The One Next Door

Good Morning To You

    It was a morning unlike any other morning that Sherlock had ever experienced. Yes, the sun was shining lazily in through the curtains, yes, the dust danced in the rays and the birds chirped out the window, yes he still had to wake up and face the day. But this time, he wasn't waking up alone.
"Good morning." John muttered sleepily. Sherlock opened his eyes and rolled over to see John's face on the pillow next to his, a sleepy smile on his face.
"Good morning." Sherlock agreed. John leaned over and pressed a small kiss onto Sherlock's nose, which made him giggle a little bit.
"We should probably get moving, we're already late." John decided.
"No, we don't have to leave." Sherlock assured, kissing John back on the nose and cuddling closer.
"You have a job Sherlock, and Molly will be wondering where we are." John insisted.
"It's alright, she'll figure it out." Sherlock sighed. John just ruffled Sherlock's curls, sitting up and pulling on his tee shirt.
"We really should go." He insisted.
"No, come on, I'll call in sick." Sherlock mumbled, scooting over and wrapping his arms around John from behind, lolling his head over John's shoulder and groaning with annoyance.
"Come on Sherlock, I know, I'm sorry, but we have to pay rent any day now, and you can't pay rent without money. And money comes from working." John insisted.
"I haven't worked my entire life, and I've been here a while." Sherlock pointed out.
"Let's go, you've got five minutes." John decided, pushing Sherlock's arms off of him and going over to his flat to make himself presentable. Sherlock just groaned, hearing the door close and flopping back onto the pillows. Well, John had a point. Moran was coming soon, and if Sherlock couldn't pay him, then he would most certainly get kicked out. But that didn't seem to matter right now, because Sherlock and John, they were now officially together. They weren't just neighbors, weren't acquaintances, they weren't friends, they were together and right now, Sherlock couldn't be happier. And he didn't even have to use Molly's pathetic methods of flirting. Never the less, Sherlock fell out of bed and pulled on his slacks, jacket, and shirt, brushing his hair and teeth, putting on some deodorant and cologne and walking out to the hallway. John was waiting for him there, already in his jacket and looking handsome as ever. Sherlock smiled shyly at him, closing his apartment door.
"There he is." John said with a smile.
"Here I am." Sherlock agreed.
"Molly's going to kill us." John decided, starting down the stairs, the stairs where it had all started.
"I told you, she'll be fine." Sherlock insisted, scampering after him. They walked as fast as they could without running, passing people and dogs and mailboxes. Maybe Molly wouldn't kill them, but Sherlock was sure Jeanette would. When finally they entered the coffee shop, all three working employees stopped what they were doing and stared at them. Even some customers spun around to see what was going on.
"Sorry I'm late." Sherlock sighed, standing in the doorway and waiting for Jeanette to start screaming. Instead though, Sarah quietly passed Molly a twenty dollar bill, and Carl passed Jeanette a five.
"No problem." She muttered, stuffing the money into her pocket. Sherlock and John threw their coats on the rack, and without a goodbye, John went to his table and Sherlock went behind the counter, tying an apron around his neck and getting to work. The costumers came alive again, and Carl was taking orders and Molly and Sarah and Jeanette were all bustling around trying to fill them.
"What happened?" Molly asked excitedly as they passed each other. She was off to make a drink while Sherlock was off to grab a cup from Carl.
"I'll tell you later." Sherlock insisted.
"Why were you late?" Carl asked curiously as he handed the cup to Sherlock.
"You'll probably never find out." Sherlock sighed, grabbing the cup and going over to the coffee machines, where Sarah was pouring some coffee.
"I guess I was wrong." She sighed.
"About what?" Sherlock snapped, and she went over to hand the coffee to the costumer.
"I'll let it slide, this one time, because I bet the right side." Jeanette decided, taking off her apron as Sherlock pressed a plastic cap down on the cup he was filling.
"You bet on it?" Sherlock asked.
