The Men Who Talked Between The Words [AO3]

The Men Who Talked Between the Words [AO3]

Word count: 439,746 Fandom: Sherlock (TV)Rating: ExplicitWarnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsRelationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Mycroft Holmes/Greg LestradeAdditional Tags: Parentlock, Fatherhood, Pining Sherlock, Pre-Slash, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Awkwardness, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Babies, Sassy Mycroft, Sherlock Holmes and Feelings, Sherlock Loves John, John is a Hot Mess, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Awesome Molly Hooper, Past Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jealous John, Slow Romance, Recovery, Unexpected Allies, Everyone Thinks They’re Together, Grieving John, Halloween Costumes, Remembrance Day, Friendship/Love, Counselling, Case Fic, Sherlock is a hot mess, Christmas, Christmas Morning, Unreliable Narrator, Friends to Friends with Feelings, Implied Drug Use, Sherlock Whump, Panic Attacks, Grieving is complicated, Parental Mrs. Hudson, Masturbation, Family, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Referenced Drug Use, Mycroft Being Mycroft, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slash, Bisexual Character, Kissing, First Dates, Relationship Discussions, First TimeSummary: John expected to be a father some day; he expected to have the house, and the wife and the nice suburban job. Sherlock never expected to have children, in part because he never expected to make it past 30. As it turns out, you don’t get a choice. Crammed into Baker Street with a baby, John struggles with single-parenthood and his own fears, while Sherlock treads the fine line between doing too little and saying too much.

COMPLETE.

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Rec: If you have seen any hype at all regarding this fic, absolutely believe it. This is an incredibly powerful story that covers a lot of ground pretty much in real time – it took almost exactly 4 years to complete, and covers 3 years in the characters’ lives. Although the fic was begun pre-series 4 (and thus Mary dies in a different way), it could very much be read as picking up post series 4 with John moving back to Baker Street with the baby.

There is SO MUCh going on in this fic, from cases to family secrets, childhood trauma, therapy, medical emergencies, and coming out, but the main focus is on John and Sherlock figuring out this new way of living together ‘ä trois’. Yes, eventually they do get together but it’s slooooooowwwwww burn. Slower than that. Even slower. The slowest. Burns so good. And in doing so creates a huge emotional investment as we join in on the rocky and hard-won path to creating a family unit.

The characterizations are brilliant, some of the most authentic I’ve seen, with breathtakingly accurate voices and robustly developed inner lives. The secondary characters in particular, from Molly and Wiggins to extended family members and OC’s, deserve a special shout-out. The writing is stellar and clearly comes from someone who loves the English language and knows how to use it to its best advantage.

This is, quite simply, a masterpiece by any measure.

Note: The word count given above is for the fic itself, not including the added “Bonus material” after chapter 27.