Repens

He was woken up by a knock at his bedroom door. A nagging sensation filled him when he realized he had somehow overslept. Ever since he had become a consulting detective, Sherlock’s mornings had started at exactly seven, eight when he’d gone more than a full forty-eight hours without rest. His heavy eyes opened to peek over a beautiful shoulder as John entered the room.

Immediately coming to some conclusions, John’s eyes grew wide with disbelief. It wasn’t every day, it wasn’t any day, he found Sherlock in bed with a woman. And this wasn’t just any woman but the very woman Holmes had sworn was no different from the rest. Their eyes met, John‘s questioning gaze meeting Sherlock’s what? face. He was acting as if there was nothing even slightly unusual about all this.

“I was just coming in to--”

“Shhhh!!!!” Sherlock scolded, motioning for John to get out of the room holding his index finger out for John to give him a minute.

The shocked flat mate left the room blushing and Sherlock closed his eyes for another few seconds. This girl had completely changed his perfectly organized world of black and white. Being the girlfriend of Sherlock Holmes surly wasn’t going to be easy since he had a great deal more enemies than friends. And her being so beautiful was only going to attract them to her and put her in more life threatening situations like the one she was in last night. There was certainly more reasons they shouldn’t attempt the impossible than reasons they would work. No intelligent woman would want to be hunted down every day of her life looking around her shoulder every minute.

Hearing the door and Watson, the angel began to stir. She was still half asleep and more beautiful than anything Sherlock had ever set his eyes on. Her skin brushed against his as she turned her body to face him and placed her head against his chest. Sherlock had always heard of the "morning after" but never understood until now; though they hadn't gone very far, the emotions and tenderness was still there.

He kissed her forehead, caressed her shoulder, and whispered, “Stay in bed. It’s still early. I’ll see you later.”

Those green eyes slid open long enough for her to give him a sleepy little smile. He got out of bed as she stole his pillow and the rest of the duvet. By the time he was dressed for the day, Stephanie had fallen back to sleep more happy than she could remember being. Sherlock opened the door and closed it on his way out without a sound. He cursed himself while walking down the hall and knew that John would want to play fifty questions. This was going to turn into a disaster quite quickly, he just knew it. There had been good reasons for his avoiding the female species until now. Besides the normal stuff, feelings complicated the work and priorities of a famous detective.

John looked up from the morning paper as Sherlock walked in, more timid than John could remember seeing him. There were so many things waiting to be said but the question was who would speak first? Sherlock started pouring himself some tea and John turned the pages of his paper. The room was bursting with tension.

“Oh, go ahead. You may as well be asking them out loud,” Sherlock sighed with a dramatized roll of his eyes.

“I’m quite sorry but… there’s a woman in your bed. And not just any woman but the woman you claimed to have no interest in what-so-ever,” John smiled, loving the fact that he had been right for a change.

“Yes, John. Stephanie Thomas is in my bed. It was not what it looked like.”

“Oh, you sleeping until nine, both of you almost naked in your bed, and you being so modest about everything isn’t what it looks like?” John was teasing more than persecuting but it was annoying all the same.

“No. We kissed a while and then she spent the night, as in we only slept in my bed together.”

“And you... cuddled,” John pointed out, trying his best not to laugh- he knew that cuddling was a word Sherlock put in the same category as curse words. This was almost too good to be true. After all his speeches about how horrible displays of affection were, Sherlock Holmes had been caught cuddling with a woman who had spent the night.

“I was holding her,” Sherlock corrected his nosy flat mate who was clearly enjoying himself too much.

“So now what, you two are a couple?”

“There is a strong connection between us, we fancy eachother, and nothing has been decided.”

“I see. So you’re a couple,” John grinned, glad to see his flat mate taking a chance on someone for what was the first time, as far as he knew. “How do you think Mrs. Hudson is going to take this?”

“I’m not sure. It is her business to some extent, it involving her visiting niece and all, but she isn’t to know anything just yet. I need to talk to Steph about it first.”

“Steph? You directly went from calling her Cassidy to Steph? My, you do fancy her.”

