John arrived late that night, having found a smudge on his tie just as he had finally hailed a taxi. So, when he couldn't find a new, clean tie, he ended up ditching the idea all together and hoping the suit alone would be fine. When the second taxi pulled up in front of the apartment complex in Times Square, John found himself getting a little nervous. Nick had chosen the right word earlier: 'posh'. The sound technician had never been to a formal, 'adult party' such as this one, so as the elevator rode up the endless floors ever so slowly, John was fidgeting.
Finally, the lift stopped, a bell chimed, and the doors opened to the largest apartment John had ever seen in his life. The lights glittered off every gleaming surface like a warm wash of new territory, as if every part of New York outside the flat was dead, and Sherlock's place was the only one that held life. And with the music and chatter and lights, it certainly felt that way.
John made his way through the crowd, waving at people he recognized here and there from the cast, but he only stopped to talk when he found the other members of the sound crew. "You look nice." Jessica commented as he walked up to where they were hanging out on the edges of the party.
"Not as nice as this place, though." John gestured around him, making a specific point to draw attention to the glass chandelier in the center of the living room. "Holy cow. Anyone else feel a bit like Nick Carraway?"
Kelly laughed and said, "It's a good thing there's no pool out back, then."
"I don't get it." Nick said.
"It's a Great Gatsby reference." Jessica said, taking a sip of her champagne.
"Oh." Nick shrugged. "I never read that. I sparknote-ed it for the test."
"Shame. It's a good one." Kelly said. "Anyway, Sherlock sure is acting like Gatsby tonight. I've been here close to an hour, and no one has seen him yet."
"He's right there." John said, pointing to the balcony.
On the second floor, Sherlock stood watching over his party carefully, hands clasped behind his back and an indifferent look on his face. He scanned the crowd once before moving to the stairs to join his guests. "Wow." Kelly giggled. "He looks HOT in that suit. Like, damn."
"Alright, you've had enough to drink." Jessica took the champagne flute out of her friend's hand. "You're going to embarrass yourself. We work with these people."
Sherlock came out of the crowd to their secluded corner. "You're all enjoying yourselves, I trust?"
"Very, very much." Kelly giggled again and put a hand on the dark green velvet covering Sherlock's arm. "Aren't you?"
"Of course." He said with the same blank face he normally wore, except this time it was slightly confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Um, no reason." Kelly went back to keeping her hands to herself.
As a waiter walked past them carrying a tray of wine, Sherlock stopped him. "Anyone need anything more to drink?"
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Kelly bit her lip, trying once again to flirt shamelessly with their host.
"No. Why would I do that? Do you need some water? I also have coffee."
Kelly sighed. "Never mind."
John tried to stifle a laugh behind his hand, but it didn't work. "What's so funny, John?" Jessica asked, knowing full well what he was laughing at, but wanted to turn the focus off poor Kelly's misfortune.
"Um, nothing. Oh hey look, there's Mary." And with that, John excused himself from the group and went over to speak to Mary.
The actress was standing in the middle of the party, talking away with the people around her and swaying rhythmically to the music flowing out of the invisible speakers around the room. "Hey there." John said, coming up behind her. "Some party, huh?"
"Hi John!" Mary turned to the group of people she was talking to and said, "Everyone, this is John Watson from sound crew. I was starting to think you weren't going to make it."
"Yeah, I was running a little late. But, I made it. I didn't mean to interrupt the conversation, though. What were you guys talking about?"
John talked with the small company of actors for a little while, before he began to feel a little cramped in the apartment full of people. So, when no one was looking, he pulled himself from Mary's giggling grip and slipped out onto the balcony for some fresh air. It was like stepping from one world to another again. Though it was a small platform, Sherlock had furnished it well with several potted plants and a few lounge chairs, but this wasn't what had caught John's attention. It was the quiet that he was in awe of. The lights of Times Square shimmered upward to create soft illumination, and even though the bustling New York streets were right beneath him, it was peaceful up on the terrace. John leaned his elbows on the railing of the balcony and breathed deep the cool night air.
"Having a good time?"
John turned around to see Sherlock hovering in the doorway with an almost empty flute of alcohol. "I am, yeah. You sure can throw a party."
"I try my best." Sherlock smiled and John hesitated a moment. He'd never seen Sherlock smile before.
"You've got a pretty big place for a recent Uni grad. Especially a theater major." John laughed. "When I first started out, I was still living at home with my mum."
Sherlock finished off the glass in his hand and set in down on the railing next to him before going to stand next to John. Shrugging, he said, "It's really my brother's. He's an Ambassador for the Queen, so he's in the US often. Doing... I don't know, actually. Political things, I guess. He lets me live with him now because I found work here in the city."
"Ah. And where is he tonight?"
"Spain, actually. Representing us Englishmen at some sort of conference." Sherlock leaned on the railing and looked out over Times Square. "The view is great out here, isn't it? One of my favorite spots in the flat."
"It's quiet. I like that. Growing up in London, you don't find that very much, you know?" John said. "My mum used to hate living in the center of the city. But, Dad loved it and both needed a closer commute, so she put up with it."
"We lived just outside the city, but I always loved spending Sunday afternoons shopping in central London." Sherlock smiled again, lost in the past. "Where did you go to school?"
"I went to Essex for primary school, and Regent for secondary school."
"I went to Essex, too. Watson, right? Any chance you were related to Harriet Watson?"
"She's my sister, yeah." Sherlock started to laugh a little at that. "What's funny?"
"Well, I think you were a few years ahead of me, but do you remember that really mental librarian they hired? She had the crazy pen obsession and always wore a cat sweater?"
"Ms. Cathryn!" Now John started laughing. "Please tell me you're thinking about the ruler incident." At the mention of the ruler incident, both men were giggling like idiots.
"Your sister was a school legend from then on! I still can't believe Ms. Cathryn chased her a block and a half!" Sherlock said, letting out a final chuckle.
"Mum was so pissed when the principal called home. Dad was too busy laughing to say anything about it, though." The giggles died down and a comfortable silence filled the space between them as they watched the New York skyline again.
After a beat, Sherlock shifted his weight and said, "So, I was wondering..."
"Hmm?" John said, not really turning his head to look away from the jumbo-tron he was trying to read.
"Well, I wanted to know if you-"
"Sherlock, we've got an issue in here. One of the caterers has been looking for you for a while." Mary said, suddenly appearing out on the balcony. "Oh, there you are, John!"
Sherlock straightened his jacket and went back inside with out a word. John followed him back into the party, before splitting off and looking for his sound crew again. "Think you're going to score tonight, Kelly?" John asked when he found his friend sulking in the corner.
"Sherlock completely shut me out. I think he hates me. However, I wouldn't be able to tell! Dude's a robot."
John shrugged. "I don't think so. He's got a nice smile." His three sounds assistants immediately looked at him suspiciously. "What? We had a nice conversation out on the balcony, and he seems nice."
Kelly and Jessica shared a quick look before Kelly said, "Ok, I get it now."
"Get what?"
"Nothing." Kelly waved a dismissive hand. "You, too, will understand in time." Jessica barked out a laugh at that and John rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, dude." Nick said, clapping him on the back. "Women are crazy."
Author's Note: Thanks again for sticking with me during all the craziness that is my schooling. I started classes this week, so I didn't have a lot of free time to write. However, I had some time between classes yesterday and today, so I was able to finish this chapter up. I hope you're all enjoying the fic! I hope to update the fifth chapter on Monday.