"You'll be fine for dinner and everything?" Bree asked as she popped her head into Charlotte's room. She had finally settled on a plain dark blue dress with a blue and black shawl and black heels. Simple but nice, but no jewelry yet.

"We will be fine," Charlotte replied. She eyed the cuff on Bree's wrist and nodded. Good. It would remind John who he was really dealing with.

Bree nodded. "Okay. Silver or gold tonight?" She held up two pairs of earrings for inspection. She knew when to defer to the dragon, including in all matters sparkly and shiny.

The dragon looked over Bree's outfit critically.

"Gold," Charlotte said. "It will stand out more, and match your cuff."

Bree nodded and put in the gold earrings before going to go find a simple gold ring. She still had a few minutes before John was supposed to pick her up and drop off Sherlock.

Charlotte knew what Bree was looking for and, after a moment of debate, pulled a ring out of her private stash. It was a gold ring with a black stone set into it that glittered in the light. She handed it to Bree.

Bree blinked. "I haven't seen this one before," she said, slipping it on her finger.

"I brought it back with me, from our last trip out to the country," Charlotte said. "Does it fit?"

"It does, it fits fine." Bree smiled. "Thanks." It was a very nice ring, after all. And she knew that Charlotte didn't always like to share.

"Good," Charlotte replied, going back into the living room. She settled on the armchair in front of the fire to wait.

As soon as John knocked on the door, Bree was ready to go. She pulled open the door and smiled.

"Evening."

"Evening," John replied, grinning. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks." Bree smiled. "You look great." She looked behind him at Sherlock. "You do as well."

Sherlock just grunted, his arms over his chest. Human courtship was so silly.

John held out an arm for Bree.

"If you're ready?" he asked.

"I'm ready," she agreed, taking her purse and then taking his arm. "Go ahead and get settled in, Sherlock. I'll be back in a few hours, Charlotte." She grinned at her partner.

Charlotte nodded and watched as Sherlock came into the flat. She didn't growl or blow smoke at him in warning, so she was clearly alright with having him in her territory.

Once John was sure Sherlock was settled, he grinned at Bree and they headed off.

Sherlock paused in front of the chair he always sat in when they had their little nights in, looked at her, and raised his eyebrows. He always asked first.

"Seems like they're getting on well," Bree said as she walked with John, grinning.

Charlotte nodded, giving him permission. She appreciated that he always asked first; it meant he respected her and her claim on the space.

"They do, don't they?" John replied, nodding. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Sherlock might fancy her a bit."

Sherlock settled himself in the chair, stretching out briefly before settling in again, his eyes half-closed.

"Well, Sherlock is the first dragon Charlotte has let into the flat," Bree said. "That's always a good sign."

As Sherlock was settling in, Charlotte leaned towards the fireplace and breathed a little bit of flame into it, lighting some of the wood that hadn't caught yet. She couldn't produce very much fire at all while in her humans form, but she could produce a little. She settled back again once the wood was lit, steam escaping her lips.

"Well, Sherlock could always use another friend," John said. "And Charlotte seems to be good for him."

Sherlock watched, one eyebrow raising a little. So she could produce flame in her human form. That was very uncommon, even in fire dragons. He found himself grudgingly rather impressed.

"Same with Charlotte," Bree said. Then she grinned. "Plus that makes it easier when we want to go out."

Charlotte noticed he was watching her, and looked away briefly. Then she glanced back at him and blew a smoke ring at him, teasingly.

"That it does," John agreed with a grin. "And you know, I've never seen Sherlock half so content as he has been lately. The companionship is good for him."

Sherlock snorted at that and blew part of it away, his eyes gleaming. It was harder for him to retaliate, but he did puff a bit of steam at her.

"As much as they say they're solitary and don't like company, they sure do better when they have some company," Bree noted with a smile.

Charlotte grinned, a bit of a gleam in her eyes as well, and returned the gesture with a puff of steam of her own.

"No kidding," John said. "Well, it's a good thing they do, I'd hate to have had to bring Sherlock with us."

Sherlock snorted again but settled back, a smirk hovering around his lips. He couldn't play this game as well as a human, but there were others.

"Oh, I know. I've been out before with Charlotte and she's set the table on fire." Bree made a face. "I haven't been able to go back to that place since."