A/N: I would like to thank everyone who has left a comment on my fanfiction! It means so much to me and it gives me so much joy! Especially Sherlocked86, Pallysdeeks, LaurenB16, Anna and Bethany. You guys have left several comments and it means so much to me! So these chapters are dedicated to you! Love you guys so much!
Chapter 42
As they made their way to the home of Emilia and Ian Smith John started to wonder. "Something doesn't add up." "What?" "Well, if these two men were indeed in some way involved, why would the bartender think they don't get along?" Before Sherlock could answer Elizabeth threw in her theory. "It would be a good cover story. If everyone thinks you two dislike each other they won't consider them liking each other. Let alone loving each other. It is probably some kind of cover."
John nodded. "I suppose so yes. But if Ian is gay, why did he marry a woman?" "He might not be. Maybe he is bisexual, maybe he didn't know that being gay alright, or maybe he didn't even know something like that was possible and tricked himself into loving this Emilia. It is just possible that Jared sparked something in him, making him aware of his feelings."
The conversation fell silent as they reached a little bungalow at the base of a cliff. Sherlock knocked sharply and straightened his back. Elizabeth realised that she had no clue about the next step as she heard the hurrying steps and the unlocking of the door. "Hello, can I help you?" The woman in the doorway was definitely a beauty. Her dark hair ran all the way to her hips, red lipstick accentuated her plump lips, a white shirt and a pair of simple shorts clung to her curves. She was slightly smaller than Elizabeth and kept the door between herself and the three strangers.
"Police, we would like to ask you a few question." Sherlock spoke without hesitation while pulling out a badge, John followed his example. Elizabeth was pretty sure she recognized Lestrade and Anderson in the pictures. "What about her?" "She is a trainee, here for observation. She doesn't have a badge yet. Can we please come in?" Emilia hesitated a little while, her chocolate brown eyes scanning Elizabeth.
"You look a little young." Throwing on her biggest smile and straightening her back, she responded. "Thank you! I skipped a couple of classes and am one of the youngest members of the department." Still a little suspicious but convinced the door was swung open and she lead them into the sitting room. "Can I give you something? Water, tea, coffee?" John shook his head. "Thank you mam but we would like to get this over with as quickly as possible."
"Alright. Ask away officers." "Do you know a Jared Graham?" The friendly smile that had been plaster on the woman's lips disappeared from her face and furry flashed over her face. It was only there for a second but she saw it, and she knew the other men had too. "I know him yes. A marine biologist, he lives just outside of town."
"What is your relationship with him?" the woman shifted uncomfortably. "Not really well. You see my husband" she said the word with unnecessary hardness. "doesn't get along with him, so neither do I. Can I ask what this is about?" "I am sure you know about the resent developments involving Mr Graham." This seemed to peak her interest. "I am sorry, I haven't been informed." "He was found dead on the beach earlier today." Emilia's eyes grew two sizes and the shock wasn't something manufactured. "What happened?" "We suspect murder."
The woman covered her mouth with her hand and sank deeper into the sofa. "Impossible." "I am afraid so." "No one would hurt anyone in this town! Let alone murder!" she hesitated for a second. "Wait! Do you think I have something to do with this?" "Not to worry mam, we are merely asking around to see if someone knows anything. You are not a suspect." Sherlock reassured her with a sympathetic smile. "Do you know someone who might have wanted to hurt him?"
"No. He was pretty well liked. I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt him! Let alone murder him!" "Okay, thank you very much for your time." The detective rose and they followed him to the door. "Good day mam." But the door fell closed before they could say anything else.
"She had nothing to do with it." John concluded. "That was real surprise and horror. I don't believe she would have actually hurt him." "Agreed. She might have found out about the relationship, she seemed angry enough when we mentioned him, but she had nothing to do with his death." "Now what?" "Now we go back to the bar and are going to test a different theory." "What?" "I am going to find of if Mr Marcus Fran had anything to do with it." He glanced at John, who nodded thoughtfully. They clearly seemed to have a plan but she was left out of it.
