A few weeks later, Jenna was walking back from her classes on a glorious summer day and decided to go to the local park. She walked languidly, blissfully enjoying the sun beaming down on her and the cool summer breeze. She noticed some of her other friends on the grass, relaxing or playing games, but she noticed one person in particular, lying on a picnic blanket sunbathing.
It was Eve.
Jenna smiled evilly and went to sneak up on her. When she was close enough, she prepared to make Eve jump. Her eyes were closed, from what Jenna could see through Eve's big, dark cat-eyed sunglasses. Jenna was just about to scare her friend when Eve shifted.
"You'd make a terrible stalker, Jenna, I could hear you coming a mile off." Eve drawled, her eyes still closed. She stretched and sat up gracefully before opening her eyes and removing her sunglasses.
"Hi Eve." Jenna grumbled, admitting defeat. "What are you doing here all alone?" She asked in a lighter tone.
"My lecture was cancelled so I thought I'd make the most of this Indian summer day we're having." Eve smiled up at the sun. "But I'm not alone." She added. Jenna looked around confused. There wasn't anyone with her, so why was she saying there was.
"What do you...oh." Jenna saw a man coming towards the two girls holding something in each hand. When he came closer Jenna realised it was Sherlock. "OH!" Jenna gasped. "Are you on a date?" Jenna asked raising her eyebrows suggestively. Eve just gave her friend a withering look and turned her attention towards Sherlock smiling up at him and held out her hand as Sherlock handed her a ice lolly.
"Here you are. They didn't have any raspberry so I got strawberry," Sherlock said as he settled down next to Eve on the blanket.
"Even better, thank you darling." Jenna thought Eve was mocking Sherlock but when she saw Eve subtly rub her hand on Sherlock's upper thigh she thought differently.
"Sherlock! Hi!" Jenna said, a more than a little freaked out by the whole situation. Sherlock glanced up and smiled.
"Hello Jenna." He said politely.
"How- how are you two?"
"Fine, thanks, what are you doing here?" Sherlock asked.
"Oh, I- I umm..."
"She finishes classes at one on Wednesdays." Eve saved Jenna from further awkwardness. Sherlock made a small 'oh' and went on munching his ice cream. "Come sit with us." Eve said jovially. Jenna sat reluctantly and watched the couple for a moment. She observed that Sherlock's hand was playing with the small of Eve's back underneath her top and Eve's hand was trailing dangerously close to Sherlock's crotch.
"So you two seem..." Jenna didn't even know. Sherlock and Eve shared a look between them and Sherlock pressed at kiss to Eve's temple. Jenna was surprised to say the least. Yes she had tried to set the two of them up, but she never thought it would actually happen. "So Sherlock?"
"Hmm?" He replied distractedly, eyes still focused on Eve.
"Have you done the assignment yet?" Jenna asked desperately to try and get them to stop looking at each other with puppy dog eyes.
"Oh!" That seemed to grab his attention, he looked up at Jenna and started to talk about his thesis. Eve pretended to listen, but got distracted by the thread on the blanket and when she was sure Sherlock wasn't really paying attention, she stole the flake from Sherlock's ice cream cone and started to nibble on it. Sherlock stopped talking immediately and watched Eve with a look of indignation. Eve looked up innocently and batted her eyelids at him.
"Oh I'm sorry did you want this, Will?" Eve grinned and giggled. She laughed harder when Sherlock glared at her and handed back the half eaten flake.
"Will?" Jenna asked confused.
"Yeah it's-" Eve started to say, but was cut off when Sherlock placed a hand over her mouth.
"It's a pet name she has for me." Sherlock finished, not wanting the whole world to know his real name. "Well, Jenna it's getting on and I think it's time you go now."
"Well I..."
"No really. Now." Sherlock said firmly. Jenna got up hastily and picked up her bag.
"Okay well I'll see you later, bye guys." And with that she fled the scene.
"That was rude." Eve told Sherlock off.
