Burn Pattern

[what_alchemy]

Fandom: BBC Sherlock
Beta: notboldly
Brit-picker: the-physicist
Rating: PG-13?
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Word Count: ~1400
Disclaimer: Property of Gatiss and Moffat. No money made, no copyright infringement intended.

Summary: “You should grow a moustache,” Sherlock said.

In which there is a small disagreement.

Comments

[mildly_neurotic]

Started out amusing, ended sweetly. I like it.

[what_alchemy]

:) thank you!

[unovis]

Nicely done. I love the title, too.

[what_alchemy]

Thank you!

[cathedralcarver]

Oh, so lovely and sweet, but underneath, sharp-edged pain and well-worded reality:

Someday the things you found endearing about me will be exactly what grates you. Someday all this…infatuation will wear off, and we’ll be left with bedrock instead of window dressing, a real relationship.

So, so true, yes? Let's hope they can weather that phase just as beautifully.

[what_alchemy]

:D thank you. I'm glad this resonated.

[mazaher]

How unusual. From a moderately cliché beginning, to a completely unexpected ending, Sherlock's slightly inhuman strangeness builds momentum word by word. The stillness of his tongue, heavy and inert, is as good as a formal declaration of intent and as heartbreaking as the tenderest kiss.
As for John, I am touched (but not surprised) by his courage in walking right into the great unsaid of relationships: the shift from being in love to loving.
Thank you for a memorable read!
(Btw: I can't understand why un-moustached/un-bearded men are so resistant to the idea of growing facial hair. I'm all for facial hair. And believe me, it doesn't actually give burns.)

[what_alchemy]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked this.

(I'm generally pro facial hair, though it doesn't work for some. My grandpa once started a story like this: "In 1943, we were quarantined in a hospital in Missouri. That's when we all decided to grow mustaches." And ended it like this: "And that's why you've never seen me with facial hair."

[mazaher]

I know a man (a great man in his own way) who throughout his adult life adopted the very opposite principle: he shaved in crises and grew beard and mustache when the crisis was over, the pace of the (relevant) crises being one every 20 years or so =)

[r34dinglight]

another fan here of the way this fic transcends the standard use of the trope to reveal more. more about both characters and also of them. both them of the now as well as the glimpse of the them yet to come.

and you did that via visions of facial hair? delightful! :D

[what_alchemy]

Thank you! I'm so glad this worked for you.