Spoiler alert: The Blind Banker
No beta, sorry for the mistakes.
Chapter 9 in which John Watson decides it's good to be him.
Next day he did fall asleep in his chair. Luckily Sarah covered for him, it wasn't the best first day ever, but she agreed to a date and that made it better. It was too long since he got a date, he felt rusted. Probably that was the reason for accepting Sherlock's suggestion on circus.
"I hope not" he answered mildly to Sherlock when he said that their dinner out counts as a date too. He said it was fine, and it was, he didn't mind light flirt when Sherlock was on fire, but he had to put the line where he shouldn't cross. It seemed like Sherlock picked up a pace with his date soon enough, but it turned to be just a smoke screen. John couldn't believe when he showed up on their date, although he found it highly suspicious that circus was Chinese, he didn't expect he'll really burst in like that. Even more shocking was his bluntness about the nature of the date.
"Because I want to get off with Sarah" he had to shout on him in frustration and it was just his luck that she popped out by his elbow at that moment. It seemed that dates were one of the deleted items on Sherlock's list, or even worse, the one never collected. John lost his humour for a date, Sherlock picked it just for the case, and it will be a disaster. But then the music started and Sherlock gave him I told you so look. Things started to look better, Sarah even grabbed his hand, and he thought all will go well. Then he notices Sherlock had disappeared, that worried him, but Sarah was holding him, maybe he got bored and left. It was started to be fun for ordinary people. John was amazed when the man on the stage climbed the ropes like they were steps there and he could see how he could climb the wall in no time. Then he noticed a bump on the curtain and he was running to save his friend from a man with a sword. The stupid man was again in the line of fire. He got hit and Sarah saved the day.
In the station, he forgot about Sarah leaving her to run after them as they tried to convince young DI to cooperate but he got mad letting his s become tick and they had to stand there and take it. They still hadn't figured it out, and So Lin died because they are slow. That was a sting to John. He put it behind, her death, and her beauty, bravery, fear, to deal with everything, to go on and not to ask who is to blame. He knew Sherlock is affected by her death too, she was on their watch, and there was no way to rectify it but to solve the case. No sleeping tonight.
There was a knock on the door, then a bump on his head. He woke up strapped by the chair in dark tunnel. Sarah was there too, and the woman, tourist he's seen twice today, then he thought he was paranoid, but there she was. His world became dangerous place populated with murderers and smugglers. The woman called him Sherlock and he felt helpless, he could cry because he couldn't convince her he was John Watson. Being John Watson seemed like sane thing. It seemed that his and Sherlock's life intertwined to that extend that they were difficult to differentiate between them. His card and check was in his wallet, his cases on John's blog, and food that John bought Sherlock ate. He didn't have any desire to be Sherlock, to be that isolated and smart man that criminals like this one would fixate their efforts to. It all seemed lost when that crazy woman put that deadly machinery with arrow in motion. She didn't listen to his yelling but Sherlock did. After days shouting at him he decided now to show up and listen to him.
"You should believe him, you know" he said with his resonant voice and John whimpered in relief.
"Later" John managed to voice out with even a hint of humor at the situation. Of course Sherlock would sound like he's flirting with him when his voice is echoing the walls and they are surrounded by villains. In this moment he would admit him any quality he wants to hear just because he's showed up, but there was a pressing matter of sand bag.
It looked like he will manage to overpower them all, most of them did run, but So Lin's brother persisted. In his adrenalin state John managed to get up and walk with a chair strapped to his back. He fell over. Sherlock was being strangled; Sarah sat in front of a harpoon. John desperately kicked the machine with his feet trying to aim it. He let his head fall to the floor when it hit the killer.
The date was over, Sarah got her shock blanket, and Sherlock got his moment of glory in front of young DI Dimmock. John got whole night sleep. In the morning they went to the bank.
"We were shot at, strangled, and strapped down, we need to get paid." John said determinately and Sherlock didn't argue with him.
"You go and tell him about climbing thing, that's all he's interested in." Sherlock instructed him and he complied. Sebastian was reluctant in giving away the check it was like he wasn't expecting Sherlock would figure it out. Van Coon's secretary yelled and John turned to see Sherlock smiling at her. Whatever anyone said about him, he loved to help, not just solve puzzles.
Afterward they sat in their flat eating a decent meal John had made for them. They talked over Sherlock's newspaper and John saw young man writing graffiti of an eye so they could clearly see it from their dining table. It left John feeling uneasy. Main criminals were on the lose, and someone of them was interested in Sherlock. John looked at Sherlock who was hidden behind his papers. He hopped that graffiti will be painted over before Sherlock spots it. He was troubled enough because general has managed to escape. No matter what he said John could see right through him.
When I've finished this I was surprised on how little attention John had gave Sarah through their date. Sherlock has a way of stealing spot lights.