Title: Four Corners of the Western World
Author: pennypaperbrain
Fandom: Sherlock
Characters: John/Sherlock
Warnings: NC-17, BDSM, slash, mental illness (bipolar!Sherlock), suicidal (John + Sherlock), murder
Length: Novella
Status: Completed
Three months after his best friend and unrequited crush apparently committed suicide in front of him, John’s life has been turned upside down again by a voicemail from Sherlock in the US, saying he is covertly tracking down the remains of Moriarty’s network, and asking John to join him.
Two days on, John is on his way to meet Sherlock in Malta. Everything seems to have changed between them: not only is Sherlock being overtly affectionate in his texts, but he quite explicitly wants sex. But there’s just one problem (apart from the small matter of the international assassins etc): Sherlock’s behaviour is getting steadily stranger, even by his standards. John starts to worry his friend may be on drugs again…
At AO3
Personally, I read the second story first and was intrigued. The first one is not necessary to understand the characters' motivations or reasons. The second one stands on its own quite beautifully. I read the first story afterwards and actually was kind of disappointed. It is nicely written but lacks the epic feeling Malta Bright incorporates.
My resumée: read Malta Bright, read it, read it. It contains wonderful done bipolar!Sherlock, medical!John, a dire situation, guns, a healthy portion slash and kink.