"Yes, and we made some money." Molly agreed with a smile, showing Sherlock the twenty dollar bill in her pocket.
"You people are insane." Sherlock decided, passing the coffee along to the costumer. He noticed John over where he was sitting, who was scrolling on his laptop with a bit of a smile on his face, taking down small notes. A smile on John's face made Sherlock smile, and his lips still tingled from the kiss, that magnificent kiss...
"You look happy, come on, what happened?" Sarah insisted, cornering Sherlock as he tried to put whipped cream on someone's drink.
"I don't have to tell you, shush." Sherlock insisted, pushing past her.
"But you will, right?" Sarah called after him. Carl had just marked down a cup and no one seemed to be taking it, Molly and Sarah were pretending to be busy, and Sherlock gave them both nasty glares, but picked up the cup. Of course, it was a large, medium roast, which read John. Sarah handed him a sharpie with a wink, and went back to whatever drink she was making. Sherlock smiled a little bit, uncapping the sharpie and adding a little heart to the cup before pouring John's signature drink and pressing the lid on.
"I'm assuming that's mine, by the way you refuse to announce it." John guessed.
"They're all watching you know." Sherlock pointed out, handing John his coffee. But John just smiled.
"I hope Carl didn't add that heart." He muttered. Sherlock waved the sharpie innocently in the air, and John laughed.
"You're a loser, you know that?" John asked.
"I'm your loser." Sherlock pointed out.
"Yes you are." John agreed.
"Sherlock, no flirting at work, come on." Molly insisted, tapping him lightly on the shoulder and nodding to an old lady that was giving the both of them the stink eye.
"Fine, homophobes win. See you later." Sherlock insisted, and John just smiled before melting back into the crowd.
"Keep your mind on the job Sherlock." Molly insisted.
"I am, don't worry." Sherlock assured.
"No you're not." Molly laughed.
"Guilty." Sherlock sighed. Molly just smiled, and Sherlock knew that she really didn't have a problem with Sherlock's mind wandering. When there was a break in the crowd, Sherlock was trying to fill the time by cleaning up the counter and watching John from afar. He was still hard at work, doing whatever he was doing, but every so often he would look up at the counter and the two of them would make eye contact. Sherlock was so used to ducking away from eye contact, blushing and pretending he wasn't looking, so it was kind of a weird feeling to actually smile and have a smile returned. A lot had changed since yesterday.
"So, since we've got a break, we're dying to know why you were so late today." Sarah insisted. Sherlock sighed; dropping the rag he was using into a bucket and seeing the whole crew there, even Jeanette, waiting impatiently to hear his story.
"Why does everyone care so much?" Sherlock asked, not liking all the attention he was suddenly receiving.
"Well, it's not like we haven't noticed the tension between you and John these past couple of days." Jeanette pointed out.
"Tension? There hasn't been any tension." Sherlock insisted. Molly just laughed a little bit, but put her head down as if pretending nothing had happened.
"Sure, my mistake." Jeanette shrugged. Sherlock sighed, leaning on the counter and making sure no costumers were waiting in line. Even Carl looked curious, but Sherlock wasn't sure if he was just trying to fit in or if he actually cared about Sherlock's love life.
"We're not pressuring you or anything..." Molly started.
"Yes we are." Sarah insisted, and Sherlock just rolled his eyes.
"Alright, fine, we kissed, happy?" Sherlock groaned.
"A kiss doesn't make you late." Sarah insisted.
"I'm not going to tell you everything that goes on in my love life, alright? You're over twelve; you can fill in the blanks." Sherlock snapped, and Molly made a little squealing sound.
"I knew it!" she exclaimed.
"Congratulations." Sherlock muttered, blushing with the stage pressure.
"Good for you Sherlock." Jeanette decided, and Sherlock just pulled a disgusted face.
"That's not a normal response." He insisted.
"I'm your boss, don't push it, you were already late." Jeanette insisted.
