Sherlock doesn’t even take one final look at the restaurant as she follows Joan out, only stared at the once Army doctor with a small floating smile on her lips. It was then it occurred to Sherlock that this infatuation thing could quite possibly ruin cases for her. If just being around Watson distracted her to the point where she couldn’t concentrate on anything else, or wouldn’t then things will go very sour indeed. Just another hypothesis to test if this all worked, or even if it didn’t. Yet Sherlock found it hard not to indulge herself a little, because, just look at Joan; it was most amusing to watch her try and work out the meaning of Sherlock’s words and carry a normal conversation. 10 out of 10 for effort, 0 out of 10 for technique. Joan was rambling a tad and on a subject that was most uninteresting. “I’ll eat when I’m hungry. It just turns out that I may not be hungry for a couple more days.” Sherlock walked outside and went to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab, grinning as she went. It was enjoyable to upset and annoy the other woman, after a while it had even become some kind of challenge in finding new ways to push Joan’s buttons. The whole endeavor might have been childish in the eyes of others but Sherlock couldn’t see it, playing cat-and-mouse with Joan made her happy so who gave a toss about anyone else? And soon, these games of ‘cat-and-mouse’ were about to get a lot more interesting. Because Sherlock had a goal in mind, and would not stop at anything until she succeeded in getting what she wanted. This certainly had been an enlightening dinner.
The black cab rolled up to the curb next to the women and stopped, Sherlock then opened up the passenger door for Joan and told the cabbie where to go, “221B Baker Street.” After giving the location the detective slid into the car next to Joan, and once the door was closed the cab took off. After Sherlock had gotten comfortable in her seat she slipped her hand into her coat pocket and retrieved her mobile. While skimming over messages she glanced at Joan, watching her still working through what Sherlock had said at the restaurant or anything else she was thinking of. Stumping the doctor wasn’t difficult, she was average like most people, but seeing her work out a problem was fascinating to Sherlock, even more so in this case. It was hard to place her finger on it, but maybe the action was endearing? She wasn’t sure but seeing Joan so unsuspecting and vulnerable maybe something else come out in Sherlock, something predatory and dark. Whatever feeling was, it made her icy blue eyes go black as the pupils dilated. Thankfully the cab was dark and so the change was unnoticeable, but Sherlock could feel the mood in the car alter. She was sure that Joan wouldn’t have been able to detect it, since Sherlock’s body language was basically unchanged, not to mention the doctor didn’t notice things like that, a lot of people didn’t. Actually, it was now funny to Sherlock how her attitude had changed so much since yesterday, and Joan didn’t even had a clue. And whereas it would have concerned Sherlock just a few hours earlier to know that Joan didn’t even have a twinge of the same feelings in this regard, now it did nothing. This lack of consideration about the other woman’s feelings would probably qualify on the ‘Not Good’ list, but Sherlock couldn’t care less. It seemed that the sudden shock of actual caring for someone else had worn off, and she was back to her normal, prattish self.
The time it took to get from the restaurant back to the flat seemed like mere seconds, as Sherlock’s mind was occupied but other, more interesting things. Actually, to Sherlock’s astonishment, she wasn’t bored at all. There was adrenalin rushing through her veins, just like there would be if she was solving one of Moriarty’s puzzles. Her mind was full of tactics and possibility’s, successfully blocking out most of the inane babble that would tear her apart on a boring day. This little discovery made a wide smile appear on her face as she thought that things just might get better with this to distract her. The cab pulled up to the flat and Sherlock stepped out of the car with money ready in hand. She held it out to the driver and waited for Joan for a moment before walking to the door and unlocking it. With a small tug on the handle Sherlock swung it open and let herself in, taking only a few steps into the entry hall until she stopped to look around. Seemed like Mrs. Hudson was finally back home, relaxing after her dinner with a hot cup of tea most like.
When Joan closed the front door behind her and locked it, it was then that a small, almost cunning grin cast a shadow over Sherlock’s features. She didn’t move from her spot but simply turned on her heel to face the good doctor, looking down at Joan with her hands clasped behind her back. “You know. . . On reevaluation I think that my answer to your question in the restaurant was very much lacking in detail, for which I apologize.” At that comment her demeanor completely changed, and it was so drastic that Joan would certainly notice this time. When Sherlock took a careful step towards Joan, she suddenly resembled a lion stalking its prey through the tall grass. It was easy for her to loom over the shorter female, and as she got closer with another small step she had pushed Joan back against the front door. Her next move was to place her right hand on the door near the other woman’s head, now blocking one way of escape. Sherlock’s other hand slowly reached up to softly touch the hem of Joan’s black dress. As she carried out these action’s Sherlock’s grin had stepped over the lines of playful to completely mischievous. “You asked why I was dressed the way I was, and what had changed, correct? Well, to put it simply, I dressed this way to pressure you into dressing up as well, which seemed to work, no?” At these words Sherlock tugged lightly at Joan’s dress. “As for what has changed, my first answer really seemed to sum everything up. Though I don’t think you understood very well.” Sherlock gave a mocking smirk, still able to be a complete arse even in this situation. She leaned forward slowly till her mouth hovered just a few centimeters above Joan’s. It was there she stayed for a few moments, all the while keeping eye contact with Joan. She was still closely examining Joan’s reactions to this event, calculating every little movement and trying to decipher body language. Sherlock herself was completely alert and responsive, her body humming with energy and small shivers going up and down her spine. It was interesting to note her body’s biological reaction to being so close to Joan. She only wondered what Joan’s would be?
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