The Past, The Present, and Perhaps a Future
Chapter Three: Of Revelations and Dinner Parties
Text Messages
John watched in unabashed fascination as Talis flitted about the kitchen, filling the flat with a heavenly aroma. He would normally have volunteered to help, however to his surprise, Sherlock had wordlessly fallen in step beside her; the pair of them dancing around the kitchen in a perfectly choreographed rhythm that implied that they'd clearly done this before as neither of them needed to speak.
Talis was humming a song he couldn't quite place, but was pretty sure he'd heard Sherlock play during one of his many late night music sessions.
Sherlock however was the biggest shock, the usually high strung man looked rather at peace as he dutifully chopped vegetables, and John noted that his chops were coinciding with the song that Talis was humming, the world that the two were lost in suggested they didn't even realize they were doing it.
Whatever their history, it was clear that Sherlock was incredibly comfortable around her, in a way John hadn't thought him capable, especially with a member of the fairer sex. What little John had gathered from her was that they had met when he was in uni and she in her final year of secondary school. Sherlock had been dorm mates with her best friends' boyfriend and had subsequently been dragged out to play wingman so Sebastian could 'get some action'.
Talis shared that neither of them had been particularly thrilled with the idea of spending time acting as a diversion for their more amorous friends, and had been pleasantly surprised to find a type of kindred spirit in each other.
John had to laugh when Talis revealed she had deduced Sherlock correctly right off the bat, much to the annoyance and intrigue of the socially awkward young man. She even called him out on his pouting, telling him he shouldn't glare at people and hide such a beautiful case of heterochromia iridum.
John had simply stared at her in awe, as he had never realized it until it was pointed out, that Sherlock did in fact have two different colored irises.
She hadn't revealed much more than that, and John hadn't pressed further.
The sound of the doorbell brought all three occupants to the present.
"Sherlock, be a dear and fetch the door?" Talis stirred the pot, "I have a feeling it's Dr. Hooper," she checked her watch, "right on time."
Sherlock simply nodded before handing her the cutting board filled with perfectly chopped vegetables before disappearing to fetch Molly.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never believe Sherlock capable of cooking anything that didn't involve the microwave and reheating old take away." John smiled as he grabbed dishes from the cupboard and began setting the table.
"Oh John," Talis tsked, laughter dancing in her eyes, "Cooking is very much like chemistry, Sherlock is brilliant at it, don't ever let him convince you otherwise!"
John let out a bark of laughter, "I'm going to enjoy having you around!"
There was a flash of sadness in her eyes but the arrival of Sherlock and Molly drew her attention and her smile was back so surely, John wasn't certain of what he saw at all.
"Molly!" Talis glided over to the pathologist, hugging her warmly, "May I call you Molly?" The woman in question nodded, "I'm glad you could join us."
Molly sputtered, but returned the hug, "Thank you for having me." She handed over the two bottles of wine she had been asked to bring.
Passing the bottles over to Sherlock, Talis pulled Molly to the couch, "Sherly be a dear and pour the wine."
Molly's eyes widened as she and John waiting for the inevitable tantrum and sarcastic refusal that never came; instead Sherlock headed towards the wine glasses and began to do as he was asked.
"You really must tell me how you do that." John quipped as Molly nodded in agreement.
Talis chuckled softly, "Honestly, I think he's still in too much shock over my resurrection to deny me much at this point." She mused, "If I were a better woman, I wouldn't be taking advantage of it," she shrugged, "but I'm not." She admitted freely, a playful smirk on her lips.
"Resurrection?" Molly's brow furrowed, "You faked your death as well?"
Talis nodded, "It was a necessary move to ensure my safety, one that came at a great cost to both myself and Sherlock." Her eyes caught his as he entered the room, wine glasses in hand.
He handed everyone a glass and Molly was surprised to find he had even poured himself one. In all the years she'd known him, she had never seen him partake in any form of alcohol, outside of John's stag night and wedding. Sherlock further surprised her when he went and sat down beside the mystery woman, sitting much closer than she ever would have expected him to.
Molly's confusion must have been evident because Talis gasped and covered her mouth with a graceful hand, "Oh my goodness," she stared wide eyed, "I haven't even introduced myself." Her cheeks flushed a soft pink, "Do forgive me," She held out her hand, but before she could speak Sherlock beat her to it.
