Slipping out and getting around their driver isn't hard, considering Sherlock's photographic memory of London. Once they're a safe distance away, they stop in an alley, John looking around for a few moments. "Blimey, everything does look a bit different. The height difference is disorienting." he admits as he looks around for a few moments, then adds, "Should we start with the park? Since we're kids, there's a good reason for us to be there." He offers as he walks to the mouth of the alley and peeks both ways just to make sure there aren't any cops that might think of them as hooligans, or worse, think they're homeless or something and try and pick them up. He doesn't want to have to call on Lestrade this early in the game.
Sherlock nods a little as he looks at John. "It's not far from here." he says as he looks at John, joining him by the edge of the alley leaning out over him a little since he's taller he can peek out over John's head no problem. Nodding a little, he grabs the blonde's arm and smiles. "Come on." he says before he hands the duffel to the younger boy and hurries through the crowds of people, trusting - as he always does - that the other boy is not too far behind him.
Thankfully for John, he has a lot of practice in running after Sherlock, and while they're not exactly running, Fate is not kind and since the brunette is still taller, the shorter blonde has to hurry in order to keep up. But he grins a little, finally catching up and maintaining a swift pace beside him. "Not many kids running around London, we're getting a few suspicious looks, especially from older people, did you notice?" he asks of his friend, then sighs a little. "Of course you bloody well noticed. You're, well.. you." He says with a wave of his hand in Sherlock's general direction.
"Very eloquent, as always, John." Sherlock says with a slight smirk sent in the doctor's direction as he finally stops at a crosswalk. He knows that his smaller body would be more susceptible to serious injury and no one would believe a 10 year old is really a doctor, so if he were to get hit by a car or something his chances of his survival are low. Of course, that's all theoretical since he has no plans to get hit by any cars, which is why he's being so cautious when crossing the road just now.
Once the light turns, John heads across the street with Sherlock and into the park, shaking his head for a few moments. "You could be a little less pompous. You're 12. It's not a good look." he says with a little bit of amusement, hefting the bag over his shoulder. "And why am I carrying the duffel all of a sudden?" he asks curiously, arching an eyebrow at the detective.
Sherlock glances at John for a few moments, stopping on the side of one of the park paths. "Naturally because you're stronger, your stocky, sturdier frame means that you could carry it more easily." he says before he hesitates. "My frame at this age was, is.. smaller, more frail, I was not capable of the same strength as I was later in life." A small frown is given as he looks up at the sky. "I got sick a few times when I was very young, younger than I appear now. That's what started my love of science, I had to stay inside and I read a great deal." He says thoughtfully before he looks away and keeps walking further into the park, looking around at the people.
That gets John concerned though, and after a few moments of surprise, the blonde jogs to catch up with his friend. "Sherlock. Why didn't you tell me that before?" he asks in a disapproving tone. "No wonder you have such an obsession with mind over body, controlling and suppressing impulses. If you were prone to sickness as a child.. Bloody hell, Sherlock, you should have told me." He says with a small shake of his head. "Especially now that we're children again..." When the taller boy doesn't stop walking, John reaches out to grab his arm and try and stop him, looking very worried. "Sherlock."
Stopping his forward motion when his arm is being grabbed, Sherlock turns around to look at his friend, "What?" He asks, sounding irritable. "I likely had attempted to delete the information of my sickness since it was not a pleasant thought. And it held no useful information as I was not a sickly child, John. I merely had a serious sickness once." he says as he looks at the younger boy. "As you can see, I am still in perfect health, but if you insist on examining me every time I get exposed to germs, then we will spend half our time with you examining me. Honestly, John, that would be a waste of time and quite tiresome." he says in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest in an odd gesture for him, almost petulant or sulking, but not in his usual way.
Rolling his eyes rather dramatically, John shakes his head a little. "Of course. Right. Heaven forbid I should care about you in any way, shape, or form." he says before he shifts his hold on the duffel. "Come on, forget about it. Let's just keep walking, hanging out in one place is going to attract attention. I'd rather not end our day before it begins." he adds with an innocent smile that looks far too impish on his boyish face.
Staring at John and trying to figure him out doesn't get the detective anywhere, it just confuses him a little, so Sherlock just turns and starts walking with him. "You care about a great many people, John. I am merely still not used to being counted among them." he says as he looks at the doctor. "Be patient with me, John." he says with a faint smile before he adds, "Now.. let us see what we can see." He says as he grabs John's coat sleeve and tugs him through some bushes into a small clearing. The way the bushes are arranged, it's very easy to see out of them but not so easy to see into the little clearing.
"I get the feeling that you spend a lot of time here, Sherlock. People watching? How long have you been using this spot?" John asks, crouching down to keep out of the way of the leaves and some branches, setting the duffel on the bag and balancing himself with his hands on them.
"Oh, I've been using this spot for years, John." Sherlock says in a quiet tone, smirking a little as he kneels down in the grass next to the doctor, running a hand through his hair to get the longer locks back from his face. "As you said, it's an excellent spot to observe human behavior. Before we go any further, I wanted to do a small check on my abilities to make sure that my mental acuity has not been affected by this transformation we've gone through. I am relatively confident that it has not, but a small check would not go amiss." he explains as his mercurial eyes start to move over the people moving along the paths that lay just beyond the bushes, creeping a little closer to the edge of the leaves in order to get a better look.
Chuckling a little for a few moments, John shakes his head but follows Sherlock's lead and sticks close to his side. "I think I can reasonably vouch for your mental state." he reassures, voice dropping to a whisper almost unconsciously as he looks at some of the people as well, "This is a little creepy, being able to see them like this." he says as he pulls the duffel a little closer, not letting go of the straps to it. Just in case.
With a sideways glance at his companion, Sherlock just smirks a little and he nods quietly. "It may seem so to you, but it's not as if we're doing anything we could not do sitting on a park bench. Except that people act differently when they feel they might be observed." He explains as he turns his head a little when he sees a young couple talking, listening to them talk about possibly moving to a bigger place or getting out of London, something the man wants to do but the woman is against. "Don't worry, John. We won't be here long."
Because of how things are going, I am going to change to updating once a week, I think. Probably Tuesdays. At least until I pare down some of my stories, so I don't have quite so many going all at once. I sort of got in over my head with these, lol. But I'm glad that everyone is still enjoying this. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I truly do enjoy hearing what you think of my stories. Helps me know if I'm going in the right direction. :D
Hopefully I can think of some trouble for these two to get into for my next chapter. :)
As always, Reviews/Comments welcome!