arthurconanstark

[arthurconanstark]

[arthurconanstark]

A STUDY IN LONDON

Summary: Alexandra Stark is trying to make a new life for herself in London, she's trying to move on. This new life takes a turn when she crosses path with the only consulting Detective in the world.

Warnings: Foul language , mentions of PTSD , character death, violence.

CHAPTER-2

Today has been a good day so far. She woke up on time, had an almost decent breakfast, and is now on her way to work with two warm coffees in her hands and plenty of time to spare.

As she entered the building and started walking towards Anderson's office she was stopped by Inspector Lestrade.

"Oh - good morning Detective Inspector."

"Morning Miss Stark. Listen , you'll be under my supervision from now on , not Anderson."

Whoa! Am I hearing it correctly?

"I'm sorry, what? Why? I mean I'm not complaining. But why ?" She asked excitedly. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. It didn't make much sense,unless of course, Anderson had refused to mentor her. She scoffed internally.

"Well, I just felt that you'd learn better this way...........alright,  Sherlock suggested it , but don't tell Anderson. You can meet me in my office in 10 and we'll discuss how this will go." And with that he disappeared in the morning office rush leaving her stunned and extremely giddy.

THE Sherlock Holmes got her out of Anderson's boring coffee job. It was hard to believe but Lestrade won't lie about this. She decided to say thank you to the brunette Detective the first chance she gets. Well this day just got a whole lot better.

--------------

"Come in!" Yelled the gravelly voice owned by the Detective Inspector. "Ah. Miss Stark. How are you doing today?"

"I'm good , sir , thanks for asking." Alex said, "and you can call me Alex. Or Alexandra, whatever you prefer."

"Alright Alex, well lemme just tell you first that I took a glimpse at your files and .....well....I'd like to ask a few questions if you don't mind. You don't have to answer them of course."

Uh oh.

If there was one good thing about being in the supervision of Mister Anderson was that he never asked questions , he just wasn't interested. And that was comfortable.

"Uh.......yeah sure." Alex said, feeling extremely unsure.

"You've had a good education. You're somewhat of a prodigy. Your father is the richest man in America. What are you doing in Scotland Yard?"

There it is.

"If you're asking me why I chose this field it's because I genuinely love it. I guess........ I just needed to get out of my dad's shadow. It's important...I think....to grow." She said , only half lying.

"Okay but why London?" Lestrade pressed .

"I wanted to live in a monarchy ?" She laughed , clearly trying to change the subject.

Getting the hint , Lestrade gets up from his chair extending a hand towards the girl, "Well , I hope London's treating you well then."

"So far so good."

"Good.", he said smiling , "well Miss Star- Alex , I look forward to seeing you here on time everyday, and hopefully teaching you a few good things , certainly more than Anderson." He laughs at his own joke , "don't tell him I said that."

"I don't snitch, sir" , Alex laughed.

"Alright well. I've got a half day today. My wife wants me home for her birthday shopping. You can go ahead and take the rest of the day off. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir" She says, "um.....I need a tiny little favor from you sir."

"Yes ?"

"Can I get Mr. Holmes's phone number ? Or an address maybe ? I just wanna say thank you."

"Well he doesn't really .....you know what .....why the hell not ? I'll text you the address and phone number. Thank him all you want."

".........thanks? Bye Inspector Lestrade."

"Goodbye. And call me Greg." Said the Detective  inspector as he left his office.

---------

"Sherlock Holmes , 221B Baker Street

+44*******"

She received the text a while ago and decided to stop by on her way home....well..... if you can call it home.

---------

Maybe she was a little bit nervous when she knocked on that black door , but it wasn't too surprising. You don't knock on Sherlock Holmes's door everyday. Was she fangirling? Big time. Did she care? Absolutely not.

The door was answered by an old lady dressed in a purple blouse and matching skirt. Her short blonde hair with a considerable amount of Greys peaking through gave her a welcoming appearance.

"Hello, I'm here to see Mr.Holmes."

"Oh, you'll find him upstairs dear."

"Alright thanks."

She jogged up the stairs to be faced by a door and took a deep breath before knocking.

It took a while and a little bit of commotion inside for the door to be opened by John Watson.

"Hi! I'm Alexandra......from the station ......maybe you don't remember me, I - "

"Oh no I remember you. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes. Thank you."

She walked in behind him.

To say the inside of that apartment was a mess would be an understatement. She had always been observant, eyes scanning every room as soon as she entered it and boy did this one have things to observe. The green walls, brown wallpaper, an old red carpet , some papers stabbed to the table with a knife on the mantle , a music stand holding some sheet music, a skull and a blue eyed Detective.......who she just realized she's been observing a little too long.

"How can I help you ?" The deep voice snapped her out of her 'observation'.

"Hi...sorry I- ..you don't remember me but ..."

"Oh I remember you. I just asked you why you're here."

Wow okay.

'Yes sorry. I just ....I found out that you asked Inspector Lestrade to replace Mr. Anderson as my supervisor , and I just wanted to say-"

"Thank you? Yes. That's appropriate."

