ihadabadday | In Plain Sight - AU - Locked to seaweed

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In Plain Sight - AU - Locked to seaweed_writes

No one knew how long Gods had walked among the mortals. They just knew they had. Some remained in their country of origin, some branched out and traveled. Others started business or charities. Some just went through existence simply being. Belief didn't have much to do with how the Gods chose to lead their lives.

This tale though, it focuses on the Greek Gods of old and Mount Olympus (which is a real place and traditionally is where Zeus is said to live with Hera).

John Watson didn't care for the politics of the Gods that surrounded them every day. He had other things to focus on, to pay attention to. Like medical school, and then the military. It wasn't until he was shot and laying in the desert, bleeding, did he whisper things to the God of Death, to Hades. To a god he didn't believe in. Blood whispers they were often called. And gods hardly paid attention to them, most believed they were the whispers of dying men.

But John Watson survived when others with the same injury had died. What was different about him?

He returned to London on an army pension and a cane. He shuffled through his life, a constant ache in his chest, like there was something missing. Though he had little to no idea of what was missing. He helped others where he could, donating his time and what little money. A homeless veteran (it boiled him so to see those who helped their country be left behind) once called him a beacon of light.

A beacon of light huh?

Most days he didn't feel like one. Most days his mood was dark and everything was shit.

One night when he was limping slowly back to his dismal bedsit, something caught his attention. He glanced down an alley and saw a tall man dressed in black, being mugged by some ratty youth. The man was far too posh for this neighborhood. So why was he here? But that didn't matter. John, on two strong legs, charged into the alley and used his cane to knock the criminal away. He didn't notice, but there seemed to be a light around him, an otherworldy aura to him.

He held the cane like a sword and pointed it at the would be thief. "You need to leave here." John commanded. It had been easy for some to forget that he had been Captain John Watson of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers in Her Majesty's Army.

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"What if I don't get him back?" He asked finally looking at her. Twenty four years of waiting and hoping.

If he didn't get Hades back... He just might take a poison.

I don't know what will happen. Fates has not revealed to me the future, nor have I asked." She replied. "But know this. I knew of the John before you. And I knew of the Hades, and the Persephone before them. I am one of the Old Gods, as is Zeus, as is the Fates. We have seen the comings and goings of lesser gods. And Hades and Persephone have always been linked. Sometimes there are times when they are not together. Your Hades had no Persephone for a very long time, eons, more time than you could imagine, but eventually, like planets aligning, you came together., And now, I suspect that you will come together again."

She was quiet for a moment, letting it all settle in.

"Worry not, little one." It was a term of endearment that she used on him sometimes. "Hades and Persephone will be together again, I need not the Fates to tell me this. I can feel it."

John smiled at Molly and then hugged her. "Thank you Molly. I... I will still come see you. Do not worry." He kissed her cheek and then stepped back. He let out a breath, letting his magic take him. Take him to London. To a place he had hated so much in the past.

He stepped into his flat at Baker Street, hearing banging and shouting from the flat above him. He lived in 221C, someone knew must have moved into 221B. With a chuckle he went to knock on the door of the landlady's flat."Mrs. Hudson, I'm back!"

"I look forward to it." Molly smiled, touching the spot on her cheek where she kissed him. She cared for him deeply, mot the way John cared for Hades, but in a more protective, matronly way.

"Be good to him, John. And you will be together forever" She waved as he faded away.

Mrs. Hudson came out, still drying a dish in her hand. There were all sorts of automatic dish washers and dryers, but she still insisted on doing it by hand.

"Oh, John! Has it been 9 months already? I miss you when you are gone. I know, your... work keeps you busy." She winked. She knew who he was and what he did, but it was a bit of a joke between them to pretend to not talk about it.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and put her dish down so she could hug him tight. "You look like you are in a good mood, and eating better. You've been down for so long. I hope whatever it is that has put you in a good mood stays!" Mrs. Hudson didn't know about Hades, not yet at least.

She looked up the stairs. "We just got a new tenant. I guess you can hear him. Makes such a racket, but a nice boy. Plays the violin, quite beautifully. It almost makes up for his boisterousness!"

She patted his hand. "We should all have tea one day, when you are settled in. He's busy and is gone a lot, so we'll have to see when we can coordinate your schedules. I know you are busy a lot as well. Go settle back in love. It's so nice to have you back."

He smiled at her. "It has. I.... Remember how I told you I lost someone so many years ago?" She had been younger than. It hurt him to see her age so, but it was the way of mortals.

