Social Boundaries as Applied to Significant Others (Sherlock BBC Fanfic)
A/N – companion piece to Traditional Markings – as demanded!
It didn't take a genius to know that Sherlock Holmes was not one for observing the boundaries. Those annoying social constructions that the people around him liked to observe only slowed him down when he was pursuing a goal and irritated him when he wasn't. Really, who needed to waste time observing the proprieties when it was much quicker to get in, do what needed doing and get out again?
One of the things that attracted him so strongly to John was that his partner didn't seem to have boundaries.
That was misleading, but true. John observed all the social niceties and forms in his daily, public life and seemed to thrive on it. In his private life, of which Sherlock was proud to be a very large part, there didn't seem to be any boundaries at all.
That didn't stop John from complaining about Sherlock 'crossing the line' now and then, but Sherlock had deduced early on that it was a form of verbal game that John liked to play and simply gave as good as he got. Those that didn't know them thought they were fighting, even Mrs Hudson had been misled over their 'domestics' on occasion. Once, even Mycroft had texted to intervene, which had afforded Sherlock hours of amusement.
Sherlock had certainly known in the first few months that they lived together that he had found something uncommonly rare in John Watson. They hadn't been sleeping together at that point, but Sherlock had realised that he had found the one man on the planet that apparently knew the difference between public façade and private realities and embraced both of Sherlock's with ease and confidence. The fact that he cared enough to warn Sherlock during the first round of Moriarty's Game that he was coming off as more psychotic than detached showed how well Sherlock had chosen his friend.
Of course, once they started being intimate Sherlock found that even fewer boundaries applied to John than before. John insisted that they avoid public displays of affection, which Sherlock agreed with wholeheartedly, but didn't mind Sherlock invading his space in private. Sherlock had revelled in finding what the internet insisted was a Significant Other – seeing the acquisition as further evidence that he was not the monster he was occasionally accused of being.
At first Sherlock had been happy with that. He'd never really entered into a physical relationship with a peer that had been based on mutual respect and regard as well as the more pleasurable side of things. He had no desire to make a spectacle of himself in public and didn't care what others thought of him as long as they accepted his work with the appropriate gratitude. They had spent the first six months of their physical relationship in relative peace.
Then Sherlock had noted that there were people who sought John's attention. They sought Sherlock's as well, but this had never been a problem, in fact it was useful on occasion to be the object of someone's desire as it clouded their thinking and let him get around them more easily. Whenever someone flirted with John, his partner, his Significant Other – his being the most important word – made sure to reject the unwanted advances politely.
But as time passed, more and more people started to notice John and apparently wanted to get into his bed. This was simply unacceptable: not because Sherlock thought John would betray him, but because Sherlock disliked watching some boring, mediocre idiot attempt to lay claim to something that didn't belong to them.
The answer to this was to mark John as his. Obviously the skull that stood for their wedding ring was not something they could flash about. It was impractical for John to wear it on his person and there had originally been an issue of keeping their relationship a secret from Moriarty. Once that barrier had been removed Sherlock had fallen into the habit of writing on John's arm or hand – which had the benefit of helping him to remember key points that weren't important enough to save to his hard drive and also marking John very visibly for others to see, because Sherlock always initialled his notes.
This had the added bonus of being something that they could do in other settings – more intimate and pleasurable. John didn't mind Sherlock writing all over him and Sherlock loved marking John with intimate and subtle messages and symbols; he loved even more that John responded so favourably to these markings. John had even drawn on Sherlock on several occasions, which had resulted in them losing entire days to bed play.
But after a while it wasn't enough. There was that case where that pathetic female tried to drape herself all over John. There were the looks that Lestrade shot his partner when they were talking at a crime scene. Even Angelo seemed to covet John, with his little glances and fussing over the table to make things 'more romantic'. Sherlock needed a way to mark John as his, because if he didn't he was going to lose valuable time solving cases if he had to keep fending off John's would be lovers.
Or perhaps it was that John was becoming bored with being Sherlock's lover, partner and friend. Sherlock was aware that 'ordinary' people found him wearying over time – but he'd stopped thinking of John as ordinary a long time ago. Sherlock had wondered if he should stop dragging John out of bed at all hours to meet clients and chase criminals. He was well aware that his lifestyle had been one John enjoyed for some time, but according to Google, even extraordinary people liked variety in their lives. Perhaps chasing criminals was becoming a bit… mundane. After all if Sherlock got bored, so could John.
Then Sherlock came home to find John injured – a purported fall on the Tube, though John had already thrown his clothes into the wash, so any trace that would have proven otherwise was gone. Mycroft called him out on an important case the day after and Sherlock cautiously suggested that John sit this one out. His lover had agreed easily enough, though he made a point of asking Sherlock how it was going in the two weeks that it took him to solve.
It would have taken less time if John had been with him.
