{"id":277565,"date":"2018-11-18T00:27:13","date_gmt":"2018-11-18T00:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2018\/11\/18\/oxfordlunch-john-buys-sherlock-flowers-its-on\/"},"modified":"2018-11-18T00:27:13","modified_gmt":"2018-11-18T00:27:13","slug":"oxfordlunch-john-buys-sherlock-flowers-its-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2018\/11\/18\/oxfordlunch-john-buys-sherlock-flowers-its-on\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

oxfordlunch<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

John buys Sherlock flowers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s on a whim; he walks straight past the florist on the commute home every other day, doesn\u2019t he? Only today the gaudy Easter arrangements and strands of faerie lights are something like a siren song, and he stops in front of the shop and bites his lip and stares at the window, and something in him says that this is a thing he ought to do.<\/p>\n

He never bought his girlfriends flowers.\u00a0 They wilt and die, after all, and there\u2019s all that awkward scrambling for water and a vase to put them in. Always seemed a sad waste of ten quid.\u00a0 Wine was a far more sound investment for an evening.<\/p>\n

Sherlock won\u2019t expect <\/i>flowers, though, and there\u2019s something about that that makes the idea infinitely more appealing.\u00a0 There\u2019s no generic flowers-chocolates-wine-jewelry progression with Sherlock.\u00a0 There are instead \u2018here, I saw this book on people who\u2019ve been killed by their exotic pets and thought you\u2019d enjoy it\u2019 gifts and \u2018here\u2019s a Lucky Cat because I love making you laugh\u2019 gifts, and he thinks flowers might be just the thing for a \u2018here, I think you\u2019re lovely and wanted you to have something lovely\u2019 gift.\u00a0 It might even be a surprise, and it\u2019s not often John gets the pleasure of surprising the World\u2019s Most Observant Man.<\/p>\n

He goes inside and stands there awkwardly, tries to browse casually and feels more awkward still.\u00a0 Eventually the shop-keep takes pity on him and strolls over and gives what sounds like a prepared sales pitch for straight blokes.\u00a0 Which is fair enough, John thinks, but he still appreciates how the man\u2019s demeanor loosens up considerably when he tells him he\u2019s looking for something for his partner<\/i>, emphasis on the not-a-wife-or-girlfriend.<\/p>\n

He leaves the shop with a recommendation for a pub he ought to check out, several enthusiastic well-wishes for his and Sherlock\u2019s relationship, and a dramatic bundle of irises wrapped up in soft green paper.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re tall, and curly, and vibrantly purple.\u00a0 They make him smile.<\/p>\n

He jogs up the stairs back at 221b to the bellow of Sherlock\u2019s voice telling him he\u2019s late, and that he shouldn\u2019t have bothered stopping for bread on the way home because Mrs. Hudson already brought some.<\/p>\n

John wears a small, knowing smirk that grows into a grin that grows into a wide, joyful smile at the sight of Sherlock\u2019s furrowed brow and sudden, surprised silence.\u00a0 This is <\/i>good; this is very <\/i>good.<\/p>\n

John clears his throat and ducks his head slightly, holding out the flowers and watching Sherlock as he stands there quietly in his pajamas.\u00a0 John thinks he can feel his face go red.\u00a0 He tells Sherlock the flowers are for him.\u00a0 He tells him he saw them and thought of him.\u00a0 He tells him lots of things, talks about the supportive shop-keep, makes a few awkward jokes, realizes he\u2019s rambling nervously, and shuts up after a minute.<\/p>\n

Sherlock takes the flowers.<\/p>\n

He stares at them, blinks a few more times, then shifts into John\u2019s space and leans down and gathers him into a hug with his free arm, dropping his face into the space between John\u2019s neck and his jacket collar.\u00a0 There are muffled words spoken into his skin, something like \u2018thank you, they\u2019re beautiful\u2019 and \u2018no-one\u2019s ever.\u2019\u00a0 John brings his arms around Sherlock\u2019s waist and breathes into the curls at the nape of his neck.\u00a0 They smell dusty and warm, like an unwashed day spent in the flat.<\/p>\n

He feels suddenly nauseous with how much he loves him.\u00a0 He does.\u00a0 He\u2019d buy him flowers every damn day if it would make him happy, fill the flat with them; sod his pollen allergy.<\/p>\n

He watches a few minutes later as Sherlock clatters through his lab supplies and rifles through the kitchen cupboards before finally holding up an enormous beaker with a triumphant flourish and filling the thing carefully with water and irises and the little packet of plant food that came with them, and John thinks the awkward scrambling for a vase didn\u2019t turn out to be that bad after all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

oxfordlunch: John buys Sherlock flowers. It\u2019s on a whim; he walks straight past the florist on the commute home every other day, doesn\u2019t he? Only today the gaudy Easter arrangements and strands of faerie lights are something like a siren song, and he stops in front of the shop and bites his lip and stares … <\/p>\n

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