Tumblr about my stories: JaimiStoryTeller
Thank you for any form of communication, I love it and it keeps me writing!
Lots of thanks to NoOrdinarySouthernGirl for all of her help
James' POV
In the days following his return to London they stayed at his brother-in-law's flat at night. During the day hours however they were rarely there. He went to the café with John, enjoying watching the younger man in his element with the customers and employees. On days they were not at the café, his mate went to several of the omega shelters to help provide healthcare to those living there. Even more shocking was the alpha shelter he went to, though there were two guards who seemed to appear out of nowhere when they got to the door and stayed with him the entire time. In the afternoons they searched for a flat, but none of the ones they had looked at seemed to fit their needs.
Two weeks after his return, they were eating dinner with the blonde sniper when the alpha suggests, "What about that flat across from Baker Street where the dark-haired woman lives?"
Tilting his head to the side, his mate answers questioningly, "Someone lives there and it's not up for sale?"
Waving a hand lazily in a manner very similar to his boss, the sniper replies, "She is for hire, so evicting her is not a big deal, I just find something for her to do," there is a dark glimmer in the alpha's gray eyes that he does not want to know about.
Groaning, his omega rubs his hand over his eyes as he sighs, "You two didn't."
"Right, we didn't. We've been playing nice. Well," there is a pause while the other alpha shrugs, "I've been playing nice. I never speak for him."
"Except for when I tell you to," his brother-in-law states as he walks in, eyes sweeping the room. "That is a brilliant idea, of course it will cause a bit of reordering but that's perfectly acceptable." Sprawling on the sofa, the dark-haired alpha studies him for a long minute before announcing, "It would work. Enough distance for territorial issues not to be there, space for the pup, and John can keep mother-henning my favorite distraction, which he both loathes and appreciates. Sebastian, make sure it is done tomorrow."
"You do remember we're talking about our flat not yours right?" his love inquires of his brother, arching a blonde brow at him challengingly.
Rolling his eyes the alpha response, "Of course, but you are simple to read, I could have found at least five places in less than an hour had you let me. You're dear to me, but I don't want you nesting here, you need your own territory for that. Since my playmate is not always good at cleaning up after himself and needs to hire a proper cleanup crew, it's best that you find somewhere else. You don't want to live too far away however and C would take too much effort to make it pup safe in time."
Turning to him, his mate's eyes shimmering in aggravation and amusement, the younger man asks, "What do you think?"
He takes a long minute to answer because he is not sure how to answer. Particularly since he feels as if he is missing part of the information and he never likes to answer with missing information.
"Best answer here is being quiet," the blonde sniper suggests.
Picking up a fork, his mate chucks it at the alpha with a snort, chuckling when the blonde catches it with ease.
"You're aims better with a handgun," the sniper remarks as he sets the fork aside.
"You know how to shoot?" he inquires, surprised since guns are a rare thing for the public to see let alone know how to use.
His mate blushes and ducks his head nodding.
"Crack shot with most handguns, alright aim with rifles," the sniper answers as his mate seems to turn a deeper shade of pink, "We practiced during the trips to the States and whenever he is feeling particularly stressed at the firing range."
Glancing at his mate he can tell he is embarrassed however his scent says he is also worried. Why is he worried? It takes him a minute to reason through it and understand that it is not normal for an omega with no military or police force training to know how to use a gun. That there are a lot of people who think anyone not in the military or law enforcement knowing how to use a gun must be a criminal.
He smiles at his mate, remarking quietly, "I'm lucky to have such a talented mate."
Blinking rapidly, his John stares at him in shock.
"As for the flat, shall we speak with the owner since both of them seem convinced that she would be willing to sell?" He continues with a glance between them.
He wouldn't say things had smoothed out between himself and the other two alphas in the flat, however there was a lot less open hostility and he would be pleased if they could find their own flat. He was not sure why they were not staying at Baker Street, but thinks it has something to do with having a perfectly silent and scent proof room here which he has withdrawn to at night when feeling stressed.
