John looked up from his broadsheet newspaper, his lips tight with frustration.
"Sherlock. What's wrong?" Sherlock has been staring intently at John for almost an hour, his hands in steeple position against his mouth, not saying anything. Just staring. John had tried to ignore it, but the dull events of London were no longer a sufficient distraction.
"Nothing," Sherlock replied, his stare not wavering.
"Then stop staring at me." John stood up, folded his newspaper, placed it on a side table and started to walk away.
"How long have you and Molly been...you and Molly?" John sighed. He was worried Sherlock might have had an issue with this. He had barely said a word since she came for dinner last night.
"Last summer," John confessed. He felt like an adultering spouse. He had to remind himself he wasn't doing anything wrong. He was allowed a girlfriend. Sherlock just happened to know this one.
"Over a year," Sherlock stated, his opinion on the matter unreadable in his voice. "How serious is it?"
"Sherlock!" John threw his arms up, exasperated; he didn't have to explain his relationship to Sherlock. "It's...it's serious enough." He moved so he could see Sherlock's face, which was emotionless as ever. John was getting irritated with his stubbornness. Like old times. "When you..." Sherlock's eyes flickered to meet John's. "When you weren't here we...struggled. We were grieving your death. You left us!"
"I died to save you," Sherlock interjected, sounding almost insulted, striking a nerve with John.
"NO! Sherlock. No, you didn't!" John tried not to lose his temper, but was failing. "Don't make yourself out to be a saviour. You did not die. You won't even tell me how you didn't die, for god's sake! I watched you...I watched you jump." John's voice was starting to crack, the flashbacks of that day as painful as if he had jumped. "You have no idea what I went through. How many times I seriously considered following in your steps!" Sherlock felt a pang of guilt, but remained silent. "Molly...Molly was there for me." John inhaled sharply, trying to calm himself. "I went to your grave every week."
"I know." Sherlock's reply struck John hard, rendering him speechless, his blood boiling up inside of him. The thought that Sherlock knew and had seen John at his grave made him feel physically sick. Unable to say anything without it resulting in breaking Sherlock's jaw, John marched out of the room.
"M-morning, Sherlock," Molly said cheerily as she walked into the lab the next morning. "Working on a new case?" She put on her lab coat, her face lit up at Sherlock's return to the lab.
"No. Just an experiment." Sherlock didn't look up from the microscope.
They worked in silence on their own projects until Molly perked up for lunch. "I'm going to get a sandwich for lunch. Do you want anything?"
"Egg and cress, please," Sherlock replied with a smile.
Molly returned shortly with their sandwiches. Molly had also gone for an egg and cress.
"John said you've been together for over a year," Sherlock said bluntly, causing Molly to freeze in shock for a second.
"Um, yeah. About 14 months now," she said with a secret smile.
"You never showed interest in him before." Molly froze again, blushing a rose pink, knowing Sherlock knew about her infatuation with him before.
"That was...before." Molly took a bite of her sandwich, embarrassed. Sherlock hadn't touched his yet. "John is a good man."
"I know."
"A lot changed in those 3 years, Sherlock," Molly said, trying to reassure him. Though she wasn't sure why she was consoling him.
"I still have that gift you gave me all those Christmases ago," Sherlock said, changing the subject slightly.
"Oh?" Molly blushed again, her eyes glistening at Sherlock.
"Where have you been?" John said, looking up from his laptop.
"Just...out." John knew there was no point trying to get anything else out of him.
"I just got off the phone to Molly," John started. Sherlock slumped in his chair, preparing himself for John to go off on one again. "Look, Sherlock. My relationship with Molly has nothing to do with you." Sherlock rested his chin on his hand. John softening his tone, trying to understand that it must have been a shock for him. "It doesn't affect our relationship. We'll still solve cases, and I'll still blog about it. You just need to get back on the horse and get a case." John looked for a reaction on Sherlock's face, desperately reaching out to his dearest friend.
"Neither of you were interested in each other before. I'm not an expert on love but I know that," Sherlock said, stamping on John's sympathetic words.
"Sherlock! Will you just drop it and accept that Molly is now an important part of my life?" John was shouting now, absolutely livid Sherlock was saying these things.
"Do you love her?" Sherlock said calmly, look at John directly. John gaped, speechless.
"Sherlock... wh-?"
"Do. You. Love her?"
John was silent.