Sherlock Fic: The Word That You Hear is Not Mine (2/5)

[brighteyed_jill]

The Word That You Hear is not Mine, Part 2 (Sherlock BBC; Sherlock/John and Mycroft/Lestrade)
Part One is here (mind the warnings).
Or check out the master post for the In My Master's House series.

Comments

[petite_hobbit]

Looking forward to the next chapter! x

[brighteyed_jill]

Thanks-- it'll be up in the morning (US time).

Question

[pommerych]

So, I do have a question

Re: Question

[brighteyed_jill]

I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. It's always great to hear what a reader is thinking!

This is the sort of question different folks will probably have different interpretations for, just like people have different speculations about John's motivations for things he does in canon (like punching Sherlock, forgiving Mary, etc.), so you're welcome to your own opinion about this.

I will say that there's a world of difference between John running away from a man who's possibly bleeding to death, with the hope at best for life as a fugitive vs. a legal, legitimate chance for John to reclaim a freedom that had been taken from him, after Sherlock was out of mortal danger.

The rest of the chapters may give you more insight into John's motivations as I imagine them, but I invite you to come to your own conclusions!

Re: Question

[mildred_bobbin]

I was wondering about this too and at risk of being totally off the mark, my reading is that in the hospital Sherlock wasn't just asking John to stay - he was asking John to stay as his slave. John might love Sherlock but he'd want to be a free man, the way Sherlock's panicked words came out sounded like he wanted John to give up this opportunity.

From what I took from previous parts, Sherlock's concept of 'mine'/'my slave' and 'person I love and loves me and will be with me always' seems pretty interchangeable and 'slave' is just one of those societal conventions he doesn't care about except it means John can't ever leave him ever. So maybe it didn't even occur to him that that's what his demand to stay might mean to John.

[mildred_bobbin]

oh terrific, I love that John is getting to be his own man and has time to work through what happened, and also that he can't let go of the battlefield. Poor Lestrade, dammit Mycroft, when will you do the same for him?

[brighteyed_jill]

It's been interesting to write a free John in this slave AU. It's definitely changed things for him, that's for sure!

We'll have to see what happens with Lestrade. Would I do anything evil to these characters? *bats eyelashes innocently*

[mildred_bobbin]

By the way, it just kills me to think that maybe Sherlock thinks John wouldn't want him as a free man, and the only way he gets to have him is to keep him as a slave. *Rolls in the delicious feels*

[brighteyed_jill]

I am a sucker for the feels :) And yes, I think you're right on track in Sherlock's thinking. He's never slept with anyone other than a slave before, so he has no reason to think anyone would want him if they're not required to.

[quirkygirl22]

I have to agree with pommerych. I'm not really sure why John walked out on Sherlock, except for Sherlock continuously referring to him as a toy and a possession while in the hospital.

What confuses me more is why Lestrade walked out on Mycroft. This chapter makes it seem like he left because he couldn't handle Mycroft placing his (Lestade's) welfare above other people's. It makes me feel bad for Mycroft. I don't know, I'm probably wrong.

Anyway, I absolutely love this universe, and am sorry to see it go. Your writing is phenomenal!

[brighteyed_jill]

As I said above, I welcome readers to draw your own conclusions. Perhaps future chapters will give you some more insight into my take on the character. What my version of John and Lestrade both share is a strong sense of principles. Neither of them are likely to do things out of convenience or with regard for nothing but their personal happiness. Societal expectations and restrictions are powerful forces for all the characters in this AU, whether slave or free. Of course, we'll have to see how this plays out in the end!

I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!

[kholly]

“Jesus, you’re that doctor bloke, ain’t you?”
If the homeless network know of Sherlock's Doctor that seems a bit telling.

I love how much John and Lestrade are both different men from who they were at the start of these stories. A lot has happened to them. It would leave its mark.

[brighteyed_jill]

Yes, John and Lestrade have been a through a lot. It's not easy to build your life around a Holmes, but perhaps it can be done.