{"id":242580,"date":"2013-11-26T14:08:47","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T14:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/11\/26\/i-o-u-a-fall-navydream-i-didnt-get-to\/"},"modified":"2018-10-01T05:05:49","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T05:05:49","slug":"i-o-u-a-fall-navydream-i-didnt-get-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/11\/26\/i-o-u-a-fall-navydream-i-didnt-get-to\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-242580 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/11\/26\/i-o-u-a-fall-navydream-i-didnt-get-to\/attachment\/242581\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tumblr_mh48t2Chzw1qenq72o1_500-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tumblr_mh48t2Chzw1qenq72o1_500-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tumblr_mh48t2Chzw1qenq72o1_500-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/i-o-u-a-fall.tumblr.com\/post\/58540920149\/navydream-i-didnt-get-to-participate-on-this\" target=\"_blank\">i-o-u-a-fall<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/navydream.tumblr.com\/post\/41343742780\/i-didnt-get-to-participate-on-this-johnlock\" target=\"_blank\">navydream<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I didn\u2019t get to participate on this Johnlock Challenge cause I never saw the sign up posts\u2026 \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n<p>So I made myself a prompt! ahaha\u2026ha\u2026ha\u2026 <em>I am such a sad person\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bookstore AU!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He finds it odd, really, that such a tall person would need assistance from him, of all people, in reaching a book. But, it\u2019s John\u2019s job to retrieve literature from the high shelves no matter how short he himself is, and so he grabs his ladder, asks for the title again (and ignores the huff from the black-coated man), and climbs his way up, and across, and back down again.<\/p>\n<p>The man wants a book on moss first. When John asks upon scanning his item, the raven-haired man before him, typing on his mobile like his life depends on it, merely says \u201cExperiment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(When he asks later, Sherlock says he was pouring various agents onto moss samples to track a killer. When John doesn\u2019t believe him, Sherlock pulls out the case files and shows him. John is impressed. Sherlock is pleased.)<\/p>\n<p>Next comes a request for three different books on fruit genetics, specifically those of apples. Then came fruit flies, and then fruit diseases, and then a book with pictures of decomposing human bodies, and then a history of apple trees in England. He never finds out what that one was about, and frankly he doesn\u2019t want to know.<\/p>\n<p>The man first visited on a March morning. He returns late that same month, seeking John\u2019s assistance with the fruit-and-rotting-flesh-centric escapade. He frequents the bookstore once every two weeks, and then every week, and then every day, always seeking John, always waiting for him if he\u2019s not there yet or leaving promptly when he isn\u2019t (after furiously skimming a pottery tutorial).\u00a0And when John comes in, he is there, waiting, rudely requesting book orders at the sales clerk. His visits grow longer in duration every time he steps foot in the door, and John gets a vaguely uncomfortable feeling that the man is obsessed with him &#8211; and quite possibly a serial killer.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You\u2019re not going to follow me home and chop me up into bits, are you?&rdquo; John asks in May as he hands the waiting man a copy of reports on the London Blitz.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; the man responds, taking the book with the first uttered \u2018thank you\u2019 John has heard, &ldquo;I would poison you. Much cleaner.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The remark catches John so off-guard that he falls off his ladder and sprains his wrist. The man comes back in the next day holding a bag out in offering. After being told his assistance isn\u2019t necessary, John grabs it and pushes him out of the store, not wanting to amuse him that day, thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>He finds a wrist brace &#8211; an actual one, not like the pitiful ace wrap job he\u2019s done himself &#8211; and a request for a book on honey bees. When his loyal customer comes back in, John hands him the book with an awkward, \u201cEhm, for the brace. Thank you, Mr\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Holmes,&rdquo; he says, and he smiles faintly as his gloved fingers linger on John\u2019s. &ldquo;Sherlock Holmes.