Sherlock Holmes, age 9 years and three months young, child prodigy and billionaire, was not exactly the most sociable of children (or of people really.) Not only was he intelligent, rich, and (vaguely, for his age) good looking, he was not even on his double-digits yet in age and therefore everyone always thought they could take advantage of or manipulate him. It wasn't true; anyone who knew Sherlock personally knew he was more stubborn and strong-willed than anyone they'd ever met and was less innocent to the ways of the world than any child should ever be. Not very many people in the world knew him personally though, and so the knowledge wasn't widespread. Thus, such things never stopped the hundreds of kidnappers from their attempts and ransom demands.
His elder brother, Mycroft who was the current head of his company, (just until Sherlock was legally old enough to run it himself he'd been told), tried to give him protection in all sorts of forms- bodyguards, cameras, snipers, constant surveillance, the works. But Sherlock hated the stifling nature of such things and often made a game of escaping from his brother's careful watch. A lot of the time, it was Sherlock himself that got into the hands of the various madmen out for his brains, money, or influence. He got bored easily, and at least dangerous criminals gave him something to do.
He was only a child and he never truly understood the severity and finality of the very high risk of death he was constantly in- well, he could hardly be blamed. Before he'd made his own fortune and a name for himself, he'd already been in danger because of his parent's social status. Thus, before young Sherlock had even turned four years old, kidnapping was not really out of the ordinary. An attempt occurred almost weekly, and although they succeeded far less often than that, it still made the everyday kidnapping not a very big deal to him.
He didn't understand the need for protection- it never worked, it was annoying, and Mycroft always had to save him anyways. Why spend all the money and effort protecting him when it'd still happen anyway? Or so he'd informed his brother while being lectured for giving his latest bodyguard the slip at the school gates that day.
Honestly, why couldn't Mycroft get it? Bodyguards stood out. He didn't want to stand out, not any more than he already did. Hateful bodyguards and an insufferable Mycroft aside, he had a hard enough time getting along with kids his own age- or anyone, actually. It wasn't lonely- he had Mummy and Mycroft and Father and his nanny, Mrs. Hudson. He didn't need them. It was just that- the kids, when they talked and played together- they looked like they were having so much fun. Somehow, Mycroft had managed to extract that information from him, (curse the torturing berk, tickling was cheating!), and told Sherlock he had the perfect solution.
Sherlock was sure Mycroft would completely fail to impress, but he was bored enough to let him try, so when he was sent a text telling him to meet Mycroft at ten o'clock at the front gate, he went, albeit apprehensively. He got there just as a car was pulling up, (Mycroft's second favorite, it must be important), and made sure to stand well out of the way as the gatekeeper buzzed him in. (Previous experience and some mostly-harmless pranks had led to a good amount of caution where the gatekeeper was concerned. Such an unfortunate way to find out that solid metal bars hurt when swung fast enough.) However, Mycroft had no such qualms and wasted no time in pulling through and getting out of the car. Then- and wow, this was weird- he actually opened the back door and held it open as a little blonde boy got out of rear seat. (He never did menial tasks like that; that's what servants were for, or so he'd always told Sherlock) The boy was older than Sherlock by three or four years at the most and also shorter and sturdier and overall more average looking. Short blonde hair, wide blue eyes, rigid posture, oddly well-built⦠Could it be? He quickly looked to his brother for confirmation-
"That's right Sherlock, good deduction. Meet your new live-in bodyguard, John Watson. John, this is Sherlock Holmes."
***Definition one: Bodyguard (all credit on definition goes to:)
***American HeritageĀ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
***n. A person or group of persons, usually armed, responsible for the safety of one or more other persons.
***A/N: Well. I've had this written for a while and never got around to posting it, mostly because I didn't like it much. I recently found it again and edited it into this slightly better version. Please review and tell me what you think! :)
