"Let me see your phone for a minute?" John asks as soon as they get out of the gates of the school.
Confused, Sherlock hands it over and watches as John dials and holds the phone to his ear.
"Mum," John says as Sherlock hears someone answer. "Yeah, it's me. Mum, something's happened."
Sherlock continues to wonder what John's doing while John talks to Dawn.
"No, not with—I'm fine, Mum—Sher—Mum, listen to me!" John takes a deep breath and apologizes for shouting. "Sherlock and I have been working a case trying to figure out who stole Perry's research paper. Well, long story short, someone set Sherlock up and Perry randomly beat Sherlock up."
Sherlock frowns and hears Dawn gasp, then ask if he's ok.
"I don't know, Mum, that's why I'm calling. I'll be grounded an extra day next week, I promise, I just…can I go over to his house to make sure he's ok?"
Sherlock is pleased to hear Dawn agree and tell John to still not be home too late. John mutters agreements, thanks his mother, then hangs up.
"You didn't have to do that," Sherlock says in a monotone voice.
"Yes, I bloody well did," John says, grabbing Sherlock's hand and squeezing tight. "Are you ok?"
Sherlock can't bring himself to say yes; he's not ok. He just shrugs.
They make it to Sherlock's house and John is disappointed to find that Clement isn't in.
"My dad will be back soon," Sherlock says in explanation as he sheds his coat.
John nods, not questioning how Sherlock knew what he wanted to know. He takes his coat off and drags Sherlock to the sitting room.
The sofa is John's favorite part of the house, apart from wherever Sherlock is in a specific moment. It's soft and plush and purple (Sherlock's request), and he thinks it's exactly what Sherlock needs if there isn't time to build a bed under the piano. John sits at the edge, mashed against the arm, and pats his knee until Sherlock lies on the sofa, his head resting on John's lap.
John strokes his hair, running his fingers through the soft, black fluff. He chuckles when his finger gets caught in a particularly curly ringlet, and fully laughs when he untangles and the ringlet bounces back to Sherlock's head.
"I love your gorgeous hair," John says, rubbing Sherlock's scalp again.
Sherlock contently sighs and digs deeper into John's lap.
John's fingers roam down Sherlock's head to his neck. He rubs the soft skin there, remembering how wonderful it feels under his lips. He continues up to Sherlock's jaw, to his yielding cheeks and jagged cheek bones. He sighs and looks angrily at the gash across his marble skin. It's not large enough for Sherlock require stitches, but John is nonetheless more angry than he's been in a long time.
"It doesn't hurt," Sherlock mutters, sensing John's tension.
John lightly runs a fingertip over the cut. "I'm so sorry, Sherlock."
Sherlock turns his head to look up at John, and John notices clear streaks of moisture across Sherlock's nose and down to his temple.
He wipes Sherlock's tears away, then leans down and kisses Sherlock lightly.
They hear the garage door opening before their kissing can get carried away, not that they'd let it on the sofa. Sherlock sniffles and sits up, wiping his nose and eyes. John pats his back and eventually rests his arm around Sherlock's waist.
Clement whistles as he enters the house. John cracks a smile when he recognizes Let It Snow, but he just as quickly frowns, realizing he's been forgetting about his favorite time of year: Christmas. He momentarily thinks about a gift for Sherlock, but he's cut off by Clement entering the sitting room.
"John! I thought you were grounded! What brings you—" Clement stops, obviously taking note of the boy's shared serious face. When he notices Sherlock's cheek, he frowns deeply. "What. Happened." It's not a question, it's a demand.
Clement sits on the coffee table across from the boys while they explain everything. They tell Clement about Perry's case, about Vince's copies, about Sherlock's suspension, about Perry finding out that Sherlock's paper matched his, Perry punching Sherlock in the face, and finally about Sherlock finding the stolen research paper with Vince's handwriting on it.
Clement rubs his face and takes his phone out of his pocket.