"I'll call her tomorrow and make arrangements," the sniper remarks, "For now, I'm off."
"I'd say behave but that is asking too much," his mate replies with a smirk, his scent calming, "G'night boys," he remarks as he stands and yawns.
Both alphas immediately focus on him, "You better not be pushing yourself too hard," the sniper states at the same time as his brother-in-law comments, "Sleep is good for you."
Smiling fondly, the blonde omega replies, "Says the man who goes two or three days without sleep or food when not reminded sometimes," his hand coming to rest on his shoulder.
With a nod to the other two he stands, resting a hand on his mates back as they leave the room. In their room, the two of them end up curled up together on the bed. His beautiful John falling asleep almost as soon as his head hits his chest and arm curls round his middle. It gives him time to think about the little things he is learning about his love that he had not previously known.
The following day is a café day. Allowing him to enjoy watching as his mate flutters around, happily working on his various projects with the café. The café's entire staff seems to have gotten used to his sitting quietly in a corner observing with John occasionally stopping to give him a treat to snack on or try and something to drink. At lunch time a rather raggedy looking alpha delivers a note and buys a hot chocolate before ambling out.
"Flat viewing at seven if available," his love tells him, before shaking his head and returning to the kitchen as he grumbles about silly alphas.
Just before five the manager, a dark-skinned omega named Oba, shows up to take care of the afternoon shift and shoo his mate out of the kitchen.
Peevish without actual heat behind it, his mate comes over to where he is at and plops down, "I've been evicted from my own kitchen."
He arches an eyebrow questioningly at the younger man.
Still petulant his mate answers his unspoken question, "The four of them have all told Oba I am not to overwork, and anything more than six hours is too much for me currently."
It takes most of his control not to smile at the adorable frustrated look on his mate's face. "Four?" he repeats, trying to determine which of the five he had not counted.
"Jim, Sebastian, Sherlock, and Mycroft," the blonde omega replies, his voice mildly annoyed and affectionate, "I would think that Mycroft, as a fellow working omega, would understand wanting to stay busy."
"Perhaps he realizes how hard you push yourself and is trying to make sure you do not over do it?" he suggests gently, "Let's go get dinner before its time to go see the flat."
"Have I ever taken you to Angelo's?" the younger man inquires as they stand.
"I do not believe so," he responds while lightly settling his hand on the smaller man's back. Since his reunion with his mate he has made it a point to touch the younger man more often, mostly in little ways such as his hand resting on his back, running his fingers through his mate's short blonde hair while they are seated together, brushing their hands against each other in passing, and even random light hugs. The result had been remarkable. His mate seems to be bloom, looking far healthier than he had seen him in years.
"Well it's not too far from the flats, we can stop at Baker Street afterwards," the omega tells him happily, as they head to the car.
"John?" he inquires as they slide into his vehicle, he prefers to drive himself rather than allow others to drive. However he is curious about how his mate gets around when he is not here now that he is.
"Yeah?" there is a small worry line between he brows.
Smiling reassuringly that it's nothing bad, he asks, "Do you drive?"
"I can but I don't very often. When I am with Sherlock I use cabs or walk, with Jim or Mycroft one of their drivers, with Greg he drives us, and when I am on my own it depends on where I am as to how I get somewhere because both Jim and Mycroft are prone to sending me a car to use, even occasionally argue about which one I should use. Why do you ask?" his mate answers with a tilt of his head.
"Just curious, I noticed you never asked about driving, and walk a lot." He responds before asking where they need to go.
Nodding at his answer, the younger man directs him where to go. At an Italian restaurant, he meets the owner and primary cook who seems to adore his mate and lectures him for nearly ten minutes on making sure that he has food before wandering off. It is done with such a scent of caring and tone of affection that he does not take offense at it. Through the entire rave, his mate's face grows progressively pinker, and he ducks his head a bit. Dinner itself goes smoothly, with them quietly talking with each other about various things they had done during the years they were bonded but lived apart while he was in the military. Slowly he had coaxed out stories of what his life is like. He learns more about the things he had only got brief descriptions of in their letters. With every little detail he learns, he discovers new talents or depth to his mate. His pride for his accomplishments grows. Somehow, despite going to school full time, running a business, and doing volunteer work with the different omega shelters plus that one alpha shelter, he had still managed to find time to write him and record his adventures.
