To all of those who got their AS or A level results today, I hope it went well for you all! Here's a chapter to say well done

Chapter 84

Mistletoe

In Sherlock's opinion, the first term of university ended far too quickly. The Christmas holiday was already upon them, along with the cold weather and an excuse to wear his trench coat almost everywhere. Victor had laughed the first time he saw it but immediately commented in how it suited him so well, especially when Sherlock walked out with the coat swishing out behind him.

"Sherlock, what's this Christmas party your mother has invited me to?" Victor asked as he was helping Sherlock pack, just as Sherlock had done for Victor earlier that morning.

Sherlock paused and looked to him, frowning a little. "Something we haven't done in a while..." He murmured, now suspicious of his mother's intentions. "You're invited?"

Victor nodded, taking the invitation out of his pocket and showing it to him. "I'm guessing you didn't know it was happening then?"

Sherlock shook his head as he took the invitation, scanning over it with his eyes.

"Dear Mr Victor Trevor,

You are formally invited to attend the Holmes family for a Christmas evening of celebrations on the 21st December at 6 o'clock. Formal wear is required. Please RSVP at your nearest convenience to the following address..."

Sherlock frowned at it and sighed, passing it back. "I suppose your presence will make the event more bearable." He muttered.

Victor smiled and returned the invite to his pocket. "I take it that means you want me to tell your mother yes?"

Sherlock smiled a little and said nothing, knowing his friend would know the answer to that.

"I'd love to come, Sherlock." He said, patting his back before returning to packing.

"Just..." Sherlock trailed off, biting his lip slightly in thought.

"Just what?"

"Nothing." Sherlock murmured, going back to his packing too.

"Sherlock!"

"You invited Victor?!" Sherlock asked irritably, interrupting his mother as soon as he stepped out of the car. "Why would you invite him?!"

Julie frowned. "I thought you would enjoy having your friend there."

Sherlock chuckled humourlessly, shaking his head. "How could I possibly enjoy having my friend being proven what a reject I am in my own family and their social circle?"

Julie shook her head. "Sherlock, that's not my intention at all." She said softly. "I just thought you'd like his company. It's a chance to see him and you two don't have to be at the party the whole night. Just make an appearance then go."

Sherlock huffed, thinking it through. "Fine. But I'm not wearing a tie." He argued before walking through into the house.

Victor was late.

Sherlock huffed from where he was sat, looking out across the celebration room just in case he could spot him. But Victor was taking absolutely ages to get there. He had done the formalities of talking and smiling (or in Sherlock's case, grimacing) when the guests arrived but now the party was in full swing and he was bored.

But then he was there, not exactly looking ready as he looked around the room before his eyes settled on Sherlock. He beckoned him over so Sherlock got up and walked over to him.

"Sorry I'm late. There was an accident so traffic was awful. Where's my room for the night?" Victor asked, running a hand through his hair.

"There aren't enough rooms. We're sharing." He said with a nod, starting to lead the way.

"Oh okay. That's fair enough." He replied as he followed Sherlock up the stairs to his room. He smiled to himself as he entered. The whole room just screamed 'Sherlock' no matter where you looked amongst the organised chaos.

Sherlock paused as Victor started to get undressed to change into his suit, a simple black suit and white shirt with a thin black tie, before clearing his throat a little and looking away. "We don't have to go back down again. I merely had to make an appearance." Sherlock told him.

Victor chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course we have to go back down. You haven't danced yet." He said simply.

"What?"

"You told me you love dancing so we're going to dance." Victor reasoned as he did up the buttons on his shirt.

Sherlock smiled a little and waited for Victor to finish before following his friend back out the room.

They made their way downstairs, walking straight to the dance floor. The band had just ended their latest song so they got into place for the next dance, Victor taking the lead.

Sherlock smiled when they started waltzing around the floor, maybe a bit too close for a pair of friends but he didn't care. Victor was right. He did love dancing. Spinning and moving in sync, it was nice to do it with a willing partner he could call his friend. If he ever danced it was usually behind closed doors in his room. He'd wanted to take dancing classes when he was younger but that was when his father was still alive. That idea was soon beaten out of him.

But now his father was gone, there was no one to look negatively upon his choice.

Sherlock hadn't realised how much time had passed until the band were playing the last song of the night, a slow number meant for couples but Victor didn't move away so neither did Sherlock. He draped his arms around his neck and moved with him slowly as Victor lightly rested his hands on his hips.

"Are you glad we danced?" Victor asked softly, looking down at him considering their slight height difference.

Sherlock nodded, returning the smile Victor gave him when he did so.

"I'm surprised I even remembered how to." Victor admitted with a small chuckle. "I haven't danced in years."

"Yes, I could tell." Sherlock smirked, earning himself a light hit on the hip from Victor. "My feet are very thankful you narrowly avoided them."

"Shut up." He muttered fondly, shaking his head a little. "Now, how about we steal a couple of bottles of that incredibly expensive wine your mother bought and we go back to your room?"

Sherlock smiled and nodded, letting him go and stepping away as the music ended, the pair of them clapping the band as the rest of the guests did too before Victor took his hand and led the way.

