It wasn't that John thought Sherlock was invincible. Quite the contrary, in fact. Sherlock's pompous attitude actually made John think that Sherlock was far more fragile than he would ever admit, and John didn't bring it up, either. But it was still strange when he found out little things about Sherlock... little things that he would have never ever pegged to Sherlock.

When Sherlock's head had gone underwater, John hadn't thought much about it. Yes, the lake was deep, but it wasn't that deep and Sherlock was a capable man. However, when it hadn't resurfaced, John had started to feel uneasy and after maybe thirty seconds, John threw off his coat and dove in.

Now, they were sitting at the edge of the lake, both dripping wet and shivering. Sherlock's hair was plastered to his head and his entire body was trembling. Water was still dripping from his hair and coat as he huddled in on himself for warmth.

"So. You can't swim," John stated after a moment, fiddling with the timber in their fire to generate some heat.

Sherlock shook his head slightly. "No."

John nodded and fell silent. Only when their fire was crackling satisfactorily enough to warm them both did he speak again. "Any reason why not?"

Sherlock hadn't unmelted from hugging his knees, but his hair was drying to regain its natural curl. "I never learned."

"Yeah, that's a bit obvious. I meant, is there a reason why you didn't learn." John zipped his coat up a bit further.

Sherlock shrugged infinitesimally. "I almost drowned when I was a young boy."

"Oh." John knew that it was a logical explanation, but at the same time, his mind couldn't help but conjure up the thought that that was so many years ago. If Sherlock didn't learn to swim, he'd only end up almost drowning again; today was just a case in point.

Sherlock turned his head slightly, meeting John's gaze. "Luckily, I now have you to fish me out if I so happen to almost drown again," he said, smiling- well, if it were anyone but Sherlock Holmes, John would say that he was smiling an abashed smile. "That is in the 'blogger' job description, you know."

John rolled his eyes, his own smile brushing his lips. "Oh, really? I hadn't heard."

Sherlock returned his gaze to the fire, still smiling to himself.

Without another word, John did, too.

This is a little ficlet I wrote back in September, but never posted because I thought it was too OOC. But I've said it before- the bigger they are, the harder they fall- so I'm saying what the hell and posting it anyway. Uncharacteristic or not, I think it has a certain charm.

I do not own Sherlock. I do love your feedback and opinions. Thank you!