity gasped after only a few minutes, laughing to the point of hyperventilating.
"Well, the diagnosis is in, Sherlock," John said, turning to smirk at him. The look on his face, so mischievous and content at the same time, made Sherlock feel something a bit more than fondness.
"What is the expert opinion?" Sherlock bantered back, sitting on his heels as John was, shooting an amused glance at Felicity. She was flat on her back gasping for air, still giggling here and there, eyes screwed shut in an attempt to calm down.
"She's definitely dead." John said with a straight face. Before he could stop himself, Sherlock snorted, actually snorted with laughter as Felicity started giggling again, her self-control instantly breaking. At Sherlock's reaction, John couldn't help but start laughing as well. It took the three of them a while to calm down completely- one would set the other two off if they thought something was particularly funny and then they'd have to start the whole process all over again.
"We have to get up, come on, stop that. We've got to go to the bank, remember?" John prompted after a solid fifteen minutes of the three of them lying sprawled across Sherlock's bed, trying to stop their laughter. At that thought, Felicity jerked upright in excitement, lost her balance, and toppled right off the bed with a resounding thud and a tangle of limbs. "Holy- Felicity are you ok?" John asked, sitting up as well, leaning over the edge of the bed. Sherlock scrambled up too, appearing on John's other side, worried that she had somehow hurt herself. He shouldn't have worried; Felicity was getting to her feet, brushing herself off briskly.
"He's right! We have to go the bank!" She crowed, her hyper mood replaced with excitement. "Come ooonn," she dragged out, grabbing their hands and tugging them out of bed at the same time.
"Are you going to let us change out of our pajamas at least?" Sherlock asked, still chuckling as Felicity dragged them to the kitchen. Felicity ignored him, skipping the last few paces to the barstools whilst singing, 'the bank, the bank, the bank' under her breath. Sherlock picked her up and set her on her own stool in their usual routine, making sure to fluff her ridiculously wild hair with all the nonchalance he could muster. She sent him a challenging smirk before standing up on her stool just to ruffle his own wild curls to prove her point.
"Ah, girls, settle down," John advised as he put the kettle on, feeling ridiculously like he was playing mother. It was worth it, though, especially when Felicity started giggling again at the look on Sherlock's face. "What's for breakfast?" John asked, turning to look at his flatmate and their guest. Felicity had plopped back down into her seat, still laughing at Sherlock who was now managing to sulk and grin at the same time. "Never mind," John told himself, automatically starting toast. Their breakfast was filled with giggles, banter, and once and a while a good dose of chuckling and snorting from Sherlock and John; the walls of 221B had probably never absorbed so much laughter. Throughout the whole meal Sherlock and John snuck glances at each other. It was very clear at that point that the atmosphere Felicity created had stirred something up inside them, something that needed to be addressed. While John was fairly sure of what it was and what he wanted it to become, Sherlock was still trying to identify what type of sentiment it was. He was trying to apply logic to something completely illogical, keeping him spinning in circles. Felicity, to her credit, noticed the trouble the two men were having and didn't comment. She didn't comment on their hands brushing as they reached for the kettle, for the butter knife, for the last piece of toast. She didn't mention how they stared at each other for far longer than necessary and with far too much tension.
Once breakfast was over, some of the silliness went away to be replaced with a need to wrap up the case. The three of them were still grinning like idiots and sometimes snickering behind their hands, but they were well aware that they had work to do. After visiting briefly with Mrs. Hudson, the three of them took a cab to the bank. To John and Sherlock's surprise, all of the staff remembered Felicity and struck up conversations with her as easy as could be. It appeared as if Felicity's charm had lasting effects and wasn't just superficial drivel. "Now, I think Felicity should be the one to break the news," John said as a man escorted them to the waiting area they'd been in before.
"Why? It's your case!" Felicity exclaimed, flashing a quick smile at a worker as they passed.
