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Fic: "Brave New World" - John/Sherlock - R [Feb. 1st, 2011|12:08 pm]
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Title: Brave New World
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Rating: R
Notes: Now that we've all de-anoned for this round over at thegameison_sh, I'm posting this here for archival purposes, just like I've done with all of my previous ones. The challenge theme this time around was New.
Summary: It's in the little things that change creeps up unbidden.


Hope

It blooms in Sherlock unbidden: a weed, albeit one of curious beauty.

He finds himself craving things he would never have thought to want. John at home again, this instant, never mind that he's got to remain in hospital for at least another week. The peace and quiet ought to have been a relief, but instead, less than ten minutes home from the last dregs of visiting hours, Sherlock paces the living room, scowls at the skull, and throws on his coat.

Slipping past hospital security isn't difficult, and John's room is private. He's asleep when Sherlock enters soundlessly. Sherlock crosses to the bed, finding that the nurse hasn't even bothered to move his chair.

He wakes with his head against the mattress and John's fingers in his hair.


Mobile

John's phone had survived both the soaking and the blast, but Sherlock's hadn't.

He comes home to Sherlock furious that he hadn't been notified that it was time to go and collect him (Mycroft had sent a car) and cursing at what appears to be the same model of BlackBerry that Anthea uses. Sherlock puts it down and rushes to John's side, even though John has managed the stairs on his own. Sherlock's arm around his waist is strange and comfortable all at once, like something distantly remembered.

Once they're settled on the sofa, Sherlock resumes cursing at the BlackBerry.

“What's wrong?” John asks, realizing they're the first words he's spoken.

“It's stuck in silent mode,” Sherlock mutters. “I don't want silent.”

“Give it here,” says John, smiling at him, and, oh, it's good to be home.


Hobby

In the past month, John has brought home no fewer than five types of honey. He puts it on his porridge, in Sherlock's tea, and on anything that can stand sweetening. This list of things is longer according to Sherlock than it is according to John.

Rosemary honey is dark and sharp, bites at the back of Sherlock's tongue like regret. Acacia is gentle and soothing, entirely agreeable (All-purpose, John calls it). Lavender is less disgusting than it sounds, although Sherlock is not fond. Yorkshire wildflower is candy, addictive, well worth stealing covert spoonfuls (Sherlock! John shouts).

Sherlock tastes borage honey for the first time this way, falls head over heels.


Lover

They're motionless in the aftermath, somehow, save for the fact that Sherlock's heartbeat rattles in both their ribcages like a restless bird. John's is too knackered to join in, already slowing. He splays one hand over each of Sherlock's shoulder blades, can't keep himself from imagining wings.

“Penny for your thoughts?” John asks softly, fearing the answer.

Sherlock breathes in abruptly, as if startled, and kisses John's forehead.

“Again,” he says, and then adds, yawning, “later.”


World

There will be more hours like all of these: bitter and sweet, frantic and still.

Sherlock will fight for his life, and John will be there to welcome him home. John's mobile will die, Harry will buy him a replacement, and he'll chew his lip in frustration until Sherlock shows him how to use it. Sherlock will bring home an endless string of exotic consumables, and John will taste them one by one, make faces at the ones he dislikes, until ecstasy finally closes his eyes.

They will leave this city behind in the end, but, for now—
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Comments:
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[User Picture]From: timberwolfoz
2011-02-01 12:27 pm (UTC)

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Oh, just lovely.

And the honey is a nod to the beekeeping in the (possible) future, yes?
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:50 pm (UTC)

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Yes, indeed it is - I thought, in this modern incarnation, maybe Sherlock takes up beekeeping in the long run because tasting various honeys is a hobby of John's :)

Thank you!
[User Picture]From: gothikmaus
2011-02-01 12:37 pm (UTC)

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These vignettes are lovely. I specially like the image of John petting Sherlock's hair at the hospital.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:49 pm (UTC)

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His hair looks so very touchable! Thank you :)
[User Picture]From: iamshadow
2011-02-01 12:41 pm (UTC)

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OMG, this is so sensual. Not that I mean erotic (though it is) but, everything is about the senses in a way that feels lavish and decadent. And yet it's so much about the small things; fingers in hair, mobiles, and spoonfuls of honey.

