A/N: Thank you for the review again! Sincerely appreciate it!

Chapter Five: Fatal Attractions

.o.o.

.o.

Wait! They don't love you like I love you

Wait! They don't love you like I love you

Ma-a-a-aps, wait!

They don't love you like I love you...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps

.o.o.

.o.

As Sherlock lay on the couch playing with his phone and half watching an emotional Greg Lestrade watching the footie game on television, he found himself needing to know who exactly John had fallen in love. He didn't know anything about this person, whether it was a man or a woman, and that frustrated the detective the most.

He needed to know, but he also had to think about how to go about it. He wet his lips before he looked over at Lestrade.

"Do you know who John's new love interest is?" he asked curiously.

"Hm? What was that?" the DI asked him distractedly, glancing from the television to Sherlock.

Sherlock sighed impatiently and rolled his eyes. "John's love interest! Do you know who they are? What they do for a living? Where their favourite restaurant is?"

Greg now looked back at Sherlock partly sympathetically. "It's not going to change the fact that John loves them, and not you, Sherlock. It'd only make you feel worse. I don't know if I should tell you. Besides, you can't go stalking this person to threaten them!"

The thought hadn't occurred to the detective but he knew that if he did try to find this person and threaten them, they'd most likely tell John about it and then the doctor would just be mad at him. "Oh please, Lestrade… I'm not going to stalk this person. I just want to know if it's a man or a woman!"

The DI cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "If you really must know, it's a man, which is perfectly fine with me by the way!"

"I know it's fine," Sherlock smirked a bit. Good, then. That still let Sherlock know that he had a chance with the doctor at least. He wasn't in a battle he had no chance of ever winning. He relaxed a bit. "Have you met him?"

"Yes, I've met the bloke. He's very nice."

Sherlock nodded, thinking about other questions. "Taller than me, or shorter?"

Lestrade cocked his head a bit. "Aren't these questions you could deduce or whatever on your own? You can figure out everyone else's life stories just by their perfume or the way they tie their shoelaces but you can't figure out who John is going out with now?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes again and narrowed his eyes slightly. "This is personal, though. John knows me better than anyone else, well... apart from you, anyhow. He knows how to hide things from me. Now, taller or shorter?"

Lestrade glanced back at the game and tapped his fingers on the armchair. "A bit shorter, perhaps. You don't know him, Sherlock."

"Bollocks, I know everyone in London…"

It was Greg's turn to smirk now and he shook his head. "I guarantee you don't know this man, Sherlock. He's not from London."

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. Interesting. Why would John start dating someone who didn't live locally? Unless…. Unless he had a history with this person for a while, maybe even before he moved in with Sherlock. "Where are they going to be tonight?"

Lestrade shook his head. "Uh-uh. No, Sherlock. I'm not bloody telling you where they're going to be just so you can stalk them and upset yourself even more about this whole thing!"

Sherlock sighed in frustration and chewed on his bottom lip in thought. "I have better things to do than confront this new man. If he makes John happen, what business do I have to ruin their relationship? I only want to see who he is and if my friend is happy."

Greg gave him a suspicious look but Sherlock saw the pity in the DI's eyes was greater than the determination of his own will. He sighed reluctantly. "I'll take you to the restaurant this evening but you need to promise me you won't ruin their dinner, Sherlock. I mean it."

His eyes lit up now and he nodded once in agreement. Sherlock was finally going to meet John's love, the person who had essentially taken his rightful place besides the doctor; the person that John had chosen over himself. He felt the excitement filling up inside of him but tried to remain calm, considering the circumstances. He went back to fiddling with his phone, thinking that dinner couldn't come soon enough. He dialed the phone number for the restaurant, making reservations for two before he hung up again and seeing a dismayed look upon Greg's face.

"What is it?"

"Sherlock! They're going to think we're a bloody couple now!"

Sherlock raised his eyebrows. "I thought you said there was nothing wrong with that…"

"Well not as far as we're concerned! There's no problem with that but I prefer to not have my wife found out I had dinner with a bloke tonight!"

