Edit: As happy as I am with all the story alerts I'm getting, I would seriously appreciate some reviews. Even if it's just a d^_^b (thumbs up) I would be happy. Let's go with this, just leave a emoticon for however you felt during this chapter. XD
Thanks to Silverspeare and Himekun for the ideas for this chapter~! Even though I kind of wandered off from the original intent…
~SHERLOCK~
"I have the solution to your dilemma." Mycroft announced, looking at both Sherlock and John. "I have called the locksmith, who made this pair of handcuffs. Luckily for you two, he isn't as stupid as Sherlock and had a key made for them just in case."
Sherlock looked slightly livid at this, muttering a small curse towards the locksmith. John didn't give a damn about what Sherlock was thinking; he was eagerly looking to Mycroft, the man suddenly becoming something of a savior.
"Thank god! How long until he can get it here?"
"Oh I have it now." Mycroft fished inside his suit's pocket for a moment before pulling out a small key. Automatically reaching for it, John was slightly stunned when Mycroft pulled back. "Not yet Dr. Waston."
"Excuse me?" John looked at Mycroft, dumbfounded. What the hell was going on now?
"Sherlock, what day is it?"
"…" Sherlock suddenly winced.
"I did think that you had forgotten. This is why," Mycroft dangled the key in front of them, "I brought this as insurance."
"Sherlock, what is he talking about?"
"My mother's dinner party…tomorrow" Sherlock began to slowly slouch in his seat, a childish look of anger on his face. "I refuse to go."
Mycroft raised his eyebrows, "You always refuse to go. Mummy sent me special this time to make sure that you attend. It does hurt her that you don't come by often." He sighed and threw the key up, catching it in the palm of his hand.
"Your threat doesn't work on me Mycroft. I can pick this lock. We don't need the key." Sherlock said.
"After looking over the locksmith's design of the lock, and taking in consideration of the interruptions you shall have, the time you will finish picking that lock will be a little over forty hours from now."
Everyone was silent. Then, Sherlock slowly looked towards John, who gave Sherlock the most evil look he could muster up.
"I do believe we'll be going to the dinner part Mycroft. Please make sure John and I have the appropriate attire."
Mycroft allowed himself a small, smug victory smirk, "I shall, and please do remember to be on your best behavior, Sherlock."
~SHERLOCK~
Damn Sherlock. Damn Mycroft. Damn whoever the hell invented handcuffs.
John was currently cursing out anyone he could blame for their predicament in the back of a limo driving up the Holmes estate. Of course everything looked luxurious and expensive. John could already see people ahead of them getting out of their cars, dressed in tuxedos and gowns that probably cost more than his and Sherlock's flat. Although, the tuxedo John was wearing probably cost about the same amount as everyone else's.
He tugged on said piece of clothing, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. This really wasn't his sort of thing; jeans and a T-shirt along were what John Watson could wear comfortably. I bet I look like a complete idiot.
"You do look sort of silly." A scoff came from John's right, and he turned to look at Sherlock.
"Thanks Sherlock, that's really what I needed to hear right now."
Sherlock rolled his eyes, "I mean you look silly tugging at it and constantly shifting about. Just smile and nod, that's how I get through these events."
At Sherlock's words, John realized that he was shifting about an awful lot. Quickly righting himself, John placed his hands on his knees and straightened his back. A snort came out of Sherlock, and John gave him another look.
"Sorry, but now you look to tense. This isn't an army meeting, John." Sherlock smiled, almost tenderly, and reached out his hands to fiddle with the lapels on John's suit. Slightly embarrassed at the very intimate gesture, John cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away.
"Yes, well, it is the first time I'll be meeting your mother. And I'm doing it in less than desirable circumstances." John rattled the handcuffs.
"Believe me, there have been worse circumstances."
"Like what?"
Sherlock was silent for a moment, "Perhaps the time I blew up the west wing of our house due to an experiment might count."
John goggled at Sherlock, "You're kidding me!"
"Oh no, it happened. Mummy was furious of course, I had disturbed the cocktail hour and it's her favorite part of the evening." Sherlock grinned at John, and soon they were both giggling hysterically.
"I honestly can believe you would do that. You almost blow up our flat at least two times a month." John said in between his laughs.
Sherlock and John's laughter lasted them all the way up until they entered the mansion. It was John who stopped laughing first, because the room was truly spectacular. If this was just a regular dinner party at the Holmes mansion, John was sure that during events like Christmas or Easter the place must be breathtaking.
The entry hall was lined with mirrors that reflected the tiny lights that had been strung up around. Beautiful arrangements of flowers were placed all about the place, making the room smell like a garden. People walked back and forth on the lush red carpet, greeting each other with friendly faces. John was slightly surprised to see a few famous people walking around, ranging from actors to important politicians. Although, John thought, he really shouldn't be that surprised, considering the influence of the Holmes, it was no wonder they had friends in upper circles.
