Sherlock/Ho Yay

The show is fond of Ho Yay, and the fans have run with it to a huge (sometimes disturbing) extent. In season two the slashy gimmicks have been lampshaded more often than played straight, while the Holmes/Watson relationship has grown to focus more on the closeness of their friendship, having finished the get-to-know-you phase.

Ho Yay:
"John: You don't have a girlfriend, then?
 * An early exchange from "A Study in Pink"

Sherlock: Girlfriend? No. Not really my area.

John: Oh, right. Do you have a...boyfriend? Which is fine, by the way.

Sherlock: I know it's fine. *stares*

John: ...So you've got a boyfriend then.

Sherlock: No.

John: Right. Ok. You're unattached. Just like me. Fine. Good.

Sherlock: John, erm, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm really not looking for any-

John: No. I'm not asking. No. I'm just saying, It's all fine.

Sherlock: Good. Thank you."

"Sherlock: You've seen a bit of trouble too, I bet.
 * For more Ho Yay, pay close attention to John's body language in that scene. The awkward looks, the nervous gestures when he brings up the topic (also, the way he really seems to be curious about Sherlock's love life), he even licks his lips when he finds out Sherlock is single ... possibly even intentionally left ambiguous by Martin Freeman (who admitted being a shipper during interviews) as an attempt of Fan Service.
 * Also, in the pause before Sherlock rejects John, his pupils do the shiver-thing that Benedict Cumberpatch seems to do to indicate a Sherlock Scan. So even Sherlock thinks that everything about John's body language is a come-on?
 * An even earlier exchange:

John: Of course, yes. Enough for a lifetime -- far too much.

Sherlock: *raises eyebrow* Want to see some more?

John: *eyes Sherlock* Oh, God, yes."

"Mrs. Hudson: There's a second bedroom upstairs, if you'll be needing two rooms.
 * The subtext of that scene? Sherlock is practically seducing John to come and look at a crime scene with him. Nothing sexy about that? Well, just pay attention to Sherlock's voice and movements. There is something particularly sensual about them that usually isn't there. Also, there is Sally's hypothesis about Sherlock's attitude towards the crimes he solves: "He gets off on it." So ... Sherlock is basically inviting John to accompany him to something that gives him some kind of weird, borderline-sexual mental stimulation? Kinky.
 * Certainly doesn't hurt that everyone and their goldfish is a Shipper On Deck.
 * Mrs. Hudson shows John 221B for the first time:

John: Well of course we'll be needing two rooms!

Mrs.Hudson: Oh, don't worry dear, we have all sorts about here. Mrs. Turner next door got married ones."

"Angelo: Sherlock! Anything on the menu, whatever you want, free. On the house, for you and for your date.
 * Mrs. Hudson isn't the only one.

Sherlock: Do you want to eat?

John: I'm not his date.

(Sherlock doesn’t bother to correct Angelo. Later:)

Angelo: I'll get a candle for the table. It's more romantic.

John: I'm not his date!

(Angelo ignores him and brings a candle anyway.)"

"Mycroft: What is your connection to Sherlock Holmes?
 * Hell, even in the comments on John's official blog, Harry and John's former nurse Bill think he's got a thing for Sherlock.
 * Even Mycroft suspects it's more than friendship.

John: I don't have one. I barely know him. I met him... yesterday.

Mycroft: Hmm, and since yesterday you've moved in with him and now you're solving crimes together. Might we expect a happy announcement by the end of the week?"

"John: (after Sherlock strips off John's bomb-rigged jacket and throws it away) I'm glad no one saw that.
 * Eventually John comes to expect it.

Sherlock: Hm?

John: You, ripping my clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. People might talk.

Sherlock: People do little else. *grins*"

"Sherlock: We're going out tonight.
 * In "The Hounds of Baskerville" John is assumed to be Sherlock's boyfriend by two innkeepers in quick succession, followed by a psychiatrist he's taken on a date (after being referred to as Sherlock's "PA. Live-in PA" by a third party).
 * There's also the case of John's dating life. Sherlock is constantly shown to be putting a strain on it, ridiculing John's romantic gestures (like when he comments on John's emails) and openly insulting his girlfriends (his behaviour towards Jeanette during the Christmas party in Scandal).
 * John contributes by repeatedly changing his plans for Sherlock, including those he makes with his girlfriends. Jeannette breaks up with him on Christmas eve, after stating he's a great boyfriend ... to Sherlock!
 * Sherlock's behaviour in "The Blind Banker" just before he

John: I have a date tonight.

