Disadvantageous

Chapter 1

Sherlock was extremely disappointed when Fantine died, not only because Lydia's stellar performance was bringing him to tears and her death was overshadowed by the duet between Javert and Valjean, but also because he understood that this meant Lydia would no longer have a prominent role in the show. Yes, there was the chance they would have her as an ensemble member throughout the remainder, at least until Fantine came back at the very end, but it was still painful for Sherlock.

Even after the two years they had spent apart, Sherlock still loved this woman with every fibre of his body. Her voice still stirred something in him that could not be touched by any other. He missed her so much and was grateful that his work was finally done so now they could be together again.

Sherlock hadn't even refused his grandmother's ring when his mother had offered it to him when he was visiting, in fact it now sat in Sherlock's trouser pocket. Not because he planned on using it, mind you. Or perhaps he would, Sherlock supposed that that would depend on how the evening went. But right now he was impatiently awaiting Lydia's return to the stage so he could bask in her voice once again.

As the performance came to a close, he was the one cheering the loudest as Lydia took her bow. She had been incredible, not that he had anticipated any less. He was so proud of her, she had really made a name for herself while he was gone. It had really only been the previous year that she was performing again, but she was already starring in the West End's longest running musical.

The curtain closed and Sherlock's view of the woman he loved was obscured, leaving him alone in the audience as the house lights came up. He picked up the bouquet of blue orchids he had got her, hoping she would like them now just as much as she did the last time he had presented them to her.

Lydia, completely oblivious to Sherlock's presence in the audience, returned to her dressing room after the performance, which she shared with the actresses playing Cosette, Éponine, and Madame Thénardier. She took her time getting out of costume and makeup, knowing the Liam, who played Valjean, would be stopping by once the other three women were gone.

As anticipated, there came a knock at the dressing room door and Lydia hurried over to answer it, wrapping her arms around Liam's neck as soon as she saw who it was. He smiled as he brought his lips down to hers, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"You were stunning as always, love," he praised, brushing his thumb over her jaw.

She beamed at him, "well, I certainly couldn't do it without my extraordinary Valjean."

Pushing her back so that they were fully inside the dressing room, Liam hoisted her up onto her makeup table, immediately interlocking their lips. Lydia held her fiancé close, laughing breathily as he began to trail his lips down her neck.

"Liam, we really must be getting out to the stage door. It's you they all want to see," Lydia reminded him, trying to lean a bit out of his reach, to no avail.

He hummed against her neck and remarked, "well, we don't have to go out there, it's not required of us. Perhaps we can just go straight home and enjoy ourselves."

She snorted, "like that's actually going to happen. Come on, darling, I know how much you like meeting the fans. We can save this for later, I promise."

"Fine, if we must," Liam sighed, pulling away from her with a bit of disappointment. "You don't happen to have a sharpie I could borrow, do you?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "do you ever actually remember yours?"

The two of them, far too caught up in each other, failed to realise when another passed by the dressing room. He had had to wait for the audience to filter out before those backstage lowered their guard, allowing him to slip backstage without notice. But nothing was going to stop him from surprising Lydia with her flowers, announcing his return to the world.

However, as he approached the dressing room he knew she shared with three other actresses, he caught the sounds of conversation from within. It was a male voice speaking so Sherlock knew immediately it wasn't one of the people with whom she shared her dressing room.

Now curious as to who was inside, Sherlock approached the door, left open, quietly and peered in.

"Come on, darling, I know how much you like meeting the fans. We can save this for later, I promise," Lydia cooed, looking up at the man pressed up against her. Sherlock immediately recognised him as the actor playing Valjean, but he knew the two of them were no longer acting. That much was apparent by the diamond ring now sitting on Lydia's finger.

She had someone else, had moved on. Sherlock should have anticipated something like this, he had been dead for two years now. But he never imagined Lydia would ever be happy with anyone else. Yet here she was poised to marry a fellow actor. One she must have only known for at most a year.

It was a stark contrast to the woman he had watched at his grave, the one who didn't even have the strength to attend his funeral. Sherlock had asked Mycroft to keep a closer eyes on her after that, afraid that she actually was going to take her own life. But she was looking much healthier now, at least. Sherlock vaguely wondered if she ever thought about him, was there still a little part that was grieving?

He knew he should have been happy for her, that he should have been relieved that, even after losing him, she had been able to experience happiness again. But it was like a knife to the heart to see her with another man, no indication that she still cared at all for her former partner who had tragically died. Sherlock would have happily endured another year of torture instead of finding out that Lydia had moved on.

Realising that the two of them were about to leave the room, Sherlock quickly moved away, tossing the flowers in the bin on the way out. He could only hope his reunion with John would be better.

-

(A/N): And like Jesus supposedly did on this day, I have returned from the dead! I've been chipping away at this story bit by bit for about a year now, but I finally think I'm ready to start posting it for you all! I apologise that there's been such a long delay, I've had some issues figuring out exactly where this story would go, but now I think I've got it planned all the way to the end! I really hope that you enjoyed this first chapter and I promise that things will heat up quickly!