'Are you ever going to unpack those suitcases?'

I looked up abruptly from my position on my (John's) chair – cross-legged and filing my nails – to see Sherlock leaning against the living room doorway, arms and ankles crossed.

I raised an eyebrow at his statement, doing my best to stop my mind from getting any implications. 'And since when does Sherlock Holmes care about whether I unpack my suitcases?' I asked with a grin.

He cocked his head to the side. 'Since he realised that you're going to be staying for a while – couple of years at the least – and that you'd rather not have to sift through several suitcases to find a shirt every day.' He finished with a smirk.

'So you can tell the future, can you?' I asked, returning my focus to my nails, though I had to bite my lip to stop the grin escaping again.

'Oh, no,' he denied definitely. 'I'm just purely stating the obvious—' My head snapped up again involuntarily. '—through facts and deduction. Simple, really.'

I exhaled. Obvious. Was I really that obvious? 'Yeah, simple for you,' I reminded him. 'You're a genius.'

I watched him as he moved from the doorway and to his chair, flopping down onto his back, his legs flung across one armrest. I kept wondering how the chair didn't collapse under all his weight. But then I realised there wasn't much weight there in the first place. He was slim, but tall, no doubt with toned abs under that damned purple shirt he wore.

I realised with some reluctance that John was right. I was falling for Sherlock. After three weeks. And I wasn't stopping myself from doing so one bit.

What if we got together and things went wrong?

What if I ended up hurting him?

What if—

I was brought out of my daze by a hand waving in front of my face.

'Sorry, what?' I asked, watching as Sherlock stood over me, frowning.

'Why do you keep doing that?' he asked, scrutinising me.

I raised an eyebrow, shifting back in the chair to avoid craning my neck. 'What?'

'Talking and then suddenly shutting down as if you can't hear me?'

'Oh… I… I don't know… I guess I just get distracted easily, that's all,' I replied, trying not to think about why I got distracted in the first place.

'Yes I get that but why?' he repeated, his hands flailing all over the place. 'Is it because you can't bear to hear my voice so you shut me out?'

He went and flopped on his chair, trapping his legs under him. I had to avert my eyes like the speed of lightning to avoid them popping at the sight.

And of course, he noticed. 'Now you can't even bear to look at me! Tell me, why did you agree to move in with me if you keep avoiding me like the plague?'

I glared at him. 'Because if I moved in with you I would be having a fresh start! No psychos, no fuckbrains, just me and you and peace!'

I stood up from my chair and stormed upstairs.

He thought I didn't like him.

He thought I was trying to avoid him because I hated him.

I sat on my bed, staring at my closed door, somehow willing Sherlock open it and open his arms for me. I would gladly embrace him with everything I had after our little episode downstairs.

But after fifteen minutes of silent staring, nothing came.

So I hastily looked at my suitcases, knowing I really did have to unpack them sometime.

I set to work, hauling the first of my six suitcases onto my bed. I opened it and the first thing I came in contact with was the letter Liam sent me, a couple of months after we broke up.

I didn't open it. Even after six months of receiving the letter, my curiosity hadn't piqued enough for me to read what he had written. I should have thrown it out the minute I received it.

But now my curiosity was piqued at its highest, and I tore open the envelope and I (hesitantly) started reading it.

Dear Kodi

I know you're really hating on me now and I understand that. You have every right to be. I just… I love you, Kodes. The thing with Brianna was just a fling. I enjoyed it but it was just a fling. You can accept that right—

I stopped reading, my anger very triggered. I love you. Just a fling. You can accept that? What was this shit?

Unwillingly, my eyes flicked downwards and I carried on reading.

I know this is a crazy ask but… take me back? I promise I'll treat you right this time. You deserve the best of the best. I can be the man you want me to be—

I scoffed. Yeah, okay, Liam. Sure.

— and I swear we'll be exclusive this time around.

Please?

I know I'll hate myself forever if you don't accept. Call me if yes.

Liam xx

Yeah, he should hate himself forever, the scum.

I screwed up the letter and threw it forcefully into the waste paper basket… and it felt good. I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I felt like I was… free.

'From that ex of yours?'

I looked up, startled. Sherlock was once again leaning against the open doorway, a dorky grin lining his features.

'How the hell did I not hear you come in?' I asked.

'Well, I'm betting you were… what did you say downstairs… oh yes. You were distracted. Was that from the man you hate with your guts?'

I smiled slightly, looking up at him. 'Yeah. I just… he wanted to take me back, Sherlock… He said the thing with that other piece of bullshit was just a fling and that he… loves me.'

'And are you believing him?'

'I don't know. He said he enjoyed the fling he had. If he enjoyed it, how can he love me?'

'There's your answer. He doesn't. All he wants to do is hurt you. He told you he's a changed man, right?'

I grinned. 'Near enough. Said he could be the man I wanted him to be.'

'If he hurt you once, he won't hesitate to do it again.' He tilted his head. 'Yes that's very harsh of me but it's the truth.'

'And you say you've never really been in a relationship,' I teased.

'What do you mean?' he asked.

'I mean… that was some pretty sound advice. And you knew what he'd said on the letter probably just from reading the reactions on my face. I know I'm an open book at times but you can't have known that without experiencing it first-hand.'

He smirked. 'I'm a man of many secrets, Kodi.'

'I know,' I told him. 'Listen… I'm sorry about earlier. I guess I do get distracted quite easily.'

'No, that's fine. I understand,' he replied.

'You do?' I asked, confused.

