"John, why have you stopped writing the blogg?" Sherlock asked as he found John sitting in his chair laptop open but not looking at it, just staring straight ahead.
John looked up at him with tired eyes. How to explain it to Sherlock? He knew that all the nasty comments to his posts were probably from his unknown tormentor but it didn't stop it being unpleasant having his writing ripped apart and nasty comments about his appearance and intelligence posted every day. He just didn't need it. It was enough to have to deal with the cruel jibes at work, he didn't want to spend his evenings wallowing in the same thing.
"He's got to it. He keeps leaving messages and I don't want to indulge him by reading them" he settled for and Sherlock perked up coming over instantly.
"Show me." He demanded… "Why didn't you tell me, stop hiding things John." He growled as he turned John's laptop around and opened the blog which John had not visited for several days.
He immediately understood what John meant. He was not good when it came to social interaction but he had some understanding of the kind of comments that seemed to upset people in general. He did understand the concept of bullying even if he couldn't quite comprehend the sentiment behind it. Although he had some idea that the pain it involved may be in some way similar to the ache he felt every time he saw John's face grow tight with pain as he stumbled through the flat on his slowly healing knee.
The comments appeared to be from a multitude of people but they had only one mission, to humiliate the writer of the blog. Any literary or political allusions John made were ripped apart, making him sound more unintelligent than even Sherlock thought him. John's height was frequently referenced as a weakness, as was his relationship to Sherlock which was described as needy, pathetic, submissive and a whole slew of other words indicating John's lesser worth which although Sherlock could remember using a few of them himself at times he really did not associate with his flatmate.
Sherlock knew though he could not quite register why that comments like 'less than a man' and 'utterly pathetic' or 'ugly as sin' and even 'disgusting freak' were bad. He had heard John defend Sherlock when such comments had been directed at him and he had the distinct feeling that John might currently need someone to defend him against the words on his blog even though they were just words. John seemed to care about words.
Sherlock tried… for two hours that night… he would write responses to the nasty comments on John's blog, and then he would erase them.
"Doesn't he know that he looks pathetic next to the detective, he's ugly as sin… looks like a little runt next to Sherlock"…
Sherlock cringes as he tries to form a reply… "John is not ugly, he is striking and strong. His loyalty does not make him resemble a dog, it makes him good, strong, dependable… " and then he wonders if any of those words will actually portray John in a proper light and he deletes the whole post.
In the end he posts nothing. He watches John limp to his bedroom without having written another post. Watch him pick at his dinner without really eating and he knows… knows for certain that his lack of understanding of sentiment is a problem right now. Because his inability to write something useful to protect his friend is causing John to withdraw, and John's pain reverberates through him as though it was being cut into Sherlock with a knife.
Maybe, he thinks… he is learning… maybe what he feels for John is sentiment. This unexpected anger and pain at watching his best friend isolate himself and hide away from the cruelty of the outside world may be him experiencing sentiment.
He is vaguely aware that John would not like this, that he would claim that it meant the strange man who was causing all this had won and Sherlock would have to agree. What he is feeling is not good, it is not something he would wish on anyone. He also has the feeling that he has to hide it from John for that very reason. He needs to not let John know just how much he feels like tearing his hair out when he sees John flinching as someone goes to touch him or avoiding his blog, which he used to love, just so he won't see the nasty comments posted.
So in the end they both try to hide. John tries to hide his discomfort at the cruel remarks of friends and people he has never met. He tries to hide the burning pain as the blisters on his chest burst and a mild infection sets in, making him weak and feverish.
Sherlock tries to hide the fact that he can see John's pain, that he isn't oblivious to the slight sheen of sweat on his friend's forehead or the pained look as he forces himself to avoid as much of the internet as possible as he answers his e-mails.
In the end a very uncomfortable silence settles over 221B Baker Street as both flatmates try to protect each other and fails miserably.