Title: Making the Connection
Story Summary: A non-chronological collection of short chapters based on one word prompts, includes (pre-)slash for Johnlock & Mystrade
Chapter Summary: The world's only consulting detective is bored; a glimpse into Sherlock's case selection process. Prompt: Town.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Moffat, Gatiss & SACD.
A/N: This prompt came from oneword(dot)com, if you'd like to prompt me you can do so in a review or a PM.
Sherlock was bored. He had spent the morning reaching out to the homeless network, acquiring a few new sources while handing out the baked goods that Mrs Hudson had given him for breakfast. When London's pavements got busy with pedestrians during lunch hour he went home to tidy up his mind palace. He couldn't be bothered with the remainders of last night's experiment on the kitchen table though. John could clear those away later.
When his live-in doctor finally came home from the surgery Sherlock was sitting in his armchair, his own computer on his lap for a change, looking through the requests that people had sent in on his website. It was all dull. When he told John as much his flat mate came over, took his laptop away and sat down in the chair opposite of him.
"Why don't you take that missing person's case of the woman who reported her fiancé missing?" John asked while he browsed through the inbox.
Sherlock scowled at him. "It is obvious that her stepfather posed as another man in order to prevent her from marrying."
"Okay. " John bit back a sigh, for once he did not want to know how Sherlock had deduced that from a one page long e-mail. "This one seems quite interesting, though. One of the Stradivarius violas, the Mahler, was apparently stolen from the Sage in Gateshead, where Antoine Tamestit gave a concert last night. They don't want to call the police just now because they hope you can help them without them having to tell their insurance company about it. It could be nice; we would get out of London for a change, the Tyneside is beautiful this time of year."
"Really? You want me to go to a place where they can't even pronounce the word 'town' correctly?" The accusatory look John received from Sherlock was enough to make him move on.
"How about this one? A chef claiming he was poisoned and subsequently lost his sense of taste."
"Have you even read the name of the restaurant where he works? He never had a sense of taste to begin with." Sherlock retorted.
"Yes, the man who thinks one bite off my sandwich qualifies as a substantial meal is of course the best food critic in the greater London area." Frustrated John closed the laptop. "It's your decision to sit here and play the bored child. I for one will go out and get myself dinner now."
He set the computer on the armchair he had just gotten out of. He hadn't even taken his coat off when he came in he was already halfway down the stairs when he heard Sherlock call after him.
"Wait, I'll come with you."
John smiled.