Fiction: Tell Me About Her
Title: Tell Me About Her
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Sherlock
Warnings: None
Word Count: 221
Summary: 221b format: 221 words last one begining with "b". To help John dispel his nightmares, Sherlock has him talk about his friend, a photojournalist he knew in Afghanistan.
Tell Me About Her
"Tell me again, John," Sherlock said, his voice whispering low at his lover's ear. "Tell me about Marie."
John was sitting at the edge of their bed. His body was shaking, and the familiar visions of mutilated limbs and soldiers with doll-dead eyes refused to go. Sherlock sat behind him, cradling John in his arms, hoping he could physically dampen his grief. They sat like that for several minutes until John stilled.
"Again?" John asked.
"Yes," said Sherlock. "I'd like to hear it. Please."
He was cocooning John with his body, his cheek nuzzled against John's neck. With a sigh that signaled the start of a well-known routine, John started his story. His voice was weak and broken, but gained strength and fluidity as it rambled over the familiar words.
"She looked young, skinny like a teenager, but she had enormous eyes that looked ancient. I don't know how, but she could find beauty in anything, anywhere, even on the battlefield. That's why her pictures were so powerful. Her family had survived the Khmer Rouge, and that toughness was sure as hell in her. Even after the landmine took her foot… I sat at her bedside until her flight. We tapped out Morse code on each other's palms, silly nothings really. Afghanistan was never the same after that last kiss good-bye."
221B format: Story containing 221 words, last word beginning with the letter "B". Inspired by MarieMJS's stunning picture of John Watson in Afghanistan. http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/075/d/a/afghanistan_by_mariemjs-d3btfp3.jpg
