On the third day of Sherlockmas: One Day at a Time, for rafaela
Author: Kitsune_Scribe
Title: One Day at a Time
A gift for: rafaela
Characters/Pairing: Sherlock Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Molly Hooper; Sherlock Holmes/Greg Lestrade Pre-slash
Category: Pre-Slash
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Canon past drug use; mentioned non-consensual drug use; off screen violence; canon level dead bodies, Epilogue is Post Fall.
Summary: Sherlock’s scarf means more then they’re letting on.
Author's Notes: Merry Sherlockmas rafaela! I hope you enjoy this. You mentioned little details like how John gets his sweaters and somehow this popped into my mind.
One Day at a Time
He wouldn't go to meetings of course. The daft git claimed that his brain had gotten him into that state and so it could get him back out. As if you could out think a cocaine addiction. But apparently you could if you were Sherlock Holmes, because the self-proclaimed Consulting Detective had been remarkably clearheaded whenever they had seen each other, both when he'd shown up at crime scenes and when Greg had dropped in on him at whatever hovel he was trying to call a flat this week, and Greg felt he deserved a memento of the accomplishment.
But wasn't like Greg could just magic up a six month sobriety chip, no matter how grateful Sherlock's posh brother was, and anyway he wasn't foolish enough to think Sherlock would want a chip from a program he disdained so Greg decided to get creative.
~~~~~
"What is that?" Sherlock said glaring at the wrapped parcel sitting innocently on a stack of files on Greg's desk.
"What, you can't deduce a simple present?" Greg asked looking up from the forensics report he was reviewing.
Sherlock stared at the scarf with an intensity usually reserved for locked rooms and three day old corpses."You're worried about its reception but not wondering what's inside so obviously it's a gift from you not one you've received yourself." Sherlock said eyes flitting between the D.I. and his present. "Obviously it's a scarf from Paul Smith wrapped in the store because your wife is the one who does the wrapping in your house but you didn't want her to know about this gift. It's not your anniversary or her birthday and anyway this is obviously a gift for a man."
"Right so far."
“Paul Smith is too expensive for an underling's Birthday, and you're not the type to curry favour from your superiors with extravagant presents, though your wife would approve of anything that got you a promotion resulting in a more stable schedule."
Greg grimaced at the reminder of his wife's missed dinner party, but if he hadn't followed Sherlock when he got the man's dammed text they'd be meeting in Hospital today instead of his office.
"You don't have any male relatives living in London, and you're not dressed to meet friends after work," Sherlock's eyes narrowed. "Really, Lestrade, I told you that I wasn't cold last night. There was no need to waste money on such a ridiculous gesture."
Greg's cheeks heated and he looked at the box in a futile attempt to hide his blush. "It may seem ridiculous to you, but six months is quite an accomplishment." He said. "And for your information I got you the scarf last week. I was just waiting for the right day."
"And I suppose Mycroft called you this morning to inform you of the timing." Sherlock sneered.
"A card arrived by messenger actually," Greg said pointing at the creamy envelope sitting just under the package, "but I've had the twenty-ninth pegged as your sober anniversary date for a while now. You're even more insufferable than usual once a month."
Sherlock took that as an insult and refused to even open the gift, choosing to distract Greg with the discoveries he had made the night before and slip it into the pocket of his coat instead, but after that, if he was planning to attend a crime scene, he wore the scarf Greg had gotten him.
~~~~~
Three weeks after Sherlock stole his present he showed up without the scarf around his neck. It was a warm day, and Greg would have thought nothing of it if not for the dejected look on his face, certainly not the usual when faced with a grisly crime scene.
"Not cold enough for you, Freak?" Sally's voice followed Sherlock in from the hall. He rolled his eyes and raised his collar against the chill of the room.
Watching from the doorway as Sherlock examined the body lying in the middle of the ransacked room Greg said, "We think the air conditioning was left on in an attempt to delay discovery of the body."
"So it'll have been running full blast since," Sherlock's eyes flicked around the room, "Thursday evening."
