Chapter 44
"I have friends."
"And? If you got them in the first place I am sure you will be able to find more among the year tens." Sherlock frowned at his daughter, who was lying stretched out on the sofa. She wore one of John's old jumpers, which was far too big for her, and scabby jeans. The nine year old was in the middle of solving a minor crime, thievery. She refused to change her clothes, using the excuse that she was working on a case. Sherlock noted that it drove John mad.
"They will all be two years older. I don't care if Hamish did it. I want to wait another year."
"But you're smart enough to finish school at sixteen. Becoming a doctor takes years."
"Papa did it without leaving early. I will wait another year before starting at the senior school."
Sherlock let out a dramatic sigh before merely nodding.
Martin got the distinct impression that he was intruding when he walked in from his room. But he ignored that. He had to ask his dad something.
Even though it had been almost a full year since the event, summer heralding the approach of its anniversary, Martin still did not talk to many people. Only his family, the other boys in his year, teachers on the occasion and Karina. Not that he had seen her much. But he would.
"Kari has invited me to go out for lunch with her. Can I go?"
"How safe will it be?" Sherlock turned his many coloured gaze to his son, a sense of concern held in their depths.
"I'll have my phone, which has a tracking device. Busy area of London. The café is only ten minutes away, at most. Nice place, good reputation." Martin spoke softly, tugging at his hair as he glanced up at the roof.
"And you definitely know all of this?" Sherlock needed to make sure. It may have been a year, Moriarty may be dead, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Hamish looked it up and confirmed it all."
"You can go," Sherlock nodded with a smile. "If you go anywhere else call me. Or your Papa."
"Yup," Martin smiled lightly. He was looking forward to seeing Karina. He hadn't really gotten much of a chance to talk to her at his school's Christmas ceilidh and there hadn't been any time to meet up during the holidays. So it would be good to see her again. He skipped back into his room to get ready, flashing a grin at Hamish. His twin merely arched an eyebrow, glancing up from his laptop.
"Have fun," he commented as Martin changed his jumper and shut down his computer.
"I will," Martin smiled, suddenly sitting down on the edge of Hamish's bed. "You'll make another friend, you know."
"What makes you think that?" Hamish rolled over, fixing his twin with a hard stare. Martin shrugged.
"You made one in the first place. Anyway you're really quite a nice guy."
"Oh thanks."
"And there must be someone two years older than you who is almost at your level of intelligence. And dad found papa, did he not?"
"I guess you're right." Hamish shrugged with a sigh. School had been hard since Mortimer had left. Not in the classic sense of difficult school work. No, that was easy. He had undoubtedly passed his GSCEs with straight As. But he had been so alone. He hated school. He'd been half tempted to just not go, to solve cases around London instead or something. But his dads would undoubtedly find out. He didn't want that. The extent of his hatred and boredom had been so much he had even tried smoking a few times in school. But every time, guilt had nagged at him and told him to stop after only a few breaths. He remembered what his dad had said to him when he was younger. To not go down the same route he had. So Hamish tried to live by that.
"Of course I'm right," Martin smirked slightly, a teasing light in his eyes. "Aren't I always?" Okay, so it was the other way round. Hamish was almost always right, not Martin. "Things will get better, Mish. They did for me." He suddenly gave his twin a large hug. "I'd better be off. Don't run off alone!" He grinned at his twin and hopped up, slipping out the door. He quickly said goodbye to Molly and Sherlock, who were both concentrating in silence. Martin didn't bother with a jacket, it was summer after all, merely slipping out the door and running down the steps. He made sure he had his mobile in the pocket of his jeans as he walked along the streets towards the café where they were meeting.
Karina was already there, waiting outside. Upon seeing him her grey-blue eyes lit up and she ran up to pull him into a quick hug.
"I missed you, Marti."
"I missed you too, Kari," Martin blushed slightly. Karina grabbed his hand and pulled him into the café. It was rather small and open, but nice nonetheless. Karina found an empty two person table and forced Martin to sit down.
"You're going to eat something, aren't you." She peered over her menu at him after a few moments of silence.
"If you want me to."
"I do. You don't eat enough."
"It runs in the family."
"Only from your dad," Karina commented drily. "You're papa eats more than enough, as does your younger sister. And your uncle Mycroft."
Martin smirked slightly, a light laugh emerging from his lips. "That much is true. I just don't like food much. But I'll eat."
He frowned down at his menu. A few minutes later Karina ordered a burger and Martin ordered a tuna panini. An easy conversation soon began between them.
"I like your friend."
"Hmm?" Martin mumbled out through a bite of his panini. It was surprisingly nice, for food.
"Your friend, Max. I approve of him as your friend."
Martin arched an eyebrow. "Good to know. As do my family."
"I think it's good that you have more friends now."
"Yeah. It is. Max is my best friend, though. Apart from you, of course. You were my first friend."
"Yes I was. If you don't include Hamish."
"He doesn't count. He's my brother," Martin chuckled. The conversation continued in very much the same way, until Karina got a text from her mum saying that she had to go home.
"I'm surprised my dad hasn't swooped in to check if I'm ok, actually," Martin commented as he headed out of the cafe. They had been in there for quite a few hours, getting a cake and then drinks so they could stay. At the end Karina had insisted on paying. Martin hadn't known why but decided not to argue.
Karina smiled at him. "Thank you for the lovely date." She move forward to kiss him on the cheek before hurrying away. Leaving Martin standing with his mouth hanging slightly open.
What? A date. He had though that it had just been a friendly lunch. Not that he didn't like Karina... Actually, he'd had a crush on her for quite a while. What she had said had just been a bit of a shock. He pondered over it as he wandered home, slipping up the stairs and into the living room. Papa seemed to have returned home from his shopping, or whatever he had been doing, and was typing on his computer. Sherlock was standing behind him, watching the screen. Both of his dads' gazes snapped to Martin as he entered.
"How was it?" John smiled.
"Eh... fine."
John arched an eyebrow and indicated for Martin to sit down. The fourteen year old sat beside his papa, biting his lip. "Anything happen?"
"Well... Karina said it was a date then kissed me on the cheek afterwards." He didn't see why there would be any reason not to tell his dads.
"Really?" John tilted his head.
Martin nodded. "Does it mean... That I'm going out with Karina?"
"It seems it does."
"She obviously wants some form of relationship with you," Sherlock pointed out, causing John to roll his eyes. "Do you want a relationship with her?"
Martin paused, turning bright red. "Yes."
Sherlock let out a small huff, whereas John just shot him an 'I told you so' look.
"If you ever want any advice when it comes to relationships like that I'm always available to help," John smiled.
"Though I wouldn't go to him considering how well he did with girls," Sherlock added in snidely.
"Well I have actually gone out with girls," John retorted with a glare while Martin watched his dads with slightly wide eyes. "Better to learn from my mistakes than take advice based on experiments and science."
"I will have you know that I have never been in a relationship that ended."
"That's because you have only ever been in one with me."
"Exactly. And look where we are." Sherlock smirked. John sighed.
"Thanks... I'll talk to you if I have to." Martin hopped up, scurrying into his room.
"Told you so," John taunted as soon as Martin was out of earshot.
"I thought Molly would be the first one to go out with someone," Sherlock huffed. "Hamish is too like me, Martin is too shy... Whereas Molly is exactly like you."
"What, stunningly good looking?"
"That," Sherlock laughed, "and a romantic."
"I'm so much more than that," John smirked, moving in to kiss Sherlock on the lips.