True to his word, Ford returns everything within a week with the requested upgrades, and then it's just a matter of John catching Sherlock on a good day and making a few extra plans. Finally, one afternoon when the weather suddenly turns from rainy and dreary to sunny and surprisingly warm, John convinces Sherlock to come with him, saying something about getting cabin fever. By the time Sherlock gets to the cab, John has already arranged where to go, remaining relatively silent though he keeps the younger man's hand in his as they drive, hands resting together on the seat between them.
For some reason, Sherlock has a bad feeling about this, and he can't deduce what's going on. The odd feeling even gets worse when they arrive at St. Bart's, but he pays and heads out of the cab with the doctor. The feelings settle as they initially start heading toward the labs and Sherlock feels a lot better about that. That is, until they bypass that floor and keep going up. By the time he realizes they're going to the roof, John is a few steps ahead of him on the stairs and since Sherlock is still holding onto his hand he stops, giving the older man's hand a slight tug to get him to stop, which he does, looking at Sherlock curiously.
"John.." Sherlock begins slowly, not sure what he feels about getting up onto the roof of St. Bart's again. "John, we don't.. ever have to.." he motions vaguely toward the door to the roof that he can see a half a dozen steps ahead of them.
Smiling softly at his detective, John steps down so he's standing one step above Sherlock, which makes him a little taller than the younger man. Squeezing his hand and lifting his free one to rest it against the pale cheek of his lover, John smiles a little. "It's alright, Sherlock. Trust me. I want to erase some bad memories." He says quietly, leaning in to reassure the genius with a soft kiss before he heads up the stairs. Thankfully it seems that Sherlock has misinterpreted his nervousness to the location rather than anything else, which just makes him think all the more that this was the right spot.
Reluctant but figuring that maybe John needs some emotional closure or something like that, Sherlock follows him up the rest of the stairs, stepping out onto the flat roof and looking around as the wind whips at them as it gusts. He follows the doctor to the middle of the roof, curious as they face each other, and once again the detective looks around at everything, remembering the last time he was up here with a little shudder.
There's silence for a few moments as both of them take in their own memories, John remembering the last time he was near this roof. Finally, he turns back to Sherlock, not having really prepared a speech or anything, so he starts at the beginning.
"We first met here, Sherlock. Not here, of course, but in the labs. Do you remember that? It was probably just another day for you, nothing important. But I was.. broken. And I was so angry at the time. I didn't think I'd have a place to live much longer, much less a purpose to my life after I was invalided home. And of course then there was the limp." John begins with a little smile. "And then, Mike introduced me to you. You were confusing and amazing, and I thought you were a bit bonkers. But I was intrigued, and that was the thing that led me to meet you the next day. You were.. so odd. I got caught up in the whirlwind that is you. You fixed me, Sherlock. You gave me a purpose again." he laughs softly as he thinks about it, squeezing Sherlock's hand gently. "Being your friend and flatmate was amazing, frustrating, and exhilarating. I wouldn't trade any of those memories for anything in the world." He says quietly, looking away over at the spot that Sherlock jumped from. "Then came Moriarty. And the Fall." He says as he continues to stare at that spot. "I lost you that day, I thought I had lost my everything. My purpose, my future, my best friend." Slowly, he turns back to look at Sherlock, and puts his hand over his detective's lips softly when it looks like he might say something. "No, Sherlock.. just.. just listen. Let me work through this." he says with a little smile, giving him a reassuring kiss before he says, "Right. The fall." As he gets his mind back on track.
