Word count: 114,956
Chapters: 11/11
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Greg Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, Molly Hooper, Mike Stamford, Mycroft Holmes
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Murder, Romance, Hand Jobs, Frottage, Mental Health Issues, Unhealthy Relationships, First Time, Possessiveness, Intergluteal Sex, Suicide, Oral Sex, Shower Sex, Docking, Intercrural Sex, Jossed
Summary:
The mother was apparently poisoned, the son seems to have killed himself playing Russian roulette. It's a murder and a suicide. Or is it a suicide and a murder?
At least the case is distracting John from the fact that sex with Sherlock was probably a mistake right from the start.
John will learn to cope, one way or another.
Rec: This is one of those stories that make you not want to start reading another one immediately afterwards, because a) you're afraid of being disappointed in comparison, and b) it gives you so much to think about.
This is a dual case/relationship fic. Although the case is original and well-done, the emphasis is probably more on the relationship in terms of tension and drama. The main premise is that John is firmly heterosexual, yet decides to enter into a romantic/sexual relationship with Sherlock. Although he is completely committed to the relationship from the start, he has serious doubts and hangups about having sex with a man, and has to talk himself into it several times. I found this to be one of the most realistic straight!John/Sherlock fics I've read, for that reason (Sherlock's sexual identity is never defined in this fic, but he never has issues with physical encounters with John, so it's never really explored). There is one scene that very much enters dub-con territory, though, if that is an issue for you.
On top of the physical layer of things, there is the even more fraught emotional layer. It was with great skill that the author portrayed the paths of both men finding their way through this new relationship. They never really talk about what is going on with them, leaving them only able to react to their own perceptions of each other's actions and motivations, and boy, do they get them wrong! Still, somehow, this very messed-up way of being together works for both of them, giving them both what they want and need, even if they're both scared to death of losing it at any moment.
One of the really neat things about this story that I have to mention as well are the excursions into Sherlock's mind palace. Then there's the case. I love it when a case brings Sherock and John closer emotionally; the 'easy' way to do it is by having one of them injured or in physical danger (which this fic also does), but I especially like it when the author is able to take it a step further, with the little parallels and situations brought up by the case sparking introspection and insights, and this fic succeeds in that respect as well. On top, of course, of being a very well plotted original case that has more danger lurking than is apparent at first glance. We are never allowed to forget, either, that this is a post-Reichenbach story, and that things that Sherlock did while he was away have a tendency, much like him, not to stay dead.
Finally, the sex. It's obviously a big part of this particular story. There's no big build-up, they just pretty much start right in and keep up an exhausting pace of two sessions a day (at least) all the way through. The thing that sets this fic apart for me, though (in addition to the above-mentioned very big doubts that John has over the whole thing) is the fact that it's not your standard hand job-blow job-anal sex progression. They try out several other things, and the act that they both thought would be either the big goal or the deal breaker turns out not to be so very important after all. It's sometimes a bit awkward, sometimes funny, but always, through everything, their love and respect for each other is paramount, even if they never get around to saying it out loud.
This story just made me happy in so many ways and is right up there with holyfant's The Fabric of Life and ivyblossom's The Quiet Man as my all-time favourite epic post-Reichenbach fics.