A/N: Disclaimer I do not own Sherlock, I'm just visiting around with them.


It was a dismal, rainy day. John's shoulder ached and his mind echoed with the weight of earlier words, the pain in his shoulder acting as the ever constant reminder of the truth.

When John came home he found a silent, brooding Sherlock lying on the settee. John could almost imagine seeing the smoke surrounding him. He shook his head and sighed, taking off his coat.

He tried to talk to the unresponsive cloud of smoke on the settee and was only met by a wall of annoyed body language and a grunt that clearly stated go away or drop dead, John wasn't sure. It all sounded the same.

He sighed, and turned away from Sherlock, "Yeah never mind then, it doesn't even matter," he said under his breath on his way to the kitchen. "What difference can a man like me make anyway... It's just all the same now." Cripple-useless

After standing silently there in the kitchen for a moment he decided to make tea and he automatically made two cups, although he knew he would probably end up drinking both of them himself. A text tone chirped, and on checking his mobile he found that it was from Lestrade.

Sherlock had a bit of a bad day today.
Helped someone and only was rewarded with the name freak and then Donovan was at it again also. I just wanted to give you a heads up.

-G.L

John sighed, and shook his head as he slipped his phone into his pocket and thought about the text and how much of a slap in the face that must have been for Sherlock, to have helped someone only to have been called such a back-handed and senseless name. Freak.

Sherlock always acted like he didn't seem to care what people thought, but John knew to some point that he did and especially when it came to his work. John remembered the pain of overhearing someone - one of his patients actually, saying earlier today at the Locum about the crippled doctor and they didn't know why they had hired someone like that.

He didn't know why it still bothered him and Sherlock, they both should be used to it them by now, the looks and the names were no strangers to either of them as the years went by. It just seemed to hurt more when you weren't expecting it. Especially when it came from people you tried to help. It's the people you help that always surprise you.

I guess I should always expect it he thought as he grabbed the two cups of tea and went into the living room. He set the cups on the coffee table in front of the settee and turned calmly, raising Sherlock's legs just enough for him to slip underneath them.

He could feel Sherlock's eyes on him as he silently reached for his cup, ignoring the slight echo of pain in his shoulder and turned the telly on, pleasantly surprised to find that a Dr. Who marathon was playing.

"What are you doing?" Sherlock asked pointedly, eyebrows raised in annoyance, but John noticed he didn't move his legs so he just shrugged slightly and answered simply "What does it look like I'm doing?" John answered, taking a sip of tea and placed his own tired legs out on the coffee table. "I'm drinking tea and watching telly."

"With my legs in your lap…"

John nodded. "Yes because they are in my way and they are in my spot and you don't look like you are going to move any time soon."

"Hhmm.." Sherlock replied, in his best tone of apathy and slowly reached for his teacup, after looking at it for a moment, somewhat sadly, like he hoped it had some secret he was trying to figure out, he slowly took a sip and resumed his staring smoke holes into the ceiling. Freak, Freak drinking tea, dull.

They sat and lay there on the couch, one staring at the ceiling, listening to the rain as he tried to ignore his mind and the other watching the telly and trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder. After a few minutes, John turned to his friend, his soft words gently pulling Sherlock out the struggles of the dark cloud of his mind.

"I don't think or see you as a freak." At first he didn't think Sherlock even heard him but after a moment Sherlock turned his head and looked at John, and John could see Sherlock turning the words around in his mind. John looked back over to the telly and took another sip of tea.

A few minutes passed, and still neither of them moved from their positions. Sherlock stretched out on the couch with his legs in John's lap and John drinking his tea with his legs on the coffee table.

"I do not think or see you as a cripple." John heard the calm and simple words and they touched him and he forgot his pain in his shoulder. He didn't know how Sherlock found out about today at the Locum but he guessed that Sherlock could always tell.

He turned to Sherlock and stated simply, gently "Alright then...I guess, I guess that truly is all that counts isn't it?"

Sherlock looked down at his tea." Yes," he replied softly then he raised his eyes again to meet John's. "Would you... would you tell me? And would you let me know when?"

"When what?" John asked, dreading what he knew was coming next.

"The day you see me as a freak." was the sad and honest reply.

"Oh... well..." John paused, looking up from his tea and took a deep breath, thinking for a moment about what Sherlock's words truly meant and he then only realized the solution to settle the disturbed question. He turned and looked at Sherlock.

"The day you see me as a cripple will be the day I see you as a freak."

Sherlock lay silent for a moment then a smiled slightly. "Deal? He whispered, eyes fixed on John, no annoyance or anger in them. They were clear blue as they were looking for the honest promise in the only one he knew would give it to him.

"Deal." John stated and he reached his teacup over to Sherlock's and they clicked their tea cups together. The symbol of sealing a promise, a Pinky promise of their friendship. John heard Sherlock sigh a little and felt him relax, stress of the day slipping from his body and John could feel his stress and pain wash away with it.

The Vincent and The Doctor episode came on and they let their earlier unhappy memories and emotions wash away with the rain of the day and they sat quietly in the cozy, peaceful flat and in the company of each other. Sherlock's legs in John's lap and John's hand resting on them and they both realized they had forgotten the last time they felt at peace with something and happy that they knew they did not have to go back and look and worry on it.

Sherlock tapped his foot gently against John's arm, asking in his calm but excited way that John was so very glad to hear again "Turn the volume up, this is my favorite episode."