"Elizabeth, you need to stay out of the way. No matter what happens, we can handle ourselves." "What do you mean?" nervousness filled her as the got closer to the bar, she had the sneaking suspicion that they get themselves hurt. She couldn't do anything about it though as they had reached the bar. "Go in first and go sit at the bar, but don't do anything. Promise me." John held her shoulder and his eyes bore into hers. "But what if." "Elizabeth." His voice had gone strangely stern. "Okay, fine. I promise."
She grunted before walking in and sitting at the bar. The redheaded bartender immediately walked towards her. "Where are your dads?" Elizabeth nearly chocked on laughter at the word. "They'll be here any second." She glanced around the bar and saw that Ian had left but that the group of homophobes were still sitting in the corner. Her heart leapt into her throat as the little bell of the door tinkled and in came Sherlock and John. Their arms were linked and they were laughing together, pulled closely into each other.
"What are they doing?" the bartender whispered in a shocked horror. "Marcus and his gang are still here, if they see." But it was too late as Sherlock drew their attention with a loud and joyful laugh, throwing his head back with delight. The scene would have been adorable if it hadn't been for the angry stares of the men. As the 'couple' walked towards the bar Barry yelled at them. "Fuck off you dirty faggs! We don't want your kind here!" John looked over in faked surprise and horror before quickly glancing at Elizabeth. Sherlock however had taken a more protective stance, shielding John with his own body and facing the bullies.
"Mind your own business! We aren't doing anything wrong." He hissed at them, holding eye contact with the seated man. "Like hell you aren't! You are committing a sin! You'll burn in hell for your acts!" Sherlock seemed like he was about to yell back but John tugged his arm. "Let's just go. They aren't worth it." "No!" Sherlock continued. "I won't let them shame us just because we love someone! I won't tolerate it!" Marcus got up from his seat.
"It is unnatural and we don't need to see any of your disgusting behaviour! Leave this bar or I'll make you regret it!" "We have just as much right to being here as you do!" Sherlock retorted before pulling John with him to the bar, taking a seat a couple of stools away from her. Furious at the lack of respect Marcus stocked over to them and Elizabeth held her breathe. "I said. Get. Out. Now." Sherlock glared back at him. "What if I don't." he was still holding Johns hand.
A horrible grin grew on Marcus' face. "I will beat the shit out of you." "The way you beat the shit out of Jared? The way you beat him to death?" Marcus took a step back in horror. "What! I never lay a finger on that man!" he cried out. "Yeah right! You thought he was gay didn't you! You thought he was an abomination! So you beat the shit out of him! Till he fell dead on the sand!"
The man looked around the room looking for some kind of help. "I never touched him! I would never have actually hurt him! I. I just sometimes. I never." The rest of the bar had gone quiet in horror and was staring at him. Flustered he turned to his group. "Let's get out of here." He mumbled.
Sherlock glared at them till they were out of the room till he let his shoulders relax and let go of John. "What do you think you were doing!" the redhead sounded absolutely horrified as she rushed over to them. "A calculated risk. Come on Elizabeth, we are going home." she quickly followed them as they gathered their stuff and hailed a cab. "What was that about?" "The only real other suspect was Marcus so we had to see how far he would go. But he didn't even lay a finger on us and the thought alone of beating Jared terrified him. He could have never done it."
"So who did it?" "I don't know. Yet." Elizabeth let out a huff. "Maybe it was just the sea. Some kind of evil sea spirit that beat him to death. Neither of them even bothered with an answer. The drive back was one in silence, both John and Sherlock seemed to be thinking the case over. Elizabeth herself was stumbled as she tried to go over the facts like Sherlock had thought her.
She had seen the man stumble before he fell onto the ground. The man had been dressed in an overcoat, a pair of shorts and one shoe. He seemed like he had been in the process of dressing himself but the pain had been too much to handle. He had been in pure agony, not able to breath or talk, screeching. The lashes on his back had been familiar, long red marks running down his back over his shoulders and around his ribs. Though they did seem a little different then hers, she hadn't been able to look at them for very long but they hadn't been simple long lines, she was rather sure there had been dotes.
