John Watson was a soldier in the making; a soldier in the making that just happened to babysit Sherlock Holmes, quite often he might add, because his mother wanted him to have some experience with children. If anything was going to prepare John into becoming a soldier it was the mini terror that was Sherlock Holmes.
It wasn't even that Sherlock was a bad kid. He was just… curious. All the time. That brilliant brain of his was always running and John had to stay on his toes and be prepared for multiple possible outcomes whenever the little genius decided to look into his curiosity.
At present, John approached the Holmes Manor with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder and a set look of determination on his face. He already felt the exhaustion of that evening settle upon him as he rang the bell, but he was a soldier, or going to be someday, and if he couldn't handle Sherlock Holmes, he had no business being one.
It was Sherlock himself who appeared at the door first, followed quickly by Mrs. Holmes who was dragging a suitcase behind her.
"Hey there, 'Lock. Hello Mrs. Holmes."
"John," Mrs. Holmes smiled. "Thank you for watching him so last minute, and overnight none the less. Siger was supposed to be home tonight but was called away and… well you don't need the details. Mycroft should be home sometime tomorrow afternoon and you can go home afterwards."
"Not a problem." He ruffled Sherlock's black mop of curls and smiled slightly at the glare that settled over the kid's face while his mother informed John of the usual emergency contacts and told Sherlock to behave and not to experiment on John… again.
When they were left alone, Sherlock remained silent and just glared at John like it was John's fault his mother had to leave so abruptly.
"Alright, 'Lock, what are we getting up to tonight? Pirate stories? Experimenting in the kitchen? Raiding Mycroft's room?"
Instead of receiving an answer, John just received silence.
"'Lock?"
Nothing.
"Sherlock?" John frowned. He knew Sherlock had some issues with being left behind by his parents and Mycroft a lot, but he thought Sherlock liked spending time with John. But now… this was almost as bad as the first time John watched him! Back then John had gotten such an icy cold reception, it felt like he was floating in the same water that the Titanic sunk in.
Fortunately, John had picked up a couple tricks after watching Sherlock for such a long time. So he placed his bag on the ground by his feet and settled into the couch. Sherlock didn't move from his spot but his eyes followed John's movements.
"I brought you something."
Sherlock still remained silent but John couldn't help but notice the change in Sherlock's body language. He went from furious and silent to still silent and angry but also slightly intrigued.
"It's in my bag. Can you guess what it is?"
At this he received a huff.
Progress! He knew just the right words to make Sherlock respond, and he relished in being able to do so.
John smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I think this is a tricky one 'Lock. I dunno if you'll be able to figure it out this time 'round."
Still no actual words but he got a growl and a narrowing of the eyes in response.
"I could just tell you I suppose. I really don't think you'll be able to surmise what this one is." John was practically giddy with himself. He had to keep himself focused so he wouldn't start grinning, because finally, FINALLY!, the boy had had enough of John and his hints that Sherlock only guessed and didn't deduce things.
"You know I do not guess, Watson!" Sherlock hissed and he came closer and started to examine John's bag.
John frowned a little at the use of his last name. He loved when Sherlock called him Jawn instead of John, and the little terror hadn't addressed him as Watson in months! It sent up a red flag as to Sherlock's mood. Maybe it had nothing to do with his family at all, and had to do with John instead…
"Uh… hey 'Lock? Are you upset with me or somethin'?"
He received a nasty snort at that, "Brilliant deduction, Watson."
John's frown deepened, "Seriously, Sherlock, what's going on? And the truth now, otherwise I'll just keep your present for myself." He crossed his arms across his chest and gave Sherlock the best disapproving glare he could muster but it was hard knowing he was the problem, and that something he did had upset his favorite little guy.
But again, he knew just the right thing to say because Sherlock sighed in defeat and blurted out, "You have not come to see me in a month! A month, Jawn! I've come to the conclusion quite recently that you do not value me as a… friend… but just a banking investment. I know Mother pays you to stay with me. And I know that's the only reason you put up with my… unusual behavior. It's taken me some time to deduce it but now that I have, we no longer have to pretend. Now if you don't mind I'm trying to decide the exact measurement of the shape in the bag."
And with that Sherlock turned his attention back to the bag. John was left sitting there in shock. Of course he thought of Sherlock as a friend, even if he was just five years old! He was brilliant and fantastic! He was smarter than most of the teenagers John knew! He was John's absolute favorite person and apparently he had been stupid enough to forget just how young and impressionable Sherlock was.
"'Lock… look at me." Sherlock slowly looked up and for once the expression on his face was clear. He was hurt. Deeply so, and John needed to fix that. Fast. "Sherlock, how could you? Of course your mum pays me to look after you but… that's just business. Heck, even if she stopped asking me to watch you I'd still want to. Money has nothing to do with it. You know I have school, and I've been working really hard lately. I'm…" John sighed, he just couldn't find the right words but he needed Sherlock to understand that he'd do anything for the kid, "Sherlock... sometimes… I just forget, you know? How young you are… You're smart. So brilliant and amazing and… fantastic! You're going to grow up and everyone in the world is going to know the name Sherlock Holmes, but for now you're just a kid and I'm sorry. Really I am. I never want you to think we're not friends or that I don't care. You are… the most important person in my life, and I owe you so much for making me the person I am today, and you're only five! Imagine what you'll be like at thirty! Probably the ruler of the world," John grinned when Sherlock perked up at that, "Are we okay 'Lock?"
