The Sign of Three: A Reader's Journey

Not Without Saying Goodbye

He straightened his posture and raised his head. It was his turn to study you. He took note of your pained expression and your flushed cheeks. And the way your hair was coming undone to rest over your slumped shoulders.

He finally spoke, his voice low, his tone clear, "You know I'm not one for saying goodbyes."

"But we were dancing, we were having a good time..." now only a foot apart, you searched his eyes for an answer, but they were only apologetic and full of remorse. "I don't understand -"

"Y/N," he stopped you mid-sentence. "Mary's pregnant."

You blinked in confusion. Confused not only at the sudden turn in the conversation but also at the sudden revelation.

"'The three of you' as I said earlier," he paused, and you urged for him to continue. "I was referring to John, Mary, and the baby - well, the foetus as of right now."

A few seconds passed as you registered his words.

"Oh."

"You don't look very surprised."

"Well, it was going to happen sooner or later... and she was being funny around the wine I suppose," you remembered earlier in the day how she spit out the wine she had only been praising so far. "John's going to make a great father," you murmured, smiling at the thought.

"You could say he's had practice," Sherlock added, the corners of his lips twitching upwards into a smile.

You chuckled. He was not wrong on that one.

The two of you eyed each other as the amusement died down. And then it fell silent again, only the thrumming of the muffled music echoing though the garden.

He spoke up first, "Just make sure she's okay."

You watched him silently as he adjusted the collar of his coat. He hesitated for a second, looking like he wanted to pat your shoulder or your arm but decided against it. Instead, he gave you a sheepish smile and a nod, and tugged his coat collar one more time before turning around and taking a few steps forward.

"She's not the one I'm worried about," your voice was a mere whisper in the wind, afraid he might not have heard it. But he heard you because his footsteps halted in its path.

"Because I know you're afraid," you swallowed the lump beginning to form in your throat, noticing him twist his neck at an angle to listen to you better.

"You're afraid it's all going to change now. And you can deny it all you want, but marriage... it does change things and it does change people."

He straightened up and while you couldn't see his face, you knew it had morphed into one of surprise. Not surprised at your words because it was something he knew all along but because it was you who was saying those words.

While Mrs Hudson and Mycroft had been the voice of reason over the months leading up to the wedding, the rest of you were just as engrossed in his little fantasy world as he was. A fantasy world where marriage was only just a celebratory party with no repercussions and with no long-lasting effects on relationships. Assuring him that it was all going to be fine and finding ways to distract not only him, but yourselves too. But there was no point in sugar-coating the facts anymore. Especially when everyone else knew he wasn't being fooled. And he needed to hear it from you no matter how sick he was of hearing it.

"But change isn't always a bad thing," you quickly added, taking a few steps closer. Hearing you approach him, he turned around slowly, looking uncertain but fixing you with a cold stare.

"And things are changing really quickly but I meant what I said earlier today. Everything will be back to normal. Maybe not the normal that you were used to but some version of that. Maybe even a better one, who knows? But you'll just have to give it some time."