A Case of the Sneezes (BBC's 'Sherlock' drabble for VoOs)

[Dusty15]

Just a little allergic!Sherlock drabble for VoOs in exchange for the amazing picture! I'll someday write more for you, I promise For now, I hope this fulfills what you wanted to read!

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Sherlock was good at discerning a lot of things. He could tell what model of car a person drove just by a glance of their keys, what profession they were in by the sight of their clothes or mobile phone, and how far a person had traveled that day just by seeing their shoes. But one thing Sherlock was bad at comprehending was his own limits. Even as a boy, he'd pushed through illness and injury in pursuit of intellectual challenges. His brain had one track, detective, and no time to process petty things like colds or hayfever.

This was exactly why Sherlock had no qualms about taking a train north with John to a crime scene in rural Scotland. If his brain took the time to pay attention to his own needs, he would have remembered a childhood trip to this region and a particularly bad reaction to alder trees. The thick, drooping catkins spread pollen across the Northern regions, but didn't reach London or anywhere else in the South that Sherlock frequented. It'd been so long since he'd gone North, he paid no mind. Besides, the case sounded intriguing.

As the train pulled into the station, he leapt eagerly to the platform with John close behind. A police car waited to pick them up, attended by a surly officer named McCormick. The cruiser sped through the lush highlands, where it was still quite chilly in the early spring. Sherlock didn't notice the fine yellow dust on the car windows as they travelled. He was too absorbed in thinking about the bizarre case...three men found in three barns, hanging, dead of apparent suicide. There was no evidence of foul play, but the scenes were too similar for it to be mere coincidence.

The cruiser pulled up the road towards a large stone barn with a dozen or so sheep milling about in a pen. Police taped criss-crossed the wooden doors, a bright yellow X against the worn red.

“This the first one found or what?” John asked as they climbed out of the car.

“First. Look at the tape...it's mud spattered, probably from the rain storm the other day. It's been here for at least three days now.”

“First,” McCormick confirmed. “Rain washed away any chance we had of documentin' all the footprints. Weren't any good ones anyhow.”

Scoffing at the officer, Sherlock went towards the barn, tugging the tall doors open and entering the shadowy space. He squinted at the scene, looking for hints as to the sequence of events that lead to the victim's death. John stood at his side, observing the detective.

“Bit dim in here,” he commented. “Why're you squinting?”

“Itchy,” Sherlock muttered, approaching a horse stall and running his finger along the top of the door. His finger came back yellow with pollen dust and he wiped it away on a nearby rag. “Look, there's no disturbance to any of these stalls except this one. There's no horses on this farm, so no one is using the pens. No one except our murderer, perhaps.”

He pointed to a small disturbance in the hay at the corner of the stall where fresh dirt was exposed. “He hid himself here to wait. The dust on top of the door is a bit thinner at one end...he must've...”

Sherlock stopped mid-sentence, a strange look crossing his features. He turned away, pressing his long, sharp nose into the sleeve of his coat.

Hurhh'tshhfff!

“Bless you,” John said, sounding a bit surprised. “Too dusty in here? I suppose we've been in worse though.”

“No, I'm fine thank you,” Sherlock insisted, retrieving his handkerchief from his pocket and giving his nose two precise blows before pocketing the cloth again. “I was saying that whomever was here touched the door at this end to open it.”

He entered the stall and crouched as to better see the spot in the hay.

“Indentations aren't deep...I'd say male, about 11 stone.”

A snort came from the barn doorway and McCormick entered, looking incredulous.

“11 stone?”

“11,” Sherlock repeated with a sigh of exasperation. “And if we're lucky, they'll be....aha! A fiber from the man's clothing.”

He plucked a strand of red thread from the hay and held it up for the policeman and John to see. For a moment, his hand wavered, looking as if he was unsure of whether or not to show the specimen. It was only a moment later that the true reason was revealed. Sherlock's high cheekbones rose towards his brows as his eyes squeezed shut and he pitched forward with a tickly-sounding sneeze.

Ehh'tsmffhhhh!

“Bless,” John said, a little concerned. He rarely heard Sherlock sneeze, but those rare times were reserved and controlled. These seemed positively overwhelming.

“It's a nylon fiber, I'd guess,” Sherlock said with a light sniffle, as if ignoring that the sneeze ever happened. “Probably track pants. Cheap kind too...well worn if they'd going to shed like...”

Again, he stopped mid-sentence, lips curling and eyes closing.

Hehh'tssffmff! Hh'tsfftt!

