I promised myself I would finish 2 chapters before posting the next chapter, I'm at one and a half and I just couldn't wait any longer to post this chapter. I think this has got to be my favourite chapter. Not just because it's the best one I've written, I don't believe it is, but just because I wrote it to be just an adorable time between Maria and Sherlock.
For the best experience with this chapter, please, listen to the song 'She is the Sunlight' by Trading Yesterday while you read it! I listened to it on repeat while writing this chapter and I found it just makes this even more adorable, and at the same time sort of explains a bit about Sherlock's feelings towards Maria.
Cheers, Steps.
Chapter Eleven; She is the Sunlight
Sherlock woke the next morning to find his coat laid over him like a blanket and Maria nowhere in sight. He blinked a few times. How long had he slept? He glanced over at the alarm clock on the bedside table before swinging his legs off the bed and standing up. Far off he could hear music, Maria's music. He never really listened to anything outside the classics and this was clearly rock and roll.
He wandered out to find her searching around in the cupboards. She seemed unaware of his presence as she pulled out the toaster triumphantly and set it down on the countertop. She had tied her hair up into a bun on the top of her head, and was wearing a pair of loose jeans and a white button up shirt. He watched her silently from the doorway as she plonked in a couple of pieces of toast, before reaching over to turn up her music.
"Rise and shine Sherly!" She called loudly without turning around before she began to tap her foot and nod her head in time to the music. She began to hum along as she reached up and pulled down two cups and placed them on the bench. She then turned and let out a scared huff.
"Sherlock, Lord have mercy…" She muttered and he smirked slightly.
"Did I scare you?" He asked as she walked over to the fridge, opened it and pulled out the milk. She rolled her eyes and walked back over to the cups.
"Coffee?" She asked, completely ignoring his question as she began to make herself one anyway. He sat down at the table and ordered herbal tea.
"Would you like anything else sir?" She asked sarcastically as she began to make his tea for him.
"Hmm, maybe just a bite of toast," He said thinking for a minute. "I need a new case."
Maria half laughed.
"We just got off a case Sherlock!" She said, bringing over his tea and a slice of toast with jam in it.
"I know but that was yesterday, this is today, my brain needs something to fuel it, something to keep it from tearing itself raw," He reminded her before beginning on his breakfast. Maria sighed before sitting down across from him with her coffee.
"I'll have a look through the paper later, see if there's anything interesting," Maria promised as she drank her coffee down in three gulps. After retrieving the paper she returned to the comfy chair in the living room, where Sherlock was pacing around franticly. She began to flick through it boredly, talking aloud whenever she stopped something she thought might spark his interest.
However, nothing seemed to draw out his interest so she shut the paper and placed it down.
"Let's go out," Maria suddenly suggested. "Go look around the town, have lunch at a nice café or something."
Sherlock looked at her.
"Why?"
"For…old times' sake." Which was Maria's way of saying she wanted him to spend time with her to ease his mind as nothing else seemed to be working. He looked at her for a moment before nodding.
"Alright."
Twenty minutes later they were both dressed up warmly, sporting their coats and scarves. Maria was wearing her favourite light green coat and tan scarf and Sherlock sporting his favourite dark coat and scarf. She had convinced him to walk, once again. It did wonders for her leg and working out the kinks in her stride. Sherlock was there beside her the whole time and even let her hold onto his arm like a gentleman.
She couldn't help but smile as they walked down Bakers street together towards a ghost of their past, the school where they had first met. Walking up to the gates was like stepping back into the past for Maria. She lingered at the gate while Sherlock made a beeline for his tree right near the gate. It was nice to see that not much had changed about the place though so many years had passed. Maria dared not count.
Lost in thought, she looked up to find herself looking at a familiar scene, Sherlock sitting in the exact same spot, fitting into it like it had remembered him and grown accustomed to his shape. She had to laugh softly as she headed over towards him.
"What's so funny?" He questioned as soon as she was close enough.
"The fact even after all these years, it's still your spot." She said before sinking down into the spot next him him, stretched her legs out and leaning back against the tree. Sherlock glanced sideways at her with a small smile. She had been his first and only friend, even after all these years she had stuck by him, remained at his side, even now under the tree. She could have stood, acted like her age but she preferred to be like him, to pretend that she was still the same.
He found himself staring at her once again, just like the other night, noting the changes in her face, the lines of age. But then there was the way her hair hung around her face, catching what rays of sunlight shone through, and sending flickering sparks like a flame dancing down her curls. He'd always loved her hair and without thinking he reached out and twisted a curl around his finger, watching the colour dance in the light. He heard her laugh from far away before he realised she was watching him.
