Fandoms of the Past (Random One-shots)

Deduce Me (Sherlock Holmes x fem!reader) Soulmate AU

Soulmarks were stupid. At least that's how you were feeling at the moment. You'd been fortunate(or perhaps unfortunate) enough to be mated to the most brilliant man you'd ever met. Sherlock Holmes. You knew that because you'd seen his mark, identical to yours, once by accident. Instead of telling Sherlock outright, you decided to wait and see how long it would take for it to be discovered. Now, you knew Sherlock would appreciate a chance to figure things out on his own. To that end you decided to give him a chance to deduce why you were suddenly acting differently toward him.

After several weeks of this, you were beginning to lose hope. Sherlock refused to deduce anything about you. It was like he didn't want to know anything about why you were acting the way you were. You had seen the man deduce the lives of entire families within a few minutes and yet he wouldn't say a word to you. Surely he knew by now. It was...he just had to. It wasn't until you'd simmering in your frustration for about a week that Sherlock seemed to take notice.

You had stopped being as attentive. You stopped hanging around as much and you didn't text as much. It hurt you. It hurt so much. Soulmates, platonic or not, were not meant to be out of contact for very long. But the fact that Sherlock didn't even seem to care hurt your pride more than the soulmate bond ever could. Did he just not like you? Maybe that was why. Maybe he knew and just didn't care so acted like nothing changed between you. If that was the case, it might have been in your best interest to leave well enough alone for a while.

Sherlock's POV

"Watson, where is Y/N?" John looked at the detective exasperatedly. "You're joking. She hasn't been here for days, Sherlock. You didn't not- Never mind. Of course you didn't." Sherlock's brows furrowed. Why would you willingly spend time away from him? You'd been hanging around so much lately and Sherlock had gotten used to you. In fact, though he'd never admit it aloud, he rather enjoyed your company. So why hadn't he noticed your absence before?

That was when his mind kicked into overdrive. He had noticed. That little niggle in his heart and head. Something telling him that there was something wrong. His entire being ached for your presence. The soulmate bond was fraying, little by little, but why? John's voice brought Sherlock of his thoughts again.

"I cannot believe you didn't realize she was gone. She's the only woman that has ever been able to handle your madness. If she's not your soulmate, I'd be surprise, along with half of the people we know," John mentioned with a frustrated sigh. Sherlock glanced over his shoulder briefly. "She is," he stated, earning a confused look from the doctor so he continued, "My soulmate."

"You knew?! And you've been ignoring her?! Why?"

"Because she is a distraction! And...I can't. I can't allow myself to be distracted," the consulting detective said as if it were a statement of fact. John wasn't going to allow that. He was having none of it. "Bollocks. I know you, Sherlock. You're afraid. You're afraid that, by being your soulmate, Y/N will change. She'll become more like you."

"Yes. There are so few truly good people in the world, Watson. Y/N is one of them. She needs...She deserves more than a high-functioning sociopath. I cannot allow a romantic entanglement with me to change her. It is better if I say nothing." John merely stared at him for a moment. "You believe that?" Sherlock nodded once and John scoffed. "And now you're both hurting."

"The pain means nothing if Y/N is safe from me and what being associated with me can do to her."

"Shouldn't that be my decision as well?" Sherlock wasn't even surprised to hear your voice coming from the doorway of the flat. He glanced back at you as you gave John a tired smile. Sherlock took in your appearance. You looked horrible. Like you hadn't slept or eaten in days. Like all the joy had been sucked out of you. "Would you give us a moment, Doctor?" you asked, not meeting Sherlock's gaze. John merely nodded before shooting a glare at his flatmate.

As soon as John was outside, you finally glanced at Sherlock. "You look like hell," he declared, matter-of-factly. You rolled your eyes. "Well, forgive me, Mr. Consulting Detective, but not all of us have a murder to keep us distracted. Why? Why would you let me believe it meant nothing to you? I know you're not...good with typical human emotions. You find them unnecessary, but I don't! And you said NOTHING! YOU LET ME BELIEVE I WAS BETTER OFF AND LET ME BE IN PAIN!"

Sherlock's expression, unsurprisingly, didn't shift at all as your voice raised. When he said nothing, you huffed and began pacing a little. "You could have talked to me, Sherlock. You should have! You knew this entire time. You knew exactly what I was trying to tell you and yet, you couldn't be bothered to care. I've been so happy."

"You are always happy. Well, except for this moment," he replied, earning a groan. "Not the point, Sherlock. The point is that you caused us both unnecessary pain. While you had something to distract you from yours, I didn't. I was here with you, every day. Not that you noticed. You don't want me to be like you? Well I suppose it's too late. This bond has caused me nothing but trouble. I've made an appointment with a soul bond clinic. They'll be removing my mark and severing the bond entirely." With that, you turned on your heel and left the flat, leaving Sherlock standing there with a thousand thoughts racing through his head and his heart clenching harder with every step you took.

For once in his life, Sherlock had no idea what to do. You were going to destroy the soulmate bond? Sherlock didn't want that. He knew that much. He hadn't meant to cause you the pain. He had only wanted to keep you...you. But now, it was over. Unless he could catch you in time.

Faster than most people could comprehend, Sherlock's long legs were carrying him out of the flat and down into the street. Just as his foot hit the pavement, the cab with you in the backseat drove off. Sherlock could just see your tear-stained face in the window as you were driven out of sight.