Re-readable Sherlockian Fics
These are some of my favourite Sherlock BBC fics. I’ve not only enjoyed reading them-I re-read them now and then. The list will be growing. There’s angst and hurt/comfort and humour… And smut of course.
And No More Shall We Part by prodigy
Rated: R
Word count: 8841
Pairing: Jim/Sebastian Moran
Warnings: suicide, self-harm, violence, references to explicit sexual activity.
Summary: After the incident on the roof, Sebastian waits for the third act of Jim's magic trick. There's always been one before.
Quote: Sebastian Moran was a Colonel and he did everything according to a method. These were the last words he remembered exchanging with Jim, something like 72 hours ago:
Jim: Have you ever been afraid of the dark? You know, any time?
Sebastian: You know, there are actually times of night when a bloke is actually bloody well trying to sleep?
New
"A Priori 'Verse" by rubberbutton
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 26,226
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Warnings: vampires, slavery AU
Summary: Vampires have enslaved humans and control, well, everything. Vampire!Mycroft insists his little brother get a slave -- even though it didn't work out with the dog -- and Sherlock chooses the one guaranteed to irritate his brother the most: an unassuming little doctor with an ugly past and absolutely no style to speak of.
Quote: "You're dying," Sherlock says, frowning.
"No, I'm not, really," John says, and some of his irritation melts into amusement at Sherlock's concern. "This is how it is for humans. Tedious business, being human. Can't say I recommend it."
"You are dying," Sherlock insists, "all the time, every breath you take, you're that much closer to expiring."
"Well, if you want to look at it like that," John says. "Christ, and they say I'm morbid."
Behavioural Modification by bendingsignpost
Rated: NC-17
Word count: 23726
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: Whatever it took, Sherlock was going to make this relationship work.
Quote: “You do realize you’re prostituting yourself for tea, don’t you?” John asked him. “Technically.” Eyes shut, mouth slack, and his head lolling against the back of the couch, the doctor spoke at a murmur.
“So you keep saying,” Sherlock answered, efficiently tossing the tissues into the bin. “Now go make the tea.”
Bored by loveslashangst
Rated: R for fluffy mature content, sexually suggestive thoughts and behaviour, language, references to drugs and drug use, mild med-fetishism. Also rated SC for “Serious Crack”.
Word count: 811
Summary: Sherlock is bored. John proposes a solution. Literally.
Quote: John is typing. Slowly. Two-fingers, hunt-and-peck, as if he were some reject who never finished his A-levels, let alone med school. Blogging again. Ridiculous waste of time, though Sherlock’s long since abandoned any hope of talking sense into his flatmate. Sherlock looks up at the ceiling, reads the stains there like tea leaves, and heaves a deep and mournful sigh.
A Brief History of Johns by lavvyan
Rating: PG
Word count: c. 1173
Pairings/Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John One through Six, John Watson, others
Summary: Sherlock buries John Six in the bed of Johns at the back of the garden, between the tulips and the daffodils.
Quote: He continues to get along on his own. It's hateful. Time between cases stretches out infinitely, aeons between each tick of the clock as dust motes crash into each other. His violin only manages dissonance. Experiments crumble into dullness before he has finished setting them up. Life, Sherlock is starting to think, is punishment for something the soul did at the beginning of the universe. He is 29 years old and wishing desperately he were the skull he keeps on the window sill. He'd have no eyes, no ears. Everything would be quiet.
The Dangerous Book for Boys by orange_crushed
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sherlock/John (non-explicit).
Word count: 14303
Summary: A deeply moving story about John and Sherlock meeting in high school and becoming close friends. Also, it’s a casefic.
Quote: "So," he says. "Nice ornamental fungus. Formerly a tuna sandwich?" Sherlock nods his assent. "What are you growing it for?" It's fairly disturbing, the way Sherlock's eyes light up. It must be the right question.
Everyone Has One by roquentine
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 2 111
Paring: Sherlock/John
Summary: Knife kink. Pure smut.
Quote: On any given day, knives do not have this effect on John. He spreads jam on his toast or slices a sandwich in half or carves a turkey without giving the first thought to the utensil in his hand. But in terms of circumstances beyond the utilitarian, there’s always been something in the back of his mind. A question. A curiosity. One he had never acted upon.
Five Times Sherlock Listened to John’s Heartbeat by thirdbird
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2 500
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: Sherlock is obsessed with John's heartbeat.