They grabbed the wine before going up to Sherlock's room. Victor immediately stripped out of his tie and suit jacket, slipping off his shoes to get more comfortable before sitting down on Sherlock's bed. Sherlock followed suit, sitting crossed legged opposite him and opening the bottle Victor had given him. He took a sip, grimacing a little.

"Not a wine guy?" Victor asked as he took a swig from his own bottle.

Sherlock shrugged a little, taking another sip. "I've never really drank wine before."

"Let's change that then." Victor said with a grin.

Sherlock returned his smile, taking small sips of the wine.

"Why didn't you want me to come?" Victor asked after a little while.

"Well, I'm not exactly known in my family to be a social butterfly." Sherlock commented, looking over to him. "Plus there's the fact half of them hate me."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"It is." He murmured, taking a long sip of his wine. "They all loved my father and the pair of us hated each other so of course they would automatically hate me too. I still have no idea what things he'd told them about me."

Victor bit his lip, thinking for a moment before looking back to him. "Well, you can't choose family." He said softly. "But you can choose friends. I mean, there was that James guy you told me about, yeah?"

"He was paid by Mycroft to spy on me." Sherlock said, raising an eyebrow at him as he rested the bottle rim on his lip.

"Yeah but he still cared about you."

"If you're trying to say friends are better than family-"

"No. Well, sort of. What I'm saying is that you can choose your friends. You can choose those who can affect your life outside of your family. But the main choice you have is you can choose who you let into your life. I mean, from what you told me, I'm your first proper friend-"

"Don't make me sound pathetic-"

"No." Victor interrupted, shaking his head. "No. I'm not. I'm just saying you've forced yourself to be alone all these years when you've been surrounded by those who love you. You let that slip a bit when you let me in. And I'm supremely grateful to be your friend because you're a brilliant guy, Sherlock. You just need to trust those who love you more."

Sherlock sat quietly, occasionally sipping his wine as he thought about Victor's words. He watched as Victor got up and put on his CD player. He smiled to himself when he realised his friend wasn't about to judge him on listening to classical music.

Instead, Victor took another sip from the bottle before holding out his hand to Sherlock. "Once last dance?" He asked with a smile.

Sherlock chuckled and took his hand, pulling himself up. He draped his arms around his neck as he felt Victor's long arms wrap around his waist, holding them together as they began to sway with the music.

"Thank you for coming tonight." Sherlock murmured.

Victor smiled at him, shaking his head a little. "I wanted to come anyway. It gives me a chance to see you. You'll have to come to Norfolk and stay with me over the summer."

Sherlock smiled. "I'd like that." He said softly.

Victor smiled, the silence between them getting heavy but not uncomfortable. The wine was making Sherlock feel warm and he could smell it on Victor's breath. Wait, since when was Victor this close? And his eyes... Have they always been that blue? Whether they had been or not, they were fixed on his own, the pair of them closer than before. All he had to do was lean up that tiniest but more and then-

"Sherlock, I- oh!" Julie said as she walked in, backing off as the pair of them immediately split. "Sorry, I just wanted to see if you were both okay..." She said, blushing like her son.

"Fine. We're fine." Sherlock said simply, slipping on his emotionless façade as he just got his pyjamas out, noticing Victor shifting a little uncomfortably where he stood.

"Right... Well, goodnight boys." She said before closing the door and walking out again.

Sherlock started to take off his clothes once he heard Victor walk into his en suite to change, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable. If his mother hadn't walked in, he would have kissed his only friend and pushed him away by doing so. But then Victor had been so close too and he was being even nicer than usual...

No. Sherlock shook his head, getting changed and settling into his bed after he turned the music off again. He heard Victor walk in a minute later and get into the other side of the bed, getting under the covers. "Goodnight, Sherlock." He said softly.

"Goodnight, Victor." He replied a moment later before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, not moving away from the arm slipping around his waist in the night.

When morning finally arrived, Victor needed to head back to Norfolk. He had got up and left Sherlock in bed to sleep considering the teenager never slept enough in his opinion.

By the time he was ready to go though, Sherlock had stirred and was sitting up and running a hand through his bed hair.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Victor chuckled.

Sherlock hummed and slipped out of bed as Victor picked up his things. "You're going?"

Victor nodded. "Yeah. Dad's got a family party planned for this afternoon so I need to get back as soon as possible." He said with a small shrug.

Sherlock nodded in understanding. It had been nice to have his friend there but of course he had to leave. "I'll walk you to the door." he said as he got up and grabbed his dressing gown.

The walk down the stairs was filled with a comfortable silence, the pair of them pausing by the front door. "I'll see you back at uni then?" Victor asked as he pulled on his coat.

Sherlock nodded. "I can't see when we'd see each other at any other time."

Victor chuckled and opened the door, glancing up. "Mistletoe." he pointed out,

Sherlock glanced up and hummed. "My mother's idea of a way to greet people at the door. She even forces Mycroft and I to kiss her cheek before we can enter or leave." he said, slightly annoyed.

"Well then..." Victor trailed off, gently cupping one of Sherlock's cheeks as he kissed the other. "Merry Christmas, Sherlock." he said before pulling back and walking outside to go to his car.

Sherlock stood frozen in the doorway (quite literally with the winter chill) and thought about what had just happened.

Oh.