Then there was his cry. Lion's mane… It must have been some kind of mad man's delusion, but it had been so clear and so precise. The horror in his eyes when he screeched it. It must have meant something, anything! But she couldn't make anything out of it, and the text had been a dead end. She wondered why Sherlock hadn't just confronted Ian with his affaire, it might have given them some answers. She didn't dare ask, he was deep inside of his concentration. So she held her tongue.
When they arrived at their flat Sherlock dropped down on the sofa and sat there thinking while they went into the kitchen to get some tea. "So, what do you think Doctor Watson?" John grimaced, honestly I don't know what could have happened. It is a mystery." "Hey, did you notice the marks on his backs." "John raised his eye browns. "I mean did you see something strange. They had like little dots or something." "Maybe it wasn't a normal whip. Or maybe it wasn't a whip at all. To be honest I didn't get a close enough look to see them clearly."
"Those damn sea demons." She said with faked anger. "Always so mysterious." John let out a laugh and grabbed a cup of tea and brought it to Sherlock. "What is so funny?" he murmured. "Nothing just a little joke. Elizabeth suspects sea demons." John let out a little pleased smile. At first Sherlock just smiled faintly and reached for the cup, but his hands stopped mid reach. "Sherlock?" the detective suddenly leaped up. "Your phone! Give me your phone!" John was mildly surprised but handed him his cell.
Exited Sherlock started to type on it leaving John standing with his cup of tea. Elizabeth wandered out of the kitchen. "What is the commotion about?" "Sea demons!" Sherlock cried. "I didn't even consider it seeing as he was mostly clothed and barley wet! Why would it be anything from the sea! Stupid Sherlock! I knew I saw something on the beach!" "What are you on about?" Sherlock flipped the phone and showed them a picture of a beautiful but horrible creature.
A jellyfish.
A big one at that. It had a sickish yellow body with long golden tentacles mixed with the occasional silver one hanging down. The tentacles looked like they could be at least 30 meters long. "Cyanea capillata also known as the Lion's mane Jellyfish. A monster of the sea! The biggest specimen was bigger than a normal blue whale! Truly beautifully and normally a human doesn't die from the sting, it just hurts like a motherfucker. But if Mr Graham had a heart defect it might have send him over the edge! They normally don't come to the English coast. This one must have drifted off! I think it ended up in one of the little pools!
I remember seeing a towel lying on a bed of rocks underneath a cliff ledge, there was a small pool there. The jellyfish must have gotten stuck there during ebb. Jared probably didn't see it in the darkened water till it was too late!"
Sherlock seemed enormously proud of himself. "The text was just a stupid coincident! It didn't have anything to do with his death! I need to warn the police! Someone else might go swim in these waters and meet the horrible animal!" He dialled the number with the excitement of a child during Christmas morning. "Hello, this is Sherlock Holmes." He rolled his eyes with impatiently at the responds. "Yes, that Sherlock Holmes. How many do you think there are? Anyway, I am calling on behave of the Jared Graham case. It isn't what it seems."
"Yes, my companions and I were the ones who reported it in. Now listen to me because several people are still in danger. Jared Graham was not murdered." He announced. To Elizabeth's surprise his face fell at the answer. "Yes. The lion's mane. How did you?" the detective grunted. "And you have found it? … Okay." He hung up and dropped onto the couch with a frown.
"What is it?" "They already knew." "What?" "They already knew it was the lion's mane jellyfish. They figured it out an hour ago." "But how?" "They examined the scar tissue and found residue, that plus the name made them figure it out. They then went looking for the pool he had gone into and tada. There it was, a beautiful specimen. They are releasing it into see, like Mr Graham would have wanted." Sherlock spoke with distain in his voice as he sulked in the chair.
"They knew." "Yes." "Al along." "Yes." "And we." "Yes!" he spat. For a second she was quiet before breaking out in laughter. "Omg! We ran around town! Looking for leads! You two risked getting beat up! And all for nothing!" "You don't need to rub it in Elizabeth!" "The first case I am official a part of and it isn't even a real one!" Sherlock glanced angrily at her. "Dear god! John you were right! It was an amazing idea to go to the beach!"