"Dad?" Sherlock asks.
Clement holds up a finger indicating Sherlock to wait, then begins speaking into the phone. "Get home, now," is all Clement says, then hangs up.
Sherlock thinks Clement called his mother, but Sherlock wonders why. Rebecca's never been involved in any of Sherlock's problems, and Sherlock doesn't even know if she's in the country.
Clement doesn't say anything or explain, he just quietly gets up and goes to the kitchen.
The boys don't follow, and before Clement's even got the tea in the sitting room, the front door is thrown open.
"What happened?" Mycroft's voice rings through the house. His loud footsteps are heard on the hardwood floor, and Sherlock tries to sink into the sofa.
Mycroft makes it to the sitting room and spots them immediately, of course. He swiftly moves to the sofa and takes Sherlock's chin between long fingers. He tilts Sherlock's head to look at him, and Sherlock's eyes fill with tears again.
"Who did this?" Mycroft asks as softly as possible.
John's seen them interact like this before. Mycroft's soft voice makes Sherlock feel guilty, or sad, it makes him talk and do whatever Mycroft asks. The first time John had seen it was when he and Sherlock were ten and accidentally broke Mycroft's remote control helicopter, the one Mycroft had taken all summer to build from scratch. Mycroft had found the boys at the pool and Sherlock didn't even get out of the pool before Mycroft softly asked, "Sherlock, did you two break my helicopter?"Sherlock had immediately burst into tears and told Mycroft everything, and they were both punished for it later.
Now, as then, Sherlock's tears fall down his sharp cheeks.
Sherlock spills the whole story again, all the while Mycroft intently listens.
When they finish, Mycroft asks John for the list Harvey had given him.
"I wrote their real identities to the side," John says, handing it over.
Mycroft reads the list. "Vince…Perry..." he silently goes through the others. He passes the list to Clement and looks at Sherlock. "Brother," he softly says, "This is it."
Sherlock just nods and looks down at his lap.
"Wh—" John starts, knowing what Mycroft means. "No. No, no, no. You're not leaving, no."
"John—" Mycroft tries.
"No, you don't bloody use your voice with me, Mycroft Holmes, it doesn't work. I don't have to do as you say, and neither does he."
Sherlock places a hand on John's knee. "John—"
"You're not leaving, Sherlock, no. It makes more sense to punish them and get them to stop than it does for Sherlock to run away. What if this happens at the next school, huh? What if it doesn't stop?"
"That's a chance we need to take, John," Mycroft says. "It's more likely Sherlock go to a new school and have no problems than for bullies like this to stop. A bully who so carefully executed this heist just to be able to beat Sherlock up with reason is one who isn't going to be stopped."
"How do you know that's why Vince did this? Just to be able to beat him up?"
"It's already worked, didn't it?" Mycroft retorts.
John sighs and rubs his hands over his face.
"John," he hears Clement this time. "I know you're upset, we all are, but you know as well as we do that things could be so much worse once we get the bullies punished."
John sighs.
Right then, the doorbell rings. Clement quickly stands and rushes to it, and a minute later, Lestrade is standing behind Mycroft.
They tell him all the important bits, about the usual bullying, the cyber bullying, and Perry punching Sherlock. Lestrade takes notes.
"So? What are you wanting to do?" Lestrade asks once they're finished.
"Press assault charges," Mycroft answers.
"Wait, Myc…" Sherlock starts. "I…I don't…"
"You've been assaulted, Sherlock," Clement says. "That boy hit you, honey."
John wraps an arm around Sherlock again and presses his nose into Sherlock's shoulder.
"But…I…"
"I know, Sherlock," Mycroft says. "But once this is all taken care of, he won't hurt you again."
"What if he does, Myc?"
Mycroft softly says, "He won't. None of them will."
Mycroft leads Lestrade away to talk about all of it in private, and John knows this means Mycroft is making it so that Sherlock won't have to deal with any of it anymore (any of it being court or further statements).
