Good Old Fashioned Nightmare

Part 1

Pre Reichenbach Fall AU ( Alternate Universe)  This story takes place in an alternate universe where John and Sherlock have met and done most of the events in series one and two. However, none of the events of series three have taken place yet.

     John sat at the café table in the sunshine.  He was only a few streets away from Baker St. but it felt like he’d just escaped from prison.  He’d been cooped up the flat for the past three months working with Sherlock sorting through data, videos and files looking for anything that would implicate Moriarty or break his insidious web.  After Moriarty had kidnapped him and strapped him into an explosive vest, Sherlock had become extremely possessive of John and would let him out of his sight.  Even though they’d been living together agreeably for almost two years while working on cases together, John knew this time was different.  The stakes were higher now.

   John knew he loved Sherlock with an intense loyalty and would do anything for the man.  He’d even felt physical attraction bubbling up at times though he’d never acted on it.  But, he’d gone to great lengths to convince himself he wasn’t gay and that Sherlock wasn’t interested if he were.  However, after his near brush with death at the pool, Sherlock’s whole personality seemed to shift in his direction.  He had thrown himself into his pursuit to punish the criminal mastermind with a fierceness John hadn’t known he’d possessed.  And, since he’d already seen Sherlock madly chasing criminals all over the country, that was saying something.

     At first, Sherlock believed that Moriarty’s men would attack them in the streets of London so he limited both their outdoor ventures to only those times absolutely necessary.  Although, John did suspect that Sherlock secretly disappeared in the dead of night when he slept and crept back into the flat before he awoke in the morning.  Then, Sherlock stopped taking any cases or work that he didn’t believe would help him solve the Moriarty mystery.   He even accompanied John to Tesco for shopping trips and paid for cabs so John wouldn’t have to walk exposed on the sidewalk. He kept a nervous watch the entire time.

     “I think we should have our groceries delivered from now on, John,” Sherlock had said on their last shopping trip.  He’d walked so close to John their shoulders touched.  In what John assumed was an unconscious protective gesture, he’d even wrapped his long arm around John’s shoulders when they crossed the street after being dropped off by the cab.

     “Great, now I’ll never get to see the sun,” he’d quipped and instantly regretted it when he saw a flash of hurt cross Sherlock’s face.  It had been replaced with a firm look of determination.  He simply gripped John tighter and hurried them on.

     “He will not get to you again,” Sherlock said heatedly. 

     Afterwards, he’d kept John so claustrophobically close, he had begun to quietly scheme ways to get some space away from the man.  He could never carry any of them out because Sherlock always seemed one step ahead of him and thwarted every plan to get some time away from the flat.  He always had an excellent reason John should stay put.  Sherlock always seemed to loom nearby in the same room.  Even when he went to the bathroom to shower and take a piss, he sensed Sherlock hovering in the hallway.  He hadn’t gone on a date with a woman or even his mates in so long he almost forgotten what it was like to just revel in the freedom of being away from the flat and out in real world.

     John remembered the last morning three months ago when he’d tried to go to work at the clinic.  Sherlock had absolutely forbidden him to go in and he’d kept having to call in sick or some other excuse until he finally broke down and asked for a formal leave of absence.  He had some savings, enough to last for about six months if he were careful.  If this kept up, they would have to rely on Sherlock’s erratic income (or possibly Mycroft) more often if the man insisted he not leave the flat for work.