Chapter 43
Sherlock was a little gloomy for the next couple of days, sulking in the couch. It didn't help that whenever she got the choice she'd bring it up. Sherlock talking to John about a deduction and how it wasn't that hard. Surely John could tell that that man had a cocker spaniel and a Great Dane! It was so obvious an officer could do it. She'd smile kindly before responding. "Yeah, they did." Before walking out of the room with a little smile.
It wasn't out of spite, it was just to bring him down a notch, and the detective was so cocky all the time. She had bought some peanut butter just to say "Hey did you know this was jelly?" (Okay maybe because it is also incredibly delicious) Making the man groan at her. But after a week or so she stopped and left him alone. She had other things to attend to, like school.
The end of the year was coming closer and soon she'd have exams. Though she had no problems at school, exams had always been notoriously difficult for her. Not because she didn't understand but because the pressure overwhelmed her.
This year she was feeling more confidante though. John had taught her several ways to deal with stress and Sherlock had helped her with clearing her mind. But still. In the end, she'd have to make the exam by herself. So soon enough she'd lock herself in her room and study till she dropped. Before that however she and her friends had decided to have one more stress less school less night. Over the last couple of months she had gotten pretty close with 5 amazing people.
You had Paige, a girl from her class who never treated her as a victim and was incredibly enthusiastic. She was from a Chinese background and followed every single modern stereo type. Was an amazing student who studied hard and always had good grades, she had strict parents and was obsessed with anime. But she also fitted British stereotypies. If she didn't have her tea and biscuits at 4 she'd be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. She was the most polite person and to top it all off, her accent. It was the typical British accent you heard on TV. A beautiful combination of nature and nurture come together. She was clearly Chinese, short black hair, a slightly darker skin tone with oval eyes. But she was also undeniably British.
There was also Kya who had caught her attention because of the little tattoo behind her ear. It was a simple cat climbing up her ear as if it was a scratch post but it was adorable. She had approached her shyly and asked about it, the girl had started to talk about it with great excitement, showing of another tattoo on the side of her foot, it was a tiny paper boat on some waves. It was incredibly simple but Elizabeth immediately wanted one like it. They got to know each other pretty well and she found out that the girl was obsessed with Supernatural and they immediately bounded about it too. Kya looked a bit like Charlie actually. Short red curls, cute little freckles and a ridicules happy smile. But a younger and slightly chubbier, and she was amazingly in shape, being a gymnast and all. But yeah that was Kya.
The last person she met in her class was Alex. He was a gigantic teen who was at least a head taller than her. His parents were from Nigerian so his skin was a dark brown, with hazel brown eyes with golden flaks. He was rather muscly and his face was classily handsome face with curly short black hair. Okay fine, she might have had a small crush in him. But he had a girlfriend so they had just become friends. Alex was rather laid back and was passionate about history, though he hated history lesson. He was incredibly funny and often corrected the history teacher or just added fun facts. He made the world a better place.
Now his girlfriend was equally awesome and her name was Eliana. Those two were known as the Ying Yang couple or the sun moon couple, because they were the exact opposite. Eliana was a small girl with chubby cheeks and long beautiful blond hair. It came all the way down to the hips and she often had different hair styles going from the regular ones to the strangest things she saw. She was incredibly sarcastic and ironic, always grunting at the teachers. She really didn't like school at all and spend all of the time drawing. They were often very dark but damn they were so funny. Plus she had a really cute wolf tattoo on her ear. She wished that she was in her class but they only shared a physic class.
And finally there was Ulf… The name was so strange and so was he, but he was awesome. He had bright blue hair and a couple of piercings in his ears and lips. He small then Alex but bigger than Elizabeth. He was incredibly into swimming and was actually really good. He often did competition and they went to it from time to time. She had met him during a lunch break, she had accidently dropped her pudding on him. She had been mortified but he had shrugged it off saying I could make it up by eating lunch with him. That had been a joke but she had been incredibly nervouse and had actually sat down with him. Ulf didn't have that many friends and neither had she so they were both equally socially awkward, which worked out pretty good seeing as they were still friends now.
