Holmes fic

[le_russe_satan]

 Well, here's another product of my "fiery" imagination. 

Title: Mint
Rating: PG
Pairing: Holmes/Watson, pre-slash

Mint.

 

"As for the garden of mint, the very smell of it alone recovers and refreshes our spirits, as the taste stirs up our appetite…”[1]
                                                                                                                Pliny

 

Mentha spirata.

 

-         I say Holmes, there is no need to look at it as if you have been offered some sort of refuse.

 Holmes grunts and continues to eye the cup in front of him so suspiciously, as if he was Lestrade questioning a suspect whose story was full of holes.

-         Come Holmes, it’s essentially just tea with mint.

 

 Watson is having too much fun on my account. I steel myself and make a cautious sip. The taste is strange: certainly not the kind of tea I am used to. It is definitely too sweet for my liking, but I find myself strangely enjoying the mint aftertaste. Watson leans over to take a piece of Turkish delight:

-         See, it was not so bad after all, was it?

He chuckles, his breath ghosting across my neck, and I ma not sure whether it is the echo of having been in the Turkish baths or the aroma of Watson’s breath tinged with mint that makes my blood heat up uncontrollably.

 

Mentha pulegium, Mentha suaveolens.

 

-         Watson, she was poisoned by pennyroyal essential oil.

-         Yes, Holmes, despite the fact that I am nowhere as good with deduction as you are, being a doctor, thankfully, has equipped me with knowledge pertaining to the subject of pulegone[2] poisoning. However, I must point out to you that it might have been accidental: we do not know whether her pregnancy was desirable.

 Holmes does not even snort derisively, instead he starts pouting: an action I am sure he will deny ever having engaged in, was he told of it. It is the first time since the day we met that he neither had to explain an aspect of a case to me, nor had substantial enough proof and reasoning to argue against my reasoning. I felt almost smug about the whole situation.

 Dropping himself onto the settee with less than his usual grace, Holmes exclaimed:

-         I hate this case! I curse the day they discovered both the medicinal and poisonous quantities of this damned pennyroyal mint!

It is really hard for me not to laugh: the look on Holmes’s face is that of a really prodigious child that has for once made a mistake. Yet, I keep my composure, hiding myself behind a newspaper.

 Mrs. Hudson chooses this moment to come in with our dinner. The smell wafting in is rather good.

-         What have you made for us tonight, Mrs. Hudson? I must say, it smells delicious!

-         Oh, I just decided to give old recipe a little twist, Doctor: it is lamb with apple mint jelly.

Holmes practically catapults from his seat and stomps away into his bedroom, leaving Mrs. Hudson bewildered and me laughing.

 

Mentha piperita.  

 

 Our cabdriver is executing his job with enthusiasm. We are nearing Baker Street with alarming speed. Watson is silent, except for the occasional rustle of the paper bag that holds his freshly purchased sweets.

 The cab does a sharp turn to the right and Watson flies into me, his body pressed along mine for a few moments, pleasant heat seeping through my coat.

-         Watson?

-         Yes, Holmes?

 He still has not moved away completely, when I call his name. He looks up at me, head tilted just so, and his mouth is alarmingly close to mine. I have to swallow down a lump that has suddenly appeared in my throat, before I manage to say:

-         Could I have one of your peppermints?

Watson smiles and hands me the bag. I suck on the sweet knowing that it is not mint that I want to taste, but Watson.

 

---

[1] The actual quote ends with “appetite for meat”, but I decided to cut out the last bit for obvious reasons. ^^

[2] I am not exactly sure if this is correct, but that’s the toxic element in the oil.

 

Comments

[jean-paul-red.livejournal.com]

Wow! It's very very good - and characters and a mint everywhere:). I hate mint, but I want more stories:)

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Will endeavour to oblige. ^^

[daylyn.livejournal.com]

Oh how wonderful -- and minty! I loved the recurring mint theme and they were all great little snippets of life. Very sweet (and a little poignant, especially the last one, but just wonderful).

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The recurring mint theme just stems out of the fact that I could not right a long enough story involving just peppermint (the last one), so I came up with the idea of using three different kinds of mint.

[elaby.livejournal.com]

This series is so enjoyable! I love that Holmes asks for a peppermint - such a seeming non sequitur, when we know what he really wants.

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! I'm glad you like it! Hehehe, I think I called myself a genius to my best friend after writing that particular line. XD XD XD

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Well, it was fantastic! :)

[le-russe-satan.livejournal.com]

*bows* Thank you, thank you.