Therefore Sherlock was feeling rather unsettled once the case was over and John insisted that they go out to eat at Angelo's. John had said it was important and that they had a booking. Sherlock had also read about this on the web – sometimes Significant Others took their partners to places that also held significance when they were ending a relationship. It seemed all very complicated, but John was complicated when it came to emotions.
Angelo and Billy both seemed to be in on this, whatever it was, which Sherlock didn't like very much. Angelo himself came over with the traditional candle, shook John and Sherlock's hands and promised that their meal tonight would be 'extra special'. Had he been the sort of person to use the phrase 'alarm bells ringing' then Sherlock would have been using it right now. He was not the sort to prolong a bad situation however, so he took charge of the conversation in his usual way.
"What's going on?" Sherlock hoped that he sounded coolly amused, not filled with trepidation, "You're up to something."
"Of course I am," John grinned, his face showing no guilt or worry at all. This went some way to ease Sherlock's mind, "I haven't exactly been hiding it from you."
Sherlock ran his mind back over the last two weeks, sifting through the snippets of time he had spent at home with John. His partner was not as well versed in deception as Sherlock, in fact any deception would have caught the sleuth's attention at once, so John had simply gone about his business as if nothing unusual was going on, which was quite an inventive way to get past Sherlock's defences. He'd have to keep watch on that in the future. Annoyingly, Angelo interrupted with wine and appetisers for them both, fussing uselessly until things were just so before bustling off again, winking at John as he did. Sherlock aimed a scowl at the man's back, not liking the attention paid to his partner and deciding that they needed to find a new Italian restaurant. His attention returned to his partner as John rolled his eyes, kicking the thin genius in the shin lightly to get his attention. Perhaps John disliked that Sherlock was becoming so possessive – he hadn't considered that.
"And so?" Sherlock folded his arms imperiously. John grinned and inexplicably began to unwind the bandages on his hand, removing the splint which had apparently been a fake and holding his hand out for Sherlock to see. On his ring finger there was a simple thick rose gold band, masculine and understated. It was exactly what Sherlock had wanted without realising it. Once again, John had proved that his emotional literacy and understanding of Sherlock was greater than anyone else on the planet – including his family.
"A mark for the entire world to see that I'm taken," John explained redundantly, because of course Sherlock understood. His partner pulled a jewellers case from his pocket, "I have its mate here, if you'd like it."
He hadn't considered that John would also want to mark him. Sherlock took John's hand in his, touching the ring gently, tilting it this way and that in the candlelight. The ring was new, which was perfect as he didn't want something that had belonged to someone else on John's finger. It had been under the splint for only a few hours, which was puzzling as John could have hidden it simply by not wearing it. Why the ruse with the bandages then? Sherlock took the offered box from John and opened it, looking down at the ring inside for a very long moment, deducing that it too was new and had been crafted at the same time as Johns – which made the rings bespoke and therefore eminently suitable, before holding the box and his own hand out in an expectant manner. John smiled and slid Sherlock's ring onto his finger, sliding it home easily. Sherlock spent a few silent moments examining his own ring as it nestled on his finger and then looked up at John. He knew there was a world of emotion in his eyes now, but that was alright as only John would be able to understand it.
He had not thought his Significant Other could get any more perfect than he already was, but this gesture showed how well John had understood him; how John had accepted him and all his quirks without needing to make a show of it. The ring was subtle, but would play into every social convention that would protect his Significant Other from opportunistic hunters.
"You've only been wearing this for a few hours," Sherlock touched John's ring once more, "Why the charade with the bandages?"
"Well it occurred to me that there would be times when the ring had to come off – for example in the ER I can't wear jewellery on my hands or wrists. I have a chain so the ring will go around my neck…"
"But that means that you're not marked again, not properly," Sherlock complained at once, stunned that he had not realised this flaw in John's simple solution at once, but John shushed him, tugging on his ring so it rested above the first joint. Where the band had been, there was a continuous line of script, running around the circumference of his ring finger. In small, black letters the word 'Sherlock' was tattooed into John's flesh.
Sherlock felt as if his heart had stopped and his brain frozen. This was perfect. Brilliant and simple and elegant and oh so incredibly hot.
Fortunately, Angelo appeared with their main meal at this point, which distracted Sherlock long enough for John to slip the ring back into position, hiding the tattoo – an action which helped the thin genius to regain his habitual control. It was a struggle for a moment, but Sherlock managed to pull his public persona into place and sit through the meal, which he actually ate some of, as though John hadn't just branded Sherlock's claim on his skin for all to see.
As it was, they barely made it up the stairs before Sherlock lost control and showed John exactly what he thought of John's solution and his role as Significant Other to Sherlock Holmes.
END
Disclaimer – characters and setting as depicted by BBC not mine. No money being made. Plot is mine.