Member-only story
Before Holmes Met Watson — 14
Day Fourteen: Comfort
By Kitanya Harrison, writing as Harrison Kitteridge
While John had been wandering through purgatory, Sherlock had been getting to know Mark better.
“You’re married, aren’t you?” Sherlock asked on their first morning together. Mark hadn’t exactly pulled away from him or got any cooler, but he’d been squaring his shoulders and seeming to steel himself while he prepared them a simple breakfast of tea and toast while Sherlock sat and watched. Sherlock thought he’d spare them both the awkward exchange.
“How long have you known?” Mark asked.
“Since the moment we met,” Sherlock responded. “Well, to be fair, I wasn’t certain you were married, but I knew you were in a long-term committed relationship with a woman.”
Mark looked at Sherlock appraisingly. “You really do see everything, don’t you?” There was something sympathetic underlying the admiration in his tone. “No wonder it’s so hard for you to…” Mark fiddled with the pot of honey. “You know what we’re all capable of.” He put Sherlock’s tea and toast in front of him. “It’s not what you think. She knows. Well not about you, specifically. But she knows that I need this.”
“She’s all right with you buggering strange men who turn up in the village on holiday?” Sherlock asked incredulously.