"He's been reborn." John chuckled, "Now I need to find him among all the people here in London."

"Yes, tea would be lovely. I'm going to go settle into the flat and rest a bit." He kissed her cheek and then vanished back to his own flat.

Mrs. Hudson's old eyes clouded over with moisture. "Oh, that's lovely, dear. It's a big city, but I know you will find them!" She pat his hand. "Go on, you silly goose." She smile and watched him leave, wiping the tear away from her eye.

"Now, if I could only find someone for that new boy of mine, maybe a nice girl.. or guy.. would settle him down a bit." She smiled and went back into her flat to finish her dishes, humming a song softly.

John had ushered in winter, feeling in a much better mood than he had in ages. It was mild, temperate, at least in London. What some would describe as the perfect winter. Just cold enough, but not too cold. The first winter after he lost Hades... It had been a terrible winter for all involved.

He was coming back into the building when he was stopped by Mrs. Hudson. Tea, with the upstairs tenant.

"Come in, John. I finally wrangled him downstairs for tea!" She took John's arm, not taking no for an answer She almost pushed him into the living room, where there was already a pot of tea and three cups and saucers waiting.

And the upstairs tenant.

He had been biting into a ginger nut biscuit when they walked in. He had a guilty look on his face, as he knew that he had been told to wait.

Mrs. Hudson just smiled and shook her head at him.

"John this is the new upstairs tenant, Sherlock Holmes."

John's world stopped short and for a moment he forgot he was supposed to breathe. Like a human. He stood stock still.

Sherlock.

His Hades.

The wind outside blew up in a gust and rattled the windows. In all it was ten seconds. John stepped forward and offered his hand to Sherlock. "Hello, John Watson. I travel a lot for my job and am here only three months out of the year."

Sherlock heard the rattle and looked out the windows, then back to the man in front of him. He took a moment to look the man over. It felt like.. he had seen this man before but he knew for sure that he hadn't. It was a strange feeling.

He took the man's hand and shook it. It was unusually cold which made him draw his hand back quickly. "It must be an interesting job, to keep you on the road for 9 months of the year." He finally said, in his deep, rumbling baritone.

All the while, Mrs. Hudson was pouring tea quietly, letting them meet. She took her seat and took a sip, watching them size each other up. she very much hoped that they would get along, but Sherlock could rub people the wrong way. She had already seen that.

"It really is. I spent time here, Sydney, the States..." He couldn't go home though. He couldn't. Not without... He swallowed and took the cup of tea from Mrs. Hudson. He smiled at her.

John sipped his tea, wondering how to approach this. Was this how his Sherlock had felt all those years ago? Now they would both know how it felt. But when Hades awoke, he would still have to dispose of the one who sat on his throne.

He let his mind wander as he heard Sherlock and Martha talk.

"Hmmm.." Sherlock made a non committal noise while he listened to John. It did indeed sound like an interesting job. He did some traveling to chemistry conventions and such, but mostly he stayed here in London. It kept him busy enough.

When it looked like John wasn't going to say any more, he looked over to Mrs. Hudson and talked with her for a bit, about a convention he had just attended and how everyone there was a moron for not knowing about the new chemical polymer that was being used to create better artificial hearts. He wasn't a doctor, but he understood the importance of what this scientific breakthrough could mean.

Eventually, the tea ran cold, and Sherlock was telling Mrs. Hudson that he needed to get back to his flat. He had an important paper to write. He stood up, giving this new man at the table a once over, one more time.

John looked up when he felt eyes on him. He smiled at Sherlock. "The chemical polymer you were discussing sounds fascinating. I used to be a doctor. You can save lives with that." He said before standing. He held out his hand for Sherlock once more. As was proper.

And he was nothing if proper when around mortals. Most of the time.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. There was something about this man. Something... familiar.. almost... comforting? No, he couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, it was hard to define.

"You were a doctor?" He asked, a bit surprised. The man looked like anything but a doctor. He was small and compact, but there was power behind him. He seemed more like a.. construction worked or a soldier or something more physical than a doctor.

"Do you... understand chemical polymers? I could.. try to explain my paper to you sometime." Something about John Watson set his hairs on end, both a warning and... a comfort. He just couldn't decipher this man, and it was frustrating.

Sherlock shook his hand, holding just a moment longer than was probably deemed proper.

John didn't mind the prolonged contact. He recalled the last time he held Hades, touched him. The love he felt for the God of the Underworld. It was odd some whispered. But he loved him so. And he knew his Hades loved him as well.

