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“Will you let me see now?” Watson asked.
Holmes raised an eyebrow at him from where he was curled up in his armchair. “See what?”
“The injury you are attempting to conceal,” Watson said.
They had just arrived home from an intense case and Watson knew Holmes had sustained some sort of injury during the case. Watson knew Holmes well enough to know when he was in pain and had noticed the increase in Holmes’ pain levels towards the end of the case. Holmes was also holding himself quite stiffly which pointed to an injury rather than his usual pains in his head.
“Excellent, Watson!” Holmes said with an amused smile. “How did you know?”
“I could tell you are in pain and you are holding yourself stiffly,” Watson said, pleased at his deduction.
“You are correct, Watson, but it is merely a trifle,” Holmes said.
“I would still like to see." Watson had seen Holmes call being shot ‘merely a trifle’ before.
“If you insist,” Holmes said. He sat up and removed his jacket which was concealing his wings.
Holmes always preferred to conceal them under his clothes and had custom jackets made for this purpose. Most people saw this as unusual, even questioning if Holmes had wings, but Watson had never minded as this made Holmes more comfortable. Holmes did not like to show any vulnerability and wings displayed emotions and were an easy target. Watson understood as he himself had injured his wing badly in war and it had never quite healed properly. He could not conceal his own wings though as they cramped up quite badly if he kept them folded up for too long.
Holmes winced as he unfolded a black wing. Watson stood and retrieved his medical bag before approaching Holmes. Holmes’ wing was slightly trembling, but it was clear Holmes was trying to hold it still. There was blood dripping through his feathers.
“What happened, old man?” Watson asked, gently.
“Our criminal’s knife found my wing,” Holmes said. He looked down at his jacket in his lap and frowned. “It was exceedingly rude of him to slice up my jacket.”
“I am sure Mrs. Hudson would be happy to help you mend it,” Watson said.
Watson carefully took hold of Holmes’ wing and moved aside bloody feathers until he found the injury. Holmes shuddered upon his wing being touched. Watson knew Holmes did not like having his wings being handled, but it was important for the injury to be treated as to avoid infection. Watson examined the injury and was glad to see it was not a serious one, but Holmes would still need stitches. Watson would also need to disinfect it and bandage it while it healed.
“When was the last time you groomed your wings?” Watson asked as he dug through his medical bag. There was already a small pile of feathers on the ground around them that had come loose as Watson had examined Holmes' wing.
Holmes shook out his other wing and more feathers came loose and drifted to the ground. His feathers looked dull and quite neglected. “I do not have time for wing grooming,” he said. “It is dreadfully commonplace.”
Watson administered a small dose of morphine before flushing the cut with carbolic acid. He muttered an apology at the soft cry of pain Holmes gave. “I can groom your wings for you,” Watson offered.
Next, Watson prepped a needle and drew together skin before beginning to stitch together the wound. Holmes' wing only required a few stitches before the wound was closed. Watson dampened a cloth with warm water and wiped away the blood from the surrounding feathers. Holmes grumbled something about being damp, but let Watson clean his wing. After he was done cleaning the blood, Watson wrapped the injury in bandages soaked with more carbolic acid. Holmes frowned at the bandage.
“Is it necessary to completely bind my wing to cover a papercut?” Holmes asked.
Watson could not help but chuckle. “Yes,” he said. He had used the least amount of bandages possible. “Can I groom your wings now?”
Holmes sighed. “If you insist,” he said.
Watson worked fast, removing as many loose feathers as he could and straightening out the worst of the feathers. Holmes needed a full grooming, but Watson knew Holmes could not tolerate it right now. Watson had already handled Holmes' wings to tend to the injury and Holmes was quite sensitive to his wings being touched. Watson would have to remember to groom Holmes’ wings properly on a different day.
After Watson finished, Holmes examined his wings and seemed satisfied by Watson’s work. He folded his wings back up, but did not put his jacket or a dressing gown on to cover them.
“It is your turn now,” Holmes said, indicating for Watson to go sit down.
“I am fine, old man,” Watson said. “You need to rest.”
“Nonsense, Watson,” Holmes said. “It is exceedingly obvious your wing is cramping up and you neglected your grooming today.”
Watson had to admit Holmes was quite correct and did not protest further. Despite Holmes often neglecting his own wings, he was an expert in wing care and liked to help Watson with his wings. Watson went to sit on the settee and Holmes immediately went to work massaging the cramping muscles. Watson regularly groomed his wings so they did not require much work, but they could be quite sensitive when cramping which made it a difficult process. Holmes always tried coaxing the muscles to relax before working on straightening Watson's feathers.
Today had been a difficult day, but they had successfully wrapped up the case and Watson was quite relieved Holmes had not sustained a more serious injury. He was also pleased Holmes had allowed Watson to tend to his wings and that Holmes was tending to his in return. Watson quite enjoyed Holmes tending to him and it was an ideal way to decompress after a case. And now that Watson knew Holmes was okay, he could finally relax as Holmes groomed his wings.