ironmonger | (no subject)

"Indeed, I believe you'll find my copyright has expired," he says cheerfully.

He chuckles.

"You're public domain. Does that mean anyone can have a crack at you?"

"I believe that is the generally accepted definition."

"Well," he says. "Lucky for me."

"Oh, I did not mean to imply I am not selective."

But, judging from the way Sherlock is leaning on him, Obadiah appears to have been selected.

"No?" Obadiah murmurs. "Well, what do I have to do to qualify?"

"You already did."

He chuckles.

"Of course I did."

Like he was going to ask that question when it might lead to an obligation of some kind.

Sherlock smiles, settles a little closer, and does not immediately volunteer exactly what it was.

(Tony loves him. That is a large part of it. That is the part he would say, if Obadiah asked.

If Obadiah asked the right questions, Sherlock might even say the rest.)

That's fine. He thinks he could guess if he tried.

But he's more interested in kissing Sherlock instead, because it's about damn time they dealt with that milestone.

Sherlock does not treat it like a milestone to be dealt with.

Granted, he does not entirely treat it like a kiss, either. At least not the way most people kiss.

He is slow and thoughtful and very accomodating and he kisses with his eyes mostly closed, learning the taste and shape of Obadiah's mouth as though he wants to still remember it a century from now.

It's the kind of kiss Obadiah expected from Sherlock, and it closely resembles the one he gives in return. Kisses, like everything else, can be tailored to match people. He kisses Tony affectionately, for example, because it's what Tony likes.

(He would have kissed Howard with heat, giving him a fight and letting him win it, hands in Howard's hair and body arched to accommodate his.)

But there's no point in tailoring a kiss for Sherlock, because kisses can be read, too. You can learn a lot about someone from the way they kiss. Obadiah uses that tactic when he can, and he knows that being honest with his kiss will win him more points with Sherlock than trying to lie.

So he, too, kisses with the intention of gathering information.

The way he slides into Obadiah's lap, when he does, bears little resemblance to the way Tony once did the same on this very couch. It is a matter of practical convenience, a deliberate, unhurried rearrangement of the world into a shape that best supports further kissing. Sherlock does not need physical contact now the way Tony did then. He does not avoid it, either. He just wants this to go on unimpeded, because it is fascinating.

It's a far more ideal - and comfortable - position. Obadiah approves.

He rests his arms around Sherlock's waist, mainly because it's the best place to put them. He doesn't clutch at Sherlock the way he had with Tony, because that's not what this is about.

(Because Sherlock doesn't have the same effect on him.)

He just arranges himself, as Sherlock did, into the most useful and least awkward position, and continues to kiss Sherlock without missing a beat.

It is really quite peaceful, which is not something he expected, although he supposes he should have. He treasures that. The peace and the unexpectedness.

For no easily explainable reason, he is beginning to smile.

Obadiah, in turn, finds that to be somewhat unexpected. He wouldn't have thought kissing him would be something Sherlock would smile over.

And he knows - he can tell - that it isn't because Sherlock's mind is wandering. The only place Sherlock is right now is here.

This isn't really about enjoyment for either of them. It's not even exactly sexual. It is an information exchange, an act of mutual inquiry.

And yet, he is smiling.

What was it he said?

When something captures his attention.

Obadiah tucks that information away for the connection to be made once the kissing is over. It's easier, sometimes, to wait to put things together after he's done gathering the pieces.

With anyone else, about now would be when his grip might tighten a little, or his hands might start to explore or just to caress.

But right now it would be an unnecessary affectation, so he skips it.

There is no 'with anyone else', for Sherlock. There is a 'with Tony', but none of it applies. Not whatsoever.

His hands settle onto Obadiah's shoulders and stay there. He makes a soft, thoughtful sound and, at last, opens his eyes and keeps them that way.

Someone is going to have to give something or they will not be exchanging very much information. So far they have gotten the point across that they are both good kissers and intensely curious.

Obadiah kisses with his eyes closed - he's never found the view of someone so close their eyes merge together to be all that informative.

He is, nonetheless, beginning to get the same impression as Sherlock; a moment after Sherlock makes his little sound, Obadiah leans back out of the kiss and looks up at him lazily.

"Get what you wanted?"

"No," he says cheerfully, "but I doubt I ever will. Do you mind if I play Tony to see what happens?"

Obadiah's eyebrows arch a little.

"If you like."

"Thank you," he says, and kisses him again—

—brightly, warmly, with boundless affection and a little bit of heat. Just the way Tony would, perfect in every detail.

His response is, inevitably, more self-conscious than usual. (Subject awareness of an experiment does tend to skew the data.) But he deliberately relaxes in his kiss, giving it the affection and desire he always gives Tony, and his arms tighten around Sherlock's waist, a combination of an embrace and pulling him closer.

(The most interesting thing about this kiss is that less of it is a lie than Obadiah thinks.)