Author's Note: Bought one of those puzzle magazines for my granny a few days ago and noticed her old one that she had been using up until that point was from 2008! So I wondered how long Sherlock would take with one, and this small dollop of funny was born.

The Puzzle Magazine

"I'm bored, John."

There was no reply from the doctor, who had retreated to his bedroom for some peace and quiet. His laptop was with him, too, so Sherlock couldn't even guess his password and read his e-mails for entertainment purposes. He was in his dressing down, it was the middle of the day and no one had been murdered yet. It was very annoying.

"I'm really bored, John."

Still no answer. Sherlock realised with a smirk that he knew exactly how to remedy that.

"I think I'll shoot the wall."

Before Sherlock could even get up, John had rushed into the living room, placing himself protectively between Sherlock and the drawer where the gun was kept.

"No," said John.

"But I'm bored. It's not my fault my brain requires constant stimulation," grumbled Sherlock. He folded his arms where he sat, staring up at John with his ice blue eyes.

"OK, OK..." John mumbled as he searched the room for something to give Sherlock that would not be his gun. Realisation dawned on his face. "If you promise not to shoot the wall, will you give me five minutes?"

"Fine."

John promptly ran out of the flat, down the stairs and Sherlock heard him knock on Mrs Hudson's door. Exactly four minutes and forty-nine seconds later, he came back with an A5-sized magazine. Sherlock couldn't see the title of it for it was covered by John's hand, but the terrible shade of neon pink that the cover was printed in and the large letters in a bright shade of blue with a yellow shadow told him exactly what it was.

"One of Mrs Hudson's puzzle magazines? Really, John?"

John handed him the magazine. "Just try it, see how much time it passes for you. You never know, someone may have been murdered by the time you've finished."

"My brain will be murdered by the time I've finished," said Sherlock. John rolled his eyes and handed Sherlock a pen before retreating to his room again. Sherlock flicked idly through the magazine. Fifty pages, two words found in word search number 3 and highlighted in red marker, otherwise unused. He looked at the cover. 'BIG WORDSEARCH,' it read in suitably large letters. He checked his phone, but there were no missed calls or texts, therefore no one had been murdered. He sighed heavily and started on the first large print puzzle.

Ten minutes later and Sherlock was threatening to shoot the wall again. John ran into the living room, ready to give Sherlock a piece of his mind for being so childish, but before he could do so he was stopped in his tracks. Sherlock was waving the magazine in the air so quickly that, to John's eyes, it looked like he was painting a rainbow in the air.

"Has Mrs Hudson got any more of these?" he asked.

"Uh... don't tell me you've finished that one already?"

Sherlock shrugged. "They were alright, but I'm bored now."

"No, but – ten minutes!"

"It's not that surprising. I'm sure Mrs Hudson is just as quick off the mark as I am. How long do these magazines last for her?" asked Sherlock.

"About a month," said John, wondering how on earth he knew that.

"Oh. But I'm sure someone's been murdered by now."

"I don't think so."

"Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be back - no shooting the wall!" John said. He grabbed his coat and left in a bit of a hurry.

He came back with a handful of puzzle magazines just shy of fifteen minutes later. "All the magazines I could find," stated John, dropping them onto the coffee table. Sherlock completed those in an hour. John was about to go on a search for more when Sherlock got a text from Lestrade.

"Ah, someone's been murdered."