Simplyclockwork’s Sherlock Fic Recs
This will be updated as I find and read more fics. I will make it accessible as a link on my blog if people want to follow.
This list is in no way exhaustive.
Alternate Universe/Crossovers
Performance in a Leading Role - madlori
Explicit. 156,714 words. 21 chapters.
Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?
A Moment’s Surrender - anchors
Mature. 64,272 words. 10 chapters.
Sherlock tours worldwide with the English National Ballet. John dances the Lindy Hop competitively all across the globe. That they would meet, then, by the slimmest of chances in one lonely city, is pure coincidence. The whole 'dancing together' bit is a little more planned. Dancer!AU.
Love or What You Will - miss_frankenstein
Teen and Up. 31,987 words. 11 chapters.
John is an English professor who specializes in War and Post-War Literature and Sherlock is the brilliant yet impossible Ph.D. student assigned to be his TA because no one in the Chemistry Department is willing to put up with him. And - somewhere between Waugh and Plath, e-mails and takeaway, novels and villanelles - they fall in love.
Two Two One Bravo Baker - abudantlyqueer
Explicit. 114,574 words. 27 chapters.
Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John?
The Jewel in the Tower - PoppyAlexander
Explicit. 207,079 words. 39 chapters.
"Xie [...] had invented an entire pleasure-industry by combining superior visual aesthetics with impeccable personal attention. Drasha salons were by that time a feature of any even half-decent house of repose in every pleasure district in the British Isles, but once upon a time, when Xie debuted, there had been only one, and Xie had named it: the Icehouse."
*
In a contemporary dystopia, Unity is peace--despite the fact unsanctioned information, illicit currency, and every sort of danger flows unchecked in the world's pleasure districts.
John Watson, a weary hired gun, is assigned by the mysterious Mentor to investigate a subversive element lurking in the Icehouse, the world's most famous House of Repose. As accustomed as he is to dealing with the unexpected, John is nevertheless woefully unprepared to meet the gem of the Ice house, Xie, the world renowned "drashaskaya," the living work of art after which all other drashas are modeled.
In sumptuous suites, amid trailing puddles of silk and fervent whispers in the night, John soon learns that nothing is as it seems in the floating world of London's pleasure district.
*
Modern-day dystopian/one-world government/espionage/geisha!lock AU
The Loss of Flesh and Soul - deuxexmycroft
Explicit. 60,000+ words. Unfinished.
Five years after John Watson puts the murderous Sherlock Holmes behind bars, a vicious copycat killer emerges. A reluctant John is pulled out of retirement to seek the expertise of the only man who can help, a man who has developed an unsettling obsession with John himself.
Crossover with Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs
Simplyclockwork note: Not fully finished, but an alternative ending was posted. Still worth reading without a full ending.
I wake up and I wake up and you’re still dead - thisprettywren (memento/Sherlock crossover)
Mature. 24,226 words. One-shot.
Sherlock isn't the only one who's lost.
The Sinking of the Titanic: Sixty Years Later - flawedamythyst
Teen and Up. 15,340 words. One-shot.
John Watson is interviewed for a documentary being made for the sixtieth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The story he tells is not the one the interviewer was expecting.
The Bachelors’ Handfasting - Jberry
Explicit. 30,624 words. 20 chapters.
After her son is caught in a compromising position, Victoria Holmes must make arrangements for a quick marriage between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.
Simplyclockwork note: Kilt!Lock and Soft Bab Sherlock (but of age)
Just to Hold You Close - sussexbound
Explicit. 70,841 words. 18 chapters.
When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.
Summit Fever - J_Baillier
Mature. 78,867 words. 18 chapters.
After graduating from medical school, John Watson followed his heart to the Himalayas. Ten years later, he's a haunted cynic working for his ex-lover's trekking and mountaineering company. Will leading an expedition to Annapurna I — the most lethal of all the world's highest mountains — shake John out of his reverie, and who is the mystery client added to the group at the last minute?
The Last Companion - standbygo
Explicit. 34,101 words. 14 chapters.
Thirty years after the Miranda Wars, there is peace, both on the Rim and the Core planets. There are a number of old social mores still in place, such as the Order of Companions, but there is a sense that even such respected practices are coming to an end…
Sherlock is a Companion - the best Companion on Persephone. With a bit of detective work on the side, of course. Then he meets a man named John Watson, encounters a series of bizarre cases, and finds his world is getting turned upside down.
Simplyclockwork note: Sherlock/Firefly AU!
Out There - DiscordantWords
Teen and up. 131,695 words. 10 chapters.
FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.
This is a fusion with The X-Files, written for the Fall TV Season Challenge.
Say You’ll Stay With Me - justacookieofacumberbatch (buffyholic)
Explicit. 63,349 words. 21 chapters.
It was just supposed to be an ordinary business trip, but when John's car stalls out on Hollywood Boulevard, he meets someone who just might change his life.
Simplyclockwork note: Pretty Woman/Sherlock AU.
Gimme Shelter - SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John
Explicit. 159,368 words. 21 chapters.
All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair.
That's all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition.
Apokalypsis - songlin
Mature. 12,125 words. 4 chapters.
There were things I never told you because I thought we had time. There is no time left in the world anymore.
Sensory Science - sussexbound
Explicit. 80,017 words. 24 chapters.
John Watson has been invalided home from Afghanistan and is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD and insomnia, when an old friend from med school recommends something that might help: An ASMR YouTube Channel run by a friend.
One session in and John is hooked, not only by the way the ASMR seems to calm him after nightmares, and help him sleep, but also by the mysterious man who runs it.
Comparative Literature is for Idiots - lookupkate
Explicit. 8,173 words. 4 chapters.
