AN: This is loosely based off of The Final Problem and is Sherlock x Reader. There is violence and death, so consider yourself warned. I hope you enjoy and as always feedback is appreciated.Â
Emotional Context. Sherlock had once been able to deny its importance, instead, governing himself with logic and reasoning. However, his connections with his friends and the people who cared about him had started to change his mind on such matters. This came with both benefits and negatives as it had opened him up to new vulnerabilities and pain, especially now. As it was during this time that he discovered that his sister was more than just a suspicion. In fact, Eurus was a secret that scared his dear brother Mycroft more than anything else.Â
Sherlock struggled to retrieve any memory of her. That was at least until the name âRedbeardâ was brought up. He had loved Redbeard his faithful dog and childhood best friend. He couldnât remember what had happened to him, at least not until Mycroft filled in the gaps. Since that discovery, he, his brother, and John had left to check in on Eurusâ security. Sherlock and John wanted to prove that she had left multiple times once impersonating as a girl that Sherlock met during a case, and once as Johnâs new therapist. Mycroft was insistent that this was impossible, so they went to settle the matter once and for all. What they were not expecting was for it all the be a trap.
They were soon captured and forced to complete trials that tested personal morality and will power all centered around Sherlock. It seems that Eurus was fascinated by her brother and wanted to better understand him. It didnât help that she had previously formed an alliance with Moriarty and knew more about Sherlock than he did her. But that was all Mycroftâs fault now wasnât it? The first challenge forced Sherlock to choose either John or Mycroft to shoot an innocent man in order to save his wife. Both inevitably refused and the man in a last-ditch effort took his own life in front of them. Eurus didnât hesitate to kill the wife, questioning the three whether or not keeping their hands clean costing two lives was any better than taking one life and leaving one to survive. She then ordered Sherlock to collect the gun, which now only had one bullet, and continue.
The next trial was equally grim. Sherlock was forced to deduce which of three brothers was a murderer provided only the gun and three pictures. To add to the suspense, she presented the three brothers hanging over the ocean tied up with weights. If they dropped they would inescapably be drowned. Sherlock made the correct deduction much to everyoneâs relief, but Eurus dropped all three explaining that the life of an innocent weighs no less than the life of the guilty.
The third trial was where it got personal. There was a small wooden coffin. It was nothing special about it. Sherlock quickly deduced that it was built for a woman, one with no close family, one who was sensible, one that- he was interrupted when Mycroft brought over the lid which had a mere two words on it, âWords unsaidâ.Â
âWhatever does that mean?â John asked.
But deep down Sherlock knew and he feared what was about to happen next.
âItâs Y/n,â he replied.
âY/n? What does she have to do with this?â
âWhy quite a lot Mr. Watson, and very good Sherlock. Now then, this ought to be fun. In a moment, I am going to give her a ring. Sheâs alone in her apartment which is hooked up with explosions. Now then brother, you will have two minutes to get her to say the magic words. The catch? You canât say them yourself, you canât give her any indication that you or she is in danger. Just play your mind games like you used to,â Eurus grinned.
âWhat are the magic words?â Mycroft asked.
Sherlockâs face fell into a pained expression as he considered the task at hand.
âHe has to get her to tell him that she loves him,â John realized.
âYay! Now that everyone is on the same page, letâs give her a ring.â Eurus cheered, âOh and for added fun,â she clicked on the tv showing video of you in your flat.
Sherlock studied the video feed, you looked horrible, something had clearly upset you. He could tell that you had recently been crying. As the phone rang he prayed that you would answer it. The clock seemed to loom over him as it continued to click down. He watched as you slowly retrieved yours and glanced down at the name answering it almost immediately.
âAh, Y/n, I-â he started.
âI ought to kill you for giving me such a scare. Baker street exploded itâs all over the news and Iâve been trying to get ahold of you ever since. Are you okay? Is John okay? What happened?â
âWeâre fine, just a little accident,â Sherlock replied calmly.
âI thought you were dead, the least you could have done was sent me a textâ she whimpered.
âOh come on now, you know Iâm more clever than that, besides Iâve been busy, you know how it isâ he mused.
âY/n, do you remember the phone call we had just before Reichenbach, right as Moriarty had begun his master plan?â he asked feeling rushed.
âOf course I do, I still have nightmares from that call,â
âWell, I need you to tell me what you said that day,â
âThereâs no way in hell,â you replied. Sherlock was able to see how much this upset you and clenched his eyes shut feeling the pressure.
âPlease Y/n, I really need to hear it,â he begged softly.
âSherlock, is everything alright?â you asked concerned at his unprecedented demeanor.
Eurus warned her brother to remember the rules.Â
âEverything is fine, I just need to hear you say it,â
âWhy? This better not be one of your experiments,â
âItâs not, I promise. I wouldnât do that, not to you,â
âI donât get the big deal,âÂ
âBecause you didnât say it back,â
âIf you meant it then, if there is any chance that you mean it now, please say it again,â he begged.
âSherlock,â you pleaded
âPlease Y/n, please tell me what you said that day on the phone, our last call together before the fall,â he said with such sincerity and emotion.
âYou called me to tell me that everything had been a lie, that Moriarty was right. You told me that you only had one choice left. I begged you to stop, to wait until I could get to you, that together the two of us would figure something out. But you said it was too late,â you recalled tears streaming down your face.
âAnd thenâŚâ he prompted.
âAnd then I pleaded with you not to do it,â
âWhy? What was your reason?â
You hesitated for a moment, â because I cared about you,â
âThatâs not what you said Y/n, what exact words did you say?â His own eyes were betraying him at this point.
