Okay this story is a new idea to me and I'm still developing it, so please review and give suggestions and such.
John awoke to a loud pounding sound coming from the living room. When he opened his eyes the amount of light pouring into his room told him that it was too early to be awake. John glanced at the clock beside his bed and saw the bright red numbers 6:43. Yes, entirely too early to be awake.
John rolled over and stared at the window for a second. He was awake and that infernal pounding was going to make it impossible to go back to sleep but that didn't mean that he couldn't lay here for a second. The soft pink light outside the window barely made it through the small crack in his curtains but he could tell the sun was just beginning to rise. His eyes burned and he felt irritation that he was awake. He'd been up late because of Sherlock and now he was awake early because of Sherlock. Lately, taking care of Sherlock was becoming like taking care of a child. He was becoming more irrational, unpredictable and strange. John was annoyed but more than that he was honestly worried. He wasn't sure how much this was going to escalate before something bad happened.
After about five minutes John decided that it was time to face the music, or rather the noise, and get out of bed. He rubbed his tried eyes and got out of bed. His bare feet were cold on the floor and he put a pair of slippers and a dressing gown on- Sherlock had obviously been messing with the temperature again – before opening his bedroom door. He walked into the living, the sound of the thumping getting increasing louder until he was standing in the living room.
"What are you doing now?" John asked exasperated.
Sherlock was at the book case, or rather, standing on the bookcase shelf, holding on with one hand and with the other hand he was pulling books off the shelf and throwing them on to the ground where they landed with a loud crash. He'd obviously been at it for a while because there was huge pile sitting on the ground. "Looking" was all he said,
"Well, that's obvious" John said, irritated as he crossed his arms. " What are you looking for exactly?"
"Not sure" Sherlock said as he continued to rip books from the shelf.
"How can you be looking for something if you don't even know what it is?" John asked.
"Bored…." Sherlock muttered.
"Well, that's obvious as well" John muttered angrily. He was getting sick of this. Of course Sherlock was bored, so was he but that was no reason to be tearing up the living room before it was even 7 am.
"Want something to read but all these books are so…..dulllllll" he dragged the word out for emphasis.
"Sherlock, really, get down from there" John said. "If all these books are so boring why not go buy yourself a new book?"
Sherlock pulled the last book off the shelf and tossed it onto the floor. "Dull…." He said before leaping off the bookcase and landing on his feet with the agility of a cat. He didn't seem to notice the pile of books he had left, or rather or he ignored it, before plopping himself onto the couch like a pouting child. "Don't feel like going anywhere"
John sighed deeply. This was ridiculous, truly ridiculous. John was really beginning to feel like he was living with a two year old. "So, you don't feel like going anywhere or doing anything, but you can tear all the books off the bookshelf at 6:30 and wake me up for nothing?" he didn't try to hide his irritation.
Sherlock didn't answer and John sighed as he sat down in his chair. It had been difficult lately. It was coming on three weeks- the longest three weeks of his life- since he and Sherlock had had a case. Without a case Sherlock was bored and a bored Sherlock was not a good thing. Sherlock couldn't stand to be still, to not have mental stimulation. Really, he couldn't stand it. John didn't want to think about what could happen if Sherlock didn't find something to do soon. John knew all too well what method he had used in the past to give him mental stimulation when he had no other means…..
"Go make us some tea" Sherlock said off -handily from the couch.
"What?" John asked.
"You heard me….go make us tea" Sherlock said.
"I don't want any" John said.
"Well, then go make me some" Sherlock said.
"You want some tea, make it yourself. I'm not your bloody slave" John said, biting back as much irritation as he could but not managing to get rid of it all.
"Really?" Sherlock asked in that superior, arrogant way he had about him.
That was it. John felt his anger rising and rather than say something horrible he walked out of the room. He went to the bathroom and shut the door loudly behind him, locking it. He took deep breathes and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. His face was red and he felt like breaking something. The sun wasn't even up yet and he and Sherlock had already gotten into it. He was trying to be patient with Sherlock but when he said things like this he couldn't help it. Sherlock could just be such a git sometimes. Though if John was honest with himself he was really mad because there was some truth to it. He was kind of Sherlock's slave, or at least he felt like it sometimes. Who else would put up with so much of his crap?
