Summary: A Genius and a Doctor discover they share a love of all things "Merlin".
A/N: As usual, huge thanks to my beta, sarajm, whose comments and ideas always make my stories better.
The Guilty Pleasure
John turned the corner onto Baker Street with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. It was a beautiful spring day, the sun was shining, his shift at the clinic had ended early (for the first time in recent memory there had been no lengthy line of patients) and, best of all, he had in his bag the DVD collection of Season 4 of the television show 'Merlin'.
John's fascination with 'Merlin' had begun a number of months earlier when he'd walked into the lunchroom at the clinic and saw Leo Agar, one of his colleagues, seated at a table engrossed in a very heated conversation with Kathleen, their receptionist. The two were leaning in towards each other and Kathleen was adamantly shaking her head and saying "No, no, no. You've got it all wrong!" Mind you, both were smiling, so whatever they were discussing obviously was not going to lead to blows.
John walked past them on his way to the kettle, and with a twinkle in his eyes said, "Am I going to have to separate you two?"
Both Leo and Kathleen gave little laughs, and looked a little embarrassed, but Leo said, "No, I think in this case we'll just agree to disagree."
"Hold on a minute," said Kathleen. "I know I'm right, so why don't we get John's opinion on the matter and you'll see that he agrees with me and you're wrong!"
"My opinion on what?"
"Last night's episode of 'Merlin'," responded Kathleen. "Leo and I were having a slight disagreement in connection with Mordred's comments at the end of the episode."
"Oh, well …. I've never seen an episode of the show. In fact, I'm not sure I've even heard anything about it, really," answered John.
"What?!" squawked Kathleen. "How can you not have seen it? It's just about the best show on television. In fact, I love it so much that I've bought all four previous seasons on DVD and I've been re-watching them from the beginning."
Kathleen then went on to provide her now-captive audience with an in-depth analysis of every major character in the show and a brief synopsis of the previous evening's episode, with Leo providing some clarification every so often. John just stood there, his still-empty tea mug now hanging at his side and an incredulous look on his face.
Now, like many small boys, John had always loved playing Knights with his friends. He still recalled with fondness one brilliant summer when his Dad had made him a play sword and his Mom had sewed him a tunic with a large cross on the front so he looked "just like a Crusader". He'd spent that entire summer running around the neighbourhood with his friends Charlie and Nate, all three of them on a search for the Holy Grail. His sister Harry had even joined in on occasion.
This show – 'Merlin' – sounded like it would be right up his alley and when Kathleen stopped talking to take a breath he managed to interject, "It sounds like a great show, Kath. When it is on? I'd love to see it."
"Actually, John, you really need to start watching it from the beginning," answered Leo. "If you started in now, I think you'd be totally lost trying to figure out who everyone is and their relationship to each other."
"Oh, I see," said John. "Well, maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch it in reruns at some point."
Kathleen stared intently at John, so much so it made him feel a little uncomfortable, but before he could say anything Kathleen spoke up. "I'll lend you the first season. You can keep it as long as you want, and if you like the show I'll be happy to lend you the other seasons as well."
"Really? That would be great Kath. Thanks so much."
And, sure enough, when John stepped into his office the next day there was a bag sitting on his desk with a note from Kathleen that said "Enjoy".
Well, enjoy he did; after the first episode he was hooked! John was enjoying the 'bromance' between Merlin and Arthur and he loved the father-son relationship that existed between Gaius and Merlin. It reminded him of his relationship with his Great-Uncle Hamish (for whom he had been named) in many respects.
The only downside of his viewing experience was that, unless he knew for a fact that Sherlock was going to be out of the flat for an extended period of time, John was forced to watch the episodes on his computer. John had borne the brunt of his flatmate's derogatory comments on many of the shows and movies he enjoyed and he could just imagine what would come out of the raven-haired detective's mouth when he saw John engrossed in a series about fantasy and magic of all things. He didn't want this show to be ruined by the detective, like he had ruined so many others.
So, here he was with Season 4 in his bag, a few unexpected free hours and a flat which should be Sherlock-free for a least a couple of hours. Little did John know that rather than being at the morgue with Molly like he was supposed to be, Sherlock was in fact looking out of the sitting room window and watching John's imminent arrival with dismay.
