Who: Sherlock Holmes and Donna Noble When: During the de-age plot Where: Starting at the Great Hall What: She asked for Dinner, he’s providing Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Sherlock wasn’t sure what to think about this change in Donna. She seemed more forward. And, truth be told, he liked it. He was used to his solitude, used to the only person in the world who cared about him being John. And now he had someone else interested in his life. And someone in whose life he was interested.
He headed down to the Great Hall. They could stay in for dinner, or go out. He had a jumper tucked under his arm because he assumed she was going to want to go out. He didn’t care either way. Being a teenager again meant weird hormones and strange feelings--the likes of which he hadn’t felt in a long time. So he was trying to reconcile that… and figure out what Donna’s intentions were.
And what he hoped they would be.
It was strange, Donna knew she should be more restrained and less open about what was on her mind. She’d learnt a lot of that during her teacher training but it seemed her mouth was running away with her a lot and she was caring about it less. This was not a good thing and she hoped it was temporary, well part of her hoped that.
Inviting Sherlock to dinner was dangerous, she didn’t know what she’d say next but he made her smile and feel like a proper girl and for teenage Donna that was more important. So here she was waiting for him outside the great hall. Going out was definitely on the agenda, she didn’t want to be stuck around everybody.
“Hey” she smiled when he arrived.
Sherlock was just about as tall as a Teenager as he was when he was an adult, though the years had put some pounds on him. So his clothes fit a little loosely around the middle, making him look a little more gangly and awkward than normal. At least he could cinch up his belt. He didn’t have to roll up his sleeves or his trousers.
He perked up a bit at the sight of her. “You look… younger.” A very literal statement from Sherlock.
“There’s that genius at work again” Donna teased him, “You looked in the mirror lately? You look younger too you know” she told him. Donna had hated her teenage years, she’d never known what to do with her hair so it had always been up in a ponytail and she’d not yet mastered make-up. She wasn’t skinny, never had been, but her figure was about the same as usual.
“I don’t spend much time looking in mirrors, actually,” Sherlock said, and there was a hint of teasing in his voice, too. “But my voice definitely sounds different.” He held out an arm to her. “Shall we?”
“You should. I would if I looked like you. And you still sound good” Donna said, her mature self face palming as her teenage mind ran away with her and took her mouth with it. “Sure” she agreed, taking his arm with a smile, hoping the blush on her cheeks wouldn’t be noticed or at least not commented on since this was Sherlock and he noticed everything.
That came as a bit of a surprise to Sherlock. Donna was being really forward. And Sherlock felt flattered. There were some other emotions in side of him he didn’t quite understand. They were new to him, though they didn’t seem all that different from what he’d experienced as a teenager.
But he liked it. A lot.
His free hand came around to rest over her hand on his arm. “Hogsmeade? I haven’t been to the Three Broomsticks in a while. I remember going there a lot when I was… actually sixteen.”
Donna as a teenager was a lot more brash and bold than she had matured into. So while she was still Donna she said what was on her mind in a lot more open way.
“Three Broomsticks it is then” she nodded, liking the way his hand rested on top of hers. She felt so much more like a teenager now, a silly girl really but she liked it.
They moved down out of the castle and along the way to Hogsmeade, and the Three Broomsticks. Sherlock walked alongside Donna, feeling his heart beating a little faster than normal. It was a strange sensation, but not altogether unpleasant.
Once inside the restaurant, Sherlock located a secluded table in the back so they could talk. He pulled out Donna’s chair for her, then sat down opposite.
“I’m not good at this,” he started, once they were settled. “I’ve been on five dates in my entire life. This makes six.”
“I’m not a hard date to have. I’ll tell you if you do anything wrong” Donna said teasing a little, “I already really like you so you’ve got half a win there” she told him, her older self would have face palmed right then.
So, she really liked him, did she? That was good to know. Hopefully he wouldn’t make a major faux-pas, and he wouldn’t embarrass himself. Or her. Honestly, something stirred deep within him when she mentioned that she liked him. He was a little confused at the feeling. Pleasure, really. That’s what he’d call it.
“You can keep me in line, then.” He said, and folded his menu.
“Well I can try” she told him with a smile, “I’m not sure anybody could keep you completely in line” she added before looking over her own menu.
It was flirtatious, and fun. Sherlock was more than amused, he was pleased. He couldn’t help the smirk turning into a smile on his lips. “You have a point.” He added, then glanced down at his menu.
