Being the (slightly above) average person I am, I feel compelled to watch crappy daytime television and become absolutely absorbed in it. Which is why I got so excited when I heard these words escape my (hopefully soon to be) lover's mouth:
"We're going to Australia,"
Okay, maybe there wasn't as much conviction as Oprah, but it was still something.
I spat out my tea for three reasons. One, Sherlock had made it and it tasted foul. Two, he surprised me with his news of our Australia trip and three, the top half of him was naked as he said it.
"Wh…Why…Why are you…?" I managed to say. The sight of him like that was so beautifully distracting but the man himself didn't notice my awkward stare.
"There's a very curious case there. I managed to get a recording of the last English broadcast they had before communication was cut completely," he spun a disc around his finger mindlessly as he sprawled on the sofa, his torso still unclothed.
"Not wearing a shirt?" I finished.
"What? Oh, couldn't be bothered looking for one. You don't mind, do you?" I shook my head and my thoughts refocused on the disc.
"Wait, last English broadcast? Sherlock, they're Australians, they don't speak a different language to us, they speak English!"
"No they don't, although they are quite fluent in English they have their own language that they developed in secret. Being so cut off from the rest of the world it's not that hard to do,"
~I knew that if anyone else heard this they'd be offended, but at least I burnt the disc after we watched it. Sherlock had insisted I watch it and I nearly fell over from shock at how racist it seemed to me.~
Sherlock placed the disc into the DVD player attached to the television. A screen flashed up that said "NEWS BROADCAST" and was soon replaced with a man in a cork hat with a strange animal sitting next to him.
"ROIGHT! M'name's BRUCE! We need to git this news out to all of ya! What's that, Skip?" the animal clicked a few times at the man, "Ev'ryone's bin disappearin'?" Click click, "STRUTH! Wadda we do, Skip?" Click click click "Bugger, we're in a ridge of a didge problem! SHEILA! GIT ME BOOM'RANG!"
The video stopped and I stared at the blank screen in shock.
"As you can see, people in Australia are disappearing, and they have no idea why, so their Government hired us…well, me…to solve this case," I still couldn't say anything. My eyes and ears and basically been raped by that video. I nodded slowly and Sherlock stared quizzically at me, "problem?"
"Problem?" I repeated, "PROBLEM? Sherlock, that is probably the most racist thing I have ever seen, where did you get that?"
"From the 24 hour news channel. Molly tapes it and I take what I need from it," Typical, I thought. He is so mean to poor Molly, but if it means he's not interested in her I guess I can deal with it. A small smirk crawled across my face and Sherlock saw it this time, "what?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was…thinking about the video," not a complete lie, but a lie nonetheless. Sherlock's face widened in smiling agreement.
~There are only two situations that this man smiles at- situations where my opinion is involved and situations where he's just being a smart-arse. Luckily, the two hardly ever mix.~
It took us nearly three hours to pack. Well, by 'us' I mean 'me', Sherlock had left shortly after the video saying he had something important to do and left me to pack our clothes. I didn't complain, it meant I got to choose what he wore the entire time he was there. I packed a selection of silk shirts of various colours, a pair of pants and three pairs of skin-tight black pants for him. I didn't pack any suits for him, it was too hot for those or his infamous trench coat and scarf. Shortly after I had finished packing I received a message from Sherlock:
TO: John
FROM: Sherlock
Meet me at the airport with our clothes. I have everything else we need. A taxi is on the way. SHI let out a content 'huh' as I finished reading. A taxi pulled up outside of the flat and I quickly zipped the bags and carried them downstairs. The ride was strange, one of the very few times I had ridden in a taxi alone. I missed Sherlock's company; I always did when he rushed off. As the vehicle pulled up at the airport, I noticed how deserted it was. In fact, the only person in the building apart from me was Sherlock sitting at a table.
"Here's your bag," I said cheerily as I hoisted the suitcase onto the table. He unzipped it and looked at the contents. I felt myself blush as he analysed my choice of clothes for him. For a moment I swore I saw him smile slightly.
"Good work, John," he stated flatly, "we'll be boarding in about 15 minutes, by the way."
"Oh," I looked around to see emptiness. The building had basically been abandoned, "so…where are all the other people?"
"Other people?"
"Yeah, the other people in town that want to go places. Shouldn't this airport have people in it?"
"No, Mycroft 'shut down' the airport so our journey would be safer and more secret. I don't want Moriarty thrown in with this. And before you ask, Mycroft will be the pilot, Government bond thing or whatever. I wasn't listening."
"Obviously," I rolled my eyes at him as I said it.
The plane was halfway to Australia when Sherlock fell asleep. He was a bit restless, but I didn't really mind. It was actually quite cute. At one point he started pawing at an invisible object in the air like a cat. The movements slowed and eventually his arms drooped down. One landed on the aisle-side arm, the other landed on my thigh, with his index and middle finger actually touching the part of my pants that covered my crotch. This was awkward.
