FIC: The Sweet Science

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Title: The Sweet Science
Author: saintsalvage
Pairing: Holmes/Watson
Length: 7,400 words
Rating: R
Warnings: some violence I guess, but it's pretty mild, and all consensual.
Verse: Book canon or '09 film
Author's summary: The Prompt, found here : Holmes/Watson: Boxing matches of increasing sexual tension! Watson decides to challenge Holmes to a fight at the boxing club. They both rather enjoy the experience of being all shirtless and sweaty and violent so it happens again. And again. And again, until they can barely stand the overwhelming urge to fuck instead of fight. SUPER BONUS POINTS for them finally cracking and booking it out of the ring after a particularly frustrating match to finish what they started just out of range of the crowd.

Reccer's comments: There is nowhere near enough boxing fic up in this fandom. This one strives valiantly to fill that void and does a frankly marvelous job. It was written for a kinkmeme prompt shortly after the '09 film, but it's done in ACD pastiche, so it could fit into whichever verse you prefer. Personally, I like to think of it as book canon, even though Holmes's boxing prowess is far more prominent in the film. Basically, it is filthy boxing porn. You're welcome.

In fact:

Holmes’s sweat had dried but the dust remained stuck to his skin. His slim frame was tense, each muscle standing out in sharp relief, breathing now slow and steady. His expression was as bemused as it could be, underneath the focused, almost predatory look that was typical for him in such situations. A little smile crossed his thin lips as he moved into a semi-crouch, angling his torso half-away from me. I approached him, also assuming a semi-crouched position.

“I knew you were going to --”

I hit him in the mouth before he could finish speaking. I still hold that it was not unsporting so much as aiming the interaction in a certain direction.

He smiled, almost feral, and used his glove to wipe away a little of the blood that spilled from his split lip. “Oh yes,” he murmured.

Also, look for them lacing each others' gloves. Good lord. There is nothing about this that I don't like!

Comments

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

Basically, it is filthy boxing porn. You're welcome.
LMAO! Oh, lordy, you had me at that, but clinched it with the lacing. *swoons*
Can't wait to read.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

This is a long post, the synop gives away all the plot, and I don't know that a chunk of the fic itself is necessary, rather than look up the fic, it makes me less inclined to read.

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Haha, ikr? That's pretty much what got me the first time I read it. I was promised boxing and blowjobs, and then there were gloves being laced and it was like DAMN GURL, THIS FIC WINS EVERYTHING.

Aaaaahhhhhh, I love it ♥ Enjoy!

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

...okay? I mean, I can certainly put the section of fic behind a cut if other people are put off as well, because that's clearly not my intention. But aside from that, which is hardly unique to this post, I can't see how this is longer than any other rec on here.

As for giving away the plot, well, there isn't really any plot. It's a pwp written for a kinkmeme fill; everything you need to know is in the author's summary.

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

Oh, boxing. Yes. Mmm.

/clicks

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Ha! At first I read that as /licks and was like THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE. But, oh. I guess there will be no licking. Maybe post-reading!

This fic has pretty much been my go-to for ages (well, okay, I guess only a year and a half?) DAMMIT, BOXING FIC. Y THERE SUCH A DEARTH OF U?

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

Having now read the fic, I should say /licks works pretty damn well too. :D

And holy fuck, if you read this as ACD!canon, it gets about ten times hotter.

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

if you read this as ACD!canon, it gets about ten times hotter.</>
Very yes! I'm actually picturing Jeremy Brett as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson, lol. Mix and match. I may read it again and substitute the Sherlock actors just for a change.
*makes grateful sacrifice to the slash gods*

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

Brett and Law are fairly commonly paired up, for obvious reasons. I mean, look at this (http://feriowind.livejournal.com/75350.html#cutid1) (slightly NSFW, btw).

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

And holy fuck, if you read this as ACD!canon, it gets about ten times hotter.
YES. My problems with the film aside, RDJ's Holmes was a bit mad and disheveled to begin with. We never really see his non-manic side. One of the things I like best about canon Holmes is the sort of fine line he walks between fastidiousness and carelessness. Like "yeah, I keep my tobacco in a shoe, but my hair and clothes are always tidy. Ignore those chemical stains on my hands, btw. I GOT DISTRACTED, WHATEV". And I think that dichotomy comes across well in Watson's observations toward the middle in here.

IT IS A THING OF BEAUTY.

