you were sherlock holmes' boyfriend.

it was a wonderful thing, really- for him, at least- like, a super best friend. imagine his dismay when he realized that he had to actually treat you like a lover and not just his best friend who he kissed sometimes.

not dismay, really- just mild surprise and vague confusion when he'd been dragged along to one of your friend's get togethers, solely because he was your boyfriend.

but he'd been getting better at it.

for months now- five, give or take- he'd been watching romance movies. and shows. he'd put himself through the twilight series for you- you'd better end up marrying his ass. and he'd been taking notes, jotting down little things that he was fairly certain would make you blush, and tracking the results.

you smiled when he kissed you on the cheek. you liked it when he read to you with his head on your lap. he could feel your heartrate increase when he kissed the inside of your wrist. you were in a better mood for the day whenever he made you breakfast.

experiments get results. he was rather pleased with himself for thinking up this.

you weren't aware he was doing this. you just thought he was watching something dumb (but very in his lane, like. 14 hour video essay) on youtube or whatever whenever he put his headphones on in the armchair with a notepad, watching with rapt attention.

so when he'd suggested you watch a romcom on your weekly movie night? you, frankly, had been shocked.

you'd obliged, of course- you happened to be quite a fan of romcoms- but you'd been shocked. sherlock holmes, a romcom watcher?

you knew he watched cheesy soaps on occasion purely to yell at the character's stupidity, especially when he didn't have a case- but he had a case now. you'd just forced him to take a break, like, fifteen minutes ago!

so you'd started watching a romcom. one of your favorites.

and then you'd noticed a pattern. main character puts a hand on the love interest's thigh. fifteen or so minutes later, sherlock puts his hand on your thigh. main character says something cute, he scribbles something in a notebook.

he was...copying.