"Your face's muscles show your feeling. Obviously."/"Who are you now, Sherlock? An expert of micro expression?"/A bit inspired by Lie to Me.

Disclaimer for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss (TV Series SHERLOCK by BBC ONE)

Character: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson

~oOo~

Micro Expressions

by Little Hatake

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Sherlock comes out slowly from his room by bringing a silver-orange stripped firefighter uniform on his right hand and a security uniform on his other hand. He glances at them a couple of time, lifts up the firefighter uniform, looks at it a bit longer but immediately shakes his head. Then he stares at the security uniform, shuts his eyes—entering his mind palace—, opens them and shakes his head again. He sighs and walks to John who is arranging lots of photographs and files chronologically for a criminal case in the living room. "John, which one do you think is the best costume for undercover?" He thrusts the clothes right in front of John's nose.

Spontaneously, John sways his hand to make Sherlock put away the uniforms. "Sherlock! I can't concentrate on these files if you always bother me!"

"Since when you can use your brain properly anyway?"

John just responses Sherlock's annoying question with a snort and back to his work again.

Doesn't get the answers from John—well, he doesn't need one for his last question actually—, Sherlock groans, "John..."

"What, Sherlock?!" John asks impatiently.

"Which one?" Sherlock once again is showing the clothes, in a proper distance this time.

John moves his sight from the scattered pictures at the table to his flatmate, frowning with a confused look. "What are those uniforms for? Don't say if you want to have a sudden role play. We have a case to solve, Sherlock!"

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "It's for undercover."

"Oh, I see... What? Undercover?" John looks more puzzled.

"I don't need to repeat my words again, do I?"

"I just want to make sure so I don't get the wrong idea. What did you say, undercover? Undercover for what?"

"No, you don't, John." Sherlock sits on the table, ignoring that he has ruined John's work. "I just got a plan to provoke the criminal to get out from his hiding place. We have to be in undercover!"

John stares at the consulting detective with a particular look.

"Covering one eye, eyebrows joining, squinting, pursed lips, nose crinkle, snorting slightly; I know you disagree with this plan." Sherlock shrugs.

"How do you—"

"Your face's muscles show your feeling. Obviously." Sherlock says it as if he can read an opened book.

Now, John is crossing his hands in front of his chest. "Who are you now, Sherlock? An expert of micro expression?"

"Not just now. I always am, more precisely." Sherlock puts down the clothes on the sofa beside John. "By the way, you always make that look when I speak up for a plan."

"So, you always know that but you ignore it and keep on going for the plan no matter I disagree or not." John pinched his nose bridge frustratedly, feeling a bit tired of his stubborn best friend.

"You disagree indeed, but at last you always do our plans even though you usually complain at first," Sherlock smirks.

"Hell yeah. Now, I'm not even able to keep privacy of my own feeling from you."

"Learn to be a better manipulator then."

John releases a heavy sigh. "See, you prefer use the terminology of 'manipulator' than 'actor'."

"What's the difference?"

"What's the similarity?"

"Listen, John. An actor uses all of his body language and expressions to drive the audiences to the director's wish. They feel angry, sad, sympathy or happy because they get manipulated by the acting of the actor. If their favorite actor is hurt, they will feel sad. If get happiness, they will feel happy too. So, what's the difference between 'act' and 'manipulate'?"

John can just blinks his eyes listening to Sherlock's without-break-rapidly explanation. "Well, I think manipulator is..." he paused, "...more referring to... negative term when we hear it. You know, the feeling when you hear the word."

"Ah, feeling..." Sherlock murmurs unconcernedly.

"After all, manipulator is a bad person!"

"Disregard the sentimental effect, explain the difference."

"That's..." John thinks for a while, but he can't figure it out, or he doesn't want to make this conversation to an endless debate. "I don't know," he leans his back against the sofa, sucking his lips, shaking his head, raising both arms thrown up into the air.

Sherlock grins. "You really mean it. Your gestures say it all."

John sighs. "Finish this micro expression and body language analysis, Sherlock. And stop using me as your experiment object! What's the plan?"

"Oh, are you ready to pump up your adrenaline through your veins? Wait, don't answer it... Your pupils are widening, you're smiling a bit but cheeks are raised and lower lids show wrinkles. Those show a true enjoyment!"

Sherlock is right! Even if Sherlock's plan is sometimes crazy, but there's no reason for John to refuse his urge to see the battlefield again. Surpassing his own limit and breaking a new record for running speed, stamina or holding his breath, that's the real life! John can't help to laugh. "Damn you! You always know my weakness every time I hear 'adrenaline' or 'dangerous'!"

And Sherlock is smiling widely, "That's why you're my blogger, John!"

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FIN

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~oOo~

rgrds, LH

I watched Lie to Me and suddenly this idea popped up in my mind! I think Sherlock was as good as Carl Lightman to read every micro expressions, he is the only one consulting detective after all :) I couldn't make it to a deep story, my skill is not good enough to write that kind of story, so here we are: slice of life from Sherlock and John (again) :))

Thanks a lot for my course teacher for beta-reading it :)

As usual, review and fave are welcome XD