Mind Palace (BBC Sherlock Oneshot)

Mind Palace

Anyone who truly knows Sherlock Holmes knows that he is always moving. He can't sit still, his mind is always racing, immediately heading towards another challenge once the current is finished. That's why his Mind Palace is so important. Many people think his Mind Palace is an abstract concept; a figment of his imagination. It isn't. His Mind Palace is what keeps his thoughts in order. Without it, he would have broken down long ago.

No one truly knows what his Mind Palace is. Except for Sherlock, that is. Mostly because no one has ever asked. His Mind Palace is a refuge. It is, well, a Palace, hence the name. It is also where Sherlock's memories are stored. Where he keeps facts, opinions, anything he deems important. Most would be able to guess this much, but there is so much more they don't know.

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When Sherlock is around someone long enough, he is able to start predicting their reactions. It doesn't take much to do this. Even being around someone a few days will give him a fairly accurate picture. This can be both good and bad. It's good, because with this, Sherlock knows what lines not to cross (though he often does so anyways). But because of Sherlock's accurate depiction of someone, he is incapable of fooling himself into thinking they will have the reaction he wants.

This accurate depiction of people is why Sherlock tries to distance himself. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock. Shut up Mycroft. No, this is not the beginnings of his descent into madness. It is merely another aspect of his Mind Palace. When someone has made a significant impact on Sherlock's life, they establish themselves in his mind. For so long it had only been Mycroft (mainly because Sherlock hadn't figured out how to get rid of him). But eventually, that started to change.

A few short months after meeting Mrs. Hudson, she had started to make her presence in his Mind Palace known. This was okay, as Sherlock was rather fond of his landlady. Though, with her presence in his Mind Palace and the true Mrs. Hudson on Baker Street, she would always make sure he took care of himself, making sure he ate and slept at least every other day. This was fine, even if it was a bit annoying at times.

A few years after he started working with Scotland Yard, Sherlock had been quite surprised to find Lestrade in his Mind Palace. But, that was fine. Sherlock didn't mind his presence, so he let him stay. Lestrade didn't understand Sherlock's mind (No one really did. Mycroft might have a vague idea, but even he didn't truly understand), but he accepted it (mostly). He put up with Sherlock's quirks, and never got too harsh with him, so Sherlock was content to let him reside in his own little corner of his Mind Palace.

Everything was fine. There were a few more people in his Mind Palace, but Sherlock found he actually enjoyed their company, during the few times they spoke up (Except for Mycroft. He really needed to figure out how to get him out of there). But, then John came along.

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John was.....an enigma. At first glance, he had seemed fairly ordinary (Military doctor; psychosomatic limp; drunken sibling. This had all been deduced within a few seconds). But he quickly proved to be something else. He'd let Sherlock borrow his phone. Why? What does he want in return? No one does something for me without having an ulterior motive. But no. There had been no ulterior motive, nothing to be gained. He just wanted to help. After that, things had quickly gotten more complicated. They had moved in together, become flatmates, and John actually tolerated his presence. He even seemed to like it. He's.....impressed? Why? No one had ever been impressed with Sherlock's deduction skills. It caused a foreign feeling to bubble up inside. Is this.......pride? Sherlock had never felt pride before. Sure, some people thought he was quite arrogant, but he wasn't. Not really. He knew what he could do, and was confident in his abilities. This was a fact. It had never been anything more. Certainly not something to feel pride for.

It had been ridiculously easy for John to slip into his Mind Palace. In only one week, John had infiltrated his Mind Palace, and was quickly taking hold. Honestly, it was a bit frightening. Sherlock acted the way he did on purpose; to ward others away. Everyone would leave him eventually (Except Mycroft, which was a bit frustrating). It was why he never let himself get too attached. Lestrade wasn't rooted in very deep. When the time came that he left Sherlock (or, more accurately, made Sherlock leave), it would be fairly easy to pluck Lestrade out of his Mind Palace and move on.

He was fairly confident in his standing with Mrs. Hudson. He had often poked and prodded at her, testing the boundaries to see when she would snap. She never had. She had yelled at him, sure (he would have been concerned for her had she not), but she had never stayed angry at him for long, and she never left him. But again, if he had to, he was fairly certain he could evict her from his Mind Palace as well.

But John? John had rooted himself deep. He had taken hold and refused to be shaken. At first Sherlock had tried to scare John away. He had been more obnoxious than usual. He pushed at that boundary line, looking for a way to get it to snap, so maybe it wouldn't hurt as much if John left him later. But, it didn't work. John had stayed. Of course he did, he was too stubborn not to. So Sherlock left it. He accepted that this man, this friend (and wasn't that weird to say), would one day hurt him. Would one day leave him broken, unable to repair himself. But that was okay. Because even if it caused pain down the road, he was grateful to have him here. To be able to experience this joy. And even if it didn't make any difference, he would do whatever it took to hold onto this friendship. And when that did day come; when it came time for John to leave him, he would smile. He would smile, because this man, this extraordinary man, had helped him. He had fixed him when he was broken. He had chased his demons away. Because this man, for whatever reason, had deemed him worthy of saving. But until that day came, Sherlock would fight tooth and nail to keep John by his side. After all, wasn't that what friends did?