"As for your suspension," Clement says, "We'll go in first thing in the morning to talk about this, ok?"
Sherlock nods. "I can prove I didn't cheat. I took photos."
"I know. And we will talk about it tomorrow."
Sherlock nods again. He rubs his head and makes a pained face. "I just wish I had something else to think about to take my mind off this."
John perks up and reaches for his backpack. "Take a look at this, Sherlock," he says, rummaging around and finally locating a piece of paper. He hands it to Sherlock.
Sherlock opens it up and reads the numbers and letter: 141a_33120
Sherlock furrows his brows and looks it.
"It's the decoded email address that Harvey gave to me," John explains. "It's the address of Lily's assaulter."
Sherlock takes a deep breath and stares at the paper. John knows he's thinking, so he doesn't say anything while Sherlock is silent.
Sherlock closes his eyes to let the numbers float through his head. Numbers. House numbers. License plates. Identification card numbers. Football kit numbers. But the 'a'. A could stand for anything. A name? A last name? They're specifically placed numbers and letter, almost a…
"Combination!" Sherlock shouts, opening his eyes.
"What?" John asks.
"It's a combination, maybe a safe or something. But…" Sherlock sighs and bites his lip. "The 'a'…"
John looks, too, but isn't seeing anything Sherlock's seeing. He has no idea what Sherlock means by 'combination', to him it just looks like a jumble of random numbers. If anything, though, he'd think it's a—
"Locker!" both boys shout at the same time.
They look at each other and grin.
"It's a locker at school," Sherlock says. "This has got to be secondary address, right? Like my work address. This person had to have made it something memorable, and what more do you remember on a daily basis than your locker and locker combination?"
"Brilliant!" John shouts.
Clement pats Sherlock's knee, mutters something about checking on Mycroft, then leaves.
"Do you think the school's still open?" Sherlock asks, standing.
John checks his watch. "It's only three fifty. It's got to be. Why?"
"Let's find out whose locker this is now," he says, turning away and marching out of the room. "Dad!" he calls. "We'll be right back, we're going to run back to school!"
"Ok!" Clement calls. "Hurry back!"
John and Sherlock pull their coats on and leave the house.
They get to the school and find the front doors open, as expected. The lights are still on and only a few students are lingering the hallways, but not many.
"The 'a' must mean Hall A, right? That's just here," Sherlock says, turning into Hall A.
"So that means…" John mutters, walking down the row of lockers. He abruptly pauses at one near the end. "Here!"
Sherlock goes to him quickly and they look at each other.
"So?" John asks.
"Oh…" Sherlock mutters, pulling the paper out of his pocket. "Alright," he says, "Try combination '3-31-20'."
John tries, but the locker remains locked.
"33-12-0."
John does as told, but the locker still doesn't open.
"Only one more try before we have to change around the order of the numbers, but if it is the code, I doubt the assaulter would jumble them," Sherlock says. "33-1-20."
John takes a deep breath, his stomach turning as he turns the dial.
It clicks open.
John eagerly pulls the lock off and shoves it in his pocket, then pushes the tab and pulls the door open.
There's nothing in the locker except a library book and a scarf. No textbooks, no decorations, not even a forgotten coat or gym shoes.
John disappointedly sighs. "Damn it!"
"Wait," Sherlock says, picking up the book. He opens the cover to find the library check-out card missing.
He and John look at each other, locking eyes, then they turn and race down the hall towards the library.
The librarian is thankfully still in, so John takes the book and goes to her desk.
He uses a kind voice to talk to her. "Hello, ma'am. I found this book and I was wondering if I could see the check-out cards to find whose it is?"
She smiles. "Of course, here you go. Just put it back here when you're done, and don't take any cards."
"Of course," John says, smiling.
He takes the little box of cards she handed him and he steps over to Sherlock so they can sort through the stack.
"It's got to be in here," John whispers as they search.
