Title: Just John
Author:
ununpentiumFandom: BBC Sherlock
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes / John Watson
Wordcount: 324
Warnings: angst. Post reichenbach.
Read on AO3 John's heart stopped when he saw Sherlock standing on the roof of Bart's.
John couldn't breathe as Sherlock fell.
John felt like he died when Sherlock died.
~*~*~
John decided that the best way to deal with Sherlock's death was to pretend that Sherlock never existed. He moved out of 221b Baker Street to ensure he was not constantly tripping over Sherlock's things; catching half finished experiments out of the corner of his eye. He moved into a small flat near King's where he got a new job in A&E. He made a clean break, arranging all aspects of his life so he'd never cross paths with Lestrade, Molly, Mrs Hudson or Mike Stamford ever again.
~*~*~
Three years after Sherlock's death, John had buried the memories of Sherlock so deeply that he no longer gasped for breath every time he passed a tall man in a long coat on the street. His life was dull. Bland. Beige. But he was surviving, putting one foot in front of the other. He had forgotten that once upon a time he had to be careful to double check everything that was in the fridge lest he come across human body parts masquerading as food. He had forgotten that he once shared his life with a human whirlwind who left little paths of destruction in his wake, that every available surface would be taken up with stacks of paper, experiments and general Sherlock related detritus.
John's life just contained John.
~*~*~
Three years and twenty eight days after Sherlock's death, Sherlock Holmes walked through the door of John's flat.
John raised his head, frowned and closed his eyes.
Sherlock Holmes was dead. Sherlock did not exist. Sherlock did not have a place in the life of John Watson.
John repositioned his newspaper so that it obscured his view of Sherlock and carried on reading. He sat there until Sherlock, eventually, left without a word.
John's life just contained John.