15
'Sherlock wins.' Diren announced. 'Not surprisingly. But how would you fare against someone more like you?' The crowd turned to face the doctor who waved his hands slowly.
'No. Absolutely not.' He said. Sherlock smiled predatorily and turned to the men.
'Keep the circle, I'll be back in a moment.' Then he moved swiftly over to John, pulling himself flush against the shorter man.
'Please?' He purred. The doctor stared at him.
'No.' He answered adamantly.
'Please?' He asked again, letting his hands wander.
'Sherlock! Stop. And the answers still no.' The soldier ground out through gritted teeth.
'I'll make it up to you. They want to see a proper fight. It will win them over more. I will make it up to you.' John sighed. He still couldn't resist that childish voice.
'Fine.' He said, picking up his own weapon and blunting the edge. Sherlock almost skipped back into the ring. John followed him with a slightly more wary walk. The crowd waited in silent anticipation as the two dragon riders took up their stances.
'And start!' Diren yelled once more. Sherlock made the first move, stepping to the side and lunging. John waited until he was less than a metre away then he parried with his new lightning fast reactions and made a lunge of his own.
Now that the fight was in full force, John found himself laughing despite himself. Sherlock beamed as he spun into another attack which was effortlessly blocked by his blond partner. Five minutes had past and the crowd still looked as captivated as they were at the beginning. The two men danced around each other, bodies barely skirting as they passed. Sherlock lunged and slightly over stretched, causing himself to take another step. John smiled and swiped his weapon to his partners feet. Sherlock stumbled and John flipped his sword, hitting the dark haired elf to the ground with the handle while he held the blade, then he flipped it back and lightly tapped Sherlock's chest with tip. The elf looked up in awe as the crowd stood in stunned silence.
'John is the winner.' Diren said, his voice conveying his shock. John held out his hand for his partner who took it then leapt on the soldier. John grabbed the man, mostly out of habit, and glared at him.
'Sherlock, what the-?' He began to say. The elf was clinging to him, legs wrapped round his waist and arms over his shoulder.
'I love you. You always manage to surprise me.' Sherlock murmured.
'Yes, I love you too but could you please get off me. People are staring.' John answered in a mildly chiding tone. His partner leapt off with a grace that was impossible for such a spindly figure.
'So how did you do it?' The young man who had challenged Sherlock before asked. John smiled.
'I know Sherlock.' He answered. 'I also have near elven reactions so I can keep up. And I'm pretty sure he went easy on me.' Sherlock chuckled.
'Actually, no, I didn't. but I did make a stupid error of judgement. Don't worry though, it won't happen again.' The elf said, wrapping his arms around the smaller man and lightly hugging him. No one had asked about their current relationship. (Well, no one had asked John anyway. He assumed that they hadn't asked Sherlock either. Mostly because it seemed like the entire population was afraid of the elf.) Sherlock hadn't been very subtle about it and, too be honest, neither was John. They went everywhere together and Sherlock took every opportunity to mark John as his own. No matter who was watching.
When the night finally loomed on Fathen Dur, Sherlock led his partner up to the cave Morrisa had talked about early. At first John didn't know how such a place could offer privacy as it was in a place that everyone could see but after the first five hundred steps he realised that most humans and dwarves would just give up and try to find another way in. The dragon greeted them in a sleepy daze and showed them to the bed she had had made up for them. Sherlock nodded, slightly distracted, and John glared at him before thanking her properly.
Don't apologise for him, John, I've known him long enough. And anyway, I know why he's distracted. Try to be a little quieter this time, Hmm? John blinked, his mind only clicked as he was towed to the bed by the elf.
'Sherlock. I don't think this is a good idea.' He stated. The taller male looked at him darkly, loosening their belts. It was clear he wasn't going to answer so John continued.
'Not that I don't want to but we are too loud. Everyone will here us. I don't think I'll be able to show my face if we wake everyo-.' John raced through the words, almost slurring them together. As he reached the last word, he was cut off by a piece of fabric being jammed into his mouth.
'There. You'll be quieter now.' Sherlock answered with an evil smirk.
You bitch. John projected, bringing his hands up to take the gag out. Sherlock quickly grabbed his hands and straddled him, pushing him down so he was flat on his back.
Can I trust you not to remove it or do I have to tie your hands as well. You know I will. No you lie still and I'll do the work. I did say I owed you. And besides, you humans have awful sense of hearing. We could scream at the top of our lungs and without fear of disrupting the sleep of your fellow brothers and sisters. The elf answered. The doctor immediately stopped struggling.
Oh hell. He thought as Sherlock nuzzled his neck, So much for a good nights sleep.