Sherlock: His Lover Called A [Sherlaide II]

Nervous Detective

Two Weeks Later

Sherlock grasped the flat, shiny black ring case and exhaled a deep breath, "Everything has been arranged. Dinner at Angelo's, then Ryan will call Adelaide back to the museum for help on their research project. I will accompany her there and then suggest a walk around to make up for the rest of the dats. The museum is open late tonight and it won't be suspicious..."

He recounted his plan for the evening and paced slowly around the flat. He wasn't due to meet Adelaide at Angelo's  for a few hours. But the brunette detective was nervous- an emotion still foreign to him. So he was attempting to get all of the anxiety and shyness out of his system before asking her to marry him. Of anything that could happen that night, what he feared the most was that he would fumble, mix up his words and look like an utter fool to her.

The second being that for whatever reasons, she will decline my proposal and reject me.

Of course the hat detective knew that the chance of that was extremely low. Of the very few people whom genuinely cared about him, he knew that Adelaide loved him by no small measure. He felt it. They clicked together, as Missus Hudson would say. And as she had remarked just before John and Mary's wedding; "When you find the person you click with it's the best thing in the world".     

Sherlock probably would never admit to his landlady that she had been correct that day. He had found his match, and it truly was the best thing he had ever experienced. Adelaide was the only other person aside from John whom Sherlock had invested so much trust and sentiment in.

If she flat out refused to marry him he did not know if he would ever open up to sentiment again, "STOP. She can't just deny me. She loves me and knows that I love her.  Don't be so pessimistic." He scolded himself and looked at the ring case before opening it. The engagement ring swiveled up into view on its tiny pedestal. The freshly polished silver alloy gleamed and the diamonds cast off a bright shimmer in the afternoon sunshine. He walked over to the window and the glimmer grew into a powerful sparkle.

As he turned it slightly to the side he observed the interactions of gemstone, metal and light. It somewhat calmed him. He pictured it on Adelaide's finger and felt a boost of confidence, "The ring box should also contribute some dramatic effect. She won't be able to feel it or find it on accident because of its design." The ring had actually come in a plain black velvet box, which was why he had purchased the low profile wallet-case. He might be proposing in a traditional, romantic fashion, but there was no reason he couldn't still be unconventional.

He grabbed his mobile from the desk as a text alert came in and shut the case, slipping it into his dressing gown pocket.

Nervous, mate? -JW

Sherlock fired off his response and exhaled another breath.

Yes. I'm about to ask Adelaide to share this life with me. That is no small thing. -S

Yeah, I felt the same way when I was going to ask Mary. Just remember the ring and you should be fine. -JW

Of course I'll remember the ring. I haven't let it off my person since I picked it up. -S

Okay then, mate. I'm sure you'll do fine. You're the great Sherlock Holmes, after all. London's hat detective. -JW

If you were here I would burn that infernal thing. -S

Yeah, but I'm not. I have to go consult a patient. Good luck, mate! -JW

That is appreciated. -S

Sherlock sighed and looked at his watch. It was technically too early, but he had nothing else to do. So he decided to go ahead and get dressed anyways.

He plucked the ring case from his dressing gown and stowed it in his coat's breastpocket. Then he whipped off the tartan dressing gown and walked to his bedroom, tossing it on the bed and approaching his wardrobe. He looked at his selection of shirts and found the newest one- a silky, shiny satin dress shirt in deep royal purple. He matched it with simple black trousers and a tailored black blazer, buttoning it for a sleeker look.

He never wore ties so he overlooked wearing one, and settled for his least worn pair of shoes. Once he was dressed he glanced at himself in the mirror and blew out when he saw his curls, "Neaten those up a bit." He ducked into the bathroom to tend to them.

After smoothing his curls down a bit he returned to the living room and retrieved the ring box again, "Just a while longer."

Thank you for reading! Shout-Outs to charityisirrelivant, iamsherlocked64, mmkn2005, Dalar_Rose and Annagamergirl9!! Love you guys!! 😘

These are pics of the ring case. Thought you might like to see what it should look like. What do you think?