Chapter Text
John Watson was sitting at the furthest table in the restaurant, right beside the window. He took the glance outside to the street. The pavement shone like silver, because of the heavy rain which kept falling from the dark sky. His watches told him that it was quarter past eight, it was quite early for the darkness to fall, but it was logical - the dark clouds accumulated the thick layer which didn't allow the sun to penetrate through it.
John decided to take his girlfriend to an Italian restaurant Zizzi in Paddington Street. The interior was beautiful - decorative dry trees gave them an impression of wildness and the scanty lightning made of lights hanging from the ceiling created a very romantic and intimate atmosphere.
The food was very good, the couple shared a pizza and then they ordered coffee with ice-cream and whipped cream.
John took a small sip from his cup and smiled at his companion, at a nice ginger girl with a cute round face who sat at the opposite side of the table was playing with the spoon in her coffee and created some pictures in the cream.
Susan worked as a teacher at elementary school.
She raised her eyes and gave him a smile as well. But she was careful not to show her teeth, because of her braces, she was very sensitive about her slightly crooked incisors and canines. But John didn't mind, it was completely normal - nobody's perfect.
" And how's your work going? What about those little bastards? Do they behave?"
John asked but cursed himself immediately. Who talks about the work on the date? The truth was that the doctor was a little nervous, which really surprised him. He has always been a sassy, quick-witted man, a soldier on top of that... But how was it possible that he could talk with Sherlock about everything, even about the merest crap?
And speaking about his flatmate - he was worried about what could that clodpole damage this time... He looked very disgruntled when realising John had a date. John hoped that he won't ruin his date, for once...
" Well, it's still the same - although they're not 'little'... They're brats..." Susan said, her voice hardened a bit at the end of the sentence.
" Oh, that sounds unpleasant..."
" They are... They are doing whatever they want, they could show some respect..."
John breathed in to answer but choked when he felt buzzing in his pocket. He resisted an urge to howl in frustration - one single date, without interruption - as it seemed, he didn't deserve it...
" I will kill you..." He mumbled when he reached his hand into his pocket.
Susan blinked in confusion. " Sorry, what?" She asked.
" Nothing, I was just thinking out loud... I just need to arrange this, I'm sorry..." John swore in his mind, Susan had to think he's gone crazy. Well done, Watson, well done...
" It's fine..."
He took out his old phone he got from Harry and opened it with a password ( which offended Sherlock with its banality. First three times John changed it - into another banal password according to the detective, but now he gave up his attempts to think out a password Sherlock wouldn't figure out.).
He clicked on the 'received' folder and frowned when he found two unread messages from his flatmate.
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:23 PM
John? - SH
FROM : Sherlock
Today 08:25 PM
John, where are you? - SH
One little date! Did he ask too much?
John sighed in frustration and began to type an angry reply on the extensible keyboard.
TO : SHERLOCK
Today 08:25
For God's sake, Sherlock! Can't you resist the urge to disturb my date for even one bloody time?!
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:26
I yelled at you, but you didn't reply... - SH
TO : SHERLOCK
Today 08:26
That's a mystery... How could I when I'm in the restaurant with Susan...
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:27
Well, it slipped out of my mind - SH
John read the last message and decided to ignore him. He locked his phone, putting it down on the table.
" Apologies..." He said and reached out his hand to put it on the top of Susan's, which rested on the snow white lace tablecloth. Their skins were millimetres away from each other, they felt the heat radiating from each other body. They felt like a magnet, their fingers almost brushed, the bolts outside lighted the interior and emphasised the atmosphere... they were so close... And then...
Beep...
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
" I'll strangle him, with my own hands and I won't be guilty about it!"
John took the glance at the closed home page on his phone and gritted his teeth. That git decided to spam his phone... He won't respond, that's it...
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:28
Who's Susan anyway? - SH
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:28
Is it the one with the braces? - SH
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:29
John - SH
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:29
Don't ignore me - SH
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:30
Jawn!
John sighed " God, he's like a child! It's quite a miraculous that I haven't killed him already..."
" Who? Your flatmate?"
" Yeah, he's insufferable, sometimes. Especially when he stores body parts in the fridge..."
" He seems a bit mad..."
" No, he's just a bit different... He's not very good with people, he needs to nudge in the right direction... But when you get used to it, he's great..." Actually, he had no idea why he was defending the man who successfully ruined every date he had. But it didn't sound right, he simply couldn't stand hearing that his best friend was a mad man...
Although that didn't mean that he wasn't angry with him. He typed a tempered message and clicked on 'send'.
TO : SHERLOCK
Today 08:32
Sherlock, what do you need? I'm busy!
FROM : SHERLOCK
Today 08:32
With what? With snogging her neck? - SH
John gritted his jaw tightly and did his best to not grate his teeth. He was even more annoying and rude than ever. But after all, it was Sherlock Holmes - unpredictable arsehole... He reminded him of the spoiled kid, who are demanding for attention - but only because someone else was talking to him. He suggested that if he sat at home, Sherlock wouldn't even register he's in the flat.
TO : SHERLOCK
Today 08:33
Are you jealous?
John realised that his last message was quite cruel, reminding Sherlock that he was single and the only person who managed to live with him, was John himself. But on his defence - he found the interrupting really annoying.
John shook his head to order his thoughts and shot his girlfriend with an apologising look. He knew that the date was going downhill. He knew that Susan was disappointed, and he needed to fix this unpleasant detail.
Fortunately, there was a pause in Sherlock's messages and it grew longer, the detective didn't contact him from for ten minutes. The couple didn't know that it was only the calm before the storm...
They continued chatting, about the food they ate, their hobbies and about the heavy rain outside, followed by claps of thunder and lightning.