As John opened the door to 221B, he met Mrs. Hudson, who was just buttoning up her coat in preparation to head out.
"It's a beautiful day, Mrs. Hudson," said John in greeting.
"I know, dear. Let's hope the good weather is here to stay!"
As the two were speaking, John could not help but hear bangs and thumps that seemed to be coming from the flat overhead. Glancing up at the ceiling with a look of confusion on his face, John said, "What the heck? Mrs. Hudson, is Sherlock home?"
"Oh, yes; he came storming in about an hour ago with a look on his face that would stop an eight-day clock. He stamped up the stairs and I haven't seen or heard him since. But I'm pretty sure I heard the telly earlier," mused Mrs. Hudson.
"Anyway, wish me luck, John. I'm off to Mrs. Turner's to play bridge. We're convinced her 'married ones' are cheating somehow and we're determined to catch them at it today!" And with a wave over her shoulder, Mrs. Hudson was out the door and heading off down the street.
"So much for watching on the telly," muttered John in an undertone. As he climbed the stairs towards the flat there were another couple of bangs, a thump, and then … silence. As John entered the sitting room, Sherlock could be seen sitting on the sofa, glaring at his laptop. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his hair was looking a little unruly.
"Everything okay?" queried John. "It's just, I heard some strange noises as I was coming up the stairs and I wondered …"
"No, no, everything's fine," responded Sherlock with a huff. He finally looked up at his flatmate and added, "I thought you were only going to be back around 5:30."
"Yeah, it was a quiet day so I got sprung early," responded John. He stood there a couple of moments, his jacket still on, his bag slung over his shoulder and looked around the room. He was trying to decide how he could satisfy his desire to get started on Season 4 of 'Merlin', yet not let on to his friend what he was up to.
"Problem?" queried Sherlock.
"Ah, no. I guess I'll just … um … paperwork. Yeah, I've got … paperwork to finish. I figured it would be nicer to do it here rather than at work so I'm just going to head upstairs and finish my paperwork and then maybe I'll cook some spaghetti carbonara for dinner. So, I'll be upstairs if you need me, working on my paperwork… yeah," rambled John as he turned around and proceeded up the next flight of stairs to his room.
"Smooth, Watson," he thought to himself as he shucked off his jacket and tossed it on his bed. "Sherlock's going to think you've lost your mind." But, his unease at having potentially exposed his secret to the raven-haired detective wasn't enough to keep him from enjoying episode one: "The Darkest Hour".
As Spring turned into Summer, John finished watching Season 4 and started on Season 5, in secret as always. He often watched late at night when his flatmate was either engrossed in another experiment or sawing away on his violin. He was sure his secret was safe despite his earlier slip-up and yet it was obvious he was not the only one in the flat keeping secrets. There was definitely something going on with Sherlock.
On the few occasions when John made an unexpected return to 221B, he'd hear bangs and thumps coming from upstairs and every time, he would enter the sitting room to find Sherlock either glued to his laptop or sitting in front of his microscope, apparently engrossed in 'The Work'.
But something was definitely off. Certainly, to all outward appearances, it seemed like Sherlock was absorbed in whatever he was doing and had been so for a lengthy period, but John could see that the detective always looked a little flustered, his cheeks slightly pink and his hair slightly ruffled. Obviously Sherlock was hiding something, but unlike the World's Only Consulting Detective, John understood the meaning of the word "privacy" and he didn't press his friend to find out what was going on. Besides, John knew the detective well enough by now to know that eventually Sherlock would open up to him.
And so life continued on at 221B. John was about half-way through Season 5 of 'Merlin' and was having lively discussions about the show at work. It turned out that, besides Leo and Kathleen, there were three other colleagues of his who also enjoyed the show so their lunch hour get-togethers were always lively.
But, Sherlock was still hiding something and John still didn't know what was going on. Sherlock was often found mumbling under his breath or staring into space for no apparent reason … well, at least for reasons even less apparent than usual. People were starting to notice the Detective's odder-than-usual behaviour. In fact, it had even reached the point where Mycroft had kidnapped John to try to find out what his younger brother was up to, but John had no answers to give.