Sherlock thinks he's very bohemian, smoking cigarettes and wearing patchouli oil and writing poetry in the attic. In truth he's just your average seventeen year old, not showering enough and being hit particularly hard by his continued path through puberty.
John is getting his masters in literature. He's the TA for comparative literature and yearns for romance. Romance has other plans, plans that require him to go without for at least ten more years. Plans that put in front of him the exact man he'll finally fall in love with, but in boy form.
When Sherlock happens to see John reading poetry at a coffee shop he is immediately smitten. John holds him at arm's length because he's a bloody child.
How will ten years and miles apart change that view, and will John be able to understand how he's fallen in love with someone he doesn't ever get to see?
Stay tuned for puberty hi jinx and the passing of time to find out. And yes, there will be love.
An Everlasting Inferno - thatawkwardfriend
Explicit. 108,389 words. 15 chapters.
Sherlock and John are both men who operate outside the law. John works for Mary and her hitmen in order to keep a roof over his head. Sherlock does anything his drug dealer asks of him in exchange for free drugs and housing.
They meet one night in a darkened garage to negotiate a deal. But they soon find out that neither of their bosses are being entirely honest with them about their goals or motives. With a little poking around, they stumble upon something much bigger than themselves and discover that perhaps, it might be in their best interests to work together.
(Loosely inspired by StartUp and Little Favour)
Only To Be With You - SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John
Mature. 40,768 words. 4 chapters.
I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black.
I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.
You Give Me Fever - michi_thekiller
Explicit. 16,122 words. One-shot.
Thou givest fever when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth
Fever I'm afire; fever, yea, I burn forsooth
"He's the kind of boy you want to take apart."
Gratuitous Greaserlock. It's essentially 16k of mostly-porn. Warnings for underage sex between teens.
OmegaVerse
The Gilded Cage - BeautifulFiction
Explicit. 326,887 words. 31 chapters.
In a world where Omegas are the property of the elite Alphas, locked away and treasured by those wealthy enough to buy them, John never questioned his flatmate's secondary gender. Sherlock Holmes was an Alpha through-and through.
Wasn't he?
A chance discovery turns the world on its head, and John is left grappling to come to terms with Sherlock's past as events conspire to threaten their future.
Relative Incandescence - orphan_account
Explicit. 35,486 words. One-shot.
Two musical notes: Every parrot and every construction worker knows them. Shrill and salacious, so Sherlock will remember: You are on display. It’s supposed to be a compliment. Supposed to make him feel good, that they have laboured to remind him.
It makes him feel like a package of meat, set down into the cooler, raw and waiting to eaten.
Supernatural/Fantasy/Magical Realism
Graceless - Belladonna_Q
Mature. 1,296 words. One-shot.
He spins and throws blindly, and another soft whump, that comforting scent of home vaporizing before him. A single raven coloured feather seasaws through the air.
“God damn you, Sherlock!” He shouts, he screams, and there’s nothing in the space he can strike. Nothing he can grab and heave into the darkness.
Beneath the Silver Moon - SailorChibi
Explicit. 85, 993 words. 73 chapters.
After being bitten in Afghanistan, John was invalided home. Being a werewolf was new to him, and he wasn't interested in any of the help or orientation that the Centre had to offer, but even his wolf knew better than to enter territory that had been marked. Until his first outside change, when he met a strange alpha wolf that wanted John to follow it home into pack territory. John's initial refusal became a challenge for the curious alpha... one Sherlock Holmes.
All Things Inherit - BeautifulFiction (@the-pen-pot)
Explicit. 53,682 words. 6 chapters.
"For John, it's not a bullet that throws his existence into disarray – it's a bite."
In a world where twelve percent of the population are Mactiri - people with the ability to turn into wolves at will - John finds himself struggling with a new and horrifying existence. The victim of a shocking attack, he is discharged from the army and sent home, determined never to acknowledge what he can now become.
However, when his health starts to fail, it is up to his enigmatic new flatmate to show him that perhaps his life is not the nightmare John believes it to be.
Inexplicable - emmagrant01
Explicit. 34,664 words. 6 chapters.
So what was in that matchbox, anyway? John and Sherlock find out, the hard way.
Simplyclockwork note: this fic ripped my heart out in the best way.
Riptide Lover - jinglebell
Explicit. 114,090 words. 20 chapters.
The year is 1866. When John becomes swept overboard, he never expects to encounter a living creature of myth. When the merman absconds with John, the lost sailor must use every tool at his disposal to convince Sherlock not to kill him. But it seems that killing John Watson is not what the deadly, beautiful creature has in mind at all...
Victorian mermaid AU. Heed the tags. Complete!
John Watson’s Moon - patternofdefiance
Explicit. 11,314 words. One-shot
“You’ll let me see it, of course.”
It takes John no time at all to realize what is being asked, to stiffen with indignation, but he asks, “See what?” nonetheless.
The look those grey-green eyes level at him says please don’t actually be that stupid far more eloquently than should be possible. “You are loup garou, recently infected under traumatic circumstances and subsequently discharged from military service, most likely from a post in Afghanistan or Iraq. Your wounds would have healed with the passing of the initial fever, so whatever lingering effects you are suffering are likely psychosomatic – and severe enough to bar you from the one occupation where being a ruthless hunter is seen as a qualification rather than a detriment.” Those eyes flick back up from their cataloguing of John’s limbs and body to meet his eyes. “When I say you’ll let me see it, I am then, of course, referring to your wolf form.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Potential flatmates should know the worst about one another.”
Hellfire - PrettyArbitrary
Teen and up. 2,966 words. One-shot.
John learns, with clawing, bloody slowness, how to fend for himself. He learns the capacity to love wasn’t taken from him, or the need for it. He learns what it is to starve. To need things that aren’t given to him.
