And that was enough to make John giggle. Yes, honest-to-god giggling from the former army doctor, like after he shot the cabbie. A small shake of his head, and John smirks at the child in a man's body beside him. "You are such an idiot." He says affectionately with a little snicker, shaking his head for a few moments, before he checks the time on his phone. "If we're going to get back home before it's too late, we need to get going." he says quietly as he looks around. "This wasn't so bad, afterall." he says softly with a little smile. "Come on.. let's say goodbye to Mycroft and your mother." he says as he stands, stretching a little before he adjusts the unfamiliar clothing of t-shirt and hoodie.
When the Sherlock doesn't immediately move, John sighs a little and shakes his head for a few moments before he reaches out and plucks the phone from Sherlock's hands. "You can have it back when we get into the car." he says simply when the detective gives him a shocked look, sliding the phone into the pocket of his jeans.
Finally, trying to look as casual about the entire thing as he can, Sherlock gets up from the couch, shooting John a somewhat petulant look but is quickly swept clean. He walks over toward his brother and mother, clasping his hands behind his back. "Mummy, Mycroft. Thank you for inviting us, but we have to be getting back home. We did originally promise to spend Christmas with Mrs. Hudson, our landlady, and we should not go back on that promise. And no doubt John wants to have a Christmas chat with his sister, however ill-advised it is." he notes as he glances at his flatmate.
Having followed him over, John shakes his head a little with a small smile. "He's right about Mrs. Hudson, I haven't decided about Harry yet." he points out as he looks at Sherlock. "Thank you for allowing me to join you for Christmas. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Holmes." The doctor says with a warm, pleasant tone, but it cools significantly as he looks at Mycroft. "Mycroft." He says flatly.
Mycroft sighs a little. "Dr. Watson. John. I do hope you'll enjoy the rest of your Christmas. You really need to work on this childish grudge you have against me however." he says quietly with a small sniff of disdain.
John stiffens a little at that. "Mycroft. If we were not in your mother's presence, I would lay you out on your arse." he says, before he takes a deep breath. "Forgive me, Mrs. Holmes. I'll leave you and Sherlock to say your goodbye's." he says before he turns back toward the couch stiffly, collecting the presents and then going to stand outside the door, leaning back against the wall and taking a deep breath.
Inside the room, Sherlock frowns a little as he looks at his older brother. "Christmas. Of all days. You could not keep your fat mouth shut about things you know are upsetting." He says with a shake of his head. "And you wonder why I avoid family gatherings." he says with frustration, upset because Mycroft keeps making his John angry, when he's in such a good mood. Wait. His John? When did he start that? After a moment of thought, he realizes he's been quite possessive these last few days. His doctor. His John. Interesting.
Victoria Holmes finally interrupts, holding her hand up to silence Mycroft imperiously. "I wish you two could just get along." She says with a long-suffering sigh. "Thank you for coming and bringing your wonderful doctor with you. I see how good he is for you. Do try not to mess it up." She says casually and coolly, her warm demeanor from her little speech earlier gone. "Go on, collect your doctor, I know you're eager to leave." She pauses for a few moments. "It was good to see you again, Sherlock." She says quietly.
Eager to get away from this place, Sherlock turns and heads out of the room, looking around before he spots John. "Don't be upset, John." he says quietly, slipping his arm around John's shoulders, fingers lightly caressing that bite mark they both know is beneath his shirt, making the doctor shudder a little.
"Lets just.. get our things and go home, Sherlock." John says as he leans into the taller man for a moment, before he waits for him to lead the way, following him upstairs and smiling a little as he thinks about going back to their flat, with its mess and experiments and slight smell of chemicals and stale smoke that he can't quite get to go away.
They both see Q and Bond coming down the hallway with their bags in hand, and Sherlock arches an eyebrow, not having seen them leave the study, so a little surprised to see how they slipped out.
"Leaving?" John asks with a little smirk. "You two look as eager to leave a we are." He admits with a sheepish smile, running a hand through his blonde-gray hair, before he offers his hand to Ford. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ford. You should come 'round to Baker Street sometime, I'd love to get to know you and hear more about what Sherlock was like when he was younger." he says with a little smirk, glancing at his flatmate affectionately. He's good at putting up a good face, even if he's not entirely feeling it. Though Sherlock can tell, how the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes this time. "And it was nice to meet you as well, James. Make sure Ford looks after himself. If he's anything like Sherlock, he'll need it." he says with a little smirk, shaking both their hands firmly.