"How did you," Greg shook his head, "never mind, that fits with the Medical Examiner's timeline. Why aren't you wearing your scarf?"
"It's too warm to be practical today,"
"It was warmer on the day you..." Inspiration dawned and Greg closed the door to give them some privacy. "You do realize that being drugged during an attempted kidnapping doesn't count right?"
"They used cocaine." Sherlock said shoulders hunched in an attempt to hide his uncovered throat.
"You didn't take it."
"Still."
“Have you taken any since?" Greg asked in exasperation.
"Of course not," Sherlock straightened with outrage, "I'm clean!"
"So you restarted your count after I left."
"Five months twenty-two days until I can wear it again."
"Wear it to tomorrow."
"The rules state."
"You refused to go to meetings, scoffed at the idea of requesting help from a Higher Power," Greg ignored the scoff that met his words, "and you called the scarf ridiculous when I gave it to you. You don't follow their rules, and I say that since this was a Brain Problem only cocaine you chose to take counts. Being drugged only means I get to yell at you for putting yourself in danger again, not that you have to change your anniversary."
"You yelled for most of the time I was coming down."
"You put yourself in the path of a kidnapping ring in order to prove their existence." Greg walked to the middle of the room and put his hand on Sherlock's shoulder, "That was a horrible plan that had me terrified for the six hours it took to find you, but they hadn't shown any signs of drugging their previous victims, so it doesn't count as choosing to use, and it doesn't change the fact that I believe in you."
Sherlock leaned into his touch for a moment before pulling away and returning his attention to the crime at hand. He was wearing the scarf the next day as he led them to the house of the victim's secret half-sibling.
~~~~~
Greg returned to the gravesite often. He would stare into the headstone’s reflective surface and try to work out what problem Moriarty could have posed that even Sherlock couldn’t solve.
Molly found him there one afternoon and came to stand beside him. She carried a small wrapped bundle. "He wants you to keep it safe," she whispered as she handed it to him. The paper crinkled as the cloth inside folded.
Title: One Day at a Time
A gift for: rafaela
Characters/Pairing: Sherlock Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Molly Hooper; Sherlock Holmes/Greg Lestrade Pre-slash
Category: Pre-Slash
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Canon past drug use; mentioned non-consensual drug use; off screen violence; canon level dead bodies, Epilogue is Post Fall.
Summary: Sherlock’s scarf means more then they’re letting on.
Author's Notes: Merry Sherlockmas rafaela! I hope you enjoy this. You mentioned little details like how John gets his sweaters and somehow this popped into my mind.
One Day at a Time
He wouldn't go to meetings of course. The daft git claimed that his brain had gotten him into that state and so it could get him back out. As if you could out think a cocaine addiction. But apparently you could if you were Sherlock Holmes, because the self-proclaimed Consulting Detective had been remarkably clearheaded whenever they had seen each other, both when he'd shown up at crime scenes and when Greg had dropped in on him at whatever hovel he was trying to call a flat this week, and Greg felt he deserved a memento of the accomplishment.
But wasn't like Greg could just magic up a six month sobriety chip, no matter how grateful Sherlock's posh brother was, and anyway he wasn't foolish enough to think Sherlock would want a chip from a program he disdained so Greg decided to get creative.
~~~~~
"What is that?" Sherlock said glaring at the wrapped parcel sitting innocently on a stack of files on Greg's desk.
"What, you can't deduce a simple present?" Greg asked looking up from the forensics report he was reviewing.
Sherlock stared at the scarf with an intensity usually reserved for locked rooms and three day old corpses."You're worried about its reception but not wondering what's inside so obviously it's a gift from you not one you've received yourself." Sherlock said eyes flitting between the D.I. and his present. "Obviously it's a scarf from Paul Smith wrapped in the store because your wife is the one who does the wrapping in your house but you didn't want her to know about this gift. It's not your anniversary or her birthday and anyway this is obviously a gift for a man."
