Mirror Mirror

Chapter 7

Regular Universe: Mirror John.

"We'll figure this out," Sherlock said reassuringly.

John felt the knot he'd been holding in since he'd woken up that morning loosen a little. The shock of seeing their playroom put back the way it had been when he'd first moved in had sent him reeling. He'd been so tired the night before that he did not realize that Sherlock had directed him up the stairs to this bed before he'd zonked out from exhaustion. It had been dark, and he'd hadn't seen much of the room before he'd crawled into bed.

"Sherlock, please explain why you've changed the playroom," John said again.

Sherlock looked at him thoughtfully and stood up. "Come with me."

John followed him into their bedroom and was in for another surprise. Sherlock's room held no traces of a shared existence. This was a single man's room, not a couple's. Nothing of John remained, and the sight of it sent the air whooshing out of him again. His presence had been eliminated as effectively as a surgeon cutting a tumor out of a lung.

Sherlock stood by his bed and opened his drawers one by one. Only his clothes inhabited them. "This has always been my room. Yours is upstairs," he said carefully. "We do work on cases together, and your help is invaluable, but we've never shared...anything more than what typical flat mates share, John."

John reached out an arm to steady himself and then stood up straight. "I see," he said and turned back into the sitting room. He couldn't stand another second in that sterile bedroom. Sherlock followed behind him, hovering concernedly. He sat back in his chair and put his head in his hands.

"John, I..." Sherlock began.

But, John interrupted him, "I don't know what is going on. But, I intend to find out," John said gritting his jaw tightly. "Let me just review. London is fine, no war zones and no bombed out areas."

"Correct."

"New Scotland Yard has control over the city's criminals?"

"I wouldn't call them "in control" but they do try," Sherlock said.

"You and I are not in any kind of romantic relationship."

Here Sherlock looked up, and a blush ran up his cheeks. He dropped his eyes quickly and said, "No."

"You are not my Dom and I'm not..." here John broke down a moment. "Your Sub."

"John, I wouldn't know how to do that. I don't even have, I mean I've had very little experience with..." Sherlock stuttered and stumbled so much that John began to feel a sick tension build in his stomach. Something was dreadfully wrong here. So wrong, in fact, he began to suspect his sanity for the first time. He'd never seen the detective in such a state of uncertainty before.

Sherlock had always been the one to take the lead, Sherlock had seduced him at the beginning of their relationship, and Sherlock had dominated him so thoroughly that John could hardly remember what his life had been like before. This was not the person he knew. This man looked and sounded like the love of this life, but had none of the fiercely personal determination and surety. This man had Sherlock's arrogance, and his confidence but none of the simmering sexuality John had grown to need in his life. What had happened to his Dom?

"I don't want to take advantage of you in your current state," Sherlock said kneeling down next to him. "I don't want to reject you, at all, but I'm not...we're not, together. That kiss just now. That was the first time I've kissed by anyone since Uni."