"I was. I stopped for my current job. But I am always fascinated in the advancements they make with medicine." Advancements that use to make Hades swear and shout. That memory brought a smile to his face. "I would love to hear about your paper. Wh... Why don't you come down for dinner tomorrow?" He offered.

"I'll cook and you can talk my ear off about the polymers."

"That must be a pretty important high paying job if you wanted to do it over being a doctor." Sherlock said, a bit surprised by the whole thing.

This sounded suspiciously like a date. And while Sherlock... kept his options open when it came to who he dated, he had always preferred men. But this.. John.. he didn't give off any gay vibes. He seemed pretty straight, in every sense of the word.

Maybe he was reading too much into this. He had stiffened a bit, at the offer, but he finally relaxed a bit. It wasn't a date. He wouldn't be that forward after just a one tea and a few brief, stunted conversations.

"Alright." He finally agreed. I can bring down a wine. I have a nice selection. What are you going to cook, so I know the right wine to bring."

John smiled. "I was thinking lamb." He said honestly, "So a red wine would be nice. How about six tomorrow?"

He waited for an answer before leaving Martha's flat. This was going to be hard. He had three months. Solstice to equinox here in London. After that he was to return to Demeter's, and then to Sydney.

He shut the door to his flat and let out a breath. He wondered if there was a way to stay in London, instead of returning to Demeter's...

"Lamb. I have a young red Bordeaux that should go well. I will be there at 6 promptly." Sherlock smiled, gave Mrs. Hudson a wave, and was back to his flat in a matter of moments, taking the 17 stairs 2 at a time.. He had to decide what to wear tomorrow. He ha a pretty good idea.

John was in a pleasant mood as he cooked, preparing lamb with fingerling potatoes and a salad.

He couldn't let himself get too carried away. It would take Sherlock time to remember. He couldn't force the memories.

Sherlock went through his daily work with a slightly distracted mind. It was nice to own your own company, you could leave early if you needed too. He was working very late ore often than he was leaving early, so he took this day for himself.

He dressed in a tight button up purple collared shirt that strained slightly against his chest, and a fairly tight pair of black trousers, along with black socks and black shoes, polished to within an inch of their lives. It was dress casual, and if John did expect it to be a date, then it would work as well.

Multipurpose.

He grabbed one his nicer bottles of wine, a rather expensive French number, made sure his curls were quaffed and in perfect order, then headed downstairs, knocking on the door of 221C, pretending that his heart wasn't pounding.

Was it a date? Sherlock just had to know.

John opened the door. He was dressed nice as well, face just a bit flushed. He smiled when he saw Sherlock. "You look nice, that color is wonderful against your skin." He managed to blurt out. Which caused him to turn even redder.

He stepped aside to allow the man in. His heart was pounding. Hades... But for now. He had to act like he didn't know every part of this man. Every scar and every dip.

He shut the door behind Sherlock, swallowing. He had to get himself under control. It would not due to let himself get out of control.

"Oh... thanks." He said awkwardly. John looked nice.. and smelled nice.. this had to be a date, right? The poor man was stumbling over his words.

He held up the wine, and a decanter he had grabbed as he left. "We should let this breathe for a few minutes, it will intensify the flavors." He waited for John to show him to the kitchen, not knowing anything about the layout of this flat.

It was a comfortable single bedroom flat. John had remolded it from a cramped two bedroom one to what it was now. He led him over to the kitchen. On the side table they passed was an unusual bloom. Black as the night sky with red tips. It was not of this earth.

John didn't know how much Sherlock knew about the gods that walked among them. But he wasn't going to bring it up.

"That's fine, there is still a bit to go on the lamb." He produced a wine opener and offered it to Sherlock.

Sherlock paused as he walked past it. It... was beautiful, but why did it spark.. something inside of him? He shook the thought out of his head and went into the kitchen, making short work of decanting the wine.

"That smells lovely." He admitted. He had had a small lunch just for this occasion, so that he would be able to savor and enjoy what John cooked for him.

"That flower." He asked, when he was done. "What is it? I've studied botany, but I've never seen a flower like that."

John paused and then swallowed. "My job is that of Persephone." He said. No use not being honest to the man, "I created the bloom. It reminds me of someone I used to know."

He leaned against the counter, biting his lip. How Sherlock took it... It would be a turning point in whatever this was.

In Plain Sight - AU - Locked to seaweed_writes

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