Well, here it finally is! You would not believe the trouble I had writing this chapter. I must have rewrote it four different times! But here it is! Enjoy!
A special thank you to Lemony Prescott who beta read for me!
And a special shout out to Chicken Lover for fixing some of my past errors!
Chapter XXVI
Sherlocks eyes fluttered open as Ariel drew away from him. She gazed at him and smiled brightly, lovingly. Sherlocks mouth hung open ever so slightly and he felt as if he should be remembering something. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Ariel gently placed a hand his neck and stroked lightly with her thumb to calm him. When he looked at her again, he saw a faint glimmer of hurt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry..." She whispered, her smile faded. Her smile! Sherlock thought. That's what he was supposed to remember. He was cataloging the actions that elicited that beautiful, genuine smile from her, kissing now being added to the list.
"There's nothing to be sorry about." Sherlock said, his deep baritone a rumble at such a low pitch. Sherlock watched as the hurt in her eyes turned into hope. Their faces were no more then six inches apart. He watched as her eyes darted, scanning his face.
Sherlock too, was studying her and he noticed that she had lowered her guard, revealing just the tiniest bit of what was going behind her mask. Ariel dropped her gaze all of a sudden, withdrawing her hand with a look of utter embarrassment on her face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I let myself get carried away." She said, retreating from Sherlock, moving as far away from him as she could without getting up. She refused to meet his gaze. Sherlock honestly didn't know how to react. He knew he should do something, but he didn't know what.
"Why would you be sorry? While it may be tedious, the human instinct is to mate, especially when one find someone particularly attractive. I have been told I am rather handsome. You only did what any other woman would have done." Sherlock said, his normal, almost clinical tone masking his complete and utter bewilderment at this situation.
Sherlock watched as Ariel's face drained of colour and a near horrified expression took over her face. Sherlock mentally cursed his choice of words, internally laughing bitterly as the thought of John saying "Bit not good" crossed his mind.
"So I'm not the first then?" Ariel asked timidly, with dry humour and a forced laugh. Sherlock took the second chance to try and fix his earlier mistake.
"No, but you are rather unique." Sherlock tried, even going as far as placing one if his rather large hands on Ariel's knee.
He was rewarded with Ariel turning to face him and giving him one of her beautiful smiles. Sherlock felt his heart jump at that smile. There was a moment of silence as Ariel just smiled, but she eventually broke it.
"John told me, how when you two first met... He said you told him this kind of stuff wasn't really your area." Ariel stumble over her words as she once again adverted her gaze. Sherlock bit his lip, trying to think of a way to fix this. But what exactly was he trying to fix?
"Admittedly, I am not good at emotions, attraction and love being among them. But that doesn't mean I can't feel them." He said, watching Ariel's profile as he spoke.
"Then what does it mean?" Ariel asked slowly, staring at the fireplace.
"I... I don't know." Sherlock admitted, hanging his head in defeat. Ariel's head snapped up and she stared at him, trying desperately to read him. What did he mean? She wondered. Sherlock lifted his eyes to meet hers. She was beautiful. So beautiful.
"Sherlock..." She said in a low, quiet voice. A voice that made Sherlocks worries and doubts disappear and multiply at the same time. In an instant, Sherlock made a decision he would probably regret later. Before she could say another word, Sherlock had his lips pressed against hers. The heat of her, pressed so close to him, he need it. He need more of it.
Ariel was shocked at first, but a moment later she gave in. She had wanted this. God, she had wanted this for so long. But something was wrong. It wasn't like Sherlock to just give in to his emotions, even though Ariel was fairly certain he did have them. Ariel reluctantly pulled away, staring into Sherlocks endless blue-green eyes.
"What do you want Sherlock?" Ariel asked slowly, less then six inches away from Sherlock. Sherlock could feel her warm breath ghosting over his face. Sherlocks mouth hung open just slightly.
"I...I'm not sure." He stuttered, returning her gaze. Sherlock honestly didn't know what he wanted. Up until this point he had always been in control of himself, his emotions and even to some extent those around him. But now he had lost that control, and it scared him. But what scared him more was that he could sense he had feelings for Ariel. He had to admit that they were there, he couldn't just hide them anymore. But he didn't know how.
"Ariel, I don't know what I'm feeling. Like I said before, emotions aren't my area. But I know I'm feeling something." Sherlock managed to say, his voice breaking in various places. Ariel gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Describe what you're feeling to me and I'll help you. I want to help you, Sherlock." Ariel said, placing a reassuring hand on Sherlocks. Sherlock felt himself draw in a shaky breath. What is she doing to me? He wondered. His heart was racing and he felt strangely out of breath.
"Tell me. I want to help." Sherlock heard Ariel's voice whisper, her voice sweet and crystalline. Sherlock steeled himself for a moment, mentally preparing for what he was about to say.
"My heart is beating abnormally fast. I feel lightheaded and breathless with you so close to me. My head feels fuzzy and clear at the same time." Sherlock rambled, retreating to his familiar clinical tone.
Ariel felt her heart leap in her chest. Sherlock had just described, abate with his logical and scientific statements, that he was in love. And not just in love, but in love with her! Ariel took a deep breath to calm her heart down, but it wasn't really working.