The consulting detective shook his head, scoffing. "Oh stop, Lestrade! Men do have dinners with other men if they're co-workers. That's all anyone will think, not anything more. Try and not have a heart attack, for both our sakes. Just tell your wife you're meeting someone to talk shop from work."

"At a fancy restaurant?"

Sherlock shrugged now. "Fine, then tell her that you have a massive wide-on for men suddenly. I don't care what you tell her, Lestrade! Just tell her so you'll come with me. I've already made the reservations."

Greg let out a huff of air before he looked back at the game. The two men became silent before Greg suddenly stood up, shutting the game off before he grabbed his coat.

Sherlock looked up at him. "Where are you going?"

"Well, I have to go back to my place to shower and get ready, don't I?" he asked rhetorically. "I'll meet you at restaurant. I need to talk to my wife anyway about tonight."

"Why can't you just come back here and we can take a cab together?"

Lestrade made his way towards the door. "Oh yeah, because then people can really talk then, can't they? I'm meeting you there! End of discussion, Sherlock," he declared before he left the flat, shutting the door behind him.

Sherlock was hardly fazed by Lestrade's impatience. He was finally getting the chance to see John's boyfriend, and maybe if he was lucky enough, the chance to break the two of them up. He quickly jumped into the shower to get ready.

.o.o.

.o.

Sherlock felt butterflies in his stomach as he hailed a cab and told it to go to the restaurant Lestrade had told him John was going to be. He straightened his tux and smoothed out the creases with his hands, giving himself something to do.

He soon arrived outside the restaurant and then paid the driver before he headed inside. No sooner had he walked in, he saw the hostess walking towards him.

"Can I help you find a table, sir?"

He smiled charmingly. "Holmes, party of two. I called earlier."

"Oh yes, please follow me. Your friend already arrived just a few minutes earlier."

He followed the hostess over to a table where Lestrade had already started drinking a glass of white wine and sat down, nodding politely to her before he looked at the DI.

"You've been here for about ten minutes and you've already almost finished your first glass of wine. You must be nervous indeed," Sherlock observed, glancing around the restaurant for any sign of John and his boyfriend.

"I'm only nervous for your sake. Don't be causing a scene either, Sherlock," Greg warned him. "If you start a row in front of everyone, I'll take you back home and that'll be the end of that!"

Sherlock smirked slightly, unable to stop thinking how Lestrade could be a great father. He ordered his own glass of wine to help with his nervousness. He took a deep breath to relax himself, anxiously waiting for the couple to arrive. After about ten minutes and a glass of wine, he looked at Greg.

"I thought you told me they were coming to this place?"

"They are! John told me it was this restaurant. They probably just had later dinner reservations than us."

Just as Greg had finished remarking, Sherlock saw a dressed up John and another man walk inside before being led to a table across the room but still in their line of sight. He nearly gasped before he tried to get a good look of the new man in his friend's life.

"I was half expecting it to be Moriarty," he confessed to Greg, who seemed to preoccupied in pouring himself a second glass.

"Moriarty? Why him? He's a psychopath and a criminal…"

"Exactly, John has the habit of being attracted to those types of people. This man looks so… average. Are you sure this is his new boyfriend, Lestrade?" he asked in confirmation.

"Of course it's his boyfriend, Sherlock! Do you honestly believe that every person John goes out with is going to be just like you?"

Sherlock felt like his heart was being squeezed too tightly by his ribcage. This man indeed was about an inch or two shorter than himself but had the same bone structure. He was more muscular, however, and seemed to have a permanent smile plastered on his face. He unconsciously gritted his teeth together in a jealousy that ran deep within him. What did this man have that Sherlock didn't? Why wasn't he good enough for John?

Greg looked over at Sherlock uneasily before he gently hit the detective's shoulder with his hand. "Stop staring. They're going to see you."