"Because you were the one to break the cipher and recognize where the pin had gone in the first place." John noted, and Felicity couldn't help but smile, a light blush coating her cheeks.
"I agree," Sherlock said, his tone leaving no room for argument- not that Felicity would have the chance to. The man escorting them dropped them off in front of Amanda's desk, cutting off their conversation. In the end, Sherlock got a taste of his own medicine because before any of them could speak, Sebastian rounded the corner.
"Ah! Sherlock Holmes- just the man I wanted to see." He said loudly, in that fake jovial tone that made John's skin crawl. "Could I have a word with you in my office? About the case?" As soon as he asked, John felt the sudden urge to snap at him, to tell him to piss off and take the check in his hand with him. He, at that moment, couldn't stand the idea of Sherlock being alone with a man like Sebastian. John had no idea where his reaction was coming from, but he couldn't say that the idea was one he couldn't agree with. Thankfully, Sherlock was always his cool and calm self.
"Of course- John and I need to explain a few more things to you," he said smoothly, stepping closer to John by just the tiniest of degrees, but the movement spoke volumes to John, Felicity, and, most importantly, Sebastian. "Felicity, can you take care of everything else?" Sherlock asked briskly, ignoring the look on Sebastian's face. Felicity sent him a brief but sunny smile in response, prompting Sebastian to take the two men into his office.
"Everything else? You must have an awfully important job to do," Amanda commented as the men left, and Felicity nearly laughed.
"You have no idea," she said simply, and Amanda raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?" she prompted, going back to sorting paperwork on her desk, making sure to keep at least an eye on the little girl in front of her to show that she was still listening.
"Sherlock finished the case. It turns out that Mr. Van Coon was smuggling things from China." Felicity said calmly, and Amanda looked at her in surprise. "He was killed because he took something that he shouldn't have," Felicity continued when Amanda was too surprised to speak. Felicity had been nothing but smiles and happiness the last time they had met, and now this sweet little thing was speaking so matter-of-factly about death and stealing and murder that Amanda didn't know what to think. The first point in her mind was to worry about what this little thing was exposed to if she had been in the care of the detective Sebastian had consulted.
"That's a bit nasty for a sweet thing like you," Amanda commented, deciding to voice her fears in an effort to try and find out just how much Felicity had been exposed to. Felicity flashed her a winning smile, not at all put out.
"I've heard that Mr. Van Coon wasn't the nicest to you; I think that's nastier than a bunch of people stealing." She said simply, and Amanda couldn't help but smile.
"Well, you're right, I suppose. He wasn't the nicest of men, no. Why mention it?" Amanda asked curiously, starting to realize that this girl was just as smart as she was adorable.
"He gave you a present, didn't he? That pin in your hair looks like it's from him." Felicity commented sweetly, and Amanda reached up reflexively to remove it and place it in her palm so Felicity could see it over the edge of the desk. "Looks expensive," Felicity added as Amanda pinned it back into her hair.
"Oh, no, not this old thing. Eddie said he got it at a resale market in China- it's nothing fancy." Amanda disagreed.
"I wouldn't say that. That pin is actually really valuable." Felicity said blithely, and Amanda looked at her in surprise, an odd feeling building in her stomach. Normally, she wouldn't believe a child for an instant when it came to discussing the value of a worthless gift she'd received from her ex-boss, but for some reason Amanda felt inclined to listen to and to trust Felicity.
"Valuable? What's it worth?"
OoOoOoO
"Well, I have to say, Sherlock…that was prompt. I thought for sure this little problem would take you much longer." Sebastian said as Sherlock and John sat in front of his desk. Without Felicity sitting between Sherlock and John, a bit of tension permeated the air, or maybe it was just coming from John. He didn't know why he was so oddly protective of Sherlock and why he was feeling strangely jealous over him, but John was damned if he was going to let Sebastian continue to make comments and send looks at Sherlock that insinuated something a lot more than just the case. If he thought about the first time they'd met with Sebastian, John was sure that Sebastian had acted the same way once he got over his surprise with Felicity. The banker had stood very close to Sherlock and had brushed his arm to point things out more than once. The idea that John hadn't put a stop to it then made the doctor grit his teeth.
