![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Movie night - Letting the right one in
Notes: Written for this prompt and my first thing posting as anon at the meme. Don't know why I did it, have to go with: too lazy to even read it through after writing it. Inspired by "girlfriends".
Summary: Movie nights at 221b Baker Street always started the same way.
***
Movie nights at 221b Baker Street always started the same way.
John picked a film he didn’t want to see because he knew Sherlock would never accept his first suggestion (no matter what it was). Then Sherlock suggested a documentary in a minor European language – not always with subtitles. John had no idea why he did this; to his knowledge Sherlock only spoke English, French and some German. Watching a Finnish documentary about Linda Brava or a program about the situation between Bosniaks and Croatians in Mostar in Serbian wasn’t John’s idea of a fun Friday evening.
It probably wasn’t Sherlock’s idea of a fun night either, but when the outside world was free from mysteries and Molly had locked everything up at Bart’s, then telly was bearable.
This particular evening started with You Got Mail (John never even bothered with the first one anymore), Sherlock countered with something John couldn’t even pronounce, but according to IMDB it concerned the EMU from an Estonian point of view. John stated it was very Mycrofty of Sherlock to pick this as Friday entertainment, earning him the glare of death. That didn’t result in anything else than a second round of suggestions.
An action vs. Something about the riots in Paris 2005.
A based-on-a-true-story vs. “Why not just watch the true story then?”
A crime movie vs. “Don’t we have enough of stupid cops in our lives?”
A comedy vs. A two hours study of Baltic sea in Polish.
John wasn’t sure, but he thought that, to Sherlock, the arguing about what to watch was more entertaining than the actual watching and that was why John always got the last word. Sure, it rarely ended with something John would have picked to start with, but he almost always enjoyed the result.
Tonight it became Let the right one in, the Swedish one and not the American remake. It was one of the rare times they actually managed to compromise: a film John had been planning to watch for some time and they would need subtitles to get through it – which seemed to be Sherlock’s only request.
While Sherlock downloaded the film and made sure the subtitles were synced (“It’s okay, at one point I actually thought Mycroft was running The Pirate Bay. You wouldn’t believe what he has on his hard drive.”) John made popcorn in the recently disinfected microwave.
“All set?” John wondered as he placed himself on the left side of the sofa and the popcorn between them as Sherlock moved files around on the computer.
“You haven’t over-salted them again, have you?” Sherlock gave the popcorn a suspicious glare.
“No, I haven’t.”
“You said that last time too.”
“I haven’t salted them at all this time.”
“A bit extreme, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t want to be lectured about the danger of too much salt again.”
Sherlock smirked and John threw popcorn at him. Sherlock picked it from his hair and ate it without think about it as he started the film.
“The screen’s okay?” He wondered as he adjusted the sound on the laptop and turned it slightly towards John.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” John claimed, still he reached out and adjusted it some. Sherlock rolled his eyes.
The film was, if not creepy, so…well it had a mood. A very distinct setting; the snow and the darkness and the loneliness…. Okay, it was creepy! Not even 30 minutes in to it John pulled his feet up on the sofa; just because it was so not creepy. It was just intense to have to focus so hard since he didn’t understand a word they were saying.
“Don’t put your feet in my popcorn,” Sherlock asked.
“Technically, it’s my popcorn,” John reminded.
“Still.”
“For the love of….” John sighed and placed the popcorn on the table instead. Shortly afterward, Sherlock placed his feet on the sofa as well. Because small vampire girls were just absurd and unrealistic. Really.
Without them noticing it, their feet slid closer and closer until they finally touched. John reflected over it, but if Sherlock did the same it was impossible to say. Neither of them did anything about it, not until a sudden movement made John jump and as a reaction, Sherlock kicked him lightly.
“What are you doing?” John wanted to know.
“You know I’m ticklish.”
“It wasn’t on purpose….”
Sherlock did not respond but relocated his feet to the table (not next to the popcorn, but both of them had forgotten about those) and then placed John’s feet in his lap instead. If that wasn’t enough, afterwards he also reached out for the blanket he earlier had disposed of and placed it over his legs – and as a result – over John’s feet.
As the film progressed, Sherlock started to let two of his fingers slide up and down John’s shin. John wasn’t sure the detective was aware he was doing it.
“Now you’re the one tickling,” John informed him and Sherlock actually had to tear his eyes away from the screen to look down on what his hands were doing.
“Oh. Sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest instead, but was back at doing the exact same thing just moments later and John decided to tough it out. When that didn’t work he retrieved his feet from Sherlock’s lap and was soon leaning against the armrest, almost curled up like a ball again.
Sherlock rearranged the blanket and placed his own feet back on the sofa, but instead of mimicking John’s position he leaned into John and without thinking about it John moved an arm and placed it around Sherlock. Why they didn’t just start watching like this was beyond John, because they always ended up like this, often with one or both of them falling asleep before the end.
This time both of them seemed to manage to stay awake and John had to forcefully remove Sherlock’s fingers from his shins twice – none of them really seemed to understand why Sherlock unconsciously needed to move his fingers like this.