"So was stealing my flake. You know how much I love the flake!" Sherlock whined like a brat.
"Oh is daddy angry?" Eve's voice dropped as she looked at him through heavy lidded eyes. Sherlock allowed himself to smile before putting on his best 'telling off voice'.
"Yes, daddy is angry, you've been a very, VERY naughty girl." Eve felt giddy with excitement and arousal.
Jenna heard a faint yelp coming from a distance behind her and she decided to look round and see what was happening.
Only, she wished she hadn't.
Even from the distance she was she from them, she could see Sherlock had rolled on top of Eve and was kissing her senseless. Eve's musical laugh could be heard and Jenna's mind was screaming at her to leave. But she couldn't. She was too entranced at this new side of Sherlock. She felt like some kind of pervert, watching her two friends rolling around and canoodling. She heard the deep chuckle from Sherlock and Jenna saw that his hand was trailing up under Eve's skirt.
Jenna decided it was time to leave before she was scarred for life.
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No one expected Sherlock and Eve to last more than a couple of months, but before long they were celebrating their first year anniversary.
Then their second.
Pretty soon Eve and Sherlock were looking for apartments together. The hunt thus far had not been that successful. They had seen over twenty apartments and nothing had been even remotely suitable.
Then one day, Eve and Sherlock were shown the 'perfect apartment'. The kitchen was clean and had actual working taps. The living room was spacious, yet cosy and the bedroom was more than big enough for a closet to fit all of Sherlock's many dressing gowns. The estate agent watched Eve and Sherlock chatter excitedly about the amount of room there was for an 'experiment area'.
"Sherlock we are not having an area where you can burn eyeballs." Eve told him sternly. The couple met up with the estate agent after more wondering.
"Do you like it?" Gavin (the estate agent) asked.
"Oh it's just perfect." Eve gushed. Sherlock hummed in agreement and turn to Gavin and saw that something was off.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's just, this apartment is a little out of your price bracket..." Gavin started.
"How much more?" Sherlock said darkly.
"A lot?" Gavin squeaked.
Sherlock huffed and turned to Eve.
"Lucky 28?" She asked lightly.
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Sherlock took Eve out to a dinner a few weeks later in a quaint Italian place, they were both quite fond of. After dinner Eve looked up to find Sherlock looking dreamily at her.
"Alright there Sherlock?" Eve asked, quirking an eyebrow up.
"Hmm? Oh yeah I'm fine." Sherlock answered distractedly. "Actually I- I'm a little nervous..."
"Why? Did the chicken not look cooked enough for you? Did the colour look slightly off?" She mocked. Sherlock gave a tight smile and Eve's smile faded. He did look nervous. "Sherlock, sweetie? Are you okay?" Eve reached her hand out and gently rubbed the top of his.
"I'm fine. And don't call me sweetie." He grumbled. Eve stifled a laugh and leaned back him her chair.
"Fine, what is it then?"
Sherlock took a deep breath and pulled out a box from his suit pocket before placing it in front of Eve.
"Now." He exhaled. "I don't want you to think I haven't put a lot of thought into this, because I have a really think this is the best option..."
"Sherlock is this...?" She didn't dare ask.
"Just, open it." Sherlock waited nervously as he watched Eve open the little black box and she gasped softly.
"Oh my god!" She breathed. "This isn't what I think it is...is it?" She looked up at him hopefully.
"Yes it is. It is the key to that 'perfect' apartment we saw a few weeks ago." Eve grinned and leaned over and kissed him graciously on the lips.
"But how?!" She asked holding the key up in the air and examining it.
"Well it turned out the current owner had a mystery that needed taking care of and I said that I would solve it, if she lowered the price of the apartment to fit our budget...the case wasn't actually all that difficult..." He mused. Eve laughed in disbelief and ceremoniously attached the key to her key chain.
"What about your key? Or have I got the only one?" Sherlock grinned and held up his bunch of keys before selecting one and holding it up to the light. "I love you, Sherlock." Eve said after a silence.