Quote: Sherlock goes still, feeling John’s heart race. Inches beneath his hand, a fist-sized muscle is pumping oxygenated blood through John’s body in response to an increase of adrenaline in his system. Nerve receptors in Sherlock’s skin are allowing him to perceive the vibrations caused by this phenomenon. This perfectly ordinary biological occurrence. The strange sensation it’s causing in the pit of Sherlock’s stomach is a perfectly ordinary biological response as well, no doubt, but he doesn’t wish to think about that right now.
Galatea by one-windiga
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 7 970
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: John is a doll that Sherlock orders from a company online.
Quote: It wasn’t that Sherlock actually believed John was real. He wasn’t stupid. He was many things, most of which he recognized and accepted with apathetic passivity, but he was not stupid. He was, however, more than willing to set aside the usual social conventions. If children could have their own imaginary friends, talk with them and play with them, why couldn’t Sherlock have John? He was only explicitly making him tangible by buying the doll. It was no worse than talking with his skull, or worse, talking to himself. And it was strangely comforting to think of what John would say about things. He could almost hear it in his head, John’s voice, soft like worn flannel, comfortable. “Bit not good, ” he would say, and give a twist of the mouth that was somewhere between a scowl and a laugh. And then Sherlock would adjust his actions accordingly. The miracle wasn’t that Sherlock could picture John’s responses. The miracle was that Sherlock actually listened to them.
Give Me The Quiet Things by den_of_folly
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: c. 22,960
Pairing: John/Sherlock (eventually)
Summary: An amnesia fic. After a head trauma, John forgets a lot. Fighting to gain his memory back is a painful process.
Quote: "I don't blame you," John says. "Honestly, I can't. It's not like I even remember any of this happening."
For a moment the reflection in the window is hideous and pained and glistening, but it's barely a heartbeat before the look is gone again, mask determinedly slammed back into place like everything is as it was.
"I miscalculated," Sherlock says instead. His voice is calm and emotionless and John almost would have preferred the unchecked fury, anything but the dull, toneless logic. "It shouldn't have happened. I made a mistake, and then I made another by leaving without you."
Heart in Hand (If You Stumble, You’ll Drop It) by pprfaith
Rating: PG-13/R.
Word count: A bit under 6500.
Pairing: Gen. Ish. Slight girl!john/Sherlock, but not really.
Summary: John Watson isn’t really sure why she’s living with Sherlock Holmes.
Quote: “You can imagine being poor, being angry, being abused or violent. But you can’t imagine being a woman.” Hormones and brain chemistry, generations of rubbish societal restraints drilled into little girls. Even Sherlock isn’t that good.
How to Tame Your Dragon by Mad_Maudlin
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 12859
Summary: Sorcerer!Sherlock sets out to trap himself a pet dragon. Said dragon turns out to be far more interesting than he initially anticipated.
Quote: "The brother is here-d'you want to throw him out now or later?"
Sherlock, distracted by his own concerns, had to ask, "What brother are you talking about?"
"The one that's always here," John said. "Mycroft, the one you hate."
"Oh." John's speech had heretofore been flawless, and Sherlock found the error puzzling. "Mycroft is my brother, John, not just any brother."
John gave him a strangely blank look, as if he couldn't sense a distinction. "Okay."
Sherlock leaned forward, now curious. "John. Are dragons not hatched in clutches?"
"Of course," John said warily, like he wasn't sure of the point of the question.
"And what do dragons from the same clutch call each other?"
"...other dragons?"
New
Ink Your Name Across My Heart by prettyvk
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 58,019
Summary: Sherlock was diagnosed with anterograde amnesia. He can remember things as long as he's awake, but after he goes to sleep, his brain deletes all the new memories. When he wakes up again, he has no recollection of anything that has happened since before his illness. It's frustrating. Still, John's commitment makes things work for them both.
Quote: “Every day I get to tell my friend, the most brilliant man I know, that part of his brain is locked away and inaccessible to him. And every day it feels like telling Van Gogh he’s not allowed to paint anymore. How could I not be bothered by it?”
Sherlock’s mouth opens, though to say what he has no idea. He closes it again and looks down at the notebook, flicking to the second page. It’s still blank. Sherlock doesn’t dare write what he wants.
John still thinks I’m brilliant.