"It will be John," Sherlock offers.
Finally, long minutes later, after believing their case was lost, the card they need is the very last one.
"Here it is," Sherlock says, holding it up.
John snatches it and reads the names on the list.
The very last name is in scratchy handwriting belonging to one Tom Jones.
John knows Tom. He's quiet and only plays football because his dad makes him. Apparently, John thinks, it is the quiet ones to watch out for.
"I'll fucking kill him," John whispers, putting the card down and rushing away.
"John, wait!" Sherlock calls, leaving the cards there on the desk and running after John.
Sherlock tries to pull John away, telling him that Lestrade can be involved now, that they solved it and Lily will be safe.
But that's not good enough for John.
John marches out of the building and towards the football field where the team is practicing. He spots Tom immediately, and Sherlock tries again to grab him. He fails, and John walks right onto the field.
"Hey, little dude!" John hears. Harvey smiles at him as he marches passed, but it's all a blur before he walks right up to Tom and kicks him in the groin.
The coach blows his whistle as Tom falls to the ground.
"You disgusting fucker!" John yells down at Tom. "I know what you're doing and you're not going to get away with it!"
Tom looks up at him in disbelief, but not one ounce of John thinks he's making the face of someone who is innocent.
The coach grabs John's arm and yanks him away, and John snaps out of it as he's pushed off the field. Sherlock grabs his hand and turns to leave, but then they hear shouting coming from where they just were, so they turn around.
They see Harvey on top of Tom, punching him.
"Harvey!" John yells, running over as fast as he can. He pulls Harvey off of Tom and into a standing position.
"You stay the fuck away from her!" Harvey yells, pointing his finger down at Tom.
John pulls Harvey away, and Harvey sniffles as he marches off the field.
John and Sherlock follow Harvey into the locker room. Harvey slams the doors open and slams each open locker shut, while shouting at nothing.
"I can't believe this!" Harvey yells. "He's my friend! We're so nice to him, Lily is so nice to him! Why would he treat her this way?!"
"We don't know, Harvey," Sherlock tries while John crosses his arms and stands against the wall.
Harvey slams another locker shut and throws himself onto the bench. He takes off his shin guards and changes his shoes, all the while visibly fuming.
"I have to go see her," he explains, "We have to go tell her."
"There's an officer at my house now," Sherlock says. "I'll call him and tell him to meet us at Lily's house."
Harvey looks up at him. "It'll help?" he asks.
Sherlock nods, taking his phone out.
They get in Harvey's car minutes later. Harvey takes out a cigarette and lights it before starting the engine. Sherlock stares at him.
"Harvey," John starts from the back seat, "Can Sherlock have a cigarette?"
"Sure, little dude," Harvey says, taking one and handing it to Sherlock.
Sherlock eagerly takes it and lights it, then sighs relief when he takes the first drag. John reaches to the front seat and rubs Sherlock's shoulders.
They don't speak on their way to Lily's house. When they arrive, Harvey jumps out of the car as soon as he takes the keys out of the ignition and runs to the door.
He waits for a minute, then when Lily answers, he attacks her in a giant hug.
"Oh?" Lily sighs.
"Lily," John says from behind Harvey, "We need to talk."
Lestrade arrives minutes after they do, and Lily convinces her mother to sit down to talk with them. John tells Lily what they've found, and Lily begins to cry.
"Lily…" her mother sighs, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried," Lily cries. "But…"
Lestrade begins to ask questions and takes statements. He assures Harvey that he'll probably get off of being in trouble for punching Tom, but that he will probably still be in a little bit of trouble for hacking the school's network. Harvey happily accepts, saying they wouldn't have found out who was doing this to Lily had he not hacked the network.
Lestrade calls from his radio to another officer and tells them to pick Tom up from the school. He assures Lily it will all be taken care of, then leaves.
"Are you ok?" John asks when Lily's mother follows Lestrade outside to talk in private.