"Well I should hope so, I am moving in with you." Sherlock said trying to mask his surprise. He wasn't sure why he was surprised, she had said it before, but for some reason this time gave him pause. Maybe it was the earnest way in which she said it. Also she hadn't called him William, so that was a plus. Eve looked down, almost as if she was afraid that Sherlock didn't love her back. Before Sherlock let her even conceive of the idea, he got up from his seat and knelt beside her.
"Sherlock? Sherlock people are staring." Eve looked around self-conscious.
"I don't care." Sherlock said before kissing her deeply. Eve melted as Sherlock dominated her mouth, but not in a gross way, like he was marking her as his. It was burning with sincerity, it was Sherlock's way of saying what he couldn't express in words, because to him, there were no words to tell Eve how amazing she was and how much she had changed everything. Without her, he would probably be spending his evenings in a crack house, with all the other junkies, and yet here he was having a civilised meal, with the woman he loved more than he could bear. He broke away and looked up at Eve with a knowing look that he loved her too. Eve breathed a sigh of relief and reached for her purse.
"What are you doing?" Sherlock asked.
"Paying for dinner?" She answered unsure of the, frankly stupid, question Sherlock had just asked her.
"Oh no you don't, I'm getting dinner."
"Sherlock, you've just bought an apartment!"
"...true...but you are my girlfriend and it is customary on an anniversary that a man should pay for dinner." Sherlock said pulling out some money and putting it on the table, more than enough to cover the bill and leaving a generous tip. He wrapped Eve's pashmina around her slender shoulders and led her into the night.
"Oh and what is the woman's job in all of this?" Eve asked, leaning her head on Sherlock's shoulder as they walked.
"Thanking the man for an enjoyable evening."
"And how, pray tell, would the man like to be thanked?" Eve asked suggestively. Sherlock looked down at Eve and kissed her forehead.
"I'm sure you can figure it out." Sherlock said with a smirk, leading Eve to their apartment, for what was undoubtedly going to be a late night.
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"Eve!" Sherlock called down the corridor, causing other students to turn. The woman in question turned and saw Sherlock actually running to catch up with her.
"Hello Road-runner." Eve smirked. Sherlock inhaled deeply once he reached her and swooped down to kiss her. Eve giggled into the kiss and lightly swatted him to release her.
"I need you to come with me." Sherlock said seriously.
"Why?"
"I have a bit of a problem." Sherlock said quietly. Eve raised an eyebrow.
"Sherlock if you want to have sex, just say it..."
"No! No no no no no...Well yes, but...no! Just- just erm- come with me," he stuttered. Eve allowed herself to be rushed off into the crowd by Sherlock's hand. Something was wrong. Sherlock hadn't been this nervous since the time he spilt red wine on Eve's favourite dress. Something was very wrong...
Sherlock and Eve ended up in a chemistry lab. Eve looked around expecting to find some fungus spilt or an explosion, but instead she saw Sherlock standing by a microscope looking as jittery as ever.
"Sherlock?" Eve asked. "Why have you dragged me in here?"
"I need a second opinion."
"For what?"
"For this." He said plainly, gesturing to the microscope. Eve looked thoroughly confused.
"Sherlock, you do realise I'm a criminal psychologist, not a chemist."
"Yes but you're smart enough to have a basic understanding on chemistry and I just need a fresh perspective...please?" He looked like a wounded puppy. Eve sighed in defeat and wondered over to peer into the microscope.
"I can't see anything." She said. Sherlock made sure the specimen on the slide was in the right place, then looked back to Eve.
"Well then focus it."
"You do it! I don't know how this thing works."
"Eve it's a micro-"
"Sherlock just do it!" Eve irritably. Sherlock nodded and adjusted the focus slowly. Eve knew something was wrong. It wasn't like Sherlock to back down in an argument. Eve pulled away from the lens and really looked at him. "Sherlock? What's wrong? You're being weird again. Are you worried you've discovered a new dangerous element or something?"