Sherlock just nodded in respond, took one more quick look at the bag and asked, "Can I have my skull now?"
John shook his head, "Amazing," and reached in the bag to pull out the skull he'd bought for Sherlock to examine.
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"Where were you the night of the murder!?"
John was fighting the laughter. They were playing Sherlock's version of detective, or in Sherlock's case 'consulting detective' and John was being questioned as to where he was when the skull was murdered.
"I was at home!"
"A likely story. Can anyone verify that?"
"I have a flatmate!"
"That doesn't answer my question, which leads me to suspect that no one can verify that you were home the night Mr. Gregson the Skull was murdered!"
"I'm innocent! I swear I didn't do it, Detective Holmes!" John deserved a BAFTA for not laughing during this game… and his favorite part was coming up. Sherlock was about to deduce what had happened.
"A likely story, Mr. Watson. But the guilt is written all over you. You have no alibi in between the time of six in the evening to midnight the night of the murder for starters. There is freshly dried mud on your shoes and the bottom of your trousers which suggests you were in a muddy area within the past twenty four hours, which is unlikely anywhere near your building given that it hasn't rained in the area in over a month! There was however, a fair amount of downpour in the vicinity of the murder!"
John swore this kid had a better vocabulary than he did sometimes.
"That doesn't prove a thing, Mr. Holmes. If you have nothing else, I do believe I'm free to leave." At that Sherlock took to pacing back and forth in front of John and started pointing his finger at him while continuing his deduction.
"That's true Mr. Watson, however I have all the proof I need! There was a foot print in the mud at the scene of the crime. One, I believe that would match your shoe print if we were to check. And if that's not enough for you, I know exactly why you did it. You were jealous, were you not? Mr. Gregson the Skull was coming in between you and I, was he not? You were afraid I would replace you! And in a fit of rage you eliminated the problem. How silly of you to forget I would figure it out. The Yard will be by any minute now to collect you and take you away for your mistake, dear Watson."
By the end of Sherlock's deduction, John was in fits of laughter and grinning so hard his cheeks started to hurt. "You are mad and brilliant, 'Lock! Alright, alright you figured it out, now it's definitely time for bed. Hop to it!"
Sherlock pouted fiercely at the mention of bed, but he had already pushed his luck and got John to extend his bedtime by an hour, so he didn't argue. He grabbed his skull from the table in the sitting room and went to get ready for bed.
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John was settling into the guest bed when the first bout of thunder and lightning started up. He sprawled out on the mattress fully exhausted after such an adventurous evening with his mini consulting detective and fell asleep listening to the storm but soon became aware of his door opening and shutting closed again not much later.
He listened as little feet shuffled across the floor and made their way closer to John's bed, then abruptly stop. He peeked a bit and saw Sherlock standing a little ways away clutching his new skull in his hands and looking at the floor while he shuffled his feet.
After a particularly loud rumble of thunder Sherlock quickly set his skull at the foot of the bed and carefully climbed onto John's bed and fit himself against John's side with his head resting on John's chest.
John was about to protest and tell Sherlock that he ought to go back to his own bed but he could feel the tension leave Sherlock's body and sleep take over as he relaxed in John's presence, so John allowed him to stay.
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All of next day Sherlock was glued to John's side. They watched a movie about pirates which prompted Sherlock to make John address him as Captain Holmes for the rest of the afternoon. Even going so far as stating 'there should be a Captain in there somewhere' whenever John forgot to address him as such.
When Mycroft finally showed up and told John he was free to leave in a rather dismissive tone, Sherlock pitched the biggest fit John had ever been witness to. He watched as Sherlock claimed Mycroft should shove off and that Jawn simply had to stay, as Sherlock needed an assistant with the experiment he was going to do later.
John watched as the brothers argued back and forth for a quite some time before he cleared his throat when the argument took a turn for the worst.
"'Lock, I've gotta go! At the very least I have to get back to see my own mum don't I? I'll tell you what though, I'll come back tomorrow to help with your experiment alright? I promise it won't be another month before you see me again, aye-aye Captain?"
Sherlock give a big sigh and pouted profusely but agreed nonetheless. Right before John left he turned back to see Sherlock standing in the doorway with a death grip on the skull. John smiled a bit and gave one last wave and said, "Take care of Mr. Gregson the Skull, consulting detective. I expect to hear all about your adventure with him in the case of the missing biscuits tomorrow!"
He didn't wait for a response as he turned and started to walk away but grinned when he heard Sherlock shout after him, "There should be a Captain in there somewhere!"