3/4 and Something More

"Well, do you want to learn, or not?". Sherlock waved his hands angrily at John, waiting for a final response. John let out an exasperated sigh. After about 2 minutes of bickering (which feels like an eternity when you're bickering with Sherlock Holmes), he gave in.
"Fine" he answered, "Fine! I'll learn. For Mary".
"For Mary," Sherlock repeated. With a quick, sharp nod, he marched triumphantly to the stereo, selected a disc, and popped it in. He took his place next to John, who looked rather unenthusiastic. As a flute began to flutter in support of the violins, John rolled his eyes. This sounded exactly like the kind of piece Sherlock might like.
"If you're going to dance, at least do it on time. Otherwise, it looks sloppy and foolish", instructed Sherlock. "Listen". A pause. "One-two, three, one-two, three, one-two, three..."
As he droned on, John began to recognize the tune. It was the waltz from Sleeping Beauty, one of the many fairy tales Harry loved when they were kids. He let a smile drift across his face, before Sherlock pulled him back down to earth.
"John. John, are you listening to me?"
"Hmm?" He responded, almost sleepily.
"Listen this time! One-two, three, one-two, three" he continued as the violin hummed the familiar melody. John observed Sherlock's steps, trying to replicate them. It should've been easy to catch onto; two steps and a slide this way, two steps and a slide that way, but somehow, he couldn't get the hang of it.
"It's a waltz, John, not a tap dance. Do it lighter, gentler".
Embarrassed, he attempted the square again, stepping lightly this time. After a minute or so, he felt comfortable.
Sherlock looked mildly impressed. "Good, John. I didn't expect you to get it so quickly. And now we move". He wove little S-shaped patterns with his steps, moving forward across the carpet, and then reversing everything. John waited a few counts before trying it out for himself. Forwards was simple enough, although it took him longer than he would have liked to get it right. It was backwards he was having trouble with. At one point, he caught his heel on the corner of the table, causing him to lose his balance. He chuckled softly to himself, only to glance over and notice that Sherlock was doing the same.
"By now you realize you can move in circles as well?" He glanced over at John, and seeing a look of utter confusion on his face, he demonstrated. Taking it as a sort of challenge, John imitated the pattern, keeping in mind everything he'd learned earlier. How childish of Sherlock to show off another thing he was better at, John thought. Then again, perhaps it was all the more childish of himself to take it as a challenge.
Sherlock strode over to John, taking his arms and moving them into a position so that John could lead. Trying to maintain an air of seriousness, which was hard when John was trying (and failing) not to laugh, he quickly muttered a note about posture before the violins began to play the melody again. They moved together in a tight square, swaying back and forth.
"You're leading, John, and at the moment, the dance is quite boring".
Once again, John snapped out of his dreamy state. He'd been so caught up in the feeling of being in Sherlock's arms, and how they moved together to the beat, that he'd forgotten all else. He cleared his throat, starting to vary his steps to make a circle. He struggled not to laugh every time he tripped (which was very often). Leading was harder than he'd thought.
"Knowing Mary, as I do, she may want to lead for a while. You should be prepared for this", said Sherlock.
Lies. John was no good at leading. Besides, he finally had a dance partner; why not make the most of it? He felt John's stiff posture grow softer, his smile wider. He felt himself beginning to smile too. The emotionless facade he'd tried to maintain had come crashing down, and it was too late for him to put it back up.
"Twirl me" he exclaimed.
"What?" Asked John, through a fit of laughter. "I'm not even leading".
"You heard me, and I don't care. Twirl me".
John raised his arm. Sherlock spun through, moving gracefully to the opposite side of the room, his hand still in John's, and spinning himself back through. He joined his other hand with John's free one. John tilted his head to the ceiling, snickering as Sherlock rocked himself back and forth, before spinning out the opposite direction, and coming back into the waltz position.
"What was that?" John questioned, as he took back his lead in the dance.
"I improvised", Sherlock answered, followed by a low chuckle. "You're no good at leading, it gets boring too quickly".
It was getting hard for John not to blush.
As the music surged in its final few notes, Sherlock tipped himself back, causing John to have to adjust quickly in order to keep them both off the floor.
Did I just dip Sherlock Holmes? He thought.
Silence.
John beamed down at Sherlock, with one of those rare, radiant, ear-to-ear grins. It was contagious. Sherlock couldn't help but grin himself.
Applause.
John snapped his head to the side, the smile falling clean off his face. Standing in the doorway was Mrs. Hudson, clapping loudly for them. John's arms trembled so much that he nearly dropped Sherlock. He tried to think of a way to explain this. Now he'd really done it.
"Oh, boys, that was wonderful!" Squeaked Mrs. Hudson, "John, I couldn't be more proud!".
"Hello Mrs. Hudson", said Sherlock, not bothering to pull himself to a fully upright position before greeting her, "While you were out, I taught John to waltz". Sherlock stood up, letting go of John, and straightening his shirt.
"Well you've certainly done a nice job of it. You've even taught him the dip!".
"I um- this wasn't my idea, I just-" John stammered, searching for excuses.
"Mary will be so excited! I'm sure you two will be so graceful together on the dance floor on your special night!" she said.
"Yes, precisely. Now, if you'll excuse us, Mrs. Hudson, John and I have a case", Sherlock said, donning his coat and scarf.
John didn't remember which case they were going out to. He didn't remember much from that day except the dance. Even a week or so later, as he stood at the altar with Mary, he thought about the dance. His waltz with her didn't feel the same. All throughout the day, it crossed his mind from time to time, and he still wondered if he was dancing with the right person after all.
Sherlock was his first dance. At times, John wished he would be every dance after it.