"Compounded with the fact that I can see the reflection of my own pupils, which are abnormally large, in your eyes and that I am feeling aroused, there is only one possible conclusion I can come to. I understand the implications of these... symptoms, but I did not believe myself capable of love. Let alone loving someone like you." Sherlock stated.
Ariel normally would have been deeply touched by his words, but she had gotten hung up on one particular phrase. "I am feeling aroused" was what Sherlock had said and, given the circumstances, Ariel could not help herself from giggling. Sherlock sat and stared at her in bewilderment as Ariel began laughing louder and louder.
"What's so funny?" Sherlock demanded. Ariel covered her mouth and quieted her giggling. When she regained her composure again, she spoke.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. But what you said Sherlock, the last bit, about not being capable of love, it was really sweet." Ariel said, beaming brightly even though her heart pounded in her ears. Sherlock looked at her quizzically.
"Then why did you laugh?" He asked. Ariel's smile grew wider.
"Because just like you, I'm not all that good at dealing with emotions, especially love and attraction. At least not when it comes to confronting the person I have those feelings towards about them. But I tend to look for the humorous route out of awkward situations. I quite simply found your comment about arousal to be that escape." Ariel said, giving her best imitation-Sherlock tone. Sherlock just nodded, his lips pressed into a thin smile. Ariel felt like she had said something wrong, she could feel her heart sinking in her chest each second Sherlock remained quiet.
"Sherlock, if you're saying what I think your saying, then you probably have a question for me." Ariel asked, putting her hand in Sherlocks and moving in closer to him. Sherlock gazed into Ariel's eyes. He licked his dry lips. Since when were they dry?
"And what question would that be?" He asked calmly. Ariel's eyes glittered playfully.
"I thought you were a genius. You should be telling me." She said. Sherlock smiled slyly.
"Well, do you?" Sherlock asked. Ariel trailed her hand up Sherlocks arm, but she never took her gaze away from his face.
"Do I what?" She asked, her hand finding its resting place in the crook of his neck. Sherlock knew she was playing a game, but for once he didn't mind playing along. He bent his head forward to whisper in her ear.
"Ariel, do you love me?" His deep baritone whisper was breathless, the words stolen from his lips. He heard Ariel sigh contently.
"I do." She whispered back. "But the real question is, does the great Sherlock Holmes love me back?"
There was a space where it was so quiet all Ariel could hear was her own heartbeat. She waited for Sherlocks response, her hopes rising, her stomach twisted into unknown shapes. She felt sick and happy and amazing and horrible all at the same time, during those seconds that felt like eternity as she waited for him to respond. Finally it came. Sherlock pulled back and looked deep into Ariel's eyes, his hand holding hers now, and he spoke.
"Yes." One, tiny, breathlessly spoken word and Ariel was sent over the edge into bliss. She was so happy she could... well, actually, she could now! Ariel wrapped her arms around Sherlock and pulled him into a kiss. At first he was stiff, unsure of what to do, but after a moment she felt him relax and give in.
After their moment of shared joy, Ariel pulled away. She smiled at Sherlock and he noticed this one was different. The smile she gave him now was special. It was brighter, more genuine and so much more happy then any he had ever seen her wear.
It's me! Sherlock realized with a start. He was the reason she was smiling like this. Sherlock filled with pride as he realized that he was the only one who could elicit that smile from her. In return, Sherlock smiled down on her with one of his biggest and most genuine grins.
Sherlock held Ariel in his arms for a long moment. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. How could a woman like this, talented, beautiful, smart, want to be with him? But she did, and he would have it no other way.
"You do realize that we will not be like other 'normal' couples." Sherlock said as he cradled Ariel against his chest. He felt her smile.
"As long as you love me and show it, I will be happy. And I will be yours." Ariel said, pulling away from Sherlock to look him in the eyes again.
"But you know me. There won't be dinner dates, at least not normal ones. And you know that I detest going to the cinema..." Sherlock drawled, making sure Ariel understood just what he meant. But Ariel held a finger to his lips and gently silenced him.
"I don't need dinner dates, or nights out to the cinema to make me happy." Ariel said, smiling. Sherlock removed her finger from in front of his lips.
"I just want you to understand what you are getting into before you decide to go through with it." Sherlock said, his matter-of-factly voice concealing a worried mind. Ariel smiled gently.
"You have such a big heart." Ariel said admiringly. Sherlock smirked sadly.
"I've been reliably informed that I don't have one." He stated, memories flashing through his head, bitter and cold and hurtful. Ariel must have noticed, because she put her hand on his neck and stroked him gently.
"That's not true." She said, shaking her head lightly. "Right there, in the centre if that big brain of yours," she tapped his head, "there is your heart. Surrounded by all your logic and science, but it's still there. And it is the biggest heart I have ever seen." She smiled at him, another of her genuine smiles and he knew, he just knew, she meant every word she had just said.
"Thank you." He whispered before nuzzling into her shoulder.
Well, did you love it? Or hate it? Or something in between? Remember, my story will only continue if you tell me what you think! Please leave a review!