She really wanted them to meet John and Sherlock but she was a little worried how it would turn out. All of them, and I mean all of them had some kind of problem and were rather sensitive about it. But I mean who was she to judge. However they had been begging to meet her guardians, not only because it was the famous Sherlock Holmes but because she loved them so much. So for this one time she had given in and asked them if she could have some friends over. They hadn't had a problem with it, so she had briefed them about her friends.
Sherlock had promised not to actually do anything unless they asked and if they did ask he wouldn't pull up the embarrassing stuff. So fingers crossed. They had given her the living room and she had covered the floor with blankets and pillows so they could lay down comfortably while watching movies. Everyone was bringing unhealthy but delicious food, so she would probably gain quite a bit of weight by the time this was all over. She had herself baked a cheese cake and brownies. Nothing was better than brownies.
And then it was time, her friends started to arrive. They all came in quick succession so she just ended up introducing them all at the same time. Her heart was fluttering with excitement as they walked up the stairs, but they had to stop because Mrs Hudson came out of nowhere. The woman smiled at them and gave them all a hug, offering to make some tea and bringing it up. She was surprised how nice and actually exited to meet her.
After a 5 minute talk they continued upstairs and she stuffed her 5 friends into the living room who immediately made themselves comfortable and pack out their food and pillows. Yes more pillows. Soon enough they heard people walk up the stairs and she recognized John's voice, she was pretty sure that he was warning Sherlock to be kind. And lo and behold the door opened and the two men walked into a room. John smiled kindly at her friends and introduced himself and Sherlock.
The taller man quickly scanned the room and frowned slightly before glancing at her worryingly. Ulf was the first to stand up and shook Johns hand and moved to Sherlock. It was pretty clear that Sherlock was trying not to say anything as they shook his hand back. The rest of her friends got up to shake their hands as well. Too no one's surprise it was Eliana who asked Sherlock to actually show his powers. Well not actually like that, it was more like. "So, Elizabeth's been kind of talking about the things you can do. So can you?" Sherlock raised his eyebrow and quickly looked at her for premision.
She nodded quickly. "Are you sure?" "I have nothing to hide." "Alright." She felt her heart flutter slightly at the grin spreading across his face. "You are the oldest of 4 children. You have two younger sisters and a younger brother. You feel the need to prove yourself to your family but never feel like you are good enough. You try to show your parents that you are special and different from your siblings but you grew up with the same interests so that doesn't work. So you started to feel depressed, you felt as if you are part of a group not a single thing.
You didn't feel like you are your own person and started to create several different personas for yourself. You chose characters you wanted to portray yourself as during your life. You eventually collapsed underneath the stress and ran away from home. You lived on the street for a while, but you eventually went back home and got therapy." The room had gone silent and she felt the need to strangle the life out of Sherlock. Eliana had only recently told them about it and it hadn't been easy, so for Sherlock to just put it all in the open wasn't something pleasant. She glanced at Eliana, to be honest she looked rather composed.
Though she could see that she was a little bit shaken. She coughed a little. "How did you. Uhm. How?" Sherlock seemed to realise that the girl was kind of uncomfortable, and looked to John. Who was glaring daggers at him. However Elizabeth nodded that he could continue. "It isn't all that difficult if you know what to look for. When you are the oldest of siblings, especially if you have several younger sibling you tend to carry yourself with a feeling of responsibility and confidence. You are used to having some authority over them and the need to care and protect them. When you walked into the room you made sure you were in front of the group. Together with Elizabeth and Ulf I might add.
The reason I know you have three younger siblings is because of the marks on your body. Your nails had just been done but you removed it before you went to school. If you had your nails had been done well you would have left it on, but you took it off so it must be bad. From what little Elizabeth told me about you and the way you are dressed I know you wouldn't just let anyone mess up your nails. Unless the person who did it was someone you cared about. The highest probability is a young girl seeing as they enjoy such activities more often. So a younger sister, probably 8 years old.
