sortinghat_logs | Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

WHO: John Watson and Sherlock Holmes
TONE: Was meant to be friendly and fun... but now tinged with concern.
RATING: PG-13 for potential language
WHEN: Friday, November 30th, after dinner.
WHERE: The Dining Hall
WHAT: Sherlock suggested meeting up to play a friendly game of Wizard's Chess, which John agreed to. But thanks to a tense conversation with a certain Slytherin, John's got a bit more to think about than a simple chess game.
STATUS: Ongoing

[To say that John had a lot on his mind would be an understatement.

Originally, this was just going to be him and Sherlock meeting up so the Ravenclaw could obliterate him in a game of Wizard's Chess. John had no problems with the notion of imminent defeat on the chessboard; he always seemed to have a good time when he and Sherlock were together, putting aside moments of occasional awkwardness when they didn't quite see eye-to-eye on certain matters. He fully expected that as long as he was in Sherlock's company, he wouldn't mind losing.

But then he had words with Jim Moriarty and between that and what he'd gleaned from Sherlock about the situation, a bit of suspicion and worry seemed all too rational. He wasn't sure if he could convince Sherlock of anything, but he could damn well express his concern.

Now that dinner had been cleared away and the other students had gone off to do other things, the Dining Hall was mostly empty. John scanned the room, wondering if Sherlock had already arrived.]

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[And John is absolutely 100% not shocked by this outcome at all.]

Good game! You sure you didn't go easy on me? Because, frankly, I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did.

[Sherlock shrugged, leaning back in pride.]

I rather wanted to weed it down to just our kings and queens but that would probably have taken another twenty moves or so. Thought I’d take pity on you.

[Proud almost doesn't cover his self-satisfied expression. He's very pleased with himself but more than that, he's happy to have gotten to show off a bit for John and have kept his company for so long.]

While normally I'd give you some sass for that pity remark, just this once - thank God. I was starting to think we'd graduate before that game would end.

[He gave Sherlock a challenging grin.]

Like I said, though, as much as you talk big, I think I'm far more likely to give you a run for your money with things like boxing.

Anytime, anyplace.

[He continued smiling as he put his pieces away.]

For now, I hope the time and concentration spent wasn’t dreadful.

No, it wasn't dreadful. I had a lot of fun. Though pretty much all of that's due to us hanging out, not chess in particular.

[John paused for a moment, looking a little thoughtful.]

Actually, chess in particular can get stuffed.

[Sherlock chuckled at that, amused by his words as much as his candor.]

It will be a request made of you rarely and far between.

Though after I land you in the nurse's care with a right hook, it may be the extent of your capabilities.

Actually, you're left handed... boxing might prove quite interesting indeed....

There you go again with that cockiness. Just don't beat me black and blue before the ball; you're the one who said it wouldn't be wise to stand-out at that, after all.

And really, being left-handed makes a difference?

[Sherlock holds his right arm out in front of him as he sits across from John.]

Put your dominant hand out. Do you see?

[John complies and holds out his left arm; their hands would touch if his arm were just a tiny bit longer.]

Ha! Yeah, I see what you mean. Watch us both go in for a swing and end up doing a fist-bump that cracks both our knuckles.

Which means we'll have to both adjust to striking with our weaker hands a bit more frequently in order to come in around the other's jab. It'll make it interesting if nothing else.

[John withdraws his hand, giving it a curious look for a second before propping his chin on it.]

Not so sure about the striking stuff, I already use my right hand a bit for some things. My dad has a gun license and a pistol, and since he could only ever show me proper holding and shooting form with his right hand, that's what I got used to. Don't know if that has any impact on boxing, though.

You didn't mention you were ambidextrous. I may indeed find myself at a slight disadvantage.

[Sherlock doesn't look displeased with this in the slightest.]

[John grins and raises a teasing brow.]

What's this? Something you didn't deduce about me? And here I thought you could tell that sort of thing from the most fleeting of glances. Using only your peripheral vision. In very poor lighting conditions.

[Sherlock chuckles lightly]

I’d never gotten a good look at your hands.

Well, I imagine you've seen enough of them now during that chess match to know every little bit of information you could possibly get out of them.

Though if not...

[He holds up both his hands and does a jazz hands gesture. Because why not?]

[Sherlock smirks]

I can see the gun callous now that I know to look for it. Not where I would have expected it to be. Your hands are much smaller than mine. You have the hands of the working class: strong grip but not suited to more dexterous, detailed tasks. I bet you're very good with a gun. Sturdy in general seems to be a word that suits you.

[John shakes his head in awe.]

It's still bloody amazing, how you do that.

I'm not surprised you missed the callouses, honestly. They're a bit old at this point. It's been quite a while since my dad and I went shooting.

"Because of the limp or the strain the attack caused?"

[John sighs and rubs awkwardly at the side of his neck.]

"Both. The strain started before I even left St. Mungo's. But maybe I should say it got really severe around then. I think the cracks might have started forming as early as when I got my acceptance letter."

[Sherlock nods.]

Being different can cause unpleasantness.

Yeah, it definitely can. It can be a real pain in the arse.

If you get lucky, sometimes you can end up with good company, though.

[Sherlock smiles at him, ducking his head slightly.]

Very true.

[Though the rapport between the two had taken a turn for the brighter as their chess game progressed, John never forgot that part of this meeting was so he could get his concern about the Moriarty issue off his chest. Seeing an opportunity to remind Sherlock of it, he goes for it.]

I don't want to revive an old argument, especially since I had a good time once that awkward topic withered on the vine. But just remember that just because someone else is different as well, it doesn't mean their company is any good or that you ought to spend time with them if you don't want to.

[Sherlock chuckled.]

You're really quite concerned about this.

I can handle James Moriarty, John.

He rubs me the wrong way. Puts me on edge in a bad way.

I'm sure you can. Still, if he goes too far or threatens anyone, I'd be more than happy to try out some of the boxing moves you want to show me on him.

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3potionproblem - 2012-12-10 01:37 (UTC) - Expand

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