The past three weeks had gone from bad to horrible. There had been gaps in their employment before but things had never lasted this long or escalated this quickly. Sherlock had gotten restless quickly and his behavior had gotten more irritating and bizarre very quick. At this point he wasn't even doing traditional experiments anymore, he often wake John at all hours with loud and bizarre behavior like throwing random objects at the wall to see which one of them made the biggest dent. He didn't play his violin much anymore and when he did it was loud, quick, harsh melodies that were very taxing on the ears. He talked less and less and now it seemed that everything that he said to John was mean or cruel. John was trying to be patient with him because he really wanted him to be happy again, but at the same time he was getting tired of taking the abuse. John suggested things to keep him busy of which Sherlock never took his suggestions. It seemed that Sherlock was even ignoring personal care which was alarming to John; John was fairly sure that Sherlock was in the same pajamas and dressing gown that he'd had on for three days now. He wasn't sure when he ate last.
John got his phone out of his dressing gown pocket and turned some music on as he stood in front of the mirror and shaved. He tried to get lost in the music and forget about Sherlock which he did for the most part, except for an annoying rustling sound he heard just barely through the music. John didn't even want to think about what Sherlock was doing now.
After he shaved, John began to run bathwater in the tub. The hot water began to steam up the bathroom and John was already beginning to feel a little bit more at ease. Maybe all he needed was a long, relaxing bath. He had just taken his pajamas off and was stepping into the bath when he heard the bathroom door rustle loudly. He had just enough time to place a towel around his waist before Sherlock came barreling through the door.
John cursed loudly. " Sherlock! What are you doing?!"
"I needed your phone" Sherlock said "Obviously"
Obviously? John looked at the screwdriver in Sherlock's hand and the doorknob that lay in pieces on the bathroom floor. Of course, Sherlock needed his phone, so obviously the answer was to take the doorknob off the door and help himself in. "Why didn't you just knock?" John asked annoyed. He felt very awkward standing here arguing with Sherlock in nothing but a towel.
"You had locked the door. It was apparent that you didn't want company" Sherlock said.
"So you just take the doorknob off the door?" John asked exasperated. " Of course, that's the answer! Does a locked bathroom door mean nothing to you? What if I'd been standing here naked?" he could feel his blood pressure raising.
"Oh please" Sherlock said, " Nothing I've not seen before. Can I have your phone?"
John felt his annoyance rise another ten points. He could think of no time Sherlock should have seen him naked. What did he do, spy on him whenever he felt like it? If he hadn't been so awkwardly naked now he might punch Sherlock in the face. Really, it was only a matter of time now with them locked in this house with nothing to do they were a powder keg ready to explode. "What's wrong with your phone?" he asked, suppressing all the nasty other remarks that came to his mind.
"Broken" Sherlock said, holding out his hand for John's phone.
"How'd you break it?" John asked.
Sherlock sighed and held out his hand like a spoiled child. He was becoming less and less verbal and it was annoying. "No" John said " You want my phone you tell me where yours is."
Sherlock rolled his eyes "Experiment" he said
John thought about prying for more, but at this point he really just wanted Sherlock out of the bathroom and to have some peace and quiet. "Fine" he said and gave Sherlock his phone. "Whatever you did to your phone, don't do it to mine"
"Just making a call, obviously" He said before turning and sweeping out of the room.
Obviously…..
John slammed the door shut and just for good measure, pulled the shower curtain around the tub before getting in. He sank into the warm water and tried to relax but he was so riled now that it was hard. John was getting so tired of Sherlock's attitude and being at each other's' throats constantly, but really he was genuinely worried. He had seen Sherlock spiral down this path before and it had ended in his horrible method of mental stimulation. John was trying to do all that he could to prevent that from happening again. He didn't think he could find Sherlock like that again…..
John sank down in the water so that his head was the only thing that stuck out of the water. He never thought he'd be hoping for a violent and puzzling murder to happen.
Poor Sherlock and John, they are a train wreck about to happen! Will something pop up to keep them busy? If not, how will John help keep Sherlock busy?