Holmes and Watson, mismatched

[formersurgeon]

Who| Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes
What| Joan and Sherlock meet their companions' counterparts
Where| Starting where she wakes up, then in the District 11 apartments common room.
When| The day after Joan's death
Warnings/Notes| Mention of Joan's death by snake, will update if anything else comes up.


Joan gasped back to life, her eyes opening wide. It took a moment of deep breaths for her to remember what was going on, for her to realize that the agony of succumbing to snake venom was now just a memory. She sat up and immediately examined her ankle and her calf. The puncture wounds were gone, the skin smooth and unmarked as if the bites had never happened. She sighed with relief, dropping her head to rest it on her knee for a moment before straightening and pushing herself up from the bed.

Some time later, after being informed of her district affiliation and given a rundown of the Training Center, Joan arrives at the District 11 apartment. She stops right at the entrance, the elevator door sliding silently closed behind her, and spends a few moments just staring at the opulence. "Oh my god," she murmurs under her breath as she catches sight of the large window along the living room, and the expanse of city beyond it. She'll explore the apartment later. For the moment, she pulls one of the chairs over so she can sit and look at the Capitol skyline, her brain whirring. Dying, coming back to life, going from a rough, deadly desert to this building in a futuristic city she's never seen before...it's going to take time to process.

Comments

[alldeduction]

Sherlock bit back what he was going to say. They were always watched. He couldn't let his guard down, even here, even now. The truth was something that he would never be able to detail to John or Joan, no matter how bitter it tasted. He sucked in a breath.

"Futile endeavor as it is. Their surveillance technology, while not that far advanced from ours, is pervasive. Impossible without access to equipment to be able to disable an entire room at once, let alone hack the system to send a feedback loop." The words tumbled out at an incredible rate, but he shifted and paused before continuing.

"The bands were given before this arena, after Ariadne's execution. To 'remind us of our place', as it were." His eyes caught hers, then, sharp and hard. "It would behoove you to be careful."

[formersurgeon]

She held that gaze, swallowed but didn't look away.

"They executed someone. One of the people they brought here? What did she do?"

The fact that they felt the need to execute someone spoke volumes. They were afraid. The people who were "misbehaving" were probably more powerful than the people in charge likely wanted to let on.

[alldeduction]

"Attempted assassination using an explosive device," He said, his voice emotionless. "I'm sure they're still replaying the execution on the television screens. You can likely watch it there." He didn't need to warn her that it was brutal.

Who would expect anything less?

[formersurgeon]

"Knowing what these people consider entertainment, I think I'll be avoiding the TV, thanks."

These people were sick. And had all those they brought here at a distinct disadvantage, a minority in a foreign land brought here as toys to break again and again. Still, she couldn't imagine that there wasn't opposition among the natives as well.

Joan considers for a moment, then puts her thumb on the band. "Were people working with her?" she asked as she pushed it against his skin and looked up to meet his eyes, hoping she had made clear the true question, whether he was working with her. She hoped the cameras would miss the indications.

[alldeduction]

Oh. Good. Not a complete idiot. He'd smile if he wasn't hyper aware of the cameras.

"... In a sense. One of the Mentors, from this world. Eva Salazar. Conned her to trusting her, and betrayed her on the night of the attempt." His voice was dispassionate, but there was a warning. No one from this world could be trusted. Not even former tributes. To her unspoken question, he added: "No one else. Not sure who would want to be tangled up in such idiocy."

He lets the implication hang. It would have gone down a lot differently, if he were involved.

[formersurgeon]

She had to be careful of those who lived here. Good to know. She raised her eyebrows, glanced back down at his wrist, and again pressed the band before releasing it. She understood.

"So, apart from always changing my clothes and going to the bathroom in the dark," she said, wryly thinking that the cameras probably had infrared, "and not trying to blow up leaders, is there anything else I need to know about surviving in this city?"

[alldeduction]

"Surviving? No. Coping?" He paused, shrugged, as he fiddled with the band at his wrist before dropping it back down to his side. "Yes. This entire place is dedicated to opulence and hedonism. To secure gifts in the arena, one must appeal to the natives - most specifically, the Sponsors."

He managed not to give a look of disgust, knowing he was on camera, but the temptation was massive.

"The city is something better experienced than discussed, however."

[formersurgeon]

"Yeah, I got that sense, if this is where they keep the people they want to see die. John also told me that everyone here dresses like Lady Gaga. But...I don't understand. Sponsors? I mean, it's a TV show, so I get if it's like, this show brought to you by corn flakes. But why would I need to appeal to them?"

