donutsweeper (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
donutsweeper) wrote2016-08-07 11:10 pm
donutsweeper) wrote2016-08-07 11:10 pm
Play My Worries Away
Title: Play My Worries Away
Fandom/Warning/Rating: Sherlock (BBC), rated G
Word Count: 800 words
Summary: Most people ignored Monty. Sherlock Holmes was not most people.
Author's Note: Written for all eight of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
watsons_woes's August amnesty prompts, including a stealth crossover of Daleks, UNIT, the Seventh Doctor and (implied) Ace. Title from "Take On Me" by a-ha.
Monty'd been busking for a living for years. He had to feed himself and Sourpuss somehow, didn't he? Thanks to his old age he was always going to have sore feet, so he may as well have earned the aches and pains by playing some good tunes and earning something for his troubles. Sure, most folks were more likely to ignore him then give him any of their dosh, but they still managed. And Sourpuss, despite the name, knew how to put on a good show, looking that perfect combination of adorable and pathetic that encouraged people to dig out an extra coin or two.
The ignoring thing came in right handy in some ways. There was plenty of types that considering him so below them they just acted like he weren't even there, which would be damned annoying if he took it to heart, but came in bloody useful to eavesdrop on shit he wasn't supposed to be hearing. Everyone was talking about the explosion out by the pier and the way the government showed up all dressed in white hazard suits, preventing new ships from coming in and putting up tape quarantining everything out there.
Having been listening in to people's chatter for more years than he'd like to admit now he knew what to pay extra attention to and what to ignore. And there was a lot to ignore because some of the shit he was overhearing was ridiculous- there weren't no way aliens would bother with the armpit of London. If they'd wanted to invade wouldn't Parliament or the palace be a better place for it? And no matter what the movies said, Monty just didn’t think that high speed chases and mass destruction were really all that common in the life of spies. The government trying to cover something up however, now that was a theory he could get behind.
Seeing Mister Holmes and that doctor of his skulking in the shadows, Monty segued into an impromptu coda even though there was no one obviously paying any attention and then slung his guitar onto his back and pulled out Sourpuss' bowl and a tin of food from his rucksack and fought the beast off long enough to get her dinner out, the damn thing winding herself around his legs and generally trying to kill him until he got the food down on the ground for her.
Immediately abandoning him to eat, she didn't even look up when Mister Holmes approached with an abrupt, "Well?"
Monty supposed it said something about his childhood that he actually liked the fact that Mister Holmes didn't try to make small talk or beat around the bush or anything. The man wanted what he wanted and didn't care about anything else. Monty could respect that.
Doctor Watson obviously disagreed, rolling his eyes and sighing a fed up, "Sherlock," under his breath.
"Word is it's a new terrorist group." Monty explained, absently tuning his guitar to cover the sound of their conversation. "Called Dellicks or something. Whatever government unit's made themselves in charge of the whole thing is claiming it's all taken care of but I overheard some professor guy who wasn't happy with how things went down and he didn't seem to think it was over."
Mister Holmes hmmmmed as he ran his hand along Sourpuss' side. Something must have grabbed his attention because he bent down, sniffed her all careful-like and then stuck the fingers he'd been petting her with in his mouth. (This guy, seriously, did he not worry about germs at all? It didn’t faze the doctor though, but he hung out with Sherlock enough he was probably used to the way the guy did things.) "Nitro-9, of course," Mister Holmes muttered before reaching into his pocket with his other hand and pulling out a whole handful of bills- easily enough for a room for the night- and tossed them into the open guitar case. "These particular terrorists," and he said that word like he was meaning something else entirely, "have a history of being underestimated. Stay off the streets tonight. And ignore any strange lights you might see or explosions you might here."
When Mister Holmes didn't say anything else Monty asked, "That it?"
"That's all." Then, smiling that smug smile of his Mister Holmes just turned and started running back down Baker Street, dragging the doctor along by the arm shouting, "Come along, John! No time to waste!"
Monty grabbed up his stuff, slung Sourpuss onto his shoulder, and hurried off. He might not be a genius but he wasn't no idiot neither and when someone like Mister Holmes said things weren't safe and to get gone? It was a good idea to get gone. People like that usually knew what they were talking about.
