"He did it again, John"
"Hmm?" John barely heard his husband as he entered the kitchen and dropped the groceries bags he was carrying on the table "…What? Who?"
"Hamish"
"Right. What did he do?"
"He stared at that dog from the pet store near his school" the detective said as he stood up from his chair and walked to the kitchen, where John was putting some cans up in the cupboards "…we were walking back to the flat, holding hands as every day…and just as every day, he stopped walking the moment we walked by the pet store window and…he just stared at the animal, tapping his tiny fingers against the glass to call its attention"
"Ah yes. He likes it"
"Obviously" Sherlock rolled his eyes annoyingly.
"Well, what's your point then? If he does it every day, why do you bring it up now?" John asked and he was now placing some vegetables in the fridge (trying not to get them close to the few human limbs Sherlock had brought from the morgue days before)
"He said something to me this time. He usually just stares for a minute or so and then I pull his hand and we are on our way again…but today, he didn't move when I tug his hand. He said something instead"
"What did he say?"
"He said: I want it, father…"
John sighed thoughtful and crossed his arms against his chest. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"What did YOUsay?! I mean, I hope you explained him we can't have pets here"
"Of course I did!"
"Mrs. Hudson would be furious if we…"
"I'm not an idiot, John! I did tell him all that…" Sherlock interrupted him.
"Plus he's too young to take care of a puppy" John continued.
"I know! I also told him that…"
"Good"
"But…"
"But?"
"Well he said…well, I asked him why did he want a pet anyway? And he said it'll help him"
John scowled confused. "Help him?"
"Yes. It'll help him not to be lonely anymore…it'll be his friend, he said"
"Oh…" John frowned and scratched his hair "…uhm, maybe…uhm, I don't know, maybe we could talk with Mrs. Hudson and…"
"Yes! We could…"
"Ask her if we can get a pet for Hamish…perhaps not a dog but…"
"Why not a dog?"
"They're a handful! I mean, Hamish is too young to actually take full care of the animal…so in the end I'd be stuck with not only taking care of Hamish and you…but a dog as well? Uhm, no thanks"
"I do help out, John!" Sherlock argued.
"Yes, when you remember…" John said and his husband narrowed his eyes at him "…like you would help us with the dog, Sherlock!"
"Yes I would"
"Right!" John laughed "…anyway, we still have more to discuss about this pet issue…"
"Aren't we discussing it now?"
"Uhm, yes but I mean…" John suddenly didn't finish his sentence "…hang on. What did you tell Hamish? You didn't get his hopes up or did you? Because we…"
"Of course not" Sherlock spit out.
"What did you do then?"
"Wait!" Hamish yelled out from his way down the stairs, stomping his feet loudly on the old wood steps "…you'll fall! Wait up!"
Both John and Sherlock look at the kitchen entrance and watched Hamish chase a young English bulldog, once he caught up with it, Hamish picked him up and embraced it.
John turned to see Sherlock with his eyes widened and jaw dropped in surprise or disbelief.
"What did I do? Well, I bought the dog, John" he gave a small smile to John and then turn to Hamish "…Hamish, we agreed you'd keep Gladstone in your room until I tell you come out"
"Gladstone?" John asked.
"I know, father…" said Hamish, still carrying his pet "…it's just that he…he pooped the carpet! It was getting to smelly so I opened the door and he ran out. I'm sorry"
"He crapped the carpet?!" John exclaimed "…for God's sake!"
"He's not trained yet, Dad. I'll train him! I'll teach him tricks...oh! where's my ball?! C'mon, Gladstone…" he said and put Gladstone down on the floor and walked to the living room.
"I can't believe you got him a dog before consulting me and before discussing it with Mrs. Hudson" John said to Sherlock with some sort of annoying expression on his face.
"I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do to remove the sadness in his eyes…it was…"
"I know" John interrupted him "…I do understand. I probably would've done the same"
"Look at him, John" Sherlock said and they both looked at their son throwing an old rubber ball to his new friend and laughing at the clumsy puppy's legs "…He's genuinely happy. I've only seen him laugh like that when he's playing with you"
"Are you comparing me to the dog?"
"No, John. I'm just saying that I've noticed when he's truly happy…and he is right now"
"Yeah, I think having Gladstone around won't be that bad if it brings such joy to Hal"
"I'll talk to Mrs. Hudson"
"No, I'll talk to her. I think I can convince her more easily than you" John said and was on his way downstairs to talk to their landlady when Sherlock stopped him.
"C'mon John, bringing the animal was my idea…I should go talk to her and save you the trip downstairs"
"It's ok, don't worry…" John said and walked towards his husband stopping just a few inches away from his face, he could feel his breath on his face "…there's something else you could do, actually"
"Oh. Is there?" Sherlock smirked.
"Yes" John hissed.
"Well?"
"You could…..go upstairs and clean Gladstone's shit off the carpet!" John said and stepped back just as Sherlock rolled his eyes "…the carpet cleanser is in the cupboard under the sink; anything you need is right there. I hope you're done by the time I come back. See ya, love!"
As John left, Sherlock sort of growled and fetch the cleanser and whatever else he might need to clean the carpet. Hamish tried to hide his amusement.

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