~It wasn't the most awkward thing that had ever happened to me, however. One night Sherlock and I stopped at a fast food place to get dinner and as I pulled out the money to give to the woman serving us, my wrist flicked and the money flew out of my fingers and landed on her chest. We all stared at it and I wasn't sure whether I should have picked it up and given it to her properly or just leave it and stay away from her breasts.~
I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. If I picked up his hand he could wake up and then I'd have to explain it, but if I left it and he figured out I was awake the whole time, questions would be asked. I felt him move again and opened my eyes slightly. His head rolled to face me. It looked like he was asleep, so I opened my eyes a little wider and stared at him through half-closed eyelids. He didn't stir however, and I felt like a teenager indulging my feelings for him because of something so small. Towards the end of the flight, I felt brave enough to lightly brush my hand across his cheek. He stirred slightly and murmured something I didn't understand. I ran my fingers across his face once more. He smiled and nuzzled his head into my hand. I caught some of his hair and twirled it as my palm rubbed against him. A light signalling that we were about to descend flashed and I pulled my hand away from Sherlock and pretended to be asleep. Mycroft's voice came through the speakers.
"Good morning, John and Sherlock. Welcome to Australia," Sherlock woke and I appeared to have as well. We stretched out and I glanced at the country below us. It was green. And big. That was about all I could see from this distance, but I was impressed. I looked back over at Sherlock, he was touching his right cheek as he sat deep in thought. he even looked a little confused.
We exited the empty airport and were greeted by the chauffeur Mycroft had hired for us.
"Sherlock?" The man asked.
"Yes. This is my colleague John Watson," He replied, gesturing at me.
"Ygssgv dt," the chauffeur muttered as he walked to the car.
"What was that?" I asked Sherlock. He smiled at me and I blushed slightly.
"That," he answered, "was Australian. He wants us to get in the car, I gather."
~Sherlock told me that Australian was one of the hardest languages to speak. if we were lucky, we would find some people that still spoke English, but the majority of Australians nowadays speak this language that I had never heard of until yesterday. Neither Sherlock nor I could speak Australian, so you can imagine how difficult getting information was.~
"Vitf ngx vqsa qvqn, ngx rgf'z itqk dt lqn hstqlt~
Gi wqwn rgf'z ug~
lodhst qfr estqf ol zit vqn ziqz ngx'kt dqaofu dt...~"
The chauffeur had been singing for nearly an hour now, and it was getting annoying. Sherlock had the ability to shut it out when he wasn't thinking extremely hard, but I had to suffer through this string of incomprehensible syllables. After four hours the car stopped outside of a small town.
"Here," spoke the driver, "no further. Danger. Liqrgv," Sherlock nodded and signalled for me to leave the vehicle with him. Once we were out, the car sped off in the other direction, leaving Sherlock and I in this seemingly deserted town. It was about another hour until we found someone as we walked through the town. It was a beautiful place, right next to the ocean. The water was so clear it was like blue glass and the beaches had such soft and clean looking sand. I was amazed by the calm feeling I had just being in this town. The woman we found was in a forest-like area. There was a river that stretched out into a lake and it was surrounded by trees. The sun poked through the branches, leaving sprinkles of light on the ground. She was looking out over the lake as she sat on the edge of the river bank. She had short, black, wavy hair and was wearing a trench coat as far as I could see. We approached her and she whipped her head around and upon seeing us jumped up and backed away.
"UG QVQN!" She cried. Sherlock looked at her with a puzzled look on his face and I dropped my suitcase and put my ands up trying to reassure her that we meant no harm.
"Sorry," I said softly and slowly, "we mean you no harm. I am Dr. John Watson, this is Sherlock Holmes," Sherlock smiled at me as though I'd done something wrong, "what?" I asked him.
"Can't you hear her accent? She's English, John," he chuckled at me and I blushed uncontrollably.
"You're...Sherlock Holmes?" the woman asked.
"Yes, and this...wait..." He stared analytically at her and as I followed his gaze I could see why. She wasn't just wearing a trench coat, she wore a black suit with a white shirt that had faint white vertical stripes, black gloves and narrow dress shoes, and a blue-grey scarf. She turned red as we realised that she was wearing the same clothes as Sherlock.
"Why are you wearing my clothes?" He asked.
"I...I'm a fan..." She stuttered, clearly embarassed.
"So...You read my website?" He seemed to be asking hopefully.
"Umm...no...I have no internet, you see..." Sherlock looked a bit disappointed at that.
"You saw him on the telly, then?" I asked.
"No...I don't have one of those either..." Sherlock and I were puzzled.
"Newspaper?" She shook her head. She wasn't making eye contact anymore, she pushed at the grass mindlessly with the toe of her shoe and Sherlock and I just stood there, perplexed.
"How?" Sherlock asked, "how do you know me?"
"I saw your face," she looked back up at us, eyes fixed on Sherlock.
"Where?" I asked. She kept her eyes on Sherlock with a stiffness that he himself employed when he was giving an explanation that seemed fairly obvious to himself but nobody else.
