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This story is requested by dracoXreaders. Enjoy <3
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"Sherlock, isn't it time we stop for dinner?” Sherlock scanned the busy crossroad in front of him, his eyes slowly moving left to right, allowing him to take in every minor detail. He didn’t even hear John speaking to him, even though they were standing shoulder to shoulder. Sherlock had been out of the running for a few months now, but luckily he had slowly found his way back. Sometimes life could get too much, even for him. He had always kept himself busy with the many cases he had to handle. Soon he had come to realize it had all been a distraction. The sleepless night, the constant looking for answers. It was nothing more than something he had to do to stop his mind from spinning out of control.

It had been a few years since he had last seen you. Y/N, the beautiful fourth grade medical exchange student he had worked closely with. You were a beautiful person he had met in one of his first cases. An exchange student from America, doing your international internship in London. Y/N was smart and had a charisma even the great Sherlock Holmes couldn’t resist back in the days. You started seeing each other more frequently as time passed. It started with strictly business meetings, progressed to occasional visits every now and then and ended with the best few weeks of Sherlock’s life. You used to see each other everyday. It had become Y/N’s passion to take care of him, feed him and even give your own thoughts on some of his cases. He really loved you, until it all came crashing down. Your studies ended, you had aced all your exams and had to leave London to go back home. Sherlock was devastated and so were you. He had begged you not to go, something everyone around him was surprised about. You had cried together all night, until it was time to say goodbye. You had taken him into your arms and given him the longest hug. One you both wished would never end. But it was inevitable. Sherlock had never forgotten this moment. He had wiped away your tears and told you for the last time that he loved you. There was no certainty if you would ever be back, if you would ever see each other again. With tears in your eyes he had watched you walk to the gate, waving your last goodbye.

When arriving back in America, the time difference had simply become too much to handle. Contact had slowly faded away and both you and Sherlock had started your own lives. But there was always this lingering feeling of grief. Grief over the best relationship you both had ever had. Sherlock still often thought back to those days. What if you had stayed? How would his life have been? Would you still be together?

“Sherlock?” John aggressively pulled his sleeve, pulling him out of his thoughts. He was frowning, clearly upset with him. Sherlock sighed, redirecting his gaze to the crosswalk once again. He could hear John mumbling some rather insulting stuff under his breath, which only made him chuckle.

“I have called for you about five times now,” John continued, annoyed. “Can we go get something to eat, yes or no?!” Sherlock looked at his friend, smiling slightly. He hadn’t eaten anything all day, but he hadn’t felt the need to. Food was only a distraction from his work. Sherlock had much more important things to worry about, but his mind wasn’t fully present today. Still his day had been flawless, as always. Finding multiple breakthroughs on his case and really pushing the investigation forward, the usual. What would they do without him?

“Why don’t you run ahead, John,” Sherlock said. “I will be right behind you.” Sherlock slowly lifted his head, allowing the cold night wind to blow through his curls. Even he needed a short break sometimes. John looked at him full of suspicion. He had felt something was off with Sherlock recently. He was used to him being fully soaked up in his work, but never this badly before. And now suddenly he stopped to have a small break? Something wasn’t fully adding up, but he never questioned him. Even if he did, he would never get an honest, good answer out of his friend.

“I will be in the restaurant across the street,” John said, slowly walking away. “I will be waiting for you.” Sherlock nodded and raised his hand as to say he had understood the statement. He let his gaze wander to the crossroad once again. The people running by in a hurry. Their minds so small, so insignificant. How joyful their lives must have been. He almost felt jealous.

Suddenly his gaze stopped. There in the middle of the crossroad, he saw someone. The hair, the eyes, the shape of her face and body. Why did she look so familiar? Sherlock’s heart seemed to slowly begin to beat faster as he lost awareness of his surroundings. His mouth had gotten dry and the air seemed to have gotten stuck in his lungs. Y/N? Why does she look so much like Y/N? He brought his hands up to his head and rubbed his eyes firmly, before looking back at the crossroad. Suddenly, she had disappeared. He inhaled deeply, needing to catch his breath. Sherlock was sure he had stopped breathing for at least a minute there. He panted, placing his hand on his chest. Was the lack of sleep catching up to him? Was he slowly losing it?

He pulled himself out of his thoughts. It must have been his imagination. He knew he had been thinking about you lately. His mind must have been playing tricks on him. Sherlock let out a sigh of relief before heading in the direction of the restaurant, with you still on his mind.

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It had been a few days since Sherlock and John had gone out to eat. He hadn’t stopped thinking about the night he thought to have seen you. It was a strange occurrence, one he had never had before, even when he missed you the most. However, he had come to the conclusion it was because of the state he was in. There was simply no other explanation and he wanted to let it go. But the feelings he felt when he thought to see you were so intense, he couldn't shake them off. He had even gone home that night and tried your old number. He had written a short text, asking if you were in London, but the number was no longer in use. The message was never delivered.

Sherlock looked up, seeing the colorful candy store sign right in front of him. The sign read “Rainbow Ripple Treats”. Sherlock scoffed, looking down at some of the items through the glass window. Who could have thought of such a ridiculous name for a candy store? When looking through the window, Sherlock saw the store was divided into many sections, based on candy from specific continents. He smiled slightly, he enjoyed the way the store was organized.

Sherlock opened the bright red door to the shop and entered. He immediately got greeted by the overwhelmingly sweet scent of candy, making him pull a sour face. There were many small kids running around, chasing after each other and causing immense sound disturbance. Sherlock sighed, he really didn’t want to be here. John had asked him to stop by the candy store to pick some up. He hadn’t been paying attention to who the candies were for, simply because he didn’t care. He knew his task and he was here to succeed.

