Looking up at Lestrade curiously, John blinks innocently at him. "Sorry, Greg. I forget, sometimes, that we're small, now." he says simply, then he looks at Sherlock. "We should go try these on to make sure that they fit so we won't have to drag someone back if they don't fit." he says before he moves the basket to in front of Lestrade's feet. "Watch these for us." He says before he grabs some of the shirts and pants they both chose out of the basket before he takes Sherlock's hand and starts walking toward one of the changing rooms, closing the curtain behind them.
"Is this necessary, John?" Sherlock asks, sighing a little as he looks at the clothes. Luckily the room is plenty big enough for them to maneuver because of their sizes, but it still seems unnecessary to him for them to be in there.
"Probably not, but I'm considering playing a prank on Lestrade and messing with him a little." John says with a little snicker. "And I figured trying on the clothes gives us a good opportunity to plot." He offers with a little grin as he watches his friend.
For a few moments Sherlock merely watches John before he shakes his head. "I am worried about how this being a child might be affecting your mind." he says skeptically, and not for the first time having that thought.
Rolling his eyes a little, John pulls his shirt off to try on one of the ones he picked off the shelf, having no idea what his sizes were at this age previously. Luckily it seems as if he was a good eye because the one he tries on fits, so he switches it back out for the one he came into the store with. "I told you, Sherlock. Embrace your inner child." he says with a little grin. "I know you have one, with all the pouting and the sulking that you do." he says as he pokes Sherlock in the chest, then in the stomach, and the side.
"Stop that." Sherlock says stiffly in annoyance as he swats at John's hands. He gets a little more annoyed when John continues to poke him, and he continues to swat at John's hands, before he finally shoves John backwards. "STOP!" He yells in a higher pitched tone, looking a little shaken, his body trembling either from anger or emotion it's hard to tell.
Even though his intention was just to pull out the playful side of Sherlock, John recognizes he might have pushed it too far, and he stares as his back hits against the wall a little painfully. "Sherlock.." he says quietly as he looks at the taller boy, seeing the tears starting to form in his eyes. "Oh, bloody hell.. I'm sorry.." he says as he moves forward, arms outstretched, this time he pulls Sherlock down into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. My mates and I always used to roughhouse and wrestle. I didn't stop and think how you might perceive it." He says as he holds Sherlock, putting one hand on the back of his head, the other around his body and rubbing his back a little.
Tentative at first, Sherlock finally wraps his arm around John, fingers grasping at the fabric of his shirt as he hides his face against John's shoulder, sniffling a bit with a small shudder of his shoulders as he tries to contain himself. "I.. I was bullied a lot, in school. Up until high school, I wasn't physically able to defend myself." He admits in a slightly muffled tone. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean it maliciously, it just brought up some bad memories.." he says quietly in a slightly trembling voice, sniffling a bit again before he takes a deep breath and tightens his hold on the younger boy for a few moments, before he releases him and starts to step back.
Even though it's a little awkward with Sherlock being taller like he is, John strokes one hand over his hair gently while the other arm just holds him in place, nodding a little afterwards. "I understand, Sherlock. I'm sorry." He says quietly, looking into the slightly reddened eyes of the younger man with a small smile, lifting his smaller hand to brush a single tear away from Sherlock's cheek. "Maybe we should think about pranking Lestrade tomorrow. Do you think we could get away from Mycroft? Maybe explore the city a bit? I'd like to get my gun from Baker Street. I know it might be a bit too heavy for me right now, but it would make me feel better having it nearby." He says quietly as he watches Sherlock.
"Yes. Perhaps it would be best to wait. We should make sure these fit or Lestrade might be unhappy. I'm surprised he didn't come rushing in here when I yelled." Sherlock admits with a little smirk as he looks at John, trying on a shirt and then working on the jeans. "Then again, he did admit to having children, he's probably used to normal childish behavior which includes yelling and shrieking." he says with a smirk over at John.
With a firm nod, John goes about trying on his jeans as well, and when they're all done, he leads Sherlock back out to where Lestrade is, right where they left him. Mycroft seems to have disappeared, but neither John or Sherlock seem to mind at all.
"All set, boys?" Lestrade asks with a little smile at the two, patting John's shoulder and ruffling Sherlock's hair a little with a slight grin. "You need anything else?" he asks curiously as he looks between them.
Swatting away Lestrade's hand, Sherlock glares a little. "We need a few more things." he says simply before he grabs John's hand and leads him through the racks of clothes, looking around for a few moments until he finds the right one and he grins a little as he finds the rack of jumpers and one of hooded sweatshirts, turning John to face the rack of jumpers. "You still get cold, I've seen it. You need a few of these. I always thought they were rather hideous, until I realized that despite the high muscle to fat ratio that you have, you spent too much time getting acclimated to warmer climates to be fully comfortable in cooler London weather." He states simply.
A woman shopping - presumably - for her child nearby, looks over at the two and she smiles. "Where's your parents?" She asks as she moves toward them. "You guys need some help picking out clothes?" She asks in a condescending tone that people often use toward children who they think won't understand any words bigger than a syllable.
