Author's Note: Woo! Next chapter of The Science and Deductions of the Alphabet! Sorry I uploaded so late in the day, this was the first chapter I didn't have prewritten. I had family in town over the weekend and didn't have much time to write.
Anyways, I is for impressions! It's fluffier than some of the earlier chapters. And the next chapter should be fluffy and cute as well, as J is for Jealous.
Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome!
Happy Reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock. The show belongs to BBC and the books belong to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Impressions
Dr. John's Watson's first impression of Sherlock Holmes was not a good one.
Sherlock Holmes left him in a mixture of anger, amazement, astonishment, confusion, and awe. The man was rude. He was arrogant. He was a bit too blunt. He was absolutely insufferable.
And John was completely enthralled with the man.
He'd never met anyone quite like him. He doubted there was anyone in the world quite like him. For God's sake, the man could tell almost his entire life story by looking at his cell phone and his stature.
John wasn't exactly sure what to make of the man. Was he dangerous? Was he insane? Was he a sociopath? Was he a psychopath? John wasn't quite sure. He could've been one of them. He could've been a couple of them. He could've been all of them.
That's what made him so captivating.
Sherlock's first impression of John Watson was, in short, Soldier. Doctor. Hero. Intriguing. Different.
Sherlock had never found anyone quite like John Watson. He seemed to be one of the only ones able to put up with his arrogance, his deductions, his sociopathy. He was special.
He was... interesting.
Sherlock was intrigued. John Watson didn't seem to be going anywhere. He didn't run off after a few words. He could actually put up with Sherlock Holmes, it seemed.
So Sherlock decided to test his theory. He wouldn't hide one aspect of himself to John. Let's see if he stays. Let's see. Barely anyone stays. It just doesn't happen. Let's see if he's different.
It had been years. They'd been best friends and flatmates for years. And John didn't leave. John had stayed. He really was different. The others had told him to stay away from Sherlock Holmes, but he stayed even then.
And Sherlock was still as intrigued by this as ever.
And one day as they were sitting boredly in their living room, having not had a case for a week or more, they began to talk about impressions. And when John asked what Sherlock's first impression of him was, Sherlock answered.
"You were a soldier. You were a hero. You were a doctor. You were intriguing. You were different."
"What do you mean by 'different', Sherlock?"
"You didn't seem to be put off by my... eccentricities. You got more than a glimpse of my arrogance, my blunt deductions, my sociopathy. But you didn't leave. You stayed, all this time. You were different, John. You intrigued me. You still do."
John wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. So, instead, he told of his first impressions of Sherlock. "I thought you were rude, arrogant, blunt, insufferable. I thought you were dangerous, insane, sociopathic, maybe even psychopathic. But, most of all, I thought you were captivating. I was enthralled with your personality. You left me in anger, awe, astonishment, and confusion. You were fascinating."
Sherlock stopped for a while to collect his thoughts. After a minute or so, he asked, "So what do you think of me now?"
"Oh, about the same. You are rude, blunt, sociopathic, arrogant, all of those things. I'm still completely enthralled with you, Sherlock. There are a few additions to my list, though."
"Oh?"
"Yes. You're a wonderful best friend. You're a lot more caring than you let on. You have an actual heart, Sherlock. And you're beautiful. You really are."
"You're the beautiful one, John. Not me. You know why? Because your first impression of me was spot-on. I am rude. I am blunt and sociopathic and arrogant and all those other things. And you're so much more than I deserve."
"Sherlock, sometimes first impressions are important. And mine was. Not because I learned to deal with you and your insufferable personality early on, but because you made me engrossed. I was engrossed with you, Sherlock. I still am. I'm not more than you deserve, Sherlock. You're beautiful and wonderful and amazing and completely captivating." He grabbed Sherlock's hand and lightly brushed his lips over Sherlock's. "There's one more thing on my list. Know what it is?"
"What, John?" he asked, trembling a bit.
"You're mine."
