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Best Short Sherlock BBC Fanfics

Sherlock BBC novellas — 10k to 50k words, polished and contained. Curated from AO3 and ranked by kudos.

TV Shows 25 short fics Avg 30,118 words 10,000–50,000 words

Top 25 Short Sherlock BBC Fanfics

Ranked by AO3 kudos. Mid-length Sherlock BBC fics — 10,000–50,000 words.

1

A Terrific Soporific

by antietamfalls

Sherlock, a long-time sufferer of insomnia, is forced to share a bed with John at a hotel while on a case. To his astonishment, he finds that spending the night next to John helps him sleep and becomes determined to maneuver himself back into John's bed.

21,465 kudos 11,270 words 1/1 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
2

The Real Meaning of Idioms

by feverishsea

After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn't expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn't expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn't expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

21,138 kudos 22,540 words 14/14 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
3

Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles an Hour

by what_alchemy

“You love your mother, Sherlock?”John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk. “Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”

19,571 kudos 30,568 words 5/5 chapters Explicit Complete
4

Empathy

by Blind_Author

John is an empath. Which isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds. Most of the time, it’s not even useful.

19,002 kudos 35,739 words 4/4 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
5

State of Flux

by Atiki

John’s marriage is over and he is finally back home (i.e. at Baker Street, where he belongs).Sherlock is awfully insecure and John is awfully hesitant, and they're both awkward idiots, of course, but they figure it out. Many First Times happen.

18,815 kudos 24,655 words 4/4 chapters Explicit Complete
6

you are a paradigm

by 1electricpirate

Sometimes, only sometimes, when Sherlock is very far away and absolutely guaranteed not to return for at least three hours, John sits on the sofa and lets the tea make itself. In which John is (reluctantly) a wizard, Mycroft is (apparently) omniscient, and Sherlock is (surprisingly) oblivious.

16,759 kudos 10,013 words 1/1 chapters Mature Complete
7

Left

by lifeonmars

John Watson is left-handed.He’s tried not to let it affect his life, but as any Lefty knows, that’s almost impossible.

15,479 kudos 45,153 words 9/9 chapters Mature Complete
8

Once More, With Feeling

by cellard00rs

To put off his meddlesome, matchmaking mother, John convinces Sherlock to play the role of his significant other. Unparalleled awkwardness ensues.

14,867 kudos 21,178 words 7/7 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
9

Life Beyond the Silver Moon

by SailorChibi

John thought the most he'd have to worry about now that Moriarty was dead was figuring out how to get a job without Sherlock getting him fired and the planning the bonding ceremony with Mummy Holmes. But it turns out Mummy's not so pleased about the choice her sons have made, and she has different p

1,089 kudos 46,490 words 30/30 chapters Explicit Complete
10

Bliss

by hobbitsdoitbetter

London, 1892. Mrs. Molly Holmes and her husband have been living a polite, amicable and entirely passionless existence since their disastrous wedding. But when Mr. Holmes' infamous former mistress comes back to London, their domestic peace is thrown into chaos. Could Adler's return be the end of the

991 kudos 36,352 words 19/? chapters Teen And Up Audiences
11

Bride Of The Water God

by twistedthicket1 (orphan_account)

Sherlock Holmes hates watching over Humans. Hates his job, taking care of the little village of Recheinbach. It's all boring. Boring and dull. All he has to do to keep himself busy is let it rain. Banished for years to the outside of his village due to an 'incident', the Water-Spirit dreads the fact

950 kudos 41,009 words 12/20 chapters Mature
12

The Buried Life

by orphan_account

“You thought he’d be amazed by your cleverness, didn’t you? Faking your death, two years on the run. You thought about how proud he’s be. How impressed.” She moved closer, almost toe to toe. “That’s what kept you going. Showing off for John.”

924 kudos 29,186 words 7/7 chapters Explicit Complete
13

Land of Hope and Glory

by wellingtonboots

Sherlock knew he couldn’t stop the explosion any more than he could turn back time and make sure none of this could ever happen. He needed to make the most of what time he had left with John. They would be together in these final moments and that was what truly mattered.  AU – Mycroft Holmes leads

644 kudos 47,059 words 16/16 chapters General Audiences Complete
14

The Curious Case of the Boy In the Raincoat

by rude_not_ginger

Sherlock Holmes is a reluctant babysitter of the young child of one of his clients. But who is this boy? Who is his mother? And how does it all relate to Sherlock?John Watson on the case!

