"Hey!" she said firmly. She was clearly the least emotionally involved in this situation. She could walk away, leave the two of them to it, or she could try to mediate here. And she wasn't going to walk away.
"I don't know if there's any more happening there than hero worship," she said to Sherlock first, "but even if there is, you're still being too hard on John. It's not his fault, he's trying to help a kid in trouble, and that sort of crush is pretty common when someone is kind when you're not used to it."
And then she turned to John.
"You get his concern, though, right? I think everyone would benefit from some boundaries. Including Howard. If he does have a crush on you, he needs to know it's not going anywhere. If he doesn't, he needs to know it's inappropriate for him to be rude to your friends. This doesn't have to be a situation where anyone has to pick sides."
no subject
"I don't know if there's any more happening there than hero worship," she said to Sherlock first, "but even if there is, you're still being too hard on John. It's not his fault, he's trying to help a kid in trouble, and that sort of crush is pretty common when someone is kind when you're not used to it."
And then she turned to John.
"You get his concern, though, right? I think everyone would benefit from some boundaries. Including Howard. If he does have a crush on you, he needs to know it's not going anywhere. If he doesn't, he needs to know it's inappropriate for him to be rude to your friends. This doesn't have to be a situation where anyone has to pick sides."