When the curtain rushed open that Saturday night, everyone was primed and ready for another good run. John was watching the show from his normal perch at the sound booth, and though he was keeping a close eye on what was going on stage, he couldn't help but let his mind wander a little to the surprise Sherlock had planned for him after the show. John still didn't know what it was, and it was starting to drive him to distraction. Though, not too far into distraction that he wasn't able to catch a mic scream before it happened when Sherlock tossed a book during 'Dancing Through Life' and it landed on top of a ground mic near the front of the stage.
When the curtain finally swung close once more, John was grinning wildly as he pulled the mics off the lead actors. "Great show tonight, Molly." He said as he unwound the wires off the green-painted girl.
"Thanks, John. I'm looking forward to my day off, tomorrow, though. I strained a little too much during the final notes of 'Defying Gravity', and my voice could use the break." She smiled, wiping a wet cloth across her face and pulling it away bright green. "And I'm sure Sherlock is looking forward to a bit of a break, too."
"Well, enjoy your hard earned rest." He smiled at her and went to find Sherlock to take his mic off.
The tall actor was lounging up against a wall near the changing rooms looking a little annoyed with a small boy in the munchkin chorus that was chattering away wildly about anything and everything. "You should probably go get changed now, Jimmy." Sherlock said, seeing John across the hallway. "Your mom is probably waiting for you."
The kid opened his mouth to protest, but he was stopped by Sherlock's hand on his head, spinning him around and nudging him inside the changing room. "Making new friends?" John asked, starting to take the actor's mic off.
"Hardly." Sherlock scoffed. "I don't have 'friends'."
John frowned. "I like to think we're friends."
"That's actually the question I had for you." The actor, now free of his mic, turned and invaded John's space slightly. "I was wondering if…" He trailed off slightly, losing his confidence and shifting his weight awkwardly. "If you'd maybe want to… Want to be my boyfriend?" Before John could even answer, Sherlock began talking rapidly and shifting around clumsily. "I just figured maybe we should define our relationship a little since we haven't even really talked about it at all since our date the other night, but we did sleep together, so I thought maybe that constituted more than friends, but maybe not full on dating just yet, so I thought I would just ask and—" John started laughing and Sherlock stopped talking and stiffened up indignantly. "What are you laughing at?"
"Of course I'll be exclusive with you. I'm laughing because it was just a little high school in the way you asked. It was cute."
Sherlock rolled his eyes. "I hardly think my vocalization of the thought that we could work out as a couple can hardly be counted as 'cute'."
"Ok, ok." John put his hands up in defeat. "How's this: 'You're adorable when you're affronted'?"
"I'm regretting entering into this relationship." The actor sighed and put his head against the wall next to them.
"No you're not." John patted his shoulder. "Now, go get changed and you can tell or show me whatever surprise you have for me."
Sherlock disappeared into the dressing room as John walked the box of microphones back to the sound booth to 'lock up' for the night. Once all the equipment was put away and all expensive items were secured and squared away until the next day, John made his way back down to where Sherlock was waiting by the stage door. "Ready?" The techie asked as they opened the door and were greeted by a rush of chilled New York night air.
"Here's your surprise, by the way." Sherlock said, handing him a white envelope as they walked along the sidewalk.
John turned the envelope over in his hands and pulled the flap open, peering inside curiously. "Tickets?"
"To the Statue of Liberty. I thought maybe we could spend the day together tomorrow before you have to be at the theater, and I've never been up inside the Statue before. Do you like it?"
"I love it! I've never been up inside the Statue either, but I'd love to go see it with you tomorrow. I can't think of a better way to spend the day." He smiled and put the tickets into his pocket as they made their way through the streets of Time's Square.
"Wow. It's a lot bigger in person." John said as they stepped off the ferry the next day and looked up at Lady Liberty in all her glory.
"She is modeled after Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, and was a gift to the US from the French people in October of 1886."
"I didn't know she was French." John said, then yelled up at the statue, "Bonjour, Madam!" This caused multiple other people to stare at them strangely and Sherlock to laugh.
"She has a checkered past, financially." Sherlock continued, as they walked through the doors into the base. "Construction was threatened a few times due to lack of funds from America, who was building the base. So, though the statue itself was built by the French, it was kind of a joint effort. Just a little." Sherlock smiled at John once he'd finished his mini history lesson.
"Why do you know so much about the Statue of Liberty?"
"I like history, but especially monuments and things of that nature. Someday, I'll take you to Paris and tell you all about the Arc de Triomphe. It's one of my favorites." They began climbing the stairs to go up into the crown of the Statue. "I studied abroad in France for a year my second year of Uni and got to learn a lot about the different monuments and historical spots they have there. I liked it a lot, and I hope to go back someday soon."
"That does sound like fun. I've only ever been around the UK and here in New York. I've always wanted to visit other countries, though. Traveling is a lot of fun."
"I really loved when my family visited Rome for a while. That was a great experience." They climbed in silence for a while after that, scaling the steep, winding staircases until they reached the top.
"Holy shit, we're high up." John remarked when they looked out of a window from the crown of Lady Liberty.
"About 300 feet up, yeah." Sherlock leaned on the window sill and looked down toward the harbor. "It's a beautiful sight. I prefer the one from the Saint Louis arch at night, but this a close second."
"Were you able to go up into the Eiffel Tower when you were in Paris?"
"Yes, but I wasn't a fan." Sherlock said, shaking his head. "Even I have my height restrictions, and 980-some feet is about it." They laughed and looked back out at the gentle waves of the harbor.
"I really enjoy spending time with you, Sherlock." John said.
"I enjoy spending time with you, too." The actor said, planting a small, soft kiss on his techie's lips. Then, taking John's hand, he said, "Wanna grab some lunch before you have to go to work? I'll buy you a miniature statue on the way out from the gift shop."
"Sounds perfect."
A/N: Holy cow! Sorry it's been FOREVER since I last updated; school decided to kick my ass there for a while, and my brain decided to have a personal identity crisis and I ended up switching my major/the entire direction of my life, so I've been busy. BUT, I didn't forget about the fic, and since I'm on Thanksgiving break, I decided to toss up a quick chapter. There won't be another for a little bit because finals are coming up, but I hope to get a lot up over Christmas break.
Side notes (disclaimer maybe?): If you've never been to the Statue of Liberty, go, because it's awesome and really is 305 feet tall. But, you also can't just go up into the crown whenever you want to anymore. You have to reserve a time to go up there. I went to NY a few years ago, and we didn't know we had to reserve a time, so we only got to go about halfway up into the statue. But it's still really cool to see Her up close. The St. Louis Arch (630 feet tall), however, is not by reservation, and is pretty inexpensive to go up to the top and look out. I've done it before and the view is fantastic. I'm going to Paris this summer, and I'm going to try to get the nerve to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, because it IS 986 feet tall and that is pretty fucking terrifying if you ask me. I saw the Empire State Building (over 1,000 feet tall) while in NY, and was like 'nope'.
But, like Sherlock, I like history and monuments, so I hope I can visit more and go up inside many more over the course of my life.