Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with "Sherlock", as much as I might wish... I simply play with what has already been created


Foundations

Prologue

Boring.

Sherlock sighed as he forked over a few notes to the taxi driver and stepped out into the rain. He had predicted the rain as usual, then again what other Londoner hadn't, but this didn't mean he was any less prepared for the downpour. He flipped up his coat collar and begrudgingly moved away from the taxi as it sped away back into the London traffic.

There it was. The building he'd come all this way to see and all of sudden he was struck with how monotonous it all was. It was just a flat. A place he would come to call home in the future months with whoever his flatmate turned out to be. That didn't mean it held any significance in the greater scheme of things… Sherlock would even imagine that no crime had ever been committed in the flat. How terribly irksome.

The door was a plain black, paint obviously fairly fresh from the fact that the rain barely bothered it. It looked like the typical kind of house paint one might find in any normal household store, no important factors there. On the door was a faded gold knocker as well as the house number "221B" clearly inscribed for all to see.

Sherlock wasted no time in crossing the road over to where the building was and raising his hand to the knocker. He knocked three times, choosing it as the best number to show his intentions. One was for the knock and run school-child, playing games to ruin Mrs Hudson's day. Two would mean a delivery man, wanting to make sure he was heard but not caring that much. No, knocking three times was best for Sherlock's intentions – he was a man here to see a flat.

There was a brief pause as Sherlock stood watching the street-lamp near him flicker on and off. It could be someone trying to send a signal… but then again it was clearly just that the filament of the bulb was aging and soon to be dead. He'd have to get Mrs Hudson onto the council. Or maybe his new flatmate would do it.

"Sherlock!"

The delight in Mrs Hudson's voice would have been clear for any passer-by to hear – if there had been any – as she tried to pull him into a one-armed hug. He shrugged her off gruffly and stepped inside the house. "What took you so long?"

The smile that was lighting up Mrs Hudson's face failed to move even with his blunt remark as she bustled further down the hallway. "I was just checking everything was sorted for our visitor," she called over her shoulder as she disappeared into her own flat.

Sherlock raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He should have realised that all the fuss wasn't for him but instead his future flatmate.

Both he and Mrs Hudson knew next to nothing about his new companion in flat-sharing other than they'd contacted via email that they wanted to see the flat tonight and would their future flatmate like to come along. Sherlock had liked to come along, but only to know about this mysterious new acquaintance. They'd made sure not to leave any major details other than a number, whether by accident or on purpose he didn't know. But Sherlock had guessed from the email of "watson3 " that his companion had to be male, no self-respecting woman would have that email – they'd be more likely to use a first name and last name combination than a surname and a number. But Sherlock's deduction was yet to be confirmed.

"Did they leave any name?" Sherlock asked again as he strode after Mrs Hudson into her flat.

"No, dearie," she replied as she fluttered about, putting the kettle on.

She looked flustered. Clearly she wanted to make a bigger impression than Sherlock himself did.

Wasn't the phrase "be yourself"? Her lips were just slightly redder than normal, suggesting she had applied lipstick and then wiped it off, considering it to be inappropriate for the situation. The tiny smudge on her upper canine also backed up this theory. She was wearing a floral blouse alongside a knee-length shirt, the blouse was buttoned up to the chin giving him the idea that she didn't want to appear as a "bad" kind of woman. Sherlock rolled his eyes; there was no chance of that.

The cups that Mrs Hudson took down from her cupboard were made of china and were those that Sherlock had never seen before. So this was what it was like to be received as a special guest… even if the special guest was not in fact him.

Sherlock simply stood and waited as Mrs Hudson fretted around him, making the tea in a teapot that was of the same china as the cups and then grabbing the saucers and a tray. "Sherlock, would you be a dear and carry this?

He met Mrs Hudson's eyes and raised his eyebrows. She knew perfectly well he wasn't the man for manual labour such as lifting. With a sigh, she picked up the tray herself. "I'm not your housekeeper, Sherlock."

He couldn't help but grin as he followed Mrs Hudson up to 221B, she might not think she was his housekeeper but that didn't mean she wasn't.

The banister was coated with a fine layer of dust showing that Mrs Hudson herself had not been up to the flat in a while, but there were drag marks on the carpet where Sherlock knew his own furniture had been carried up – they clearly felt no need for banisters. Mrs Hudson paused putting down the tray to open the door. "Now, Sherlock, you've got to be on best behaviour-"

She was cut short as the door swung open to show the state of disarray the flat was now in. Sherlock had taken it upon himself to move in already, knowing that he was going to be staying there and so was this new flatmate if their mysterious nature was anything to go by. "Sherlock!"

There were books and papers piled everywhere, allowing the sofa and easy chairs to be the only furniture free without contact. Sherlock's desk sat to one side also covered in documents. "How did you get in?" Mrs Hudson was standing with her hands on her hips in the doorway.

It simply showed how well she knew him that she hadn't turned round and throttled him yet. He was fairly used to people attempting that.

Sherlock shrugged as he barged past her, almost kicking over the tea which still lay on its tray on the floor. He headed straight to the sofa where he sprawled out, beckoning her over for the tea. She let out another sigh as she picked the tray up and brought it over. "I have a bad hip, you know, Sherlock-"

Luckily, Sherlock was saved another tedious lecture by the doorknocker going. First once, then another two times. Good decision. His new flatmate had brains. Obviously these were only the brains of an average human being but he could deal with that.

There was a brief murmuring of greetings at the doorway, Mrs Hudson sounded like an over-excited hum of words whereas the returning buzz of words was deep and almost sarcastic in sound. The feet passing over the threshold sounded light, so their owner must be fairly thin, but they were sure of themselves. There was no trace of any injury or past experience involving their legs, which was a good sign for if Sherlock ever needed them to run to the shop.

The sound of two pairs of feet moved up the stairs until they were hovering at the door. "Sherlock," Mrs Hudson said as she entered the door, glancing so severely at him that he moved so he was slightly less messy on the sofa. "I'd like you to meet our mysterious "watson3". This is Miss Harriet Watson."

The girl that followed Mrs Hudson into the room was around twenty-five years old and was pretty slight, around the same height of Mrs Hudson herself although a little taller. She was skinny and had short blonde hair that spiked out around her head, framing a face that was covered in dark mascara making her look a little alike a panda.

"Hi, I'm Harry."


So there we have it, the prologue of my new series "Foundations". I've not decided on how long the series is going to be but have been fancying a "let's change the very beginning of Sherlock" type fanfiction for a while and so figured I'd have a go. Any of those of you who know me already will know that this fanfiction is bound to end up Johnlock so anyone who doesn't like this ship I'm sorry but that's just the way things go. But we don't have any John for a little while anyway (bear with me guys!) Anyway I'd love it if I could have some reviews so I know whether it is a good idea to continue this after all. Thank you to those who read this in any case in advance!