Making their way down the hall, John and Sherlock did receive quite a few stares from the people around them. A few even looked as though they were going to make a loud comment about it, but thought better at the last moment.
Unsure what to do, John allowed himself to be led around by Sherlock. Thankfully it looked like Sherlock had taken John's best interests (removing the handcuffs) to heart and was being a perfect gentleman to everyone…at least to their faces. Occasionally when the person would move away, Sherlock would let out a stream of words about them under his breath to John, which varied from insults to facts about their private lives. Normally John would scold Sherlock, but he was so nervous about being around such people, John found himself eagerly listening to Sherlock's soothing voice and snarky comments.
It wasn't until they suddenly ran into Mycroft that John realized he hadn't seen him or anyone who could possibly be Sherlock and Mycroft's mother all evening.
"Dr. Watson, I am so glad you were able to make it," Mycroft grinned and shook John's hand. "Our mother is waiting in the drawing room for you two. She wants to meet you before dinner starts."
John glanced over at Sherlock, who was doing his best to imitate an upset five year old and was pointedly ignoring his brother. "Ah, right. I've wanted to meet her for quite some time too." John gave Mycroft a warm smile, at the same time jabbing Sherlock in the side with his elbow, "Which way to the drawing room then?"
"I'll have Alastair take you there, I need to go meet and greet some important politicians." Mycroft looked around for a moment, searching for someone, and almost immediately an old man dressed in a neat suit appeared by his side. With a tidy little mustache and a full head of combed grey hair, Alastair made the impression of a perfect butler. He held himself straight and tall, looking at Mycroft with rapt attention.
"Yes, Mr. Holmes?" The butler said. His accent easily pin-pointed the man as an American.
"Please take these two to the drawing room please." Mycroft waved at Sherlock and John.
Alastair nodded, "Right away Mr. Holmes. Please follow me gentlemen." He turned his back on them, walking off quickly down the hallways, obviously expecting them to follow. With a hastily muttered goodbye at Mycroft, John followed Alastair's quick pace.
With Alastair's stuffy look, John was honestly not expecting what happened next. As soon as they were out of eyesight of the party, Alastair spun around and karate chopped Sherlock, who blocked it and kicked the man in the shins.
"I'm glad to see you haven't been neglecting yourself!" The old man laughed and thumped Sherlock on the back.
"Yes, well, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and running away from criminals does keep a body in good shape." Noticing John's more than slightly shocked reaction, Sherlock properly introduced Alastair. "John, this is Alastair, a man who has been my family's butler since before I was born." Sherlock patted Alastair on the back.
"He forgot to mention I was also his self-defense tutor. Taught this kiddo everything he needed to know." Alastair grinned and reached out to shake John's hand. Taking it, John wasn't surprised at all anymore to feel the hand he was shaking was strong and firm, with some calluses that showed this man was no stranger to hard work.
Sherlock and Alastair chatted the rest of the way, passing information back and forth, making jokes, and even talking about old times. John had never seen Sherlock so nostalgic before. This was also one of the rare moments Sherlock wasn't being completely snarky to whoever he was speaking to. The only other person besides John that Sherlock talked to like that was Mrs. Hudson.
Too soon, they came to stop outside of a large dark wood door. Alastair took a moment to recompose himself before knocking three times on the door. A soft voice called from inside, "You may enter," and Alastair swung the door open, ushering Sherlock and John inside before closing it, leaving them alone.
The room they had entered was warmly lit with electric lamps. A few pieces of plush furniture were littered throughout the room, and a large bookcase stood opposite to the enormous window that looked out onto the entrance of the Holmes estate. To John's great amusement, a small telescope was set up next the window, in a position not looking towards the star but rather to the ground where people were still milling around, getting out of their cars. Apparently Sherlock had gotten his love for people watching from his mother.
A soft rustling of fabric brought John's attention to the only other person in the room tall woman who was getting up from a couch and approaching them. Her gray hair was long and curly, and she walked daintily, and almost seemed to float over to them. Her grace was probably helped by the fact that her long navy blue dress danced around her legs, framing her thin body very well.
"Mother," Sherlock smiled warmly and reached out, wrapping his arms around the woman best he could with John still attached to him.
"Sherlock, it's so good to finally see you. If I didn't know better, I would say you were trying to avoid me." Mrs. Holmes voice was soft and low.
"Of course not, I've just been…busy."
Mrs. Holmes rolled her eyes, "Yes, of course. I know what you've been 'busy' with. I read the blog written by your delightful friend. I almost had a heart attack reading some of them. It seems as though you are shot at on a daily basis!"
"Please, John over exaggerates."
