Warnings: Johnlock slash (Rating could go up), beta'd now, I'm not British, Bullying, Mentions of drug abuse, AU
Disclaimer: I don't own Sherlock.
Special Thanks: QueenLadyAnne, my lovely Beta, who keeps reassuring me and giving me wonderful advice, and all my reviewers and commenters. You guys seriously make my day! :D
To Sherlock's dismay, his recovery time had taken four weeks and five days. If you had asked John, he would muttered something about a "Bloody git, not taking his injuries seriously," and then you would have heard a louder comment, as if John were hinting to the infuriating detective, about "Needing a few more days of rest! (Said detective refused to sleep for more than four hours each night, thus the need for a longer recovery time)" Although, if you had asked Sherlock, he would have adamantly disagreed and then say that he was ready to go back four weeks ago.
The first two weeks had been going well. Sherlock had had the cold cases and a humanoid head tucked away in the freezer to experiment on. Unfortunately, for the detective and blogger, the cases had quickly been solved and the head was only entertaining for a few short hours. The last two remaining weeks had been filled with a disgruntled raven haired man that declared loudly and profusely that he was "BORED!" Finally, though, it was time for the detective to return back to what he does best. He would be taking a cab out in just a few short minutes to a crime scene pertaining to a serial killer that had a thing for eyes and hands.
It was finally time for detective and blogger to leave, Sherlock was a bundle of excited energy. Considering that the armature sleuth had been cooped up in the flat for 33 days, John couldn't fault or berate the man before him, for irrelevant things like 'timing' or 'having glee' at a crime scene. In fact, John had to smile at his childlike enthusiasm. When the dark moods had set in, smiles and laughter had taken a back seat to brooding and despondent glaring.
When the cab pulls up to the unimposing flat John is left to pay the fare, like always, and the dynamic duo is met with flashing blue and red lights. Detective Inspector Lestrade stands off to the side, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the pair to arrive.
Sherlock then walks forward to be updated on the case by the DI, but turns around when he realizes his threadmate has not followed. John is on the sidewalk talking on the phone, in a hushed whisper, to some unknown party ('Harriet' Sherlock silently supplies). His Shoulders are tense and eyebrows are furrowed. When Sherlock catches his love's eye, John nods his head as if to say, 'Go ahead, I'll be up shortly.' With an answering nod, the dark headed sleuth is gone, leaving John on the sidewalk with a intoxicated Harry bemoaning about her woes.
When Greg and Sherlock entered the flat, Lestrade pulls him aside by the arm and cautiously says to the him, "Look, the others don't know about you and John. I've had time to come to terms with the threads when you were at the hospital, but not everyone will be as receptive to this new information. It might come as a...shock to a few individuals... Don't provoke them."
Sherlock pulls away with a huff, rolls his eyes, and then replies with, "I don't see why it's any of their business. If these people of yours, aren't professional enough to handle something this mundane and quotidian, then I can see why you need my help." With that, Sherlock, being trailed by Lestrade, then turns to dash up the stairs in order to get to the crime scene.
When the consulting detective steps into the room, he is met with Ms. Donovan's "lovely" voice declaring, "The Freak's here!" He ignores them as his mind quickly switches over to case mode. He takes in the room before him, noting the four sobbing family members in the corner currently being questioned by another member of Scotland Yard, deducing with an intelligence that could rival the deity Mímir(1), before turning to the body which was lying lifelessly, face down on the floor. 'Female, approximately 5'1"- 5'2", age 21-23 years old, artist-mostly sketches, lives alone, Right handed' He turns the body over and inspects the other side. 'Knew attacker, attacker approximately 5'5"-5'6".' Sherlock then takes out his pocket magnifier glass to scrutinize her blouse in more detail, which he then finds a dark brown, curly strand of hair.
"The Victim's name is Brianna Andrews, age 22. Her sister Alicia found her." Greg points her out then says, "The previous victims are members of her family. Mother Christina Andrews, age 43." Lestrade pauses briefly in his update to hand over pictures of each deceased member to Sherlock before continuing, "And sister Samantha Andrews, age 15. All Victims have had the same treatment. Neck sliced, right hand decapitated, then eyes gouged. We think these traits are part of the serial killer's M.O."
