Disclaimer: Sherlock, along with its characters, location, etc. are the property of BBC and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I do not own them, though I definitely wouldn't mind being on a first name basis with Benedict Cumberbatch ;)
Summary: AU after TEH. No Mary. Sherlock has a nightmare about his sleepless, torture filled nights in Serbia and wakes John up with his screams. John comforts him. Johnlock slash, but nothing explicit. More like the beginnings of a romantic relationship between them. One-Shot. Rated T.
…..
Nightmares
…..
Sherlock felt each hit with the whip slice open the skin on his back. He felt like he was on fire, like he had jumped into the depths of hell in order to save his friends.
To save John.
"John…" he moaned between the cracks of the whip.
"Who's John? Your boyfriend?" the Serbian asked.
Sherlock didn't answer, just braced himself for another tirade of whips.
"Maybe we'll have to find this John fellow, give him a taste of what you're getting." The Serbian whispered.
"No!" Sherlock yelled. He twisted around in his chains.
"Yes, I think that sounds like an excellent idea…" the man gave an evil smile.
"No! John! JOHN!" Sherlock screamed.
Suddenly, he was awake, laying in his bed, drenched in sweat. He saw a figure leaning over him, roughly grasping his shoulders. He panicked for a moment before realizing it was John. His beloved John.
"John…" he croaked out.
"It's okay, Sherlock, mate…" John soothed. He scooted further onto the bed and pulled Sherlock's head into his lap, stroking his hair.
Sherlock calmed after a moment and laid still, letting John softly card his fingers through his unruly curls.
After a moment, John spoke. "Are you all right, mate?" he asked quietly.
Sherlock gulped. He shook his head, unable to form words.
"What were you dreaming about?" John asked. He was still softly pulling his fingers through Sherlock's hair.
Sherlock gulped again. "Serbia." He croaked out.
John was silent or a moment before he asked another question. "Sherlock, mate…why were you screaming my name?"
"Threatened you." He croaked. "Whipping me…said your name…Serbian threatened to find you…beat you…" Sherlock shivered.
It's all right, mate. I'm fine. It was just a dream…" John continued to mutter a string of soothing words under his breath, still stroking Sherlock's hair.
After a few moments, Sherlock calmed. He looked on the verge of falling back asleep. John shifted Sherlock's head back onto his pillow and made to stand and leave. He was stopped when Sherlock's hand shot up and wrapped around his wrist.
"Stay…please?" Sherlock practically begged.
John stood still for a moment before responding. "All right, Sherlock. I'll stay with you. Just let me run up to my room and grab my pillow. Is that all right? I promise I'll come back."
Sherlock thought for a moment before nodding. He released John's wrist.
John practically sprinted up the stairs to his room. He grabbed his pillow and his dressing gown before hurrying back into Sherlock's room. Sherlock had moved to the edge of the bed to make room for John.
John hung his dressing gown on the back of the bedroom door before setting his pillow at the head of the bed and sliding under the duvet next to Sherlock. Sherlock instantly curled into his side, resting his head on John's chest.
John stiffened for a moment, unused to this level of intimacy between Sherlock and him, before relaxing back into his pillow. He began stroking Sherlock's hair with one of his hands, the other tucked under his pillow.
"It's all right, mate, I'm here." John whispered. Sherlock seemed to draw even closer to him.
John turned onto his side so he was nose to nose with Sherlock. He wrapped his arms around the detective and pulled him close. He heard Sherlock sigh as he buried his face in John's chest.
John bent his head and placed a soft kiss on Sherlock's forehead.
Sherlock pulled his head from John's chest, a confused look on his face.
"You're not the only one whose feelings changed while you were away." John muttered. "I realized, too late I thought, that I wanted to be more than just your best friend, Sherlock."
Sherlock smiled before he leaned forward and cautiously placed his lips on John's. They were warm and soft. The kiss was by no means heated, but it was the best kiss Sherlock ever had. It was full of more love than the detective had ever experienced.
John kissed him back eagerly. This was all he had dreamed of for the two years Sherlock was gone. He would never be able to express how badly he had missed him, and how happy he was that he was back.
After a few moments, Sherlock pulled back from John and smiled at him. John smiled back.
Sherlock bent down and buried his face in John's chest again, more tired than he had been in a while. For once, he was sure he was going to sleep soundly, without a nightmare.
Both men were exactly where they wanted to be.
...
A/N: I know it was short, but I thought it was super cute, and I couldn't, in good conscious, not write it out and share it with the world. Please leave a review if you liked it!