Type: Oneshot ft Shallontheoutcast

Pairing: Sherlock x Reader

Warnings: None

Bright christmas lights glowed along the mantel, the low hum of music from your stereo filled the air. You took in the tree in front of you, tilting your head as you determined which ornament you should begin with.

"Mrs. Hudson is expecting us to help her with cookies." You looked back at your lover stretched out on your couch, mobile in his face as his thumbs flew over the keys.

"Boring." Sherlock remarked, not looking up. You let out a sigh of frustration, watching his eyes scan whatever he was reading. It was near impossible to get him in the holiday spirit. Every year it was the same.

"Come on, Sherl! It'll be fun! You're always working on a case. Let go a little and enjoy the holidays for once! John and Mary will be here soon along with our other friends."

At this he looked up. "Perfect. I can ask him to schedule a conference for this case I might have just found!"

"How did you find your own case?" You remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you find a murder before the police again?"

"You seem to doubt my case finding skills. I'm just as capable as John..." he pauses before looking back to his screen. "But he actually texted me about it a bit ago. Said something about a murder and that we could discuss it after Christmas and whatnot. Not sure why we'd wait however." He says, going back to his phone.

"(Y/N)? Sherlock? I have the supplies for the cookies!" Mrs. Hudson's voice comes from the entry, the sound of the door closing behind her followed by her footsteps as she heads to the kitchen. With a sigh, you leave Sherlock to his research and go into the kitchen to help Mrs. Hudson unpack her haul from the shop.

"Where's Sherlock?" Mrs. Hudson tilted her head, looking at you curiously.

"Doing something for a case." You sighed, pulling a carton of eggs from the bag.

"This is your first Christmas together, isn't it?" Mrs. Hudson questioned and you nodded.

Mrs. Hudson gave a small chuckle, "No need to worry dear, once we get them in the oven he'll get a whiff and wander down here. Happens every year."

You nod and give her smile, going to get the sugar from the cabinet and some measuring cups. Together the two of you manage to get the cookie dough made and on the sheet in 15 minutes, ready to go into the oven.

"Once these are in the oven I think I'll start decorating the tree." You check the time. Everyone would start arriving in about an hour, and there was still so much left to do.

Mrs. Hudson nodded, "Alright, perhaps you can coax Sherlock into decorating, it's a task I've never been able to accomplish."

You laughed, "Thanks for the hope Mrs. Hudson."

"Anytime dear." She remarked, smiling.

You each put a tray of cookies into the oven, starting a timer for 10 minutes. You walked up to where you left Sherlock, who now lay on the couch, eyes closed, and fingers pressed against his temples.

He's probably in his mind palace... You thought to yourself, turning to leave. You'd try again later. Even you couldn't retrieve him from his mind palace without repercussions. So instead you walked to the living area, turned the stereo up, grabbed the Christmas lights and started to string them carefully around the tree.

After you'd finished you walked over to the stereo and turned it up a bit before opening the container that held your ornaments.

"(Y/N)?"

You looked over your shoulder to find Sherlock staring at you, one eye cracked open. "Can you turn that down? Off would preferable."

"No." You went back to deciding on a red and gold ball, placing it on the tree.

"It's quite distracting." He remarked.

"Deal with it."

You subconsciously started to hum along to the tune that was playing, grabbing a blue ball to hang up next, followed by a white snowflake that was a gift from one of your friends.

You felt warm breath on the back of your neck, the only real hint that Sherlock was there because he often moved without making a sound.

"Yes dear?" You asked, choosing another ornament.

"Why do you bother decorating something you'll take down in a week or so?" Sherlock tilted his head.

"I intended on decorating it earlier but somebody decided to drag me halfway across the country to find a serial killer on a two week trip that was supposed to be a romantic getaway." You answered, selecting a TARDIS ornament.

"It was romantic....after we caught the killer...besides you wouldn't have accompanied me had I told you we were trying to find a serial killer..." he muttered grabbing a small Santa ornament and examining it thoroughly, looking like he does when deducing someone.

"One day out of fourteen. And even then we were leaving that day so it was only 6 hours Sherlock." You take the ornament from him and move to hang it on the other side of the tree, along with 2 more balls that were silver and a deep red.

"That doesn't answer my question."

You sigh and grab another ornament. "Because Sherlock. It's Christmas time. A time to be happy and joyful and with people you love. Decorating Christmas trees are a tradition that has been around for hundreds of years. It's a way to get into the festive spirit and it makes people happy." You hang up another ornament, the tree starting to come together now that half the ornaments were on.

Sherlock tilted his head. "It makes you.. Happy?"

"Indeed, now hang this up there." You pointed to a branch that was just out of your reach and handed him a snowman ornament.

He reluctantly took it and hung it in the requested spot, you continued to hand him ornaments and soon the upper part of the tree was decorated.

You reach into the nearly empty container and grab the last decoration. The Star.

"Sherlock, this is the most important part. Could you lift me up so I can put it on top of the tree?" you look back at where he was admiring the tree, starting to finally appreciate the beauty of Christmas time.

"What's that?" He pointed to the star in your hands.

"Did you seriously not do anything for Christmas when you were younger?" You raised an eyebrow.

"I deleted it." He shrugged.

You sigh in defeat and explain. "The star at the top of the tree is the finishing touch. Some people think it represents the first Christmas. Others just think it's pretty and it makes the rest of the tree stand out. Make sense?"

"First Christmas? What's so special about that?" Sherlock asked.

You facepalmed, "Star. Baby Jesus. Boom, Christmas. Now lift me up."

The detective rolled his eyes, muttering something about you being bossy as he lifted you up carefully, setting you on one of his shoulders while still supporting you with his hands on your waist. You reached up and carefully placed the star on top of the tree, smiling.

"Isn't it beautiful?" You sighed happily.

"You're heavy." Sherlock commented.

"Wow, you really know how to flatter a girl." You remarked.

Sherlock rolled his eyes as he put you down, but his hands never left your waist.

Your hands rested on top of his as you were lowered, and remained there when you turned around and faced him. You heard The First Noel starting to play on the radio, and smiled up at him.

"Sherlock? You can let go now if you'd like..." your voice was much softer now, as a calm settled over the room. The smell of fresh cookies coming from the kitchen enhanced the feeling of pleasantness in the atmosphere.

Sherlock just moved to where his arms were wrapped around your waist. "I suppose this whole 'Christmas' thing isn't awful."

You chuckled, wrapping your arms around his neck as you slowly began to sway along to the music. "So, what haven't you deleted about Christmas?"

He slowly let a small smile creep onto his face, looking deep into your eyes. "There's not much left, but I still have a memory of when I was 9, I was given an expensive notebook for the cases I had started working on at that young age. It's one of the only memories left from childhood.

He pulls you closer and his smile grows ever so slightly. "And I won't delete any of today either. Not for a long time." 

a/n

This collab was fun to write! Go check out shallontheoutcast 's imagines when you get a chance!

Love Y'all

Bye bye for now