A Study In Love - A Johnlock Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Four

Okay so it's been a while since I last updated. First week of school and I'm already drowning in homework and such. Still, I managed to get something written ( a decent amount of this chapter was actually written in school) and I hope it's not too terrible.

Also, heads-up: this is the second to last chapter. So once the chapter after this is posted, there will be no more new updates. :( I'll probably have some sort of slightly sappy author's note at the end of the next chapter, btw.

Thank you to everyone who has read/voted/commented!! You guys are amazing!

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For the next week or so John stayed at Ollie's house. He spent his time wallowing in self pity while Ollie worked, then at night he slept on Ollie's couch trying to get some sleep, and almost always failing. It seemed every time John closed his eyes he saw Sherlock. He saw Sherlock's angry face, yelling at him like he had just suggested they invade Russia in winter. He saw the look of surprise on his face after he'd kissed him. He saw Sherlock sitting on the sofa, completely immersed in his phone. And no matter what version of Sherlock he saw, it always hurt to see him. It was why John didn't leave Ollie's house for the entire time he stayed there. He didn't want to risk running into Sherlock anywhere. If he couldn't handle seeing him in his dreams, how was he supposed to handle seeing him in real life?

The first time he went into the outside world was to get his cast removed. It had been early in the morning, but John didn't mind. Ollie was able to give him a ride to St. Bart's, but couldn't stay with him as he had to get to work.

He was still trying to get used to walking with just the cane and no cast on when he ran into Mrs. Hudson. He had been walking up and down the hallway and had seen her standing outside someone's room.

"Mrs. Hudson?" he called out when he was sure he was within earshot. She looked up, and smiled when she saw John limping towards her.

"Oh, John! How are you?"

"Could be better, honestly." She gave him a knowing look, and he started trying to prepare himself for the conversation that was going to come.

"You're not at Baker Street."

"No, I'm um, I'm staying with a friend for a bit." John decided it would be better not to tell Mrs. Hudson just what friend he was staying with, just in case she talked to Sherlock about this run in. Not only did he not want to risk Sherlock showing up at Ollie's house when he's laying on the couch in nothing but a bath robe and eating ice cream like a heartbroken teenager, but he was pretty sure Sherlock wasn't too fond of Ollie. Mrs. Hudson nodded her head, then sucked in a breath.

"He's a mess John, an absolute wreck."

"He- what?" John asked, furrowing his brow and squinting at Mrs. Hudson.

"What happened?" She asked, reaching out to lightly touch John's shoulder. John felt his jaw clench as he looked down and shook his head.

"Nothing." Mrs. Hudson gave a noise of disbelief.

"Well, it sure doesn't seem like nothing. He hasn't left the flat since you did. I don't think he's eaten much either. I've gone up there several times to try and talk to him, but it's no use. He just sits on the sofa all day, staring at the door or his phone, like he's waiting for something. What he's waiting for I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I hope it shows up soon." She sighed and shook her head. "I hate seeing him like this, John. He looks so upset."

"Really?" John asked, genuinely surprised by this information. He couldn't imagine Sherlock behaving in such a way, though John had to admit if he'd been kissed by his flat mate, who claimed to be straight, in the heat of an argument he would be rather out of sorts as well. He sighed and ran his hands over his face. He really had no idea how to fix this. Mrs. Hudson gently rubbed his shoulder, and when he looked at her she gave him a comforting smile.