221B Recs

Title: Child's Play
Author: bendingsignpost
Pairing: gen; Sherlock Holmes, John Watson
Length: 4,300 words
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Verse: BBC Sherlock
Author's summary: “You’ve been shopping, but not for groceries. You don’t have much in the way of funds, so something cheap, but not an impulse purchase—you’re much too disciplined for that. Something-” John puts down the plastic bag on the coffee table. A palpable shift occurs in the air. “...You bought a puzzle from a charity shop,” Sherlock states.


Reccer's comments: This is such an idiosyncratic and interesting slice-of-life story about Sherlock and John getting to know each other back in the first few months of their time as flatmates in series 1. At first it seems to be shaping up along similar lines to many stories about John's first impressions of Sherlock, but the introduction of the puzzles (more literal in this case than in most Holmesian fics) spins this tale into an exploration of the joy and awkwardness inherent in two adult people trying to make friends. There is something so real in the way John starts picking apart his own behavior in retrospect, worrying about looking childish or over-eager. John and Sherlock's interactions in this story are sometimes playful, sometimes confusing, sometimes even infuriating, but there is a real sweetness that unfolds as they get better at figuring each other out.