Further background and explanation of "Foiled."
Written:3-23-13
Keen
Originally, Watson had barely garnered a passing glance. He was worn, haunted by the past, and strangely quiet, and Holmes more than kept people's attention with his own slightly-barbed but amicable bantering. Later an account of the case showed up in an annual magazine, written by the same quiet doctor. It gained a few curious glances, but few gave much thought to the author.
Then Watson began showing up with Holmes, popping in and out at the same frenzied pace Holmes so favored without seeming to pause for breath. He regained his former stature, though his general posture hardly changed – a soldier, through and through.
It was an unobservant man who didn't see beyond his average appearance into his true character. All one had to do was to look at his eyes.
Most didn't bother – those who did, such as the King of Bohemia, were slightly unnerved by the clear, observant gaze that met their own, not expecting it from Holmes's self-deprecating biographer. This gaze only grew sharper with time, to the point that Holmes sometimes forgot that Watson wasn't himself and expected his friend and colleague to hold to Holmes's own high standards of deduction. Eventually it reached new heights as visitors and clients automatically assumed the level, observant figure was indeed Mister Sherlock Holmes himself.
Then again, Watson was still a soldier. He was still haunted by the past, still quiet. Still observing.
He was worth far more than a passing glance.