Title: London
Fandom: BBC Sherlock
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Don't own BBC Sherlock. While I'm fairly certain that Sherlock Holmes in itself is public domain, this particular show is owned by the BBC and created by Moffat and Gatiss, and they're both much better writers than I will ever be. Everything outside the show is mine.
A/N: No specific timeline, just the characters' thoughts. I've got a longer Sherlock fanfic on the way. Also, this is a bit slashy if you want to read it that way. FYI.
John loves London. He's always loved it, ever since he was a kid and his father took him and Harry for the very first time. Harry had complained the whole way, whining about how she was bored and tired of walking, but John had kept silent and stared in wonder at everything about them. The busyness and the noise had entranced him, and he hadn't wanted to leave when they had to go home.
Growing up, John made many trips to London, and each one he had fallen in love with the city even more. And so, when he was honorably discharged from the army it only made sense that he should stay in London. The noise and the bustle calmed him, and he could just walk around the city for hours, even with his leg. His therapist said that it was escapism. He said that it kept him happy. Soon, however, his money was getting tight and he was going to have to leave London soon. And that's when he met Sherlock.
Sherlock showed him the true London, the dark underbelly that John had always suspected but never had contact with. John found that you really didn't understand London until you were chasing a cab down its back streets in the dead of night, or tracking Chinese smugglers' graffiti in the cold of the night at abandoned railway tracks, or sneaking through a homeless camp trying to find a giant assassin.
So now John loves London more than ever, but not because of the people, or the bustle, or even the criminals he chased down dirty alleyways. Now he loves London because it reminds him of Sherlock.
A/N: So, what do you think? I may add more people as the mood and opportunity hit.