Early morning sunlight streamed through the front windows of the flat, catching tiny particles of dust in its golden hues as they floated slowly down toward the floor.
Everything was comfortably quiet, save for the soft bubbling of the kettle.
John cast another look at the book he'd been reading for the past few days, which was now sitting on the table in front of him. No... he was still too groggy from sleep.
He knew if he opened it now, he'd just end up reading the same sentences over and over without really absorbing much...
Not worth it, yet...
Maybe after he'd had his coffee.
He turned his head a bit to glance into the living room.
Sherlock was sitting upright in his chair, his eyes closed and his face nearly expressionless. He'd been like that when John had come downstairs half an hour ago, and he hadn't moved yet, leading John to guess that he'd been in that exact position for quite a while.
Probably thinking.
About what...?
The kettle clicked, and John turned his attention back to it.
It was very difficult to tell, with Sherlock.
It would have been easier to guess what he probably wasn't thinking about.
Politics.
Sentiment.
Astronomy.
All very likely nowhere even close to the detective's focus.
John sighed quietly and got up from where he was sitting to prepare the coffee, deciding to just go ahead and pour a cup for Sherlock, just in case.
"Black, no sugar."
The sudden, crisp sound of his voice made John nearly jump out of his skin, very lucky not to spill the boiling hot water on himself. He gripped the kettle's handle tighter and glared over at Sherlock.
"Jesus Christ—don't—god, don't DO THAT! It's too early..."
Sherlock just held him in that scrutinizing gaze, calm and almost quizzical.
John sucked in a deep breath, and tried to compose himself again, lips pressed together in a hard line. "Right. How long have you been awake?"
"Since Thursday."
"Yeah, okay, it's Saturday—let me rephrase... how long have you been... aware? You know what I mean. Responsive."
There was that quick smile...
Smug...
Annoying...
"Mm... ten minutes?" Sherlock shrugged.
"Thanks for letting me know..."
"Anytime."
"Yeah, that was sarcasm." John muttered, replacing the kettle and stirring his own cup of coffee.
"Figures..."
It didn't seem as if the detective was planning on getting up anytime soon, so after what John deemed a time sufficiently long enough to get on Sherlock's nerves, he finally grudged and brought his cup out into the living room for him.
Sherlock didn't bother looking up as he held out a hand for the cup.
But since he wasn't looking, he failed to catch the way John's eyes narrowed, or the way he paused, still holding the coffee.
"Sherlock."
The tone of John's voice seemed to catch his attention, and he raised his eyes to look at him questioningly.
"Sherlock..." John hesitated. "Why is your hand trembling?"
He followed John's gaze, as if just noticing it himself. "I... uh... probably just tired."
"Probably? No... you've stayed awake this long before without that happening..." John could already feel himself slipping into 'doctor mode,' though it was slightly overshadowed by 'concerned friend.' "Are you... are you okay?"