Sherlock: His Enigma Called A

A Doorstep Blush

Sherlock waited outside the office while Adelaide went in to change from her pumps into a pair of flats and grab the rest of her things. It gave him a minute to think over what John had said. The army doctor wasn't always right but he did have his moments and tonight he'd certainly had one.

Sherlock acknowledged that he had drawn close to Adelaide in the past months. Calling her anything other than his friend at that point would be out of the question. She had more than once listened to him when he ranted about a case or his feelings- particularly those of loneliness. She was always empathetic and understanding, and patient when he couldn't find the right words to express his frustrations or fears. She certainly has a much better grasp on the concept of sentiment and emotions than I do. He remarked to himself.

His friendship with Adelaide was new but already strong. Sherlock deduced that that was at least partially due to her having been his outlet away from everyone and everything else. Sherlock inhaled sharply and shifted as he made an almost frightening realization. I have already trusted her with my feelings and sentiments. The very things I keep from everyone else, even John.

"I'm ready, Sherlock," He shifted his head and found her locking the office door, shouldering her messenger bag as it tried to slip off the slick material of her coat. She turned around to face him and saw his pensive expression, "Unless something came up-?"

"No, no! Nothing else has come up," He quickly assured and stepped away from the wall, "Shall we, Adelaide?"

"O-Of course. Let's go."

They quickly found their way outside and flagged a cab. Adelaide was too shy to talk and Sherlock was too deep in thought to maintain a conversation, so the ride was awkwardly quiet. It grated on his nerves because he was so rarely uncomfortable with silence.

By the time they'd gotten up to her flat he couldn't take the silence anymore. As she walked up to her door he cleared his throat, "You handled the confrontation quite well, Adelaide."

She froze and didn't look up at him, "Really, Sherlock?"

"Yes. You handled it much better than I predicted you would, even when the serum was barely centimeters away from your skin."

"I guess I was too scared to move much..," She responded softly with a tiny, halfhearted chuckle. Her keys made a clicking noise in the lock and she turned to face him, "Thank you, Sherlock."

"For what, exactly?"

"For saving me, and for helping out the museum and all those animals. For stopping Creighton and Jacob, too, and bringing me home. It really does mean a lot. So... Thank you." She wasn't looking directly at him and he could plainly see the blush on her cheeks.

"You're welcome, Adelaide." He replied and then stepped forward. What he, or rather his body did next, was as much of a surprise to him as it was to her.

He leaned down and planted a feather light kiss on her cheek. Short and simple. Adelaide flushed bright red and even Sherlock felt his own face rise a degree in temperature but cleared his throat again to try and keep them both from feeling overly awkward, "U-Um, you should probably get inside and ice your ankle before it gets too swollen."

"Y-Yeah..." She turned around and twisted the doorknob.

"And, err... Don't shortchange yourself, Adelaide. You contributed greatly to this case," He managed before feeling a sudden urge to abort whatever mission he was on and save his dignity, "Good Night, Adelaide."

"Good-" She turned back around to tell him likewise but he had already vanished, "-Night?"

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