An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Word count: 12,918
Chapters: 5/5
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mortimer Tregennis, Leon Sterndale, Vicar Roundhay, Who isn't a vicar...he's a police officer now
Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Post S4, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, BAMF John, Devil's Foot adaptation, Hallucinations, Oral Sex
Summary:
Mrs Hudson has decided her boys need a little vacation together (after the events of S4) away from London and has booked them an inordinantly (per Sherlock) long train ride from Paddinton Station to Penzance.
Rec: This is a fairly straightforward update of The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot, with the addition of some mild post-series 4 angst and a generous helping of “relationship realignment” (i.e. Sherlock and John finally getting it on).
Most of what I’ve seen coming out of series 4 so far has focused on John’s demons and/or how Rosie fits into life at 221B, but I liked that his fic takes a different tack, looking at how Sherlock handles his newly surfaced memories of Victor and Eurus, and what those violin sessions in the prison are really all about. Setting this during a holiday getaway also means that Rosie doesn’t figure in the story at all (she stayed home with Mrs Hudson), so those who are looking for a childless post-series 4 fic, this should fit your bill.
The dialogue is very fresh and in-character, the climactic poisoning scene suitably dramatic, and the murder plot nicely used to parallel and highlight Sherlock and John’s history. In short, a very well done, entertaining and thought-provoking postscript to series 4, and a deft adaptation of the canon.