When the bolt lightened the interior in the restaurant, he realised how beautiful she was. Dark ginger hair fell down from her head on her fell silent and smiled at each other.
The soldier slowly reached out his arm, careful not to scare her, and curled his hand into a cup. Her brown eyes mirrored a certainty and high self-esteem as if John should feel lucky to just think of the thing he was about to do.
The doctor leaned forward and cupped Susan's soft cheek. Her confident grin even widened when his thumb stroked her temple and slid down to her chin. He put his index finger under her jawline and gently brought her face closer. Susan closed her eyes and let him lead.
They were getting closer and closer, his lips just a few inches away from her, she could feel his warm breath on her skin, only a few centimetres separated them from the kiss...
And then the doctor's phone rang.
The one stupid call ruined the whole moment, and the whole date John dared to say. He wanted to scream. Not only his friend didn't allow him to have fun, but even he refused to let him kiss his own girlfriend!
" Go ahead..." She said and pointed towards the loos so he could accept the call. But John couldn't get rid of the feeling that her voice hardened a bit.
" Thank you, I'll be right back..." He gave her a smile, which was quite tight because of the nervousness and got up and headed towards Gents.
John dashed into the loos and accepted the call. He didn't wait for anything and let the anger which raised inside him the whole evening, out of his body.
" Sherlock! What the HELL do you think you're doing?! I TOLD you that I have a date, I WROTE to you that I have a date! How many other ways do I need to tell you! Shouldn't I say that in Arabic? Or Chinese?!" He yelled in the phone and didn't give a damn if someone heard him. He never got so angry with Sherlock, he tolerated him, even though his behaviour was bit-not-good. But today was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
" You can give it a try..." Came Sherlock's voice out of the phone, but there were no signs of the cheekiness or sarcasm. It made him sound weird, this didn't belong to him.
But John was tempered, so much he didn't notice the touch of uncertainty in a friend's voice. " I like her a lot! I wanted to make a good impression... And you... How could you?! I look like a complete fool!" The doctor growled. What did Susan have to think about him when he spent almost the whole evening by texting his annoying flatmate.
There was a pause from the opposite side, which was quite unusual for the talkative detective, who spoke, always - at any time, in every place...
John opened his mouth to snap some sarcastic comment but the silence was broken by the weird tone in Sherlock's baritone. " Come home..."
The doctor clenched his teeth, smelling a fish. He suggested that the detective was fibbing, he used his brilliant acting skills to manipulate people like puppets.
" What? Do you really think that I'll be in the mood for coming back today? Could you just one time behave like an adult and not like a spoiled brat?!" He spat and squeezed his phone in his fist until it almost broke in two pieces.
Sherlock took a shaking breath at the end of the line. " Come home, John... Please..." He mumbled, almost whispered.
" I'm with Susan..." Said the doctor, his voice uninterested and cold like an icicle. " I'm sure you can handle your experiment by yourself..."
John left the loos and put on his smile as he headed towards the table couple was sitting at. But his grin faded away from his lips when he found out that there was no one. The chair was tucked to the table, unfinished cup of coffee stood at Susan's empty place, the spoon beside the saucer.
God, he lost her... He lost another nice woman because she thought he has something with Sherlock...
An uncomfortable feeling settled down in his guts, was he really so incapable to keep a girlfriend? As it seemed, he was - his relationship usually lasted one date. But strange as it was, he didn't mind too much, maybe it just hurt his ego a bit...
The movement caught his attention so he turned his head towards the exit and spotted Susan's short figure at the door, preparing to leave.
John prolonged his step and run after her. He caught up with her at the street. She turned around to face him. They just stood there for a while, the heavy raindrops fell down on them, and the lightning bolts illuminated the street occasionally.
" Susan, I'm sorry for such a miserable evening... The next date won't be like this..." He swore in a panting voice.
The redhead chortled gloomily. " Are you really so naive? Do you think I would like to have another date with you?" Her tone was cutting and venomous.
The doctor ruffled his hair in frustration. He had to fix it somehow..." Susan, I know it was catastrophic, but I will try hard to make it up to you..."
To John's bad luck, his phone vibrated again and there was no doubt the woman heard it. Her face curled in annoyance and disgust. John knew this kind of face, and it didn't seem good for him. Not at all...
" Jesus, do you sleep with your phone as well? Or should I say with your creepy flatmate?!" Susan growled, her throat tightened in loathe.
John's round cheeks blushed, but he tried to save the situation for the last time. " Susan, come on... I have nothing with him... He's just my friend." He told her patiently.
The woman folded her arms on her chest and her nose wrinkled. " Who's more important for you than your girlfriend... Your previous one warned me about it - I didn't believe her. But it's obvious - who are you kidding? I may not be a crazy genius, but I'm not that stupid as you think... Just leave me alone. " She spat, turned on her heel and strode away.
John stood there, not able to say a word, he simply gazed at redhead's disappearing figure He didn't know what was worse - if she left him, standing there like a fool or the fact she might have a truth.
He didn't feel betrayed or offended - the sting of the guilt squeezed his heart. At the beginning of their evening, she expected something, some sign to prove John's previous girlfriend wrong.
The doctor reached his hand to the pocket of his jeans and took off his phone.
One unread message
FROM : SHERLOCK
John, come back - SH
John sighed and began to type, defeated.
TO : SHERLOCK
Be careful what you wish for. Because I'll probably bite your head off...
FROM : SHERLOCK
I don't mind... John, please. I need you...
John stared at a few words on the shining display. Suddenly he realised something. Sherlock almost never makes calls, he prefers to text... And there he was, calling him right in the middle of his date.
And his voice, John remembered the tone Sherlock spoke... Sure, the phone distorts the voice a bit, but it sounded strange...
But begs in their conversation were the last straw, the proof that something was definitely wrong.