Hello! It's almost Christmas, and so after reading a few Christmas fics, I decided I wanted to do one of my own. Enjoy!
"Do you have a good suit?" Sherlock asked one day out of the blue. About a week before Christmas, and he had started to act a bit odd. Sure, there were no cases, but he was even more fidgety than normal.
"What?" John asked, looking up from his paper to watch his pacing flatmate. True, after Sherlock returned from the dead, there were some serious adjustments to be made and John went through a period of being almost clingy and certainly codependent, rarely letting Sherlock out of his sight. It's not like he had a job at the time anyway. But things had settled out as they so often do and they soon fell back into routines, Sherlock's name was cleared so the cases started to slowly trickle in. John helped, started blogging again and all was right with the doctor's world. And now, eight months since his return, Sherlock is acting odd.
Completely ignoring John's question, Sherlock continued to pace thoughtfully. "Oh, or even better, we should have your dress uniform dry cleaned with my good suit, that would be more appropriate and Mummy does love a man in uniform.." he says thoughtfully to himself.
At the mention of the elusive 'Mummy', who is rarely talked about from the Holmes brothers, John straightens a little. "Sherlock. Sherlock!" He tries to get the man's attention while he puts his tea and papers aside. "SHERLOCK!" He finally snaps, using a voice he hasn't used since he was yelling at those under his command.
This voice, the Captain's voice, stops Sherlock dead in his tracks, and he looks rather surprised as he lifts his head and turns toward John slowly, one hand still in his hair on the back of his head, the other hanging loosely at his side. "Yes?" he asks, sounding almost meek and sheepish.
John nods a little. Good, he has Sherlock's undivided attention now. "Now." he says as he slowly gets up, and approaches Sherlock, unconsciously falling into parade rest, hands behind his back. "Will you please tell me in complete sentences which an idiot like me can understand, what the hell you're on about?" he asks, trying to keep his voice calm and level, but ends up sounding a little irritated by the end of it.
Sherlock takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, before he looks at John sheepishly, hand falling away from his hair, and first his arms cross over his chest, then rest on his hips, then he just clasps them together in front of him. "Christmas, John. You'll need a good suit or your dress uniform perhaps, for dinner." he says as if it's obvious, and yet sounds a little tentative all the same.
Of course, this just confuses the doctor more, and he brings one hand up to pinch his nose, the other hand on his hip. "Christmas." He states, trying to figure it out. "I thought we had agreed to spend Christmas here at Baker street. Just you, me, and Mrs. Hudson, to avoid a debacle like a few years ago." He says, meaning the one party they had before Sherlock's Fall.
"We had agreed that. But it seems that Mummy is demanding my presence at her annual Christmas Eve party, into Christmas day. She is.. attempting to guilt me into it, citing my.. disappearance." Sherlock says slowly, still uncomfortable with emotions even though he has relaxed a great deal, at least in John's presence. "I'm sorry, John. But it simply cannot be avoided. She said I could bring someone, in fact she's quite keen to meet you. I had hoped that as my best friend you would accompany me." He says uncertainly, backpedaling a little from the assumption that John would come with him, to asking him in a roundabout way.
Finally, John relaxes and smiles a little, nodding. "I understand, Sherlock." he says with a little sigh, chuckling and shaking his head at his ridiculous flatmate. "Yes, alright. Of course I'll come with you. You daft git." He says affectionately. John has given up the objections that he and Sherlock aren't a couple, realizing that they really do act like a couple, and seem like one, and honestly if it keeps Sherlock in his life, John sees no reason to object. And he is unreasonably fond of Sherlock. But he's still not gay. That he asserts to himself, at least. He does not find Sherlock attractive. Even when, in the heat of summer, the bugger was stretched out on the couch in nothing but a pair of shorts - shorts! - that John didn't even know he owned, his body on display and covered in a light sheen of sweat. Nope. John did not spend longer than was polite staring at him, tracing one bead of sweat that ran down his chest. He also did not ogle him when he came out of the shower in just a towel, rubbing another towel over his hair, droplets of water from the humidity still sticking to him. No. Most definitely did not to do that. Not gay.
Sherlock relaxes and then smiles, a genuine smile, something that he rarely shows anyone. He's been a lot more relaxed and open around John since he came back from the dead, having found out during his absence how much he missed and needed John. The small army doctor really was a conductor of light, a lens through which he could focus. Somehow, he managed to ask Sherlock just the right questions at the right times, nudging the detective down a path he might not have gotten around to for days. And while tracking down and breaking up Moriarty's web, the younger man discovered just how much he had come to rely on John, at first sometimes turning to ask him a question only to realize he was alone. For the first time, he discovered that someone had dug themselves under Sherlock's skin, and into his heart, a place he thought was completely walled off from any sort of influence. So now, he opened up a little more, wanting to show John how much he had come to care about him. That is why he is very happy when the doctor agrees to come with him to the party and the Holmes' Christmas.
"Excellent. Is your dress uniform still hanging in the back of your closet? We really do need to get that cleaned. Don't worry about a gift, Mummy wouldn't expect you to bring anything, unless you have something for Mycroft already, in which case we probably should bring something for her." Sherlock is off and running again, the brief pause of his mind not stopping for long, it soon kicks into high gear.
John shakes his head a little, chuckling at the antics of his flatmate. "I'm going to ignore the fact that you invaded my privacy by going through my wardrobe, but yes it's still in there. I hope it still fits." he says thoughtfully, moving to the kitchen to start making them both cups of tea, empty the dregs out of his last cup while shaking his head slowly. "Yes, we need to get something for your mother, if for no other reason than to thank her for her hospitality. I did get something for Mycroft, and Anthea as well. Anyone else I need to buy for?" he asks curiously as he moves back to lean against the doorway between the kitchen and living room.
Sherlock hesitates for a few moments, looking over at his best friend and flatmate, pressing his lips into a thin line. "We don't need to buy anything for him, but.." He hesitates and then takes a deep breath. "There may be one other person.." he begins reluctantly.
John sighs a little, shaking his head for a moment as he looks at Sherlock, trying not to lose his temper again, but Sherlock can really be frustrating sometimes. Instead, he runs a hand through his hair. "Sherlock. Who is it?" he finally asks as he looks at the taller man.
Sherlock runs a hand through his hair as well, pacing back and forth a few paces, making two circuits before he turns to face John, head hunched down a little, hands resting on his hips. With his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, feet apart slightly and black trousers on, he struck quite an image. Finally, he took a deep breath, lifting his head to look at John before speaking.
"My little brother."
A/N Oh, I forgot to mention, this is going to actually be two fics. One from the Sherlock/John point of view, and one from Q/Bond point of view. :) I've seen so many fics where Q is the youngest Holmes brother that I can't help myself. Also, if anyone has any suggestions as to what John could get Sherlock, or Sherlock could get John, and what they might buy Mummy, please tell me! I'm awful at thinking up those things. Reviews welcome!