Prompt from V Tsuion: Watson's past (before going to Afghanistan)
"John, why don't you ever include anything about your past in your stories in the Strand?"
"I've talked about Afghanistan before." His eyes darkened in a familiar way, and he rubbed absently at his shoulder where his old war wound lay.
Mary diverted the conversation before he could be drawn into those old memories. She knew it was still a difficult subject for him, and she'd been woken before by his nightmares about it. She'd never told him, but very soon after their marriage she'd gone to Holmes, asking him if there was anything that had helped John in the past. It was one of the first real conversations they'd ever had. "What about before that?"
His expression cleared, turning into something more wistful. "Nothing particularly remarkable. Of course, Harry and I considered our adventures remarkable at the time, but we were just two boys in a small village, playing games out of want for anything better to do. He was older, but I was the one who came up with all the adventures, spinning it out into a story. Once we got half the village involved, helping us hunt for treasure!"
Mary smiled, glad to see the dark mood had been warded away. "Why didn't you become a writer, rather than a doctor?"
Watson sighed. "My family was struggling, and I knew I'd need to make my own way in the world. I liked medicine and healing, and the army would pay for me to be a doctor, not a writer. So I put my ideas of becoming a writer aside as a childhood dream, and signed up to the army." He took Mary's hand in his own, rubbing his fingers across the back of it. "So you see, not really remarkable enough for the Strand's readers."
Mary bestowed a kiss on his forehead. "This reader will always find you remarkable enough."