Work Text:
As Holmes sat to breakfast, he rubbed his leg thoughtfully. His rheumatism had been troubling him of late, and the bees needed keeping, regardless of the state of his joints and limbs. I had at least been able to reduce his labor by assisting him in looking after Silver Blaze, but the bees preferred my friend by far.
Despite that it pained him to step outside in the chill to tend them, Holmes also was greatly cheered by his beloved bees. I spooned some of the honey he had collected in the last season onto some buttered toast, and handed Holmes a slice before digging into my own. He managed to finish only half of it, scowling, and insisted I finish the rest. I was used to this, but I was no longer hungry.
“Here, Holmes. I’ll put it under a plate for after the duties of husbandry.”
Holmes sighed disagreeably. “It’ll be stale by the time we return from the stable, Watson.”
I shrugged.
“Hum. I suppose you’ll finish it, then.”
“Mm.” It wasn’t an answer, exactly, but I didn’t want to worry about toast now, when I was already thinking of the chores that awaited us. “Bees now?”
“Bees now,” Holmes agreed.
I offered Holmes my arm, unsteady as it was, and retrieved each of our canes from the coat stand as we passed it on the way to the door. They steadied us as we moved slowly towards the hives. When we arrived, I kept my distance, but Holmes had already sat on the grass and offered his arms to the little creatures. They buzzed about curiously, and Holmes pet what seemed to be hundreds of them as they whirred about him and landed for short bursts.
“Hello, friends,” he told them, voice weak but delighted.
I wondered if, in their way, they were telling him the same.
After a quarter of an hour, Holmes lowered his arms to his side, exhausted. I would finish up with Silver Blaze on my own, this morning, so that my companion might rest. Perhaps tomorrow he would accompany me to the neighbors’ stable to see Silver Blaze.
For now, it was enough to observe my dearest friend sitting with his bees, enjoying their company as a balm to his pain, and to know I would assist him back to a comfortable seat in our cottage before leaving for the stable.