This is crack. Pure and simple. But I hope you enjoy it anyway and that it might cheer you up if you need cheering up. Dedicated to victims of earworms and those who like to sing and dance without abandon either alone or with friends everywhere

I don't own Sherlock or any of the songs mentioned.

Mr. Brightside

People underestimate the power of the earworm. And of music in general. But the earworm is something else. It wiggles its way stealthily into the person's brain and once there sits absurdly proud of itself, like some monstrous dragon on its hoard, as the owner of said brain curses as they find themselves the unwilling victim of some litany going around and around their head like stars around a stunned cartoon character. And once you think you've vanquished the dragon, the earwyrm if you will, it is only a matter of time before it is reborn in another form to taunt you again.

Sherlock was familiar with the phenomenon of earworms. In fact they often helped him compose. A fragment, even just a few bars of what was heard in passing might hide, almost unnoticed, in his mind, dormant for days until he cared to draw upon it during his flashes of musical inspiration. As he didn't listen to pop music, he escaped most of the annoyance experienced by the general populace. He had a very effective filter after all.

Which was why, when John came home quietly singing a popular song under his breath, he was too absorbed in examining a bacterial colony to notice that his foot was tapping subtly along. The dragon, incognito, flew silently from John's lips and settled, unnoticed, in Sherlock's unconscious memory. Waiting.

Waiting for John to open YouTube on his laptop to play some music as he got himself breakfast some mornings later.

oOo

Sherlock slouched yawning into the kitchen, hair in disarray and dressing gown hanging off one shoulder, and froze. The dragon in his head stirred, sensing that its time had come. "I think I know this song."

John, so surprised that Sherlock "the solar system is irrelevant" Holmes recognised a non-classical piece of music, missed the carton of milk entirely and instead mimed pouring imaginary milk into his tea. "You like The Killers? The band." He emphasised when Sherlock gave him a blank look in response. Sherlock hummed his approval of the band's name and started hunting for a clean mug, half aware that John was singing along to himself. The dragon in his head shook itself and took flight, and before he knew it he was singing too, because this dragon had done its job well and had ensured that every lyric was saved along with the tune.

John looked over incredulously and by chance Sherlock glanced up too, and as so often happens when two friends start singing the same song without prior planning, they grinned at each other and a switch was flicked that guaranteed hilarity and ridiculousness would immediately follow. John raced to the laptop, went back to the beginning, turned up the volume and started to preform truly appalling air guitar motions in sync to the intro. Sherlock was thrown for a split second but launched into the first verse with gusto at the dragon's prodding.

Greg, coming up the stairs to collect some evidence that Sherlock had been looking at, at first was confused by the muffled music drifting through 221B's door, and even when the source was revealed was no less confused. On opening the door warily, he was greeted by the sight of the two men, no, teenagers, standing on their respective armchairs, John playing an invisible guitar enthusiastically and Sherlock using a pen as a microphone while they both belted out the chorus of "Mr. Brightside" as the aforementioned song blared from John's laptop.

Pausing only to film a few seconds of video and to take a picture for good measure (and possible leverage), Greg slipped the phone back into his pocket and carefully shut the door with a grin spreading across his face. The evidence could wait a little longer, but apparently Sherlock and John's youthful throwback could not.

Coincidently, The Undertone's hit "Teenage Kicks" was up next on John's playlist.

I'm not sorry, even for the OOC-ness, because everyone needs some ridiculous friendship oneshots on occasion. If you haven't heard these songs before, away to YouTube with you.

Please take this image with you and try not to laugh if you remember it in formal situations because you might have some difficulty in explaining yourself. You're welcome.