Then another sister around 14 years old who has just reached her puberty years and is making her own identity. This I know because of the rose perfume on you. It doesn't suit you in the slightly but it is all over you, so you were around someone who wore it. It is cheap and form Zara, a place mostly teenage girls go to buy. No one else here is wearing it so you came into contact with her in a different location. Ergo second sister.
Now your brother I found out because you have marker on your hands." The teen subconsciously put her hands behind her back. "They are clumsily and not drawn by yourself, you have several other marks of your own doing on your hand. So you drew with someone who really isn't coordinated. Another child. From the shaking of the marks and the insistence of just the two colours even though one is clearly almost empty indicates a very young child. Probably just 5 years old. Now a boy I deduced from the fact, not only is 4 girls a little unlikely but also by the fact that you have a blue sock with robots in your pockets. You probably found it in your bag and put it away so you could give it back later."
The kids were all equally shocked and surprised at the deductions, and even though he could still sense the disapproval over his deductions but there was a certain sense of pride in Elizabeth's eyes. Even Eliana seemed amused as she looked at him, though a little surprised. "Please continue." She said. "I am curious to find out more."
"Al right. If you are sure about this." The girl nodded again. "Okay. The reason I know that you were depressed is because of the stars on your wrists they are the typical self-harm scars. People only self-harm when they are depressed. They are all old so you have been feeling better for a long time now. Often when there are big families one of the children feel the need to prove themselves and sometimes that goes wrong.
You tried to be the confidante adult with your siblings, the kind and good daughter with your parents, in school you were the badass girl with sass and an attitude and in your volleyball theme you were the geeky girl with cute quirks. In the public you were a young and confidant lady but at home when you were private you were terrified and torn up. You didn't know what identity was really yours and you started to slip. In reflex you created more to protect yourself. The shy girl that didn't talk, the aggressive, ill-tempered teen you didn't want to approach. All these traits and probably several more are clearly visible in your posture and the way you talk and move around.
The more friendly and joyful sides I can see in your eyes, you clearly kept several of those traits as your eyes are light and happy. The responsibility I talked about before but it is a lot more pronounced in you then in the normal teen. The badass traits are in your clothes, though they are light and happy they are also short and thigh. They are made to draw attention but you don't wear it for other people you wear it for yourself and will get mad if someone judges you on them.
Which is in your right of course." The detective added hastily. "The more aggressive personalities are only a natural escalation to your problem and are visible in your humour. It is sarcastic, a little mean and blunt. I have to admit however I only know this because of Elizabeth.
You ran away because you didn't want to burden your family with your problems. I can see the faint outline of a knife in your pants and the backpack you are carrying is a sturdy one, waterproof and light. Your face is hardened and your eyes, though kind are critical and observant. These are all signs that you are prepared for something like being on the streets. And only someone who has been on the street would be prepared for that." "That is a rather big jump." Eliana said defensively. "True, but you didn't let me finish.
You have a tattoo behind your left ear. It is a rather minimalist tattoo of a wolf, only the lines necessary to show that it is a wolf. It is a rather new tattoo but if you'll let me I would like to confirm something."
All though she was a little hesitant she allowed him to step closer and tilt her head, his face only centimetres away from her skin, eyes fixed on the small tattoo. "Just as I thought." He said before moving back. Elizabeth noticed Eliana letting out a small shudder as she took a step away from the detective. "It is an expert tattoo, great penmen ship but it the ink is that typical from a man I know who lives in the ruffian areas of London. He rarely tattoo's anyone who isn't from the streets."
Alex let out an impressed whistle. "And of course you are back home and your mental health is about as good as it can get, so you had therapy. All by all it isn't that difficult." Her friends stared at Sherlock dumb founded. "You cannot be human." Exclaimed Kya. "You have to be like a wizard who can see into people's mind!" Sherlock let out an amused chuckle before promptly getting an elbow in the ribs from John. Whatever tension had been in the room after the deduction quickly evaporated as Eliana smiled brightly.