A prequel to Graceless.
Full Moon - sommerprosson
Explicit. 5,151 words. One-shot.
Sherlock rather wishes the man hadn’t woken. Now, he has to talk to him before he bites his throat during the night.
Tedious.
The Curious Wine - songlin
Explicit. 15,095 words. 8 chapters.
"I want to watch you kill, because I want to see you lose that tiresome battle against your baser instincts. I want to drink from you, enough that you go weak and breathless and can’t stand properly, but I don’t want to kill you, because then you’ll be gone and the thought of never being surprised by you ever again makes me want to go naked into the sunlight and wait until it burns me into ash."
Blue Blood - You_Light_The_Sky
Teen and up. 963 words. One-shot.
"I know you're here," John shouts into the darkness.
The Autumn Moon is Bright - barrowjane
Mature. 23,935words. 3 chapters.
John has two secrets he keeps from Sherlock - he manages this, he thinks, only because Sherlock would find the idea that John is attracted to him just as unlikely as the idea of John being a werewolf. He's not sure what it says about his life, that love and lycanthropy are considered equally impossible events.
The Stars Move Still - BeautifulFiction (@the-pen-pot)
Explicit. 96,022 words. 5 chapters.
"What could I want so desperately that would make me sell my soul? What could possibly compel me to surrender the part of myself that makes me who I am: the source of my magic, my self-control, everything?"
Say That Again, But In English This Time - janonny
Explicit. 15,842 words. One-shot.
Lestrade was calling about a new murder, Sherlock was acting strange even for a consulting detective-werewolf, and John was missing blood from the fridge. Just another day in John’s life. (Alternate Universe where Sherlock is a werewolf, and John is a vampire. Everything else is exactly the same.
Darkling, I Listen - You_Light_The_Sky
Teen and up. 73,254 words. 8 chapters.
No one who enters old London ever comes out. They say that the beast devours them. When his sister disappears, John ventures into the dead zone beyond the wall, and finds a brilliant madman under a terrible curse...
The Bite - Laur
Explicit. 48, 214 words. 16 chapters.
Sherlock gets it wrong.
Days, months, even years in the future, Sherlock’s oversight during the Baskerville case will continue to torment him, but nothing about that night will ever be as painfully vivid as the memory of John’s screams.
This is how it begins.
Dark!Sherlock/Dark!John
Hollow Hands Cling series - misanthropyray
Explicit. 17,718 words. 2 works.
Written for a prompt on the kinkmeme: "John breaks up with Sherlock and moves out of Baker Street. Hurt, angry, and heartbroken, Sherlock implicates him in a murder."
The Most Dangerous Game - gestalt1/chi-chi-chimaera
Explicit. 26,179 words. One-shot.
Written for a prompt on BBC Sherlock Kink Meme : I'd really like to see some secret!serial-killer!Sherlock, either because he's finally gotten bored of solving regular crimes, or he's been doing this all along and framing other people for it.
Extra Dark!Watson would be much appreciated. Maybe he's just seen so many people killed, and killed himself, that it no longer feels like much to be concerned about.
Skinful Canvas - You_Light_The_Sky
Teen and Up. 9,360 words. One-shot.
A person’s sins gets marked on their skin in such beautiful ways. Sherlock has no such marks and yet his hands are the bloodiest of all. He would so like to mark John in etchings of his own… Serial-Killer!Sherlock
Training Dr. John Watson - angelblack3
Explicit. 57,917 words. 30 chapters.
In this universe, Jim got a hold of Sherlock way before he ever met the ones that were meant to save him. Now, they're happy business partners. Though, according to Jim, Sherlock isn't nearly as happy as he could be. He should find someone like Jim found his dear pet Sebby. Sherlock is skeptical, until he finds an army doctor with a psychosomatic limp in a twisted sense of fate.
Simplyclockwork note: Very, very dark. Rape and non-con. Read the tags!
Post-Reichenbach
One Day at a Time Series - KeelieThompson1
Mature. 35,137 words. 2 works.
Sherlock always had an influence on John, so when he "dies" and John finds his secret stash of cocaine, one thing leads to another. And John is far too proud to admit just how far he is falling or ask for help. Afterall, who is there left that he can really ask?
The Burning Heart - May_Shepard
Mature. 119,150 words. 21 chapters.
When Sherlock dies, John Watson feels like his life is over too. He’s completely shut down, until Mark Morstan, a new nurse at John’s medical clinic, catches his attention, and helps him uncover the long buried truth of his attraction to men.
Although he’s certain he’ll never get over Sherlock, John plans to move on, and build a new life with Mark, unaware that Sherlock is not quite as dead as he appears, and that Mark is hiding secrets of his own.
The Quiet Man - ivyblossom
Explicit. 157,369 words. 58 chapters.
"Do you just carry on talking when I'm away?"
Ford - theshopislocal
Mature. 31,744 words. 5 chapters.
He turns back round then and looks down at me, eyes curious. “Your name, W.S.S. Holmes.” That’s not my name. “Is it Walter? Or Wilbur? Maybe something really awful like, er,” he smiles wryly, “Willoughby? Winchester?”
I feel my face go blank as my body numbs over. “Scott,” I say, voice devoid of emotion. “My name is Scott.”
The Imposter - PoppyAlexander
Mature. 9,802 words. One-shot.
Sherlock has been rescued by his brother and is ready to reclaim his life, his work, and--of course--John Watson.
But John Watson let it all slide in the wake of Sherlock Holmes' death and is living on the streets, drinking, dissociated from his previous life and even from his own name.
Sherlock will have to convince him that he really *is* Sherlock Holmes.
Synapses - theshopislocal
Explicit. 52,725 words. 9 chapters.
