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It had started with a case. An easy one, which he had taken only because Lestrade had asked him to. It involved a girl related to somebody important, apparently. Dull. But he had had nothing better at the moment, and Lestrade had almost begged him.
He had solved it in half an hour. The girl hadn’t been kidnapped, she had run away with her boyfriend. By the time he had told Lestrade where to find them, only the girl was there. Sherlock had told John that, obviously, the boy wouldn’t come back. The girl parents were still acusing him of having kidnapped their daughter. And she was 17, and he 19, so it was technincally a crime.
“He will come back”, said John confidently.
Sherlock smiled. Of course he wouldn’t. Why would he? “If you are so sure, we could bet”
John smiled, too. He liked betting, maybe a bit too much. “What about...let me think about this. If he comes back, you’ll owe me a favour. And if he doesn’t, I’ll let you use the bathroom for that experiment you wanted to do last week”
“We have a deal then”.
****
He came back two days latter. It made no sense.
“But why would he come back?”
“Because they are in love, Sherlock”, John answered, as if it where a logical thing.
Sherlock tried to add that fact to the others in his mind, in order to explain the boy’s behaviour. It still made no sense to him.
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Well...no. It’s not logical”
“Love is not logical, Sherlock
****
Sherlock forgot about the favour he owed John for almost a month, until he heard John having a conversation on the phone
“What do you mean with she can’t come? We’ve been doing this at least once a month for years! Oh of course. Yes, yes, I understand it would be difficult to play while she is in France. A party? Yes, I’ll be there, but what are we going to do about....No, I don’t know anybody....Yes, I want to finish that game, too.”
In that moment, John glanced at him, and nodded to himself. “Mike? I might have somebody. Just for a day, but...Alright. Last Sunday of the month, like always”
Sherlock keep looking at his microscope, dismissing the conversation as irrelevant. They had been talking about a sport, clearly.
“Sherlock? Remember that favour you owed me? “
“I don’t play sports, John.”
John grinned. “Oh, that won’t be a problem”
****
“Tell me again what is this about, and why am I doing it”, asked Sherlock on their way to Mike’s house.
“You are doing it becuse we made a bet and you lost. And because you don’t have a case and you are bored.”, John replied. “And...do you really need another explanation? It’s quite simple. Mike creates a situation, in the world I’ve described you. A problem we have to solve. A case, if you want. And our characters solve it”
“Why? It’s not real”
“Because it’s fun, Sherlock”
****
Sherlock read the sheets in front of him. His character, or, in fact, the one John’s friend had been playing before she had left the country. A wilful and clever woman, a hunter and a explorer. He studied the abilities she had, and read the backstory. And then John’s friends explained him again how the game worked.
“The son of the mayor had been killed, and they offer a reward for any information of the culprit....”
Sherlock listened to Mike. Maybe this woouldn’t be that dull after all.
“Well, this is easy, The killer is clearly...”
“NO! Shut up, Sherlock. In this game, you are your character. You only know what she knows, you only do what she would do!”
“But this would save a lot of time”
“That’s not the point, Sherlock”
****
“Okay, John. The man asks you 1000 golden coins for the map”
“I offer 100”
“Oh sir, that's a misery. It's worth at least 900”
“900? Are you insane?”
Sherlock listened to the negociation. So sometimes rolling the dice wasn't necessary
****
“Sherlock, you open the chest and find a bottle filled with a clear liquid. What do you do?”
Sherlock thought about it. If it were him, he would look for prints on the glass, and take the liquid to a lab. But...not him, his character. He read the backstory again. Reckless, not very educated, willfull, curious. Oh, of course. “I drink it”
Everybody looked at him as if he were crazy. “What? This is what she would do!”
“Alright. Let’s Fate decide this. Roll the dice”
Sherlock did it. Mike smiled, and wrote a note, handing it to him. Love potion. Your character fell asleep, and will fell in love with the first person she looks in the eyes. And....your character doesn’t know it
John character was a healer. “Do I know what happened?”
“Roll the dice”
John did it. One.
“You are absolutely sure that it’s a sleep potion and you have to wake her up”
John nodded. “I slap her”
“Sherlock, you wake up suddenly, and, when you open your eyes, you find him looking you in the eyes with a worried expression. As soon as you look at him, you start to feel the effects of the potion. What do you do?”
Sherlock looked at the sheets in front of him, thinking. What would his character do? He read her story again. “I...talk to him”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Okay, let's hear it”
Sherlock turned to look at John, who looked at him amused. Love. How was he supposed to do this? He thought about the way love was represented in the media. Usually, when two people fell in love....Oh. Of course. “I move closer to him”
“Good. John?”
“Is she hurt?”
“Roll the dice”
“2”
“She is perfectly normal”, Mike replied with a grin.
“Sherlock? You can't look away from him. And you feel strange”
He looked at John again. What was he supposed to do now? No, not him. His character. “I kiss him”
John stared at him, with a puzzled expression on his face. “W...what?”
Sherlock studied John's body language carefully. Surpise. Confusion. And...arousal? He had licked his lips, and his eyes were darker than usual.
“I grab his neck, and kiss him”, he repeated with a smile, still observing John. Were his cheeks slightly pink?
“Fine. John?”
“I....Ehm.....I...kiss her back?”
Mike grinned. “Lovely place for kissing, the middle of a dungeon. While you are distracted....”, he said, rolling the dice.
Sherlock didn’t pay much attention after that. Something about an attack. John’s reactions were much more interesting. Every now and then, he glanced at Sherlock’s lips, and looked away as soon as he realised what he was doing. His body was tense. Nervous? He was between friends and doing something he enjoyed. Why would he be nervous? He thought about it the rest of the night, and kept studying John’s behaviour.
****
When they were back at Baker Street, he had reached a conclusion. It was almost imposible, and contrary to former evidence. But it was the only thing that fitted. He closed the door behind them, and, in a calm tone, stated: “You want to kiss me”
John stared at him. “What? No. No, I don’t want that. Where did you get that idea from?”, he asked, laughing nervously.
“Are you trying to lie to me? Seriously?”
“Right. Well, maybe....the idea had crossed my mind. But that doesn’t mean anything. And....and....it’s Mike’s fault! I mean...”
Sherlock looked at him, amused, and moved a step closer. “You know how much I hate repetition. Don’t lie to me, John”
John swallowed, and looked him in the eyes. “Yes! Yes, I want to kiss you! Happy now?”
“Extremely”, Sherlock whispered, pressing their lips together. He wasn’t very sure of how to do this, but people did it all the time. How difficult could it be?
It was difficult. Because as soon as he felt John’s lips, his whole brain focused on that sensation, and thinking became almost impossible. Given John’s enthusiastic reaction, that wasn’t a problem. After a while, kissing John became as natural as breathing. And definitely less boring.
“Why did you do that?”, John whispered without moving away.
“You wanted it”
“...”
Sherlock looked at John’s expression. Disappointment. What had he said wrong? “I wanted it too”, he added, because it was true.
John smiled, and kissed him again.
“John?”, Sherlock whispered. “I understand now. Why that boy came back. It’s obvious”
John grinned. “Good. Now shut up and kiss me again”