dirtycorzaharkness asked prettyarbitrary:
illithid!sherlock/john watson, coffeeshop au?
You people are deliberately being weird, aren’t you? This is what I get for asking for prompts after midnight. ^_^
***
“Double espresso for Holmes. Sugar, no cream,” John announced, stopping by the little table where the bizarrely elegant, tentacle-mouthed illithid sat playing with his phone.
Holmes waved one graceful hand at the opposite seat; John sat obediently and started drinking the espresso.
Sherlock stayed outwardly engrossed with his phone, and John didn’t interrupt him, but he could feel the mental tickle of psychic attention in the back of his head. It took a great deal of his focus not to think about how much it resembled the pleasant sweep of a hand down the back of his neck.
He’d always found mind-flayers offputting, with their squid-like features and tendency to talk into his head rather than out loud—not to mention a racial propensity for sticking their tentacles up victims’ noses to consume their brains. But Sherlock always came in on John’s shifts, going out of his way to ensure John attended to him (and tipping with according generosity). After a few exposures, John had found himself growing increasingly enamoured of the scintillating mind that brushed against his to communicate.
After a few minutes, the caffeine buzz began to kick in, and Holmes sat up a bit straighter. He set his phone down and looked up at John. And then back down to give him a pointed once-over with those great sea-green eyes of his.
A slow, amused stroke of an interrogative formed in John’s mind. So much for keeping his thoughts in line. He narrowed his eyes at the illithid. ”Are you asking me out on a date?”
A smile.
John put the coffee cup down and smiled back. ”Alright. But I don’t take sugar in my coffee.”