"Okay ....um.....thanks", she said , not knowing how to take the conversation forward.

"Why don't you take a seat Miss Stark?", John asked.

"Oh ....alright"

I've never been this awkward.

"So..... how long have you been in London ?"

"Umm.....abo-"

"A month and a half, obviously" spoke sherlock, cutting her off.

"Did Mr.Lestrade tell you that ?"

"No Ms. Stark, I'm a detective."

Cocky asshole.

"Yes. Of course."

John speaks up again breaking the uncomfortable silence, "So where are you from?"

"Born in California, my family then moved to New York when I was 7....but I lived with my mother in India till she was....um.....yeah.......I did middle and high school there and then went back to New york for college."

Oh my god shut up. He didn't ask for your life story.

"Well you've been around." John laughed. "How's London so far?"

"Good! Really good. Maybe a little bit lonely." Shut up. "Plus my apartment is kinda far from the station so it's like a 20 minute drive everyday. Cabs are EXPENSIVE and trains are confusing." SHUT THE FUCK UP! "But no.... yeah everything else is good. And these are trivial problems. It'll get better with time." She stops talking, cursing herself for having said that much.

The two men weren't surprised by the display of vulnerability from the stranger, if they were, they didn't show it. But Alex was silently convincing herself otherwise. In her mind, she has already established herself as a weirdo in front of the Detective and his friend. Embarrassed, she stood up with a sigh.

"Well I should get going. Thank you for your time. And for the recommendation Mr Holmes, I'm so so grateful."

Alex didn't want to leave. A sadness always came over her at the thought of returning to the apartment. She had never been an extrovert, never had a problem with being alone, Infact she thrived in solitude. Even back in New York, she'd only ever hang out with her best friend. But here, she had no one. No one she could talk to over lunch after a tedious week. For the entire time she had been in London, Alex hadn't really spent time with anyone outside of work.....until now. But now that she'd ruined it, she couldn't stay.

She was halfway out the door when the Detective spoke up.

"The apartment upstairs is empty, if that's more convenient for you."

What?

"What?"

"It's closer to the station than westminster. And considerably smaller than your current apartment." said Holmes. At that John speaks up "Oh that's a brilliant idea! Mrs Hudson would love that. She'd been complaining for quite a while about having it empty."

Alex was still trying to wrap her head around the conversation as it carried on. Is that really possible? She did just move in a month ago and half her stuff is still unpacked. And it is convenient, plus she already knows two of her neighbors....well sort of.

"I'D LOVE THAT!" she said, louder than she'd meant to.

"Well in that case, you should talk to Mrs Hudson, soon as you can. She'd be delighted." John said.

"I....I will.....thank you so much Mr watson, Mr Holmes." She said with the widest smile she'd worn for months.

"You know if we're gonna be neighbors, I think John and Sherlock should be fine." John said with his usual warmth.

Alexandra left shortly after that. Choosing to walk a little before getting a cab, she looked around at the roads, the people,  the buildings, all very similar and very different to New York all at once. Having made her mind about the move, she no longer felt bad about going back to her place. This truly felt like the new beginning she came looking for. As she finally sat in a cab , she remembered.....she didn't tell Sherlock about living in Westminster or that her apartment is big.

She laughed to herself.

Brilliant Cocky asshole .

-------------------------------------------------------

Chapter-1

#bbc sherlock #sherlock fanfic #i am sherlocked #sherlock holmes #fanfiction

[arthurconanstark]

A STUDY IN LONDON

Summary: Alexandra Stark is trying to make a new life for herself in London, she's trying to move on. This new life takes a turn when she crosses path with the only consulting Detective in the world.

Warnings: Foul language , mentions of PTSD , character death, violence.

CHAPTER 1

London streets are always this busy on weekday mornings. Alexandra walks towards the police station holding in a yawn. Okay , so staying up reading last night probably wasn't the best decision she's ever made. Add another one to list of bad decisions. She enters and let's out a sigh of relief as it's much warmer inside the building . A hot cup of coffee and maybe this morning can be salvaged.

"Hey Alex!" beams Chris from the behind a few desks. "Rough morning already ?" he laughs a little . "Nothing some caffeine can't fix.", she smiles back. Chris is an intern here , much like herself. He joined in a few days after she did, about a month ago . The internship wasn't particularly exciting , she had been expecting to see and learn a lot more than she actually was , all Detective Anderson gave her a chance to learn was how he likes his coffee and how to do his paperwork. She wasn't the biggest fan of her mentor but its not like she gets to choose.

She quickly says her goodbyes to Chris and walks towards Anderson's office . She doesn't bother to get herself a coffee first as she knows that's the first thing she's gonna be doing for him today.

"morning Sir. How are you doing today?" She asks , not making any effort to sound interested in actually finding out. "Ah. Miss Stark! You're late today. I've been waiting for a coffee for hours !" He says exaggerating. "I'm sorry , I ran into some traffic" she lies. "Oh well! Now why don't you run to the coffee shop real quick, hm?"

She lets out an unnoticeable sigh. It's not like she's surprised , but she can't help but be disappointed everyday.

