The Structural Composition of Folly - 2 - Sherlock's Ten, or How the Minions Broke the Internet

[jessamygriffith]

Title: The Structural Composition of Folly
Rating: Mature
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Pairing(s): John/Sherlock
Word Count: 11,000 for the entire fic
Disclaimer: Interpretation of characters is my own. Standard disclaimers apply. Emails redacted from actual ones sent by Misha Collins. Based upon a real event.
Category: Humour, Fluff, Rom/Com ending
Betas: red_adam for Brit pick, and alltoseek for wrangling and style
Also Found Here: AO3
Summary: John convinces Sherlock to join the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, the brainchild of Misha 'Castiel' Collins.
Can Sherlock's superior mental power rise to the insane challenges of the Hunt? How many rules can one consulting detective break? Is he in it to win it? And will John ever be the same after it's over?


Part 1   /  Part 3   /   Part 4   /   Part 5   /   Part 6   /    Part 7   /   Part 8   /   Epilogue

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Chapter Two - Sherlock's Ten, or How the Minions Broke the Internet

Friday, November 18th 2011
From: Misha Collins <mishacollins@gishwhes.com>
Date: November 18th,
To:  sherlockholmes@scienceofdeduction.co.uk
Subject: Where is my Team email?
Reply-To:  mishacollins@gishwhes.com

Email: GISHWHESHEANS,

Unfortunately, many of you thought it would be hilarious when you were registering to enter "imaginary" friends into the requested team-mate field including "Misha Collins", "the Queen of England" and "Sherlock Holmes"...

-Misha Collins

~oOo~

Sherlock scowled at his laptop. "Ridiculous."

John looked up from his paper. "Mm?" It had been relatively quiet since Sherlock had signed up for the scavenger hunt and he'd made good on his threat to fill the intervening hours with activity other than violin playing. The memory made John flush and shift slightly. Oh yes.

"We were to have our teams assigned. But some people signed up fictional characters! How idiotic can people be?"

"Rhetorical question, but I'll answer anyway. Very, but then some people have a sense of humour." John grinned at the glower Sherlock flung at him. He got up and looked over Sherlock's shoulder. "So what's the problem? No team mates consisting of, let's see... How about Guy Fawkes, that would have been fun."

"The database failed. They have to do it 'by hand'." Sherlock sniffed extravagantly. "Really, I don't know if I am more annoyed by humanity's poor sense of humour, or the fact that the GISHWHES system wasn't able to weed out to false registrants."

John shook with silent laughter. He snaked an arm around Sherlock's tense torso and squeezed. When that failed to engender a response, he ruffled back the curly fringe and pressed a kiss to the pale brow. "Not everyone has your brilliant knack with computers, love. You could whip a program up in an afternoon, right? How to exclude Abraham Lincoln and the Queen and their emails from the database? Send it to the poor sods, they obviously need you."

A smile reluctantly turned up the corners of Sherlock's mouth, and he relaxed slightly, leaning his head back against John's stomach. "Well. I could. But again, my vast knowledge of humanity informs me that there are actual people with names that seem quite... fictional. There could very well be a real Abe Lincoln. Not worth my time."

"So, in the meantime?" John queried hopefully. He wasn't at the clinic today and some afternoon's delight seemed... delightful.

"Misha tells us to prepare. By collecting... beer cozies? A comptometer. Kale! And finding a Nobel Prize winner. Well. At least the bar is being set high. Sir Robert G. Edwards is still at Cambridge..."

John sighed, but so long as Sherlock was entertained, he'd live. "Well. Best get on with it, my brave hunter." He looked down as Sherlock butted his stomach with his head. The detective's eyes were half-lidded, looking up through a fringe of lashes. "Oh ho. You like that. My hunter."

A lazy smile flickered across Sherlock's lips, and he reached up to grasp John's collar, tugging him down. "Well spotted. There's something I think I can scavenge - starting now."

"I hope I'm worth a goodly number of points," murmured John as he pressed his lips against Sherlock's.

"For such a unique item?" Sherlock nipped at the underside of his jaw. "Infinitesimal."

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Notes - All emails are direct quotes or redacted from the actual emails sent to the over 6000 GISHWHES participants, written by Misha Collins. Also - I wish I could write like that! Good work, Misha.

Part 1   /  Part 3   /   Part 4   /   Part 5   /   Part 6   /    Part 7   /   Part 8   /   Epilogue