Sherlock, during Lestrade's retelling of facts, analyzes each photo before walking over to the four mourning family members, 'father, two sisters, and a brother,' inspecting each in turn, before turning to Greg, " The latest victim, Brianna ,was an artist. Her right sleeve is lightly coated with graphite. The graphite was picked up when she swiped her hand across the paper to remove the eraser shavings. Her mother Christina was a surgeon, the photos show her degrees. Little Samantha was a musical prodigy. She played the violin, which I know based upon the rosin on her right sleeve. What do each of these unique individuals have in common, besides being related?"
Sherlock then turns to Alicia, a brunette with curling ringlets, before continuing his discourse with slightly narrowed eyes, "Each victim had an extraordinary talent that used both eyes and hands. Our killer is an envious, destructive individual with little to no direction in her life. They always blamed others for their mistakes. Our suspect had a troubled childhood. No, they weren't abused but they were the troubled middle child. The black sheep of the family." He turns away from Alicia to walk over to the mantle where each photo had been meticulously cleaned and taken care except the last picture on the mantle of Brianna and Alicia. They are hugging each other stiffly, smiles forced, and eyes staring solely at the camera.
He picks up the last photo before turning back to Lestrade and saying, "The killer is the type to parade in front of family members, pretend to be grieving over the loss of such a talented woman, but is secretly joyful and giddy. Her hatred and resentment for the three women, grew until she just couldn't stand it anymore. Our killer doesn't have a talent. No one believes she will ever really amount to anything. She finally broke one night when Brianna had called to tell her the exciting news. She was getting accepted into an animation studio which was her dream job. Alicia is your killer. She drove over and killed her after having an argument about said job in which Alicia wanted her to decline. She had already killed her younger sister and mother, one more wouldn't have made a difference." Brianna's father steps angrily forward at the accusation against his middle child but stops when he saw Alicia's face.
Her face was arranged in an ugly scowl, her once pretty features have been twisted until unrecognizable by her hatred. When she begins to speak, her eyes are like ice, voice filled with hatred before saying, "Yes, I've done it. I've always been the bad child. 'Why can't you be like Brianna, Alicia? She's perfect, smart, funny, and everyone likes her!' No one ever notices me. I'm always overlooked. When Brianna called saying she had got the promotion, I was so...angry! It was just going to be another thing she would get recognized for that I wouldn't. I came over here and killed her."
Lestrade quickly steps forward and arrests her. Three family members are now sobbing for a different reason along with the first. As she is being led away by the good DI, Anderson then walks into the room but stops short when he sees Sherlock's red thread.
"What the hell is that?!"
At Anderson's outburst Sergeant Donovan flounces into the room but stops as Anderson had, before snidely commenting, "I pity the poor soul bound to you! Who the hell would want the heartless Freak as their mate?"
As the annoying woman is finishing her sentence, John makes his way slowly up the stairs. Harry had went on, and on, and on about how Clara won't talk to her and how she was a complete and utter waste of space. He was happy he had to end the call to check on Sherlock. Speaking of, he sees his lovely sleuth but pauses when he comes just outside of the room when he hears the last part of her sentence.
"I can't believe he even has a mate!" Anderson chortles, "Why anyone would want him is beyond me. His mate must be a desperate, poor sod to be in a relationship with him. Anyone can see that Sherlock's just a sociopath and a Freak!"
John's anger had steadily climbed as each word was articulated by the cruel pair against the consulting detective, but when he looks over to Sherlock his heart stops and then breaks for his beautiful genius.
Sherlock's features have shut down completely. His shoulders are slightly slumped over and his frame sagging. His face is devoid of all emotion or feeling as each word is said. He doesn't say anything and lets them continue on with their bullying.
"What did you have to do to them Freak? Did you drug them, torture them to make them stay? You've must've done something. No one would willingly stay with you for over ten seconds let alone a lifetime. The only reason John stays with you is because he pities you." Anderson laughs before taking over Donovan's cruel words, "Aw, look at the sad little pretend detective! He doesn't even have any friends!"
