Lestrade

Sherlock always did sneer down his nose at the DI, but John had to admit, he was a fine detective when he wasn't being overshadowed by the world's only consulting detective.

He had found him in some dingy pub, a few blocks from his (and Sherlock's) flat, in the back of the place, staring at a tepid beer he'd only taken about three sips from in the forty minutes he sat there.

Lestrade had dropped down, wordlessly, across from him. The pair had never spoken much outside of a crime scene and still didn't know how to interact with each other, and it had only become that much more awkward when John and Sherlock became... boyfriends? lovers? partners? flatmates with benefits?

Oh, his brain hurt from thinking about it.

"I don't like being ordered around by the Holmes' brothers," was the first thing Lestrade said.

John sighed. "What has Sherlock done now?"

"Well, apparently, pissed off his new found lover," Lestrade said. "Which, in turn, worries big-brother Holmes', who then locates and threatens," he twitched his head to the side to remove a crick in his neck, "I mean, sends, a third party mediator to figure out what's going on. Now," Lestrade looked down at his watch, "I have dinner plans in about an hour, so can we do this quickly?" he asked.

"Do what quickly?" John asked.

"Get to the bottom of this domestic nonsense. So, what happened?"

John shrugged. "I guess I just realized how... Sherlock he is."

The DI laughed, "The sad thing is, I know exactly what you mean by that phrase. Look, John, Sherlock is who he is on the surface. All that coldness and rudeness and superiority, is who he is."

"That's reassuring."

"But, the man is passionate. The man gets so passionate about things, he could burn a hole in the sun. And he is passionate about you."

"Until he's not anymore. Until he's figured me out or broken me down."

Lestrade shrugged. "Sherlock does have a tendency to take everything apart. But, unlike murders or machinery, or dead bodies, living people are constantly changing, so whenever you've got them figured out, something happens that they need to adapt to and it changes them, and you need to figure that new aspect of them out. If you've come from being an injured war veteran to Sherlock's lover, I'm sure you are very complex man and can keep Sherlock trying to pin you down for quiet some time, so I wouldn't worry about him figuring you out. As for as breaking you down, that is something you have to decide. If being loved by Sherlock outweighs being annoyed by him.

"And I know loving Sherlock means putting up with all his quirks and eccentricities, believe me, I know, but like I said, he's a great man, and could someday be a good one, and John, you are the only one who's been able to put up with him this long and still have your head together. Not just have your head together, but still want to be with him, at least on some level, otherwise you would have packed your belongings and left already. What I meant to say, was, I think you could be that slow push he needs towards being a good man," Lestrade finished.

John mulled this for a moment.

"And you make him more tolerable at crime scenes," Lestrade added.

"I don't know," John admitted.

Lestrade looked at his watch and stood up. "I know, it will take some thinking, I do know this," and then he looked at John in a strange way and John sat confused for a moment. "But whatever you choose, just be kind to him."

"I will," John agreed.

"Because if he gets any more impossible, well, I'll strangle him."

John smiled a bit at this.

"Anyways, please, make up with Sherlock and tell Mycroft to back the fuck off, if you happen to run across him. And knowing him, you probably will. Best of luck," he said, and stood there awkwardly for another moment. "I suppose you can text me if you find yourself with the urge to discuss this further."

And with that, the DI was gone and John was alone with his thoughts once again.