"Thank you." Q says as he looks at John. "It was nice to meet you as well. I've heard about you from Sherlock and Mycroft, so it's nice to meet you finally. I'm glad to see that my brother is finally happy." He says quietly with a nod of his head, but he looks unhappy about the 'take care of him' comment, huffing a bit. As if he's incapable of taking care of himself!
The huffing just seems to amuse both James and John for different reasons. It amuses John because the doctor thinks it's exactly how Sherlock gets when he thinks someone is insulting his ability to do anything. It amuses James because he just thinks Q is so adorable when he's acting like that. Still, Bond returns John's handshake with a little smile, leaning a little closer. "And it was nice to meet you, John. And you, Sherlock." he says the last as an afterthought. "We should get together for a drink sometime." he says with a slight smirk. Yeah, maybe he's flirting a little, but only to confirm a suspicion.
Before John can reply, Sherlock puts his hand over on that same spot on his shoulder again, squeezing lightly and making John wince. Sherlock can tell that the agent was flirting with John. Does he now have to deal with men as well as women flirting with his doctor? No, that's not going to be something he can tolerate, which is the reason he feels the need to remind John who his heart belongs to now.
"Sherlock!" The doctor scolds lightly, pushing his hand away, revealing a brief glimpse of what could be a bruise but it's too fast to find out for sure. He gives the detective an irritated glance, not sure what's going on, or what brought on that sudden gesture, but it does bloody hurt. At least when touched that hard, though up until now it was a rather pleasant ache.
James just smirks a little. "Merry Christmas, you two." he says before he urges Ford forward again, leaving them staring at each other.
Sherlock looks innocently at John before he tugs him along back to his room, trying, like always, to ignore what just happened, at least until he maybe figures things out for himself. He goes and starts packing up his bag, flitting around the room gathering things up.
Of course, John is not going to have any of that, and he moves over to grab Sherlock's wrists, basically manhandling him to pin him against the nearest wall, just to make sure that the detective can't escape. "What the bloody hell was that, Sherlock?" he demands, keeping the younger man's wrists pinned to the wall. He may be smaller in stature, but he's got the advantage of military training, and strength.
And the fact that a certain consulting detective finds this irrationally hot and doesn't really want to get away. So he just stares at John for a few moments, then looks away, avoiding eye contact for the moment. "He was flirting with you, John! I don't see how Ford could put up with something like that." Sherlock finally nearly growls. "I already have to deal with any woman with a brain practically throwing herself at you, now I have to deal with men as well?" He asks, frustrated, before he looks at John suspiciously. "Do you have some sort of special pheromone or something?" he grumbles in annoyance.
Realizing what's going on, John sighs a little, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Sherlock's chest for a moment, laughing softly. "You were jealous? Sounds like you're a lot jealous, actually.." he says with a little grin as he lifts his head to look at his adorable detective. Not good with emotions, John has to remember that about his love. "I don't have any special pheromones, Sherlock." He says with amusement as he looks at him. Keeping him pinned, he leans up a little, kissing those sexy lips for a few moments. "Maybe I'm the one who needs to mark you." he says with a soft chuckle of amusement. "Wouldn't that shock people.. the great Sherlock Holmes having a lover.. That would be rather amusing.." He admits with a little smirk as he looks up at the taller man.
Sherlock's breath catches slightly as he returns the kiss, then he sighs, "I could care less what people think, John. You of all people should know that. So what if they think, or know, that I have a lover, or a relationship?" he asks as he watches him. "You know people have assumed we're dating for years." he reminds as he watches him. "What makes you think they won't just continue along that train of thought?" He's using that bored tone again, though his sharp blue-green eyes are pinning John in place.
A small chuckle comes from the former army doctor, and he smirks a little as he looks at Sherlock. "Because of me, Sherlock. People like to tease me, I think, but none of them really thinks I would end up dating you." he notes, before he smirks. "Shall we make it an experiment?" He asks, kissing his love once more before brushing his lips over those sharp cheekbones and down to the jaw lightly before he starts to leave moist, open-mouth kisses on the taller man's neck. This is all new for him, but he's learning, and some things are the same no matter your gender.
Despite all of his objects, Sherlock takes a deep breath and tilts his head back, baring his neck for John, finding that he quite enjoys this side of the man. The soldier, the one to take charge, and one that is a bit BAMF as well. It's similar to the time when Sherlock realized the other had just shot the cabbie in order to protect his life. A thrill had gone through him then when he saw the older man standing there so calmly as if nothing had happened, and the same thrill goes through him now as he realizes John seems perfectly in control, almost clinical in his approach to Sherlock's neck. He can't help himself, he lets out a low groan which reverberates through his chest.
