A Study In Love - A Johnlock Fanfiction

Chapter Six

In the days following the 'incident' in the kitchen, things had grown to be quite awkward between Sherlock and John. Well, things had become awkward for John; Sherlock seemed completely unfazed by it and was acting as if nothing had happened. Each morning when John came down the stairs Sherlock was sitting on the sofa reading the paper and drinking tea. He never looked up from the paper, but occasionally gave a slight nod of the head to acknowledge John. Still, despite the fact that Sherlock was trying to act normal, they hadn't spoken to each other in days, except for the time John went grocery shopping and Sherlock asked him to buy some chocolates.

The next time John heard Sherlock's voice was about a week after the little scene in the kitchen. John had been sitting out in the living room. He had thought about writing something for his blog, but since he and Sherlock hadn't even been speaking in the past week, and Sherlock hadn't picked up another case, he had nothing interesting to write. He decided to watch some daytime television to keep his mind busy for a few hours or until he could figured out something else to do.

While John was channel surfing, he heard a door open somewhere in the flat. Seconds later Sherlock appeared beside him, fully dressed in a blue oxford shirt and black trousers. John pressed the mute button on the remote and looked up to Sherlock, who was fiddling with his sleeve and avoiding eye contact.

"Would you like to join me for lunch?" Sherlock asked, still not looking in John's direction. He was surprised by the offer, but glad it had been made. He was starting to miss hanging out with Sherlock. He found himself smiling and nodding his head before he realized Sherlock still wasn't looking at him. He cleared his throat and stood up.

"Yes. Sure I would." Sherlock glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards. He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth and nodded.

"Okay, good. You in the mood for Italian?"

"Sure."

John went upstairs to get his shoes, and when he came back downstairs Sherlock was wearing his coat and tying a scarf around his neck. It seemed he never left the flat without those two things. John grabbed a jacket from a nearby table and put it on, then followed Sherlock down the stairs and outside. Sherlock hailed a cab and soon the two were on their way to an unknown destination. Well, unknown to John. Sherlock had simply given the cabbie an address, then sat back in the seat and stared out the window.

While they rode in silence John glanced over at Sherlock ever so often, just to make sure he was still there. He felt the need to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and that Sherlock really was really sitting beside him, and not holed up in his bedroom like he had been since they got back from Fiji.

Once when John looked over at Sherlock he found that Sherlock had been looking at him as well. They both turned their heads and looked out their respective windows. They didn't speak. They didn't move. Suddenly John began to feel uncomfortable, and almost regretted getting into the cab with Sherlock. What in the world was he supposed to say? He wished he'd thought about it before now.

"So, um, where are we going?" He asked, trying to ease some of the awkward tension.

"A restaurant." John rolled his eyes.

"I know that," he said, exasperated.  "I meant what restaurant."

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." John turned to look at Sherlock, who was smirking at him. John found himself smiling despite the agitation he felt about not knowing where he was headed. He and Sherlock shared a laugh, and Sherlock began talking about some ancient Italian legend he'd heard of years ago. Before they knew it, the cab had stopped and it was time to get out.