Food series

[le_russe_satan]

Title: Coffee & Whiskey.
Pairing: Holmes/Watson, pre-slash
Rating: PG
A/N: Some time ago I have written four short stories with the common theme of food. This is the continuation.

Coffea arabica.

"Good coffee should be black like the devil, hot like hell, and sweet like a kiss." Hungarian saying.

  Most mornings Watson is cheerful and wide awake, bestowing smiles upon me from above the top of his newspaper whenever I choose to join him. Yet, there are occasions when he stumbles out of bed puffy-eyed, grumpy and mildly confused, substituting normal speech with grumbling and monosyllabic responses. I always found these occasions amusing: sometimes he holds the paper upside down for a full minute before realising what's wrong with it; sometimes he surpasses myself in uncharitable treatment of our landlady and morning visitors; sometimes he stumbles into me when I get in the way and does not move away for a good few moments, his body trying to readjust itself to its spatial position. I will gladly admit to anyone, Watson included, that I find these mornings amusing. What I'll withhold is that I find these mornings somehow endearing and for want of a better word, adorable. They remind me that a human being (even the one I berate and live with) is the greatest mystery ever created. I am enamoured of mysteries. I am enamoured of Watson.
'Pass the coffee'.
'Not your cheerful self today, eh, Watson?'
 There seems to be a growl starting somewhere deep in Watson's throat: 'Pass the goddamn coffee, Holmes'. As I pass the coffepot, our fingers brushing gainst each other, as he pours the pungent liquid into his cup, I allow myself a smile, which thankfully no one ever sees.I know the smile particularly indicative of my fondness for the Doctor that no man must witness.
'Hell's bells, Holmes, either you quit that inane smiling or I am checking you for fresh needle marks'.

Whiskey.

“Champagne's funny stuff. I'm used to whiskey. Whiskey is a slap on the back, and champagne's a heavy mist before my eyes.”
Jimmy Stewart

   Mrs. Lewis offers us a drink. The choice is not big and we settle for whiskey. We drink in companiable silence, then our host's husband comes back and it is time to take our leave. I catch  a whiff of Holmes's breath as he leans in to whisper that Major Lewis has undoubtedly came from his mistress tonight. But I care not for this piece of deduction, preferring to indulge my own conjecturing.
  I know how various kinds of alcohol colour Holmes's breath. There's ale, which I do not like. When Holmes drank ale it usually meant an 'undercover or discreet enquiries, an area of Holmes's life I never would be a part of. I am afraid of this smell. There is the smell of champagne. The triumphant aroma that saddens me a little, though I rather like it: it was too rare a guest upon my friend's breath. And then there is whiskey: a companiable, amicable scent. It is the smell of whiskey we kept at their flat, its fumes permeating their friendship and bond. It was his favourite smell, the smell of their privacy together, and though it was the most frequent companion to Holmes's breath, nevertheless I could never get enough. If love could have a scent, to me it would smell like whiskey.

Comments

[indigo-bluegirl.livejournal.com]

Awww, an addition the adorable food series at last! :D Unfortunately it was months after you posted them that I stumbled across the first one quite accidentally, but still, they are just as beautiful as these latest two!

I absolutely love the calm, cheerful tone you describe them and their everyday life. :) Please-please, do go on writing about H/W!

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I did not expect anyone to remember them! Thank you for your kind words. I hope I'll oblige in the next few days by writing another story (I even have the theme in mind).

[indigo-bluegirl.livejournal.com]

WOW! :) I'm looking forward to it quite eagerly!

[zveryonush.livejournal.com]

yeah me too ))

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Christ, are you becoming a slasher? XD

[zveryonush.livejournal.com]

don't know ) does it look like it? ))

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, sweety. XD

[zveryonush.livejournal.com]

i will be at yours soon ))

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

How soon?

[zveryonush.livejournal.com]

very soon )

[indigo-bluegirl.livejournal.com]

"Good coffee should be black like the devil, hot like hell, and sweet like a kiss." Hungarian saying.

Umm, BTW, I never even heard it once in my life though I should have. Well, it can be put down to my own ignorance, LOL :) Are you sure of the origin? Anyway, whichever nation it originates from, it is quite true... :P

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Well, in all honesty I found it on a site dedicated to food, so I cannot be sure, but their it was stated to be a Hungarian saying. There is also apparently a 'remix' of it by a French write or something.

[indigo-bluegirl.livejournal.com]

I made a quick search in Hungarian, so there you are: :)

The one with Talleyrand's citations:
http://www.evene.fr/citations/auteur.php?ida=109

And the other one is from here:
http://elitkonyha.shp.hu/hpc/web.php?a=elitkonyha&o=eX7ojIqfd4

"Una buona tazza di caffé deve essere, nero, come il diavolo, caldo, come l'inferno, puro come un angolo e dolce come l'amore."

"Egy jó kávé fekete, mint az ördög, forró, mint a pokol, tiszta, mint egy angyal és édes, mint a szerelem."

And the rough translation is:
Good coffee is black like the devil, hot like hell, clear lik ean angel and sweet like love. :)

Or:

"Una buona tazza di caffé deve esere calda come il bacio di una ragazza al primo giorno, dolce come il suo amore al terzo giorno e nero come la maledizione della mamma quando lo viene a sapere."

A jó kávé forró, mint egy lány csókja az első napon, édes, mint a szerelme a harmadik napon, és fekete, mint az anyja átka, mikor tudomást szerez a dologról.
/régi keleti mondás/

They claim this one to be an ancient Eastern saying that goes like this:
Good coffee is hot like a girl's kiss on the first day, sweet like her love on the third, and black like her mother's curse when she becomes aware of the matter. ;)

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, I like the last one!

[daylyn.livejournal.com]

These are great (and a wonderful addition to the food series). Adorable, coffee-deprive Watson and whiskey love are just wonderful. They are both very vivid.

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you!

[zveryonush.livejournal.com]

so that si what you were doing last night! ))

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Yup.

[zveryonush.livejournal.com]

oh, i see now! )
i still can't believe though that Holmes was a junkie!

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Better believe it!

[elaby.livejournal.com]

I saw that you wrote more of these and I had to come read them!

I allow myself a smile, which thankfully no one ever sees.I know the smile particularly indicative of my fondness for the Doctor that no man must witness.
'Hell's bells, Holmes, either you quit that inane smiling or I am checking you for fresh needle marks'.

Bwahaha! I love the idea of Watson being grumpy sometimes. He seems so even-tempered, but you know it's just his own narration leaving out the grouchy bits.

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

And I am probably going to write a few more. *crosses fingers*. Actually, in Granada series there a few occasions where they portrayed Watson being hilariously grouchy after being sleep-deprived.

[elaby.livejournal.com]

I really hope you do! I love the ones you've written. And yeah! I remember some of those scenes! Hee XD

[sparkedbylore.livejournal.com]

Coffee: It is a happy thing when the cheerful in the morning types aren't. And yes, it takes time to 'assume the vertical'. A phrase I particularly like, and that earns me odd and sometimes baleful looks from friends and family.

Whiskey: Flavored breath as indicator of your relation to your relationship is a beautiful idea.

Thank you.

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'm never cheerful in the mornings especially before my first cup of coffee. I tend to growl at people XD. I can only be cheerful in the morning if I'm still drunk from the night before. O_o

Thanks for reading. :)

[sparkedbylore.livejournal.com]

I'd be more grumpy if the dogs didn't give me the big puppy dog eyes first thing. Can't be mean to them, but they don't eat till I've got the pot going on the stove.

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Heh, that is why I leave alone: so I can be grumpy right and left. XD