Flashback 1979:
Johnny was very confused and didn't know who to talk to. He walked all the way back from school a few feet behind his dad, not knowing how to ask; so ignoring the repeated attempts at asking after his day. Once home he played quietly in his room till tea time and when his mum asked how his day went Johnny shrugged, "It was okay." Then in a characteristic child's manner of switching tack completely, "Jimmy was awfully mean to me, said he was going to get all the girls, in the whole school, pregnant and then I couldn't have a girlfriend."
His parents exchange knowing looks, "Why would you be worried about that Johnny? Your eight years old, surely this isn't the kind of thing your worried about now?" Patiently they wait and watch while their son works out what he wants to say.
Listlessly Johnny chases a random pea around his plate ,"I just don't understand why does he think I would care?" he shrugs and slumps deeper into his chair, back and shoulders so rounded in he looks like he has a humped-back.
His dad shifts forward, leaning in toward his son, as if to convey physical strength by proximity. "Look Johnny, some boys feel they have to make themselves bigger to have a place, right?" Johnny nods, "Well I know that Jimmy has an older brother from his mum's first marriage and he's a big tough lad. So I would guess that he's telling Jimmy things like that, and then Jimmy is then repeating them in school." Looking at his youngest carefully he glances to his wife, "Do you have any ideas as to why Jimmy would want to repeat those stories Johnny?"
Considerably perked up in his chair, Johnny straightens further and sits back thinking. "I think he's acting like his big brother with us because he wants that control. He wants us to think he's cool and a bit scary, like," here Johnny stumbles, "like he thinks this big brother is scary?"
His mum smiles, "Exactly my clever clogs! It's called 'overcompensation' and most bullies do it." Looking settled in himself again, Johnny still looks a bit withdrawn, so she asks, "What's still bothering you Johnny?"
Blushing a bit Johnny delivers his speech before he can change his mind. "I know I'm different than the other boys, and I know they don't know it, but does Jimmy? Has he figured it out? Is that why he said this to me?"
His parents shift about on their chairs a bit, as though uncomfortable about where this conversation may go, or the long lasting effects it may have. In the end his mum smiles again, "Look Johnny, we know it is hard being different from everybody, but your not different on the inside. Yes, right now you feel very different, you don't have any time for girls, but frankly that isn't uncommon in your age group! Maybe you feel a closer bond to boys, but this is hardly surprising. You spend all of your time with other boys." She watches as Johnny looks up at her in mild confusion, "I doubt Jimmy has any facts about your differences but maybe it would be safer for you to wait and see if you grow into liking girls as well as be careful and try not to rock the boat."
Feeling his parents weren't telling him quite everything Johnny watched them both for a moment, to see if anything more was forthcoming, then he just nods and finishes his tea.
End Flashback
Life settled into a comfortable flow after that. John moved his stuff back in - actually there was a good amount still upstairs that Mrs. Hudson teased them both about - as well as the rest from his flat. Though to be fair, there was a good amount of that stuff, that was too much a 'comfortable suburb-doctor's clothes' for either of them to stand and all that went into a box for the charity shop. Most of it offerings from Mary interestingly enough, John sighed as they filled the box, "We were both trying so hard to be normal weren't we?"
Sherlock looks at the hideous pastel plaid shirt in his roommate's hands, "You were indeed and I think it would have driven you both mad if you hadn't acknowledged it."
John huffs out a laugh, "I'm perversely glad she did something I could get mad over Sherlock. Glad I could stop not being here, away from my home, from you. You are still the best thing about my life and I was loosing the will to stay away."
His message said, John bundles everything away and takes himself off down to the nearest charity shop with the box, as Sherlock sits there replaying the statement over and over in his mind palace. He meticulously picks it over searching for the reason his stomach is in knots at John's heart-felt words.
John knew he wasn't being careful, but the thug had gotten passed him and if he didn't make up some time there was a good chance instead of helping apprehended a criminal he'd be finding a battered Sherlock at the end of the next alley. Running as quickly as he can and throwing caution to the wind, as he sees the dark shape of the criminal cresting the alley-front Sherlock has been cornered in, John throws himself off the low roof of the building he was running across.
Unfortunately for John, the criminal heard the scrape of his foot on the tile above and he put on a burst of speed. The airborne, ex-military man, does a cat-like twist with his body midair that puts him on top of the criminal. But it also reorients his limbs a bit too close to the building as he falls and his left foot cracks against the fire escape on the way down.
Not that he notices as he struggles with the man and by the time Sherlock comes around the corner he's sat astride the criminal's lower back with the suspects arms wrenched around behind him and levered up towards his shoulder blades. John happily stays there till DI Lestrade arrives with the panda car and handcuffs the man.
Then when he tries to stand he cries out in pain and falls to the ground. Sherlock who had been telling Lestrade the finer points of the investigation that brought them to this darkened alley pivots sharply at his friends outcry of pain and rushes over, leaving the DI mid-sentence.
"John, what's wrong?" He hovers over his friend; anxiety writ in every stiff movement and frozen expression.
John for his part is wrenching off his shoe and sock looking down at the swiftly swelling, discoloured foot, stifling curses and palpating his foot. " Sherlock, I hit the fire escape on the way down. I thought it was just the sole of the shoe..." Trailing off he tries flexing the foot and has to bite back a scream of pain.
His voice urgent and reaching to stop him from hurting himself any more, "John! Stop, you have clearly broken some metatarsals, stop making it worse! We need to get you to a hospital."
"I hate to admit it, you might be right." John reaches up with his hands like a small child asking to be picked up, and with a flicker of a smile Sherlock pulls him up onto his sound foot. "Lestrade, get over here and help me with John, he's broken his foot and needs to get to A&E."
Lestrade, who had been watching both Donovan reading the criminal his rights and Sherlock, turns his attention then to the roommates, "He what?"