The Mystery of John Watson
Title: The Mystery of John Watson
Author:
humantales
Fandom: Sherlock
Genre: Gen
Characters: Sherlock Holmes
Rating: G
Word Count: 564
Betas: Thanks to the kindly and patient quean_of_swords for her beta.
Spoilers: A Study in Pink, although it's compliant with both seasons.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: I have a long story running through my brain that I'm trying to get organized and written. This is the prologue/teaser that I'm posting so I can stop rewriting it and get on to the next bit. And to see if anyone else is interested in reading it. ;-)
Summary: John Watson isn't just the first flatmate Sherlock has ever wanted to keep; he's a puzzle.
Sherlock sat back with a satisfied sigh; so far, there were no contradictions to his deductions. Not that he’d expected any, John wasn’t trying to hide anything, but people could be surprising. Still, the detective had been able to search his new flatmate’s bedroom thoroughly. The only thing left was this box.
It was a plain box, nothing special about it, but it was the only thing in John’s room that was locked. By now, John had enough experience of Sherlock’s curiosity that he knew that anything not locked and hidden away was fair game; he’d hidden his gun, if not well enough to actually keep it away from Sherlock. Still, the fact that this box was locked and kept underneath a layer of jumpers even though it was regularly opened was enough to indicate its importance.
A quick look at his watch assured Sherlock that he had enough time before John returned home. Wearing his best leather gloves, he picked the lock, which was more complex than it originally appeared. Finally, the box was open.
There was a piece of cloth, but it wasn’t important. It was just a stained woollen jumper, used to protect the two items inside. The two items that seemed to be the most important to John were an antique pocket watch and a wide leather bracelet. Curious.
He lifted the leather bracelet out first. It was peculiar; wider and thicker than any other bracelet he’d seen. In fact, where there would be a watch face if the item were a watch, there was something covered by a flap of the same leather as the rest of the item. Sherlock carefully lifted the flap and found himself staring. No wonder it had such a strong resemblance to a wrist watch; it was clearly based on a wristwatch’s design. Instead of a clock face or digital readout, there was a screen and several small buttons. Sherlock itched to examine it closer, but without knowing what he was doing, there was too great a risk of breaking the item. John might be angry if he found Sherlock going through his things, but he’d be furious if this were broken. Sherlock sighed and pulled out his mobile, taking pictures of the thing from every angle.
The final item was a gold pocket watch. It was ornately engraved, although years of rubbing his thumb and fingers over the case had worn down the engraving so that the original design couldn't easily be seen. Sherlock would have to wait until another day to examine it with a magnifying glass, but he could tell that the design was geometric in form. Whoever had given this to John had clearly valued him; it was a beautiful piece of work.
The catch, however, as these things did, had become stuck. Sherlock poked at it a couple of times with his lockpicks, but they weren’t the tools for this kind of work, and he didn’t want to damage the case. Finally, he gave up on opening it and pulled out his mobile to take photographs of it as well. When he was done, he carefully packed everything away where he’d found it.
Sherlock found himself humming as he went back downstairs. A puzzle, two of them even, and since John hadn’t caught him, there wasn’t even a risk of losing the first flatmate he’d ever wanted to keep.
Author:
humantales
Fandom: Sherlock
Genre: Gen
Characters: Sherlock Holmes
Rating: G
Word Count: 564
Betas: Thanks to the kindly and patient quean_of_swords for her beta.
Spoilers: A Study in Pink, although it's compliant with both seasons.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: I have a long story running through my brain that I'm trying to get organized and written. This is the prologue/teaser that I'm posting so I can stop rewriting it and get on to the next bit. And to see if anyone else is interested in reading it. ;-)
Summary: John Watson isn't just the first flatmate Sherlock has ever wanted to keep; he's a puzzle.
Sherlock sat back with a satisfied sigh; so far, there were no contradictions to his deductions. Not that he’d expected any, John wasn’t trying to hide anything, but people could be surprising. Still, the detective had been able to search his new flatmate’s bedroom thoroughly. The only thing left was this box.
It was a plain box, nothing special about it, but it was the only thing in John’s room that was locked. By now, John had enough experience of Sherlock’s curiosity that he knew that anything not locked and hidden away was fair game; he’d hidden his gun, if not well enough to actually keep it away from Sherlock. Still, the fact that this box was locked and kept underneath a layer of jumpers even though it was regularly opened was enough to indicate its importance.
A quick look at his watch assured Sherlock that he had enough time before John returned home. Wearing his best leather gloves, he picked the lock, which was more complex than it originally appeared. Finally, the box was open.
There was a piece of cloth, but it wasn’t important. It was just a stained woollen jumper, used to protect the two items inside. The two items that seemed to be the most important to John were an antique pocket watch and a wide leather bracelet. Curious.
He lifted the leather bracelet out first. It was peculiar; wider and thicker than any other bracelet he’d seen. In fact, where there would be a watch face if the item were a watch, there was something covered by a flap of the same leather as the rest of the item. Sherlock carefully lifted the flap and found himself staring. No wonder it had such a strong resemblance to a wrist watch; it was clearly based on a wristwatch’s design. Instead of a clock face or digital readout, there was a screen and several small buttons. Sherlock itched to examine it closer, but without knowing what he was doing, there was too great a risk of breaking the item. John might be angry if he found Sherlock going through his things, but he’d be furious if this were broken. Sherlock sighed and pulled out his mobile, taking pictures of the thing from every angle.
The final item was a gold pocket watch. It was ornately engraved, although years of rubbing his thumb and fingers over the case had worn down the engraving so that the original design couldn't easily be seen. Sherlock would have to wait until another day to examine it with a magnifying glass, but he could tell that the design was geometric in form. Whoever had given this to John had clearly valued him; it was a beautiful piece of work.
The catch, however, as these things did, had become stuck. Sherlock poked at it a couple of times with his lockpicks, but they weren’t the tools for this kind of work, and he didn’t want to damage the case. Finally, he gave up on opening it and pulled out his mobile to take photographs of it as well. When he was done, he carefully packed everything away where he’d found it.
Sherlock found himself humming as he went back downstairs. A puzzle, two of them even, and since John hadn’t caught him, there wasn’t even a risk of losing the first flatmate he’d ever wanted to keep.