#elementary reader insert

You saw Sherlock's eyes look you up and down, and you knew what had happened was playing through his mind. The killer, who you thought was working alone at the time, had suck up on you on your search of his apartment. You fought him rather brutally until Sherlock and Bell showed up to help you.

"Are you sure you should be going home? You still look a bit..." he trailed off as he motioned at you vaguely.

You let out a soft laugh. "I'm fine, just a bit bruised and sore, there's no real reason to keep me here."

Sherlock turned and walked to the window. You watched him curiously, noting how fidgety he appeared to be. "Are you alright Sherlock?"

Turning, he met your eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Closing it, he walked up to you and bounced on the balls of his feet. "I'm...frustrated. That the partner is eluding me so well. But...I'd feel much better if you'd let me take you home"

You watched him for a moment, "You don't think the partner will come after me do you?"

Sherlock looked down at his feet, before meeting your eyes again. "I don't know." You noted the seriousness in his tone.

"It would be easier if he did though, wouldn't it?" You asked, not really thinking about what you said.

Sherlock cocked his head lightly. "I'm not here in hopes of catching him, I-" he seemed to grow more flustered as he spoke. "Well, as hard as it might be to believe, I am only here to make sure you get home safely. I do not want the partner to come for you, no matter how easy that might make it to find him."

"So, you came all the way here for me?" You asked softly, knowing that Sherlock lived on the other side of the city.

He nodded once. "Yes. I did."

You couldn't ignore the swelling you seemed to feel in your chest, or the heat that rose up your neck. Not wanting him to notice, you spun around, and grabbed you bag, ignoring the soreness of your body. "Well then, I don't see why I shouldn't let you take me home."

Turning back, you handed your bag to Sherlock, which he took quickly before turning to leave. You smiled softly at the thought of him caring about you this much as you followed him.

The drive back to your apartment was filled with discussion about the case and the partner, and who they could be. You knew Sherlock was frustrated, but you could also tell there was something else bothering him.

As you got into your apartment, you watched as Sherlock quickly walked through, checking every room before he came back. "All clear?" You asked, only mildly serious.

Sherlock nodded as he looked at the locks on your doors. "You should look into getting better security, I could pick these in my sleep."

"Noted." You said softly as you watched him check your windows. "Sherlock." Not reacting, you spoke louder. "Sherlock."

Turning at the sound of your raised voice, he watched you closely as you walked up to him.

"What is bothering you so much? It's not just that you don't know who the partner is. Is it- are you...worried about me?"

"You seem surprised by the prospect."

"Well, you've not really shown this much concern for me before, at least not this noticeably."

"Yes, well..." He let out a huff of air, seemingly unsure of what to say. "I may- I may blame myself, for what happened to you."

"Why?" You asked with a concerned frown.

"I told you to check the apartment. Alone. I was not thinking of your safety as much as I should have been, and you got hurt. I will not neglect to keep you safe this time."

"So it's not that you are worried, its that you feel guilty? Sherlock we were doing our job. Getting hurt tends to happen sometimes. It wasn't your fault. None of us knew he was going to be there. I don't blame you, so you shouldn't either."

"But I do." His voice was louder as emotion became a bit more obvious in his face. His eyes paused on your cheek, where a bruise was still evident.

You felt your body freeze as he reached up, his fingers hovering over your face where the bruise was, before he moved a strand of lose hair from your face, his fingers grazing your skin softly as he did so.

Seemingly realizing what he was doing, he pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. "I will find the partner. I will."

You smiled softly, and spoke in a soft voice. "I know you will."

His eyes slowly moved to meet yours. "I wont let them hurt you again." His voice was almost a whisper.

"I believe you."

"I-" He began, but stopped, unsure if he should speak.

"What is is Sherlock?"

He crinkled his nose as he thought, before he swallowed, and met your eyes. "I find that... I have- that my...feelings towards you are changing, and have been for some time. And I'm not quite sure...what to do with them."

You took a deep breath, as you tried to steady your heart. "It's alright to feel Sherlock. And whatever you decide to do with your feelings...I'll still be here."

"And if I decide to....embrace them?" He asked softly.

"I wont reject you, if that's what you are afraid of."

He bounced lightly on his feet as he thought in silence for a moment. "I have thought for quite some time that you had feelings for me, but I wasn't positive if maybe I was just projecting."

"You weren't." You admitted.

He nodded his head as he locked his eyes with yours. Taking a step closer, you held your breath, his face not far from yours. His eyes grazed over your features, as he brought his hand up, and again, gently caressed your face. "Then I will...embrace them. I want to."

As various emotions seemed to rocket through you, you nodded your head softly, and smiled at him.

His lips quirked up a bit, as he slowly leaned forward. His lips hovered in front of yours for a moment, brushing ever so lightly, before he leaned in completely. His hand cupped the back of your head as he deepened the kiss, embracing the feelings he had once pushed away.

For the moments, the thoughts of the case, of the partner, were gone from your minds. But Sherlock's determination to keep you safe would remain, well past the closing of this case.

xx End xx

Ever since you mentioned to Sherlock that you had gotten him a present, even after his constant begrudging of Christmas, he had been attempting to guess what it was. He never did like surprises nor really the idea of gifts, for fear of feeling indebted to someone else. So the fact that you consistently kept it hidden from him - certain he had tried to find it - and also refused to tell him what it was, annoyed him to no end.

"It's distracting. I have more important things to focus on." He said with a hint of resignation.

"You've never had trouble before ignoring things." You said indifferently, causing him to glance at you for a moment before standing up.

"Well? It is Christmas morning, isn't that when people are supposed to open presents?"