"After I thought you had died, my world stopped. And it was then, I think, that I realized how deeply I felt about you. I didn't really think about the fact that it might be romantic, I just knew that you were the most important person in my life and I never told you. And then you were gone." John says with a little hitch in his breath, taking a slow, deep breath. "You finally came back to me, and just like the first time you threw my world on its head when I was just trying to get back to some sense of normality." He says as he looks into the sad, slightly confused face of the detective. "I was.. so happy.. I was angry of course, and annoyed. But so, so happy to have you back, to know that I could have you back in my life. I couldn't say when my feelings turned from that of a friend to love." He says as he looks at Sherlock. "But bloody hell, do I love you." He says it almost like it's a relief, letting out a breath with a small sigh, then he chuckles. "You are brilliant, and you're a bloody idiot. You are not what I ever thought I wanted, but you are everything I need. I can't imagine my life without you, and I don't think I could survive losing you again." he says as he gives the detective's hand a squeeze, his other casually resting in his pocket as he might any other time. "You are the only person I have ever loved. We've had our ups and downs, good times and bad, and oddly enough I wouldn't trade any of it. Because if any of it were different, we may not be standing here, right now." He says quietly, before he takes a slow, deep breath, trying not to show his nervousness. "Our future may not be certain, but the one thing I know is certain is that I love you, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life."
Finally, John takes a slow step back from Sherlock, releasing his hand before he slides a small black box out from his pocket, looking down at it for a few moments, before he shifts, and slowly gets down on one knee, opening the box to present it to Sherlock. He may feel a little odd doing this, but if he's going to do something, he's going to do it all the way and do it right. "Sherlock Holmes.. will you marry me?" He asks, swallowing hard for a moment as his nervousness overtakes him.
Through the entire speech, Sherlock has been watching John, taking in the little cues since he's not allowed to say anything. He notices that the doctor is nervous, but not in a bad way, so this conversation is not going to end up with John leaving him or something. That alone makes the detective relax a little as he falls silent to listen, quirking a small smile as he listens to some of the things that John says. By the time John gets around to popping the big question as it were, Sherlock has figured out where this conversation is going, so he's not surprised when he sees John get down on one knee, he merely arches an eyebrow, considering it for a few moments. "Yes, John.. of course I will." he says with a shake of his head, his voice implying how much of an idiot John is forever doubting him. He reaches down to help John to his feet before he leans down and gives the older man a deep, searing kiss, pressing close to him for a few moment, finally breaking it before things progress too far. Gently, he plucks the ring box from John since the doctor seems a little stunned, taking out the platinum band, looking at the small sliver of sapphire that is embedded in the metal, examining it. "No engraving?" He asks, surprised since he thought that was just the sort of sentimental thing that John would do.
More relieved than he could put into words, John puts one hand behind Sherlock's neck to hold him into the kiss, breathing a little heavily when it's broken. Thankfully he wasn't nervous enough to have the backlash of wobbly knees and everything. When Sherlock takes the ring out, John smiles a little. "I thought that was something we could work out together." He says before he takes it from the detective and slowly slides it onto his finger, pleased that it fits just right. "Ah. And Ford made a few modifications for me. There's tracking chips in both of our rings." He says as he takes out another from his pocket, showing a similar ring with a shard of fire opal in it instead of the sapphire.
Sherlock watches John for a few moments, taking the ring from him and sliding it onto the doctor's finger. "Considering our line of work, that was a good idea, John." He says with a nod of his head, putting both ring boxes back into John's jacket pocket, before he dips his head down to capture the former soldier's lips in another intense kiss, finally pulling away just enough to murmur, "Take me home, John." Against the older man's lips.
Being left again with very little to do other than respond, John slides his arms around the lanky man and pulls him tight as he responds to the kiss. He chuckles a little at the request and then he nods.
"Always, Sherlock. I will follow wherever you lead."
End.
Awwww... And that's the end! I looked back, and I have been writing this series, the original and this sequel, for just over three months. It has become so much a part of my thought process, it's going to be really hard to give this up. But all things must end, and it was time for this story, and for me to move on to another project. I will miss this story. I am so, so grateful to everyone who has read and reviewed this, it's really kept me going when I wasn't sure if it was worth writing anymore. You guys are fantastic. I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Please let me know what you think. I have another Sherlock/John story planned, the title will be Fighting Breeds Remorse, and I hope to have the first chapter up in the next day or two. Thank you again!