[alldeduction]

"If you want to live, yes." He said flatly. "If you've no interest in surviving in the arena you can ignore them, but..." He trailed off, walking to the window and looking down at the city.

"Not everyone comes back. They seem to prefer 'favourites' - the more interesting, the better the story, the more likely that you'll be revived in the capitol after your death." He frowned, looking down, before turning back to her. "The Sponsors are the money. They pay for the gifts that are sent to tributes in the arena. The gifts I sent you and John? Entirely paid for by begging." He couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of the words. "Without them, you would never have received the anti-venom."

[formersurgeon]

She watched him go to the window, heard that bitterness in his voice. Sherlock is not a man who begs. That he was forced into it for the life of his friend spoke volumes.

"If they don't find me interesting, I'll die in the arena, and they won't bring me back to life," she said, more for her benefit than his. "Okay. What interests them? I'm guessing sex and violence, since as far as I can tell, they're human, and humans are the same everywhere."

[alldeduction]

"They might not bring you back to life," Sherlock clarified. "Sex and violence won't guarantee you. They like stories. Sex is a difficult tack to take, considering the nature of the arenas. More likely to vilify than endear, unless done properly, and at that point there's no point changing in the dark," he pointed out wryly.

He paused, hesitating. John hadn't told her about what had happened between them before the arena, and while with everyone else he was attempting to hammer the idea home with a sledgehammer, telling Joan about his confession was strangely off-putting. She would learn it, eventually. Would see it, or would hear about it. He'd been shamelessly playing up his 'unrequited love' to every sponsor he could get his hands on.

But it was one thing to do so with strangers, quite another to do so with the multiple universe duplicate of your supposed affections.

So while normally he would have feigned a touch of awkwardness, just for effect, here it was entirely real.

"... Love, tends to be more acceptable." He cleared his throat. "Sacrifice. Brotherhood. And bloodshed, of course, the violence is in everything. But they like to think their tributes can be Heroes." He paused. "... Or Monsters."

[formersurgeon]

"So my death-by-snake might work in my favor," she said wryly. It felt like a violation. She had given John the anti-venom to save him, not to pander to people who wanted to have second hand emotions due to her nobility and sacrifice.

She picked up on his awkwardness in discussing love, another thing that was so much like her Sherlock, who even after everything will never admit to having loved Irene Adler. It was awkwardness, though, not dismissive or despising. That was what clued her in to the idea he was talking about himself and John. Sacrifice and brotherhood, yes. But clearly more.

"Which are you?" she asked. "The Hero or the Monster?"

[alldeduction]

"It already has," Sherlock said, pointedly. Even if it did nothing for the sponsors, it had certainly solidified his opinion. (And let's be honest. That was the only one that he believed counted.)

"Neither, I imagine," Sherlock answered her question carefully. "Despite what John would believe I am not exactly 'hero' material. But I've managed to get through three arenas having never killed anyone." He paused, glanced at the ceiling, and then reluctantly added: "... On purpose."

[formersurgeon]

"Great." She didn't pick up that he was referring to himself, still thinking he was referring to sponsors, which was why her tone was sour.

"It makes a difference," she said, "not killing people on purpose. You also actively saved my life, and John's."

If he hadn't actively killed people, and regretted the deaths he may have inadvertently caused, then his survival and regard wasn't based on violence.

"Love, then," she said mildly.

[alldeduction]

He didn't take it personally, and he didn't elaborate. He never did, when it came to his feelings, no matter the detriment it may cause.

Instead he shuffled awkwardly as she called him out on it, hoping he had successfully avoided the topic and dismayed to find he had not. It was ridiculous, really, the aversion, considering how he had been acting in the Capitol now for weeks. Every one of his actions was precisely made for that reason.

And yet...

His brows furrowed and he glanced at the floor. "Once he returns to the capitol I mean to persuade him to petition for release from the Games," he said instead, side-stepping. He looked back up at her. "You may want to consider it as well, though I doubt they would take someone straight from their first arena. They are seeking tributes with 'useful' talents who ah - would be better put to use outside of the games rather than within." His brows were still furrowed, the awkwardness had never left, though he was doing his best to smother it down, put it aside.

Unwilling to acknowledge that despite all his bravado there might be some truth to the underlying message. (Unwilling to think about it.)

[formersurgeon]

She figured his sidestep was the closest thing to confirmation that she was likely to get. Once more, she was not in the least bit surprised. She decided to leave the topic alone, since pushing it further probably wouldn't get any result aside from making him more uncomfortable.

"I imagine he'd be useful as a doctor. I doubt they'd really want their captives working with their police." She didn't mention her own medical background, because she told John, and likely Sherlock via video feed. "What's the drug scene around here?"