“Thrice.”
“Yes.”
John blinks. Shakes his head. Blinks again. “Thhhhrice.”
“Yes.”
Is my mouth moving right n- “Thrice in your entire life?”
“Yess, John,” Sherlock growls, hissing like a snake grabbed by the tail. “Thrice, three times, twice more than once and once more than twice, a veritable triptych of onanism. Thrice.”
Of Nightmares and Memories - @annecumberbatch
Not-Rated. 220 words. One-shot.
Stream of consciousness poem of fragmented thoughts after Sherlock leapt to his death and John tries to continue life without him.
-------------
I grab at a stranger
Pulling them out of their life
Trying to pull you back into mine
It left me with empty hands
Ten Days - @engazed
Explicit. 137,212 words. 31 chapters.
Sherlock Holmes has been dead for forty months, and John is at last beginning to live his life again. But just when he believes he might be happy, his world crashes back down around him.
John is named a missing person. Someone is pointing DI Lestrade in the wrong direction. And as the days pass, his situation only grows more dire. It seems like the disappearance of his best friend is the only thing that can bring Sherlock Holmes back from the dead.
Simplyclockwork note: Intense torture and non-con. Read the tags!
Slow Burn/Pining/Unrequited Love
Drawn to Stars - silvergirl
Explicit. 100,000+ words. 56 chapters.
“Romantic entanglement, while fulfilling for other people—”
“—would complete you as a human being.”
After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being.
Thermodynamics series - entanglednow
Teen and Up. 16,300 words. 4 works.
In which there's no heating and there's a dead owl in Sherlock's bed.
the knife I turn inside myself - polyommatusblues
Explicit. 11,307 words. One-shot.
There are a million parallel universes out there in which Sherlock and John are happy—universes in which Sherlock never jumped, John never married, and things never went to hell. Sherlock knows that this is not one of universes. It could have been, he imagines, but it’s not.
They make do.
Ease Your Way into Occupied Spaces - joolabee
Explicit. 11,091 words. One-shot.
One thing’s certain: this wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.
The Real Meaning of Idioms - feverishsea
Teen and Up. 21,691 words. 13 chapters.
After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn't expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn't expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn't expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.
The Symposium - orphan_account
Explicit. 2,542 words. One-shot.
"You're going to regret this," Sherlock manages while John sucks on his neck, "Whatever you're doing, I'm not going to stop you, and you'll regret it." He doesn't want to be that, some guilty secret John carries about. Sherlock might not have much in the way of qualms in general, but he does have some standards.
"I'll just add it to the list then, shall I?" John's voice is rueful, bitter.
White Knight - discordantwords
Mature. 69,840 words. 13 chapters.
Green.
The word green was used to convey a great many things. Illness. Envy. Inexperience.
Standing there amidst Janine's chattering bridesmaids, watching Sherlock furrow his brow and study fabric swatches, watching him smile and simper and flirt, John thought it a remarkably apt colour choice. Because he felt quite sick to his stomach, he feared the source of said sickness might very well be jealousy, and he had absolutely no idea at all what to do about it.
Or: Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.
The Progress of Sherlock Holmes - ivyblossom
Explicit. 62,006 words. 25 chapters.
“I had,” he said, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data.”
-- Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Angst/Hurt and Comfort/Sick Fics
The Vapor Variant - 88th Parallel (CanadaHolm)
Mature. 72,684 words. 18 chapters.
They stood face to face in the middle of a clearing. The dim light of the moon barely allowed Sherlock to see the glassy terror in John’s eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead. His nose was bleeding again, blood dripping in a slow stream from his right nostril.
They were both gasping for air, John’s eyes locked on Sherlock’s. There was no recognition there, just wild animal fear.
Time stood still for an eternal few seconds, and Sherlock took a shaky breath. “John—”
Spell broken, John spun and bolted back into the woods.
Still heaving for air, Sherlock took off after him.
kiss me on the mouth & set me free (but please don’t bite) - crysanthemumsies
Explicit. 18,743 words. 6 chapters.
Five times John got drunk and slept with Sherlock, and the one time Sherlock got drunk and couldn't do the same.
Control, Alt, Delete - MirithGriffin
Explicit. 75,196 words. 28 chapters.
If you could delete everything except what was really important, would you? Sherlock and John explore the question and each other.
Lacuna - coloredink
Explicit. 15,607 words. One-shot.
God, it must have been terrible, to think that he would never have this again.
Second Waltz - Atiki
Teen and up. 6,685 words. One-shot.
"The night I died, you wished I could wait for you."
The Haunting of 221B Baker Street - earlgreytea68
Mature. 10,388 words. 2 chapters.
In which Sherlock Holmes is a ghost.
Warm Me Up - halloa_what_is_this
General audiences. 5,357 words. One-shot.
For days, it’s like living with a sick toddler craving for attention and entertainment. Sherlock stays close to John the whole time, climbs on top of him or next to him every time he sits or lies down and sleeps with his head buried in his stomach every night.
This Time No (Forgiveness) - AtlinMerrick
Explict. 29,464 words. 11 chapters.
It was Sherlock's fault. It usually is. And though he'll ask forgiveness for what he's done, for the very first time John will say, 'This time no, Sherlock. This time, never.' And maybe, just maybe, John Watson is going to mean it.
Electric Pink Hand Grenade - BeautifulFiction
Explicit. 67,718 words. 13 chapters.
"If Sherlock's brain is a hard drive, then these attacks are an electro-magnetic pulse." Sherlock Holmes does not do anything by half, not even a migraine. It falls to John to witness one of the greatest minds he has ever known tear itself apart, and he must do his best to help Sherlock pick up the pieces.
Already Gone - AnneCumberbatch
Explicit. 3,649 words. 7 chapters.
