Title: Revelation (Sequel to Indecision)
Fandom: Sherlock (BBC)
Author: tardisjournal
Summary: Sherlock weighs the options in his own inimitable way, and makes his choice.
Characters/Pairings: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson; Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Rating: R
Word count: 442 (a double 221B drabble)
Spoilers/Warnings: None
A/N: Though this drabble can stand alone, I strongly suggest that you read Indecision first if you missed it the first time around. I promise it will be more fun that way. (It's a 221B, it won't take long.)

Thank you to everyone that voted on LiveJournal and AO3 for the direction this sequel would take! The voting was tied for weeks. Occasionally one option would pull ahead, only to be cancelled out by the next comment. I began to fear we'd never have a clear winner. When the voting finally stopped, however, we did. By two votes. :)

Written for the fan_flashworks challenge "burn".

Two high-end, slim-fit men's cotton dress shirts by Dolce and Gabbana: one a purple so deep it could rightfully be called aubergine; the other a sleek black.

One first date.

What to wear?

An ordinary person would have tried on each shirt, posed in front of the mirror, and picked the one that seemed the most flattering.

Sherlock did not do this. He knew exactly how flattering each shirt was and in what way; knew that the purple shirt warmed him up by bringing out the gold flecks his eyes and the pink undertones of his skin, while the black one cooled him down by imparting an icy paleness to his eyes and an alabaster hue to his skin. He also knew that these two shirts, out of all the shirts he owned, evoked the strongest physical reactions in others; reactions to which he was not oblivious, despite all appearances to the contrary.

But it was how John would react that he needed to know right now.

Sherlock's gaze fixed, unseeing, on his mirror he turned his focus inward, seeking out that room of his Mind Palace that was a mental replica of John's room upstairs. In its wardrobe, he had stored the details of every important moment he had spent with John (which was every moment that he had spent with John); there had to be something that would tip the balance in favour of one or another.

Sherlock pulled the data regarding the black shirt first. The first time John had seen him wearing it, he had surreptitiously looked Sherlock up and down; his gaze travelling deliberately from head to toe and back again, admiration shining in his eyes. That was good.

But... oh! When Sherlock had shrugged off his suit jacket, revealing the purple shirt for the first time, John's breathing had hitched and he had paused in mid-sentence. Though he had recovered quickly, he'd had to lick his lips and clear his throat before he could carry on with what he was saying. Sherlock hadn't attached any significance to it at the time, as John had always had a curious habit of inserting pauses in the middle of speech. But upon review, Sherlock could see just how dilated John's pupils had been in that moment, and could hear how John's voice, when he resumed speaking, had had a slight tremor in it.

That settled it. Sherlock blinked, then strode to his wardrobe, yanked it open, and selected the purple shirt from where it hung between a silky dark blue pinstripe and the black.

Tonight, Sherlock was after something more than mere admiration. Tonight, Sherlock wanted John to burn.