[alldeduction]

"No. Detective work, I'm afraid, is out of the question," He agreed. It was why he had not even begun to consider the possibility of petitioning for himself.

He was worse than useless, here.

He knew her medical background. Knew it before she had mentioned it to John. He could read it in her hands, even if he hadn't suspected it, based upon her doppleganger connection. The lack of army service was more interesting, to him, but then he supposed it wasn't the first major difference between her and John.

To her question, his face darkened. "... Heavy. They carry an alarming array of designer drugs, and the hedonism culture does not inspire - ah - restraint." He'd had a hard time, when here on his own, staying clean. But she didn't need to know that. "Morphling, is the most common. Opiate, with physical side effects. But there are others."

He released a hard breath, glancing back out the window. "They consider it amusing. One sponsor drugged nearly half the tributes, for Valentine's day." He did not need to mention that number included himself.

[formersurgeon]

She could kick herself. She should have realized that he probably had the same problems with drugs as her Sherlock. He had the same brilliance, doubtless the same desire to quiet his mind, for oblivion. And if there are more than one Sherlock, and more than one Watson, it seemed likely there would be more than one Irene Adler. More than one Moriarty.

"Have you been having issues with substance abuse here?" Better to come out and ask, she had decided.

[alldeduction]

"I'm clean," He bit out, defensively. Unjustified, perhaps, but the effort had taken him to remain to made him desperate to cling to the fact. He sucked in a breath and straightened.

Another difference. John hadn't even wanted to entertain the idea of his past drug use, when they had first met. (Later, much later, he knew it all too well.)

It was an odd feeling, perhaps partially shame, having her hone in so easily upon something he managed to hide, especially here. Especially after meeting the other Sherlock.

"Not even cigarettes," He added with a bitter melancholy.

[formersurgeon]

"I believe you." His reaction was of course confirmation of her suspicion that he had in fact had troubles of his own. "I ask, because that's how I met my Sherlock. He had just left rehab, and I was his sober companion. He hasn't used since I've known him, but he struggles. All recovering addicts do." Left unsaid was the implication that she understood if he did struggle, that it didn't mean he wasn't clean, nor that he wouldn't stay clean. And that she was willing to help him if he wanted. Needed.

If the attitude toward drugs was as Sherlock said, though, working as a sober companion might not be a viable option.

[alldeduction]

He didn't want to talk about it. He never did. But he set his jaw.

"John met me well after." Was all he said about himself. All he was willing to say. It was enough of an admission in itself and he cut himself off abruptly after that. "I can't say the same for the other one." He said, in a rush, before letting out another breath. "The other Sherlock. The Mentor."

He paused, chewing over his words.

"Perhaps it would be best if you spoke to him yourself."

[formersurgeon]

She recognized and appreciated the difficulty he was having talking about his own drug use. He mentioned the other Sherlock, though, and she tilted her head.

"I didn't know he's a Mentor. I'd be happy to talk to him. I take it he has problems with addiction, too. The Morphling you talked about?"

[alldeduction]

"Morphling... yes. I believe so. I won't speak to his condition. We've met only once." He clenched his fingers at his side, released them, and clenched again.

"Victor. He won the 60th games."

He hadn't really spoken about the other to John. Had attempted to push the man almost completely from his mind in the meantime, soldier on as if he was a moderately fascinating but ultimately inconsequential problem.

But it wasn't the same, when one was drawing lines in the sand. When differences and similarities were being made much too obvious. It unsettled him. And Sherlock Holmes did not like being unsettled.

He sucked in a tight breath. "With a wasp."

[formersurgeon]

His discomfort was obvious, although she wasn't exactly sure of their origin. Maybe thinking about his counterpart's difficulties made him more cognizant of his own. Especially considering the similarities between Joan and John; he may have more in common with the other Sherlock than he formerly admitted.

She raised her eyebrows and blinked. "A wasp. Okay, that's weird. How do you win with a wasp?"

[alldeduction]

"Well. I should say wasps. Tracker-jackers. I'm sure you're aware not of the... specially bred animals tailor-made for the arenas." He shifted again, and waved a hand.

"You can find the records of his victory if you're interested further," he said quickly. He couldn't get away from this topic of conversation fast enough. "However, he may be... interested. In your expertise." It was a stiff admission, more from his own experience rather than from Holmes'. If their places were changed...

"There's no Watson. Here." He added after a moment. "I expected there to be one, when I learned about him. There are-- It is not exactly my area," He complained, when he found it difficult to explain. "But Danny expected me to be from approximately 1905. Didn't believe that I was who I am. But he knew about John."