I will have to reread, a few more times. Then go and steal some local Bloodwood honey from the fridge.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:48 pm (UTC)

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I should have titled this Fiddly Little Things, or something like that <3 Thank you very much for reading!
[User Picture]From: citlecrewolf
2011-02-01 12:44 pm (UTC)

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Enjoyed it, thanks :)
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:47 pm (UTC)

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You're very welcome! Thank you for reading :)
[User Picture]From: sc010f
2011-02-01 12:50 pm (UTC)

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This is lovely, yes, but so freaking lyrical!

:D
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:47 pm (UTC)

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Messy poet's fingerprints all over everything, I fear ;) Thank you very much!
[User Picture]From: messageredacted
2011-02-01 12:52 pm (UTC)

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He wakes with his head against the mattress and John's fingers in his hair.

I LOVE that line. This whole thing was so spare and elegant.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:46 pm (UTC)

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<3

Thank you very much for reading :)
[User Picture]From: mysterypoet66
2011-02-01 01:20 pm (UTC)

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There is something so very, very comforting in this. There's a line in GO about Mr. Young being a place Archimedes could have stood. John's very like that, but I imagine Sherlock would be the lever.
I've just woken, so I have no idea if that makes sense. The honeys are beautiful, and the solidity of the two of them.
I love that the bees and honey are sort of run through a number of your fics. They do mean something, quite a few somethings. It's a lovely touchstone.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:43 pm (UTC)

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...you make more sense when you've just gotten up than I make when I've just gotten up, believe me. What a gorgeous sentiment that is! You genius *hugs*
[User Picture]From: mushroom18
2011-02-01 01:29 pm (UTC)

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I like the little references to their future in canon together, and those wordless moments between them. Lovely.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:42 pm (UTC)

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I'm stuck on it recently because I want so badly for them to have it in this incarnation, too!

Thank you :)
[User Picture]From: lal111
2011-02-01 01:44 pm (UTC)

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<3
so sweet!
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:41 pm (UTC)

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Thank you :)
[User Picture]From: emerald_embers
2011-02-01 01:44 pm (UTC)

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I love how every single world you write about comes to life in your writing. It's never just a case of showing us what you see, we get to feel and taste and smell it too, and it's wonderful. Everything you create just feels real.

*hugs this fic close*
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:41 pm (UTC)

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*hugs you*

I'm doubtless going to go on another honey kick as a result of writing about the beekeeping aspect so much recently. The tea can step aside for a moment ;)
[User Picture]From: verasteine
2011-02-01 02:07 pm (UTC)

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Lovely. Really, really lovely.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:40 pm (UTC)

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*hugs* Thank you. If I'd known what your current situation would be, I'd have worked in bacon, too ;)
[User Picture]From: shefa
2011-02-01 02:07 pm (UTC)

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This is gorgeous. So sensual and vivid in both the sensory and emotional detail. You've shown so much about both men in the small touches. Hope. Waking in hospital with John's fingers in his hair (of course I love that :)). The phone ("I don't want silent"), the honey (so many types), the aftermath of making love for the first time, and the beautiful balance in the last vignette. All will cycle around and reverse again and again, and they will be together for it all.

You paint with such a nuanced brush. Your work is always a treasure.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:36 pm (UTC)

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I even wanted the piece to loop continuously, hence the odd use of an em-dash at the end (I'm not usually drawn to it as a line-ending piece of punctuation). Thank you very much; this is lovely feedback <3
[User Picture]From: nathcoelho
2011-02-01 02:09 pm (UTC)

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owwwwwwwww
so lovely!
*_*
very great fic
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:35 pm (UTC)

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And this time, I know exactly what you mean *hugs*

Thank you very much!
[User Picture]From: crinklysolution
2011-02-01 02:10 pm (UTC)

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I like the space around your words here, what you leave out as much as what you choose to include...
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:34 pm (UTC)

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Oh, fascinating; I hadn't thought of it like that. Thank you!
[User Picture]From: thisprettywren
2011-02-01 03:10 pm (UTC)