"Excuse me, could I order?" asked a middle aged man with a mustache. Sherlock went over to take his order, happy for an excuse to leave such an uncomfortable situation. When their shift was over, Sherlock and Molly headed over to the coat rack, where John was already waiting for them, struggling with the zipper on his laptop case.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we are officially the number one couple in the coffee shop." Sherlock sighed.
"To absolutely no opposition." John pointed out.
"Well, I don't know, Sarah and Carl looked at each other once, I think." Molly shrugged.
"That's not even funny, that's just disgusting." Sherlock decided, pulling on his coat and waiting for Molly to do up all the buttons on hers. When they finally got out the door, John walked in the middle, so that he and Sherlock were walking next to each other. It was a little bit uncomfortable, because it was obvious that Molly wanted to know everything she possibly could, but she wasn't asking, which was even more uncomfortable.
"How about we all have lunch at my place?" she suggested.
"So that you can interrogate us?" Sherlock asked.
"Well, I was going to try to be a little bit discreet about it." she shrugged.
"That sounds fine." John agreed.
"I'm running out of food anyway." Sherlock groaned.
"You haven't gone shopping since the last pay check?" Molly asked.
"Everyone insists on feeding me, it's not my fault." Sherlock defended.
"Oh, you poor thing." John laughed. He caught Sherlock's hand mid-swing; interlocking their fingers and making Sherlock's entire arm go numb. Sherlock looked down helplessly at John, as if this was some sort of trap or something, but he just laughed.
"You don't have to look so scared." He insisted, and Sherlock smiled a little bit, but was still overly uncomfortable. As proud as he was that John Watson, the John Watson, wanted to hold his hand, it seemed pretty public. Sherlock was sure John didn't really want all of these people to associate him with Sherlock, especially in a romantic way. But when they got to the apartment building, John's hand was still locked with Sherlock, and he didn't seem like he wanted to let go. Sherlock understood, of course, ever since last night, any chances to be close to John sounded like a dream come true. Because finally that veil had been lifted between them, and Sherlock and John saw each other for who they were, not who they were pretending to be. In Sherlock's eyes, John was no longer the annoying straight neighbor, and in John's eyes, Sherlock was no longer the awkward gay artist that hated everyone. They were now one of the same, they were in love, and anything else didn't really matter. John went to let Dudley out, and Molly and Sherlock went to get started on some sandwiches that she was going to provide them with. 

"So, I'm sure you're happy then?" Molly asked as she pulled out some bread from the cabinet.
"Of course I'm happy." Sherlock insisted.
"What happened to not liking him?" Molly pointed out.
"Shut up Molly." Sherlock snapped.
"You've always liked him, haven't you?" Molly asked.
"No, I mean, not always." Sherlock defended.
"When did you start liking him?" She asked.
"After he first came over, I thought I felt...feelings." Sherlock admitted.
"All that time? Sherlock, you've been in denial for weeks!" Molly exclaimed.
"But you believed it, didn't you?" he asked with a smile.
"I did not! I knew there was something there, I've seen you in love, and you were in love. You always have been, I'm shocked you admitted it though. You seem like the type to hide from your feelings the best you can." Molly insisted.
"I'm not hiding from them, not anymore." Sherlock defended.
"Well, now you're not." Molly agreed. John's arrival ended their conversation, and Sherlock gave him a shy smile.
"Hello again." Molly said with a smile.
"It's been three minutes." John insisted with a laugh.
"We missed you." Sherlock shrugged, and John laughed again, pressing a kiss to Sherlock's cheek and making Molly squeal.
"If you want to keep Molly's girlish outbursts to a minimum, I suggest we keep the personal affection to ourselves." Sherlock decided.
"I'll be quiet." Molly assured, going back to smearing mayonnaise on a half a sandwich.
"Why, so you can see us kiss?" John asked.
"Maybe." Molly muttered innocently. Sherlock groaned, but John seemed to find that amusing, going over to help Molly instead of giving Sherlock his promised kiss.