Sherlock: What?

John: A date? It's two people who like each other go out and have fun.

Sherlock: That's what I was suggesting.

John: No, it wasn't. At least, I hope not.

Sherlock ends up inviting himself along on the date in question and seems honestly baffled that John would want to spend time on a date with someone else rather than solving crimes with him."

"John: That's fantastic!
 * If you look a little closer, it seems that Sherlock has no concept of what a date is, and it's taken that when he said he was inviting John out on a date, he meant it in a platonic way. However, after the above exchange, Sherlock asks 'Where are you taking her'? If he took a date to mean anything ranging from platonic to romantic, why would he ask where John is taking her and not him or her? So he actually really was asking John out on a date for a moment there.
 * Considering that Sherlock is perfectly aware of the meanings of the words girlfriend and boyfriend, and can easily tell that Anderson and Sally have been shagging, it's actually highly unlikely that he doesn't know the meaning of the word date. In which case he was either teasing John or genuinely asking him out. My money's on the latter.
 * While Sherlock really is totally clueless when it comes to 'dating', the interrupted dinner in A Study in Pink (when he thinks John is hitting on him) does indeed feel like some kind of date, even if Angelo wouldn't have commented on the situation. At the end of the episode, after John, Sherlock's immediate response is to treat John, who obviously has impressed him deeply, for dinner. We never see the actual thing, but it sounds suspiciously like a date.
 * The above is made better by two factors: 1) On his blog, John mentions that Sherlock knows a lot of nice restaurants, which suggests they go out together quite often. And 2) the whole dinner innuendo in A Scandal in Belgravia. If there is such a thing as Ho Yay In Hindsight, this is it.
 * John's romantic tastes also seem to change over time. During the first series he's dating Sarah, pretty much his own female counterpart. During the second series, and having lived with Sherlock for over a year, he's seen dating Tall, Dark and Snarky Jeannette, and later shows an interest in Dr Louise Mortimer, who might as well have been Sherlock's twin sister, cheekbones and all.
 * Also, Sherlock's the one who semi-accidentally set John and Dr. Mortimer up, by pushing John to interview her for the case. Sherlock's tone the next morning as he inquires how it went is very insecure; he practically hovers waiting for John's answer.
 * While the Mistaken for Gay jokes are more of a Running Gag than genuine Ho Yay, take a close look at John's reactions whenever people assume him and Sherlock to be a couple: Most of the time, John is quick to point out that he is "not [Sherlock's] date" or "not gay", but not once did he deny being interested in Sherlock. It gets even more obvious in the second season, when he talks to Irene and claims he is "not actually gay". He also doesn't deny being jealous, he simply says that "[Sherlock and I] are not a couple". Take that as you will.
 * Sherlock is a pretty interesting case, too. He is shown to be extremely nitpicky and corrects everyone around him about the smallest details, but whenever people comment on his relationship with John, he chooses to ignore the matter completely, as if to imply "Yeah, he's totally my boyfriend, he just hasn't realised it yet". Also, Sherlock is not the type for nicely letting down a person who crushes on him - just look at poor Molly. But during that scene at Angelo's, he is honestly taken aback by what he interpretes as John hitting on him. (For even more Ho Yay, keep in mind that this is Sherlock Holmes, a genius when it comes to deductions - and if you look closely, you can even see him analysing John during their exchange). Sherlock actually needs a few seconds to think his answer through before he decides to 'reject' John. It almost seems as if he honestly considers dating him for a moment. Sherlock is remarkably friendly about his answer, too. He even says he feels "flattered" by John's interest, and since Sherlock is extremely straightforward and rude most of the time, it is rather astonishing to hear him say something like that.
 * It's subtle, but go ahead and try to count the times when John and Sherlock gaze into each other's eyes. You'll be surprised.
 * Very, very often. Also, they don't seem to have much of a concept of any personal space between them.
 * Sherlock always seems unduly pleased whenever John compliments his deductions.