Sherlock walked all the way to the back while pulling his phone out of his pocket. John had texted him a list of what he needed, which was easy enough. Sherlock picked up a small paper bag and a green plastic scoop, which he would be needing to scoop the candy out of the big plastic bowls that were surrounding him. He began looking around, slowly finding the appropriate candies and getting the exact amounts needed. Every now and then he would briefly get distracted by a person walking into the store and a kid screaming, but other than that it was manageable. After Sherlock finished filling his bag, he put the plastic scoop back and folded the top of the bag to neatly secure the candy. He slowly started walking over to the counter, avoiding a few kids along the way. He had to stop and wait a moment, someone was speaking with the cashier.

As Sherlock queued behind the person in front of him, he was suddenly struck with a familiar scent. Peony and Magnolia, fresh and feminine. He had smelled it before, but he couldn’t recall where. He carefully took one step to the left, allowing him to have a  better view of the person standing in front of him. His eyes flew fastly along the woman's body. Levi’s jeans, perfectly fitted. J. Crew shirt and long coat. Slight discoloration of the under eye. Eyemask still slightly sticking out from the coat pocket. Speech and movement slightly disoriented, signs of jetlag. Wearing American band clothing and the beautiful accent he had always heard you speak. A soft voice, a woman must be around his age.

Sherlock took a step back in shock. She had clearly flown in from America a few days ago, all signs pointed to it. The voice and the familiar scent. Could it be? It had to be you. Sherlock’s body temperature slowly seemed to rise. He brought his hand to his forehead and wiped it. Confused, he looked at his hand, he was drenched in sweat and his heartbeat had gone up. Was he nervous? Sherlock sighed, gathering all the courage from inside of his body. He had to be sure.

“U-uhm excuse me..” Sherlock stuttered. He slowly brought his trembling hand towards your shoulder and tapped it lightly. You jumped slightly at the sudden touch and turned around to see who was behind you. Sherlock caught a better glimpse of your face and he immediately got speechless. He stepped back, softly gasping. You, here? How?

Looking at the stranger behind you gave you a sense of comfort. There was something familiar about him. Was it the bright blue eyes, or maybe the curls? The man seemed so shocked to see you, did you know him? Many questions were running through your mind. He was just staring at you, not saying a word. It made you feel slightly uncomfortable. You scanned him head to toe with your eyes. Your nose caught his scent. Oud and musk. A familiar, mysterious scent.

“Can I help you?” You asked, smiling uncomfortably at the stranger. He put a step forward, scanning you up and down. He looked flabbergasted and pale as a ghost. “Are you o-”

“Y/N..” the man interrupted you. “Is it really you?” You looked at him full of confusion. So you did know each other. You had met many people while staying in London, but it had been such a long time. You weren’t sure if you would really recognize anyone. After working for a while in America, you had decided to follow your heart and move back to London. Your time abroad there had been so amazing and the atmosphere had really pulled your interest. After the hospital you worked at in America closed due to a lawsuit, you finally had the chance to make your own choice. To make the big move, which had never been possible due to the extent of the job.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize. “It has been so long since I have been here. Could you remind me who you are?” Sherlock felt restless. He was shifting his weight, one leg to the other. You didn’t remember him?

“It is me,” he laughed nervously. “Sherlock.. Sherlock Holmes?” Your jaw dropped upon hearing that name. Sherlock Holmes, your first and only love. For years you had tried to get back in contact with him, but all to no extent. After the contact seemed to have faded away, you were devastated. You were convinced Sherlock was your soulmate, the one and only for you. The circumstances had just not been right. You had prayed and hoped you were ever able to find your way back to you. You were actually planning to try and contact him here in London at a later time. You were barely settled in and didn’t have the time. But now life had brought you together. He had changed so much. He was much taller, had longer hair and his voice had slightly changed. You felt so guilty you didn’t recognize you, yet he seemed to recognize you immediately. Your cheeks flushed red as your heartbeat sped up. Suddenly your hands felt damp and there was a lump in your throat.

“Sherlock?” you asked, taking a closer look at his face. “Wow, you have changed so much. I barely recognized you… I knew that scent smelled familiar.’ Sherlock chuckled. He still wore the very same scent you had gifted him once many years ago, for his birthday. Whenever a bottle would run out, he would always buy the same one. It held much value to him.

“The same you have always given me,” Sherlock smiled. “I never thought I would see you again. I have tried many times to contact you, but I just had no luck.”

He sighed. You could see in his eyes that he was hurt and slightly disappointed. You felt so bad. Shortly after you and Sherlock lost contact you had changed your phone number. This was involuntarily, your phone had broken after you had dropped it.

“I am so sorry..” you said, while looking at the ground. “I have tried to do the same, but I had no luck either.” You smiled awkwardly. He looked just as handsome, if not more, as he did back then. He still had that soft side you had fallen in love with. A side which he was afraid to show everyone, even you at first.

“It has been such a long time,” he sighed. “I really missed you. All these years and I haven’t stopped thinking about you.” A smile started to form on your face and you could feel your body heating up. After all this time he still made you feel as he did years ago and apparently it was mutual.

“I have been thinking about you too,” you spoke softly. Without thinking you stepped closer to him, wrapped your arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. It just felt right, your body acted on its own. Sherlock didn’t react for a moment, perplexed by the sudden hug. But he didn’t mind at all. It all felt so surreal. The one thing he had wished to come true had finally happened.

He couldn't suppress a smile and quickly hugged you back, pulling you in even tighter. It almost made it hard for you to breathe. After a while you let him go and smiled sweetly at him.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Sherlock asked. “I think we have a lot of catching up to do.”