"Jace wake up," a voice whispers. The boy only groans in his sleep, not wanting to give into reality just yet.
"Whatever it is it can wait." He turns over and huffs softly as his body goes limp.
"But it's important," the voice persists. Jace fully ignores it and drifts back off to sleep. "Stenson!"
"Hey!" Jace jerks up and leaps to his feet, sure that someone was trying to kill him. All he gets is a view of Holmes looking down at him instead of something interesting or exciting. Just the normal morning annoyance.
"Good, you're awake. I need your help." The detective starts running around the kitchen as Jace simply scowls after him.
"I was getting sleep finally! You know how long it's been since I've been able to get a good seven hours of sleep?"
"No. But considering you need to hide from everything and everyone to live it doesn't surprise me."
"Holmes, I can sleep for twelve hours in some stranger's basement inside of their wall even if there is a giant chance they will find and kill me. I haven't slept good because of you," Jace retorts.
"Well then you should find a better sleeping place than the kitchen," Sherlock says rolling his eyes. He plops into a chair in front of the boy and holds up a fabric measuring tape. Probing for Jace to stand up straight, arms out he then proceeds to measure him.
"The kitchen is the perfect temperature for me. Also, it's to remind you that you have a 2 and a half inch tall companion now. Can't have you forgetting all about me like that one time," Jace growls. The man huffs, not wanting to talk about that incident.
"Actually it's now a 3 inch tall companion living with me and John." Sherlock smirks as Jace goes still at this news, no longer moving and making things difficult.
"No way! I'm taller!" Sherlock huffs as Jace races away from the tape and to his hook that's imbedded into the table already.
"Wait! You can't go running off! I still need you!" Sherlock grabs the back of Jace's shirt and stands up as he carries the borrower to the kitchen counter.
"But we should celebrate! It's a tradition that when a borrower gets bigger, even just a little, you go and borrow something awesome!" Jace exclaims. He smiles widely at the very thought of being able to say he's taller than before. Now it'll take shorter time to reach the floor, he's a bit heavier, and there is more of a chance Holmes won't forget where he is. And growing for a borrower is no laughing matter. Means they are healthy, strong, and incredibly careful.
Jace frowns a little at the last thought. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't be alive to see this day if any human other than Holmes and Watson had spotted and captured him. And Jace tends to not always be careful. But still, he's grown taller so something went right!
"I don't see why growing another half of an inch is anything to risk your neck to celebrate for," Sherlock murmurs as he writes new information down.
"That's because you're human. Growing for us is big. And growing that much small amount of time is huge! None of that .05 of an inch growing stuff. That's for children. And for me to grow that much means I'm just going to stay a fairly tall person," Jace explains. This causes Sherlock to look at the boy, a smirk on his lips.
"You? Tall?"
"Well for my age yeah. Of course I'm considered tall." Holmes rolls his eyes and scoops up Jace once again, placing him under a microscope. If Jace keeps talking and simply sits still like he has ever since learning he's grown, Sherlock will get what he needs faster than he originally thought.
"I am sorry to say this Stenson, but you are incredibly small. Too small to say you're tall."
"Hey! To you I am but to my kind my height is respected thank you very much," Jace huffs. Holmes focuses on Jace's arm, so to make it easy on him Jace crawls away from the focusing lens and just holds his arm out for the man. "By the way, why do you need to look and measure me?"
"An experiment of mine. I only need to know about you and I promise I won't test anything on you so you're safe." Jace raises an eyebrow at this but shrugs.
"Alright. As long as nothing weird is done to me..."
"Well because your habits are a lot different than humans what is normal to us is strange to you. Such as." The man pauses as he walks away from the kitchen and into the bathroom. Finding what he was looking for all clean and ready, Sherlock then walks back over to Jace who had climbed off the microscope. "Taking a blood sample."
At this Jace goes pail. A blood sample? One, who on earth needs a blood sample? Two, Holmes better realize fast that the needle, even though it looks like a small sewing needle, he is holding will skewer Jace. And Three, why does he think Jace will ever let him take his blood?
"Um, yes that is strange to me. But also strange for you so I'm gonna go." Jace sprints away from Sherlock who groans in annoyance.
"Honestly Jace. It's for science, and yes humans take blood samples all the time. For health, science, tests to see if they have to eat more things or get more blood for other people. Honestly it's only strange for you." Sherlock easily, though gently, grabs the boy and lays him on the kitchen counter.
"Holmes! Stop this! You'll kill me with that thing!" Jace screams.
"I'm not stupid. I am only going to poke your skin with it then drip the blood into a tube."
Sherlock locks his gaze on Jace's tiny eyes, reading the nervousness inside them. The boy bites his lip, slowly kneading it as he thinks over what exactly Sherlock wanted to do. The needle was plenty sharp so that all it takes is one tiny poke for Holmes to get what he wants. He's a careful man when it's needed so Jace doesn't have to worry. And the sooner this gets done the sooner Jace can ask for a favor...
"Alright fine. Just don't pin me down!" Jace agrees. Sherlock smiles and lets the kid sit up. He then delicately pinches Jace's arm and holds it out carefully. The needle is brought down slowly and with one flick, gently slices the skin with a non-fatal scratch.
Jace hisses when the cold needle goes through his skin but he's impressed. Holmes made sure the cut would offer a good amount of blood, yet not make him tired or anything from it. He might have a scar but that could be taken as a cat almost got him. A test tube is placed before Jace who then stands up and allows his blood to drip into the tube. He then leans on the glass and smiles up at Holmes who smiles back proudly.
"Thank you for your corporation."
"And thank you for giving me a reason to go borrowing. But never wake me up that early again."