Sherlock: Do you know you do that out loud?

John: Sorry, I'll shut up.

Sherlock: No, it's… fine."

"I could see the look in Sherlock's eyes - a flash of, not anger, but hurt. For a second, he looked like a little, lost child. I should have been horrified that he'd even doubt me for a second but, to be honest, it was so refreshingly human of him. He actually did value our friendship. He did, despite himself, care."
 * Sherlock sometimes seems downright desperate for John's attention and does quite a few stupid things to get it ... like firing a gun at the wall of their flat. He claims to do it out of boredom, but in that scene, he is clearly shown to be lying on the sofa doing nothing until he hears John's footsteps in the hallway. A bit suspicious.
 * John's over-protectiveness of Sherlock. In A Study in Pink, he, in The Great Game, he throws himself at  , willing to die so Sherlock can escape. In A Scandal in Belgravia, this even expends to an emotional level as well, especially when he finds out that Irene  , after all of the pain she's put Sherlock through by
 * No matter what situation he is in, Sherlock almost always remains completely level-headed and calculating. Unless, of course, you threaten John. Every time this happens, Sherlock breaks into panic immediately - so much, in fact, he starts to stammer and stops thinking rationally.
 * Amazing how fire exposes our priorities. Sherlock says this to Irene with his usual sneer. It comes back to bite him in the ass less than two minutes later, when a CIA agent threatens to shoot John in the head and Sherlock loses his composure in two seconds flat.
 * John is incredibly understanding and patient when it comes to Sherlock's difficult personality, mood swings and rude behaviour. He is willing to put up with a lot of stuff that is definitely not fine  and still considers Sherlock his "best friend" and stays faithfully devoted to him through all the mess they get into. Sherlock, on the other hand, is far less unthankful than it might seem. He lets John's influence change him for the better, even if becoming emotionally attached to someone is dangerous for him and later becomes his Achilles Heel. There are a lot of things Sherlock does to make up for John's care and loyalty. Most are easily overlooked, but genuinely heartwarming gestures like offering to clean up the hopeless mess in their flat, paying John a compliment every now and then and cracking jokes to make him laugh. Sherlock even steals an ashtray from Buckingham Palace, just for John's amusement.
 * The ashtray scene was mysteriously cut from the American airing of "Scandal" on PBS, in addition to a crucial moment in which John and Mrs. Hudson discuss Sherlock's past relationships, or lack thereof. Covering up, much?
 * John's blog is a source of Ho Yay of the finest quality. The loads of domestic bickering alone are quite suggestive, but the way John spends a lot of time describing, complaining about or practically fanboying over Sherlock (sometimes all of the above at once) is really anything but subtle. It's especially noticable in the earlier posts, when Sherlock and John have just met. John, who has had nothing to blog about, suddenly goes on and on about the charismatic "madman" who wants him to be his flatmate. Note how John's usual dry writing style suddenly changes into incoherent ramblings and repetitive run-on sentences of breathless excitement whenever he talks about his new acquaintance. Sherlock sure must have blown his mind.
 * And then, there's this gem from John's blog entry about The Great Game:

"It was worth a wound—it was worth many wounds—to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation."
 * Remember that this is a life or death situation we're talking about. There is the possibility they are all going to die. What does John care about? Whether Sherlock cares about him and their friendship! Priorities, John. Priorities.
 * This quote also echoes a oft-referrenced passage from the canon Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs."

