Dodging through construction tape and upturned piles of dirt, John kept a firm grip on his groceries from Tesco while he fumbled in his pocket for the key to 221B.
The rapid change in temperature had caused the road outside their flat to buckle, and construction crews were out making repairs in full force. Sliding through the door, John climbed the stairs quickly but slowed his pace when he heard… nothing.
No booms, crashes, or even pacing came from the depths of the flat. Hand hesitating on the doorknob, John sucked in a breath and cautiously opened it. What he found was less than exciting.
Sherlock was sitting in his chair, fingers steepled underneath his chin in a solemn pose, eyes closed in concentration and he had big… no, that wasn't the word for it… massive headphones on.
John frowned in confusion when he saw that the headphones weren't connected to anything. No iPod or MP3 player, just a naked cord.
"Sherlock?" John inquired.
When the statue didn't budge, John carefully walked up to him and gently tapped his shoulder. Muscles jerking slightly, Sherlock opened his eyes with a start.
"Hey there," John said.
Sherlock didn't acknowledge John's words, but instead merely pointed a long finger at the headphones engulfing his ears.
John wasn't going to play this game. He reached and commandeered the headphones in one swift movement. Instead of a snippy comment as John had expected, Sherlock looked alarmed. His eyes grew wide and immediately hands flew up to cover the now exposed ears.
"Give them back!" Sherlock yelled firmly.
"What's the matter with you?" John rolled his eyes. "If this is for some case or experiment…"
Sherlock hesitated. "It's for an experiment, and you're destroying it."
John noted that Sherlock had now shut his eyes tight and was almost grimacing. Not wanting to inquire further if his friend had permanently damaged his hearing in some ungodly way, John closed the distance between them and handed Sherlock back his precious headphones.
"Fine," John stated, "But how long is this going to last?"
"The remainder of the evening," Sherlock responded, quickly grabbing the headphones out of John's grasp and putting them back on.
John was about to roll his eyes again when he noticed a sharp banging radiating throughout the flat from the road below. And suddenly, another piece of the puzzle had slid into place.
Sensory sensitivity to loud noises in the environment. If Sherlock did have Asperger's, the construction noises may be even louder to him without any measure of relief.
Except for noise-cancelling headphones, John thought.
He cast a sympathetic glance at Sherlock, who had now resumed his typical pose, and John wondered if Sherlock would pass the time by entering his mind palace tonight.
There was no other explanation for the odd behavior. Sherlock certainly had his quirks – leaving body parts in the fridge and whatnot – but he looked to be physically in pain from the loud noise.
John made a mental note to himself. But how to discuss this topic? If Sherlock had never been diagnosed, or was not even aware of these tendencies, how would he react? John decided to continue the ever-expanding collection of evidence.