âI told you that I loved you, that fake or not, I would still love youâ you cried, âAnd you didnât say it back.â
Just then the phone clicked off as Eurus ended the call.Â
Sherlock redirected his attention to Eurusâ screen, âOkay Eurus, I won. I made her say it. What now, what happens next?â
âFunny isnât it? I donât recall her actually saying the words âI love youâ. She said âI loved youâ and âI would still love youâ and while close, I just donât think that cuts it for me.âÂ
âWait!â Sherlock screamed launching forward as Eurus hit a button and he was forced to watch your apartment explode. All that Mycroft could manage was staring in shock as the tv quickly cut to black. John went to his friend who had sunk to the ground staring vacantly.
âYou didnât tell her before Reichenbach and now youâll never be able to, tell me Sherlock, are all those complicated little emotions worth it? Because to me it seems that the emotional context is what destroys you. Now pull yourself together as the next challenge is even more enduring.â
She paused for a moment before adding, âtake your time,â and shutting off her screen.Â
Sherlock rose to his feet and John and Mycroft hesitantly went towards the next door, turning back when they heard him whisper ânoâ before aggressively attacking the empty coffin taking out his rage and immediate grief. After annihilating it, he sat back against the wall.Â
Regretting that he could not properly console his friend, John forced himself over to Sherlock handing him the gun saying, âI know this is beyond difficult and you are being tortured, but you have to keep it together, we have to keep movingâ
âThis isnât torture, itâs vivisection, we are experience science from the perspective of lab rats,â
âRight now, we are soldiers who just need to survive, this is not the time nor place for mourning,â John said firmly.
âAlright,â Sherlock agreed and John helped him up.
The three men continued to the next room where Sherlock was tasked with choosing whether to kill John or Mycroft. He made his decision, Eurusâ game was over, and he pointed the gun under his own chin taking a calculated risk.
When he awoke, he was alone in a small cell plastered with pictures from his childhood. He quickly called out for John and Mycroft. John answered explaining that he was in a well, but otherwise seemingly fine. There was no response from Mycroft.
Sherlock quickly figured out that he was not actually in a cell but rather in a collapsable structure outside his childhood home. Eurus tasked him with discovering the location of Redbeard and upped the stakes as she started filling the well that John was chained to the bottom of. Sherlock racked his brain trying to solve the same problem whoâs solution had evaded him as a child. That was at least until in an escape attempt, John solved an important piece of the puzzle.
Redbeard was never a dog.
Sherlock suddenly remembered his childhood best friend Victor Trevor who his brain had so cleverly disguised to help preserve his psyche. With this new information, Sherlock was able to figure out the Eurusâ song corresponded to the gravestones with the weird dates. He quickly deciphered the message and went to free John who was running out of time.
Outside of the well, he discovered his sister, âIâm so sorry Eurus,â he spoke sincerely.
âYou needed me and I abandoned you, I could have saved you,â he added.
âI just wanted my brother,â she replied childishly.
âIâm here now, and we can fix this, just free John, donât make the same mistake you made with Victor,â he pleaded.
âI donât want to quit playing the game, I donât want you to leave me again,â
âIâm not going to leave, Iâm going to save you,â
Not knowing how to respond she simply stepped back and allowed Sherlock to save his friend. He dove into action turning the water off and then retrieving a key carefully tossing down to John so that he could free his ankles. He searched for a moment to find what Eurus had used to get John down there to begin with and found some rope that he leveraged against a tree and tossed down to his friend.Â
It was as John was climbing over the side that the police cars and helicopters arrived. Mycroftâs people were there to collect Eurus, who went with them peacefully. Sherlock and John were both checked over by the EMTâs and given shock blankets. They were informed that Mycroft was safe and simply left back in Sherrinford. Once he regained consciousness, he his people and sent them in helicopters to take care of Eurus. But then? Who called the police?
âWilliam Sherlock Holmesâ you yelled slamming the door to Gregâs station car.
John and Sherlock had never turned around so fast in their lives. How were you here? Hadnât they both watched your apartment go up in smoke? Or, was that merely another one of Eurusâ tricks?
âYouâd better have a good explanation for-â
âI love you too,â he interrupted shocking both you and John.
âWhat?â you asked in disbelief.
âI said I love you too, I wanted to say it during that call two years ago, and I wanted to say it earlier today. I promise I will explain everything, and I understand if you no longer fill the same way, Iâm sorry for not saying it before,â he confessed.Â
You stared at him in awe, taking a step closer still staring at him. You closed the remaining gap between the two of you and smoothly connected your lips with his allowing them to communicate for you. After an instant of shock, Sherlock reciprocated allowing the blanket to fall off of his shoulders as he pulled you in closer. When he pulled away, both of you were slightly dazed and smiling.Â
âYou have a lot of explaining to do,â you whispered.
âThat I do,â he answered.
From there, Greg dropped John and Sherlock off at Johnâs place where he happily greeted Molly and wasted no time collecting Rosie. The next day the three of you would meet up at 221B Baker Street and begin cleaning and repairing that flat as Sherlock did as promised and explained everything. After two weeks the renovations were complete and John and Rosie moved back in with Sherlock who had decided to utilize space in 221C for experiments to keep Rosie away from them both for her safety and his sanity.
You became more than a frequent visitor and eventually moved into one of the bedrooms of 221C however you spent far more time in Sherlockâs bed than in your own. You watched Rosie as the boys went out on cases and would occasionally tag in for John. Being in a relationship with Sherlock was interesting to say the least, but you wouldnât trade a second of it.Â