221b_recs | Fic Rec: The Halloween Party

Title: The Halloween Party
Author:

XistentialAngst
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 19,044 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock and John attend a Halloween party on the trail of a vampire killer -- a man who's been seducing his victims and taking all their blood. Sexy costumes, bad puns, hideous danger, frantic sex in hidden places and some Halloween-flavored fluff are all on hand to "treat" you. Boo.

Reccer's comments: As my last rec for the month, have this jolly Halloween romp. A casefic that has fun with itself without getting cracky, the story adroitly entwines Sherlock and John's investigation with the rapidly changing landscape of their relationship. All of the costumes are fantastically appropriate (including Mycroft's), and I'm having a really hard time not revealing them so I can rave about them, but I think it's better to let you 'see' them for yourselves.

“John, do you trust me?” Mycroft asked.

“Well now, that depends.”

“Surely you believe I have my brother’s best interests at heart, and, thus, by extension, yours.”

“It still depends.” John said. “Especially seeing as how you’re dressed as a

giant iguana.”

Because yes, Mycroft was firmly in Sherlock’s court, but Mycroft’s idea of where Sherlock’s best interests lay were not necessarily the same as Sherlock’s or even John’s.

Mycroft gave him a ‘oh, come now’ look. “Let’s say you were outdoors in an area of high winds and dangerous cliffs. Blindfolded. And you only had the sound of my voice to guide you --”

“I’d rather not. ”

“—please, John, I’m trying to give you a pertinent illustration. Do pay attention. Now, there you are blindfolded, dangerous terrain, and I told you that it was safe for you to step forward. Would you trust me enough to do that?”
John just gazed into those

lizard

eyes, unsure of his answer.

Mycroft leant forward and spoke low in his ear. “John. Step forward.”

The humour is irreverently indulgent, the fight scenes fast and hard, the case cleverly resolved, and the smut is hot while achieving a very satisfying emotional depth. In a nutshell: everything the author promises in their summary, and then some.