Traditional Markings as Applicable to a Significant Other (Sherlock BBC Fanfic)

AN – for Mattsloved and all those who asked about wedding rings.

John had known going in that Sherlock was not one for traditions. He didn't do Christmas, Birthdays or New Years like anyone else – though John had managed to get some form of celebration going on those days of the year. John had never been sure if it was because Sherlock had lived with some sort of terribly dysfunctional family as a child, if the family itself hadn't had something against celebrations (certain religions did, not that Sherlock seemed religious) or if it was simply a case of Sherlock not having anyone to celebrate with and therefore deciding it was unimportant.

Or maybe it was simply that Sherlock didn't seem to know where the lines between 'normal behaviour' and 'unusual behaviour' lay. For example, there was his habit of making notes on John's wrists or forearms. Sherlock refused to carry a notebook, but always seemed to have a marker on him – and heaven forbid if John smudged or otherwise made illegible those notes before Sherlock was finished with them. Perhaps John should have put his foot down the first time that Sherlock treated him like a walking piece of paper, but he'd been too shocked and by the time he'd marshalled his thoughts it had been too late. Sherlock had not understood why he'd objected, protested that John should have said something at the time and promptly dismissed it as a non issue, continuing to write on John's arm or wrist as he liked.

Of course, once they became lovers, Sherlock sometimes wrote on John in other situations. After having one set of sheets ruined, John had done some research (thank god for the web) and bought Sherlock a set of pens that were stored in the nightstand along with other… supplies.

John hadn't even realised that Sherlock was attempting to mark his property in public until that one case with The Flirt. The Flirt – John couldn't remember her name and didn't care to, either – had an appearance that supermodels would have killed for. She was nothing short of stunning and even Sally Donovan seemed to carry a bit of a crush. Unfortunately for them all, she decided that John was the man for her and insisted that he be present when her witness statement was taken, which took an inexplicable three sessions to complete. She also had no idea about personal boundaries, but unlike Sherlock's, her touch was not welcome. John spent a lot of time with his arms and legs firmly crossed as far away from The Flirt as he could.

Sherlock spent a lot of time writing on John during that case, both in public and in private, and John was exhausted by the time the case was finished.

Sherlock became obsessed with John being marked in some way or another. He got into the habit of insisting that his initials were on John's hand whenever John left the flat for work or errands and got upset if they were faded or smudged when John returned. He also took to sneaking Tweedledee – John's ostensible wedding ring from the days that Moriarty was alive – into John's pockets or rucksack whenever he could.

It didn't take a genius to see that Sherlock wanted it made clear to the 'unwashed masses' – a phrase from a particularly incoherent rant after John had washed Sherlock's initials off accidentally while using a public loo – that his partner was in fact unavailable. John probably should have felt insulted by all this, but he understood how Sherlock felt. He too wished that Sherlock was visibly marked as out of bounds, but was uncertain as to Sherlock's position on something as simple as wedding rings. After all, they had been together for almost three years now, and the 'honeymoon' was certainly over.

In the end, it was a bolt of inspiration that solved the problem for John. They had been out to Gants Hill, trying to trace a suspect in a rather bizarre case of counterfeit handbags and John had spotted a storefront that held promise. He'd gone back that very afternoon and managed to get an appointment on the spot, coming out with cling wrap on his ring finger. Sherlock had gone to the Yard for the afternoon, so it wasn't hard to get back to Baker Street, mock up some bandages on his hand concoct a story about falling on the tube and having someone stand on his hand. He changed his clothes for good measure, to eradicate any traces that might give the game away, running his soiled clothes through the wash as a final touch.

Sherlock was not happy that John had been injured, and spent some time that evening writing get well messages on his arm, before tumbling them into bed for a bout of 'medicinal' sex. He accepted John's word that the dressings could come off in a couple of weeks and then plunged headlong into a hush hush case for Mycroft. It was the perfect distraction and in the back of John's mind he wondered if Mycroft had intended it that way.

It wasn't hard to make a quick trip to a local jeweller for a more traditional symbol, and by the time his finger had healed all was in place for a romantic dinner at Angelo's – the place where they'd had their first not-date. John adjusted his bandages accordingly, put the jeweller's box in his pocket and ushered Sherlock into his seat facing the street with a wink at Billy.

Angelo himself came over with the traditional candle, shook John and Sherlock's hands and promised that their meal tonight would be 'extra special'.

"What's going on?" Sherlock frowned, "You're up to something."

"Of course I am," John grinned, "I haven't exactly been hiding it from you."

The quickest way to get Sherlock to pay attention was to try and hide from him, so John had simply gone about his business as if nothing unusual was going on. Angelo came back with wine and appetisers for them, fussing until things were just so before bustling off again, winking at John as he did. Sherlock aimed a scowl at the man's back, not liking the attention paid to his partner and John rolled his eyes, kicking the thin genius in the shin lightly to get his attention again.

"And so?" Sherlock folded his arms imperiously. John grinned and unwound the bandages on his hand, removing the fake splint and holding his hand out for Sherlock to see. On his ring finger there was a simple thick rose gold band, masculine and understated.

"A mark for the entire world to see that I'm taken," John explained and pulled the jeweller case from his pocket, "I have its mate here, if you'd like it."

Sherlock took John's hand in his, touching the ring gently, tilting it this way and that in the candlelight. His eyes were hooded as he took the box from John and opened it, looking down at the ring inside for a very long moment before holding the box and his own hand out in an expectant manner. John smiled and slid Sherlock's ring onto his finger, glad that he'd got the size right when it slid home easily. Sherlock spent a few silent moments examining his own ring as it nestled on his finger and then looked up at John. There was emotion in his eyes now, but only John would be able to understand it.

"You've only been wearing this for a few hours," Sherlock touched John's ring once more, "Why the charade with the bandages?"

"Well it occurred to me that there would be times when the ring had to come off – for example in the ER I can't wear jewellery on my hands or wrists. I have a chain so the ring will go around my neck…"

"But that means that you're not marked again, not properly," Sherlock complained and John shushed him, tugging on his ring so it rested above the first joint. Where the band had been, there was a continuous line of script, running around the circumference of his ring finger. In small, black letters the word 'Sherlock' was tattooed into John's flesh.

Fortunately, Angelo appeared with their main meal at this point, which distracted Sherlock long enough for John to slip the ring back into position, hiding the tattoo which helped the thin genius to regain his habitual control. Otherwise they'd have been arrested for gross public indecency.

As it was, they barely made it up the stairs before Sherlock lost control and showed John exactly what he thought of John's solution to traditional markings as applicable to a significant other.

END

Disclaimer – characters and settings as depicted in BBC series not mine. No money being made. Plot is mine.