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I'm not going to pretend I would have associated it directly or anything, but I wasn't at all surprised to find out this was yours. Very nicely done!
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:33 pm (UTC)

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You're at least the second or third person who guessed mine, which means I'm rubbish at hiding myself in a haystack *wry grin* I'll try to turn this around next time; I'm issuing it as a challenge to myself! Thank you very much :)
[User Picture]From: stardust_made
2011-02-01 03:12 pm (UTC)

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These are all lovely! "Hope" and "Lover" are my favourite- "Hope" conveys Sherlock's need so well, my heart went to him- and there's such urgency in so few words; and "Lover" is so intimate and vivid, again- with so few words!
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:32 pm (UTC)

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This one was just barely over the lower word-limit; that always makes me suspicious. Perhaps I ought to attempt to keep them relatively short from now on, farther from 750 and closer to 500!

Thank you :)
[User Picture]From: sirona_gs
2011-02-01 04:09 pm (UTC)

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Oh my god. So wonderful. I've no words; I don't feel the need for words right now, I just want to bask in this is silence, savour the contentment of their life together. <3
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:31 pm (UTC)

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Well, you posted a wonderful piece of fic today, so the least I can do is reciprocate <3 Thank you very much; pleased to hear you enjoyed it!
[User Picture]From: misslucyjane
2011-02-01 04:09 pm (UTC)

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Lovely. They're all evocative like poetry.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:30 pm (UTC)

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Poetry is what I know first and best :) Thank you very much!
[User Picture]From: ladymakbeth
2011-02-01 05:14 pm (UTC)

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After reading this I feel my senses are a little bit overloaded XD It just has such an effect on me, and it feels wonderful and it's lovely.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:29 pm (UTC)

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Honey cures all ills <3 Thank you very much, my dear.
[User Picture]From: mauvais_pli
2011-02-01 05:38 pm (UTC)

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Bingo! (I know there's no particular merit in guessing right, but still *dances*)

So, like I said before, every sentence gives me undiluted wordy aesthetic pleasure. And I'm not even on the bee obsession bandwagon, but I'll call what you did here updating and be forever happy.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:28 pm (UTC)

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(Oh, I knew you'd find me. You've got one of the sharpest eyes for recognizing writing styles I know of. I'm really going to have to think about how to disguise myself better for next time. Already on the list: no mentioning foodstuffs!)

Admittedly, the bee obsession is coming straight out of ACD canon. Guilty as charmed; I'm taken with it! Thank you very much; glad you liked this nonetheless!
[User Picture]From: mresundance
2011-02-01 05:41 pm (UTC)

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Achingly lovely and gorgeous. I just - yeah. A little speechless here, and teary from how beautiful and tender and raw these are.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:17 pm (UTC)

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*hugs*

This is the piece that I wrote just before I wrote I Meet You There, and We Go, if we're talking chronology, as I usually get my challenge fics out of the way early and then they sit in hiding for a few weeks. I daresay I was beginning to scrape at the edges of heartache, but not quite.

Thank you :)
[User Picture]From: clarkoholic
2011-02-01 05:42 pm (UTC)

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♥_♥

Oh, my heart! Beyond wonderful and just what I needed this morning. Thank you!
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:15 pm (UTC)

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I hope the rest of your day is good, too <3

Thanks!
[User Picture]From: izzytheskittle
2011-02-01 05:45 pm (UTC)

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Wonderful!

I love the idea that Sherlock starts keeping bees because John loves honey.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:14 pm (UTC)

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It seemed to me a most logical reason for him to start ;)

Thank you!
[User Picture]From: quantumdoll
2011-02-01 05:49 pm (UTC)

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These are absolutely beautiful. I'm so in love with the life they have together.

He wakes with his head against the mattress and John's fingers in his hair. This line is perfection.


Edited at 2011-02-01 05:49 pm (UTC)
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:12 pm (UTC)

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It's a life I hope they'll get to have together, anyway, in this incarnation as with at their source. Maybe we can all wish it into existence...

Thank you <3
[User Picture]From: pjordha
2011-02-01 06:08 pm (UTC)

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Yes.
[User Picture]From: irisbleufic
2011-02-01 09:11 pm (UTC)

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<3

Thank you!
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