"Have you considered getting them published?" he inquires before glancing at his watch and realizing how close it is to when they are supposed to look at the flat.
"No one is interested in the tales from an omega unless it happens to be about heats and sex." His mate replies, "We need to get going."
He nods, looking for the bill, "Where's the bill?"
"We won't get one," the blonde replies with a chuckle, "I helped with his daughter's health and since then I never get charged, just like Sherlock never gets charged."
"Oh," he mutters, deciding to leave a nice sized tip instead before the two of them are off.
A few minutes later they are parked and his mate waves to an older woman across the street with a smile. The beta that meets them at the door seems like a friendly enough women. There is something cold in her eyes that he is familiar with seeing in soldiers who have fought on the front lines and killed. The entire time they are near her, his mate sticks close to his side, a nervousness he is not used to in the younger man's scent. The flat ends up being perfect for their needs, it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a decent sized kitchen and den area, there is even a decent basement attached to it. After several minutes discussing it, they ask after the price and are surprised when she only asks for what is left on her original contract, making it a lot lower than he expected, though it will still take a fairly large bite out of his savings.
"We would like to accept your offer," he informs the beta.
She nods once, replying, "I'll have all the paperwork drawn up and delivered to where?"
Without thinking about it his mate answers with his brother's address, "I'll have Jim double check everything to make sure its all in order."
He can see the way her eyes widen slightly, even smell the worry that suddenly enters her scent as she agrees.
When they exit the flat, he glances at his mate and raises a questioning eyebrow at the smaller man.
Shrugging, John just leads them across the street, unlocking the front door and slipping in with ease. Quietly he knocks twice on the flat number 221A, before stepping back a bit and waiting. Less than a minute later that older lady he had waved to earlier opens the door with a huge smile when she looks between the two of them, before grabbing his mates hand and tugging him in.
"John! I wondered when you were going to remember to pay me a visit! Who's this lovely creature? You finally decided to bring your mate here after nearly five years of having a room? How wonderful! I just made tea and biscuits!" she babbles at the younger man as she grabs his arm and drags him into the flat, however she does pretty much the same with him, using her other hand to latch on and tug him in. "He is a lovely one isn't he? No wonder you kept him away! Though your room might be a bit small for the two of you. He's rather tall."
"Mrs. Hudson, please breath," his mate mutters as he moves about the kitchen with familiarity, "Mrs. Hudson, my mate James Sholto. James, Mrs. Hudson, landlady not house keeper, but makes a wonderful variety of editable biscuits."
He finds the older omega woman a bit overwhelming with the way she seems to flutter for a moment and her comments. She must be joking, he thinks, but her scent says otherwise.
"How lovely, I had wondered when he first moved in why he smelled bonded but there was no one ever around, for the longest time I thought he might have been only partially bonded to Sherlock, but he made it a point to tell me his mate was an honorable sort in the army. I'm happy to see your alive and well, he's been so sad during the last few years." She remarks in rapid fire, looking at him as she does so.
Blinking, he tries to determine what he is supposed to respond to when he feels rescued by the arrival of his mate's flatmate.
"Mrs. Hudson? Have you seen John yet, he's late," the alpha just about demands as he comes flying down the steps according to scent and sound. "Catch up with him later, I'm borrowing him now," and with that his mate's hand is grabbed and he is dragged off.
"Oh dear, I forgot he has a surprise for John waiting in the living room, you best run along dear," she tells him as she pats his arm and makes shooing motions towards the door.
"Madam," he states politely as he heads out it and up the steps, following the sound of the dark-haired alpha's voice.