Fandom/Warning/Rating: Sherlock (BBC), rated G
Word Count: 800 words
Summary: Most people ignored Monty. Sherlock Holmes was not most people.
Author's Note: Written for all eight of
watsons_woes's August amnesty prompts, including a stealth crossover of Monty'd been busking for a living for years. He had to feed himself and Sourpuss somehow, didn't he? Thanks to his old age he was always going to have sore feet, so he may as well have earned the aches and pains by playing some good tunes and earning something for his troubles. Sure, most folks were more likely to ignore him then give him any of their dosh, but they still managed. And Sourpuss, despite the name, knew how to put on a good show, looking that perfect combination of adorable and pathetic that encouraged people to dig out an extra coin or two.
The ignoring thing came in right handy in some ways. There was plenty of types that considering him so below them they just acted like he weren't even there, which would be damned annoying if he took it to heart, but came in bloody useful to eavesdrop on shit he wasn't supposed to be hearing. Everyone was talking about the explosion out by the pier and the way the government showed up all dressed in white hazard suits, preventing new ships from coming in and putting up tape quarantining everything out there.
Having been listening in to people's chatter for more years than he'd like to admit now he knew what to pay extra attention to and what to ignore. And there was a lot to ignore because some of the shit he was overhearing was ridiculous- there weren't no way aliens would bother with the armpit of London. If they'd wanted to invade wouldn't Parliament or the palace be a better place for it? And no matter what the movies said, Monty just didn’t think that high speed chases and mass destruction were really all that common in the life of spies. The government trying to cover something up however, now that was a theory he could get behind.
Seeing Mister Holmes and that doctor of his skulking in the shadows, Monty segued into an impromptu coda even though there was no one obviously paying any attention and then slung his guitar onto his back and pulled out Sourpuss' bowl and a tin of food from his rucksack and fought the beast off long enough to get her dinner out, the damn thing winding herself around his legs and generally trying to kill him until he got the food down on the ground for her.
Immediately abandoning him to eat, she didn't even look up when Mister Holmes approached with an abrupt, "Well?"
Monty supposed it said something about his childhood that he actually liked the fact that Mister Holmes didn't try to make small talk or beat around the bush or anything. The man wanted what he wanted and didn't care about anything else. Monty could respect that.
Doctor Watson obviously disagreed, rolling his eyes and sighing a fed up, "Sherlock," under his breath.
"Word is it's a new terrorist group." Monty explained, absently tuning his guitar to cover the sound of their conversation. "Called Dellicks or something. Whatever government unit's made themselves in charge of the whole thing is claiming it's all taken care of but I overheard some professor guy who wasn't happy with how things went down and he didn't seem to think it was over."
Mister Holmes hmmmmed as he ran his hand along Sourpuss' side. Something must have grabbed his attention because he bent down, sniffed her all careful-like and then stuck the fingers he'd been petting her with in his mouth. (This guy, seriously, did he not worry about germs at all? It didn’t faze the doctor though, but he hung out with Sherlock enough he was probably used to the way the guy did things.) "Nitro-9, of course," Mister Holmes muttered before reaching into his pocket with his other hand and pulling out a whole handful of bills- easily enough for a room for the night- and tossed them into the open guitar case. "These particular terrorists," and he said that word like he was meaning something else entirely, "have a history of being underestimated. Stay off the streets tonight. And ignore any strange lights you might see or explosions you might here."
When Mister Holmes didn't say anything else Monty asked, "That it?"
"That's all." Then, smiling that smug smile of his Mister Holmes just turned and started running back down Baker Street, dragging the doctor along by the arm shouting, "Come along, John! No time to waste!"
Monty grabbed up his stuff, slung Sourpuss onto his shoulder, and hurried off. He might not be a genius but he wasn't no idiot neither and when someone like Mister Holmes said things weren't safe and to get gone? It was a good idea to get gone. People like that usually knew what they were talking about.
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But what was the meaning of what Sherlock derived from that sniffing and licking?
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Nitro-9 is an explosive Ace (Seven's companion) was famous/infamous for making and using. I don't think Doctor Who canon ever really detailed exactly how she made it but it made some rather big booms in the series.
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But I know what you mean, sometimes it isn't quite what you're going for.
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Well played!
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Glad you liked it! :)