"That was completely extraordinary and rather creepy." "Did I get everything right?" "Almost. I do have 3 younger siblings but my 14 year old sister is in fact my 14 year old brother." Sherlock swore slightly and John let out a chuckle. "You are not good with siblings are you Sherlock?" he taunted the taller man, who simply glared back. Her friends shot her a questioning glance. "I'll explain later, but for now let me show you were the bathroom is and everything else."
The 6 of them descended down the stairs, leaving the two men alone in the pillow covered living room.
Chapter 44
After a quick tour of the flat and a cup of tea with Mrs Hudson (which included several embarrassing stories about Sherlock and John but sadly also about her) the friends settled down in their little nest. They quickly popped in a movie and started to enjoy their cakes, cookies, chips and other unhealthy stuff. They were half way through the second movie (Disney marathon, first Mulan and now the hunchback of Notre dame) when Sherlock came back in.
John and Sherlock had gone out for dinner and then gone back to their rooms. She wondered if they were being too loud but honestly she didn't think so, plus the older man seemed perfectly content just watching them for a little while.
Sherlock s eyes quickly got fixed on the screen as he followed along with the movie. She glanced at her friends who all nodded at her with amused smiles. "If you want you can join us." She told him. "No thanks." "Why not?" "I am not interested in watching kid's movies with you." She let out a sigh. "You have been standing there for well over half an hour. Don't kid yourself." Paige let out a bark of laughter at the shocked face of the detective. He quickly scanned the room and let out a defeated sigh and dropped his pride. "Fine." He grumbled before sinking down in the sofa next to Ulf.
"I promise I won't spoil anything." he told her. "Oh don't worry, we have all seen these movies before." the man frowned. "Then why would you watch them again, there is no suspense." To everyone's surprise it was Ulf who answered. "For nostalgic sake. These are good movies, with amazing plots that we are familiar with. They bring back an innocent view of the world." Sherlock didn't look surprised. "Have you never watched them?" Kya asked curiously. "No, never saw the point in watching movies like this."
Fake horror rushed over her friends face. "The point? The point?" exclaimed Alex. "The point is happiness and the feeling of joy in your belly as the happy ending comes around!" "Plus they are part of your childhood! Everyone has seen at least one Disney movie!" Paige continued. Elizabeth didn't hide her grin as her friends started to plead their case as the detective.
The man had never really had a traditional childhood and she would have honestly been surprised to hear he had ever heard of The Lion King, let alone seen it. "So why watch it now?" Sherlock turned to Kya. "Elizabeth has shown me the simple pleasures of television. You all seemed to enjoy it, I was bored. I thought I might as well try."
She patted the man on the knee. "You won't regret it. Now everyone shut up so we can watch the movie." During the movie she often glanced at Sherlock. Every now and then he let out a grunt of disapproval at the illogicality's of the movie but he was clearly caught up with it. As the credits started to roll over the screen everyone turned to Sherlock. "So, what did you think?"
"It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be." Immediately her friends fell into a frenzy of why the movie was amazing and how he had clearly missed the crucial parts that made it so. He listened to them with quiet amusement, a twinkle in his eyes. She finally broke into the conversation "Okay Mr Wise Guy you pick the next movie." She said it while handing over the pile of cd's they had brought with them.
Sherlock rose an eyebrow at them but her friends all nodded in agreement. So with a sigh he started to look carefully at all of the cd cases. After a couple of minutes he finally handed over one of the cases, it was The Fox and the Hound. "Good choice." She commented as she put the movie in. "Oh god no, I always cry during this movie." They chuckled at Paige's sigh and started the movie. After 5 minutes Sherlock stopped them, "This movie is incredibly predictable." "What do you think will happen?" "The old woman will definitely have to give up the fox, the hound will hunt it, and they'll remember each other. A bunch of heart-breaking stuff in between. There will be a finale battle, but they'll get a common enemy and part ways."