What he discovers is his mate sitting in the middle of the floor with a pile of cloth made items surrounding him. The dark-haired alpha is pointing at each and excitedly talking, voice rapid-fire and difficult to keep up. After glancing about he notices a chair with a Union Jack pillow and decides to settle on it to continue listen. Slowly realizing that the younger man is talking about the safety of each type of fabric and what they are used for, along with presenting a painted wooden crib with a handmade crib mattress. He cannot help the shock at the idea of this particular alpha making something, particularly when all of the stories his mate has told him are about the adventure they have shared. Only a small voice in the back of his head reminds him that not only does the younger alpha solve crimes for the puzzles but he also has a studio where he works on various types of art and science projects based on his mood.
"Thanks Sherlock!" his mate exclaims as his hands travel over every inch of the crib before moving on to the mattress. "Look at this James," there is excitement in his voice, "But we have nowhere to store for the moment."
"Keep it in your room upstairs for the moment," the dark-haired alpha states dismissively, "Annoying messaged me and said you were getting your own flat rather than continuing to bounce between the three flats?"
"Yeah the one across the road that belongs to that beta woman," his mate responds as he continues to trace the patterns on the wood.
"The one that belongs to the assassin?" the youngest inquires as he throws himself across the sofa, "I thought she was around to keep an eye on you?"
Rolling his eyes, his omega snorts, "More likely she was to keep an eye on you, not me. I'm one of the boring ones remember?"
"Please, if you were boring the three of us would not have discussions about which one of us gets to keep you and we wouldn't have had to develop a sharing schedule. Can't say the same thing about your mate. We do not wish to share him, though I believe there were a couple of different methods of getting rid of him in the planner if he hadn't come around." The alpha retorts as he stretches out and tilts his head so he can watch the omega still touching the crib. "I'm going to make some throw rugs and curtains too, all of them resistant to chemicals and fire, plus safe for if your pup is a chewer."
Smiling fondly, his mate states, "That's sweet of you. But you better remember and remind the other two of the promise you all made."
"Why do you think he is still alive?"
His body tense at that, it is very odd to hear someone talk of murdering him as if it is nothing of importance. It is even more shocking is the fact his John seems to take it in stride. Why would he take it so easily, they should probably discuss this. When he had been in recovery he had gotten a lot of death threats from families of some of the soldiers who had been with him during the ambush and then they had just stopped. Now he is wondering why and getting the feeling that he is missing some details.
"Now Sherlock, we've already had this discussion once before. Actually I had it with all four of you. Do I need to repeat it?" there is steel in his love's tone as he demands an answer.
Swinging into a sitting position the younger man shakes his head once, "Three of us have edict memories, repeating it is worthless."
"Then watch it before I clean the fridge of all experiments," there is a threat in the omegas tone this time.
"John," the alpha replies in a whine.
"Don't 'John' me! I was serious then and still am, and I am tired so we're going to take this upstairs then go back to Jim's to sleep."
Pouting the younger alpha nods, "You're not nice."
Smirking, his mate stands, "Of course not, I have to deal with you four, if I was nice you'd walk all over me," he grabs the mattress, eyeing the crib.
Understanding that this is his loves way of saying its time to get out of here, he carefully lifts it, surprised at how light it is considering it is wood. Following his mate out of the main part of the flat and carefully up a set up steps where he finds a small bedroom with a bed and wardrobe that smells heavily of his mate and nothing else. As he glances around he understands why the landlady said that he would have a hard time fitting here, he has seen tents in the desert that are bigger.
"This is my room here," John says as he comes to stand beside him after he settles the crib by the wall, noticing it takes up most of the floor. "I have rooms here, at Jim's, and over to Greg and Mycroft's. They really do share my time, though I spend the majority of it when not working with Sherlock or Jim because Greg is busy with work. Shall we go home?"
Smiling, he gives his mate a hug, kissing his forehead, "Alright," he is surprised to find that he is alright with calling Jim's flat home for now.
After bidding the landlady and his mate's flatmate farewell, the two of them leave.