NC-17 Desirous fantasies and explicit content definitely not suitable for minors and people of more shy tastes.

Introduction

This tale takes a few liberties with how Holmes and Watson first meet and become flat-mates. (The canonical version of how they did meet is in the novel Study in Scarlet.) Instead, JoAnne treats us to some fun verbal sparring and sexual tension, as Watson and Holmes first withhold, then reveal, varied personal secrets from each other. Here's the intro from the author herself:

This is a multi-parter that I wrote strictly for fun, with no real attempts at plot or anything except getting our two heroes in bed together where they belong! :-) Please note: I am not a mystery writer, so therefore, I've made no real attempt to "do up" a mystery in the strictest sense. (If anyone's interested, I write literary fiction, which is a different sort of thing altogether. <G>) Although I love to read mysteries, I leave their concoction to the experts -- Mary Higgins Clarke, Patricia Cornwell, Sharyn McCrumb, and of course, Conan Doyle. :-) But I hope you guys enjoy this, all the same. :-)

Book of Secrets

by JoAnne Soper-Cook

Normally the story text would go here. However, since Book of Secrets is somewhat long, I've broken it up into parts that are linked to this index, and to each other:

Comments

Now there's a guestbook from which I will copy the comments on the slash fiction. Sample comments would look like this:

• [Author]; [subject]; [date]
  [message text]

1. [anonymous]; general; 12 October 2005
   Re: Book of Secrets. I love how you let Watson give voice to his feelings of apprehension, yearning, fear and love. His interior narrative is one of the best things about the story. I liked his descriptions of Holmes' beauty and mystery. This is a very poetical and loverly Watson, and I enjoyed hearing him.
         Oh, and did I mention how extremely hot this was? You are a good sex writer indeed.
         On the constructive criticism side (and I have no idea when you posted this; you've probably gone on to greener pastures by now), the story could use some care in the Victorian authenticity department. It is doubtful that there is such a word as "alright" even now, and there certainly wasn't then. It's " all right." And I found it highly improbable, given the penalties for sodomy, that two men would ever kiss each other in the open air or fornicate in a train compartment, no matter that the door was locked. It simply wouldn't be done, and I think, given that they have just discussed what could be lost if they were ever suspected, they would not be prone to flaunt convention so grossly. They are still people with positions to protect.
         Other than that, oh yummy!
2. Cress; [the above message]; 17 February 2010
   Someone who is not JoAnne, but who is commenting on JoAnne's story, has accidentaly signed the guestbook using JoAnne's name. I just want to make that clear.