I legit had a dream about this last night, and wrote the whole prompt down while at work.
Soulmate AU w/ Words on the skin. However, sometimes the Words you get are NOT always the first thing your soulmate says to you. (HINT!)
AU where the Holmes and Watson families lived in the same area (around the same town), but because of their differing financial statuses and the 5-7 year age gap between John and Sherlock, the two boys never met before.
One day, John (16) is exploring the outer reaches of the town near some tree groves (on the Holmes property) when he hears a commotion nearby. He runs into a young Sherlock (10-ish) who just escaped his tutors (he finds them boring). Sherlock says John's Words when they meet and John is ecstatic that he's found his Soulmate, but when John tries to reply, Sherlock doesn't react. Instead, he runs off back into the woods, leaving John alone and devastated.
Sherlock ran away because what John said wasn't Sherlock's Words on his skin. For a small genius, Sherlock came to the conclusion that while he was a Soulmate to someone else, that someone wasn't HIS Soulmate back. John had Sherlock's Words, but not vice versa. He attempts to use his Mind Palace to repress the whole event, but not quite deleting it yet.)
John wanders home in a daze, completely blind-sided. He grieves privately, not telling his parents or Harry. It takes a while, but he manages to move on from this event, rationalizing that his Soulmate was quite young compared to him, that it was a good thing that a Bond hadn't formed because of the other boy's age, that he was probably scared of him now. And just, yeah, better for everyone that it didn't happen. (John tries hard to convince himself of this.) John channels this bone-deep disappointment into studying, going to med school, and then the military. He dives head first into danger zones as he doesn't see much point in holding back, no one's waiting for him at home, no Bonded.
The plot of the Pilot follows the same way. John meets Sherlock (again) at St. Barts. This time, John says Sherlock's Words, but when Sherlock responds, John doesn't react. Sherlock the manipulates the situation (just like in the show) to get John as his flatmate. (He CAN NOT let his Soulmate get away!) It's around this time that Sherlock feels like John is familiar to him, but has no idea how. He also tries to get a peek at John's Words, but John is a bit oblivious.
Ending: Well, a Happy Ending would be very much preferred. But the secret has to come out someway!
- Maybe the secret comes out by John telling Sherlock about him meeting his Soulmate decades earlier, and the painful story kick-starts Sherlock's memory, revealing the truth between them. Sherlock desperately tries to tell John about what happened, why Sherlock ran away. Angsty Hurt/Comfort!
- The secret comes out during the Moriarty situation. The Pool? Wouldn't that make for a more suspenseful standoff, where Sherlock realizes the truth behind their whole misunderstanding right before the bombs go off or something! Maybe they'll have a reconciliation at the Hospital in the aftermath.
- Or maybe Sherlock remembers first because of some innocuous thing or detail, and tries to help John realize the truth.
Still, would love a Happy Ending with Johnlock. Break my heart, then put it back together again!
Johnlock Soulmate AU - Mismatched Marks/Terrible Timing/ Angst/ Hurt-Comfort
Soulmate AU w/ Words on the skin. However, sometimes the Words you get are NOT always the first thing your soulmate says to you. (HINT!)
AU where the Holmes and Watson families lived in the same area (around the same town), but because of their differing financial statuses and the 5-7 year age gap between John and Sherlock, the two boys never met before.
One day, John (16) is exploring the outer reaches of the town near some tree groves (on the Holmes property) when he hears a commotion nearby. He runs into a young Sherlock (10-ish) who just escaped his tutors (he finds them boring). Sherlock says John's Words when they meet and John is ecstatic that he's found his Soulmate, but when John tries to reply, Sherlock doesn't react. Instead, he runs off back into the woods, leaving John alone and devastated.
Sherlock ran away because what John said wasn't Sherlock's Words on his skin. For a small genius, Sherlock came to the conclusion that while he was a Soulmate to someone else, that someone wasn't HIS Soulmate back. John had Sherlock's Words, but not vice versa. He attempts to use his Mind Palace to repress the whole event, but not quite deleting it yet.)
John wanders home in a daze, completely blind-sided. He grieves privately, not telling his parents or Harry. It takes a while, but he manages to move on from this event, rationalizing that his Soulmate was quite young compared to him, that it was a good thing that a Bond hadn't formed because of the other boy's age, that he was probably scared of him now. And just, yeah, better for everyone that it didn't happen. (John tries hard to convince himself of this.) John channels this bone-deep disappointment into studying, going to med school, and then the military. He dives head first into danger zones as he doesn't see much point in holding back, no one's waiting for him at home, no Bonded.
The plot of the Pilot follows the same way. John meets Sherlock (again) at St. Barts. This time, John says Sherlock's Words, but when Sherlock responds, John doesn't react. Sherlock the manipulates the situation (just like in the show) to get John as his flatmate. (He CAN NOT let his Soulmate get away!) It's around this time that Sherlock feels like John is familiar to him, but has no idea how. He also tries to get a peek at John's Words, but John is a bit oblivious.
Ending:
Well, a Happy Ending would be very much preferred. But the secret has to come out someway!
- Maybe the secret comes out by John telling Sherlock about him meeting his Soulmate decades earlier, and the painful story kick-starts Sherlock's memory, revealing the truth between them. Sherlock desperately tries to tell John about what happened, why Sherlock ran away. Angsty Hurt/Comfort!
- The secret comes out during the Moriarty situation. The Pool? Wouldn't that make for a more suspenseful standoff, where Sherlock realizes the truth behind their whole misunderstanding right before the bombs go off or something! Maybe they'll have a reconciliation at the Hospital in the aftermath.
- Or maybe Sherlock remembers first because of some innocuous thing or detail, and tries to help John realize the truth.
Still, would love a Happy Ending with Johnlock. Break my heart, then put it back together again!