“Goodness,” John exclaimed, digging his own handkerchief from his pocket. “Sherlock, you must be allergic to something.”

“Don't be ridiculous. I think I'd know if I was....ehh...hheh'tsffftt!! *sniff* If I was allergic to something.”

Sherlock's pale eyes were quickly getting red and swollen. He blinked, trying to soothe the itch without warranting too much of John's attentions.

“I'll take a look outside, then,” he said, putting the nylon fiber in an evidence bag and stepping out of the barn, heading for the back.

John followed, circling the barn to find his friend blowing his nose quietly into the borrowed handkerchief.

“You sure you don't have allergies?” John asked.

“Ib sure,” Sherlock said, his voice congested. He turned away from John once more, burying his nose in the hankie and sneezing again.

Hurhh'tsmfft! Ehhh...hehhh'tsmftt!

Each explosion sounded more and more desperate. Sherlock squeezed his eyes tightly shut under the guise of thinking, but John knew better.

“Maybe we ought to pop back to town and get you some medicine. We can come back here later.”

“Don't be silly, John,” he said. “I'm fine. Now...if the man wanted to enter the barn unnoticed, without leaving the main doors unlocked, he'd need another way in....the loft is too high without a ladder...”

He began to circle the barn, looking up at the structure critically.

“If he used the...ehh'heh'tsghhtt! Heh'tsfghtt! Ehh...huhhrr'tsght! 'Tsghtt!”

“Let's solve another case,” John said. “When was the last time you were here in March?”

Sherlock pinched his long fingers around his beleagured nose and scowled at John.

“I was fourteen.”

“And did anything happen?”

“I discovered that my nose does not like alder trees.”

“And you were going to reveal this when?” John asked.

“I'd forgotten. Besides, I knew I could crack this case.”

“The case will still be here when you get back. For now, the only thing you'll be cracking is a blister pack of Zirtec. Now let's go,” John said, grabbing Sherlock's arm. “In the car.”

With a sniff, the consulting detective relented.

[pinknose]

AHHHHH!!! So cute, so cute, so hawt, so cute, so cuuuuuuute! Edited March 29, 2012 by pinknose

[Garnet]

AKDFKLJkdfjhdf ooh that was lovely, much love for the description of his facial expressions (dem cheekbones!) and a delicious sound to match. ALL THE SHERLOCK MATERIAL, I will hoard it yes. And then contribute. When I unlazy.

[LeapYearKisses]

Eeeeeee, this is lovely! I love how you spelled his sneezes. They're wonderful! And of course he forgot his hayfever... he only remembers necessary information.

One thing, though... "Sherlock's high cheekbones rose towards his brows..." I don't think his cheekbones did rise... aren't they rather fixed in place on the skull? ^^;

[Dusty15]

"One thing, though... "Sherlock's high cheekbones rose towards his brows..." I don't think his cheekbones did rise... aren't they rather fixed in place on the skull? ^^; "

Yes, I did think of that, but I scrunched my eyes tight and it almost seems like they do, right? Not so much the bones as the chubby cheeks on them, though!

And thanks, all! Glad you liked it

[MusicaDiabolos]

OMG AMAZING. Nice distraction from homework.

You need to write more of these Cumberbatch is made of sexy...

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Allergic Sherlock... You write them so brilliantly. I can completely imagine John reacting like that and Sherlock being the silly fool that he can be with everything he considers "irrelevant". They really should make this into an episode.

[serotonin]

zomg yay. I had a picture like this in my head once, where they had to travel somewhere for a case and then Sherlock came over allergic and now you have WRITTEN IT yes. Mmm. I can practically hear the muffled sound and it is quite lovely.

[VoOs]

Oohhhh, Sherlock, you silly man. You silly, brilliant man. *deep, content sigh* I can so easily picture this happening, and it makes my heart and body happy in every possible way.

Thank you so much, Dusty. This was a wonderful thing to get home to. Also, this:

“I'd forgotten. Besides, I knew I could crack this case.”

“The case will still be here when you get back. For now, the only thing you'll be cracking is a blister pack of Zirtec. Now let's go,”

...made me giggle.

<3!

[queenie]

Mmm, I love Sherlock fic. Thank you for this marvelous story!

[Always]

Oh, very lovely, Dusty!

[obsessed]

!!!

[snowshie]

GUH. That is all. ♥

[Cloud Dancing]

One does not simply like this....one LOVES its! Characterisation is very well done and what a classic Sherlock thing to do to forget to mention that he was allergic.

[squealofapproval]

How cute!! I enjoy hayfever very much and this was a treat!