“Sherlock…” John smoothed Sherlock’s shirt out over his chest. “I’m not a good man. I’m not.”
“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, John.” Sherlock shifted his hands to hold onto John’s shoulders.
“I think you give me too much.”
“John…” Sherlock ducked his head towards John and stopped, hovering above John’s lips. “Please. Kiss me again.”
Emails from the War Zone - trajektoria
Mature. 1,872 words. One-shot.
John returns to Afghanistan for a month to be an army doctor once again and Sherlock is left alone in the flat. The only contact the men have with each other is via emails. Sometimes it's easier to write something than to tell it face-to-face...
carrying up his morning tea - darcylindbergh
Explicit. 34,504 words. 5 chapters.
His fingers tremble as he dials and he can’t force them steady. Familiar number, even though he hasn’t used it in two years. He isn’t even sure he should be calling it now, but she’d asked. She’d made him promise.
You Have Drawn Red From My Hands - J_Baillier
Teen and up. 67,085 words. 17 chapters.
John getting injured leads Sherlock on a path of guilt and revelations.
Alone on the Water - Mad_Lori
General Audiences. 7,725 words. One-shot.
Sherlock Holmes never expected to live a long life, but he never imagined that it would end like this.
Simplyclockwork note: This fic has Major Character Death in it.
The Wisteria Tree - SilentAuror
Explicit. 29,773 words. One-shot.
Sherlock wakes up from a month-long coma only to discover that he has no memory of the previous six years to his own shock as well as John's...
Without Words - allonsys_girl
Explicit. 12,492 words. One-shot.
John and Sherlock have been together for six months and Sherlock still hasn't said "I love you". Then John gets hurt, and Sherlock expresses how much John really means to him.
When a Man is Wrong - plantsareneat
Mature. 70,000+ words. Incomplete.
After the events of The Lying Detective, John and Sherlock attempt to rebuild their friendship, and John struggles with life as a single father. He discovers he is not fully in control of his anger and behavior, and spirals into depression. Follows John through this dark period, and through the healing process he needs to make both for himself and for Sherlock, who has stood by him throughout.
Author Note: *Trigger Warning: pretty graphic depiction of deep depression and suicidal thoughts, including a (non-successful) attempt. Later part of the story follows a hospitalization and healing process coupled with developing/realized romance. Please take care of yourself, dear reader; if this subject is triggering for you, choose another story!
Simplyclockwork note: incomplete but still actively being worked on I believe, very worth the read even unfinished.
Open Your Eyes - AnneCumberbatch
Mature. 4,385 words. 6 chapters.
Sometimes you don't know what you could have had until you lose it.
Winner of the Fall 2019 #keepjohnlockalivecompetition by sherlockswolmes on Tumblr
The Heart in the Whole - verityburns
Explicit. 101,650 words. 21 chapters.
Events after 'The Great Game' leave Sherlock dependent on his best friend and colleague. But John has a secret of his own...
The Emergency Contact Series - blueink3
Mature. 11,763 words. 2 works.
The first time John Watson’s emergency contact is called is the first time Sherlock Holmes finds out that he has the job.
Rebuilding Rome - SilentAuror
Explicit. 94,000 words. 15 chapters.
When a case unexpectedly forces John to acknowledge some difficult truths about himself and his life, he spirals downward, leaving Sherlock to do his best to rescue him from his own darkness and somehow try to build something new on broken foundations.
Radioactive Trees in a Red Forest - Maribor_Petrichor
Explicit. 280,226 words. 73 chapters.
John Watson is what happens when a man can no longer see a reason to go on.
John Watson is what happens when a man starts to let go.
"It is what it is."
John Watson is what happens when what "it is" becomes too much to bear.
This is a story of the life, death, and resurrection of John Hamish Watson.
Sink Like a Stone - pennydreadful
Teen and Up. 4,348 words. One-shot.
After defeating Moriarty at the pool, life isn't quite the same around 221B Baker Street...it's more peaceful. And stranger.
Dissolution: Our Plague Days - PoppyAlexander
Teen and up. 6,663 words. One-shot.
The bees have been dying for years. A mysterious pandemic has the people of Great Britain quarantined and terrified. Sherlock's solved it; now John must save them.
Evidence of Human Life - thesardine
Explicit. 16,906 words. One-shot.
Sherlock's sanity deteriorates while he and John are stranded on a deserted island.
Canon Divergent/Fix-It Fics
The Internet is Not Just for Porn - cyerus
General Audiences. 1911 words. One-shot.
John is Sherlock's internet boyfriend - from CANADA.
No one thinks he's real.
Nature and Nurture - @earlgreytea68
Mature. 203,273 words. 57 chapters.
The British Government accidentally clones Sherlock Holmes. Which brings a baby to 221B Baker Street.
Of Course I Forgive You - allonsys_girl
Explicit. 10,735 words. One-shot.
What if things had gone differently on that train car?
The Pieces That Fall to Earth - Itsallfine
Mature. 49,513 words. 84 chapters.
John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most.
An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. Now complete.
The Unfinished Letters - SilentAuror
Explicit. 37,391 words. One-shot.
A fire at Baker Street leads John to read something he was never intended to see: a notebook of half-written, unfinished letters Sherlock wrote during his time away...
Don’t Leave Anything Out - lookupkate
Explicit. 27,422 words. 24 Chapters.
The first letter John writes home from Afghanistan is meant to go to a woman he went on only one date with. How it ends up in Sherlock's hands is completely innocent. What happens next is not.
What do you do when you find out the person you're in love with has been lying about something as monumental as who they are?
What do you do when you're the one who lied?
How on earth do you put the pieces back together?
Equilibrium - augustbird
Mature. 12,351 words. One-shot.
