Updated for spelling, grammar, and irritating typos. I will be updating the rest of the chapters and fleshing them out as I go. The general story won't change but some details or descriptions may. Established JohnLock as an extension of my first story "What Am I?" Friendship, Depression, Hurt/Comfort, mild insinuation of slash.
Life With Sherlock
It had been many months since that amazing night when John and Sherlock had finally revealed to each other how they really felt. They hadn't had an easy time of it. Life with the world's only Consulting Detective would never be easy. But then it would never be dull either. Sherlock was still Sherlock. He was still socially awkward, becoming ecstatic about crimes and making generally rude comments that he didn't realize were a problem until John cleared his throat. He still got bored when there were no cases to solve, however John now had new ways of distracting him. Not that that was ALL they did in their spare time. Just the first blissful few weeks of their new intimacy.
Lestrade had caught on to the change in their relationship rather quickly but didn't make it a big deal. He'd caught John's eye at a crime scene, gestured at the consulting detective with his notepad and raised his eyebrows. At the doctor's slight grin and barely perceptible nod he snorted and said "About bloody time." Then he moved off to discuss the case with his aides. John learned later, via a snide remark from Donovan that Lestrade had made over a hundred quid in the pool betting that John and Sherlock would be more than colleagues before the end of a year. Donovan was a sore loser, having bet that John would have moved out before the year was up.
Irene Adler had died twice since John learned that she'd only been a distraction for Sherlock. The first time she died it had been faked in order to protect her from being hunted down for her information. The second time around it had been confirmed by Mycroft, but something about it didn't sit right with John. Probably anything to do with The Woman would rub him the wrong way no matter how long dead she was.
Sherlock had dragged him to Baskerville to solve the mystery of the monster hound. That had been an emotional case. John had never seen Sherlock terrified before and decided he would prefer not to see it again. He also resented being used as an experimental mouse without being asked beforehand. Sherlock never quite apologized for that but John finally let it go. The benefit of the change in their relationship was that they could comfort each other after the harrowing cases in ways that never failed to reduce tension. It was glorious! The excitement and danger of being Sherlock's partner on cases, combined with the intense passion of being his lover filled John Watson's days to overflowing.
There was a downside of all of this...activity. John was exhausted! Not a young man anymore, he was having trouble keeping up with the excesses of his companion. Sherlock seemed indefatigable. He sometimes woke the doctor in the middle of the night to discuss cases. Sometimes he would let John get back to sleep, but frequently he wouldn't and they both didn't sleep for a long while. The next day was invariably an early one with a hurried summons from Lestrade to help with another case. Unless the weary doctor could snag a nap during lab work with Molly, he wouldn't get any sleep at all. She'd taken to keeping a cot in the side office for John, which he used far more often than he wanted to admit to Sherlock, and less than he felt he needed. He hoped that in his partner's absorption with the tests being run that Sherlock wasn't aware of John sneaking off to catch catnaps.
...
What John Doesn't Know
Sherlock was always aware of John. Since the day the man had moved into 221B, the detective was aware of his very presence in the world. Yes, there were times when he didn't notice that John had left the flat, but the doctor was present in other ways when he was physically absent. His laptop, books, newspapers, medical journals, even his cologne filled the flat with John. When their relationship changed, Sherlock's awareness became more focused. He was aware of everything that affected his flatmate. He was aware that he was running John ragged. He was aware that John desperately needed a holiday. He was even aware that Molly was doing what she could to help, and he appreciated that. But more than that, he was aware that at any point Moriarty would come back to put them both in very real danger. With Moriarty so focused on Sherlock he would know that John was more important to the detective now. He could still hear that maniacal voice grating "I will BURN you. Burn the HEART out of you." John was his heart. Sherlock's affection, fear, desire, need, love for his doctor was barely kept under control with the AWARENESS of their limited time. John was in danger. Whatever happened, John had to be protected. Sherlock had some ideas about Moriarty's end game and that he might lose everything when it came to pass, but he would risk everything to save John. Even if it meant losing him. He would do his best to win this mad game, but he might not succeed, so he was taking full advantage of their time together before it was gone.