"I'm not sure yet." Sherlock said fearfully. Eve gently stroked his cheek before kissing it and looking back job the microscope.
"Oo I see now. Stop adjusting." She laid a hand on Sherlock's which was adjusting the lens. "What the hell is that?!" Eve asked. "It's like a crystal sort of colour, I don't...seriously what the hell have you found?" Eve seemed fascinated by this new discovery. She pulled away and looked up at him, half impressed half confused. "Does it have a name?"
"Ring?" Sherlock said uncertainly.
"What?!" Eve asked. She went to look at the specimen slide and almost fainted. "Oh my god..." She whispered. She took the specimen out of the slide and found it to be the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.
"Sherlock..." She looked around and saw he was gone. She panicked for a moment, but she heard a small clearing of the throat and saw Sherlock was kneeling at her feet.
"Evelyn Grace Huntingdon..."
"Oh god."
"Will you marry me?"
Eve stood shocked for a good long while, she merely blinked rapidly and stared. Sherlock was still kneeling on the floor and started to look around, feeling a little more than self-conscious. After a while Eve opened her mouth and closed it again. Then opened and closed it again.
"Eve?" Sherlock prompted. He thought she was going into shock, so he lightly nudged her and she snapped out of her stupor. Her eyes flicked to him then the ring, then back to him again.
"Are you serious?" She rasped.
"Not good?" Sherlock asked. Eve offered no response and Sherlock had thought, for sure, he had ruined their relationship. "Too soon?" He asked fearfully. He brushed his knees and stood up, wanting to run away and never face her again. He was stopped, however, by a hand on his arm pulling him back. The next thing he knew Eve's lips were pressed desperately to his. His eyes fluttered closed and he let Eve kiss him. When they pulled away Eve was crying. "Oh god! Eve what is it? I'm sorry, did I do it wrong? I just thought-"
"Stop talking now." Eve cut him off and kissed him passionately again. The two of them fell against a table causing Eve to yelp. Sherlock pulled her away from the sharp edge and lifted her onto the table surface.
"I can't help but feel I'm getting mixed signals here." Sherlock muttered between kisses. Eve pulled him away and looked intently into his eyes.
"Sherlock...do you really want to marry me?" She asked.
"Yes I really do." Sherlock said honestly.
"You love me?"
"Of course I do! What a stupid thing to ask."
"You've just never said it." Eve said quietly to herself. Sherlock's eyes widened. He realised he had never said those three most important words to Eve. He picked up the ring he'd left on the side and knelt down again. This time he was going to do it properly.
"Eve Huntingdon? The love of my life, I used to think people who would spend the rest of their lives with one person, were idiots, that they would grow bored after a few years and spend the rest of their marriage trying to avoid each other whenever possible..." He heard Eve scoff. 'Typical Sherlock' she would think. "...my point is, I never thought I would ever find anyone I could spend more than a few hours with at most, but now I cannot imagine spending one minute of the rest of my life without you. I love you Eve and I want to marry you. No matter what the costs."
Eve's heart melted as she watched Sherlock pour his heart out to her and she was grateful for it. She knew he loved her, but somehow hearing him say it added much more grandeur to the gesture.
He held up the ring in front of her and have her his best puppy dog eyes. She giggled and nodded enthusiastically. He slipped the ring onto her finger. Perfect fit and she pulled him up to kiss him one final time.
"So I really just examined my own engagement ring?" Eve asked. Sherlock laughed and nodded.
"I'm afraid so."
"Well at least I know it's genuine." She laughed holding it up to the light. "It's beautiful. Where is it from?"
"My great grandmother, she was a remarkable woman, so it seems fitting that I give her ring to a woman as equally amazing and loving."
"Okay you're turning soppy now, snap out of it, I'm not used to you like this."
"Yes ma'am." Sherlock snapped to attention. He helped her off the table and drew her close. "You don't know how happy I am, that I found you." He whispered in her ear.
"And I, you." She whispered back.
