The Dragon's Companion

Disclaimer:

I do not own BBC Sherlock.

Notes:

Basically there are people who are creatures. They can look human but can make certain animal features of theirs appear/disappear at will to blend in with ordinary humans. There's prejudice between humans and creatures so they generally hide what they are.

I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to those few who have left reviews: Serenityofthematrix, kiras70, FaroreWorldshaper, brandyfaire and otala

Chapter 7

Meliora was crouched down beside John in the dark, her eyes narrowed and body tense. She was ready to pull John out of the way should Mary decide to shoot who she'd briefly thought was Sherlock and then later ready to tackle the liar if she decided to shoot the real Sherlock. Again. She mulled over whether or not she should attack her anyway but decided after seeing the her shoot that coin that while she was fast she was unsure if she could be fast enough even if they weren't in this narrow hallway. Although, even if Mary did shoot her she knew Sherlock would take down Mary right then and there. But she didn't want to hurt Sherlock so she waited. Sniper. From what she had revealed to both Sherlock and John it would be a hell of a coincidence if this woman wasn't hired by Moriarty. After the lights turned on she text Mycroft. No doubt he would also want retribution from this woman. It was both her and Mycroft's right, not to mention instinct, to ensure Mary would never threaten their family ever again.

"Is Meliora going to kill her?" John asked Sherlock as the two of them sat in 221B.

Sherlock hadn't been surprised by his brother showing up to take Mary or the fact Meliora had accompanied him. "There's a high chance she will. And if she doesn't, Mycroft certainly will."

He looked up in slight surprise. "Mycroft?"

The consulting detective who was lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, said nothing. Perhaps now would be the time to inform John of his true nature.

"I expected he would lock her up somewhere no one can reach her."

"If she hadn't almost killed me he likely would have but if the rest of the community found out what happened and that she was left alive it would be taken as a great insult and Mycroft would lose favor with a great many of his connections."

John frowned. He didn't understand why complete strangers would care so much. Hold on... "What community?"

Sherlock swung his legs over and his feet landed on the floor as he sat up. "Long before humans discovered our existence creatures created a government of their own. Due to the still existing prejudice this government still exists and is a carefully guarded secret. Even if the community didn't care about Mary's attempt to kill me the government would demand she die for trying to kill not only a creature but something as rare as a dragon."

He stared at him, mind whirling. "You're a bloody dragon?!" His eyes widened slightly as he saw his best friend's throat turn pink and then red before it expanded slightly.

The consulting detective opened his mouth and released small ring of fire into the air that turned into a smoke ring after a few seconds.

John stared at the smoke ring, the fear of catching on fire fading as he realized the threat was gone. "When were you planning on telling me?!"

"It never came up until now," the dragon replied.

"Never came -!" He started incredulously, "Sherlock-"

"I didn't deduce you to be the type of person to buy into that type of prejudice. 'It's all fine.' That was what you told me. Whether I'm human or not hardly seemed important when I'm required to hide what I am regardless."

To this, the doctor frowned. "Why required? Meliora doesn't seem to care-"

With a bewildered expression he asked, "Have you not noticed? The only ones she showed her true nature around were you, Mary, Mrs Hudson, Lestrade, Molly, Mycroft, Janine and myself. Admittedly that is a good number of people but my point is she hides around strangers." He paused. "I am required to hide it because there are such few dragons we're almost an endangered species. Meliora hides it out of habit and the fact it is easier to deal with other creatures than it is for a creature to have problems with a human and vice versa."

Then there was silence between them for a few minutes as John absorbed the information.

"So you're not really dating anyone then?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes, "I only needed Janine to gain access to-"

"I meant Meliora," the man interrupted.

He slowly tilted his head slightly as if musing on something. "No, I am not dating Meliora."

"Then why date her while you were dating Janine?"

The dragon frowned, "Because she needed me. Wolves tend to be tightly close-knitted pack and because her and I have been together for an extended amount of time she grew rather dangerously dependent on my presence. I could not simply abandon her for a fake relationship. Being in a fake relationship with her had more benefits than disadvantages."

John frowned deeply. He didn't want to think about what sort of benefits Sherlock got from the fake relationship.

His eyes narrowed as he took in his doctor's expression. "I did not have sex with either of them."

This seemingly random statement startled him, his eyes widen in shock and surprise.

"There is a common misconception about creatures losing control because of lust. We're no worse than humans. In fact, we tend to have more control over our urges. The fact is neither Meliora or myself believe in sex with anyone other than our life mates."

Just then the door opened and Janine walked in, closing the door behind her. She paused at the sight of Sherlock and John. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"I was simply reassuring John I did not have sex with anyone," the dragon stated quite bluntly.

John's head whipped around to look at Sherlock.

Her eyes glanced between the two of them before she smiled, "Ah, alright."

"Reassuring?!"

"You were concerned," Sherlock pointed out.

John scoffed, "Why would I be concerned? It's none of my business who you do or don't shag."

Janine went to went to go sit in a chair in the kitchen, her brows having risen at John's jealous tone.

"I believe Meliora's exact words were 'John wants to have his cake and eat it too'."

The human woman watched them both with apparent amusement. It suddenly occurred to her this was why they hadn't been around John in the past month.

"Though I'm unsure exactly what she means by that," Sherlock admitted with a downturn of his lips.

"I think she meant John wanted Mary but also didn't want you in a relationship with someone," Jan added helpfully.

John just stared at her in utter disbelief. He didn't-! He wasn't-!

His frown deepened. "But that doesn't make sense."

"Come on John," she teased, "anyone with two eyes can see you were jealous."

"I wasn't jealous of Sherlock!" The man exclaimed.

The door opened again and Meliora walked in, throwing an irritated glare at John. "Of course you weren't jealous of Sherlock, you were jealous of us," she told him, motioning to both Janine and herself as she pulled a chair out to sit near Jan.

John opened his mouth to argue when Sherlock spoke up.

"John?" He asked, his voice quiet and slightly broken. Did John not want him to be happy with someone?

John turned his head toward Sherlock, surprised to see how vulnerable his best friend looked in this moment. He'd seen his sad puppy dog look before. Many times. Sherlock could be rather manipulative. But he had never seen this fear or vulnerability as if with one wrong word he could shatter the consulting detective. Seeing those eyes directed solely at him with such yearning.. it felt like time had frozen. "I..." Okay, so maybe he had been jealous. Maybe he hadn't thought it possible for Sherlock to be in a relationship with anyone. But even if he admitted to himself that he had wanted more than friendship he never thought it possible his feelings would ever be returned. Yet with the way Sherlock was looking at him... Was it possible?