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Ugggghhhh, I cannot even look at that! I will blush mightily everytime I watch Granada. I mean, more than usual :p Jeremy Brett, you do not want to know the things that go through my head when I look at you!

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

Re: everything about RDJ!Holmes, exactly. He's like a hyperactive child on a sugar high, and damnit, the man can act, it's not like he's bad at it, it's just. Not the way I see Holmes, I guess - not even his Bohemian side, which I always find endlessly charming in the books. Basically your

I keep my tobacco in a shoe, but my hair and clothes are always tidy

is pretty much all my headcanon ever. So far, only Brett and Cumberbatch have fit it for me.

Also, the boxing ring in the '09 movie? yeahno.

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

IKR. Early!Brett was gorgeous, and then he got decidedly rougher and roguer as he grew older and ahhhh hello there you beautiful man.

And then there's Burke and Hardwicke, whom I both adore for entirely different reasons, so really Granada!SH is ALL THE FANSERVICE, ALL THE TIME.

[fitofpique.livejournal.com]

I meant to rec this when it was my go 'round but never got to it. What an amazing, scorchingly hot fic!

p.s. I think your rec provides the perfect level of detail!

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough, the boxing ring was one of my favorite parts :) Different strokes, I guess! Also, I was sure it would inspire piles of fic like this but then, bizarrely, not so much. What went wrong??

I'm inclined to say RDJ did the best he could with the material he was given. There were moments I really liked his performance but honestly, what stuck for me is that for all his mania and gregariousness, I just can't see Sherlock Holmes as an extrovert. And I think that's what makes me read this fic as canon rather than film verse. This Holmes seems altogether more controlled, which is definitely the appeal for both Watson and me!

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

RDJ and the whole Holmes movie was turned up way too loud. Everything was set on eleven. There was no subtlety, no contrast. Even 221B was a friggin' mansion with Watson's offices set into it, instead of a modest town home, and a rooming house at that. Sheesh.
RDJ, you are a beautiful, brilliant man, but no. Not Holmes. Some other thing, but not Holmes. And your eyes are black. *g*
I'll take Brett, and be Benedict's Cumberbitch.
Also Bad-Ass Martin Freeman! I could totally picture him in the ring, here. Ben, not so much. Seems too whiny and pouty to enjoy taking a blow to his beautiful, heart-shaped kisser.

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

OOOOOO! Thank you!

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

I have no idea. I've seen a few boxing!fics, but not nearly enough than I'd have liked.

One thing I did like about RDJ!Holmes was the rapid afflux of thoughts which flitted through his mind before he actually did them — calculating statistics and probabilities, that was very good. And the scene at the restaurant while he's waiting for Watson and Mary, and all the noises rise, slowly and certainly. There were good things about his interpretation; it was the general idea that got on my nerves. But yes, I agree, re: not-extraverted!Holmes. Energetic and luminous, sure. But not hyperactive, and certainly in constant control.

tl;dr: I couldn't agree more.

[falling-voices.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd have to agree. He's a good actor, but he's not my version of Holmes. Then again, he's other people's Holmes, so maybe it's just a matter of interpretation. /shrug

Maaaan, yeah, 221B confused me, just a bit. They're constantly out of money, how the hell can they afford such a huge place?

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

It is pretty much bulletproof for me ♥ god bless the kinkmemes for all the wonder they provide :D

I feel like I should do a poll or something. How to craft the perfect rec. Obviously HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC. I know not everyone will agree, but there might be enough consensus to at least get a general idea? Idk.

[tanpopo03.livejournal.com]

It's totally fine :).

[autumnatmidnite.livejournal.com]

I actually did read this as ACD!Canon when it was first published, and I think it may have been a hodgepodge of 'verses. Either way, it has been in my mems forever, but I may just have to go off an read it again ;) It's my favorite when I need a smut fix.

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, if my neurotic need for maximum reader-friendliness does lead to polls, I won't clutter this place up with them :) But at this point, since no one else seems to care, I'm feeling a lot less nervous that I'm Doin' It Rong, so maybe I won't bother.

[sussexdowns.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think she was just mixing canons for this, which I love :) I'm pretty sure she wrote it after seeing the film about nine times, but I also remember suspecting that she was imagining Jeremy Brett as this Holmes. In any case, I will rec this story UNTIL THE END OF TIME <3 It's always good for a re-read!

[brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com]

Well recced! I never knew how much I needed boxing fic in my life until now!