593 kudos 44,467 words 16/16 chapters General Audiences Complete
15

Between the Waters

by kickasslibrarian

Set directly after Sherlock's 'fall' from the roof at Barts. Molly's work isn't finished; Sherlock still needs her help. But how will they keep everyone else from finding out the truth?Angst, suspense, possibly some naughtiness!I'll be posting the next few chapters very shortly!

218 kudos 31,115 words 16/? chapters Mature
16

Shelter

by amyutz

Molly turned toward him, “So what do we do? Go straight to Mycroft? Tell him what you’ve seen?” Sherlock's tone sharpened, “No. Not yet. If his channels are watched, if they’re listening, we’d be dead before he could act. Until I understand who’s pulling strings, we vanish entirely.” He added, “This

203 kudos 32,656 words 22/22 chapters Mature Complete
17

Stay with Me

by uCharlie

It’s been two years. Two years since he walked out of the house in the middle of winter without a coat, scarf or wallet – and never came back. Is there still anything tying them together? Anything besides Rosie?

139 kudos 14,217 words 46/? chapters Explicit
18

The Night Makes Sinners of Us All.

by Vanimelda4

Mycroft and Chelsey Lestrade have been friends since childhood.What Chelsey doesn't know is that Mycroft has a serious crush on her father........or that the feeling might actually be mutual..... (Disclaimer: Mycroft is 22 in this fic and Greg well in his forties.All sexual encounters are with conse

122 kudos 46,680 words 9/16 chapters Explicit
19

Watson's Tribulation

by malevolent_muse

John Watson is taken captive and subjected to an unexpected tribulation. Physical and mental anguish abound as he fights against the onslaught of the unimaginable.

122 kudos 10,286 words 4/4 chapters Explicit Complete
20

My life with Molly

by Rozalinne

Molly is Sherlock’s housekeeper. When John moves in with the detective, he quickly notices that there is something unusual between them. Both deny being in love, but little by little, they begin to fall for one another. Let’s discover together how they first met

117 kudos 20,361 words 12/? chapters Mature
21

I Am Yours

by Jimlock

Sherlock finds that it's not as easy to answer Moriarty's demands, or play his mind games, while still deeply under the influence of his OD. Also, John Hamish Watson has had quite enough. There will be no running 'round or dancing for one James Moriarty, not this time. Sherlock still doesn't know ho

113 kudos 30,099 words 28/? chapters Explicit
22

Not Forgiven

by The_Evil_Writer_221B

This is a series of one-shots or short stories where John Watson will not be forgiven by Sherlock. Mostly Holmes brothers-centric, focuses on their relationship. If you do not want to see John in negative light then do not open this.You can leave in prompts if you wish!! I am open for suggestions.

107 kudos 18,773 words 11/? chapters Not Rated
23

Carry You Home

by K_Holmes39

Greg had seen a lot in his twenty years on the force. Quite aside from his own personal list of injuries; being shot, stabbed, his broken bones. He’d seen fellow officers downed, mass shootings, his fair share of explosions. Strange things, too. Once Sherlock had shown up in his life. But nothing wo

90 kudos 21,215 words 8/? chapters Not Rated
24

【麦雷】亲密关系

by luluDan

原名为《地铁事件》,后因扩写的缘故换了一个更合适的名字。 事情的起因是格雷格在地铁上遭遇的一次强制猥亵,令他意外的是,对方竟然是自己的床伴——麦考夫·福尔摩斯。从一次次的越界行为中,格雷格隐约察觉到对方似乎不满足于肉体关系,这令他感到无措和不愉快。他认为肉体关系是最为轻松、简单的关系。 简而言之,麦考夫希望二人的关系不仅局限于床上,并为此作出了一些错误的或正确的举措。

85 kudos 48,146 words 9/? chapters Mature
25

Intimate Relations

by luluDan

Original title: Unexpected Incident On The Subway, it was later given a more fitting name after the story was expanded.The matter began when Greg was subjected to a forcible indecent assault on the Tube—and, to his astonishment, the other party proved to be none other than his own bedfellow, Mycroft

59 kudos 33,724 words 9/? chapters Mature

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About This List

30,568
median words
56%
complete
21,465
top kudos
~2.0 hours
median read time

This list of 25short Sherlock BBC fanfics spans 752,951 total words. Kudos range from 59 on the newest entries to 21,465 on the most established. 56% are marked complete — check the status flag before committing to a longfic. The most common rating is Explicit (8 of 25 fics).

Recurring tags across this list: Angst · Fluff · Humor · Family · Post-Reichenbach.

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