"You know who I am, Seb; your lack of faith is disappointing." Sherlock said crisply, and John very nearly bristled at Sherlock's comment. He had called the man 'Seb', a nickname, as if they were best mates since primary school and didn't have a care in the world. John was one of Sherlock's few true friends and was rewarded with titles like 'imbecile' and 'idiot', not ridiculously intimate nicknames. John was a much better person to Sherlock and had a lot more to offer the detective, and if it took something drastic to show that to the detective, John was willing to do it. Sebastian chuckled, making John's aggression worse.
"I suppose you're right. So- how did they break in?" He asked, propping his feet up on his desk and fixing his eyes on Sherlock as if he were a three-course meal.
"It was a one man job and they climbed up the side of the building and onto the window ledge. Put a bar across the window and you should be fine." John said, figuring it was time to inject himself into the conversation. The steadiness of his voice surprised him, even if his tone was a bit cool. He wasn't so angry more as he was determined. He caught Sherlock looking at him, just a glance, but he seemed satisfied, as if John was doing exactly what he wanted. In reality, Sherlock, in an effort to test the sentiment which he knew existed between himself and his flatmate, had decided to test John for signs of jealousy and was oddly pleased to report that it did exist, suggesting that John-
"All the way up the building? Like Spiderman? Good lord," Sebastian chuckled, sliding the check across the desk with a dramatic flair. He'd also shot John a look, one that was far from impressed with the doctor's presence. "Well, that's the rest of your reward, then." He needlessly explained, gesturing to his desktop with a slightly shrewd expression. "I know you say that you don't need an incentive, Sherlock, but I treat my friends well. Besides, if I have another problem I may just need you to come back." Sebastian said, and John swore that the banker looked up at Sherlock through his lashes. The outright flirting made John see red.
"Do you always use money to gain your friends?" The comment slipped out before John could stop it. Sherlock's head snapped around to stare at John with a half surprised, half proud expression as Sebastian turned to glare at John, his expression furious. Before he could say another word, a woman started screaming outside of the office.
"Jesus-!" Sebastian leapt to his feet and dashed out the door, leaving Sherlock and John alone for a moment. Sherlock slipped the check off the desk with a smirk, tucking it into his jacket before standing up.
"And you say that I need to work on my people skills, John," he said nonchalantly, directing a more mischievous smirk at John before striding out of the office. For a moment, John's mind was blank before he hauled himself out of his chair and after Sherlock. He was standing right outside of the door, watching with obvious amusement as Felicity grinned at Amanda, Van Coon's ex-secretary as she continued to scream and laugh in shock as she stared at her hairpin. Sebastian was trying to ask her what was wrong, but was getting nowhere.
"If anyone needs to work on their people skills, it's Sebastian," John said lowly to Sherlock, still watching the banker with narrowed eyes. Sherlock turned to look at him, expression cautious. "He treats you like a piece of meat," John very nearly growled, and Sherlock's eyes seemed to glow.
"And you would treat me differently?" he asked carefully, his eyes raking over John briefly before settling back on his face. John barely resisted the urge to lean closer to his flatmate, remembering dimly that they were in public.
"You know I do," John said darkly, "and you know I'd treat you even better, given the chance." The words fell from his lips before he could stop them, before he could stop and think about the fact that normal flatmates, normal colleagues, would NOT say that sort of thing to each other, but John couldn't help it. He had to vent his anger at Sebastian's obvious innuendos somehow. Sherlock's eyes widened slightly at John's confession, darting over his face as if to check for sincerity. When he found it, Sherlock swallowed hard. It was now clear to him that the sentiment between John and himself was love, lust, and irrevocable trust. The realization hit him like a wrecking ball, his heart fluttering frantically when John smiled at him, his eyes crinkling up in the corners as he saw the recognition on Sherlock's face.
