sortinghat_rp | (no subject)

Perhaps. I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

Actually, I have a question for you, John. Would you prefer me to ask you now or wait until we convene in the court yard?

Oh, uh, either way, I suppose. I guess it comes down to if you want to ask it sooner rather than later.

It sounds like an utterly ridiculous question so I suppose now is fine. This isn't meant as some feminine ploy to fish for compliments or anything flowery of any sort. It's for purely scientific purposes.

How long have you ~~felt you've loved~~ believed yourself to have affections for me above friendship? Not simply "a while now" or anything vague but specific examples or a concrete amount of time.

Well... it might be kind of an odd answer, but right around the time the snake hatched. I'd been really confused about my feelings for a while before that, but then all at once it made sense.

I thought as much.

~~John, I~~ ~~This isn't real~~

The day the eggs hatched, a lot of people mysteriously gained an attraction to other people. Even people who couldn't stand each other before were suddenly lost in feelings of love. John, I ~~don't believe in coincidence~~ think that's rather... convenient. Do you agree?

That is rather odd. But it could still be something else than what you might be thinking. Right? After all, it's not like we couldn't stand each other before. We were really good friends, and that's not even getting into the confusing stuff I mentioned.

When did you realize you had more-than-friends feelings for me? Same rules about being specific.

I don't know when I realized. It was never a conscious thought. You've just always been John. It never changed, it just... became everything I already considered 'John' and then more. It's like asking at what point a funnel gets bigger: it's in a state of constant progression. But when the egg hatched is the first time I've ever felt what I would call passion for another human being.

I think I understand what you're saying. Minus the bit about passion; I've felt that before.

What you're saying sounds kind of similar to how I felt. All the confusion and uncertainty and so on just kind of fell away all at once. Like it kind of hit me all at once how amazing you are, and that all the stuff that held me back just didn't matter and I was stupid for giving it so much thought.

But you really think it could all be related to these sudden cases of people who hate each other suddenly feeling quite the opposite?

I think the timeline is too coincidental to ignore.

And we have to entertain the possibility that nothing that has happened has been real in that sense.

It doesn't feel fake to me.

Is there a way to figure it out for sure?

There are antidotes to love potions if that is the culprit.

Alternatively, we could just... wait. If it's a potion, it will wear off eventually on its own. And if it is a potion, then it still remains to be seen if I'm capable of this feeling without aid of enhancements at all. I don't want to lose this feeling, John, but I don't want to placate myself with fantasy either.

That's a tough call, Sherlock. I know if you started brewing up an antidote it'd be like solving a mystery for you, but... I do like this. Us.

If it is a potion, how much longer do you think it would last?

It's been in effect for quite a while. I wouldn't imagine it would last much longer. A few days perhaps or as little as a few hours. Without knowing the strength of the potion, it's hard to tell.

Then... let's not do anything about it. Let's enjoy it. And who knows, maybe it really is a coincidence. Maybe nothing will change.

Have you started making your way to the Courtyard yet? I'm about to head there.

I suppose that's in the spirit of the holiday. Alight.

I'm coming right now.

[John waits in a private corner of the courtyard. He's not concerned about Sherlock finding him; even without the light dusting of snow to display his footprints, he's certain Sherlock would be able to track him down. It's what he does, after all.

He clutches the ridiculously corny Valentine card in his coat pocket. Though he's excited to see Sherlock and give him the card, the Ravenclaw's words weigh heavily on him. Could this all just be a delusion from some kind of potion? He chews on his bottom lip in thought, wondering.]

[Sherlock was not too far behind him, bundled well with his scarf and robes. Finding John was indeed easy and the sight of him filled him with additional warmth. He wasn't sure what he'd do if this all turned out to be the byproduct of some chemical compound. It was far too wonderful to lose.

Sherlock came to stop not much more than a foot in front of John, pulling out from his robes the small heartshaped card he'd procured off one of the irritating students who seemed to delight in the holiday. It was a bit more frilly looking that he'd have liked but the front was little more than just the anatomically incorrect heart with the inside blank enough for him to write simply "For John. Love, Sherlock." He was rather glad he was fanatic about comma usage or, given the current weight of possibility, it would have read like a rather desperate order.

He held it out to John.]

It's not much. I've never celebrated the holiday before so... well, I thought perhaps I should make an effort.

Edited 2013-02-16 14:14 (UTC)

[John accepts the card, reads over it, and smiles softly. It's a very simple gesture, but it's a gesture from Sherlock. On Valentine's Day. The combination is so unpredictable and marvelous that it might as well be one of Shakespeare's love sonnets writ large in the air via sky-writing. He gives Sherlock a peck on the cheek.]

Thanks. I've done the Valentine's thing before, but... well, I didn't figure you'd go in for the usual thing of flowers and chocolates. So it's just a simple card from me as well.

[He grins a bit sheepishly and hands Sherlock a card. It's a hand-made thing, though absolutely not intricate in any way. The front has two squares, drawings of the periodic symbols and data of Uranium and Iodine. Inside, the card reads, "If I could rearrange the Periodic Table, I'd put U and I together. Love, John."]

It's a dumb joke, but at least it's a dumb chemistry joke. I thought you might get a kick out of it.

[Sherlock is rather surprised at a hand-made card. Even the joke is tailored to his interests. It's perhaps one of the most personalized things anyone's ever given him. Sherlock smiles at it then wraps his arms around John, dipping his head down close to his.]

We make great iodides.

[He doesn't stop the hug after normal hugging limitations. He just wants to hold on to him a while longer.]

[John raises his arms and returns the embrace. Every second that ticks by, he worries that all of this - all these feelings - will suddenly evaporate. Right now, it's the last thing he wants.

He chuckles a little at Sherlock's remark.]

Considering I had to look up the Periodic Table just to rehash that old joke, I'll take that as a compliment.

[Sherlock chuckles.]

You did very well.

[He kisses against his head, pressing his cheek to his.]

So, how shall we spend the rest of the day? Rather wish it were a Hogsmeade weekend. Or anything, really, that meant we could just get away for the day.

[John smiles, feeling wonderfully warm despite the chill in the air. Sherlock's curly hair tickles his cheek, but the sensation is more charming than anything else. He nestles in closer.]

Yeah, no kidding. There ought to be a law to give students a special Hogsmeade weekend around Valentine's.

Honestly, I'm just happy spending time together. You could probably do an experiment on watching paint dry or grass grow and I'd find it compelling. Though, uh, if experiments were involved, I'd hope you'd have more interesting ones in mind.

[He chuckled again, leaning his head away to look at John.]

We could look for the Room of Requirements.

[John raises an intrigued eyebrow.]

I've always wondered what it would be like to find that thing, ever since I found out it exists. Never had any luck coming across it, though. Seems like if anyone could track it down, it'd be a super sleuth like you.

It only appears to those who need it. And we happen to be two young men of different houses who need a place to spend the holiday together.

[Sherlock pulled away, slipping John's card into an inside pocket of his robe before taking John's hand and pulling him to follow.]

I think we will have a good chance of finding it today.

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