The Science of Attraction

A/N: Well here's the second chapter with some edits I made to it. Thank you so much for your reviews and just reading it. The brilliant reviews are really what inspired me fix this one up fully today and post it. Read and Review….and uhh, this one is also not Beta'd, so again, any mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: They're not mine.


When John woke the next morning from a rather pleasant sleep; no screeching violin concerto's at 2 in the morning; and he walked down the stairs he noticed that Sherlock was lying on the couch doubled over, surrounded by paper. Judging from the uncomfortable looking position his neck was in, John assumed he had just fallen asleep through whatever he was doing. 'That's what you get for not sleeping like a normal person' John thought to himself as he fixed himself a morning cup of tea.

As he sat down in his chair Sherlock stirred. He blinked owlishly for a few seconds before reverting to his normal analytical self.

"Ahh, John, you're up. Good. Good. You aren't working today are you?"

John shook his head, "No, I took the rest of the week off remember, 'recuperation from the case', or weren't you listening."

"Well, I'm not the one that goes to the surgery, I probably deleted it."

John sighed, "I'm not going in today. What are you intending on doing?"

Sherlock clasped his hands together, "Well, technically we are going to be nothing out of the ordinary, watching crap telly, you'll probably blog a bit, I'll play my violin, we'll order take-out because you won't want to cook, and because I used the last packet of pasta for an experiment. The only difference is I will be cataloguing data."

John looked at him warily, "How are you intending to get this data?"

"I'm not going to push you up against a wall and snog you senseless to test your heart-rate if that's what you're asking. This part is about subtlety, and if all goes to plan, you won't even realise it's happening."

"You realise I'm going to be on edge now, looking for what you're doing."

"Please don't, if you're too wary it may affect the data, and I don't really have anyone else to perform this experiment on."

"Alright."

John stood to put his now empty cup in the kitchen, "Do you want a coffee while I'm up?"

There was a muffled reply from the sitting room and John decided to make one for him anyway. It wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts, but it was better than nothing. When he went back to the sitting room Sherlock was gone; he put the mug on the table and said loudly to no-one in particular, "Coffee's on the table, I'm going out. We need some groceries."

Sherlock bounded down the stairs at John's voice, violin in hand "What?"

John shrugged his coat on and grabbed his phone as he answered, "I'm going out, I'll be back in time for the crap midday telly."

As John walked out of the door Sherlock's brow furrowed. He didn't want John going out, it was imperative that he stay near him for the experiment. He looked at the coffee sitting on the table. Taking a deep breath he decided that he could wait for John to return to start his experiment. He might be a little less tense then as well.

He sat down and looked over his list. It was broken down into four sections, with notations describing various experiments under the sections. The first one merely required cataloguing reactions. How John reacted to a light touch here, moving closer there, having his tea made for him instead of the other way around.

It was brilliant in its simplicity, thought Sherlock as he studied his notes. Seeing as John was already attracted to him, it would make his experiment much more realistic. That was where he stopped suddenly and looked up. John was already attracted to him. When had he taken that into account? And why didn't it bother him?


It only took John an hour and a half to get all that he needed from the shops. He had managed to successfully use the chip and pin machine for the third time in a row and he was hoping that it was sign of better times ahead. He fumbled for the key to the flat and let himself in, mumbling a hello to Mrs Hudson on his way upstairs. When he got in, he saw Sherlock fixated on a show on telly. It was one of those psychological studies that he so loved pulling apart at the seams.

"No argument today?"

Sherlock's voice rang into the kitchen as John was putting the groceries away.

John couldn't help but smile at the patronising tone in Sherlock's voice, "No, no argument, we kissed and made up three shopping trips ago and she hasn't given me any problems since."

Sherlock's chuckle was audible over the sound of the advert on TV for some sort of washing powder, "Come in here and sit down, I need to bring you up to speed with this hilarious show."

"Give me a tic, I need some tea."

John smiled as he heard Sherlock grumbling but promptly stopped when he walked through the door, tea in hand. He put the tea on the coffee table and collapsed into the sofa next to Sherlock. When he went to pick up his tea, he stopped, and looked over at his flatmate, "Sherlock, did you actually make tea?"

"Hmm, oh yes, I thought you'd like some when you returned but I was too preoccupied to tell you when you first walked through the door."

John shook his head, "Thank you, that's umm, very nice of you."

Sherlock inclined his head in acknowledgement but shushed any reply with a slight touch to John's thigh, "Shh, the ads have finished, and this is, quite frankly, bloody hilarious."

John took the instruction and watched the show, chuckling at the parts that were actually quite outrageous. It was only when he went to put his cup back on the table that he realised that Sherlock's hand was still on his thigh, not moving, just sitting there comfortably. Now that he had realised his thigh felt rather warm where the hand was, but he decided to not make an attempt to move it. Must be part of his experiment he thought quickly, trying to dispel the feeling that while Sherlock's hand was still, his fingers were not. He wondered what would happen if he were to move his hand, but as soon as he got near Sherlock's it disappeared, first back onto Sherlock's own leg, then casually into the small space between them as the man relaxed again. If he wants to experiment like that, two can play at that game, he thought to himself. He felt a short pang of loss at the removal of that warm hand, and looked down to where it was now. He waited until the next lot of adverts were over and the telly had Sherlock's full attention when he attempted his next move. He let his hand slip between them also, casually. He made a concious effort to look as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened while he waited for Sherlock's reaction.

He felt the other man tense at first, not taking his eyes of the telly. John could practically feel the other man's brain working away, trying to deduce what to do next. Then he felt it, the whisper smooth touch of Sherlock's thumb against his palm. It ignited an odd fire inside him that he quelled immediately. It was strange and foreign and John Watson did not like strange and foreign things. Sherlock touched his palm again, moving his hand ever so slightly so that Johns hand was resting in his own. They sat like that, making small talk over the adds, neither moving, nor making any reference to the occurrence.

The show ended and John yawned; as he stretched he felt Sherlock squeeze his hand slightly. He did not know how he was meant to react so he did nothing. He could feel the tension simply oozing between the two of them, and was overcome with a sudden urge to get out. He stood quickly, and picked up his cup.

"I'm going to check my blog, do you want coffee?"

Sherlock looked up at him, "What? Oh, no thank you. I'm just cataloguing..."

And if John hadn't been mistaken, he would have said that Sherlock's cheeks contained just a hint of a blush over them.


So, what do you all think now aye? As before, read and review, it makes me happy. I'm also open to suggestions and critique, anything to improve my writing.