New
"In My Master's House" verse by brighteyed-jill
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 185,357
Pairing: Sherlock/John, Mycroft/Lestrade
Warnings: present slave AU, so slavery and inherent consent issues therein, non- and dub-con, humiliation, corporal punishment
Summary: John started out as a free man, and he’s not having an easy time coming around to being a proper slave. On the other hand, Sherlock’s not exactly a model master, so perhaps the two of them will find a way to coexist.
Quote: “You must make it like that every time,” Sherlock said with utter sincerity.
“Must--? No. No, sir.” John shook his head in case the visual clue might get across to Sherlock what his words seemed to be failing to impart. “That was a demonstration. That’s what it can be like when someone wants you, freely wants you. You can’t make someone love you, Sherlock.”
Sherlock’s fingers tightened on his wrist. All trace of sleepy contentment had fled from his face, and something cold and a little desperate had taken its place. “I can make you do whatever I want.”
“Probably,” John agreed, and tried not to imagine how much further he might sink, if the past two days were any indication of his future trajectory. “But you can’t force me to feel something.”
“Oh, sentiment. Dull.” Sherlock flung his arm over his eyes and flopped back down on the bed.
“Of course, sir. Sorry to bore you.” John pulled the blanket up over them both.
Improbable Reality by flawedamythyst
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 8,924
Summary: Moriarty recaptures John and leaves him trapped in a world of hallucinations.
Quote: “I didn't know you were Batman,” said John wonderingly. Sherlock wasn't wearing the mask but the cape was unmistakable, swirling around his shoulders as if it had a life of its own.
Let’s Make a Bed out in the Rain by theimprobable1
Rating: R
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: c. 18 000
Summary: John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.
Quote: He feels like an idiot when he googles “how to make a friend feel better after a breakup”. Or like a teenage girl, since the article he finds seems to be written for teenage girls. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s in his mid-thirties and male that makes the article completely unhelpful. How exactly is he supposed to ‘encourage John to think about the positive aspects his breakup’? “John, isn’t it great that you’ll now have more time to chase criminals with me, since you won’t be busy having sex and planning a future?”
Lorem Ipsum series by saathi1013
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Sherlock/Sarah.
Word count: c. 48 000
Summary: Sarah struggles with dating John, while Sherlock... is distracting. He watches them while they have sex. She catches him. OT3 porn ensues. It starts as pure smut and then turns into something more.
Quote: If John is a hearth fire, Sherlock is a blowtorch. Brilliant and focused and dangerous to look at directly or handle without protective gear.
Master and Hound by joolabee
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 7168
Summary: Ah, yes, John Watson. Believe the lie. The great Sherlock Holmes knows absolutely nothing about love.
Quote: Every time he sees John he wants to etch him into his memory, just in case this time is the last time.
Mental by Boeshane42
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Word count: 18128
Warnings: everything you'd expect to find in a closed ward, i.e., issues of mental illness, discussion of suicide, drugs, restraints, etc.
Summary: Sherlock Holmes is a patient in a closed psychiatric ward. John Watson is his new psychiatrist.
Quote: “Bit ironic, isn’t it?” Sherlock continues to mumble. “A psychiatrist with a psychosomatic limp. Should trade places..."
Parallel by brbsoulnomming
Rating: M
Word count: 77397
Warnings: off-screen death
Pairing: John/Sherlock, OCs
Summary: On a case at the University of Westminster, Sherlock and John meet two students. One is well liked if not popular, athletic, intelligent without showing off. The other is a loner with no regard for social norms, an insufferable genius. And, because they both want to help with the investigation, Sherlock and John get to watch them become friends and fall in love. And that makes them feel things about themselves that they've been working very hard to not feel.
Quote: “What’re you smiling for?” John asks, sounding slightly suspicious.
“Do I need a reason to smile?” Sherlock asks.
“For that smile, yes,” John says. “That smile says you’re up to something.”
Sherlock, absurdly, is a bit delighted. John knows his smiles just as he knows John’s. He wonders if John has a cataloguing system, how it differs from Sherlock’s own.
Planet Sherlock by pir8fancier
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 6,537
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: John and Sherlock devise a rating system for their sexual encounters.
Quote: Although he wished he could be awful to Sherlock, John couldn't help but feel it was like kicking a puppy. Perhaps a puppy with very sharp teeth that had just ripped open your arm, but still a puppy.
