Fic Rec: In Practice

[phoenixfalls.livejournal.com]

Title: In Practice
Author: inlovewithnight
Pairing: Gen Sherlock Holmes & Joan Watson
Length: 1,494 words
Rating: Not rated by author; I’d put it at Teen for non-sexual D/s content
Warnings: None apply
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: Determining their edges, how they orient to each other, how they fit, is more engrossing than she thought it would be.

Reccer's comments: Elementary-verse Sherlock is as close to canonically submissive as U.S. network television is likely to get, and so back during season one when Joan & Sherlock’s relationship was solid, there was a trend towards writing them delving into a BDSM relationship. This fic is one of the best to come out of that trend, showing Joan feeling out her role as Sherlock’s Domme.

It’s deep in Joan’s perspective, wonderfully dry; neither character is much given to heart-to-hearts, of course, so the negotiation all takes place between the lines and off-screen; and it’s one of the rare D/s relationships that is entirely platonic, Sherlock needing to submit and Joan enjoying puzzling out how to dominate him with no hint of either romantic or sexual interest. There’s also just the slightest bit of humor about their interactions, totally in keeping with their dynamic during season one, and rounding out a thoroughly satisfying picture of their developing relationship.