"I doubt it, after what my information network tells me it seems that Mr. Watson is spot on with most of his writings."
Sherlock snorted, "Your information network? That would be Mycroft, correct? You do remember he exaggerates as well, right?"
"Well, it's more than Mycroft dear. Both of you always had a flair for theatrics, I was slightly surprised neither of you went into the theater business. I remember this one incident when you were five," Mrs. Holmes smile turned into a dangerous smirk. "You both came in, covered in some strange slime, caterwauling at each other! I was barely able to make out a single word! All I got was some dramatic retelling from you about how Mycroft had purposely set your experimental slugs to explode, while Mycroft was shouting something about you hiding exploding slugs in his underwear drawer."
John laughed, and laughed harder when Sherlock sent him an embarrassed look.
"You two haven't really changed much," John said, then turned to address Mrs. Holmes, "Just last week, Mycroft came barging into our flat, shouting at Sherlock for rigging his briefcase to set fire to anything that was in it when the briefcase was closed."
Mrs. Holmes let out a loud laughed and clutched John's hands between hers. "John I do believe we shall get along swimmingly!"
Mrs. Holmes was easily one of the best women John had ever met. She was right up there with Mrs. Hudson and John's grandmother. After the initial conversation, Sherlock and John were invited to sit down and chat with Mrs. Holmes until dinner was called. The conversation was light, mainly filled in by John and Mrs. Holmes. John would talk about what was going on now with Sherlock, and occasionally Mycroft, while Mrs. Holmes talked on endlessly about their childhood. Sherlock sometimes intervened, mainly to defend himself, but remained silent for most of the time, watching his mother and John chatter on together.
It wasn't until an uncomfortable moment appeared when John needed to go use the restroom that the conversation turned. John had almost (but not quite) forgotten that he and Sherlock were still handcuffed together, so the poor man stumbled a bit when he got up to move away to excuse his self.
"Forgotten something John?" Sherlock clinked the chains of the handcuffs.
"Right, my charm on my charm bracelet." John waited for Sherlock to get up so that he could go take care of business. Sherlock did start to rise, but was ushered back down by his mother.
"Sherlock I can't believe you would do this, actually, scratch that, I can," Mrs. Holmes rolled her eyes and muttered something. Sherlock's eyes narrowed and a small blush overtook his face.
"Sorry, what was that?" John asked.
"Nothing," Sherlock hastily mumbled. John looked at him curiously, then back to Mrs. Holmes.
She smiled graciously and repeated, "Sherlock always did like to keep his favorite things close by."
John could tell, even without looking in a mirror that his blush was worse than Sherlock's. He let out a few stuttered syllables, but couldn't actually get a cohesive sentence out. The words, 'I'm not a thing' or 'We aren't together' just couldn't seem to work themselves out of his mouth.
"Anyways, I do think you two have suffered enough." Mrs. Holmes clapped her hands onto her knees, "I won't make you escort John to the bathroom again Sherlock. And I do think you would appreciate both hands for eating tonight's dinner. As much as I love teasing my guests, this is supposed to be a classy affair, so no handcuffs at the table boys." She stood up and went across the room, opened a drawer, rummaged in it for a moment, before bringing out a small silver key identical to the one Mycroft had been teasing them with the other day.
John's shoulders sagged in relief, finally he would be free!
Except…not really. At the sight of the key, Sherlock immediately pulled John down and put a hand over the keyhole.
"I don't need help with the handcuffs. We're perfectly fine." He snapped. John stared at Sherlock in disbelief.
"You can't be serious. Sherlock I have spent more than enough time handcuffed to you!" John almost shouted. Sherlock's face took on a more stubborn tone.
"I can pick it!"
"Not soon enough for me!"
"But-!" Sherlock snapped his mouth closed, looking livid. Whatever he was about to say put another blush on the detective's face.
Mrs. Holmes watched the entire scene with a look of what can only be called amusement. She threw the key, very Mycroft like, up in the air. "Shall I leave you two boys to discuss?" She didn't wait for an answer before walking out the door, shutting it firmly behind her.
Both men glared at each other for a moment before launching into a tirade of arguments.
~SHERLOCK~
A/N: This chapter was hard to write…I apologize if the characters have felt OOC throughout this, I haven't been as into the Sherlock series as before and writing Sherlock and John is very hard for me, especially since I've been getting back into anime. I don't know if anybody else notices it, but there's a difference between writing anime fan fiction and fan fiction for stuff like Sherlock. T_T So it's slightly difficult because I feel like writing Sherlock in anime form which really doesn't work.
So next chapter should hopefully be the last~ please let me know if anything felt awkward in this chapter. I ended it rather suddenly but that's because I'll be busy tomorrow and I was desperate to get out this chapter.