"Moriarty: I'll burn the heart out of you.
 * Also consider how little John talks about his girlfriends on his blog. The only two girlfriends he even mentions in the blog are the two involved in cases and he really doesn't talk about them any differently than he might talk about one of Sherlock's clients. You'd think that getting a new girlfriend would be important enough for at least a mention on his blog, but he doesn't talk about any of them. Yet the very day he met Sherlock, before they had even decided to move in together, he posted a pretty detailed entry on the man that made pretty much everyone reading it question his sexuality. Hmmm...
 * Let's re-capture the development of John's heterosexual love life. Study in Pink: Attempt to flirt with Anthea. Who can blame him, it's ANTHEA! Blind Banker and Great Game: Sarah - but even if he spends the night at her place in the Great Game, it's pretty obvious they're not sleeping together. Belgravia ... Jeanette. And apparently many, many others before. Boy, wow. And then Irene comes and shoving the news into his face that John can be as straight as he wants, he'll still be homo-romantic for Sherlock. (Also, Sherlock's rambling about John's former girlfriends could be seen as an attempt to drive Jeanette away. Jealousy, anyone?) In Baskerville John is girlfriend-less and shows only brief attempts at flirting with a pretty woman. And this is possibly only in an attempt to get information for the case. By this point, John doesn't even deny it anymore when he and Sherlock are mistaken for a couple. Soon he'll finally stop fighting his own feelings too, the fangirl might think... By Reichenbach Falls, he has apparently been single long enough to be pronounced a 'confirmed bachelor' by the papers, and after that, well...
 * In The Great Game, it becomes very clear just how much Sherlock values John's company and thinks of him as a smart and competent individual rather than a mere sounding board to fill in for the skull. In one scene, Sherlock asks John to make some deductions about a pair of shoes and seems genuinely impressed, even though according to him John "missed everything of importance". Sherlock is still impressed enough to send John (his "best man", as he claims) off to investigate a case Mycroft is really persistent about. As it seems, Sherlock trusts his 'colleague' a lot and regards him as an equal. Keeping in mind Sherlock's narcissistic tendencies, this must mean very, very much to him.
 * From the same episode, there is this exchange between Sherlock and Moriarty:

Sherlock: I have been reliably informed that I don't have one.

Moriarty: But we both know that is not quite true."

"Irene: *looking at Sherlock, who's just forced John to hit him* Hmm. Somebody loves you. If I had to punch that face, I'd avoid your teeth and nose too.
 * It's worth noting that within seconds of the exchange, there's a not-so-subtle shot of Sherlock glancing at John.
 * The slashfans had a field day with these lines and interpreted them as Moriarty referring to John as Sherlock's "heart". Confirmed later in the same scene, where a panicked Sherlock violently tears the Semtex vest from John and throws it away, all the while frantically asking John if he's alright. Confirmed again in Scandal and again in The Reichenbach Fall,
 * When Sherlock and John have a rather heated argument in this episode, right before, it is treated (in all seriousness even) like a lovers' quarrel. Mrs. Hudson even asks: "Did you two have a little domestic?" And it gets better: John ends up spending the night with Sarah ... Or rather, on her sofa. The show goes out of the way to make it clear they haven't had sex up to this point (actually, they don't even kiss on screen) and it's never implied that they eventually do. Even better? Sherlock knows. ("How was the lilo?") Hm, Sherlock, why would you care?
 * For the episode that supposedly introduces a female Love Interest for Sherlock, A Scandal In Belgravia is exceptionally subtext-heavy. For some reason Irene Adler suddenly is a lesbian Shipper On Deck more than anything else. She gives the viewers such lovely lines such as:

John: Ha-ha!"

"John: We are not a couple!
 * And then, there's this:

Irene: Yes you are.

John: For the record, I'm not actually gay.

Irene: Well I am. Look at us both."