Another small smirk is given against Sherlock's neck, before John kisses his skin a few more times, considering the best spot, one that can be covered up by scarf or shirt if needed, but would still be a casual spot that a lover could easily leave a mark. Tit for tat, it's only fair afterall, he got himself marked by some strange turn of events, so it's about time he did the same. It's not as if he hasn't left his fair share of love bites in his time, consciously and unconsciously. He picks his spot and then starts to kiss, sucking softly and nibbling on the spot repeatedly until he's satisfied that there will be a rather impressive bruise there in a while. Finally, so things can't get too out of hand, he nuzzles the man's neck and sighs a little. "Mmm.. wonderful. I think I've been thinking about doing that for quite a while.." he murmurs before he leans up and finally releases the man's hands, sliding them up to either side of his face, pulling him down close and kissing him deeply, letting it linger, letting their tongues brush and twist together. "Blimey, Sherlock. I haven't felt like this since I was a teenager. What did you do to me?" he accuses softly.
A small moan comes from Sherlock at the attention his neck gets, and he slumps against the wall a little. When his hands are finally released, he grips John's hips, fingers sliding through his belt loops to hold him close as he responds to the kiss. Afterwards, he takes a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart, shaking his head a little. "I didn't do anything, John, you've always had a higher than normal libido. Considering your atrocious luck with women, it's quite surprising actually." he says thoughtfully as he looks at the man in front of him. Reluctant to release him, he still sighs. "We should finish packing.." he admits reluctantly, ever the logical once, but he thinks it's quite a heroic feat to say something like that when he wants to do so many other things.
"Right. Yes. Of course." John says, gathering himself and nodding, resting his head briefly against Sherlock's shoulder, before he pushes himself back, smirking a little as he sees the growing bruise marring that otherwise porcelain skin feeling quite pleased with himself in the way only an alpha male could. Marking his territory, claiming something or someone as his. It's very primal, and that is a part of John he hasn't touched since he returned from Afghanistan. And yet, there it is, purring happily inside of him. With a little chuckle, he brushes his fingers along that purple bloom before he goes and packs his things up. His new notebook gets the pen from his old one, and it's put into his new jacket, everything else packed into his bag with army efficiency.
Sherlock finishes packing as well, placing a hand over his neck for a moment since he still feels a bit flustered, but then he finishes packing, just watching John and admiring him for a few moments before he turns at a knock at the door, walking over and opening it.
Charles is on the other side, eyes flickering to Sherlock's face, then his neck, then past him to John who smirks a little at the butler. Clearing his throat to hide the smirk on his own face, Charles takes a deep breath. "I've brought a car around for you, since I was informed you would be leaving soon. It was good to see you again, Master Sherlock. I'm glad you're taking better care of yourself." He hesitates, then glances at John. "Or at least that you've found someone to take good care of you." He says with a little smirk. "We'll take your bags down, sir." A young man emerges from somewhere off to Charles' left, looking like he might be new to this whole thing. However, Sherlock glances him up and down for a moment, nodding. "Thomas. Following in the family business, then?" he asks as he looks between the two.
The young man, Thomas, just nods a little. "Taking a year off, needed some money for University, dad got me the job." he says simply, then blinks. "Sir." He adds quickly to the end of that.
John has come up behind Sherlock, handing over their bags, and he looks at the young man curiously. "Nice to meet you, Thomas was it?" he asks as he holds his hand out toward the younger man.
Thomas clears his throat and nods, quickly shaking the doctor's hand. "Yes, sir. I'll just be taking these, then, sirs." he says before he picks up the overnight bags, leaving Charles to take the garment bags.
Sherlock smirks as he watches the younger man scurry away. "He's a good man, Charles. Well done." he says with a smile before he walks out, hands behind his back, and if he had his coat it would no doubt be flaring dramatically behind him.
"Come along, John!"
We're nearing the end, folks! Probably one more chapter and that will finish up this fic. I can't believe I'm actually finishing two fics. Not sure I ever have finished a story. Ever. Don't worry though! I have lots of ideas for the sequel, which will pretty much pick up right where this one leaves off, wherever that will be. I'm not sure if I'm going to have sequel for the 00Q side to this.
Thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed this so far, you have no idea how happy it makes me to see people actually like this. Considering one of my others only had 300-400 views when I started writing this, and like, 2 favorites, the response was overwhelming. But in a good way! I love it!
Reviews/Comments welcome, and if there's anything you'd like to see in the sequel, please let me know, and I'll see what I can do. :)