one and a half year later
Many people glanced at the dark-haired man with curious looks. With his coat, turned-up collar and suit, he didn't really want to fit in with the crowd of people waiting. Although Sherlock was aware of these looks, they did not interest him at all. Because today was the day he would finally welcome his John home after six months of deployment in Afghanistan, finally kiss him again and finally fall asleep next to him again tonight.
Lost in thought, he turned the golden ring on his left hand. The time without John had been hard. After John had spent over eleven months together with Sherlock at 221B Baker Street, it had been strange not to hear the typical noises in the flat for the first few weeks. Before that, John had never been home long enough for Sherlock to really get used to the other man's presence. The loneliness had hit him all the harder this time.
He had been able to read from John's letters that he had felt the same way. It was not only the content from which he deduced this, but also the length and frequency of the letters. He had received at least one two-page letter a week. It was not uncommon for there to be several letters a week and some of them were longer than two pages. The content of some of the letters was so private that Sherlock had taken to carrying them with him at all times. He didn't want other people to know what fantasies John had when he was alone in bed in Afghanistan and pining for Sherlock.
His hand wandered under his coat and felt the letters in his jacket pocket. A slight blush rose in his cheeks as he thought of how he had read those letters. As he withdrew his hand, he brushed John's old dog tags under his shirt. Sherlock had been aware from their first meeting in that back alley that John was special and, more importantly, different from most other people he knew. John was always capable of surprising him and when he had handed him the dog tags it had been the biggest surprise of all.
Not only that he wanted to marry him and take his names, but also the unusual kind of engagement ring he had chosen. For that was what Sherlock saw in the dog tags, John's and his kind of engagement ring and Sherlock had to admit to himself that he was very taken with the idea. When he had told John about this consideration shortly after their engagement, John had just grinned and said 'Well, I've done everything right then'.
Slowly movement came into the crowd around him and Sherlock registered that the first soldiers entered the hall. It wasn't long before he recognised John's face among the arrivals and as soon as he spotted Sherlock too, a broad, joyful grin snuck onto the blond's face. With brisk steps he approached Sherlock, placed his hand on the back of Sherlock's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. The familiar feeling of each other's lips on their respective lips sent a shiver through both their bodies and caused a nervousness similar to that of their first kiss.
"Welcome home, Major Holmes," Sherlock whispered as they broke away from each other and took John's hands in his. "I've missed you so much," John replied softly, leaning against Sherlock. Sherlock released John's hands again and clasped his hands behind his husband's back. "Sherlock, I'm quitting. This was my last mission. I'm never going to fly again. I want to stay with you. To experience every day together with you," he added after a moment. For a moment Sherlock was surprised, although he had already expected a similar statement after John's letters. "You could help me with my cases instead. Your medical opinion on the victims would certainly be very helpful. I'm sure there's one or two things I don't recognise. Besides, you're much better at dealing with people than I am, which could be a real advantage in interrogations. And I'm sure your military knowledge could be put to good use here and there," Sherlock suggested. John's eyes lit up at the idea of solving crimes together with Sherlock. "That sounds promising," John replied as he broke free from Sherlock's embrace and stole another kiss. Then he reached for his hand and together they left the airport.