A/N: This revolves around the whole of season two as I am feeling pretty lazy to explain each and every episode in that season and I really want to move on with the story. This chapter will mostly be a narrative though with no or little dialogues.

John was no stranger to PTSD due to wars but the recent messing up had seemed to escalated it to a next level. Not that his psychosomatic limp had come back but he was flinching often at sudden physical contact for some time. He managed to get out of that phase mostly though but it never went away.

Then came in the case of The Woman who unnerved him a lot, though he knew it was no way her fault but he felt a little uncomfortable around her. Though he did enjoy the way Sherlock punished that agent who threatened Mrs. Hudson. (He will never admit it loud though)

He was about to heave a sigh of relief when he heard the news that Irene had died but had felt sad for Sherlock as he had no reaction to the news. This lead to John conclude that either Sherlock was silently mourning her or, he had somehow managed to save her.

John mostly considered option two more as Sherlock seemed like he had honestly felt challenged by her and he somehow considered her somewhat like a friend. John didn't mind it or question Sherlock about Irene and the mysterious trip he had made.

Then came the case in Baskerville. John was hurt a lot when Sherlock had said he does not have any friends. He understood that Sherlock was not at the right state of mind, coming in terms from the memories of the terrifying hound he had encountered but that did not mean that he was not hurt by the comment.

They did make it up to each other quickly but that was something John could never forget. Because honestly speaking, a person with whom you had struck an immediate friendship and trusted each other easily,, then suddenly one comes and says, I don't have any friends when you obviously had one was a little hurting.

Though when Sherlock said that he was his only friend, it had made John a little proud and sad at the same time as a man with such intellect was neglected and treated cheaply. No one truly realised how insecure and soft hearted he was and always saw him as a show off and freak who never cared.

After this came The Fall. John had never expected that to happen when Moriarty had surfaced again and trapped Sherlock in a series of puzzles again. Honestly though, he should've expected it after all, he was one of the most seriously injured victims of them all (Apart from the lady who blew up).

They had again been given a set of puzzles again and were set about running, solving them. John didn't know whether he should sigh out in frustration or laugh out at the childish innocence shown by Sherlock when he was given a mystery.

This was one habit of Sherlock that John didn't like, barging head on to solve mysteries, not caring on whether it was a trap or a genuine thing. And turns out, this one was a trap that they didn't realise till it was late.

Moriarty had played them very well with the crimes, framing Sherlock easily, making up fake records to frame him and succeed in it... John had to appreciate the brains of this guy for all the detailed planning he had done.

And then he made the mistake of leaving Sherlock alone due to a false alarm. It had been glaringly obvious on what he had been planning but he had failed to realise it until the last second.

Because... seriously? He had seen what Sherlock had done to that agent who had threatened to harm Mrs. Hudson and now, when they were called saying that she had been injured seriously, he would stay back?

He should've suspected that something had been fishy when Sherlock had said not but no! He had to call him a machine (Even though it was an on the spot thing and not what he really felt), leaving Sherlock alone to plot an escape plan and contact Moriarty.

By the time John realised the ploy, it was too late and Sherlock had been chatting with Moriarty. Though he seemed to be focused on Sherlock primarily, he had subconsciously noticed his surroundings that he was not aware of (luckily)

The way Sherlock spoke to John on the phone hurt him the most. Basically telling the one who understood him the most (Other than Mycroft maybe) that everything about him was a lie and basically confessing that he was going to commit suicide broke John completely.

The moment Sherlock's body hit the pavement, John rushed towards him to at least try to save him but someone had to dash into him and prevent him from doing so. The next few days for John were some of the worst days in his life.

He got the message that his brother had been killed by some psychopath god who wanted to take over the earth, his shoulder had to get inflamed from the harsh fall to the ground and on top of that, Sherlock and Phil's funeral was coming up.

Phil's funeral was something that only Clint and John did alone as no one else knew that Phil and John were brothers. It was a silent affair that no one knew about, not even Mycroft.

Sherlock's funeral was also somewhat of a small event but with more people who knew him. John could not speak with anyone there as they all had some sort of connection with the late detective and the memories were still fresh and painful for him.

John could not blame Greg for whatever had happened as he had been helpless and was taking orders and there was nothing he could've done but still had helped a little during their small escapade.

John had been left alone after the funeral to spend some time in privacy that everyone understood, considering that they had been very close before he died. John had sensed someone around him when he visited the gravesite but ignored it and continued with his confession. If he had looked around though, he would've spotted Sherlock.

Sherlock was feeling guilty for leaving all the ones he loved in the dark, letting them think he was dead. Well... it was better than him roaming around with everyone he loved dead right? Anyways... it was just until he destroys the network and then he is done.

John was still angry at Mycroft though. Just throwing out information on someone to get whatever you want, especially your own brother's was something that totally put him off when he heard Mycroft's confession.

The following months were devastating and long for John, who was still grieving over his best friend and his brother. He shifted his home, the memories still fresh for him. He was visited often by Clint, Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade and Mycroft to keep a check on him.

Life was mundane for John, it was a far cry from the time he had with Sherlock or with the army. He had got him limp back unfortunately, not as strong as before but still was there. And so did some of the trauma from the Pool.

It wasn't like he completely recovered from it earlier but with all the deaths of his close ones had escalated it a little more and the main anchors were gone, resulting in the trauma to increase (More nightmares yay!)

Little did he know that this mundane, boring life of his was going to take a whole 180 degree very soon. After all, he was going to have to have a broad mind for whatever was going to happen!

A/N: It took longer than I wished to write this dumb chapter but... I am going to go off track with the Sherlock series after this. Sherlock visits John and vice versa but John won't go back to 221B to settle permanently after Sherlock comes back.

Hope you all liked it though! After this its all mostly related to Avengers. All comments and criticisms accepted and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading!

Rasi10 signing off

Published on 19 August 2018