New
"Software Malfunction" by tiger_in_the_flightdeck
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 16,666
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Warnings: character death
Summary: Assigned as the head of Medical Research on the Baker, John Watson meets - and quickly falls in love with - Sherlock, a specially commissioned Companion android with a malfunction. A very, very sad, bittersweet, beautifully written love story. Prepare to cry.
Quote: "So, what were you doing when I came over? You seemed out of it.”
Sherlock’s fingers moved in the air, twitching slightly. “Counting dust motes. The filtration system in this room doesn’t get them all. Some of them are yours. Your skin cells, hair cells. Parts of you that are no longer a part of you.” It frowned. “I don’t think I like that, John.”
John took its hand, lacing their fingers together. “Don’t worry about it. I’m still nearly all here.”
Untenable by wafflestories
Word count: 6491
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A few instances of strong language - four f's and one c, to be specific. Mild references to drug use and injuries.
Summary: Sherlock Holmes Works Alone. This has been known to backfire on him - sometimes badly - but old habits die hard.
Quote: Generally speaking, Sherlock took assassination attempts as a sign that he was doing his job properly. He was very good at surviving them - in fact, so far, his success rate had been as high as one hundred percent.
The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl by out_there
Rating: very much NC-17
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 32896
Summary: There are so many things John wants to ask, mostly about the things about Sherlock’s romantic history that don’t make sense. For instance, Sherlock can’t tell him the exact number of his lovers but knows to the day the last time he slept with someone. Isn’t that strange?
Quote: It's one of those soft, water-coloured moments that John wants to remember. It feels like a secret moment carved out of time, too quiet to be London, all golden lamplight and this bed. It's just the two of them. The regular rise of Sherlock’s chest beneath John’s head, the wheeze of air in his lungs, the familiar heartbeat and various gurgles of a living body. John's bare skin and the way Sherlock fits against him, warm and easy through the thin layer of pyjamas. The careless brush of Sherlock’s hand against his back, only pausing when Sherlock needs to turn a page.
64 Things Sherlock Holmes Is No Longer Allowed to Do Now That He Lives with John Watson by Alpha Orionis V (ZetaTauri)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1000
Summary: What the title says. A list of things Sherlock is no longer allowed to do.
Quote: “Next time I want to shave any part of John, I am to ask first. The answer will always be no. Knowing that the answer will be no does not mean that I am allowed to do so without asking.”
And No More Shall We Part by prodigy
Rated: R
Word count: 8841
Pairing: Jim/Sebastian Moran
Warnings: suicide, self-harm, violence, references to explicit sexual activity.
Summary: After the incident on the roof, Sebastian waits for the third act of Jim's magic trick. There's always been one before.
Quote: Sebastian Moran was a Colonel and he did everything according to a method. These were the last words he remembered exchanging with Jim, something like 72 hours ago:
Jim: Have you ever been afraid of the dark? You know, any time?
Sebastian: You know, there are actually times of night when a bloke is actually bloody well trying to sleep?
New
"A Priori 'Verse" by rubberbutton
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 26,226
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Warnings: vampires, slavery AU
Summary: Vampires have enslaved humans and control, well, everything. Vampire!Mycroft insists his little brother get a slave -- even though it didn't work out with the dog -- and Sherlock chooses the one guaranteed to irritate his brother the most: an unassuming little doctor with an ugly past and absolutely no style to speak of.
Quote: "You're dying," Sherlock says, frowning.
"No, I'm not, really," John says, and some of his irritation melts into amusement at Sherlock's concern. "This is how it is for humans. Tedious business, being human. Can't say I recommend it."
"You are dying," Sherlock insists, "all the time, every breath you take, you're that much closer to expiring."
"Well, if you want to look at it like that," John says. "Christ, and they say I'm morbid."
Behavioural Modification by bendingsignpost
Rated: NC-17
Word count: 23726
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: Whatever it took, Sherlock was going to make this relationship work.
Quote: “You do realize you’re prostituting yourself for tea, don’t you?” John asked him. “Technically.” Eyes shut, mouth slack, and his head lolling against the back of the couch, the doctor spoke at a murmur.
“So you keep saying,” Sherlock answered, efficiently tossing the tissues into the bin. “Now go make the tea.”
Bored by loveslashangst
Rated: R for fluffy mature content, sexually suggestive thoughts and behaviour, language, references to drugs and drug use, mild med-fetishism. Also rated SC for “Serious Crack”.
Word count: 811
Summary: Sherlock is bored. John proposes a solution. Literally.