"Right so far."
“Paul Smith is too expensive for an underling's Birthday, and you're not the type to curry favour from your superiors with extravagant presents, though your wife would approve of anything that got you a promotion resulting in a more stable schedule."
Greg grimaced at the reminder of his wife's missed dinner party, but if he hadn't followed Sherlock when he got the man's dammed text they'd be meeting in Hospital today instead of his office.
"You don't have any male relatives living in London, and you're not dressed to meet friends after work," Sherlock's eyes narrowed. "Really, Lestrade, I told you that I wasn't cold last night. There was no need to waste money on such a ridiculous gesture."
Greg's cheeks heated and he looked at the box in a futile attempt to hide his blush. "It may seem ridiculous to you, but six months is quite an accomplishment." He said. "And for your information I got you the scarf last week. I was just waiting for the right day."
"And I suppose Mycroft called you this morning to inform you of the timing." Sherlock sneered.
"A card arrived by messenger actually," Greg said pointing at the creamy envelope sitting just under the package, "but I've had the twenty-ninth pegged as your sober anniversary date for a while now. You're even more insufferable than usual once a month."
Sherlock took that as an insult and refused to even open the gift, choosing to distract Greg with the discoveries he had made the night before and slip it into the pocket of his coat instead, but after that, if he was planning to attend a crime scene, he wore the scarf Greg had gotten him.
~~~~~
Three weeks after Sherlock stole his present he showed up without the scarf around his neck. It was a warm day, and Greg would have thought nothing of it if not for the dejected look on his face, certainly not the usual when faced with a grisly crime scene.
"Not cold enough for you, Freak?" Sally's voice followed Sherlock in from the hall. He rolled his eyes and raised his collar against the chill of the room.
Watching from the doorway as Sherlock examined the body lying in the middle of the ransacked room Greg said, "We think the air conditioning was left on in an attempt to delay discovery of the body."
"So it'll have been running full blast since," Sherlock's eyes flicked around the room, "Thursday evening."
"How did you," Greg shook his head, "never mind, that fits with the Medical Examiner's timeline. Why aren't you wearing your scarf?"
"It's too warm to be practical today,"
"It was warmer on the day you..." Inspiration dawned and Greg closed the door to give them some privacy. "You do realize that being drugged during an attempted kidnapping doesn't count right?"
"They used cocaine." Sherlock said shoulders hunched in an attempt to hide his uncovered throat.
"You didn't take it."
"Still."
“Have you taken any since?" Greg asked in exasperation.
"Of course not," Sherlock straightened with outrage, "I'm clean!"
"So you restarted your count after I left."
"Five months twenty-two days until I can wear it again."
"Wear it to tomorrow."
"The rules state."
"You refused to go to meetings, scoffed at the idea of requesting help from a Higher Power," Greg ignored the scoff that met his words, "and you called the scarf ridiculous when I gave it to you. You don't follow their rules, and I say that since this was a Brain Problem only cocaine you chose to take counts. Being drugged only means I get to yell at you for putting yourself in danger again, not that you have to change your anniversary."
"You yelled for most of the time I was coming down."
"You put yourself in the path of a kidnapping ring in order to prove their existence." Greg walked to the middle of the room and put his hand on Sherlock's shoulder, "That was a horrible plan that had me terrified for the six hours it took to find you, but they hadn't shown any signs of drugging their previous victims, so it doesn't count as choosing to use, and it doesn't change the fact that I believe in you."
Sherlock leaned into his touch for a moment before pulling away and returning his attention to the crime at hand. He was wearing the scarf the next day as he led them to the house of the victim's secret half-sibling.
~~~~~
Greg returned to the gravesite often. He would stare into the headstone’s reflective surface and try to work out what problem Moriarty could have posed that even Sherlock couldn’t solve.
Molly found him there one afternoon and came to stand beside him. She carried a small wrapped bundle. "He wants you to keep it safe," she whispered as she handed it to him. The paper crinkled as the cloth inside folded.