Thirty-Six Questions to Fall in Love

Surprise at the Planetarium

There's a large advantage to being owed favours. Sherlock, for instance, was able to get his hands on some tickets.

There was an opening tonight of Vista Peak Planetarium. Hundreds of locals had booked their seats way in advance. It was a package deal, dinner and a show for only forty pounds. A four-star restaurant was located just across from the planetarium where guests were gathering just before the hour-long show of stargazing. Sherlock knew the best seats, excited to get ahold of them since he hadn't been to a planetarium before. When he was younger, though, he enjoyed dabbling in the study of astronomy. John had never even owned a telescope before, so it was fair to say that they had been looking forward to this event for a while. It was one of the largest planetariums in the world.

After a satisfying dinner, John and Sherlock walked side-by-side to the planetarium. They'd had a nice meal complete with a fresh garden salad dressed in olive oil, a steaming hot bowl of lobster bisque, and a thick slice of meaty lasagna for each person, so they were both walking a little slower than normal. Sherlock still had to slow his stride to let John keep up with him, but he didn't mind. The chill autumn breeze was even colder now in the nighttime, softly nipping at their noses and ruffling their hair. Sherlock even had to borrow John's jacket on the walk over.

"Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life," John told Sherlock as he read the screen on his phone.

"I don't have one," he informed John.

"What?" John looked up from his phone screen to gape at Sherlock. "How could you not have an embarrassing moment? In your entire life, you've never gone red in the face from... a silly mistake?"

"No. Embarrassment is a waste of energy. I prefer to think rationally rather than emotionally, John." Sherlock looked over at him. "And why should I feel embarrassed over a silly mistake? I don't make silly mistakes."

"Alright, then... I would have to say my most embarrassing moment was in tenth grade. I can practically feel my cheeks heating up when I think about it. I was in the school's play, I played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. We were supposed to kiss on stage in front of the whole school and parents." John looked off into the distance as he told this story, as if he was separating his past self from who he is now. "I was okay with it. I knew my mom had to work and my dad had been away for a while on business. They wouldn't see it and I didn't really care about the rest of the school. But then, right as I spoke my first lines, I saw my mother and father staring out at me in the audience. I threw up everywhere. There wasn't a row of chairs that weren't soaked in my vomit. I was so nervous, I didn't expect them to be there. I was known for the rest of highschool as "Chunder". No rhyme, no cleverness to it. I was mortified. I still remember it in vivid detail to this day."

Sherlock chuckled.

"Oh shut up!" John demanded.

This made Sherlock laugh even more.

They arrived and sat down in their seats. It was still a few minutes until the show was supposed to start. Sherlock gave John his coat back and John's cheeks were still rosy red. They sat pretty close and it was packed full of people. Every inch of the dome seemed to be covered by huge groups of people. There was a woman squashed next to Sherlock and a six-year old next to John. John could feel the pressure of Sherlock's shoulder pressing into his side. He knew Sherlock didn't like to be touching random people so he let him lean into him. Suddenly the light dimmed and a man came out, a presenter of sorts. The room fell to a hush and he began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour to have you all here tonight. I am so pleased to present this planetarium that has been in the works for a little under three years. Now it is finally here and I can't imagine a better reveal." The man paused and the audience clapped. "When I was young, I loved to read Calvin and Hobbes. There is a quote that I find suits quite nicely with the theme of tonight: 'If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I bet they'd live a lot differently.' So folks, I hope you enjoy and maybe gain a new perspective tonight looking at our beautiful universe. I will leave you with one more thing to think about-"

Pfffffftttt

Everyone turned. John was in shock, he couldn't believe the noise came from his row. He looked around... and he realized everyone was staring at Sherlock. Sherlock's cheeks were as red as John's were just before the show.

"Did someone fart?" the six-year old shouted out amidst the choking silence of the packed planetarium.

"Yes." Was all that Sherlock could say.

"Okay..." Everyone turned their attention back to the speaker, trying their best to keep their composure. "Uh... What I was going to say is that... Um... You know, I don't remember. But please enjoy the show and try to hold in your excitement... At least until you get outside. Thanks again everyone for this wonderful evening!"

The music system began and John turned back to Sherlock, trying not to explode with laughter.

"You farted." John remarked.

"Indeed, John. I did fart."

They paused for a minute, almost taking it seriously and then they both burst at the same time. Their stomachs hurt, and tears were forming, they could barely breathe, let alone look at the show. They laughed and laughed, until they couldn't anymore.

"Sherlock Holmes just farted," John laughed. "That's it! That's your embarrassing memory!"

John looked so pleased with himself. He realized even Sherlock Holmes was human, he wasn't perfect and he did make mistakes. But he didn't think any less of him.

"Yes, I suppose it is, Chunder." Sherlock grinned.

"Shut up!" John laughed.