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[Things are simmering down thankfully. John still seems upset, but slightly less so. At the moment Khan just wanted to leave with things on minimally decent terms. Not necessarily with Sherlock, but not have John fuming. At least that.

When he hears his name he stops, looking at the doctor... well, for a second, because then Sherlock is there shoving his way between them. A tall skeleton thin wall that isn't much of a threat at all, but he's certainly coming off like he intends to be one.

As much as he had been trying to be the bigger of the two men, Khan can't help the little smirk that lifts the corner of his mouth.]

Don't embarrass yourself, Holmes. This is over.

[Sherlock's eyes narrow when Khan speaks, but he's not going to just back down. He's not scared of Khan or what Khan could do to him. With the rules of this place, he'd just come back again and it would do nothing more than put an unquestionable chasm between Khan and John. He could risk a bit of pain for that.]

You're right. It's over.

[He steps forward, not backwards though.]

You're not to touch him again. Understand?

[ John is moving forward to grab Sherlock's arm, trying to pull him back and away from Khan. ]

Sherlock. Stop it.

Khan wouldn't hurt me.

[ He says that with conviction because he believes it. ]

[Oh this is rich. Absolutely rich. As much as he'd enjoy punching Sherlock square in the face at this very moment, he won't give into temptation. Another more fitting opportunity may yet rear it's head at a later time.

For now, he just stands where he is, letting Sherlock continue his macho display for John.]

This isn't about me hurting you, John.

[He speaks, but his eyes are all on Sherlock, looking some what smug even. How can he not? It's clear what this is about.]

You have him, Holmes, yet you're worried. Afraid. How very telling.

[Sherlock waits until John starts to tug on him before he pulls his arm free, never letting his eyes leave Khan's for a second.

What he says next makes him grimace. It's only for a very short time, maybe less than a second. It hurts, because it's true. He struts around with his head held high and putting on airs of confidence, but when it's all stripped down to the bone, he's left insecure and he's done a hell of a lot of work to keep John in the dark about that.]

Just... get out of my house.

[And stop talking. Now. Please.]

[ John frowns at Khan's words before looking at Sherlock, hearing something in his voice that brings out the protective urge in him. He looks back at the Augment. ]

Khan. Please.

[ His voice is quiet, almost pleading for him to leave. He doesn't want to get in the other man's face but he doesn't want this to continue, either. ]

[And the Augment just shakes his head, a soft huff of a laugh leaving him. Pathetic. Sherlock Holmes didn't deserve John Watson, he'd said it before, he'd say it again.

Just not right now. Instead he just turns and leaves, the door closes a bit hard but he doesn't slam it.

Maybe twenty minutes later John will get a text.]

House 28. Holmes isn't welcome.

[If John ever wanted to talk in person that is. Without his insecure man child around.]

[Sherlock waits until Khan's walked away from the front door before breathing out an irritable huff and turning around. He glances at John, slightly guarded, before he goes to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water.

He'll still allow Khan to come to the wedding as security detail, but he doesn't really care for him outside of that at the moment.

Khan should expect the photographs in a few days.]

[ John will make sure to respond to Khan later. Even go visit by himself. But in the present, his attention is solely on Sherlock. He lets the other man walk away, watching him. He doesn't know what to say, really.

He especially feels he's made a right mess of things the longer he thinks about it.

Which leads him to saying, after a few moments, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. ]

I'm sorry. I should've--I shouldn't have invited him over without telling you.

[Sherlock doesn't look over at John right away, though he definitely hears him approaching. He's too busy stewing over what Khan had said. In front of John, no less. It's not something he wants anyone, especially not John, to know about nor worry over.

But as soon as John starts to speak, he shakes his head.]

No, you shouldn't have.

[But he's not going to play the blame game here. They're all equally guilty, though he won't admit to it.]

It's fine. It's done.

[ John goes silent again, not sure what to say or do after what had just happened.

He hesitates before finally moving over to Sherlock, closing the distance between them. He reaches up a hand to place on the other man's back, slowly rub through the fabric of his shirt. ]

[Sherlock's not sure how to take being comforted like this. The affection on its own is nice, but the reason behind it is confusing. He lowers his water glass and sets it down on the counter next to the sink before finally turning his head to look at John.

Half of him wants John to tell him that he's got nothing to worry about. Or as Khan put it, nothing to be afraid of. But the other half wants to drop the subject and never pick it up again.]

Thank you.

[ John gently nudges Sherlock to turn towards him, slipping an arm around the other man's waist and leaning up to press his face into that long, pale neck.