Quote: John is typing. Slowly. Two-fingers, hunt-and-peck, as if he were some reject who never finished his A-levels, let alone med school. Blogging again. Ridiculous waste of time, though Sherlock’s long since abandoned any hope of talking sense into his flatmate. Sherlock looks up at the ceiling, reads the stains there like tea leaves, and heaves a deep and mournful sigh.
A Brief History of Johns by lavvyan
Rating: PG
Word count: c. 1173
Pairings/Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John One through Six, John Watson, others
Summary: Sherlock buries John Six in the bed of Johns at the back of the garden, between the tulips and the daffodils.
Quote: He continues to get along on his own. It's hateful. Time between cases stretches out infinitely, aeons between each tick of the clock as dust motes crash into each other. His violin only manages dissonance. Experiments crumble into dullness before he has finished setting them up. Life, Sherlock is starting to think, is punishment for something the soul did at the beginning of the universe. He is 29 years old and wishing desperately he were the skull he keeps on the window sill. He'd have no eyes, no ears. Everything would be quiet.
The Dangerous Book for Boys by orange_crushed
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sherlock/John (non-explicit).
Word count: 14303
Summary: A deeply moving story about John and Sherlock meeting in high school and becoming close friends. Also, it’s a casefic.
Quote: "So," he says. "Nice ornamental fungus. Formerly a tuna sandwich?" Sherlock nods his assent. "What are you growing it for?" It's fairly disturbing, the way Sherlock's eyes light up. It must be the right question.
Everyone Has One by roquentine
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 2 111
Paring: Sherlock/John
Summary: Knife kink. Pure smut.
Quote: On any given day, knives do not have this effect on John. He spreads jam on his toast or slices a sandwich in half or carves a turkey without giving the first thought to the utensil in his hand. But in terms of circumstances beyond the utilitarian, there’s always been something in the back of his mind. A question. A curiosity. One he had never acted upon.
Five Times Sherlock Listened to John’s Heartbeat by thirdbird
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2 500
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: Sherlock is obsessed with John's heartbeat.
Quote: Sherlock goes still, feeling John’s heart race. Inches beneath his hand, a fist-sized muscle is pumping oxygenated blood through John’s body in response to an increase of adrenaline in his system. Nerve receptors in Sherlock’s skin are allowing him to perceive the vibrations caused by this phenomenon. This perfectly ordinary biological occurrence. The strange sensation it’s causing in the pit of Sherlock’s stomach is a perfectly ordinary biological response as well, no doubt, but he doesn’t wish to think about that right now.
Galatea by one-windiga
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 7 970
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: John is a doll that Sherlock orders from a company online.
Quote: It wasn’t that Sherlock actually believed John was real. He wasn’t stupid. He was many things, most of which he recognized and accepted with apathetic passivity, but he was not stupid. He was, however, more than willing to set aside the usual social conventions. If children could have their own imaginary friends, talk with them and play with them, why couldn’t Sherlock have John? He was only explicitly making him tangible by buying the doll. It was no worse than talking with his skull, or worse, talking to himself. And it was strangely comforting to think of what John would say about things. He could almost hear it in his head, John’s voice, soft like worn flannel, comfortable. “Bit not good, ” he would say, and give a twist of the mouth that was somewhere between a scowl and a laugh. And then Sherlock would adjust his actions accordingly. The miracle wasn’t that Sherlock could picture John’s responses. The miracle was that Sherlock actually listened to them.
Give Me The Quiet Things by den_of_folly
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: c. 22,960
Pairing: John/Sherlock (eventually)
Summary: An amnesia fic. After a head trauma, John forgets a lot. Fighting to gain his memory back is a painful process.
Quote: "I don't blame you," John says. "Honestly, I can't. It's not like I even remember any of this happening."
For a moment the reflection in the window is hideous and pained and glistening, but it's barely a heartbeat before the look is gone again, mask determinedly slammed back into place like everything is as it was.
"I miscalculated," Sherlock says instead. His voice is calm and emotionless and John almost would have preferred the unchecked fury, anything but the dull, toneless logic. "It shouldn't have happened. I made a mistake, and then I made another by leaving without you."
Heart in Hand (If You Stumble, You’ll Drop It) by pprfaith
Rating: PG-13/R.
Word count: A bit under 6500.
Pairing: Gen. Ish. Slight girl!john/Sherlock, but not really.