She comes back to his office 10 minutes later with a cup of coffee in her hand. She finished hers on the way back . The office is empty. She contemplates leaving it there but decides to hand it over to him instead.

"Hey Detective Jones , have you seen Mr. Anderson?"

"Oh yeah he's in Inspector Lestrade's office."

"Okay thanks!"

"No problem dear."

She'll never get used to how polite British people are , well most of them at least.

*knock knock*

"YES!?" Greg Lestrade's gravelly voice replies. Inspector Lestrade is a good man. Good at his job. They've interacted about 3 times since she came here, but she already likes him better than her mentor.

"Hi!" She opens the door ," I brought your coffee sir."

"Well you could've waited!" Anderson says a little loud, clearly annoyed at something. And now she's annoyed too. Even more than before.

"You clearly need it way too much." She replies calmly shoving the cup into his hand.

His eyes widen in anger , though it has no effect on her. Philip Anderson is not an intimidating man. Before he says something , a loud snort echos the room , making her avert her gaze from the annoying man to the one sitting in the corner of the room . He's dressed in a black suit , though most of it is covered by his huge coat . Opal eyes and dark brown curly hair on top of sharp cheekbones giving an edge to his appearance.

He gets up from his seat and walks towards the desk .

"The anniversary party was the perfect cover. Push her down the stairs, blame it on the alcohol." The blue eyed man speaks , voice deep.

"Oh bullshit!" Anderson yells. " You just want to make a fuss of an open and shut case to feed your weird crime fantasies!"

"No but he's right!" Alexandra states a little too loudly. All four pairs of eyes turn to her.

Wait, four?? Has the short blonde man been here the whole time??

She gulps , suddenly a little more self conscious. As she tries to continue, Anderson cuts her off, " What are you still doing here?! I got the coffee , now go work."

" YES but I'm just saying .."

"I don't care. Get out." He cuts her off again.

"Anderson shut up and drink your coffee." The man says, walking around him and towards her. "Preferably in the corner so I don't have to see your face."

He turns to look at her , now standing right in front of her. "You were saying?" He was clearly enjoying her affirmation.

Alex gained a little confidence. "The blood splatter on the bottom seems like it isn't from a single hit but multiple. Which makes sense cuz the stairs aren't nearly enough to kill her that quick. Plus Mrs Rivera was a known alcoholic , and she couldn't possibly have been that tipsy from the little alcohol content in her blood according to the forensic reports. "

She looked up to meet an amused smirk on his face. He was looking her up and down , though she wasn't uncomfortable under his gaze , he wasn't checking her out , no , it's almost as if he was reading her. Alexandra Stark is used to people trying to read her , failing mostly , but trying nonetheless. You can't expect less when you're the only daughter of Tony Stark, the controversial genius billionaire philanthropist. His eyes snapped up to hers, "Good to know not everybody in Scotland Yard's an idiot. No offence ,Garry.", he says turning to Lestrade.

"It's Greg, and I'll bring him him in tomorrow but we still need more evidence Sherlock!"

"Well that's your job, not mine."

"Sherlock!" Insists the blonde man.

Sherlock pauses for a moment "Fine! I'll go to the scene today."

Sherlock........Sherlock......Sherlock....wait!! Is he .....

"I'm sorry , Sherlock as in ...Sherlock Holmes? From 'A study in pink' ?" She says, suddenly visibly excited. Her eyes turned to Lestrade who's pleased expression gave her the answer she was looking for. "Oh wow!!! I read the blog and I can't tell you how much I loved it!"

His stoic face hid his amusement as he said "Well thank you, John paints quite a picture of me.", he says gesturing to the blonde man.

Oh so that's John Watson!

"Oh my God! It's so nice to meet you John! I mean ....Mr.Watson...sorry."

He laughs "John is fine. And thank you very much."

"Alright! Enough lazing around!" Anderson interferes, "There's files in my office that need organizing. Go and make yourself useful."

Ugggggghhh what's his fucking problem!

Not in the mood to argue anymore, she sighs "Yes sir." and leaves the room.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly though Alex can't help but wish she could see THE Sherlock Holmes in action. But hey, maybe she will some other day , now that she knows he's acquainted with Lestrade.

She returns to the loneliness of her apartment that evening a little happier than most days. It's a big apartment, her father wanted her to be as comfortable as possible when he bought it for her. It's the least he thought he could do after what she'd been through in the past six months. But the size of the apartment only exaggerated her solitude. Not that she'd ever say that to her father , she didn't want him to worry more than he already did , which was a lot. The TV played in the background while she fixed herself a 'dinner' from whatever she had lying around in the fridge. That's what she does on days when she isn't eating takeout or PB&J for dinner. She falls asleep that night with the usual thoughts going through her head, thoughts of her home back in New York, her mom, her dad, uncle Steve, her best friend Peter, the little shop near her house , the gunshot ...

NO . No. Not the gunshot. No.

...the office, her brief meeting today with the two men, and hopes of tomorrow being maybe a little more interesting. And interesting it will be. Tomorrow things will change.

#bbc sherlock #marvel #tony stark #sherlock holmes #john watson #alternate universe