“What would you like to eat?” His foot nudged hers under the table.
It was definitely flirtatious, much more obviously than Donna had been before but her adult filter wasn’t particularly in tact currently. Not that Sherlock seemed to mind.
Playing footsie with Sherlock Holmes had never entered her head before but now it was, “Something naughty I think, maybe a cheesy pasta dish or something. You?” she asked letting her own foot slide back against his.
“I’ll just have whatever you’re having.” Food was all the same to Sherlock. Besides, he had something more important on his mind.
As soon as the menus were closed, the server came over to take their order, and then the menus were whisked away. Sherlock gave Donna (and her foot under the table) his full attention. “So. How is being a teenager treating you?” He assumed it was lowering her inhibitions, as it was definitely lowering his.
“It definitely has it’s perks” she told him, her foot rubbing a little further up his calf as she smiled over at him, “Kind of refreshing really. You?” she asked, curiously.
He shifted. Not uncomfortably, just… he wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to be doing. This was fun, and new, and a little terrifying. But he couldn’t stop smirking. “The same, actually. I think we could all benefit from having a few of our inhibitions lowered.” Well, in saying we he really meant I.
What he was doing was fine, he wasn’t running away screaming anyway which she was taking as encouragement. “Oh yes, I’m seeing that is definitely a good thing I plan on benefitting from” she told him flirtatiously.
Sherlock wished, possibly for the first time in his life, for a strong drink. He attempted a smile, but what she said made him nervous for a number of reasons. He cleared his throat, and was about to say something else when the server came over with their food.
"It's good," he commented after a bite. "This was a good idea."
It was a very good idea and the meal passed by comfortably and flirtily by the end of it they were both pretty relaxed and she took his arm as they walked back to the castle. “Thank you for dinner, it was nice to be away from the castle with you”
“I’ve found the evening to be quite enjoyable,” Sherlock responded. He lifted his free hand to rest against hers on his arm. It was remarkable how warm her hand was wrapped around his elbow. He couldn’t help but slow his walk a little, dilly dallying on their way back up to the castle--just to have a few more minutes to spend with her.
Once they reached the faculty wing, he knew they really should say good night. He swerved to lead her to her door, and paused. “This is the end of the date, is it not?”
Dilly dallying was perfectly fine with Donna, she was happy to be in his company for as long as she could be. It was a nice feeling, had been all evening. And her heart fluttered a little when they reached her door.
“Almost” she said before taking the bull by the horns and reaching up wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
Sherlock wasn’t a big kisser. He hadn’t done a lot of kissing. Didn’t mean he was bad at it, he was just a little awkward and stiff. But when Donna kissed him, he responded in kind. His arms wrapped around her, too, and he took a step forward, to pin her to the wall. There wasn’t a whole lot of animal instincts in him, but for some reason… they were coming out now.
Donna hadn’t been sure what to expect but when he responded as he did she couldn’t help smiling into the kiss and pressing herself against him a little more. She’d imagined kissing Sherlock a few times but none of those daydreams had come close to the reality and she very much liked the reality.
This was the teenage hormones taking over. Sherlock was enjoying himself giving in to it. She tasted sweet, soft, kind. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he was enjoying the ride.
After what felt like an eternity (but was probably only a few minutes) Sherlock finally pulled back to breathe. He couldn’t help the smirk on his features. “I should say good night.”
Teenage hormones were rather wonderful as far as Donna was concerned, and not one part of her was wondering what was going to happen once they were back to their normal selves.
“Should?” she asked with a teasing smile, not removing her arms from his neck just yet.
“Really should.” Sherlock responded. He wasn’t pulling away, though, wasn’t moving. He stayed close against her, practically pinning her to the wall. “We can have breakfast together tomorrow morning.” It wasn’t a good idea, but he leaned in to press his lips to her neck.
Donna’s breath caught as he kissed her neck and she smiled, letting one hand slide down over his chest. “If you stay we can still have breakfast together” she told him as her hand slipped inside his shirt to stroke his skin.
Sherlock couldn’t help but chuckle softly, his eyes falling closed at the hand against his skin. She had him. He was putty in her hands. It was both infuriating and exciting at the same time. He turned to press his nose into her hair. “Lead me, and I will follow.” He whispered.
Smiling Donna turned her head to press a kiss to his cheek, “With pleasure” she replied softly, before taking one of his hands in hers and leading him into her room.