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>John begins to look forward to seeing Sherlock every day at two in the afternoon until roughly five pm. Sometimes he\u2019s in earlier; sometimes he leaves immediately and in a rush. Regardless, they seek one another out, seeming to wait to see each other, and every day Sherlock has a new request, and every day John treks up the ladder and retrieves it with a smile. He checks Sherlock out (at the register, of course. He doesn\u2019t check <em>him<\/em> out. Much.) and carries on with his tasks with the man tailing him, complaining about incompetent Yarders and boring corpses and how his beaker exploded. <\/p>\n<p>John never has much to say to all that brilliance and excitement, nor much to offer about himself, but he doesn\u2019t have to, he finds out \u00a0one day as Sherlock tears into him like he\u2019s an open book. It leaves John speechless, and Sherlock looks almost afraid of rejection, until John blurts out one word that costs him a stern look from his manager and a bright-eyed response from Sherlock: \u201c<em>Amazing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Sherlock comes in one hot August day and barks at John like he did in the beginning, John considers asking if something is wrong. He hasn\u2019t been this rude in months. But Sherlock needs his book on the psychology of love immediately, so John gets to the task. He fails to find the title Sherlock seeks, so he turns, apologises, and offers a substitute. Sherlock huffs out a yes and gestures for John to hurry down.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But it\u2019s not a forward descent lad-&rdquo; John begins to protest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Quickly<\/em>,\u201d Sherlock snaps.<\/p>\n<p>John sighs, defeated, and begins his careful crawl down. Not careful enough, however; he loses his footing and begins to slip. His hand tries to reach for a step, but the book slips from his grip. He focuses on that instead &#8211; on Sherlock, stupid, selfish Sherlock\u2019s book &#8211; and grabs it mid-fall.<\/p>\n<p>But instead of landing with bruises and a cracked head, he, too, is grabbed, and held, and <em>kissed<\/em>. Sherlock\u2019s hands hold him securely and his sudden lips are warm and soft. John feels his face beginning to turn several shades of red. He stares at the man\u2019s thick brows as he pulls away, and John\u2019s lips are parted in an awkward, stunned gape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201d\u2019<em>The Chemistry of Attraction<\/em>\u2019,\u201d Sherlock recites the title of the book John has pulled. He turns to look at the salesman and smiles. \u201cAn excellent choice, John.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sherlock asks him out to dinner that night by reprehending John for never eating at Angelo\u2019s, a \u201ctravesty which must be corrected at once.&ldquo; Their first date, while awkward and full of giggling (mostly at Sherlock\u2019s expense; he doesn\u2019t even know how to play footsie, for crying out loud, and John\u2019s toes hurt for three days after being crushed in the attempt), leads to a second, and then to a third, and then, and then, and then.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s late October and John is preparing the store for the next morning. He\u2019s in late, very late, and wants nothing more than to go home. As fascinating as decorating the windows with falling leaves on string is, he\u2019s having trouble reaching the top of the frame.<\/p>\n<p>Gloved hands suddenly settle on his, taking the red leaf from him, and a warm, coat-covered body presses to his back as the taller man hangs the decor for him. The arms fall from their reach, and the leaf dangles before them both in a perfect cascade. John is embraced gently from behind and a nose nuzzles into the nape of his neck with calculated fondness.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Move in with me,&rdquo; Sherlock mumbles, &ldquo;and hold a copy of <em>An Intellectual History of Cannibalism<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>John leans back into Sherlock\u2019s chest, closes his eyes, and smiles.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>i-o-u-a-fall: navydream: I didn\u2019t get to participate on this Johnlock Challenge cause I never saw the sign up posts\u2026 \ud83d\ude41 So I made myself a prompt! ahaha\u2026ha\u2026ha\u2026 I am such a sad person\u2026 Bookstore AU! He finds it odd, really, that such a tall person would need assistance from him, of all people, in reaching &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/11\/26\/i-o-u-a-fall-navydream-i-didnt-get-to\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1534,741,2528,55,129,15,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242580"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242582,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242580\/revisions\/242582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}