At Baskerville, John is infected by a virus that turns him into a genius. But when the infection progresses into neurodegeneration, it's a race against time to save himself. Flowers for Algernon fusion.
He’s Not Paid Enough to Deal With This Shit - janonny
Teen and Up. 9,829 words. One-shot.
One of the first things John did was to write up step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a proper job interview before handing it over to Mycroft for his perusal. There were no kidnapping, deserted car parks or stolen therapy notes anywhere on that list.
(Or the one where John returned from the war and ended up working for Mycroft as his personal assistant slash doctor on retainer. Everything was fine, until he was sent to post bail for one Sherlock Holmes.
Play for Me - orphan_account
Explicit. 6,105 words. One-shot.
"John had shown up at Baker Street only one day prior, an army duffle slung over his shoulder, the expression on his face like a cracked and ruptured fault line. Sherlock stood aside, holding open the door, and let John ascend the stairs in silence, asking nothing of Mary, asking nothing at all."
The Bee Charmer - dreadpiratewatson
Mature. 3,314 words. One-shot.
Greg goes to 221B to check up on Sherlock after a strange phone call pulls him away from an important case, and is stunned to find himself in front of a gun brandishing soldier with a sleeping Sherlock on his chest.
John Watson is a doctor, a war hero, a husband, and the only one in the world who can soften Sherlock's heart.
Whisper Game - astudyinrose
Explicit. 11,705 words. One-shot.
John is on his stag night at a gay club a few weeks before he ships out to Afghanistan…when he meets Sherlock Holmes.
Wild Nights, Wild Nights - cassy1
Mature. 32,047 words. 15 chapters.
If Sherlock had never met John, would he still be on the side of the angels? On his return from Afghanistan, John takes a job working the night shift at a high secure psychiatric hospital, but when the infamous criminal mastermind Sherlock Holmes is admitted as a patient, John begins to suspect that all is not as it seems.
Gone is My Past - cyerus
Teen and Up. 7,800 words. One-shot
John is an army bomb detection dog who has been turned into a human. Angst. No, really, angst.
Illusory Correlation and Confirmation Bias - VanillaBroompolish
General Audiences. 10,448 words. 6 chapters.
Looking back, there were a few things that should’ve tipped Greg off long before that night at the pub. A few things Sherlock left fairly obvious, that on reflection, made Greg question how he’d gotten his job in the first place.
Unilock/Teenlock
The Awakening - Popcornjones
Explicit. 34,166 words. 9 chapters.
Sherlock is a University student and he's in trouble - good thing a handsome rugby player comes along...
Unilock with a twist.
Simplyclockwork note: this is a really complex fic. It’s unilock, and canon-divergent, and angst, and there’s brief major character death that isn’t permanent. Read the tags!
Up to Speed - prettysailorsoldier
Explicit. 13,364 words. One-shot.
John doesn't know what he did to deserve this, but, whatever it takes to atone for it, he is more than willing to try, because, if he has to spend one more second with Sherlock Holmes, he might spontaneously combust. Or strangle him. He's currently undecided.
Feeling Seen - jadztone
Explicit. 30,177 words. 9 chapters.
Rugby player John is starting over at a new university, with the help of friends Molly and Bill. Few people know that John is demisexual, but ballet dancer Sherlock Holmes deduces right away that he has no interest in sex unless he’s fallen in love. John finds this strange genius intriguing and would like to get to know him, but Sherlock has a self-cultivated reputation for only wanting casual sex. John has reason to believe that’s not really true, but he’s not sure he wants to risk his twice-fractured heart to find out.
Invite Me Over - testosterone_tea
Explicit. 8,443 words. One-shot.
Sherlock lives in a crappy, run-down flat during his grad studies in chemistry when an attractive med student moves in next door. Unilock.
Happy Little Accidents - weneedtotalkaboutsherlock (Paradoxe1914)
Explicit. WIP.
John had never really thought about art before the man dropped his dressing gown to the ground. Even then, art took a moment to manifest itself in John's mind, for his thoughts had gone as bare as the model in front of his seat: entirely.
Transition Game - emmagrant01
Explicit. 33,258 words. One-shot.
Sherlock Holmes is a chemistry grad student and a TA for Dr. Stamford’s Forensic chem course at Greenview State University. One fall semester, John Watson, captain of the hockey team, takes that course. (Unilock + hockey AU)
You’re On the Air - prettysailorsoldier
Mature. 20,616 words. One-shot.
The Consulting Detective and The Woman dominate the airwaves of their university radio station, doling out advice on everything from meeting the parents to sexual positions. When their ratings start to dip before the holidays, however, manager Mike thinks it's time for some fresh blood, and who better to fill in the gaps than rugby captain--and notorious flirt--John Watson?
Let me Touch you (The First Summer) - Shay_Fae
Mature. 18,536 words. 14 chapters.
Seventeen-year-old John is spending the summer at Sherlock's country house. Sherlock can't imagine anything worse.
Especially since he may be falling in love with the boy
Case Fics
Midnight Blue Serenity - Beautiful Fiction
Explicit. 151,907 words. 19 chapters.
“This was like nothing John had ever thought to associate with Sherlock: stubble, skin-tight jeans and three small silver rings gleaming at the crest of one ear. It was unbelievable, like stepping into an alternative universe, and John couldn't stop staring.”
When Sherlock infiltrates a club in order to track down a serial killer, his altered appearance is enough to make John question his assumption that Sherlock is beyond his reach. However, is he the only one who appreciates his flatmate's charms, or is Sherlock at risk of becoming the next victim? (Warning: reviews may contain fic spoilers)
The Thing Is - TSylvestris
Explicit. 56,743 words. 21 chapters.