He kisses the skin, his way of silently saying to Sherlock that he had nothing to be afraid of. John had chosen him and would be with him as long as he wanted him to. ]

[Sherlock turns towards John, not needing to be 'told' twice to do it. He even tilts his head up a bit to make room for John's face. With a quiet sigh, he curls one arm around John's waist and cups the back John's head with the other hand. He tilts his face downward to plant a kiss on the side of his friend's head.

He doesn't need to thank him again. That's what the kiss is for.

But it looks to him like there's a few details they'll eventually need to iron out for one another. Fidelity details, mostly. Sherlock trusts John and in a way, he trusts Khan not to do anything romantically forceful. But seeing how effortless it was for Khan to grab John and move him around made him uncomfortable and aggressive.

Should he apologise for that?

Another kiss on the head should do.]

[ John believes an apology should be more directed at Khan than towards him but he knows that won't happen. He also knows that 'fidelity' isn't something that needs to be questioned because he has already pledged his life to Sherlock.

After the second kiss, he moves his mouth up to press a kiss of his own to Sherlock's jaw. Then his cheek. ]

[Sherlock starts to turn his face towards John's as their exchange of light kisses continues. He plants a few on John's cheek, then he moves back enough so they can meet each other's eyes for a moment. He just wants to make sure there's no lingering displeasure or anger in his friend before giving him a short, mostly chaste kiss on the mouth.

When that's finished, he moves back but continues to look at his eyes.]

You're not the reason we don't get along.

[ John leans back enough to look at Sherlock but still keeps the contact, ]

Then what is the reason?

[Sherlock shakes his head, dropping the hand that's in John's hair to his shoulder instead.]

We've got different opinions on certain things.

[Which means in Khan's eyes, Sherlock will never be good enough and in Sherlock's eyes, Khan will always be a threat. Whether it's a personal threat or one against Wendy Lin, it will always be there. So far - at least not since the beginning of May when they'd argued about it - Khan hasn't been a threat to his relationship with John. He's not sure if he trusts him to continue not interfering directly after today.]

[ John knew that. But he continues to stare at the other man, waiting for more until he has to ask, ]

And? Is that it?

[ He felt it had to be more than that because even he and Sherlock had different opinion on things but that hasn't prevented them from becoming engaged. ]

[Sherlock considers John's question. He's got the suspicion that this is one of those questions that can either pass or lead to an argument. He wants to avoid an argument at all costs, but he's not sure which answer would do that. So he stays silent for a bit while he thinks.]

No.

[Which isn't really an answer without him explaining it.]

It's not because of you, but you're in the centre of it because you're the reason we have to interact.

[Honesty's worked well for him before, but it's also had a disastrous effect on occasion.]

[ John appreciates the honesty, even during the times it leads to arguments or fights because he would rather know than not. And so far, what he's hearing isn't making him made or feel offense. He's just wanting to understand. ]

I don't--you think you have to interact because of me?

[Sherlock's eyebrows pinch a bit as he tries to decide if it's a trick question.]

Today, there's no other way to look at it.

[If he can forgive John for inviting Khan over for this pow wow, then he hopes John can forgive him for pointing it out for what it was.]

In the past, sometimes yes and sometimes no. I'd say two-thirds of our interactions over the last several months have been concerning you and the last third, Wendy Lin or other Technicians.

[ That first point is true. John had already apologized for it, though. It had been a bad idea on his part and a forced one on top of that.

John looks down, sighing and pulling away. ]

I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

[ Looking back up at Sherlock. ]

At least not by my hand.

[ Which is the best he can do. If they really want nothing to do with each other, then John will make sure it isn't because of him (the wedding non-withstanding). ]

[Sherlock doesn't hold John when he tries to move away, but he reaches forward to keep his fingers on his arm for as long as he can before dropping his hand.]

As long as you don't throw us in a room together when neither of us is in the mood to see the other, then it shouldn't be a problem.

[He really doesn't like how much it sounds like he's siding with Khan against John, but it's one thing that they agree about. The two of them have their own rules and ways of working things out with one another that can be civil if a bit pretentious.

And because both of them care about - love - John, there's no way they will be able to avoid one another entirely.

It's just that sometimes Sherlock will need reassurace that John doesn't care about Khan in the same way.]

[ He feels his mouth quirk at that, ]

I doubt I could throw either of you anywhere.

[ And while John does care about Khan, in a surprisingly deep way, he loves Sherlock. He wants to be with and marry him. But if his lover needs assurance, John can give him that. ]

Edited 2014-09-07 22:09 (UTC)

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