Summary: John Watson isn’t really sure why she’s living with Sherlock Holmes.
Quote: “You can imagine being poor, being angry, being abused or violent. But you can’t imagine being a woman.” Hormones and brain chemistry, generations of rubbish societal restraints drilled into little girls. Even Sherlock isn’t that good.
How to Tame Your Dragon by Mad_Maudlin
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 12859
Summary: Sorcerer!Sherlock sets out to trap himself a pet dragon. Said dragon turns out to be far more interesting than he initially anticipated.
Quote: "The brother is here-d'you want to throw him out now or later?"
Sherlock, distracted by his own concerns, had to ask, "What brother are you talking about?"
"The one that's always here," John said. "Mycroft, the one you hate."
"Oh." John's speech had heretofore been flawless, and Sherlock found the error puzzling. "Mycroft is my brother, John, not just any brother."
John gave him a strangely blank look, as if he couldn't sense a distinction. "Okay."
Sherlock leaned forward, now curious. "John. Are dragons not hatched in clutches?"
"Of course," John said warily, like he wasn't sure of the point of the question.
"And what do dragons from the same clutch call each other?"
"...other dragons?"
New
Ink Your Name Across My Heart by prettyvk
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 58,019
Summary: Sherlock was diagnosed with anterograde amnesia. He can remember things as long as he's awake, but after he goes to sleep, his brain deletes all the new memories. When he wakes up again, he has no recollection of anything that has happened since before his illness. It's frustrating. Still, John's commitment makes things work for them both.
Quote: “Every day I get to tell my friend, the most brilliant man I know, that part of his brain is locked away and inaccessible to him. And every day it feels like telling Van Gogh he’s not allowed to paint anymore. How could I not be bothered by it?”
Sherlock’s mouth opens, though to say what he has no idea. He closes it again and looks down at the notebook, flicking to the second page. It’s still blank. Sherlock doesn’t dare write what he wants.
John still thinks I’m brilliant.
New
"In My Master's House" verse by brighteyed-jill
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 185,357
Pairing: Sherlock/John, Mycroft/Lestrade
Warnings: present slave AU, so slavery and inherent consent issues therein, non- and dub-con, humiliation, corporal punishment
Summary: John started out as a free man, and he’s not having an easy time coming around to being a proper slave. On the other hand, Sherlock’s not exactly a model master, so perhaps the two of them will find a way to coexist.
Quote: “You must make it like that every time,” Sherlock said with utter sincerity.
“Must--? No. No, sir.” John shook his head in case the visual clue might get across to Sherlock what his words seemed to be failing to impart. “That was a demonstration. That’s what it can be like when someone wants you, freely wants you. You can’t make someone love you, Sherlock.”
Sherlock’s fingers tightened on his wrist. All trace of sleepy contentment had fled from his face, and something cold and a little desperate had taken its place. “I can make you do whatever I want.”
“Probably,” John agreed, and tried not to imagine how much further he might sink, if the past two days were any indication of his future trajectory. “But you can’t force me to feel something.”
“Oh, sentiment. Dull.” Sherlock flung his arm over his eyes and flopped back down on the bed.
“Of course, sir. Sorry to bore you.” John pulled the blanket up over them both.
Improbable Reality by flawedamythyst
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 8,924
Summary: Moriarty recaptures John and leaves him trapped in a world of hallucinations.
Quote: “I didn't know you were Batman,” said John wonderingly. Sherlock wasn't wearing the mask but the cape was unmistakable, swirling around his shoulders as if it had a life of its own.
Let’s Make a Bed out in the Rain by theimprobable1
Rating: R
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: c. 18 000
Summary: John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.
Quote: He feels like an idiot when he googles “how to make a friend feel better after a breakup”. Or like a teenage girl, since the article he finds seems to be written for teenage girls. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s in his mid-thirties and male that makes the article completely unhelpful. How exactly is he supposed to ‘encourage John to think about the positive aspects his breakup’? “John, isn’t it great that you’ll now have more time to chase criminals with me, since you won’t be busy having sex and planning a future?”
Lorem Ipsum series by saathi1013
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Sherlock/Sarah.
Word count: c. 48 000
Summary: Sarah struggles with dating John, while Sherlock... is distracting. He watches them while they have sex. She catches him. OT3 porn ensues. It starts as pure smut and then turns into something more.
