author's note: Here's the next chapter! I hope that you enjoy it! And as always, thank you for your continued support!
"He was your what?" John asked a few minutes after Sherlock had told him that the man who shot him had an intimate relationship with him. How was that possible?
"He was my...boyfriend, John." He said; he closed his eyes and winced.
"How was he your boyfriend? Why didn't you ever tell me about him? You told me that you didn't have any boyfriends until you met me."
John wasn't really offended, or hurt. Mainly, he was shocked. Shocked that Sherlock would keep something like this away from him. He thought that they were supposed to be honest with each other. He thought that Sherlock wanted to be more honest with him. Sherlock winced and shook his head.
"Because he's not important. Well..." He thought about what he wanted to say next carefully; he didn't want to upset John more. "Because I didn't think that you did need to know about him. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to just pop out of no where."
"But who is he? Why did he...act like that?"
Sherlock winced. "I don't want to talk about it, John it isn't important."
John sighed. "Please tell me, Sher?" He asked softly, hoping that his tone would help convince him to tell him more things about his ex.
Sherlock ran a hand through his curly hair.
"He...abused me, John. That's why he acted like that. He...he didn't think that I should have left him. He thought that I should have been his." He winced again as memories of that time flashed through his mind.
John frowned. Sherlock was abused? He was...actually abused? The thought of Sherlock being taken advantage of made him want to shoot the guy. He sighed and ran a hand down his face. No. He couldn't think about that. He wasn't a killer.
"I'm..I'm sorry."
John whispered, unsure of what else to say. After all, what could he say? Nothing he could say would make Sherlock feel better. So, instead of talking about the guy, he kissed Sherlock's head.
"He can't hurt you now though, okay? Not anymore, at least."
Sherlock smiled.
"Thank you, John, I appreciate it." He hums and kisses John's chest. He traced a pattern along the fabric. "Do you know when I can leave here?" He asked softly.
John shook his head. "No, I don't, but I don't think that you'll be leaving here soon, Sher. You just got shot, after all. You need to rest."
He sighed and slapped the bed. "But I am ready to leave this place! I am tired of being confined to this puny bed."
John raised an eyebrow. "Puny?"
Sherlock let out another sigh. "Yes, John, this bed is puny. I miss our bed at home."
John chuckled and kissed Sherlock's cheek. "You'll be back in that bed in no time, Sher. You just have to be patient."
Sherlock shook his head.
"Being patient is for the weak. I don't want to be patient."
"Being patient is not for the weak. It's actually for the strong. You see, if you're not patient, Sher, your wound won't heal properly and then you'll have to stay in the hospital for longer."
Sherlock grimaced.
"I don't want to stay in here for longer. I just want to go home."
John ran a hand through Sherlock's hair, hoping to make the man more at ease. Sherlock hummed softly and closed his eyes. John smiled softly and kissed the detective's temple.
"Go to sleep...it'll help you heal faster."
Sherlock, for once, didn't fight John. He shifted a bit, but he felt sleep come over him within minutes. Soon, he was in a land of his own thoughts, and completely oblivious to reality.
Later on that day, the nurse came in with Sherlock's food. When Sherlock first saw the food, he pushed it away. It didn't look bad, but he wasn't in any mood to eat. He didn't want to eat. Eating would require too much energy. Energy that he was not willing to give up.
After about an hour and a half, Sherlock finally took a bite of his food, much to John's delight. Throughout the hour and a half, Sherlock made it his mission to poke at the toast, sniff the toast, and stare at it like it was poisoned by some mad man. John tried to tell Sherlock that the food was fine, but Sherlock didn't listen to him.
When he took the bite, John watched every. Single. Little. Movement. That he made. Sherlock rolled his eyes at the way John was watching him of course, but that didn't stop John from staring. Sherlock took a bite and smiled softly when he swallowed.
"Okay...that was not as bad as I expected it to be," he said, sensing that John was going to ask him what he thought about it.
John grinned and nodded. "I told you that it wouldn't be bad."
Sherlock grunted and continued to eat the rest of his sandwich silently. Once he was done, he pushed the tray away. John smiled softly and kissed Sherlock's temple.
"Thank you for eating, Sher. I really appreciate you actually eating it."
Sherlock blushed.
"You're welcome, John." He leaned against the smaller man and sighed. "I am bored, John. I don't want to be in this hospital anymore. It is very boring."
John chuckled and ran his hand through Sherlock's curls.
"I know. I'm sure that you'll be able to get out soon, though. You just have to be-"
"I want that guy to get arrested," Sherlock said. John blinked, unsure of who he was talking about for a second. But then he got it. "He doesn't deserve to be walking around as a free man. He shot me, John. He can't just walk around Madrid acting like that never happened."
John smiled. "Well, I could call the police, you know. They typically handle these types of things."
Sherlock shook his head.
"No, I don't want to get the police involved, John. This is my own business. Not theirs."
John frowned. "But..Sher...they handle these types of things. They could help you. And your ex did break the law. He should pay for that."
Sherlock sighed. "I know that, John, but he could get revenge...just like he tried to get today."
"Really? You think that he would try to do that? I mean, Sher...he'll be in jail. He won't be able to get you from there, and I'm sure that we can get Mycroft to make him get a lifetime sentence."
Sherlock tensed. Yes, that was true. He was sure that Mycroft would be very happy to get this little "problem" off of his hands. But the thing was though that this guy had friends. His ex could tell his "minions" that Sherlock Holmes was the cause of his arrest. Then, his minions would come after him and try to kill him. Or, that's what he thought that they would do. It made quite a lot of sense to Sherlock. But, that might have just been because he knew his ex relatively well, even if he hadn't seen him since university.
"Come on, Sherlock, what are you thinking?" John said after a few moments of silence. He could practically hear Sherlock's brain whirl.
Sherlock let out a small breath. "I was just thinking about what would happen if he went to jail. His little 'friends' would probably try to hurt me if that happened to him. They're very loyal to him, John."
"But can't Mycroft send them to jail, too? I mean, I'm sure that they've broken the law too. Especially since they hang out with him."
Sherlock shrugged. Why did this mean so much to John? He's about to ask him why, but then it hit him. Oh. It's because he cared about him, of course. He wanted to make sure that the people that hurt Sherlock were put in a place that kept them away from Sherlock so they couldn't hurt him again. Sherlock sighed and kissed John's chest.