Just a little one-shot I came up whilst in, well, Brugge.

John sat on the wall eating his ice cream, his legs swinging where they didn't touch the floor. Sherlock had run off this morning looking for something so John looked round the town by himself. The case had taken them across Europe and it had bought them to Brugge, it's cobbled streets and canals transporting John right back to the renaissance. He enjoyed the peace and quiet which he new would not last long with Sherlock as a traveling buddy and basked in the spring sun. It was still a little nippy so he had his coat but he could never resist any excuse for an ice cream. Strawberry was his favourite. Especially the ones with bits in.

For all the world he looked like a contented child as he sat by the canal in his sunglasses when Sherlock rolled up on an old fashioned bike.

"come on John! We haven't got all day, what have you been doing?"

John sighed. He knew it couldn't last. "Just enjoying the sun. Thats what people do on holiday Sherlock." and he went back to eating his ice cream.

"But the game is afoot! Due to the lack of cabs I've had to improvise but I've got us transport that the locals use. It'll help us blend in." he said excitedly, gesturing to the bike that he was modelling.

John looked at the bike. It was the sort that you would see in a film about Britain during the war, with a basket at the front and a funny rack thing at the back which John supposed you could strap saddle bags or packages. Sherlock was right about the locals. Nearly everyone seemed to have a bike and those that didn't were tourists. They were all pretty much then same design as well. Not one mountain bike to be seen. But then he supposed that Belgium was very flat, which was probably why everyone cycled.

"Uh, Sherlock," he said, giving the bike a closer inspection, "Where did you get this?" For the life of him John could not remember seeing anywhere that rented bikes, and he'd covered a lot of ground on his wanderings that morning.

"Doesn't matter where I acquired it, only that I did. While you were sitting around sunning yourself." The bike was defiantly stolen, the basket was pink and had flowers on it.

"where's mine?" John said, gesturing in Sherlock's direction with the remainder of his cone.

"What are you talking about? You'll go on the back." Sherlock looked annoyed that John had thought otherwise.

"On the back?" he didn't look pleased about the prospect.

"Yes John, or was I speaking some language you didn't understand? Besides, it'll help with disguise. I've seen loads of people go round with others on the back."

John had to admit he had a point. During his time here he had seen plenty of couples on the bikes around town. What kept niggling at his mind as he got on behind Sherlock was that it was mostly a pair of girls, and if it was a couple, they were certainly younger than the both of them and the man was never on the back.

Xxx

Half an hour later he found out why. Cobbled streets and no seat did not mix with the male anatomy and John spent most of the afternoon groaning behind Sherlock as people watched two men who looked like they were having a midlife crisis speed by on a bike. When they got back to the hotel that night John could barely walk let alone run/cycle after criminals. So he decided that he'd take a well earned rest the next day, and it was going swimmingly until Sherlock fell into one of the canals and got himself arrested.

Everyone in Belgium does seem to go around by bike. It seems rather odd to me that they all seem to be the same make, but then I'm no bike expert. I can NEVER resist an excuse for an icecream, especailly the posh ones. And strawbarry is by far the best flavour.