Work Text:
Switzerland is a mountainous region with many lakes. The Moriarty-Holmes household, AKA the Woods-Terrance household, was a cosy cottage by one of these many bodies of water, situated a five-minute walk from the nearest town. The lake was to the north of the building where a large, bay window overlooked it. During the sunrise, light glinted off the surface of the water as it poured over the hills.
On this summer morning, William and Sherlock were packing up a basket. They wore their best, yet comfortable, clothes as they were going to have a picnic on the dock.
"You only need walk sixty seconds down the footpath and you will reach this house's dock. It even comes with a small boat to use as you may." As the seller said when the two men were looking for a new place to live.
Back in the present, William looked at the dark-haired man he called his friend. He watched the man skilfully wrap and place food items into their wicker basket. 'This man is amazing, truly noble. If only he behaved this way before we ran away.' Sherlock didn't raise his head but chuckled as he worked.
"Liam, don't tell me my charms have made you fall for me. My mother always said I'd be popular with the ladies but I don't think she would have ever expected my biggest admirer to be you, Mr. William James Moriarty." Sherlock finished and looked up into the blond's eyes, lifting an eyebrow in jest.
The other man smiled and shook his head before making a comeback at his opponent.
"I'm sure your mother would have loved to meet me. Not many can deal with a child such as yourself. Really, how did your landlady ever stay so patient with you?" After this, William returned Sherlock's look before pulling the basket off the counter and heading to the door. "Shall we be off then?" Sherlock simply shrugged with a laugh, taking the basket out of William's hands as he walked out the door.
"You seriously crack me up, Liam. I'm glad that it's you here with me today. Nobody else would do. Not at all."
The pair walked down the forest path, light filtering through the leaves. Various birds chirped happily at each other while deer and rodents shuffled through the grass. It was clearly a good day to have a picnic. William was dressed in a casual suit, his top button undone and his jacket on his arm. Sherlock was dressed similarly, but with two undone buttons and not a jacket in sight. He held onto the basket in his left hand, his right hanging freely, close to Moriarty's own. The man watched his partner out the corner of his eye, wondering what he was thinking about. Meanwhile, William was content with the atmosphere. He looked around at the trees before turning to the lake once they got to the end of the forest. The water twinkled in the sunlight, slightly blinding William but he smiled regardless.
When they had finally made it to the dock, the two sat down and opened up the basket. Sherlock reached in and grabbed at a sandwich, tossing it to William. He caught it with ease and unwrapped the covering before taking a bite. The raven man followed suit and began eating his own sandwich while looking out at the scenery. In a way, Sherlock still couldn’t come to terms with the whole act of running away and living with the one person that he admired and trusted so much. He gave a glance at his companion, watching how he ate. His long fingers holding the bread almost daintily, his eyes filled with knowledge, probably working out some math equation in his head. Whenever Liam was silent, he was often thinking of what he knew best, mathematics. It helped him concentrate as well as forget other stuff that was on his mind. Just as Sherlock was deep in his thoughts, William turned to face him.
“Do I have something on my face or do you just like to look at me?" After a pause, he spoke again. "I will confess, Sherlock, that I like to look at you as well. I like to wonder what you’re thinking in that brain of yours. A case, a person, an animal perhaps. Care to indulge a man?”
Sherlock scoffed at his friend in an attempt to hide his embarrassment of carelessness in covert observation. He looked out across the water, and pointed to a dock, just on the other side. A small group of three or four boats were huddled next to each other, all of varying shades of brown depending on their age.
“I saw you were watching those boats. But it seemed to me that instead on focusing on the boats themselves, you were concerned with how they were tied together, whether the rope was of one large length looping everything together or there was simply a collection of multiple ropes. I will take a guess that you were trying to create a mathematic puzzle for your students for your next shift. Am I right, Liam, or have you bested me once again?”
‘Liam’ just smiled and kept silent. It was true that Sherlock had guessed right but this teacher didn’t want to give a man who failed one of his exams in the past any credit. At least not for now, anyway. Instead, the blond finished his sandwich and reached for the flask of water. He took a sip before offering some to the ex-detective who took it with a nod and straight lips as he realised, he was not going to get an answer from William. After taking a swig, Sherlock tried his luck yet again.
“So, I guess that was our first kiss, huh?” In all honesty, Holmes only wanted to play a prank on the mastermind Moriarty but this again backfired when William responded with a laugh.
“I wouldn’t class that as a kiss, dear Sherly. To tell you the truth, that sounds like something a child who hasn’t had their first crush would say. I know you can be childish, but you’re no kid. Or have I been living with an abnormally tall ten-year-old that has a bad smoking habit?” William smiled widely, happy with the look Sherlock gave him proving that he had won and so went back to picnic activities.
“Hey, that’s untrue. I actually haven’t had one smoke in three whole months.” The man held up his fingers and pouted.
Later on, when the eating part of the picnic had been complete, Sherlock lay on his back on the dock while William leaned against a pole, reading a thin book. Both were in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the time they were spending within each other’s vicinities. Suddenly, a water droplet fell onto one of the books pages, causing William to look up at the sky. He gently nudged Holmes, who had fallen asleep, waking him up and signalling home time. The pair packed up their picnic and made the brisk walk home before the rain came down any heavier. As they entered, Sherlock set to work making some tea.
“Thank goodness we got in before it got bad. We can’t be having Professor Woods getting sick now, can we?”
“Well, I think Mr. Terrance is quite important here as well.” William replied. “Don’t tell me you’re still trying to one up me. I'm not letting you win today."
The raven man suddenly leaned forward and pecked the blond on the lips. The recipient froze for a few seconds before finally admitting defeat, with a smile.
“Okay, Sherly. You win again.” He sighed as if disheartened but he wasn’t sad in the slightest. He liked the competition that the two had and wouldn’t change for the world. “I’ll be sure to get you next time.”
To this Sherlock sipped his tea and said, with a wink:
“Catch me if you can, William James Moriarty.”