'Of course. It's not every day that a woman admits she can't look me in the eyes because she's in love with me, is it?' he finished, grinning.

'What? I didn't admit that!' I protested, knowing full well that I was busted.

'Maybe not in words, but I understand body language more than I do words,' he explained.

I had to smile after that. 'Yeah, well. What can I say?' I said somewhat sheepishly. 'So you're telling me that when you asked what I was doing when I moved in with you, you knew what the answer was all this time?'

'Of course. I'm Sherlock Holmes. If I can't deduce when a woman loves me, what use am I?'

'You're useful on Lestrade's cases one way or the other,' I suggested.

'True, true.'

My phone rang straight after. I picked it up, seeing Tara's name flashing on the screen. 'Hold on, let me just take this,' I told Sherlock before answering the call.

'T,' I greeted.

'Kodi… help… please…' Tara said, in a whisper. I could hear her winces of pain, her heavy breath.

'What is it, what's wrong, where are you?' I gabbled out hurriedly.

'Hurts… help… I'm bleeding, owwwww!'

'Tara!' I stood up, frantically, not knowing what to do. 'Tara, where are you?'

'You know—argh, you know… by the old—by the old corner shop there's that—that alleyway that no one uses?'

'Okay, we're coming. You'll be okay.' I didn't hang off.

'Sherlock we need to go. Can you get us a cab?'

'What is it? What's wrong with your friend?' he asked hastily as he threw on his Belstaff.

'I don't know, she's in pain and she's bleeding.'

We walked out of the flat, Sherlock hailing a cab in five seconds flat. We sat, waiting to be there.

'T, can you tell me what happened?' I asked desperately.

'A dude—he tried to get—argh, in my pants—and when I didn't let him, he—he knifed me.'

'A dude tried to rape you?'

'He didn't, I—I didn't let him, but this thing in my—' she winced and then screamed.

And from the way both Sherlock and the cab driver flinched, I knew they'd heard it too.

'Please,' I said, taking the phone away from my ear. 'Can you go any faster?'

The driver accelerated and it only took us a further five minutes before we were at the alleyway by the abandoned corner shop.

I flub the car door open, running up to Tara's side, a little more than halfway in the alleyway. I gasped before I sank next to my knees.

Her white shirt was stained with blood, still pooling out of the wound on the side of her abdomen, although it looked ebony black in the darkness of the night. Her hair looked like it had been chopped off, her usually long beautiful brown locks having been reduced to a very messy bob. A gash lined her cheek.

'Sherlock, give me your scarf,' I instructed firmly.

'But I—' he started saying.

'I'll buy you a new one, please we have to save her,' I told him, my voice breaking with fright.

He handed me his scarf and I rolled it up and pressed it to the biggest of her wounds. 'Call the hospital and Lestrade, we need to find out who did this,' I told Sherlock.

I had to stop myself from crying as I took in my best friend's broken state. Tara managed a weak smile. 'Kodes, if I don't make it—out of this alive, you have to—promise me one thing.'

'T, don't say that. You're gonna be fine,' I whispered, my tears falling. I held the scarf to her gash with one hand and took her hand with the other.

'Even so, you have to promise,' she insisted.

'What?'

'Promise me you'll go after him. Promise me you'll try to—get together with Sherlock. He makes you happy, I can see that.'

I laughed through my tears. 'That might be closer than we all think,' I told her. 'You'll be here to see it, don't worry.'

Just then I heard ambulance sirens. 'See? Help is on its way,' I said.

'More like death,' she whispered. She coughed up blood and my eyes widened.

But then the doctors arrived, and started pulling Tara onto a stretcher. I squeezed her hand and then shakily stood up.

I walked, wiping my tears on the way, over to Sherlock who was conversing with Lestrade. 'Look, you guys better find out who did this!' I demanded.

'I assure you we will,' Lestrade reassured me. 'Your friend deserves justice.'

'How did you—'

'You forget,' Sherlock interjected. 'He's been talking to the World's Only Consulting Detective.' He grinned. 'Come here.'

He held his arms out and I stepped forward into the hug, my tears falling once again. Though this time I wasn't quite sure if my tears were only to do with Tara's injury. No, I had a feeling they were to do with something else.

I felt safe here with Sherlock, not scared, at peace, like I belonged. And I liked that.

'We'll find who did this, Kodi,' Sherlock whispered in my ear, and I had to suppress a shudder. 'And if Scotland Yard can't do it, I will. I promise you.'

I smiled. 'Good,' I whispered back.

We stayed like that for a while, though I was no longer aware that Lestrade had left us. I stepped out of his hold, yet my arms still rested on his shoulders. 'You should probably get to work, then,' I said.

'I should,' Sherlock repeated.

Before closing the space between us in a long, drugging kiss.

For a second, I was stunned, my eyes widening. Then I tightened my arms around his neck, my eyes drifting shut, responding. His lips were softer than I imagined they would be (and believe me, I imagined a lot) and his hands a lot more delicate as they pulled me closer.

When he pulled back, there was a foreign twinkle in his eye. 'Better get to work,' he said, and he left with a wink.

I stared after him as he left, my fingers veering up to my lips. I smiled. I could think of at least four people who'd love to know about that kiss. I wasn't looking forward to telling them one bit, if the I told you's and I knew it's were anything to go by.

I leant back against the wall, watching, waiting.

Waiting as the World's Only Consulting Detective worked with Scotland Yard to find Tara's attempted rapist.

Waiting until the time came for Sherlock and I to be together.

This update wasn't nearly as hard as the last, thank god. I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review.