"Ready to go?" Felicity's voice popped the bubble of their own little world, and both men automatically looked down at her. Felicity was smiling sweetly at them, more than aware of what had just gone on between them but was choosing not to comment on it. Sebastian was talking animatedly with Amanda, his anger at John's cheek long forgotten now that the prospect of money, lots of money, was right in front of his face. Sherlock cleared his throat.
"Yes, we are ready to depart." He said, and Felicity smiled wider, if possible.
"Great!" She chirped, taking both of their hands and tugging, getting them to walk side by side, Felicity between them. She wasn't keeping them from their previous moment; to the contrary, she was keeping the two of them linked, even though they weren't actually touching. Maybe, someday soon, they could bridge the tiny gap that lay between them and they could join hands without a little girl helping them. That was what Felicity hoped for, anyway. To continue her mischief, Felicity insisted that she wanted a window seat when they got a cab, forcing the two men to sit side by side. She stood on the upholstery and gazed out at the city of London, taking advantage of the reflection of the two men in the window from time to time.
Sitting next to each other, with their shoulders brushing, Sherlock's thoughts raced as he tried to think. Felicity would be more than willing to stay with Mrs. Hudson for a bit if he asked her to so she wouldn't have to listen to Sherlock and John talk out this unprecedented step in their relationship. Once it was just the two of them alone in their flat… He mentally chased away ideas that blossomed in his mind, trying not to flush. Sherlock, for all of his genius, was completely clueless when it came to the world of relationships and, so help him, sex. He'd never been kissed, had never been on a date, and he hadn't held anyone's hand but his Mummy's. The idea of it used to alarm him, but he knew for sure that John would be a patient teacher. After taking another moment to chase away the idea of John 'teaching' him anything, Sherlock glanced at his companion and received a shock.
John was gazing at him, a soft smile on his face as he watched the detective think furiously. John, unlike Sherlock, had dated a multitude of people, both men and women. He was of the belief that if you loved someone, you should demonstrate that love, regardless of the sex of the individual; and he had never loved anyone the way he loved Sherlock. Even when he was the angriest he'd ever been at Sherlock he still managed to feel affectionate (and that was saying something, living with Sherlock Holmes).The military had given John endless patience, and he knew that he and Sherlock would talk when they were ready. He didn't want to rush things with the detective, but he was being so uncharacteristically confused that all John wanted to do was lean over and-
A loud gasp from Felicity jerked both men out of their process of leaning closer and closer to each other, intent clear on their faces. She was sitting down now, but she was staring out the window in shock, and for very good reason.
Standing on their stoop, his expression as dark as a thundercloud, was Charley Muller.
OoOoOoO
A/N: Hello all of you wonderful, amazing people! What did you think? What do you think now? Maybe I can read your minds if I focus hard enough...
I hope the tickle-fight wasn't too creepy for you! I had that part meticulously edited and remember, they are like FAMILY. There is no intended pedophilia here! Also, how was the Johnlock? I've never written it before and this is my first leap into a slash pairing, so I hope it was ok! However, this is not my first leap into cliffhangers, so MUAHHAHAHAHA I AM MOFFAATTTT
IMPORTANT: THIS IS PROBABLY MY LAST UPDATE UNTIL I GET SETTLED INTO COLLEGE- ROUGHLY A WEEK OR SO- SO DON'T GIVE UP ON ME! I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO GIVE YOU ALL SO DON'T LEAVE ME, PLEASE! THERE IS MUCH MORE DRAMA/ANGST/LOVE/SEXUAL TENSION TO COME
If I just broke a few hearts, it's ok, cause ya'll break mine every time you review. If you want to keep punishing your author (NOT LIKE IRENE...unless that's what you like) keep sending her reviews because I nearly cried the last update.
As always, louisuperwholocked is the bestest beta/person/friend ever and she helped me A LOT on this chapter. Lots of thanks to you, Louise!