It all came to head one sunny day in July. John had no clinic hours and the final two episodes of Merlin to watch. Sherlock had left without a word about an hour previously and Mrs. Hudson was at her niece's for a week. John was alone in the flat and he took full advantage of his solitude to watch the final two episodes of Merlin.
When it was over, John's eyes were slightly red-rimmed, but he sniffed manfully, gave a small sigh and then stood and ejected the DVD from the player. He carefully placed it in the case and then headed upstairs to put the collection in his bag to return to Kathleen. While in his room, John decided to have a quick shower so he grabbed his shaving kit, his striped dressing gown and his towel and headed off to the bathroom.
After his shower, John determined that a cup of tea and a couple of Hobnobs would be the perfect end to a perfect afternoon, so he wandered into the kitchen to turn on the kettle. He got the shock of his life when he crossed into the sitting room to find Sherlock stretched full length along the sofa, his hands tented under his chin; he was lost in his Mind Palace.
In the time it took John to get dressed, style his hair, find the Hobnobs and make his tea, Sherlock still had not surfaced from his thoughts. He asked if Sherlock wanted a cuppa, but received no response. However, there was nothing unusual about that; Sherlock could get lost in his Mind Palace for hours at a time, so John was not concerned about the lack of response from the sofa.
About thirty minutes later John was seated in his chair, his cup now containing only the dregs of his tea and the Hobnobs nothing more than a few scattered crumbs on his plate, when the zombie across the room started muttering to himself. John peered over the top of his newspaper towards his friend, but it was obvious that Sherlock was still not aware of what was going on around him; he was simply talking to himself.
The baritone's mutterings became nothing more than a background hum as John focused on the sports page. Suddenly, the mumbling became clearer and John distinctly heard, "But why didn't he summon the dragon? It makes no sense."
John lowered the newspaper, his eyes wide open in shock. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? He sat very still, trying not to make any noise, hoping Sherlock would continue vocalising his thoughts. Sure enough, about 30 seconds later John heard, "But Arthur couldn't have been such an idiot that he didn't have any suspicion of all of Merlin's magic by then."
"Ha!" shouted John.
"What?!" cried Sherlock as he was abruptly pulled from his thoughts and back into the real world. "John, why are you yelling?"
"You spend all your time berating me for my 'ridiculous' shows and movies, yet you apparently watch 'Merlin'. A little bit of the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?" ranted John, with his finger pointed accusingly at Sherlock.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. What is 'Merlin'?" responded Sherlock in the haughtiest tone John had ever heard.
"Don't try to play the innocent with me! I just heard you talking about 'Merlin'. You mentioned a dragon, and then Arthur and Merlin by name. I heard you loud and clear! So, 'fess up. Is that what you've been hiding from me all these months? The fact that you like a television show?"
Sherlock had the grace to look shamefaced and said, "I know I'm being ridiculous, but I happened upon it as I was surfing the 'net one evening and somehow I ended up hooked on the show. I know, I know … that's not like me, but I'm embarrassed to say that I can't stop watching it. It's that addictive. You can't understand, John. It's got me, ME, in its claws! And I was too mortified to say anything."
John just laughed at his friend and asked, "And what do you think I've been doing in my room at all hours these past few months? I've been watching it from the beginning. Kathleen from the clinic has been lending me the DVDs and I've been watching them in secret. I figured you'd just belittle my choice in viewing pleasure so I decided it would be a lot less stressful for me to watch on my own than risk having you tear apart every episode with your commentary! If I'd only known, I could have watched on the HiDef TV rather than on my poor little laptop screen."
Sherlock looked over at the Doctor and smiled in return. "Well, if you're interested … I happen to own all five seasons," stated Sherlock.
"So we could watch them together," added John. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go get them and we'll start at the beginning."
"Now?" asked Sherlock, a little surprised.
"Now," stated John.
And that's how Friday Night 'Merlin' night began at 221B.
A/N: A little gift to my own "Friday Night Merlin" gang. Love you guys!