Half full spoon of leaf, boiled with water to steam, and in the end two sugar.
That was how his friend always had his tea when they lived together for years before he faked his death.
Sherlock even brought his own to the lab for the days he spent there so he wouldn't be forced to use the obnoxious alternative as he always called the tea bags at the hospital's cafeteria.
John didn't notice it at first when his friend came back from death, his mind skipped it and didn't give it much a thought then.
But at the moment John stood behind his dear friend, seeing the hair in the back of his neck standing in anticipation and fear, looking to the small screen in front of them, he noticed.
Full spoon of leaf in the cup, followed by boiled water, with a squeeze of an orange slice and a small spoon of honey.
He saw the pattern before, every time he visited Sherlock, every single time they had tea together during and after a case.
The moment he connected the dots, he really knew what was the real game of Eurus. She didn't mean to force Molly to show her known feelings in a shameful way, but she wanted to strip the skin and flesh off Sherlock to reveal the secret of his heart.
John couldn't see the face of his friend the whole time, but the language of his body screamed the distress he was feeling.
He spent the three minutes praying for them, he prayed for Molly to pick up the phone the second time, prayed for Sherlock to find the right way to let her say the words, prayed for Molly not to hang up out of pain, prayed for Sherlock to have the strength to say the words before it's too late, prayed the time would stop till she spilled them, prayed for both of them to have the chance to fix what got broken between them, in the end, while he picked his friend off the ground, he swore he wouldn't let Eurus's attempt to destroy Sherlock succeed, not under his watch.