They waited out the credits before moving; Sherlock started by reaching out a hand to close the media player, followed by John rubbing his eyes and they both sat up again.
“Why do you insist on us watching things with subtitles?” John wondered with a whining undertone.
“Why do you insist on us watching anything at all?”
“Tss, don’t be like that!” John reached for the popcorn, “You know you like cuddling on the sofa. Admit it.”
“Only if you admit to liking what we watch.”
John leaned over and wrapped his arm around Sherlock’s neck in a friendly choke and whispered in his ear.
“Never.”
Then he placed some of the popcorn in Sherlock’s mouth and giggled when Sherlock reached for the bowl and emptied it over John’s head. After that it was open war with popcorn flying everywhere!
Movie nights at 221b Baker Street rarely ended like that, but it almost made it so much more fun.
Summary: Movie nights at 221b Baker Street always started the same way.
***
Movie nights at 221b Baker Street always started the same way.
John picked a film he didn’t want to see because he knew Sherlock would never accept his first suggestion (no matter what it was). Then Sherlock suggested a documentary in a minor European language – not always with subtitles. John had no idea why he did this; to his knowledge Sherlock only spoke English, French and some German. Watching a Finnish documentary about Linda Brava or a program about the situation between Bosniaks and Croatians in Mostar in Serbian wasn’t John’s idea of a fun Friday evening.
It probably wasn’t Sherlock’s idea of a fun night either, but when the outside world was free from mysteries and Molly had locked everything up at Bart’s, then telly was bearable.
This particular evening started with You Got Mail (John never even bothered with the first one anymore), Sherlock countered with something John couldn’t even pronounce, but according to IMDB it concerned the EMU from an Estonian point of view. John stated it was very Mycrofty of Sherlock to pick this as Friday entertainment, earning him the glare of death. That didn’t result in anything else than a second round of suggestions.
An action vs. Something about the riots in Paris 2005.
A based-on-a-true-story vs. “Why not just watch the true story then?”
A crime movie vs. “Don’t we have enough of stupid cops in our lives?”
A comedy vs. A two hours study of Baltic sea in Polish.
John wasn’t sure, but he thought that, to Sherlock, the arguing about what to watch was more entertaining than the actual watching and that was why John always got the last word. Sure, it rarely ended with something John would have picked to start with, but he almost always enjoyed the result.
Tonight it became Let the right one in, the Swedish one and not the American remake. It was one of the rare times they actually managed to compromise: a film John had been planning to watch for some time and they would need subtitles to get through it – which seemed to be Sherlock’s only request.
While Sherlock downloaded the film and made sure the subtitles were synced (“It’s okay, at one point I actually thought Mycroft was running The Pirate Bay. You wouldn’t believe what he has on his hard drive.”) John made popcorn in the recently disinfected microwave.
“All set?” John wondered as he placed himself on the left side of the sofa and the popcorn between them as Sherlock moved files around on the computer.
“You haven’t over-salted them again, have you?” Sherlock gave the popcorn a suspicious glare.
“No, I haven’t.”
“You said that last time too.”
“I haven’t salted them at all this time.”
“A bit extreme, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t want to be lectured about the danger of too much salt again.”
Sherlock smirked and John threw popcorn at him. Sherlock picked it from his hair and ate it without think about it as he started the film.
“The screen’s okay?” He wondered as he adjusted the sound on the laptop and turned it slightly towards John.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” John claimed, still he reached out and adjusted it some. Sherlock rolled his eyes.
The film was, if not creepy, so…well it had a mood. A very distinct setting; the snow and the darkness and the loneliness…. Okay, it was creepy! Not even 30 minutes in to it John pulled his feet up on the sofa; just because it was so not creepy. It was just intense to have to focus so hard since he didn’t understand a word they were saying.
“Don’t put your feet in my popcorn,” Sherlock asked.
“Technically, it’s my popcorn,” John reminded.
“Still.”
“For the love of….” John sighed and placed the popcorn on the table instead. Shortly afterward, Sherlock placed his feet on the sofa as well. Because small vampire girls were just absurd and unrealistic. Really.
Without them noticing it, their feet slid closer and closer until they finally touched. John reflected over it, but if Sherlock did the same it was impossible to say. Neither of them did anything about it, not until a sudden movement made John jump and as a reaction, Sherlock kicked him lightly.
“What are you doing?” John wanted to know.
“You know I’m ticklish.”
“It wasn’t on purpose….”
Sherlock did not respond but relocated his feet to the table (not next to the popcorn, but both of them had forgotten about those) and then placed John’s feet in his lap instead. If that wasn’t enough, afterwards he also reached out for the blanket he earlier had disposed of and placed it over his legs – and as a result – over John’s feet.
As the film progressed, Sherlock started to let two of his fingers slide up and down John’s shin. John wasn’t sure the detective was aware he was doing it.
“Now you’re the one tickling,” John informed him and Sherlock actually had to tear his eyes away from the screen to look down on what his hands were doing.
“Oh. Sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest instead, but was back at doing the exact same thing just moments later and John decided to tough it out. When that didn’t work he retrieved his feet from Sherlock’s lap and was soon leaning against the armrest, almost curled up like a ball again.