"You seem to like playing with my hair," She commented, tilting her head on a soft angle, sending her hair cascading like a waterfall over her shoulder to hang like a backdrop behind her tanned face. Sherlock for a moment seemed slightly stunned by the vision in front of him. Then he smiled at her.
"Yes I do." He then stood up and began to walk around the tree. Maria smiled slightly and looked around at the flower bush beside her. She reached out and took a few flowers. Sherlock made his way around the tree slowly, tracing his fingers along the bark, thinking back and remembering.
She was sitting there all by herself making flower crowns. He remembered trying to come up behind her to scare her, just as s joke but as it turned out, she got him instead, coming up behind him and placing the crown on his head before darting away with a triumphant laugh. He remembered then chasing her around the tree, trying to catch her. But even so, he'd kept the crown on his head all the while. There was something about the way she made them, they were strong and didn't break very easily.
Sherlock came around the tree again to the front, intending to catch Maria, only to find she had vanished. The next thing he felt was something soft dropping into his hair before watching a green and red streak dart past him with a laugh.
"Got ya!" She cried and he looked up to see Maria in front of him, a huge grin on her face. Just like that time before and he could see the younger her shining through her as clear as day. He reached up to find a flower crown on his head. A wicked grin set across his face as he looked at her.
"Come here you!" He cried before running after her. She dodged him with laughter that sounded like music to his ears.
"Gotta catch me first!" She cried.
Only she could bring this sort of joy to his normally absent heart. It seemed to him, that only while she was near did his heart shine through, that it was made clear that, despite what people thought, he had a heart. He had a heart but it was only for her. She, who had been the first to see it, to accept him and come to know him better than he knew himself sometimes. She inspired him, to be a better person, to someone to be worth saving. She believed in him when no-one else would listen and no matter what, come hell or high water, he would be there for her.
Maria was the sunlight to his dark world, and if holding her meant that he had to bleed then he was a martyr for her. She lived in a daydream and part of him knew he didn't belong there but he could only find some sense of peace in her eyes, in her warmth that she emitted everywhere she went. She was a kind soul and it was easy to care too much about her. He watched her dancing around in front of him, trying to avoid his long limbs from taking hold of her and catching her.
He laughed, an honest laugh, as he weaved after her before managing to catch hold of her, picking her up easily in his strong arms.
"I believe I win," He said as she laughed. He placed her back on her feet before removing the flower crown from his head and placing it on hers.
"It suits you better," He said honestly. She was a queen, in his eyes and while he was ever on the side of the angels, he was never to be mistaken as one of them. While Maria knew this, it didn't stop her from causing all these emotions he didn't fully understand from welling up inside of him. The white flowers of the crown happily mingled in with the red of her hair and he smiled down at her as she looked up at him and gave him a grin only he had ever seen on her face.
"Where shall we go now?"
Holmes had to admit that by the end of the day, they had almost done a full circuit of the city. Maria had happily dragged him all over to all different things he hadn't done in so long. She'd dragged him into a movie theatre and forced him not to yell at the movie and point out its every fault so he had resorted to a pouting look that had only made her laugh and tease him.
He had taken her shopping of course, wherever she had wanted to go they had gone. She only carried one bag though, still seeming to follow that military routine and he had even offered to buy her more things, but she had declined out of courtesy. He had snuck off at one point to get her something from him, which he intended to give to her soon and thankfully she hadn't bugged him about it. Maria had also managed to sneak in some grocery shopping.
So now that stood on the end of one of the boardwalks reaching out over the Thames, looking out at the water and the cityscape behind it. Sherlock was leaning against the barrier on his elbows, occasionally glancing at Maria, who seemed to be breathing in deeply the light breeze that rolled across them.
"You don't realise how much you miss London until you've been away a while…" Maria said quietly as she looked out to the view. Sherlock silently agreed, looking down at the small box in his hand.
"Maria…" He said quietly after a pause of silence. She looked at him and he offered the small box to her. "Here."
Maria took the box and looked down at it for a moment before opening it.
"Oh Sherlock…" She mumbled slowly pulling out the small angel inside. She sat it on her hand and examined his little finely crafted wings and the flower crown imbedded in his hair. "It's beautiful." She said, carefully putting it back in the box before putting it down in the bag at her feet. She then stood up and gave Sherlock a hug. Leaning up on tiptoes she gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Thank-you."
"You're welcome," He murmured softly, a twinge of pink appearing on his cheeks. "We should head home."
Maria agreed and they made their way back to Bakers street together.