"Good," Sherlock growled. "I want them to…"

"Well I bloody don't! I thought we came here to eat and talk, not spy on John the entire time!" Greg exclaimed in disbelief.

"Correct, you did. I came to spy… I think I might just pop over there and introduce myself to this new fellow," Sherlock started, about to stand up.

Greg grabbed his arm and quickly forced him back down. "Sherlock, I'm warning you… you make a scene and – "

Sherlock stood back up. "Yes, yes… I know, and we're going home. I'll be right back, Lestrade. Just go ahead and order without me," he gently patted Greg's shoulder before he started to stride over to the table where John and his boyfriend were sitting.

"John! Fancy seeing you here!" Sherlock put on an act, forcing himself to chuckle. He turned to look at the man who looked anything but pleased. "Who's your friend, John?"

John looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him up whole. His face went slightly red. "Err… this is… my boyfriend, Sherlock," he clenched his teeth. "Adrian, this is my friend Sherlock Holmes."

"Adrian! It's a pleasure," Sherlock lied, sticking his hand out.

The man nodded in an awkward agreement and gently shook Sherlock's hand. As the men shook hands, Sherlock tried to get a feel for him.

Nervous

Businessman

Office Worker

Dog lover

Alcoholic

Bad-Tempered

Serial Adulterer

Liar

Sherlock felt the lump in his throat grow as he let go of his hand, wishing he had never met this man. He felt anxious just being around him now. He cleared his throat and looked at John. "I… I apologize for interrupting but would you mind having a word with me privately, John?"

The doctor's eyes seemed to be screaming at Sherlock to just go away before he punched him but he couldn't just leave without warning John about the type of person this man really was. "Actually, Sherlock. Yes, I would mind, I would mind a lot."

"John…" Sherlock urged.

Adrian cleared his throat and pushed his chair back. "It's fine. I need to use the restroom anyway. It'll give you two time to talk."

John looked like he was about to protest but he let Adrian pass them before he nearly glared at Sherlock. "What do you think you're doing, Sherlock? How did you even know I was going to be here?"

"That's not important, John! Do you know the type of person Adrian really is?" Sherlock hissed urgently.

"He's not you, so that's a plus…"

"John. This man is not a good person at all. You're better than this! You don't need to settle for him when there are other people out there!" he encouraged.

John chuckled in disbelief, shaking his head before he pointed his finger at him. "You're just doing this because you're still mad I didn't choose you! That's all this is. Jealousy… I know you have a giant ego but you're wrong this time, Sherlock! I love him, and we're not breaking up just because you can't stand seeing us together. Now, if you don't mind, please kindly disappear."

Sherlock wanted to pull his hair out in frustration at John's denial. He shook his head. "No, John. You must listen to me! This isn't going to end well!"

"It's not going to end at all," John growled at him. "The only thing that is going to end is this conversation. Now, please… leave us, Sherlock."

Sherlock's heart wasn't as broken by John's words as it had been the first time he had told Sherlock about his new boyfriend. No, now all he was worried about was how this man was going to treat John. He didn't even care about his own self, not this time. "John, please. Listen to me! You need to be careful. I might've been a sociopath but Adrian borders on a psychopath. He has all the characteristics of being dangerous."

"Bollocks! I can't believe you're telling me this. You can't tell me he's a psychopath just based on a handshake and how he appears in your odd little ways. I'm sorry it ended poorly between us but you have no right to end my new relationships," John replied, eyeing him.

Sherlock saw Adrian coming back from the men's room now and he forced himself to stand up tall. At the very least, he wanted to appear intimidating, regardless of the fact this man had about thirty pounds more in pure muscle on Sherlock.

When he walked over, Adrian cast a wary eye in Sherlock's direction. "Everything all right here, then?"

"Yes, Adrian," John cut in before Sherlock could say anything. "Everything's fine. Sherlock was just leaving. Weren't you?"