"Correct, but it is still absolutely heart breaking, just you wait." So they continued the movie and she was happy to see that Sherlock actually did have a certain sadness in his eyes as the old lady said goodbye to Tod and how he looked relieved when Tod and Cooper didn't end up fighting. Though he never admitted it he was clearly moved by the movie. She had to force herself to keep quiet, she was scared that if she said anything he would hide in himself.
Instead she wordlessly handed him the pile of movies again. "Go ahead." He picked out. "Atlantis, The lost Empire." Elizabeth let out a delighted chuckle. "This is my favourite movie!" Sherlock smiled kindly. "I know." She huffed while scotching backwards till her back was pressed against the man's long legs. The movie played and she let out a satisfied smile. Halfway through the movie she jumped up in surprise as she felt long slender fingers running through her hair.
She tilted her head backwards and saw Sherlock staring at the TV, leaning forward, his hand distractingly playing with her hair. Once they finished Atlantis, they watched Pocahontas, then they watched Bambi, Peter Pan, The Lady and the Tramp, Fantasia, Merlin and Tangled. Eventually people started to fall asleep. The first one was Kya, she placed a pillow on Elizabeth's legs and made herself comfortable on her lap. Halfway through the centaur scene of Fantasia she lost herself.
After Tangled as they were getting ready for Zootopia, she heard the faint sound of snoring. She turned around and saw Ulf fast asleep on the couch. He had leaned over while he had been asleep and his blue curls pressed between Sherlock's shoulder and the kids head. The detective had his arm awkwardly slung over the couch, not to disturb him.
She smiled at Sherlock and he grinned awkwardly back at her. During Robin Hood Paige fell asleep, the rest managed to stay wake during The Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. However Paige fell asleep during Jungle Book, and Alex during Hercules. Eliana, Elizabeth and Sherlock managed to stay awake. When the sun started to rise a small flash filled the room. In the doorway stood John with a camera in his hand and a smile plastered on his face. "You all look adorable! I'll get you some breakfast."
The man took a couple of steps forward and snapped several other pictures of the group before heading to the kitchen. She looked over to her friends. "Should we wake them up?" "Probably a good idea." Eliana shook her boyfriend awake as Elizabeth occupied herself with waking up Kya and Paige. She went to wake up Ulf but Sherlock was already on the task. He rubbed Ulf's head and shook his shoulder. It was cute to see him act so careful around the teen. Ulf however didn't seem to realise that he was being woken up by Sherlock curled up into him.
He wrapped his arms around the man's torso and snuggled into his chest. "Good morning love." He said in a joking fashion. "Do you mind?" Immediately Ulf sat up, his cheeks flushing bright red as he let go of Sherlock. "Uh… Sorry." "It is quite alright. Now everyone get ready for breakfast please. John and Mrs Hudson are working on it."
They all stumbled up and freshened up, ready to go get breakfast. They had to eat on the floor seeing as the table wasn't big enough for all eight of them. At first it was a little awkward but it didn't take long for a conversation to get started all that needed to happen was John asking about the movies. All six of them started talking about the favourite movie and why they liked it so much. To their surprise Sherlock suddenly pipped in. "I liked Fantasia the most. The music, the art, all of it. It was good." They were silent first and then they started a discussion.
The breakfast was good and the company was even better. They talked for a couple of hours until finally they had to go home. She hugged her friend's goodbye pulling all of them close. Sherlock, John and Mrs Hudson all said goodbye and shook their hands. When Ulf come standing in front of Sherlock he did something curious, he grabbed the detectives hand and pulled Sherlock's closer giving him a quick hug. This wasn't unusual for Ulf. He often showed random bursts of affection to people, but they hadn't expected it to happen now. Once all five of them had gotten into the bus they went back upstairs.
"We'll I think that is something worth repeating." Sherlock said. She quickly hugged Sherlock and John. "Thank you for a great evening."
A/N: Please leave some feedback on these chapters! I wanted to try writing some character descriptions and deductions. I would really like to know what I could do better next time so I can improve my writing! Thank you anyway for reading!