Sherlock rearranged the blanket and placed his own feet back on the sofa, but instead of mimicking John’s position he leaned into John and without thinking about it John moved an arm and placed it around Sherlock. Why they didn’t just start watching like this was beyond John, because they always ended up like this, often with one or both of them falling asleep before the end.
This time both of them seemed to manage to stay awake and John had to forcefully remove Sherlock’s fingers from his shins twice – none of them really seemed to understand why Sherlock unconsciously needed to move his fingers like this.
They waited out the credits before moving; Sherlock started by reaching out a hand to close the media player, followed by John rubbing his eyes and they both sat up again.
“Why do you insist on us watching things with subtitles?” John wondered with a whining undertone.
“Why do you insist on us watching anything at all?”
“Tss, don’t be like that!” John reached for the popcorn, “You know you like cuddling on the sofa. Admit it.”
“Only if you admit to liking what we watch.”
John leaned over and wrapped his arm around Sherlock’s neck in a friendly choke and whispered in his ear.
“Never.”
Then he placed some of the popcorn in Sherlock’s mouth and giggled when Sherlock reached for the bowl and emptied it over John’s head. After that it was open war with popcorn flying everywhere!
Movie nights at 221b Baker Street rarely ended like that, but it almost made it so much more fun.
no subject
This is terribly cute, and just plain fun. I like their snuggling on the sofa, and John's deciding to just put up with Sherlock petting him. That they end up having a popcorn fight is adorable. XD
no subject
I’m glad you found it cute :D I love portraying them like this, just snuggly and cosy and existing.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
What interested me (in a completely platonic way) was Sherlock stroking John's shins - that could be interpreted as 'stimming', which totally fits if Sherlock is towards the autistic part of the spectrum of human behaviour. It's the kind of thing that I do when I'm snuggled up on the sofa watching something, totally relaxed, so to me the fic became even more realistic :)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
What a lovely story!
no subject
no subject
I discovered this through your AO3-update. Now I'm curious if there are any other Sherlock stories on your LJ that you haven't transferred to AO3 yet...
*hugs*
no subject
no subject
By the way, I don't think I'll find your English lacking in any way. From my experience, the English skills of Scandinavians are usually outstanding because you benefit from watching all foreign movies with subtitles. However, if you'd like someone else to have a look at your stories language-wise, I'd always be willing to offer. :)
no subject
I'm lacking Swedish skills, so I'm pretty sure I'm lacking English skills even more, but I'm glad that I can fake it ;) As a group we Scandinavians are good at English, yes. I think it's only the Dutch who are better at ESL (at least in Europe), and all thanks to TV :D But when more people speak Klingon than your native language you kind of have to learn another one (and damnit, we make really crappy TV).
Thank you so much for the beta offering :) I will take you up on that sometime :)
no subject
Maybe more people would speak your lovely language if you'd just let them! :) It's terribly frustrating if you're in a foreign country trying to practice a foreign language when all the natives immediately switch to English as soon as they realise that you're not a native speaker yourself. Of course I understand that you don't want to listen to someone butcher your beautiful language by stuttering and getting the word order and the pronunciation wrong all them time - but how on earth are we ever supposed to master it, then? :)
Furthermore, I adore the Swedish cinema, so I really wish that the English-speaking world was as intimately acquainted with it as you are with British/American productions. In particular, I think that Swedish comedies often have depth and wit that the average Hollywood romcom lacks. And "Så som i himmelen" is one of my favourite films of all time!
no subject
More people would speak Swedish if there was an actual point in learning Swedish ;) It takes time and effort to learn a language and Swedish (spoken by about 10 million) isn't really worth the time when you instead can learn Spanish, French, German, Chinese or Arabic. I don't think people switch to English because they don't want their language butchered but it's rather a way to make the conversation as efficient as possible. In a lot of say retail or restaurant environments you don't really have the time to be a place for linguistic development because you need to get to the next customer or guest. In other environments, like healthcare or education it's crucial to make sure that you're not misunderstood.
I can get the frustration of not "being allowed" to practice in everyday situations, but I've lived in a country where no one spoke English (or Swedish, but that's a given) and just getting through the day-to-day life was exhausting in the beginning. I couldn't even ask for directions, and it wasn't even to think about asking for help once I finally found the place. And in the end it wasn't in the forced situations that I learned the language, it was at dinner tables with friends in calm environments. That's why I speak English with people in professional situations, to give the opportunity to make themselves understood in a language that they are more likely to know. If you would hang in there and keep going with the not-English, I assure you most people will go back trying to speak their native language with you :) And if it's a private situation "We don't have to speak English" works wonders :)
Så som i himmelen is actually filmed just a short drive from where I'm currently living :) Låt den rätte komma in is a pretty good Swedish film, but that's about as far as I'm willing to go ;) The Danes are pretty kick-ass when it comes to TV series, I've heard.
I've been doing some snooping (which I'm terrible at), but can't seem to figure out what part of the world you're from? Time zone math and the English-check offer has me thinking UK or Ireland, but I'm not going into guessing, because that will lead me wrong ;)