“Is that a problem?” Sherlock replied while picking up a second paper with an irritated growl.

John knew that his teasing had probably been too harsh. “I’m sorry, didn’t mean to get so carried away. It’s just so good to see you happy and somewhat cheerful about something other than the misfortune of someone else. But if the two of you do plan to become official, you must know that your life will change- it is just a fact. You have just under two weeks and then you’ll have to take on a long distance relationship with her. That means constant texting, nightly calls, and perhaps visits every now and then.”

“Yes, I am well aware of all of that,” Sherlock sighed at the thought of being given dating advice from fickle John of all people.

“This is a very personal thing, Sherlock, and I don’t know if you’re quite ready to jump into it head first.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of it?”

“Not at all. As I said, I’m very pleased that this is happening to you. I just know that you are extremely dedicated to your work and being in a relationship will take up some of your time.”

Sherlock didn’t want to think about any of that right now. He was happy for the first time that he could remember and things would work themselves out in due time. It was going to take time and conversations but he wanted to take on this new challenge; he had been leery of the whole dating scene for long enough. Even if things didn’t work out, it would be a good experience for him and prepare him for whatever feminine creature was to come next. If what everyone said was true, if everyone had one person they were truly meant to be with, it was possible he had one as well. But something deep inside of him, something he still mostly ignored, wanted it to be her. As these thoughts raced through his head in seconds he felt childish and found himself becoming a, dare he say it, dreamer.

“If she wouldn’t have come into your life you would have been awake an hour ago and already researching or working on a case. I’m only trying to be of help and talk some sense into you, if that’s what you need.”

“This is the first time I’ve felt like this, John, and you are trying to rain on my life-changing little parade. Please drop the subject and grab your coat. As you said, we are running a bit behind schedule due to my recent discovery of a beating heart inside my chest. Odd as it sounds, I may be human yet.” John smiled at this, thrilled that the machine had found some form of emotions buried beneath his icy demeanor. “Wait for me down stairs, I’ll only be a moment.”

As John left the flat, Sherlock went back into his room for one last kiss. It was strange to him how addictive kissing had become. It was more maddening than nicotine or the occasional bit of cocaine. It was more intoxicating than finding a new case. And it was more powerful than any feeling he had ever known. His horizon had been incredibly broadened in just two days.

The angel was facing the door with her eyes wide open and a sweet shy smile playing on her lips.
“You’re leaving me already,” she sighed with playful remorse. “Off to your next case, no doubt.”

He placed his hand on her soft cheek and kissed her for the first time this morning. “London needs saving,” he teased in that new tone he still wasn’t accustomed to using; but he adored her reaction to it and liked the way it made him feel. “We obviously need to discuss some things and I would fancy a repeat of last night if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Yes, I agree entirely… on both accounts,” she winked in a slightly seductive manner. “I would love to chase after you again today but I don’t think my aunt could take another anxiety attack.”

“It is probably best that you spend the day with her and not go outside until I return. We found you once and could do it again but I’d rather not have your life in jeopardy if it can be prevented. Besides, a repeat of last night would be impossible with you missing.”

“Go save London and I’ll get back downstairs. My aunt is probably already worried.”

“What are you going to tell her?”

“I got up early this morning and took a walk.”

“In the clothes you wore last night?” he challenged.

“No, in the pants I’m about to steal from my bag downstairs, going completely unnoticed while she watches her morning telly, and the shirt I’m about to steal from you.”

She sat up in bed, removing the covers. There was a brief moment that Sherlock considered telling John to take the day off but he knew that this half naked beauty couldn’t change his daily routine any further. Their eyes met with a similar intensity from the previous night. He imagined her in nothing but one of his sleep shirts and couldn’t help grinning. Sherlock forced himself to leave the room without another intoxicating kiss from the redhead teasing him from his bed.

This had been a lovely morning and an even more delightful evening was ahead of him. He found it difficult to switch his focus from her to the case but willed himself to do so. Once he met John down the stairs, he was ready and his full attention was on the task ahead, or at least 99.9% of it.