"...The sky."
"What?" we asked in unison.
"I saw your face in the sky when I was sitting right here. It was made of stars, and I drew it in my sketch book," she held out a small book. The cover was made of what seemed to be stone and a giant "X" surrounded by roses was engraved on the cover. Sherlock was given the book and he flicked through the pages, finding life-like images drawn on nearly every page. They looked like black and white photos. There were pictures of him playing his violin, looking through a microscope, sitting in a taxi, everything. Then, as he flicked halfway through the book, my face appeared, "Yes, that's you," the woman said, "you came in a few months ago, I saw you and when I drew you next to him, you just seemed to...fit," I looked back at the pictures, we were drawn sitting in the flat, standing next to the lady from "A Study In Pink", smiling at each other, by the pool, at this lake and finally there was a less detailed sketch. parts of us were missing and there were rough lines around some other parts but the main image was recognisable. I was in a bed with my head turned to my right. my right hand was resting on the top of my pillow and the left...the left was holding Sherlock who was sleeping next to me. He was curled into my side and his left hand was resting on my bare chest. I couldn't tell if we were fully naked, there was a rough blanket in the way, but the tops of us definitely were. I blushed and I noticed that Sherlock did too. He snapped the book shut and handed it back to her.
"Wh...Why did you..." He pointed at the book, clearly flustered, "why did you draw that?" the woman tilted her head in contemplation.
"Hmm. I don't know. Things just pop into my head and I draw them. I didn't know you were real until just now," she smiled at Sherlock and I have to admit I was getting a little jealous. He stared at her like she stared at him, except he seemed a bit put off by her.
"Wait...We don't know your name!" I stated in realisation.
"Oh, right!" she rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I'm Xiakara," she extended a gloved hand for us to shake. After the introduction, Xiakara took us to a large house near the lake where she said she lived. It was a modern house with white walls and black furniture and ornaments. It was fairly empty except for the few small statues scattered on black tables. She led us into a darker room where a man in a cork hat, a furry animal and another woman in a kimono were sitting around a desk. Xiakara greeted each of them:
"G'day Bruce. Tch tch tch. Konnichiwa," they waved back at her and she made more introductions,"Sherlock, John, this is Bruce, Skip and Archanderal."
"Bruce and Skip? Like from the Australian news?" I asked. Sherlock put a hand over his eyes, which I guessed was a sign that I was being an idiot again.
"NAH, MATE,"
*~*
~Australians are very loud, I found out~
*~*
"EV'RYONE'S GOT A 'ROO CALLED SKIP. 'S PART OF BEIN' AUSTRAIL'YUN. ALL THE BLOKES'RE CALLED BRUCE, TOO!"
"I see. So," I turned to the woman in the kimono, "you're Archanderal? That's an interesting name."
"Nandesuka?" She replied. I turned to Sherlock and mouthed 'Australian?' and he shook his head.
"Japanese," he whispered, "She just said 'what?'"
"Oh. Wait... You know Japanese?"
"Hai," he replied, "you doubted my abilities?"
"Never," I smiled. He smiled back awkwardly and spoke to Archanderal.
"Hajime mashite. Watashi wa Sherlock desu. Douzoyoroshikuonegaishimasu," he bowed in front of her.
"Sherroku desuka?" she asked.
"Hai."
"Sh-Sh-Sherroku-chan ga daisuki desuyo!"
"Ah..." He looked at her nervously, "arrigatou gozaimasu," Archanderal looked at me and smiled.
"Onamae wa nandesuka?" She asked. I looked at Sherlock and he whispered 'name'.
"Oh. John," I looked back over at Sherlock and he bowed slightly, "Oh!" I said, and bowed to her. She giggled at me and turned back to Sherlock.
"Jon-san ga suki desu. Demo, Sherroku-chan ga daisuki desuyo!"
"Sherlock, what is she saying?" I asked as the others chuckled at her.
"I don't think you want to know," He replied and smiled warmly at me, making me blush.
Hello! This is my second Sherlock story and I just realised how long this chapter is. Before you are offended, I was born and currently live in the country I'm insulting. My friend and I started the idea. Right, now it's time to translate the Japanese! A for Archanderal, S for Sherlock, J for John, obviously: ~ means John is reminiscing or thinking to himself a bit off topic~
A: What?
S: Japanese, she said 'what?'
J: You know Japanese?
S: Yes. (blah, blah) How do you do. I am Sherlock. Pleased to meet you.
A: Sherlock?
S: Yes.
A: I love Sherlock! (Stuttering)
S: Ah...Thank you very much.
A: What's your name?
J: Oh. John.
A: I like John. But, I love Sherlock!
Archanderal and Xiakara are a couple of my minor OCs that I use in stories. If you read my other Sherlock Fanfic, you'll see me use Xiakara. She is not the same in this story. Pronunciation: Xiakara (Sha-ka-ra) Oh no, this bit's getting long too!
Archanderal (Ark-an-der-all)
Well,
See you in the next chapter!
SH