The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed.
Smut
To a Tee - lookupkate
Explicit. 15,321. 14 chapters.
Sherlock receives a text from an unknown number. The man is under the impression that he needs a sugar daddy. After careful consideration...well, he could be right.
Coin to Travel Twice - entanglednow
Mature. 1,997 words. One-shot.
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone pretending to be dead with such relish before."
Closer - michi_thekiller
Explicit. 8,516 words. One-shot.
You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you
You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you
"Sherlock cupped John's face between his trembling hands, the two of them so close together that they shared the same breath. Oxygen and carbon dioxide passed from one set of lungs to another, and he couldn't hear over the pounding of his own heart, and he said, 'I need you.'"
Pentadione, Damascenone, Furanone, Vanillin - peevee
Mature, 2,242 words. One-shot.
Sherlock takes his work very seriously, whatever the job.
Every morning he catalogues. He wants to distill the very scent of John’s skin, his hair, his sweat.
Whisper Game - astudyinrose
Explicit. 11,705 words. One-shot.
John is on his stag night at a gay club a few weeks before he ships out to Afghanistan…when he meets Sherlock Holmes.
Curious Case - Cleo2010
Explicit. 44,653 words. 11 chapters.
After burning his hands, Sherlock's unable to release his 'tension' in the usual manner. Who should he turn to? His totally, completely straight friend and flatmate who's totally not into Sherlock or his boy parts at all. Definitely.
Just a bit of fun that's PWP with a hint of plot, all the way through.
Exquisite - SoftTae
Explicit. 4,755 words. One-shot.
Sherlock and John have been together for a while now, but everytime they get start to get intimate, Sherlock pulls away. What happens when Sherlock stays and John finds out his secret?
Say My Name - mistyzeo
Explicit. 2,611 words. One-shot.
John Watson, my dear partner, faithful friend, eternal confidante, and enthusiastic lover, is the quietest man in bed I have ever known. ACD.
Best of Three - SilentAuror
Explicit. 17,473 words. One-shot.
“You want to have sex with me,” Sherlock announces one evening about a year after John's divorce. John's vigorous denial sparks a three-day wager wherein Sherlock is determined to prove his point, and John is determined to hold onto his heterosexuality. Set well after HLV. (Canon-compliant). PORN. With feels.
Distractions - allonsys_girl
Explicit. 9,677 words. One-shot.
Sherlock's on a stakeout and John's very pretty - distractions ensue
High Voltage - thedeadparrot
Explicit. 2,018 words. One-shot.
John. Sherlock. A gay club.
Not Your Doctor, Not Your Captain - weneedtotalkaboutsherlock
Explicit. 8,645 words. One-shot.
Daddy Doctor John/Barista Sherlock
In So Many Words - Mazarin221B
Explicit. 2,613 words. One-shot.
Wine and a post-case high lead to some an interesting conversation and even more of an interesting night.
Oh God, oh God, he should say no, he should, but Sherlock is intense and aroused and John hasn’t been laid in months, too damn busy cocking about with Sherlock and brandishing a weapon with enthusiasm. Oh, fuck it. “Yes. Christ yes,” he says, and the words are lost against Sherlock’s mouth.
In Good Hands - penumbra
Explicit. 1,619 words. One-shot.
John gives Sherlock a hand.
Nothing ever happens to me - PlainJane
Explicit. 5,575 words. One-shot.
John Watson is a very bored member of the UK Border Agency, assigned to Heathrow. Sherlock Holmes is a very rude passenger who smells pretty interesting to the sniffer dogs. Someone needs to be searched...
I Think It’s A Dare, Johnny - lookupkate
Explicit. 2,110 words. One-shot.
John gets teased by his army buddies on his 40th birthday. They dare him to try to bed a much younger man at the bar. Seeeeeexxxxxxxx.
Best Seat in the House - wendymarlowe
Explicit. 5,014 words. 3 chapters.
AU where John gets a new job bartending at a gay nightclub. He takes the job for the money, but he keeps at it because he loves watching Sherlock dance. Until one night, when Sherlock suggests they make it something rather more.
The Perfect Specimen - Cleo2010
Explicit. 16,066 words. One-shot.
After seeing John undressed for the first time and making certain observations, Sherlock quickly becomes obsessed with a certain body part belonging to his flatmate. This is the story of how that first sighting came to be and the following attempts to learn more. An unashamed masturbation-fest, first person and very detailed. It's rated explicit for a good reason!
Evening Ride - LapisLazuli
Explicit. 8,832 words. One-shot.
John has a series of unexpected meetings with a stranger on the Tube.
Just Browsing - bendingsignpost
Explicit. 3,869 words. One-shot.
“I’m a good kisser,” John says.
Another eye roll. “Everyone thinks that.”
“Everyone? Blimey, someone’s been kissing and telling. Had no idea I was so famous.”
Sandy Toes and Chafed Arseholes - CatieBrie
Mature. 5,506 words. One-shot.
And it all would have gone great, John getting a leg over and Sherlock being the devious whatever it was he was being but they had forgotten one disastrous component of sex on the beach.
The sand.
Or: A cautionary tale against sex on the beach
Perchance to Dream - dorothydonne
Explicit. 7,213 words. One-shot.
Sherlock has been the voyeur to people's dreams for as long as he can remember. It's why he hates sleeping.
That is, until he stumbles into one of John Watson's dreams. Then suddenly sleep isn't so unwelcome.
Fake Relationship(s)
Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles An Hour - what_alchemy
Explicit. 30,568 words. 5 chapters.
“You love your mother, Sherlock?”
John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk.
“Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”
Reunited - write_for_your_life
Teen and up. 10,880 words. 11 chapters.
