The sequel to How is John Watson? and prequel to John Watson is Safe.
Let me know what you think ;)
*edited: Would you believe that the lovely Nicpi asked to translate this story into Russian? How awesome is that! So, if you know Russian and want to check it out, here's the link: ficbook. n e t readfic/1620400
The end of an era…
Yes, that's what he thought he had heard Sherlock mutter. He wasn't even sure that that was what Sherlock had actually said, but for some reason he simply couldn't get the words out of his head.
Was it the end of an era for Sherlock? He and Mary thought that they had made it perfectly clear that they'd do their best not to let their marriage change things between him and Sherlock.
For God's sake, Sherlock wasn't stupid and he must have known that their many conversations about Beth that only got more and more frequent as their wedding day approached, were actually a sort of brainstorming meetings on the topic of how to keep Sherlock Holmes happy and how to let him know that just because John was getting married didn't mean that he cared any less for Sherlock. Well, that was what Mary had insisted was necessary.
John had told her that Sherlock simply didn't see, didn't feel things that way. Not that John thought that Sherlock was incapable of feeling, of caring. God, no! Sherlock Holmes wasn't a machine, even if he liked to pretend to be. John knew that Sherlock would miss living with him in his own way.
Sherlock would actually have to get up and get things done himself. He would probably have to take up going shopping again, because John strongly suspected that Mrs Hudson would not buy groceries for him (She drew the line at cleaning the fridge when the smell got too bad.)
But Sherlock wasn't a child and he had managed to keep himself alive long before he met John, had survived just fine during the two years he was away, so John didn't see what the problem was. And why everyone kept suggesting that Sherlock would go to pieces without him.
That is, until he heard (or thought he heard, definitely only his imagination) Sherlock's wistful mumble about an era ending.
And that worried him.
And that's not what he should have been worried about on his bloody wedding day! He should have been worrying about stumbling over his vows, about the rings going missing, about the bride not showing up, about Sherlock Bloody Holmes's best man speech!
Yeah, those were the things a man was supposed to worry about on his wedding day.
Not his best friend's feelings!
Especially since said best friend repeatedly claimed over the course of their friendship that he didn't have feelings. Especially since the best friend pretended to be dead for two years, pretended to jump to his death before John's very eyes, for God's sake! And then he forced John into a very sappy speech about forgiving him by making him think that they were going to die, the selfish prick!
Of course, the idiot probably thought that was only a necessary nudge that John needed to allow himself to forgive him, because he knew best. Because, of course, he knew John better than John knew himself, the bloody genius!
And there he went again, getting worked up over Sherlock Holmes.
Only…
Only there was this look in Sherlock's eyes in the carriage that night. And John was sure that Sherlock wasn't acting then, he knew him well enough to know when he was fibbing. He was almost sure that Sherlock was lying about the bomb, only he hadn't known for certain, hadn't wanted to take the chance. And when John asked him to be his best man, when John told him that Sherlock was his best friend!
John had been looking forward to the moment when he would finally manage to surprise Sherlock Holmes, the great detective who missed nothing. But he had always imagined the feeling that would accompany this realisation to be victorious. Only victory was the last thing he felt when he looked into Sherlock's uncomprehending, startled, utterly, utterly shocked face. How could Sherlock know what he had for breakfast and how old his razor blade was and all those other inconsequential things and not realise how much he meant to John?!
So, was it possible that John was wrong? That Sherlock would miss him as more than a substitute for his skull that Mrs Hudson had taken away again and the ever-amazed audience to his deductions? That he would miss the companionship, the nagging about his eating habits, John making him cups of tea that he never drank, let to get icy cold and didn't bother to clean up and only paid attention to when colonies of mold began to grow in the milk.
BecauseJohn would miss that, because John had kept missing those things for two bloody years.
And John would hate for Sherlock to come back to the friend he sacrificed two years of his life for and feel like he was losing him again, this time for real, this time forever.
Naaaah!
That was just stupid! Sherlock didn't feel that way and even if he did, that was not what was just about to happen.
John Watson was getting married.
He wasn't moving away to Eastern Europe, just to the other end of the town.
He'd still go out on cases with Sherlock, he'd still force him to go eat at Angelo's from time to time and sometimes he and Mary would come over and make the sod a cup of tea that he wouldn't drink if that's what he would miss so much!
The end of an era…
What a stupid, stupid thing to say!
Not that John thought that Sherlock had actually said it!
And anyway, sod Sherlock Holmes!
John Watson was getting married!