Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

[3houseswatson]

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.]

Comments

[3houseswatson]

[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."

[3potionproblem]

[Sherlock nods.]

Being different can cause unpleasantness.

[3houseswatson]

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.

[3potionproblem]

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

Very true.

[3houseswatson]

[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.

[3potionproblem]

[Sherlock chuckled.]

You're really quite concerned about this.

I can handle James Moriarty, John.

[3houseswatson]

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.

[3potionproblem]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Sherlock smiles at him.]

I suppose I will be seeing you, then.

[3houseswatson]

You're right. I ought to be getting back to the room as well. The game went longer than I thought.

[He stands and stretches, followed by rubbing a sore spot that formed on his shoulder.]

'til next time, yeah?

[3potionproblem]

[Sherlock nods and heads out. He's in a very good mood, now.

There's something about John that makes him always look forward to the next time they meet.]