John straightened his collar yet again, looking in the mirror nervously. Was this a date? He wasn't sure. His fingers brushed over his hair, attempting to make it look better in some way. It probably wasn't a date...right? He just asked for a pint, right? Like a normal mate get together. Like he would do with Lestrade. John's hands pressed down the front of his best cardigan, hoping it didn't look wrinkly. It was probably not a date.

John stared at his tired, grey face. It was a date, wasn't it? John was entirely too old to be questioning whether or not he was on a date. It was absolute ridiculous. He straightened his collar again for good measure. It was probably not a date, but John found himself rather hoping that it would be.

"What a silly thought," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What is?" Sherlock asked, poking his head in the bathroom suddenly.

"Fuck!" John yelled, grabbing the sink in front of him, "Dammit, Sherlock! You can't just pop in like that! I'm too old for that. I'll have a heart attack or something!"

"Nonsense, you're not old at all," Sherlock dismissed with a wave of his bony hand, "You still have many years before you need to be concerned about age."

"Thanks, Sherlock," John rolled his eyes, straightening up and fixing his collar once again.

"So you're going on a date then?" Sherlock questioned casually.

"Probably not," John answered tiredly.

"As in, you aren't sure of the perimeters for the night?" Sherlock seemed to stand up a little straighter even though he was attempting to look as though he didn't care too much.

"No, I'm not sure," John sighed, "I was asked if I wanted to get a pint. However, it seemed as though the two of us may have had a connection deeper than friendship. But nothing was explicitly said."

John wasn't sure why he went into such detail, but it felt nice to tell Sherlock something he didn't know. Sherlock seemed satisfied and disappeared from the doorway. John looked back to the mirror and brushed a wayward hair back into place. He took a deep breath and checked the time. Seb would be there within five minutes. Alright, no more delaying, said to himself, nodding at his reflection and leaving the bathroom.

Just as he put on his coat, his phone dinged with a text message noise.

I'm out front.

Be there in a moment!

"I'm leaving now!" John shouted, "Be sure to eat dinner! I'm not sure when I'll be back!"

He waited for a reply, but didn't receive one. He shrugged, assuming Sherlock was busy and bounced his way down stairs. He opened the door to see a dark blue car parked at the curb. He saw Seb sitting in the diver's seat, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel and felt a surge of nervousness come back. He considered retreating back into 221B and cowering in a comfortable jumper with a lovely cup of tea, but just as he started to edge backwards, Seb turned and spotted him. Seb lifted his hand to wave and seemed to change his mind, lowering quickly. John felt a little nervousness ebb away, thinking that maybe Seb was a bit nervous too.

He walked to the car, mentally forcing himself to not look too eager. He felt like a teenager again, worried about what his crush thought about him. He rolled his eyes at himself and finally opened the passenger door. Sliding in the car, he looked a lot smoother than he felt. Seb smiled at him as he buckled his seat belt.

"So, ready?" Seb asked quietly.

John could tell it was Seb's way of saying "You sure?"

"Yeah," John nodded, feeling more confident, "Yeah. Let's go.

Little note: Wow...I know ya'll hate me right now. It's been sooo long. DX But, well, it's here! Hope ya'll like it! Shout out to Iwatchthewatchers for giving me the final push to actually get this done! Love ya'll!