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[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)

[Sherlock's amused by John's literal take on his comment. He appreciates the dry sarcasm despite the situation.]

Even if neither of us would resist?

[Well, he wouldn't resist. Much. There's really no telling about Khan at this point.]

[ He snorts at that, ]

That would never happen.

[ Meaning: 'both of you are too stubborn to never resist such a thing'. ]

Well, we wouldn't resist enough to make it impossible.

[Sherlock corrects himself. It seems things are going fine between himself and John, though his already fragile relationship with Khan might be more fractured than before. It hardly matters to him as long as they only count on one another when John is in danger.]

[ John smirks a little more at that, ]

You almost sound like you're encouraging the idea.

Heavens, no.

[Stop that, John. You're making him want to start smiling more.]

I might have stood up to him today, but I know he could have easily killed me with two fingers if you weren't there to bare witness.

Oh, don't be ridiculous, Sherlock.

[ A beat. ]

He'd only need one.

[For just a moment, Sherlock thinks that John's going to defend Khan's character and he's steeling himself for that. But then it turns into that and he loses himself to laughter.

After a few seconds of that, he's shaking his head.]

Oh God, that was stupid, wasn't it?

[He means standing up to Khan like that.]

[ John easily falls into that laughter with Sherlock, nodding his head. ]

A bit.

[ Although John has done much worse (he remembers smashing that bottle against Khan's head...). Not that he's going to tell Sherlock about that. Or how Khan had left half of his face swollen from one punch.

He just leans up against the counter next to Sherlock, grinning. ]

Almost would have been attractive if it hadn't been so stupid.

[Sherlock calms down after a few unsuccessful attempts at doing just that. He holds his hand over his middle for a couple extra seconds before he drops it to the side. It's close enough to almost touch John, but not quite there.]

Almost?

[He smiles a bit at that.]

I don't know if that means I should try harder or to back off.

[Because he could be just as possessive as John tends to be. It's less natural only because he's less inclined to believe himself suitable for romantic endeavours.]

[ He laughs a little more at that, shaking his head. ]

Depends if you want to be dead for our wedding.

[ He reaches forward and gives a few gentle tugs on the front of Sherlock's shirt, wanting him to come in closer. ]

Or, just don't threaten Khan.

That's a macabre thought. Would you still marry my corpse or would you wait for me to come back?

[Sherlock follows John's unspoken request, stepping close enough that they're touching in several places.]

But I see your point. Can't guarantee I won't threaten him again if he ever does anything to you intentionally or otherwise.

[He leaves it out, but he means harmful or otherwise, too.]

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