Sherlock wants to go to his high school reunion, but needs someone to pretend to be his spouse to attend.
His not-so-platonic flatmate is more than happy to play along.
Funny/Crack/Weird
Revolting Resolutions - PatPrecieux
Mature. 2,793 words. One-shot.
Resolutions for the new year are a good thing EXCEPT when Sherlock is the one making them.
Sherlock Discovers Smarter Investing - buttsnax
Explicit. 1,057 words. One-shot.
John is worried about his financial future, and why shouldn't he be? Like millions of others he finds the treacherous landscape of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds overwhelming to navigate. Fortunately for John, Sherlock--with the help of Morgan Stanley Financial Services--is there to show him the way in the only manner he knows how: with his big, throbbing cock.
The Newlywed Game: Johnlock Edition - patternofdefiance
Explicit. 9,020 words. 7 chapters.
What it says on the tin: John and Sherlock pretend to be married in order to be contestants in a Newlywed Game.
Of course it's for a case.
Of course it doesn't stay that way.
Survey Says - involuntaryorange
General audiences. 9,048 words. 9 chapters.
Sherlock, John, Mycroft, Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson wind up competing as a team on Family Feud. Somehow.
Pranking Sherlock - Random_Nexus
General audiences. 600 words. One-shot.
Sherlock's rudeness about interruptions prompts a reprisal from John.
Dear Umbrella - Jberry
Explicit. 13,027 words. 63 chapters.
Mycroft Holmes has a crush on Greg Lestrade, but he thinks it won't be reciprocated. He joins an anonymous dating website. His handle is limo_to_the_prostate. He starts chatting with Umbrella. Not realizing that Umbrella is really Greg Lestrade.
Obvious; Or, Greg Lestrade is Good At Detecting and Has Five Pounds to One That Sherlock and John Will Shag - the_arc5
Teen and up. 2,269 words. One-shot.
Lestrade isn't the reasoning machine Sherlock is, but that doesn't mean he's blind. And it's obvious to him, if nobody else, that a certain dynamic duo could use a nudge in the right direction.
Boat Chase! - shamelessmash
General audiences. 14,347 words. 6 chapters.
Sherlock, John and Lestrade are on a case that lead them to Brooklyn, NY. Reluctantly, Sherlock accepts the 99th precincts offer to help with the legwork.
Welcome to this Sherlock/Brooklyn 99 crossover, where everyone ships Johnlock, and the case doesn't matter.
I Just Had Sex - pennydreadful
Teen and up. 916 words. One-shot.
Sherlock just had sex and he's going to make sure everyone knows.
He Who Watches - buttsnax
Not Rated. 4,272 words. One-shot.
"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23)
Simplyclockwork note: this fic is WEIRD, and funny, and dark.
Captain John Watson, Genetics, and Other Crazy Things - cyerus
Mature. 5,581 words. One-shot.
The explanation for John "Three Continents" Watson? Jack Harkness is his father.
Sherlock doesn't know whether he's going to die from jealousy or sexual frustration first.
Fluff
Five Times Sherlock Holmes and John Watson Hugged, and One Time They Didn’t - longwhitecoats
Unrated. 2,746 words. One-shot.
They're sitting in the living room one night after finishing their curry takeaway when Sherlock looks up from his violin. "John," he says, "would you come hug me, please?"
Quiet - orphaned_account
Teen and up. 4,026 words. One-shot.
"It all comes down to this. John knows Sherlock. Not in his details but in his entirety."
Bed-Sharing Between Flatmates - testosterone_tea
Teen and Up. 5,053 words. One-shot.
5 times Sherlock had an excuse to share John's bed, and the one time he didn't need one.
subtleties that we are not aware of - belovedmuerto
Teen and up. 1,657 words. One-shot.
The first time Sherlock kisses John; the first (and second) time(s) John kisses Sherlock.
But Love Is A Voice On The Wind - Snow
Mature. 1,832 words. One-shot.
From the prompt: Sherlock keeps getting texts from Mycroft with tips on wooing John.
"Take his arm. MH"/"Tell him about the sugar cubes. MH"/"Let him catch you looking once in a while. MH"
Sherlock resents this (I don't need your HELP, Mycroft), but does them anyway.
Other Pairings & M/M/M
Joltolock
Sherlock Holmes Has Two Soldier Boyfriends Series - greyscalemuse
Explicit. 56,632 words. 8 works.
Sherlock Holmes goes to Afghanistan for a case. He meets John and James for the first time and the sentiment of sparks flying is by far an understatement.
Soldier Sandwich - orphan_account
Explicit. 1,099 words. One-shot.
Joltolock is good and pure and we desperately need more of it!!
Morning Cardio: A Joltolock Workout - Smirkdoctor (orphan_account)
Explicit. 5,324 words. 3 chapters.
What if Sherlock Holmes stumbled onto a boot camp class being taught by the sexy-as-fuck couple of John Watson and James Sholto? And what if they wanted a third, and worked *really* hard to recruit their new student?
Happy Birthday, John - stravanganza
Explicit. 9,350 words. One-shot.
It's John's birthday. His wife, Mary, has the perfect gift for him. After all, she has always known that his husband isn't 100% straight... So, she set up a fun night for him.
"He still didn’t know how he had let Mary convince him to do this, without even speaking to him. Nor did he know how she had found out about his inner desires. But the fact remained that she had, and that she had decided to take advantage of it to ‘surprise’ John.
And what a damn surprise it was."
Johnstrade
M/M/M
Self-Service - Calico
Explicit. 9,478 words. One-shot.
Gratuitous porn, remixed as a favour from another fandom's double penetration prompt. Yeah, I'm not sure what the redeeming feature is either...
Simplyclockwork note: Sherlock/John/Lestrade dream smut.
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