The One Next Door

The One Ring To Rule Them All

    "You two are really getting close." Sarah decided.
"Yes, we are." Sherlock agreed.
"Soul mates." Molly agreed with a girlish sigh.
"Shut up Molly." Sherlock insisted, grabbing a cup from Carl and going on with his work.
"Why's Molly all swoony? Something go on with Tom?" Sarah muttered to Sherlock as he was cleaning out some of the coffee filters.
"I don't think so." Sherlock admitted, looking over to where Molly was staring into the wall with a big smile on her face.
"Oh, no, that's not Tom, she's just excited." Sherlock agreed.
"About what?" Sarah asked. Sherlock sighed, looking over at John, who was still at his booth with an earbud clinging to one of his ears.
"I'm going to ask John to marry me." Sherlock whispered, and Sarah put her hands over her mouth to stifle the scream that came out of her mouth.
"You're kidding me?" she asked.
"No, I'm not." Sherlock sighed, shoving the filters back into the coffee machine and starting a fresh pot.
"It's been what, three months, two months? Do you really think he's the one?" Sarah asked.
"I know he's the one." Sherlock agreed.
"How romantic." Sarah laughed.
"Molly and I are going out today, going shopping for a ring." Sherlock sighed.
"Does he want a diamond?" Sarah asked.
"Nope. And even if he did, I couldn't afford one; maybe I'll print a picture out and tape it or something." Sherlock shrugged.
"Can you afford a printer?" Sarah asked.
"I can't even afford ink." Sherlock assured. Thankfully, Sarah was swooped away by a costumer who was complaining that there was a hair in their coffee, a short little dark one that looked just a bit curly under the weight of all of that coffee.
"Ooh, someone's going to have to wear a hairnet." Sarah joked, elbowing Sherlock in the side while going off to get a new cup from Carl.
"I'd rather die." Sherlock pointed out.
"Please don't do that." said John's voice from the takeout counter.
"Hi John." Sherlock said with a smile, scampering over to where his boyfriend leaned.
"Hi Sherlock." John agreed.
"Is someone making your coffee?" Sherlock asked, looking around to see if there was a medium roast floating around anywhere.
"Nope." John said with a smile.
"And I assume you want something done about that?" Sherlock asked. John smiled again, poking Sherlock on the nose.
"Yep." John agreed.
"What are you, against standing in lines?" Sherlock asked, nodding towards the line of about five people.
"Well, they take too long. I'd rather see you." John admitted.
"Sorry John, but no special favors, get in line you deadbeat." Sherlock decided.
"Just this one time?" John asked, pouting with the most convincing puppy dog eyes.
"Sorry John, you know I have to be strong." Sherlock insisted, pulling himself up to his full height.
"Alright then, I have to travel through the world of people, none as pretty as you, hoping, just hoping, for a glance of my beautiful boyfriend behind the counter, who knows he can put a stop to all of my agony..." John muttered, retreating slowly backwards and trying to look pained.
"John, you look constipated." Sherlock pointed out, and some of the costumers gave him odd looks. Maybe that's not the best thing to say in the middle of a coffee shop.
"Sherlock get back to work." Sarah insisted.
"Sorry." Sherlock muttered, grabbing a couple of cups from Carl and starting to make coffee. When their shift was over, they all grabbed their coats and went back to the apartments. Sherlock stuffed every last bit of money into his large pocket, not even missing a penny, his phone, and a pack of gum, and then walked out to the hallway, where Molly was already waiting.
"Just where are you going?" John asked, coming up behind them and wrapping his arm's defensively around Sherlock's neck.
"We're going shopping." Molly said proudly.
"Am I invited?" John asked.
"Sorry John," Sherlock started, pushing his arms off of his neck and turning around, "But we need a girl's day out. I haven't seen Molly in three days!" Sherlock pointed out.
"Sherlock, I think you've forgotten your gender again." John insisted.
"Yes well, it doesn't matter all that much. Either way, I still get you." Sherlock assured.
"You're getting better and better at these lines, aren't you?" John asked.
"I hope so." Sherlock agreed.
"Well then, be careful, both of you, I don't want to hear about any fountain swimming or terrorized little children." John insisted.
"We'll be fine, I'll see you after." Sherlock assured. John smiled, pulling Sherlock down to his height by the neck of his shirt, and pressing a kiss to his lips. Maybe the kiss lasted a little bit longer than simply a peck goodbye, because after a while Molly cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Oh, sorry." Sherlock muttered, pulling away with an awkward little smile.
"See you." Sherlock agreed, and with a wave to Molly, John walked back over to his apartment.
"You think he feels left out?" Molly asked nervously.
"I think he knows something's up." Sherlock decided.
"Fair enough." Molly agreed with a smile.
"Let's go then." Sherlock decided, leading the way down the stairs and starting the journey to matrimony. The mall wasn't very bust, considering everyone was either at work or still on their Christmas vacations. Obviously though, no one had notified the mall owners that Christmas had past, because the decorations still hung in the doorways and the giant Christmas tree was still up. It wasn't hard to find the jewelry store; it was the only store in the building that tried to look fancier than it actually was, with pale yellow lighting, white carpets and walls, with pictures of happy couples with engagement rings plastered on the walls.
