A/N: Disclaimer and all that see Chapter One.
Chapter Six: The honourable Landlady
"What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind." ( Cleveland Amory)
They have a marital row. Again. They are arguing a lot in the last time, though they do it silently. No shouts disturb me.
They are two fine young men, really. I keep telling Misses Turner. Her couple is more… exhausting, yes. They shout and fight all night long.
Well, of course, marriage is a struggle, but you should keep it between yourself and your partner.
No, I cannot complain. I'd never complain about Sherlock, of course. He's been so great in Florida. So sweet. I know he doesn't like it when I call him sweet, but he is.
You may not see it directly when you meet him, but he truly is.
He is a little bit grumpy, sometimes, but we all are, aren't we? It's just because he's bored.
He's too brilliant for the world outside. Who really understands a genius?
Well, he gets himself into trouble, but it doesn't affect me so much. Okay, there was this drug bust one time, but that wasn't his fault. These normal police officers, they envy him so much because their vision is so… limited compared to his.
Sergeant Donovan really hates him. It's a pity. She could be really beautiful if she wouldn't always look so angry. She just doesn't understand him.
Genius always has side effects… I remember that line from a TV show, but I can't clearly remember which one it was.
Ah, and then, there was the time he was shooting at the wall. He's a little bit over the top, sometimes. Yet, he wouldn't have argued if I had made him pay it.
I didn't, by the way. You just need to remind him that you're the boss in the house and then, all's fine.
And he's not very decent, I daresay. Though I don't mind, behind my façade, I am not very decent as well. No decent lady would engage a consulting detective to make sure her husband would be sentenced to death.
No, Sherlock is a good boy. A little deranged, like all of us.
He's been a loner as I met him. Never saw him in company, until he brought the army doctor with him.
John Watson. Oh, he's such a sweetheart. I know he would hate it if I called him that way, but he simply is. A hero, of course. Being to Afghanistan and being shot. It's a shame they pay former soldiers so bad. I mean, they sent them to war and if they are shot at and useless for them, they sent them to the streets.
It's not fair. Not at all.
But lucky for Sherlock. I couldn't imagine any better flatmate for him.
He accepts him, just like he is. They even work together. And, since he is a doctor, there's finally someone in the house who has enough authority to tell Sherlock that breathing, eating and sleeping are not boring, but necessary if he plans to stay alive.
He is always so gentle, good Dr. Watson. No matter to whom. He's even able to calm Sergeant Donovan's temper.
But most of all, he's able to calm Sherlock's temper.
Or he was, at least.
I don't know what happened that night they got themselves blown up in that pool, but something's changed. John's leaving the house more often than before and Sherlock's always so moody when he's gone. He won't eat, or sleep, until the doctor comes back. He won't talk to him, then. Sometimes, he's really childish.
They don't even go out for dinner anymore. They used to go to Angelo's, or the Chinese Restaurant, before this event. It seems all they do is sitting in the flat in silent reproach.
I keep watching them, both, closely. I know they just see an old, weird lady in me, but I am twice their age. I've got a little more experience in life than they do and actually, I am not stupid.
I know, of course, they aren't a couple. I was just teasing them a little, because people do that. People talk about such things when two bachelors share a flat.
I realised a change in Sherlock's behaviour when John Watson moved in. It wasn't there right from the beginning, it was more an insidious process, but it was there.
He was smiling, suddenly. Not smirking. Really smiling.
I knew it, then. Knew there was something there, something that hadn't been there before. I was happy.
How could I know it would be such a mess between them?
I don't doubt that John feels the same. He's so eager to be around him and yet so eager to keep him on arm's length that he could write the obvious on his forehead.
Only, Sherlock doesn't see it, just like John doesn't realise why Sherlock's smiling.
Men. They are so blind when it comes down to feelings.
Keeping their lips pressed together tightly will never bring them absolution.
(The TV show in which the line: "Genius has side effects" appeared was Dr. House, of course. So now we just got one point of view left before we're dealing with the ending.)