Disclaimer: I don't own Sherlock, the Xbox, or the games listed.
A/N: I enjoy writing on the fly with inspiration from my friends.
It was another boring Saturday night in 221B Baker Street. The usual body parts were decomposing in the fridge, and various test tubes were boiling in a water bath on the kitchen table. The only difference this night was that instead of the normal crap telly filling the quiet flat, punctuated with keys clacking on the keyboard, it was filled with an obscene amount of expletives, along with gunfire.
John decided on impulse to buy an Xbox, figuring that it could be another way to blow off extra steam besides his evening runs. When Sherlock found about it, he wrote it off as childish. John, with a little coaxing from Stamford, bought Modern Warfare 3. He was told the graphics were a lot sleeker, the missions were more exciting and there were more maps to choose from. John started out with the campaign, and was immediately wrapped up in to the thrill of the battlefield. It was difficult not to be glued to the game, as he had other obligations, but he at least played it on the weekends.
The detective was fascinated with how caught up his friend was with the game, and often sat on the couch next to him and observed him. One night, Sherlock finally spoke up about it.
"What thrill do you get from this game, John?"
He paused it to look at him, his head tilted in thought. "I suppose it comes from the simulation from being on the battlefield, but without actually being in harm's way. Still, I still feel compelled to play as if I'm actually there. It sounds a bit silly I suppose…" he trailed off.
"Do you think you could teach me?"
John blinked. "Seriously? I thought that you said that it was childish."
"Well, since you seem to find this so exciting, I want to understand why," Sherlock said. He walked over to the front of the telly and plugged in the second controller, taking it with him back to the couch.
John ended the game and went to the main menu, selecting the Survival mode. Sherlock probably didn't want to get killed over and over again by an ex-Army Doctor, even if it was in just a video game.
"So," John took Sherlock's controller to face him, "this is how you move," wiggled the joystick, "jump, shoot, reload, change your weapons, throw your grenades and your flash grenades, duck, and stab. Simple enough," he said while pushing the various buttons.
Sherlock nodded, taking the controller and testing all of the controls, evidently committing them to the temporary storage in his hard drive.
John started the match up, gently coaching Sherlock through it. The first time Sherlock was killed, he protested indignantly at how he could have been shot from that angle. He had to be reminded several times that it was just a video game; very reminiscent of Cluedo. Eventually, he got the hang of it within a month, racking up kills quickly. Just like how they were a great duo in real life, it translated nicely to the video game.
It became a tradition for them to play MW3 on Survival mode on Saturday nights, the goal being to get more waves done than before. The most waves that they completed that was 20, which was an achievement considering how inept Sherlock was at first.
Eventually, Sherlock challenged John to a one-on-one match, confident in his firing prowess. That was shattered quickly, as he failed to remember for a brief moment that John was in the Army and therefore quite the crackshot marksman. Poor Sherlock didn't stand a chance against him; he was lucky if he got 15 kills against John's 30. There were times were Sherlock had an extreme urge to the throw the controller against the wall. He hated to admit it, but he was such a sore loser; Mycroft was definitely the source of the problem, taunting him during their neighborhood soccer matches.
"Don't you dare go easy on me, John Hamish Watson," Sherlock growled one night when he was getting his arse particularly beaten to a pulp.
"Oh you're using my full name now. You must really be looking to beat me at my best," John said with a giggle.
It took about 5 matches before Sherlock managed to beat John, if only by a narrow margin. John just rolled his eyes and smiled; he would let Sherlock bask in the glory until he beat his arse again.
For Sherlock's birthday, John bought him Portal and Portal 2, believing that Sherlock would enjoy the challenge.
He was practically dying on the floor with laughter as Sherlock yelled at the telly over and over again, incredulous at the physics behind the game. This was definitely a better way to blow off steam.
A/N: I just love the idea of these two playing video games, so I've decided to make this into a multichapter story, with each chapter revolving around a different game. If you have any suggestions, leave them in my inbox!