"Molly: (to Sherlock) You look sad when you think [John] can't see you...I know what that means, looking sad when you think no one can see you.
 * This exchange summarizes the point of John's and Sherlock's relationship: even if they're not actually having sex, they are basically a couple, and that's also why people keep mistaking them for gay.
 * It's also worth noting that Irene is
 * Speaking of Irene, there is some blatant Les Yay between her and Kate, her maid.
 * Kate is obviously attracted to Irene, but it's unclear if the feeling is mutual.
 * Considering Irene's comment on how Kate is used to being unconscious, they've probably had "sessions" together. Of course on the emotional level she's about as warm as Sherlock.
 * More examples from Belgravia:
 * John's reaction to Sherlock's attire in Buckingham palace, notably the long stare toward the general area of Sherlock's groin, and asking if he's wearing anything under that sheet.
 * Sherlock immediately calls out John's name after waking up from being  Keep in mind that what happens before is pretty much Sherlock's version of a wet dream.
 * Bonus points for John grabbing Sherlock from behind and throwing him on the bed in the same scene.
 * In the same scene, John covers Sherlock with a sheet and pats his butt. Or his hip? Definitely somewhere suspiciously low ...
 * Frighteningly true.
 * When Sherlock receives a text from Irene at the Christmas party, John just says "Fifty-seven?" Yes, ladies and gentlemen, laid-back John Watson obsessively counted every single text message Irene sent to his flatmate. This is the same guy who can't remember which one of his last girlfriends owns a dog only a couple of minutes later. Jealousy, much?
 * Incidentally, that one sonnet which tends to make people think Shakespeare was gay is number fifty-seven.
 * And let's not get into John's reactions whenever he, Sherlock and Irene are in the same room together ... He doesn't seem to be very happy about all the UST-heavy staring contests between the world's only consulting detective and The Woman and tries to break the tension with snarky remarks.
 * This is pumped Up to Eleven in the second episode of Series 2, The Hounds of Baskerville, where, in addition to a 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' reference to John and Sherlock's hotel room having only one bed, the innkeepers of said hotel are a gay couple themselves who naturally assume as much about Sherlock and John. And, of course, there's the iconic "I don't have friends" quote from Sherlock which was seen in the promotional trailers, which viewers will now know is followed up by . Oh, and John has indeed noticed Sherlock's cheekbones, the ones fangirls have been swooning over for quite some time; in fact, he thinks they look cool and mysterious.
 * It's not only the cheekbones. There are quite a few situations that suggest that John spends a lot of time observing Sherlock and his behaviour. In Hounds, it is the coat collar Sherlock turns up when he is working on a case and tries to be cool. In Reichenbach, John says Sherlock is "doing the look again". Not even Sherlock himself knows what he means, but as it turns out, John is right - seems like he is able to read Sherlock's facial expressions like a book.
 * The scene with "the look" in Reichenbach contains another interesting point. Sherlock is honestly baffled that John doesn't follow along with him and "know what's going on". For someone who considers everyone else to be stupid, he doesn't considers one minute that John might not be on the same page than him. He considers him his equal.
 * A small thing ... that isn't so small after all once you think about it. In the scene in Hounds in which John and Sherlock sit in front of the fireplace after, there is a heart-shaped decoration seen in the background right between them. In a series as obsessed with details as Sherlock, it is unlikely that this is a coincidence. It might seem like a humourous Fandom Nod at first, but since this is a very emotionally charged scene and a turning point in their relationship, things become a little more suggestive. To elaborate, in this scene, Sherlock breaks down completely to the point where he is close to tears and clutches onto his drink with shaking hands while he looks absolutely terrified. The reason for his distress? Not the fact that he just  , but the fact that he is experiencing emotions such as fear and doubt. Emotions which are dangerous for him because they mess with his cold, detached intellect. Sherlock has shown emotion before, especially when John has been in danger, but this is the first time he realises just how vulnerable those feelings make him. Of course, Sherlock   but he doesn't know that. For all he knows, it is John who has opened his heart for inconvenient, dangerous emotions. Sherlock is clearly torn apart between his affection for John and detaching himself from things like that in order to protect his brilliant mind (and himself). For a moment, he tries to drive John away with one cruel sentence: "I don't have friends." However, the next morning, Sherlock changes his mind, apologises and and says that John is his friend. In other words: He chooses John over the abilities he values so much and even his own safety. Aw.
 * Apart from the huge amount of angst it provides, The Reichenbach Fall could very well be nicknamed Ho Yay - The Episode. It's really no wonder even the newspapers think John and Sherlock are totally gay for each other. How about John's undying trust and loyalty for Sherlock and his complete breakdown when, including a heartfelt  ? Or Sherlock's concern for John all throughout the episode? Even Molly notices and comments on it! If that is a little too platonic for you, there is also a scene where the two of them are handcuffed together and actually hold hands. Oh, and absolutely no one can blame you if you expected some tearful "I love you"s to be exchanged during that phone call ...
 * The escape scene is particularly interesting. Sherlock and John are on the run from the police, knee-deep in trouble and inconveniently handcuffed together, and what does John complain about? People mistaking them for gay. Apparently he spends a lot of time thinking about their relationship.
 * Another blink and you'll miss it moment in the handcuffs scene: After they've let go of each other's hands, when they stop to catch their breath, John is still holding on to Sherlock's coat.
 * The handcuffs scene seems like a harmless bit of fun at the first look, but actually serves as a covert Faux Symbolism moment that illustrates the history (however short) of John's and Sherlock's friendship. They are bonded together in a moment of need - arrested by the police; they have a dangerous and eventful journey - the escape; even when Sherlock puts barriers between them, the bond remains, and John forces him to be more human - the fence. And if you're in the mood for a Tear Jerker, Sherlock eventually finds a way to break the bond - in Kitty's flat he's the first to pick the lock on his side of the cuffs, leaving John to deal with his cuff on his own. Also, John's the one who keeps the cuffs; he puts them in his pocket.
 * When John returns to his therapist after 18 months due to, his therapist asked him if there was anything  . John agrees there was, but says he can't say it, with an expression and tone that looked like a missed opportunity at a declaration of love.   John's message was a plea for Sherlock to perform "one more miracle"
 * Oh, and not just be alive, but to be alive for him.
 * Just for him.
 * And Sherlock watches the whole thing, with a fairly heartbroken look on his face.
 * Not to mention the fact that Sherlock  for John. When pacing the street in front of Kitty Riley's house after "Richard Brook" has escaped, Sherlock attempts to figure out Moriarty's thought process and stops dead in the street when he figures out that Moriarty's next move, the thing that will destroy Sherlock completely - even worse than being called a fraud and the world losing faith in him - is  . Sherlock also uncharacteristically cuts John completely out of his next move (usually he's dragging John with him).
 * Some fans commented on the cruelty behind having John ; early in the episode, Molly makes this comment:

Sherlock: (confused) You can see me.

Molly: I don't count."

"Moriarty: Is that a British Army Browning L9A1 in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?
 * This is interesting for a couple of reasons: the first being that Molly goes from talking about John to talking about everybody, also stating that in the context of everybody, she doesn't count. In effect, she is saying that, to Sherlock, John is everyone and nobody else counts. For the second, Sherlock begs John to look at him when he is preparing to . Sherlock is about to be   and it's entirely possible that this whole ruse could go awry; Molly might not get there in time, Sherlock might not land correctly, and Sherlock could  . In any event, the last thing that he wants to see before he goes through with this plan is John's face. They even hold their hands to each other. This is an Aw moment crossed with a Tear Jerker.
 * On another note, Sherlock seems both fascinated and smitten with Moriarty ("Why hasn’t he called?") to the point where John notices and gets upset ("I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.") Moriarty, for his part, presents his hostage-driven intellectual puzzles to Sherlock like gifts, starts off his first message to him with "Hello, Sexy", and even though he claims to have been only playing gay during their first meeting as part of his disguise ("Did you like the little touch with the underwear?"), he doesn't stop flirting with Sherlock after he's dropped the act.

Sherlock: Both.

(later)

Moriarty: But the flirting's over, Sherlock. (sing song) Daddy's had enoooough nooooow!"

"Sherlock: We met twice, five minutes in total. I pulled a gun, he tried to blow me up. I felt we had a special something.
 * The Foe Yay is almost blown out of proportion in The Reichenbach Falls. You could make a drinking game out of the times Moriarty gets into Sherlock's personal space, but you would probably die from alcohol poisoning halfway through the episode. His flirty-bordering-on-obsessive attitude and campy manners don't help things. At all. Also, that "I O U" looks an awful lot like "I <3 U" ...
 * It's subjective, but a viewer might get a feeling that Moriarty would like nothing more than to tie Sherlock down and rape him six ways to Sunday. His attitude towards Sherlock is incredibly unsettling.

(later)

Sherlock: Unless I kill myself. Complete your story.

Moriarty: You gotta admit that's sexier."

