Shadows of the Past (BBC Sherlock) -1-

Outtake #1 - A Simple Celebration

There are many things couples do for their first week anniversary. The guy might get his girl a little gift, nothing too expensive. They might go out to dinner or go see a movie. He may get her flowers or a thing of chocolate.

That wasn't how my first week anniversary with Jim went.

The day had started out like any normal one since we'd been together. I'd woken up to the usual good morning text, which put me in a good mood. He usually visited in the evening, which worked out for me more than him, since he had to work in the mornings and head back to his place. I'd thought about offering him my room to stay in, at least crash on the couch, but I wondered if that was going too far.

I had the day to myself, which went by pretty slowly, considering Jim had hinted he had something planned for our one week anniversary. It was almost mind-blowing, to believe that I had found someone while vacationing in London. It was the last thing on my mind, and the last thing I anticipated to happen.

My head had been filled with ideas all day, wondering what Jim could have possibly planned for us. I wanted nothing fancy, and I was sure he knew that.

It hadn't surprised me when around seven at night I heard a soft knock on the door. With flutters in my stomach, I opened the door long enough for Jim to squeeze in, carrying takeout. He was out of his business outfit, in something casual, which I preferred. Don't get me wrong, the work look made him look sexy, but the casual look made him look adorable.

"Wow," I murmured. "I wish you had told me when you were coming over." I looked down at my pajamas.

"Sorry, I was kind of in a rush," he panted.

I sniffed, my stomach rumbled. "Chinese?"

"You must be starving if you got that out of one sniff."

We settled on the couch, using our abundance of napkins to keep ourselves and the furniture clean. There wasn't much time for conversation; I was too busy wolfing down my food.

"What else did you have planned?" I asked as I wiped my mouth off with a napkin.

Jim shrugged. "I was going to leave it up to you. I figured you wanted to stay inside and relax."

I nodded. "How about a movie?"

Okay, so our one week anniversary was semi cliché with a movie, but we didn't have to pay for it or go out to see one. Instead, we surfed through the channels on the TV until we settled on one. Jim and I lay sprawled on the couch together, having enough room for us both. He fiddled with my hands as our eyes were stuck on the TV.

I regretted picking the movie, because what I thought was originally a comedy movie turned out to be a horror film—a badly made horror film. No matter what type of horror film—whether good or awful—I wasn't a fan of them.

"You can always change it to something else," Jim suggested.

"No, I think I can manage," I said in a trembling voice. God, why was I so freaked out?

"I don't think you can." I glared up at Jim after he shut off the TV. "Don't give me that look. I know you were uncomfortable. It's okay to be scared, Rachel."

"Of a bad horror movie?" I scoffed. "There are scarier things to be frightened of."

I scooted closer to him as he slipped an arm over my waist. He kissed me tenderly, sending shivers through me. I thought back to our first kiss at that free dance class. That was what had started this whole thing for us.

Wait, no, it had been the night I had run into him that led to this. If I hadn't run into him that night, I wouldn't have him.

"Happy one week, Rachel," he purred. I pulled myself closer to Jim, so close that our bodies were pressed against each other. He laughed. "I didn't know you were into me this much. You can't keep your hands off me."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "I don't want to fall off the couch."

"So you want more room?"

"Basically." I yelped as Jim playfully nudged me off the couch.

I burst into a fit of giggles on the ground and squeaked as he joined me on the floor. I couldn't stop my laughing fit as he hovered over me, our faces just inches apart. Jim silenced my laughter with my mouth in his. I could feel him scoop up my back with his arms, pulling us both into a sitting position. Timidly, my fingers ran through his hair. This was the first time I realized it was as soft as it looked.

My heart flew in my chest as he pulled away, slowly teasing me with kisses along my neck. I went along with it, discovering the churning in my stomach was a good thing. This was a new experience for me, and I was caught in the thrill of it.

My arms fell over Jim's shoulders, resting there nonchalantly. I cringed as I felt a warm hand sneak up under my shirt. Jim noticed my reaction. He stopped, pulling away.

"Sorry." He blushed. "A little too forward?"

"A little," I whispered. "Y-you aren't going to try further, are you?"

"And make you uncomfortable?" he gasped. "I would never do something that would make you uneasy, Rachel. Whatever boundaries you have, I'll respect them."

"I have no doubt you will." I sighed through my nostrils in content as he held my face in his hands. "You're such a gentleman."

"Admit it; you started liking me because you thought I was sexy, not because I was a gentleman." He snickered.

"You're still both of those things." I blushed. "But I'll never tell."

"Won't you?" He kissed me deeper, asking me to pry open my mouth. I wasn't going to give him that much territory; he had enough to work with already.

"Kiss me all you want, Jim, I'm not telling you," I sang, throwing him a sly look.

"I'll find out one day, but I know that's why you started liking me first."

"You keep telling yourself that."

He rested his forehead on mine. "I have a good feeling about this, Rachel. I don't know why."

I smiled. "I can say the same."

**When I was writing this, I had a lot of ideas for Rariarty (perhaps that a big tell on my feelings of the ship). The problem was, as I wrote this story, a lot of it couldn't find its way in memory/dream wise. 

Since there wasn't room to fit more of the Rariarty relationship flashbacks, I figured I could put them as outtakes. This is the first of four. All four are different times in their relationship. 

Note: These are all BEFORE Rachel finds out the truth about him.**