John then steps forward until he can hold Sherlock's hand. "Not that it's any of your business but I'm Sherlock's threadmate. I stay with him, not out of pity, but because I love him. You apparently don't know what that feels like, because each of you have a threadmate yet you have tossed them aside to pursue your own selfish desires. If anyone here should be ridiculed or judged it would be the two of you. Sherlock's just discovered that I'm his intended and he has been more faithful than either of you have. And he is not a pretend detective! He's more of a detective than any of you will ever be. If he weren't and you were, you wouldn't need his help now would you? Neither one of you have the mental capabilities to keep your jobs, if it weren't for him, you both would most likely have been fired long ago!"
John turns away from the speechless oppressors and turns toward his beloved detective before going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek, "Come on love, let's head home." John then tugs gently at Sherlock's arm until he gets the idea and they exit the crime scene together. They both enter the cab but Sherlock has still yet to have spoken a single word. When they arrive at 221B Sherlock exits first then he followed closely by John after he has paid the cabbie.
They both climb the stairs in silence and that continues until each occupant has stepped foot into their beloved home. Sherlock turns slowly to John with lugubrious eyes before asking, "What's wrong with me? What have I done? I've only ever been myself, isn't that good enough? Why do so many people hate me?"
John's heart clenches in his chest for his belittled soulmate. He steps forward and wraps his arms around the detective's slim waist before burying his head in his chest. "There's nothing wrong with you love. People will belittle the unique and beautiful because they feel intimidated or inferior to someone else. To make themselves appear big, they will crush and stop the brightest stars until they can't shine. You are the brightest star there ever was. They feel intimidated by you so they try to make you feel like you aren't worth anything, but you are the most valuable person I know. The world would be so dark without you and I would be so lost and lonely with you gone. You have given me so much and I owe you everything. I love you and many others do as well. We know you are wonderful just the way you are."
Sherlock's eyes have welled up throughout John's little speech and when he replies it sounds broken and croaky, "I don't deserve you John. I don't know what I've done to deserve this chance with you but I'm glad I've been given it. I will try my best to earn it."
"You don't earn it. You can't. I don't love you for some small iota of worth. I don't suffer through your flaws but I won't pretend you don't have any. We both aren't perfect but we are perfect for each other. I love you, dark moods and all. That's all that really matters in the end." When John finishes, he reaches up and wipes away the tears falling from verdigris eyes, gives him a kiss, and then pulls Sherlock closer until they fit snugly together, hugging and cuddling closely.
"I love you too." A pair of thin lanky arms encircle the bloggers frame, holding just as tightly onto his soulmate and love. Without moving out of the comfortable embrace, John looks up at the towering detective before smiling and saying, "Now, enough worrying. We have a wedding to plan!"
Notes: First off the 1: Mímir is the Norse god of Wisdom. If you want to know more about him, look him up. I'm too lazy to put more of a description about him on here lol. :) Okay, Future plans for Anderson and Donovan...I personally don't like either character. Not because they are pointless. Both characters add something to the story, but the problem I have with them is that before the fall. They were horrible! I know Anderson's gotten better but, I have difficulties with both. I plan though to make both character's nicer due to the fact that after the fall, they are kinder (I'm not really making this season 3 compatible, but I will have some references about it. I might somehow incorporate Sherlock's best man speech, because let's be honest, that was adorable. As promised here are my answers to your reviews!
TheMysteriousGeek2345:Well, no handcuffs, but I hoped you did like the chapter :D Yes, John always takes care of his Sherlock
Kestrel98: My mother is doing a lot better thank you, love! *hugs back* I love you too and thank you for such a lovely compliment! :D
viridianaln9: I'm glad you do! I love hearing from my regular comments (they are all so lovely) but it's nice knowing new people are reading the story and like it. So, thank you :D
Randomplotbunny: I agree . That's their home and it's where they belong :). Thank you for the well wishes and thank you for having such confidence in my abilities to care for others. :D My mother is doing much better :) I hope you enjoyed 13! If you've read 13, did I live up to your expectations? I tried to make when Lestrade noticed the threads clearer in this chapter, does it make sense now? I like your long review! I enjoy hearing from you! :D I feel very honored that you wrote all those words for me then! :D
Also, If you have commented on Chapter 13 already, I'm not answering those until I get 14 up. Thank you all for commenting! :D