"Molly," he drawled in that intoxicating baritone of his, "This is Talis," the two women shook hands, "my wife."
Molly choked on air, "Wife?"
Talis glared at Sherlock, before turning to Molly, "Technically, Talis Holmes died 10 years ago, so legally Sherly here is a widower." She smirked as he glared over the use of his nickname.
Molly gaped at the two sitting beside one another on the couch. It was obvious to see why anyone would be attracted to Talis, she was beautiful, exotically so and she had a way of carrying herself that spoke of a proper upbringing and inherited grace.
Seeing them seated together just looked right, they looked like a more posh and upscale version of a United Colors of Benetton Ad, with Sherlock's classically British features and Talis' exotic visage. Even their wardrobes matched. Sherlock in his usual dress pants, crisp tailored shirt in the softest shade of gray rolled up at the elbows, while Talis was wearing a light gray colored dinner dress a shade deeper than Sherlock's shirt, tied neatly with a deep aubergine belt that emphasized her petite waist.
The color of the sash matched perfectly with the heirloom pendant she wore and it was most definitely the same color of Sherlock's favorite shirt, which Molly knew couldn't be a coincidence.
"I can't believe you're married." Molly took a large gulp of her wine, trying to wrap her mind around it all.
"Tell me about it, I found out a couple of hours ago and I'm still processing it all." John chuckled.
"Technically we're not married as legally I no longer exist." Talis smiled at Molly, and the young doctor had a feeling Talis knew about her crush on Sherlock. "Besides, our marriage was performed by a Beatles impersonator while Sherlock and I were high on whatever curious cocktail of drugs we had at our disposal, during a week long bender in Las Vegas," she and Sherlock shared a look, "Hardly a wedding to remember,"
Despite her words, the look they shared was obvious; they both remembered every detail of their nuptials.
Talis stood as the egg timer chimed, alerting her to the finished meal, "But enough about me, I invited you here to learn about you," she pulled the pan from the stove, placing it on the center of the table as the rest of the group rose to join her.
"Me?" Molly very nearly squeaked.
Chuckling softly Talis smiled warmly, "Yes you, and John," she flashed the good doctor a soft smile as well, "Even though Sherlock and I aren't really married, I do like to know he's being cared for. He can be so difficult sometimes." The three shared a look before snickering at the understatement, the man in questions simply feigned ignorance, "I'm just incredibly grateful he has the two of you and Mrs. Hudson."
"Is that why you're here then?" Sherlock took the serving spoon from her and began to serve Molly, then John, "To check up on me, your poor dear difficult husband?" he raised an eyebrow before serving her than finally himself.
The look they shared went unseen by Molly and John who had experienced their first bite of the culinary masterpiece.
Talis' gaze softened as she found Sherlock's knee under the table, squeezing it gently, "You know I've only ever wanted what's best for you."
Sherlock placed his hand on hers and returned the squeeze before tuning into John telling Molly that Sherlock had helped to prepare the meal without being forced to.
Several glasses of wine later, the quartet was wrapping up the surprisingly normal evening. Both Molly and John had found Talis to be extremely pleasant, wittily charming and above all extremely intelligent, she was like a female version of Sherlock, if only he wasn't so blind to social graces.
It was clear by the way Sherlock listened to her that she meant something to him, for neither Molly nor John had ever seen the great detective so well behaved.
Molly and John had gotten a glimpse into Sherlock's past through stories from Talis, Sherlock piping in when he felt she exaggerated a little too far. Most of the tales came from their time spent together at uni, even though they had gone to different schools, they still managed to spend an awful lot of time together. A fact that neither Molly nor John missed.
It had been a learning experience to know that Sherlock had been somewhat normal then, if not a bit of a loner, from the sound of it, he hadn't been as socially inept as he was now. John wondered when that all changed.
Undoubtedly the best story came from the time they took a vacation with Seb and Talis' best friend Katherine to Greece. Apparently the quartet had been walking through an open market, gathering ingredients for dinner, when a wasp slipped down the back of Sherlock's shirt and proceeded to sting him repeatedly.