The detective felt his hands shaking at his side, feeling protective to the extreme. If this man was an alcoholic and bad-tempered on top of it, he knew that this was going to end horribly. He glanced at John before looking back at Adrian. "Yes, I was, actually. John, do call the next time you're around Baker Street. We should be getting a case fairly soon."

John nodded as nonchalantly as he could without looking suspicious. "It was lovely to see you, Sherlock."

He gave a warning glance at Adrian before he finally forced himself to walk back to the table where Greg was, watching him cautiously. Sherlock took a deep breath, doing everything he could to not go back and punch Adrian out cold. When he reached the table, he closed his eyes, trying not to let his anger boil over.

"You okay, Sherlock?"

"Yes, but I believe it's time for us to go now. We can get takeout on the way back to Baker Street," Sherlock shelled out several large bills onto the table before he headed out the way they had come and waited for Greg out front.

"What was that all about? What happened?"

Sherlock raised his hand for a cab, not turning to look at the DI. "I saw personality traits that were highly unpleasing." He climbed inside the cab and waited for Greg to do the same.

"What? Like what personality traits?"

Sherlock finally looked at Lestrade. "This man John is seeing, Adrian, he's an adulterer with a history of violence and alcohol abuse. These are traits that are a recipe for disaster. John's in trouble, Lestrade. We need to do something before things get out of hand."

Lestrade, who looked plenty tipsy and not altogether professional, looked at Sherlock with a confused expression. "Do something? Like what? He hasn't even done anything to John yet."

"Yet being the operative word here. John's in danger. Adrian's only using John for his salary and his pushover personality. He knows he can get away with anything he wants with John because he wouldn't dare mess with someone who is bigger than himself."

"He tells you off all the time!"

Sherlock shook his head as he looked out the window. "That's different; I barely weigh 175 and he knows I'd never physically attack him. This man is 215, at least and built like a lifter. The question is why would John choose someone he would usually find intimidating? Go."

Greg looked speechless at first but Sherlock chalked it up to the alcohol. Finally, Lestrade understand what the detective was aiming to do; he was shooting ideas off of Greg so he could deduce things about John. "Err… I don't know. Maybe… he wants to feel safe?"

Sherlock shook his head. "He doesn't need someone else to feel safe. He has military training. John's a soldier. He knows how to defend himself in case of an attack."

"Well, there it is, then. He's not in danger. He can protect himself in the case this bloke decides to try and hurt him," Greg tried to make sense of his colleague's thinking.

It was possible that John could defend himself against Adrian. He'd been trained by the British Army. "Maybe not, but what if he does hurt John?"

Greg tried to rattle his alcohol-infused brain but he was becoming impatient. "Then we can throw John's boyfriend in the jail for domestic assault. We can build a case against him. Just… calm yourself, Sherlock. Things will be all right. You don't know for sure that Adrian will hurt John, and if it happens, then Scotland Yard will help him lock the guy up. It isn't your problem, mate."

Sherlock was quiet as the cab stopped in front of 221B and got out with Greg, heading upstairs. "John is my problem, though." It didn't matter that they weren't together anymore. It didn't matter as much that Sherlock couldn't get the thing he wanted the most in his entire life. What was important to Sherlock Holmes now was making sure John was safe from this abusive person that had the ability to make his friend's life a living hell.

He needed to protect John, at all costs. He was still heartbroken but now he could channel that pain into something more productive. Once he arrived in the flat, he looked over at Greg with solemn eyes. "Take the couch tonight."

"You want me to stay?" Greg raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Sherlock nodded slowly in thought. "It's still better than being alone. Besides, if something happens, I'll know the two places to find you; Scotland Yard and here."

Greg obviously saw the sense in this and understood where he was going with this because he ceased his questions and let himself collapse on the couch after placing his phone on the coffee table. "Night then, Sherlock."

He softly rapped his fingers on the doorway to his bedroom. "Goodnight, Lestrade." He disappeared inside his room and then closed it before he sat on his bed and sighed heavily, resting his face in his hands in his helplessness.