"Lestrade: I just don't do what your... brother tells me. (Sips beer, as if to cover his embarrassment)"
 * Speaking of Moriarty, he's responsible for forcing Sherlock into a few rather alarmingly heartwarming moments of sentiment for John. If we don't even mention the pool, there is the rather telling scene in The Reichenbach Fall where Moriarty threatens Sherlock's friends and John's the first person Sherlock thinks of. Also, Moriarty had guns on three most important people in Sherlock's life, and if Mrs Hudson is Sherlock's mother figure and Lestrade serves as the father figure, what is John implied to be? Either a brother or - yes, a spouse.
 * Apart from his obvious bromance with Sherlock, John seems to give off some Even the Guys Want Him vibes. Mycroft is terribly interested in him during their first meetings (though it's left ambiguous whether it is just mutual dislike or ... something else on Mycroft's part), Connie Price's gay brother gets into his personal space and even Moriarty calls him "cute" and "adorable" (likening him to a pet, but still).
 * The scene by the pool changes quite a lot if you only listen to the audio.
 * Another example of 'accidental' Ho Yay: In The Blind Banker, Sherlock puts John's face in both hands, tells him to close his eyes and ... well, see for yourself.
 * Are you the overinterpreting kind? Have some fun with Freudian imagery! In Scandal, Mycroft lights a cigarette (commonly regarded as a phallic symbol) for Sherlock. Mycroft is the one who  and intended for Sherlock to give into Irene's charms. There is some Incest Subtext about this, of course, but it's actually even more than that: The single cigarette is enough to re-awaken Sherlock's partly surpressed addiction. At the beginning of Hounds, he tries to go cold turkey ... and wants John to fulfill his cravings. He practically begs for it. Twice.
 * And what about that scene where Lestrade appeared in the pub in Hound? When Sherlock brings Mycroft up, Lestrade becomes clearly uncomfortable. It takes a lot of skill to create sexual tension between two characters who haven't even been on-screen at the same time!

Ho Yay Shipping:
"Marcus Brigstocke:[Sherlock is a] series that not only sees the twisted strands of criminal ingenuity unravelled, but also explores the seething sexual tension between the two leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman- will they ever get it on? - just kiss him!"
 * Preposterous amounts. Considering the amount of attractive male characters and Ho Yay in the show, which acts as a part of the Setting Update, it's to be expected.
 * Notable because the slash community started up very quickly, and managed to keep up the pace during an 18 month wait for the second season. The cast and crew are well aware of the ridiculous amounts of porn being produced.
 * And the apparent fact that Mark Gattis, Steven Moffat, and Martin Freeman either ship it or make comments about the "love story" between Sherlock and John. Martin Freeman even once commented that the two are "absolutely two halves," which brings another ridiculously bromantic BBC show to mind.
 * At the 2010 Crime Thriller Awards ceremony:

"Just ... just touch him, Sherlock. You know you want to. You're so lonely, and he loves you. Just touch his mouth."
 * Freeman described Sherlock as "the gayest story in the history of television", so there's that, too. Cumberbatch, on the other hand, uses the word "bromance" and distinguishes between the two.
 * These two South Korean Ads do put the focus on something else ...
 * This South Korean trailer for season 2 chooses to ignore the plot completely and instead focuses on the angst between John and Sherlock.
 * Cracked ships it.


 * It's pretty amazing how many people are shipping Jim with his second-in-command from the books, Sebastian Moran, seeing as Moran has yet to actually appear on the show.
 * Possibly maybe untrue, considering Conan Doyle's Moran has a reputation as a great sniper, and there's... what... one time in the entire series where Moriarty shows up without a sniper on hand? Maybe he wants to keep his Sebastian nearby...
 * In pretty much all the promo pictures for the second series, John is looking at the camera while Sherlock is staring directly at him. Ho Yay Shipping getting out of control, anyone?
 * According to this new American trailer for the season 2, Americans are shipping it hard and being completely shameless about it. Nobody's complaining.
 * John's always defensive remarks regarding his sexuality are a meme now. Take that as you will.


 * By this point, the amount of Ho Yay is so ridiculous that either it'll be confirmed in the next series (circa late 2013/14) or they'll just be pissing a lot of people off.