Intrigue Me | Johnlock Teenlock

16: Meeting

The week had passed slowly, an argument with Harry over my time at boarding school meaning that we had both been trapped in our rooms, dreading meeting one another on the landing.

The morning of Christmas Eve, Mom had made sure that my final day at home wouldn't be an unhappy one, and so we were sat in front of the fire with a deck of cards on the pouffe. I was dealing as it has been my role since an early age and bowls of cereal were being carefully placed on the rug. As per usual, my dad was reading the newspaper in his chair with his reading glasses providing little help.

After hours of playing cards, we jumped up and grabbed the plastic box from the corner of the living room. I began to unpack all baubles, tinsel and LED lights. I was in charge of baubles and placed each one delicately in its place, evenly spaced.

The remainder of the day was spent re-watching traditional Christmas films with mugs of hot chocolate and a turkey cob. Traditions couldn't be broken in our house, even if it meant that we recited all of the lines and hummed the songs perfectly. We were all sat tightly on the sofa, Mum squeezed between Harry and I. A tartan blanket was pulled over us to save our cold feet. Dad was in his chair, watching only a handful of scenes and staring around the room for most of the time. These parts of the festive season were the best.

The clock struck eleven and I slowly stood up, ready to say goodnight for the last time. The realisation suddenly hit me that it would be an extraordinarily long while until I would see my family again after tonight.

"Night, Mom."

"Goodnight, Son. Oh, do you have to go tomorrow?"

"Yes. I want to be with my friend. I'm sorry."

Tears filled our eyes and we hugged one another tighter. I knew that it was better to leave while the going was good instead of waiting for the holiday to turn sour, yet I still felt bad for my mum having to spend a  Christmas Day without her son.

"Oh, by the way..." She hurried, reaching into her dressing gown pocket and retrieving a small parcel. "I want you to have this now."

I took the object and tore off the paper, revealing a black box. I lifted the lid and a mesmerising black watch sat inside. It was black leather with a sleek silver face and only the numbers six and twelve on it. The hands were also silver with a black strip down the center.

"I love it, Mom." I beamed, taking it out and putting it on my wrist. Its hands ticked round the clock and I tracked their movements for a couple of seconds. "Thank you."

"I want my big boy to have a man's gift. You're growing up now, John."

"I love you."

"I love you more, my darling."

~

My feet trudged through the snow and dodged the black ice as I made my way up to the large house of the Holmeses. It had a large, overly traditional, festive exterior, exactly as I had suspected. The front lawns were covered in snow and a wreath was hung upon the front door, fake holly just visible among the green.

Before I could knock, a woman with an equally festive apron tied around her waist and a warm smile spread across her face had opened the door and was welcoming me in immediately. It only took one look at her smile to know that she was Sherlock's mother.

"Merry Christmas, Mrs Holmes." I started, rubbing my hands against one another. "Thank you so much for having me here."

"Merry Christmas, John." She beamed, now back in the kitchen attending to some pastry. "Sherlock's told me so much about you. Now, go on through! The boys are in the lounge."