Claire called in sick at work, explaining to Sam that she hadn't exactly had a boring morning. Sam accepted her claim on one condition- a full detailed report when Claire returned.
When they arrived back at Baker Street, Claire and Sherlock remained vague about their case, and allowed Sarah to excitable recount everything they had missed at the party. When she decided to pack it in, however, John was on them like a hawk.
"What happened?" He asked, desperate for answers
"Well, it was pretty much an all-star cast. There was Lestrade, and like fifty snipers, and Moriarty, you know, all the big names" Claire said casually
"We just had our lives threatened by Moriarty, reminisced about our past because we thought we were going to die, killed Moriarty, watched sniper's die, the usual" Sherlock said, matching Claire's tone
"You killed Moriarty!" John exclaimed at Sherlock
"Nope" Sherlock said
"But you said..." John argued
"I did. You can have your gun back, by the way, knowing it killed the world's one and only Consulting Criminal" Claire said
"You killed Moriarty?" John repeated
"Yep" Claire shrugged. John stared open-mouthed at Claire, who for her part had brushed it off considerably well. Sherlock knew she would break down eventually, when she realised what she had done. He had made it his duty to make sure he was there when she did. For now, however, Claire was happy to take the praise for her honourable actions. She energetically recounted the day's events to John, Sherlock adding in details she forgot. It was overall a pleasant evening. Until Sherlock received a text that made his blood run cold.
I hate getting my hands dirty.
Your dear friend;
Moriarty
Nothing remotely interesting happened for almost a week. Sherlock attempted to diffuse his boredom with puzzles and gave Claire a key to Baker Street, Sarah's high wore off as she started to plan for the wedding, John got better at ignoring her, and Claire worked or helped Sherlock with puzzles.
It was Thursday night, and Claire was at work, once again under 24/7 surveillance due to Moriarty's apparent survival. Al was there, as was his usual Thursday routine, and the three were discussing restaurants in the local area.
"I tried that new pizza shop the other day... beyond terrible. Not to mention it took them forever to get the order" Al complained
"Pizza shops usually have that problem" Sherlock agreed
"If someone was to make a decent pizza shop in town, they would be completely bombarded" Claire added
"There's one on the edge of London somewhere, I've forgotten what it's called, but it's the best pizza shop in town. The service is terrible, though, because they don't have enough people to fulfil the orders. They want to expand, but they don't have the cash" Al said
"Hope they do expand, then you can get some decent takeaway around here" Claire said
"But the prices are so high you could practically go out for cheaper" Al said
"True" Sherlock agreed
"I don't know, there aren't many cheap restaurants close by. It's a fair distance, so then you really need to add the cab price on" Claire disagreed
"You don't add cab prices to restaurant costs" Al argued
"You add delivery to takeaway costs" Claire rebutted
"But if you pick up the order yourself, you don't add cab" Sherlock added
"Sometimes you can walk, they're so close" Claire mentioned
"But if you're ordering takeout, you're too lazy to walk" Al argued
"Sometimes you order takeout because you have nothing in the house to cook with" Claire argued
"Then you go out to a restaurant" Sherlock said
"Not if you can't afford it" Claire said glumly
"So that brings us back to restaurants cheaper than takeout" Al concluded
"That's just a theory though- are there actually restaurants cheaper than takeout?" Sherlock asked
"Fast food" Claire mentioned
"That's not really a restaurant" Al argued
"What criteria does a restaurant have?" Claire asked
"A place you can eat" Al said slowly
"You can eat at some fast food places" Claire said
"But at a restaurant you have waiters" Sherlock argued
"I've been to one restaurant that didn't, the waiters were on strike. I took you there when we were going out, Claire, remember?" Al asked. Sherlock chocked on the glass of water he was drinking. "You alright there buddy?"
"Sherlock..." Claire begged, knowing what he was thinking. Admittedly, it was her fault. But she also knew Sherlock would jump to all kinds of conclusions that weren't true. Obviously mad, Sherlock leapt from the bar stool and stormed out of the pub. "Shit"
Half an hour later, Al left the bar to go home. Claire was anxious for her shift to end. She wanted to settle Sherlock's fears, and to know he wasn't out somewhere doing something stupid. Luckily, the very man she was so desperate to see entered through the pub's doors.
"Something strong" He said to Claire as he sat down. Claire tilted her head and looked at him funny.
"What do you mean?" She asked
"You're a bartender. I want something strong" He ordered
"Why on earth would you want that? You can't hold your liquor to save yourself!" Claire argued
"Because my girlfriend is a bitch" He said calmly
"Stop the 'poor me' attitude and I'll get you a water" Claire said sternly
"Well you're a pretty shitty bartender then" Sherlock complained
"Known for it" Claire retorted. Sherlock started to get up from the bar stool. "You get back here, mister!"
"Why should I? You won't serve me any beer!" Sherlock complained, but sat back down all the same
"Because I need to make sure you understand" Claire said nervously
"That you lied to me?" Sherlock asked
"I did that for a reason" Claire argued
"And that reason would be...?" Sherlock asked
"I knew that if you thought Al and I had gone out you would never like him"
"And so what if I don't!"
"He's my friend, Sherlock. I want you to like my friends"
"He's your ex-boyfriend, not your friend"
"And that is exactly why I never wanted you to find out!" Claire argued. Thankfully, the pub was closing fairly soon, so the place was emptying out
"You never wanted me to know you two had romantic relations...why would that be?"
"Because now you will always hate him!"
"That isn't true"
"You hate him right now, don't you?"
"No, I hate you right now"
"You're just mad"
"Why don't you believe me?"
"Because you're not exactly the master of emotions!"
"At least I don't hang out with my ex once a week!"
"You don't have any ex's! And besides, I'm perfectly fine with you hanging out with Molly, even though we both know you're totally leading her on so you can use the equipment at Barts!"
"I am not leading her on!"
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
"I am not!"
"You are so dense!"
"How am I dense?"
"You are leading her on, and you don't even know it!"
"I'm not leading her on!"
"No, of course not. That's why she's going googly-eyed after you everywhere you go"
"Whether or not she is attracted to me is not my fault"
"But you don't have to lead her on!"
"I'm not!"
"' Ooh, please let me look at the body'" Claire said in mocking voice
"I was being polite!"
"Sure, fine, whatever you say. But she still gets more compliments in an hour than I do in a day"
"You're jealous of Molly?"
"You're jealous of Al!"
"I'm not jealous! I'm nervous of him hanging around you when you used to go out"
"He's married!" Claire yelled. By now, Claire had already left the pub and the two were walking towards a busier street for a cab.
"And supposedly, I am too!"
"What!" Claire exploded
"For years, I was married to my work, and then you came along and-"
"Your work is a hobby!"
"My work is a lifestyle"
"You're unbelievable!" Claire raged
"Thankyou"
"You know what? Go back to your 'wife'. Go back to your pathetic life of shooting holes in the wall and relying on John for rent. What you're going to do when he moves out is beyond me, but I don't even care. Go do what you enjoy, and leave me be, because you're nothing but a heartless man who never enjoyed my company anyway!" Claire exploded, storming off, her heels click-clacking on the cement as she walked, leaving Sherlock alone to ponder his actions.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoy! Thanks to reviews, and all advice has been taken into account :) Anything you want to happen, let me know! I use the advice to form ideas to form chapters!