"Our guardian is over there attending to other clothes." Sherlock says simply as he points toward where Lestrade is. When he opens his mouth to say something else, though, John clamps his hand over it.
Giving Sherlock a look, John smiles sweetly at the woman. "We don't need any help, miss, but thank you. We're just picking up a few more things." He says innocently with a nod of his head, grabbing Sherlock's hand in what might be interpreted as a nervous gesture.
The woman considers the situation for a moment, then she looks carefully at the boys. "Are you sure? I could help you pick something out.. You have the most beautiful eyes, honey.." She says as she looks at Sherlock.
"Everything alright here, boys?" Lestrade asks as he comes over, having seen the attention the woman was starting to give the two boys. He's carrying the basket with the clothes in it, putting the basket down between the two boys, before he puts one hand on Sherlock's shoulder.
Looking at the woman warily, Sherlock leans back from her, then he looks up at Lestrade. "This woman was offering her help with picking out jumpers and sweatshirts." He says as he motions from one rack to the other.
Releasing Sherlock's hand so he can move to the other side of the Inspector, John reaches up and takes Lestrade's hand in his smaller one, giving it a little squeeze as he looks up at him, then he nods. "We said we were ok, and said you were just back there, but she was saying that 'Lock had pretty eyes." He says in a more childish manner, ignoring the incredulous look he gets from the detective at the nickname.
The woman smiles flirtily at Lestrade. "Are these your boys? They're so good looking." She says with another little smile. "I was worried that someone might have left them here, I'm glad to see they're not alone." She says with a relieved tone.
Lestrade isn't really buying it though as he looks at her. "Right. Well, thanks for the thought but as you can see they're fine, and we really have to hurry. We have a friend waiting for us." He says with a smile. "Boys, why don't you pick out a few things, hm?" He says as he looks between them. "Why don't you two stick together? I'm sure between the two of you, you can keep each other from going too crazy." he says with a little smile.
Nodding a little, John releases Lestrade's hand and moves over to Sherlock, grabbing his hand and pulling him around to the opposite side of the rack from the woman to help him get a sweatshirt or two.
Appearing as if out of nowhere, Mycroft comes up behind Lestrade, and puts a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Everything alright here?" he asks as he looks at the Inspector, then over at the strange woman, keeping his hand on Lestrade's shoulder, almost possessively.
Looking between the two men for a few moments, the woman smiles. "I was just saying what cute boys you have there.." She says before she glances around and shifts. "Well. I'm sorry to have disturbed you.. have a good day." She says with a little wave before she heads off.
Arching an eyebrow, Greg looks over at Mycroft. "Just getting some jumpers and such and then we'll be finished." He says before he adds, "The woman was paying a little too much attention to Sherlock." he explains, shaking his head a little. "I figured John would attract more attention, being smaller, and, well.. more cuddly." he says with a little chuckle.
Mycroft slowly lets his hand slide off Lestrade's shoulder, looking at the slightly shorter man before he nods quietly. "I see. It seems that I chose a good time to come in, then." He says before he rounds the racks, and slowly crouches down near the two boys. "Are you alright?" he asks in a gentle tone as he looks at them.
"She didn't even touch us, much less harm us. We're perfectly alright." Sherlock says in his stiff tone as he takes a sweatshirt off the rack and holds it up to look at it, considering it for a few moments so he can avoid looking at his brother.
Nodding a little as he looks at Sherlock for a few moments, John then looks back at Mycroft. "We're fine." he says quietly, though he is a little concerned for the detective. "I think we'd like to go home after this, get something to eat and then maybe watch some tellie before bed." He says simply with a little shrug.
Looking between the two for a few minutes, Mycroft just nods, putting his hand on Sherlock's shoulder gently, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Of course." He says with a nod of his head, before he stands up, putting his hand on John's head and mussing his short blonde hair with a small smile. "Hurry up, then. I'll make sure you boys have something hot to eat by the time we get home." he offers, "I'll leave you in Inspector Lestrade's capable hands. I'll be waiting outside for you." he offers with a little smile, before he goes over to the detective, explaining the same thing about him being outside waiting for them, standing a touch too close perhaps, but it doesn't seem as if Greg minds.
When all is said and done, they have enough clothing and are heading out of the department store, Mycroft having been the one who paid for everything of course. When they reach the sidewalk, Mycroft is there waiting, having shed his jacket sometime, leaving him in his waistcoat and shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Shall we?" he asks as he opens the back door to the car for them.
Considering the boys for a few moments, Lestrade smirks. "You know what, why don't we make a stop on the way home? It's been a long day, and Sherlock didn't make one single person angry, so I think that deserves a reward, how about some ice cream?" He asks as he looks at them. The responses are pretty much what he expects, Mycroft looks skeptically disdainful, John actually perks up and looks hopeful, while Sherlock tries to look disinterested when in reality all of his attention just turned to Lestrade.
"Right, then. Ice cream it is."
A bit more paternal Lestrade and Mycroft because you all seem to like it so much. :) And it's really adorable. I really need to get them working on some sort of antidote, but I can't help myself. Having them be kids for a while is just so darn fun. Plus, they do need to get the results from that blood work back, lol.
Reviews/comments welcome!