"That's going to be you Sherlock." Moly pointed out, staring up at a picture of a bride and groom kissing on an altar.
"Which one?" Sherlock asked.
"The bride, probably. I'll buy you the veil if you buy the dress." Molly offered.
"I'll probably just wear what I've got on." Sherlock shrugged.
"Absolutely not, you need a suit and a bow tie, you need to look breathtaking!" Molly insisted, smacking him in the arm and starting into the store.
"What, I don't already?" Sherlock whined, standing there for a moment before remembering that he had to go in to, so he scampered to catch up to Molly, who was already browsing the display cases.
"Hello ma'am, how can we help you today?" asked a pleasant looking woman with too much makeup.
"We need an engagement ring." Sherlock said officially, smiling proudly.
"And is this the lucky lady?" the worker asked.
"Oh, no, God no." Molly assured.
"Sorry, my mistake." The worker muttered kind of awkwardly.
"It's alright, we've heard it before." Sherlock assured.
"So, my name is Tara, I can help you today, find that ring for that one special someone." Tara said happily.
"Well, I can't afford any diamonds..." Sherlock muttered.
"I thought you weren't going to get them anyway?" Molly whispered.
"I'm not, let me handle this." Sherlock insisted.
"Famous last words." Molly muttered, but stepped aside and let Sherlock do the talking.
"So, no diamonds, that's alright, some women are perfectly simple, follow me." Tara decided, leading Sherlock to a cabinet in the back corner, as if they were ashamed to have such bland rings on display.
"So, tell me about your soon to be fiancé, what does she like?" Tara asked, going behind the counter to point at the rings as they talked.
"Well, I think we should be conservative, considering she is actually a he." Sherlock decided. Tara's face went slack, but her fake smile popped right back into place so quickly that Sherlock must've imagined it. Still, that was strike two for Tara.
"Oh well, that's quite alright, we have plenty of wider rings for men." She assured.
"I told you I should've done the talking." Molly murmured.
"Yes, yes, shush now." Sherlock decided. "How about that one, how much is that?" Sherlock asked, pointing to a simple golden band with engravings on the sides.
"Ah, an excellent choice. This ring was designed by one of our French crafters, it's simple yet it sends a message." She decided, pulling out the ring, which was displayed on a creepy looking molded finger.
"That's nice." Molly decided. Tara handed Sherlock the ring, and he examined it from all angles, seeing the engravings on the side, the shiny golden interior, looking all around. It was beautiful, although Sherlock couldn't see how a ring could send a message.
"How much?" he asked, observing the ring.
"This one will go for &299.99, which is one of our less expensive models." Tara shrugged.
"This is less expensive?" Sherlock asked, nearly dropping the ring, but since it was that expensive he probably shouldn't even risk it.
"Sorry to say." Tara shrugged.
"Alright, what's the cheapest one you have?" Sherlock asked.
"I can pay the other two hundred, it won't be an issue." Molly assured.
"I can't make you do that." Sherlock insisted.
"It's alright, you two can pay me back eventually." Molly assured.
"Are you sure, that's a big commitment, and I'm not good with commitments." Sherlock muttered.
"You're about to make the biggest commitment of your life." Molly pointed out.
"Yes, and it's the only decision I've ever been sure about." Sherlock agreed. Molly smiled softly, taking out her credit card and sliding it into Sherlock's hand.
"It's not a problem. Is this the ring? Can you see this on John's finger?" she asked. Sherlock smiled down on the ring in his hands, and nodded.
"I would love to see this on John's finger." He agreed.
"Then it's settled, we'll get that all wrapped up for you, and if it doesn't fit right, or you change your mind, you can always return it and get another one." Tara decided, swiping the ring from Sherlock's fingers and putting it back on display. "What type of fingers does John have?" she asked, pulling out a rack of the rings.
"Um, not chubby fingers, but not really thin, kind of somewhere in the normal finger range." Sherlock shrugged, looking at Molly for support.
"Don't look of me!" Molly laughed.
"Medium it us then." Tara decided, taking out another shiny golden ring and putting it in a little box, wrapping it with a bow, and then putting it in a little see through purple bag.
"And I'll check you out over at the registers." Tara decided, leading them over to where there were several registers all lined up. The store was empty except for them, so all the other workers were looking enviously at Tara, who was doing work while they were just standing around.
"Sherlock, your half?" Molly asked.
"I'd hardly call it half." Sherlock muttered, pulling out the big bundle of money from his pocket. A look of fear flashed in Tara's eyes as Sherlock counted the wrinkly dollar bills as he placed them on the counter, adding up to a grand total of one hundred seventy one dollars and thirty two cents, all placed very messily on the counter.
"And I'll be paying the rest on my card." Molly said, holding up her credit card kind of guiltily.