"Sherly was flailing from the pain of the stings, his long arms and legs flapping in all directions," Talis giggled, tears of laughter in her eyes, "If you can imagine, he was thinner then than he is now, he looked a bit like spastic spaghetti." Sherlock glared at her for the comparison but said nothing, allowing her to continue.
"So, this old granny like lady comes running from her vegetable stand and very nearly tackles Sherlock to the ground, and strips off his shirt with such quick precision that none of us have any idea what's going on, she cracks an onion in two with her hands and proceeds to, to-" Talis was laughing so hard at the memory she was having a hard time finishing the story.
"Proceeds to use the onion to molest me within an inch of my life." Sherlock finished for her, his face was stoic, but there was a spark in his eyes that showed he wasn't as annoyed with the tale as he pretended to be.
Molly and John fell over in fits of laughter, as even Sherlock fought back a smile.
"Poor Sherly is there, trying to get this woman off of him while yelling in broken Greek, 'Unhand me you old woman!' and she's just ignoring him, lathering him up with onions." Talis wiped the tears from her eyes, "Seb, Kat and I were too stunned to do anything other than laugh. It was quite possibly the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen."
"Yes, well I'm glad you found it amusing." Sherlock mock glared at her, "Perhaps we should tell them about that time we were-"
Talis' eyes went wide as she nearly jumped on him to cover his mouth from revealing whatever embarrassing story he had of her, causing John to laugh at the absurdity of it all, who would have thought it possible to have a normal dinner party with Sherlock Holmes?
It was nearing 10 o'clock when Talis announced her exit. "I really must be going, wouldn't want to overstay my welcome." She pulled on her coat and John noticed for the first time that it was identical to Sherlock's. His and her designer coats, no wonder he was so attached to the garment. "Besides, I have a handsome young gentleman waiting for me back at my room," she winked playfully.
"I'll hail you a cab." Sherlock led her downstairs.
"You know you don't need to hail me a cab, I'm sure Mycroft will give me a ride."
Sherlock actually looked surprised, and Talis chuckled softly, "I didn't exactly hide the fact that I was alive and back in London. He's been keeping tabs on me ever since I came through customs using my married name. You texting him to get John clearance to test me at Bart's only confirmed my arrival."
They stepped out into the night and sure enough, Mycroft's black sedan was waiting, she waved flirtatiously at the darkened window and could practically feel him roll his eyes.
"No doubt he's already confirmed everything I've already told you and wants to interrogate me himself."
Sherlock nodded, "I'd imagine so, after all the only person to successfully trick Mycroft did so with my help," he stared down at her, she had been made for nights like this, the soft moonlight dancing across her features, if he hadn't known better, he'd believe her to some sort of dark angel come to life. "No one has ever fooled the both of us." His voice was husky and far more tender than usual.
"But then again, I'm not just anyone am I?" her eyes searched his, seared through him, he hadn't been able to shut her out in their youth and he was mildly annoyed to find the same remained true now.
She smirked as she spotted the annoyance in his eyes before leaning up and pressing a feather soft, yet lingering kiss to the corner of his lips. "I'll be in touch Sherlock."
Sherlock's eyes fluttered open in time to see her slip into the sedan.
When had he closed his eyes?
His mobile chimed as the car pulled away.
Do be careful little brother, Ms. Adler already proved that love is a dangerous disadvantage; do not attempt to test the theory for yourself.
-MH
Almost immediately another message arrived.
Don't listen to your brother, he's emotionally challenged ;)
Love is a gift Sherly, and I plan to prove it to you if it's the last thing I do
xoxo
Talis giggled as Mycroft rolled his eyes, "If you're quite done undermining me with my brother," he drawled giving her a pointed look, "We have a lot to discuss."
Uhoh… Big brother Mycroft is on the scene!
I hope you all enjoyed this most recent chapter, I've been having a blast playing with these brilliant characters created by Sir Arthur, Mr. Moffat and of course Mr. Gatiss.
Most of you probably already noticed that I used Benedict's own most embarrassing moment with some creative license to fit it to become Sherlock's most embarrassing… hopefully I did it justice.
Thank you so much for the reviews, it really does stoke ones creative fires!
Happy Halloween!
Getting2KnowL
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For those curious as to what I imagine Talis to look like, check the cover art out!