You smiled to yourself as you took a drink of your tea before setting it down. You ran upstairs to retrieve Sherlock's gift that you had hidden in your room since the night before, having had a friend hold onto it before for you.

Sherlock was not doing a very good job at hiding his true emotions. He attempted to convey annoyance and indifference, but you could see beneath the surface, he was excited. Knowing Sherlock as you did, this surprised you, but unlike on many occasion, it was a good type of surprise.

When you arrived back down stairs, Sherlock was looking out the window, as the frost began to disappear from the window panes, revealing the cold streets of New York.

"Here you go Sherlock."

As he spun around, and looked at the wrapped object in your hands, you grew nervous. Sherlock was a hard person to understand on an average day. Understanding him well enough to get him a gift was more than anxiety inducing.

Walking towards you, he slowly took the gift from you, almost hesitating for a moment. You took a breath and told yourself, that even if he did not like it, at least you were kind enough to try.

Sherlock flipped the present over in his hands and glance at you. "A book?"

You rolled your eyes a bit, playfully. "Come on Sherlock, no one likes a guesser, just open it."

You saw the faint hint of a smile play at his lips before tearing the wrapping paper from the bottom. Pulling out the object, he was not surprised to find he was correct in guessing it was a book. Though it is one of the more obvious objects when wrapped.

He was surprised however, at seeing what book it was. His hands brushed across the vintage books cover as he read the cover. It was written in Mandarin, and appeared to be nearly a hundred years old. It was an old book about bees, and beekeeping. As Sherlock looked at the book, he recalled he had told you all about the history of beekeeping, and in particular it's history in China.

He had a few books on bees and beekeeping, but none as old or as informative as this one seemed to be, as he flipped through the pages.

As you watched Sherlock read over the cover and began to flip through the pages, his face seemed to hold a hint of interest, though you were unsure of whether or not he liked it. You found yourself desperate to find something that he would truly appreciate, not only because you were determined too, but because you had feelings for him. Though you were sure they would always be unrequited.

"So...did I do good or bad?"

Sherlock looked up at you, and saw the apprehension on your face. A faint smile appeared as he spoke. He was unsure of how to reply for a moment, but, taking a short breath he spoke fluently. "This is a very thoughtful gift Y/n, and unlike many of the books in my collection. In this case, I would say you did very good." Your eyes lit up at his words, and he saw the anxiety fade away. His own heart beat a bit faster at the sight as he saw how much you truly wished to get him something he would like.

"May I ask, where you got it?" He questioned as he looked back at the book.

"When I went to Chinatown to get some more of that tea you like, I saw it in an old vintage shop. I couldn't not get it." You smiled at him as you spoke, delighted that he seemed to appreciate it.

"I must admit, I was unsure of whether I would appreciate your gift, in some ways I thought you might get me a gag gift of sorts, to put me in my place, as it was."

You shook your head, "Oh, no. I always take Christmas gifts seriously. Well, on most occasions that is."

Sherlock smiled softly, "Well, in that case, I will not feel too brazen to give you this."

You watched as Sherlock stepped toward his chair, and reaching down behind it, pulled out a large box, wrapped in what appeared to be various newspapers.

"I could not find any wrapping paper, so I improvised." He admitted as he looked at the box in his hands.

Your face showed obvious surprise, that, admittingly, gave Sherlock a hint of gratification. He knew it would take you by surprise that he got you something, especially a Christmas present. He had been entertaining the idea of getting you a gift, well before you let it slip that you had gotten him something. Then the idea became a reality as he knew he must. Not because you would expect it, but because you wouldn't.

But more than that, he wished to find some way of showing you, even a little, how much he cared about you, even if you only saw it as a platonic feeling, which had long since not felt himself.

"Sherlock, you didn't have to get me anything." You said as Sherlock held the box out for you.

"Of course I did not." He said a bit rushed, but then gaining his composure he gestured for you to take the box. "I wanted to."

Taking the box carefully from him, you were surprised at how heavy it was. What could he possibly have gotten you? You thought back on the other gifts he had bestowed, or forced upon you. Self defense gadgets, weapons, or various science kits to get you more involved in his cases.

Setting the box down, you ripped the paper away, revealing a rounded carrying case. Your interest piqued as you wondered it it was just some form of luggage. But from beside you Sherlock whispered, with an obvious hint of elation.

You glanced at him as you undid the clips, he rose his brow a bit and nodded. Lifting the lid of the case, you were awe to find a beautiful violin set, containing the instrument itself, a bow, cleaning supplies, and a manual.

You were so surprised at the gift, that you were only able to let out a small sound of astonishment.

Sherlock smiled to himself before speaking softly. "I remember you once mentioning you had an interest in learned."

You looked over at him. "Yeah, I did. But, I didn't think you had heard me."

Sherlock smiled a bit at you. “I always hear you. It may not always seem like it, but I do always listen to you. You are not someone I can ignore, nor do I want to.”

His tone was gentle and held sweetness behind it that almost startled you. And his gaze was soft as he peered at you with an unfamiliar fondness.

Your heart hammered in your chest as you considered his words, and you smiled at him before expressing your gratitude. "Thank you Sherlock, I love it. I promise I'll do it justice."

His smile widened a bit, and he almost chuckled. "I am sure you will. You are quite quick at learning new skills. And, if you do not object, I would be glad to help you begin."

You smiled brightly at him. "I would not object, I would be very happy if you did."

He nodded his head a bit. "Good. We shall soon be playing duets."

You let out a soft laugh, which he returned with a pleased smile. Your gazes were locked in mutual delight, and though neither of you expressed it, you both saw something you hadn't seen before. And it gave you hope, that this Christmas was just the beginning of something much more.

xx End xx

This is my first time writing for Elementary, so I hope you enjoyed it!