Prompt: Hey, can you do a hurt/comfort where John has been super stressed out and had a bad day at the clinic and comes home a complete mess, so Sherlock wraps him in blankets and gives him tea and forehead kisses until he calms down? Cheesy, I know, but Iâve been searching endlessly for good h/c fics lately.
The week just seemed to be building up from that moment. Have you ever had one of those weeks where the first day, one thing goes wrong, and youâre like âOkay, but I can fix this, this isnât that bad,â but then the next day, something happens again, and each time things seem to get worse, or even if it wasnât that bad, because it happened when things were already bad it just seems horrible? That was the sort of week John Watson was having. An impatient patient who made him repeat things over and over because she wasnât paying enough attention the first time, a messy flat, an experiment on the stairs that nearly made him late for work, a patient that decided that they knew better than he did even though he was the doctor. Each thing just seemed to annoy him just a bit more, pushing him closer and closer to the edge. It didnât even matter who it was at this point, but if you talked to John, his âtâs were a bit too punctuated, and his teeth seemed to stick together when he spoke, and his sentences were either strangely too short, or too put together.
If one more person said anything to John, he knew he was going to snap. How couldnât he? He just had too much going on. Making his way up the stairs (making sure to step over the fifth step where Sherlockâs experiment had been left), he had his mind met up that he was going to take a shower and go straight to bed. There wasnât anything he could possibly do to fix what was wrong, so just getting enough sleep would at least make it bearable. That was, until he opened the front door to 221b Baker Street, that door in front of the steps.
When he had left, the place had practically been spotless from John having to clean it from Sherlockâs last fit. Now, the place seemed to be in shambles. There were clothes on the ground, new holes in the wall, liquids seemingly being soaked up by rags. There were even burns on the wooden floor. Lastly, right there in the middle of it was Sherlock, on his knees studying one of the burns on the ground.
John nearly quit then and there. Just continue with his plan, and heâd deal with this later. But what if it was still there later? He couldnât fix the work problems, and the home problems, go to work, deal with it again, just to come home to another mess. There was always another mess. âJohn, ermâŠâ Sherlock paused, looking up at him with that look, through those lashes, hoping to get out of trouble that always seemed to work. But not today. He couldnât take it today. And when Sherlock saw that, he stopped. Maybe Sherlock was going to say sorry, or maybe he was going to promise to fix it. Whatever he was going to do, it didnât matter. John shook his head, his hands balled up into fists. Whatever Sherlock said, it just didnât matter. It wouldnât fix this mess, it wouldnât fix the work mess.
âJust donât.â John said through his teeth, moving to go around the mess, going to go with his plan. Maybe if he came back later, Sherlock would have taken care of it. Maybe he could pretend this never happened. John was just so tired. But before he could make it out of that room, Sherlock made the mistake of grabbing his arm, stopping him. âJohn, wait,â managed to escape Sherlockâs lips before John interrupted, all of the anger that had building up that week coming out at once.
âNo, no, no, Iâm not waiting. Iâm tired of waiting. Iâm tired of patients who think they know best, Iâm tired of coming home to a disaster, Iâm tired of finding experiments everywhere and everyone else getting their way. Iâm just fucking tired, Sherlock. Now bugger off, let go of my arm!â John tried to jerk away, but the grip only seemed to grow tighter as he tried to twist out of it. John was cold to Sherlockâs touch, which must have been from him forgetting his jacket this morning. His face was red from shouting, from losing his breath so quickly. He was just so tired. âAnd you, again, another mess? I shouldnât be having to clean up after you, Iâm not your maid, Iâm your boyfriend.â John snarled, finally getting out of his grip.
Sherlockâs eyebrows furrowed. This seemed a bit bigger than just another mess. And John was cold, and upset. And more importantly, the look wasnât getting his way. Sherlock had let go of him, confused on what it was. âJohn, are you alright?â The words were soft, more confused than anything. And from what John said, he certainly wasnât mad at just him. With those soft words, Johnâs shoulders slumped, and his hands seemed to be shaking more, but not from anger. From exhaustion. Sherlock studied him, waiting, not sure whether or not whether if he moved closer if John would retreat, or whether or not heâd get punched. After a second, he decided it was worth getting hurt if the latter was to happen. He wrapped his arms around John, hugging him tight.
At first, John tensed, about to squirm out of his grip. He did, at first, but Sherlock didnât let go. Finally, John relaxed, burying into Sherlockâs chest, just letting everything go. Sherlock held his weight before finally he moved, scooping up the exhausted doctor, taking him to the couch, pulling a blanket over him before pulling him back on his lap. Heâd make him tea later, but right now, it was obvious John didnât want Sherlock to move away from him. âItâs alright not to be alright.â Sherlock finally murmured into Johnâs hair, not expecting a reply at all. When he didnât get a reply, Sherlock bit his lip, wondering if it had truly been a good thing to say. He had slowly been getting used to being a boyfriend, being able to say the right things, but sometimes he just wasnât good. Instead of trying something else, he squeezed John tight, pressing kisses to the top of Johnâs head, and when John finally shifted, to his forehead and cheeks as well. âItâll be alright.â Sherlock murmured, and for the first time in several several moments, John gave a small nod. With Sherlock there, it really would be.