Quote: If John is a hearth fire, Sherlock is a blowtorch. Brilliant and focused and dangerous to look at directly or handle without protective gear.
Master and Hound by joolabee
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 7168
Summary: Ah, yes, John Watson. Believe the lie. The great Sherlock Holmes knows absolutely nothing about love.
Quote: Every time he sees John he wants to etch him into his memory, just in case this time is the last time.
Mental by Boeshane42
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Word count: 18128
Warnings: everything you'd expect to find in a closed ward, i.e., issues of mental illness, discussion of suicide, drugs, restraints, etc.
Summary: Sherlock Holmes is a patient in a closed psychiatric ward. John Watson is his new psychiatrist.
Quote: “Bit ironic, isn’t it?” Sherlock continues to mumble. “A psychiatrist with a psychosomatic limp. Should trade places..."
Parallel by brbsoulnomming
Rating: M
Word count: 77397
Warnings: off-screen death
Pairing: John/Sherlock, OCs
Summary: On a case at the University of Westminster, Sherlock and John meet two students. One is well liked if not popular, athletic, intelligent without showing off. The other is a loner with no regard for social norms, an insufferable genius. And, because they both want to help with the investigation, Sherlock and John get to watch them become friends and fall in love. And that makes them feel things about themselves that they've been working very hard to not feel.
Quote: “What’re you smiling for?” John asks, sounding slightly suspicious.
“Do I need a reason to smile?” Sherlock asks.
“For that smile, yes,” John says. “That smile says you’re up to something.”
Sherlock, absurdly, is a bit delighted. John knows his smiles just as he knows John’s. He wonders if John has a cataloguing system, how it differs from Sherlock’s own.
Planet Sherlock by pir8fancier
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 6,537
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Summary: John and Sherlock devise a rating system for their sexual encounters.
Quote: Although he wished he could be awful to Sherlock, John couldn't help but feel it was like kicking a puppy. Perhaps a puppy with very sharp teeth that had just ripped open your arm, but still a puppy.
New
"Software Malfunction" by tiger_in_the_flightdeck
Rating: NC-17.
Wordcount: 16,666
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Warnings: character death
Summary: Assigned as the head of Medical Research on the Baker, John Watson meets - and quickly falls in love with - Sherlock, a specially commissioned Companion android with a malfunction. A very, very sad, bittersweet, beautifully written love story. Prepare to cry.
Quote: "So, what were you doing when I came over? You seemed out of it.”
Sherlock’s fingers moved in the air, twitching slightly. “Counting dust motes. The filtration system in this room doesn’t get them all. Some of them are yours. Your skin cells, hair cells. Parts of you that are no longer a part of you.” It frowned. “I don’t think I like that, John.”
John took its hand, lacing their fingers together. “Don’t worry about it. I’m still nearly all here.”
Untenable by wafflestories
Word count: 6491
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A few instances of strong language - four f's and one c, to be specific. Mild references to drug use and injuries.
Summary: Sherlock Holmes Works Alone. This has been known to backfire on him - sometimes badly - but old habits die hard.
Quote: Generally speaking, Sherlock took assassination attempts as a sign that he was doing his job properly. He was very good at surviving them - in fact, so far, his success rate had been as high as one hundred percent.
The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl by out_there
Rating: very much NC-17
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word count: 32896
Summary: There are so many things John wants to ask, mostly about the things about Sherlock’s romantic history that don’t make sense. For instance, Sherlock can’t tell him the exact number of his lovers but knows to the day the last time he slept with someone. Isn’t that strange?
Quote: It's one of those soft, water-coloured moments that John wants to remember. It feels like a secret moment carved out of time, too quiet to be London, all golden lamplight and this bed. It's just the two of them. The regular rise of Sherlock’s chest beneath John’s head, the wheeze of air in his lungs, the familiar heartbeat and various gurgles of a living body. John's bare skin and the way Sherlock fits against him, warm and easy through the thin layer of pyjamas. The careless brush of Sherlock’s hand against his back, only pausing when Sherlock needs to turn a page.
64 Things Sherlock Holmes Is No Longer Allowed to Do Now That He Lives with John Watson by Alpha Orionis V (ZetaTauri)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1000
Summary: What the title says. A list of things Sherlock is no longer allowed to do.
Quote: “Next time I want to shave any part of John, I am to ask first. The answer will always be no. Knowing that the answer will be no does not mean that I am allowed to do so without asking.”