Lily nods. "I'm relieved," she says. She looks at Harvey. "You're sure there was only one address sending me those messages?"
Harvey nods. "I'm positive."
Lily sighs and nods again. She looks at John and Sherlock. "Thank you so much. For everything."
"You're welcome," John says.
"You guys may have really saved me from something awful."
"We're glad to help," Sherlock says.
John pats his knee, then stands. "We'd better get back, love."
Lily and Harvey stand with Sherlock. Lily hugs them both tightly, and Sherlock even hugs back. Harvey takes his turn and hugs them too, but Sherlock is far less enthusiastic about hugging him.
Lestrade is still outside when they walk out the door, so he offers them a ride back to Sherlock's.
"You just want to see my brother again," Sherlock teases.
John catches Lestrade blush.
He leaves the boys there, and they stand outside for a few minutes.
"I'm so proud of you," John says, taking Sherlock in a hug.
"I'm proud of you, too," Sherlock says.
"For? I didn't solve anything."
Sherlock shrugs. "And I wouldn't have ever had the courage to kick Tom in the balls, like he deserves."
"He deserves much worse than that, but Harvey gave it to him pretty well."
Sherlock chuckles.
"I love you so much," John says. "Please don't leave schools."
Sherlock sighs. "I…" he pauses.
"One more try, please?"
"You said that last week."
"And this week we have the police involved."
"I suppose you're right."
John pulls back to look Sherlock in the eye. "I am, love. Please, Lestrade will get this taken care of and you'll be safe at school."
Sherlock just nods.
John places his hands on Sherlock's neck and leans up to kiss him.
But before his lips touch Sherlock's, the door is thrown open.
They jump apart quickly and turn to see Clement.
"Oh, I…" Clement mutters, about to close the door. "I'll just…"
John chuckles. "It's ok, we were just coming inside." He grabs Sherlock's hand and pulls him into the warm house.
From then on, their evening turns pleasant. Clement makes them dinner and they eat together in the sitting room to watch a rerun of Doctor Who. It's a funny episode, which is exactly what they need.
John announces he needs to leave after they end up watching two episodes. Clement leaves them alone outside, and they make up for the previous lost time by kissing slowly for long minutes. They know it's time to leave when Sherlock lustfully bites John's lower lip.
"I love you," Sherlock says first, something he rarely does.
"I love you too," John tells him. "So fucking much. You have no idea."
"Yes, I do," Sherlock argues. "I love you as much, if not more."
John laughs. "Don't start this, Holmes. You will not win."
"Oh, really, Watson? What are you going to do?"
"I'll show you," John teases, "Next time we're alone. This weekend, maybe? My mum works Saturday."
Sherlock grins and bites his lip in thought. "Perhaps my father will also be out of the house," he says.
John smiles. "Well, it's a date then. For now, goodnight. Have sweet dreams, my love."
"And you, John," Sherlock says, kissing John one last time, then opening the front door and slipping through.
John smiles the whole way home. He stops as soon as he sees Dawn on the sofa, where he retells the entire story of the evening, including kicking Tom in the crotch. She hugs him tight and tells him she's proud of him, and tells him that as a reward for helping everyone so much, he can have his phone back. She hugs him tight and continues to repeat how proud she is, and John's never felt more happy with his mother, ever.
A/N: This chapter was originally spit in two, but they were both pretty short and I thought, eh why not put them together? Also, if you've ever read my story Being 16 (which you should totally do, I mean I don't know I've heard it's pretty good? ; ]) you would know that in my headcanon, Sherlock and Mycroft are loving brothers. And I think they care for each other a lot (obviously, in the show Mycroft says, 'I worry about him. Constantly.' So yes, I believe Mycroft would have more say in this stuff than their dad. And maybe Mycroft was also bullied as a teen so he knows how necessary it is for Sherlock to get out of that situation. Anyway, thanks for reading. Please review!