Work Text:
....Tick tock tick tock....
"RRRRIIIINNNNGGGG RRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG"
He slaps the alarm off the bedside table. Regret instantly taking hold when the infuriating sound doesn't stop as the alarm clock rolls across the room.
Keeping his eyes tightly shut head rested on the pillow, he reveals a small pistol from underneath his pillow; Firing blindly towards the source of the sound.
"What the bloody hell was that?!"
Loud footprints echo through the wooden flooring as a concerned Watson runs into the room in his pyjamas. Sweat dotted on his brow and hair in an unkempt mess, the man was likely in a deep sleep.
"....stupid thing...wouldn't shut up..."
He stares at his roommate laying lazily in bed. The large dark room felt almost unnerving to the doctor; Sherlock is well known for his unpredictable nature, yet the absolutely bizarre items he has found in his friends room has been uncanny.
"So instead of turning it off, you shot it???"
Having only received a grunt in reply, Watson sighs in defeat and exits the room; leaving the door ajar to annoy his lazy companion, who in return launches his pillow towards the open door.
Sherlock has never been a morning person. His peculiar career requires for him to frequently work far into the night. Yet the stubborn man always insists on waking up at 6am every day with the aid of a quite frankly infuriating alarm clock, a small smirk rising on his face, an alarm clock which is currently not in the picture thanks to his trigger happy roommate.
After putting on a pot of coffee, John flops into his armchair with little grace as exhaustion overwhelms the man.
Watson has attempted to find quieter alarm clocks for his companion. He really has.
But nothing seems to wake Sherlock unless its loud enough to wake the whole house with him. John has tried sleeping with earplugs before, but his military background prevents him from sleeping through such a sudden loud alarm.
Not long after the coffee has brewed, Sherlock makes an appearance from his room with the belt of his robe lazily dragging along the floor behind him as he walks like a headless zombie. The man sits into his armchair, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his sleepy head ontop.
Watson watches over as his companions eyes slowly fall shut. Its a rare sight to see the famed detective being so vulnerable. Sherlock is well known for his skittish, energetic nature. Its the only side the man allows others to see, excluding a small circle of Sherlocks closest allies.
Watson fondly recalls Greg Lestrades first time seeing Sherlock so quiet and mellow. During a particularly difficult case, the trio spent many long nights in the police station, taking 4 hour shifts to allow them to catch up on sleep.
When I say them, I really just mean Greg and John.
No amount of convincing and persuasion could convince Sherlock to rest for even a moment. For the first few nights they let it slide, knowing how difficult it is for the man to do anything before the case is complete.
But as night 4 creeps in, John and Greg have grown very concerned for their friend.
While Sherlock appears at a glance to be unaffected by the sleep deprivation, little could escape the doctors watchful eye.
While the lack of sarcastic yet witty comments hasn't been missed, Sherlocks unnatural silence has become more unnerving to the Lestrade and his team than even the gruesome case that lay before them.
"We have to do something about him. Even Anderson has been put on edge by Sherlocks zombie-like state"
John nods in agreeance, hating to see his friend suffer like this. It takes a while for the pair to come up with a plan to get Sherlock to take a break as they knew well that he won't go willingly.
John has always disliked lying. A man of such strong morals is hard to shake, but for Sherlock? Watson would give the world.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Later that day, Anderson appears from the doorway with an unmarked package in hand.
"This was found by the public near the crime scene"
He holds it out towards sherlock, the current lead of the case. Its a well known fact that the two dislike eachother so after a few awkward moments of sherlock ignoring Anderson, he passes it to John with an utter sigh. Watson giving a knowing look in return. With his laser-like focus, the famed detective doesn't even offer a glance in their direction.
John opens the package, and empties out its contents onto a tray; A short crumpled note and a shiny cd disc.
"Well this is unusual. Sherlock will you do the honors of assessing this?"
He gestures the disc to sherlock who promptly snatched it up to inspect under the lamp. Greg pulls out a cd player and headphones that were,,,, conveniently in the nearest desk drawer, offering them to the detective.
"If you make any progress, notify me immediately"
Sherlock says as he takes the cd player and headphones before walking over to the nearest seat; that being an old leather couch. Greg gives John a small smile before turning back to the casework that lay before them.
"The lead suspect Isabelle, has there been contact with....."
The voices of his friends fades out as Sherlock puts on the headphones subtly marked 'noise cancelling'. He plays the disc, his expression instantly dropping at the sight of the 2hr 50min timer slowly counting down as the audio plays.
John chuckles quietly to himself at his friends reaction before promptly returning to the case at hand, worried the detective will catch on to his plan.
Time tends to pass slowly in Scotlands yard with the dreary atmosphere and stacks upon stacks of paperwork, but it didn't take long for Sherlock to fall asleep to the sleep asmr audio Andersons team put together in the back room.
As they cleared out of the room to avoid waking the sleeping detective, John carefully places his coat over his sleeping friend before following them out the room, closing the door behind him.