Sunnydale AU: An Illicit Visit (no, not that kind)

[americas_son]

There is some definite disapproval going on in the Chandler compound over Cal's refusing to go along with the implicit decision that the Starks (especially Sherlock) are not the best company for him. It's not the first time he's pushed such a ruling - far from it - but this is something of a special case. Whether it's the shooting or the fact that Sherlock and his identity issues are generally glossed over in proper society with "He just couldn't handle his parents' death, the poor thing, at least his brother is made of sterner stuff" that causes greater concern . . .

Well. Cal has the feeling his knows the answer to that.

His own accidental death could at least be used to the Chandlers' advantage, after all.

The obvious response to all of this is, of course, to invite Sherlock over to visit.

"We'll have to sneak if we don't want to spend twenty minutes listening to Mother, though."

Comments

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Anyone who's not trying to be Sherlock Holmes?

"Okay," Cal says. "Well, it was nice to meet you, but I gotta get back."

He has important things to do. Yes.

[noshitgreg.livejournal.com]

Nonsense. Everyone wants to be Sherlock Holmes.

"Of course."

He smiles his flicker of a smile.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"See ya."

Or not.

Cal grabs the DVD (and the binder, because Sherlock might get a kick out of looking at it) and heads back home.

[if_inconvenient]

Where Sherlock's first words are: "Only in the bar for a few minutes, I see."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Did time pass?"

He didn't expect Sherlock to think he was bringing a DVD and a notebook out from his bathroom, but he can't think of any other way he might know how long he'd been gone.

He glances back behind him as the door swings shut, wondering if Milliways is visible to other people when you come back from it.

[if_inconvenient]

"No, or I wouldn't have bothered to mention the conclusion."



And then the front of the DVD case becomes visible.

His attention is instantly caught.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal sees his gaze switch, grins, and tosses the DVD to him.

"Guess who I just met."

[if_inconvenient]

"Sherlock Holmes."

He is fascinated but oddly calm. 'Thrilled' certainly isn't the word.

"A version who looks like me, but is not me." He flips the case over and scans the back. "They always bloody forget I was a boxer," he mutters to himself as he reads the plot summary. At a more conversational volume, he adds, "I fear your cherished plans for relaxation have gone out the window. We're watching this."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Well, yeah." It's not like Cal was planning to show him the DVD and then not watch it. That would just be mean.

Plus he kind of wants to see it now, too.

"There's more." His annoyance with the other Sherlock is evaporating rapidly in the face of being the one who gets to know something first for a change.

Seriously, there's no way Sherlock could somehow deduce this. He just couldn't.

[if_inconvenient]

"Oh?"

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal nods.

"He knows Tony Stark," he says. "There was a time travel thing. They look alike, but they're not brothers."

Un-deduce-able, because even in Milliways, what are the odds?

[if_inconvenient]

"That is remarkable."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Seriously, Cal loves knowing stuff. He looks quite cheerful now.

"I thought he was you from the future at first," he says. "It was really weird."

[if_inconvenient]

"I can imagine."

But he doesn't offer any guesses as to how the conversation went.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"But they don't have vampires."

Obvious conclusions were obvious.

[if_inconvenient]

"A sound basis for inference."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"It helped rule things out."

Funny, he feels like his mun just made that joke he just said that.

[if_inconvenient]

"As I said."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal rolls his eyes.

"He knows about the books and stuff, too." So if the Sherlocks happened to meet in-bar, there wouldn't be any need for weirdness around that. In case Sherlock was worried about that. "He heard me ask the Bar for this." He hands the binder over.

[if_inconvenient]

"Oh, dear. A list of Sherlock Holmes movies?" He glances at it as he accepts it, estimating the number of pages. "No doubt this is the abridged version, at that."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"If I'd known there were that many, I might've been more specific."

How, he's not sure.

[if_inconvenient]

"Next time, you'll know. She has access to an arbitrarily large number of universes, after all. She could probably produce a list this long of anything you care to name."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal makes a face, because that seems like something he should have thought of before he'd asked.

"You want me to put that in or what?" he asks, pointing at the DVD.

[if_inconvenient]

"By all means."

He hands it over.

"Don't feel bad. Thinking of things before other people do is the entire purpose of my existence. Any sufficiently well-supported fact is obvious after you already know it."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Well."

Cal is still getting used to this thing Sherlock does where he doesn't ridicule Cal for not knowing something. Usually it's the opposite that happens to him.

He turns away to the TV stand to put the DVD in, saying,

"Make yourself comfortable, there's plenty of room." It's a big bed, and there are no chairs. The guests Cal brings up here are not usually here to watch movies.