"Lovely." Tara muttered, pushing all the bills into the cash register and eventually handing them over the ring. Sherlock stared at it in wonder, smiling to himself as he slipped it into his pocket.
"Thank you sir, and good luck!" Tara said with a smile, and Sherlock smiled back. For once, he was feeling extremely happy. This was it; he was holding the engagement ring in his hand, the ring that John would wear on his finger for the rest of his life. The ring that would symbolize that they were to be together forever.
  "Are you excited?" Molly asked. 

"Beyond excited...I just can't believe this is actually happening." Sherlock admitted, rubbing his thumb against the box as they walked through the crowd. Sherlock put both of the drawstrings around his wrist, he had spent his life's earnings on this ring, there was no way he was going to lose it.
"How are you going to afford a wedding?" Molly asked.
"That's what parents are for, and I'm sure they'd sell their souls for me to have a happy relationship." Sherlock guessed.
"That's good; because that ring wasn't even expensive and it bled you dry." Molly agreed.
"It was too expensive! I didn't know love cost that much." Sherlock admitted.
"Love costs nothing, golden rings though, they cost a lot." Molly shrugged.
"I can't even imagine those ones with diamonds on all angles." Sherlock muttered, shuttering as he thought about the hefty price on those rings.
"There are some advantages to marrying a man then." Molly decided.
"Ya, especially if you're a woman." Sherlock agreed.
"Want to get some lunch?" Molly asked.
"Sure." Sherlock agreed. They went to some sandwich place, nothing special. Sherlock's stomach was twisting and Turing, and even though he was sure he was hungry, he just couldn't bring himself to eat anything. So Molly got a chicken wrap and they sat in a table in the back, Sherlock's table space occupied purely by the ring, as if it were the supreme authority.
"Where should I propose?" he asked. "I never thought I'd have to ask that..." he added in a whisper.
"You can propose wherever you want." Molly shrugged, dumping some sort of dressing inside of her wrap and starting to eat.
"Well, I was thinking taking him to some fancy restaurant, but I can't afford that, but it would be really romantic. Then I was thinking about proposing in the coffee shop, where we first met, but then again I think that might draw away costumers, all those homophobes and stuff you know? And then I thought why not on the stairs, where we first kissed, but then again, that's really private, and it's no fun if you propose in solitary conditions." Sherlock muttered, his mouth running a million miles an hour and just leaving Molly to nod and pretend like she knew what he was talking about.
"I think the restaurant's a good idea, make John pay half the bill." Molly offered.
"He'll wonder why I can't afford it." Sherlock pointed out.
"Say you bought new paints." Molly shrugged. "It's not like he thinks you're rich or something."
"He'll say yes though, right?" Sherlock dared to ask.
"Is that even a question? Of course he'll say yes, he loves you!" Molly insisted.
"I know, but maybe, maybe he doesn't love me enough to make this sort of commitment?" Sherlock muttered.
"I thought you said he was okay with it? I thought that John and you were seriously considering taking your relationship to the next level?" Molly asked.
"We were, and he specifically said that he intends to make me his husband, what if he bought a ring as well?" Sherlock asked fearfully.
"Then that would be really awkward, wouldn't it?" Molly laughed.
"That would be wonderful." Sherlock admitted.
"I just love the idea of you two getting married, I mean, you're total opposites, but that makes you so perfect together." Molly decided.
"If puzzle pieces looked the same, we'd never get the whole picture." Sherlock pointed out.
"Did you just make that up yourself?" Molly asked.
"Ya, right now, was it good?" Sherlock asked excitedly.
"That was like, poetic good." Molly agreed.
"I'm not a poet, I'm an artist." Sherlock defended.
"Some would argue that they're the same thing." Molly shrugged.
"Maybe I should expand my line of work." Sherlock decided.
"I think poetry and pick up lines is more John's job." Molly guessed.
"True. He is the most romantic person I've ever met; I don't know how he hasn't gotten married yet." Sherlock shrugged.
"Obviously he was waiting for someone special, and obviously, he made the right choice by waiting, because he found someone special." Molly decided.
"I'm not special." Sherlock defended.
"Don't even say that Sherlock, you're the most amazing person I know!" Molly insisted.
"Where should we get married?" Sherlock asked, getting side tracked once more.
"Are you considering a church, or more like an outdoor wedding?" Molly asked.
"Do they even do gay marriages in churches? Is that even allowed?" Sherlock wondered.
"I don't know, but let's go with yes." Molly guessed.
"I guess they can't say no." Sherlock shrugged.
"You could always do it down at the country club, that's a really romantic place, and it has a big banquet hall." Molly decided.
"That would be nice. I guess this should be John's decision as well, I shouldn't be making all these big decisions, I mean, it's both of us. We're getting married." Sherlock muttered, hardly able to believe it as he looked down at the ring once more. "Married."
"You seem like you're not able to accept that." Molly guessed.
"No, I accept it, I love it, I love it so much." Sherlock assured.
"I love it too." Molly agreed, finishing off the last of her wrap.