While John is sleeping, Sherlock remains awake, just making sure that his friend, the object of his newly discovered affections, was comfortable and warm. There were no nightmares thankfully, and after two hours, the detective started to feel the other man waking up, gently starting to stroke his back slowly, enjoying the feel of his bare skin under his sensitive hands.

Shifting as he starts to wake up, John takes a deep breath, nuzzling into the shoulder and neck near him, taking in the slightly smoky, spicy scent, then smiling a little. His mental filters aren't in place yet, so he allows his calloused fingers to slide down Sherlock's spine. "Good morning, again. I am taking far too many naps today." He says quietly, and boldly places a soft kiss on Sherlock's shoulder before he starts to pull away from the warm body reluctantly.

After untangling himself from Sherlock, John rolls onto his back and stretches a little. "Mmm. Thank you, Sherlock, for taking care of me earlier. I'm a bloody doctor, I should know not to stand outside in the cold rain.." he says quietly, stretching one arm above his head, the other resting on his stomach as he stares at the ceiling. He is strangely comfortable, lying in bed with his flatmate, none of them in anything other than their pants. And that thought, and the entire oddness of his day so far just makes John start to laugh, lowering his arm from above his head to put his hand over his mouth as he laughs.

Sherlock arches an eyebrow, looking a little amused. "You're welcome, but are you quite alright, John?" He asks, skeptical that his doctor is in his right mind, though he likes to hear him laugh.

"I'm fine.." John finally manages to calm his laugh. "It's just this completely ridiculous day. We get here, to a bloody mansion which is owned by your family. Find out I'll be sharing a room and bed with my best friend an flatmate. Alright. Not too bad. So we have a rather nice cuddle, and then you're all caring and we have a nap. Ok. Then there's tea, and food, and the tour where we meet Mycroft. There's a fight, I storm out, try to give myself hypothermia, end up naked in the shower after my best mate rescues me, and then there's half-naked cuddling and another nap. That's our day so far." He says with a smirk as he looks over at Sherlock, chuckling a little. "We lead ridiculous lives, Sherlock." he says with a little grin.

Sherlock listens, and he starts chuckling near the end. "I see what you mean." he says quietly. "Likely it's going to be even more ridiculous before the night is over." he says quietly, then he watches John. "We should shower properly and get ready soon." he says after he glances at the clock, then he looks back at John for a moment. "Can I.. perform an experiment, John? On you?" he asks slowly, then adds, "It will be quick, and painless." he reassures.

For a few moments, John watches Sherlock, trying to figure out whether he should agree or not, and then he smiles a little, "Sure, why not?" he says with a smirk as he looks over at his friend, not even thinking about the fact that he's bare-chested and his bullet scar is very visible, something he would normally be very self-conscious about.

After the doctor agrees, Sherlock grins a little, and he shifts until he's braced on his hands, on either side of John, his upper body perched over the older man's. After watching him for a few moments, he gives in and slowly leans down to tentatively place a light kiss on John's lips, letting it linger for a moment, not really expecting much of a response, just hoping not to be pushed away.

To say that John is shocked is sort of an understatement. He was still fairly sure that Sherlock was not a sexual person, and now he's being kissed by that very same man. For a brief second, he does nothing, but when he feels Sherlock starting to pull away because of his lack of response, he slips one hand up into that silky hair to hold him in place as he indulges himself and returns the kiss. He's not sure where Sherlock is as far as experience, but he has quite a bit of it, between university and his time in the army. One night stands are more common to him than he cares to think about. So his kissing skill is fairly good he'd like to think. Still, the small moan that comes from Sherlock when the doctor starts to kiss him back surprises John, and it only makes him deepen the kiss a little, fingers massaging the back of Sherlock's head.

Sherlock groans softly as he deepens the kiss a little, surprised that John even responded, much less with any enthusiasm. Though he wants the kiss to continue for a long time, he finally breaks it, licking his lips as he looks down at John, only allowed to move his head a little ways away with John's hand still in his hair.

"Was that a successful experiment?" John asks quietly as he looks at Sherlock for a few moments, stroking the back of his head slowly for a few moments before he slides his hand down to the detective's neck and shoulder, before it slides away and back to resting on his own chest.

Sherlock shivers a little, before he nods quietly. "Yes.. very successful.." he says before he pushes himself up and moves away slowly. "We should start getting ready for the party.." he says slowly, then he smirks. "I doubt you'll wish to take another joint shower." he says, though the idea appeals to him, he's trying not to think about it anymore, or to think about what he didn't allow himself to before. John's body against his, the shower raining down on them. He shivers, and walks over to the wardrobe to take his suit out and hang it on the door.

John chuckles a little as he gets up, stretching. "Probably better to wait until we get back to Baker Street to explore something like that.. or maybe just until tomorrow morning." John says quietly, moving up behind the detective to put his hands on the other man's waist gently, kissing the back of his shoulder before resting his forehead between his shoulder blades. "I'll go first if you don't mind. My hair takes less time." he says as his hand sneaks up to run through the curls again lightly and he chuckles before he turns and grabs his undershirt and toiletry kit before he heads into the bathroom.

A little surprised at John's sudden affection, Sherlock's head bends forward a little when he feels the hand in his hair, then shivers at the sudden loss of the body heat behind him. He doesn't say anything though, just waits until the bathroom door shuts, then he quickly sits down, his body trembling with the nearly overwhelming emotions. He had kissed John. His experiments progressed rather faster than planned. More importantly, John kissed him back, and was a little more affectionate afterwards. Not to mention he joked about experimenting with sharing a shower. That thought makes his mouth go dry, and he licks his lips, taking a few deep breaths to get himself under control. Of course, he doesn't know how long this will last, or if this is a golden time, and everything will change once they go back to Baker Street. He manages to compose himself before John comes out, picking out his own underclothes before he slips in after him, smiling briefly as he watches the man's spiky hair for a moment.

After a shower and a shave, during which he feels rather good about everything that's happened. When he thinks back on it, him being attracted to Sherlock is not really that big of a shock, and like so many things when it comes to the world's only consulting detective, he just shrugs it off and goes with the flow. Sherlock is the exception to so many rules. The army doctor admires Sherlock as he walks into the bathroom and he chuckles a little, idly wondering if there will be any mistletoe hanging around tonight and if he can possibly maneuver Sherlock under some. Chuckling at his own thoughts, he shakes his head, feeling lighter than he has in months as he pulls out his dress uniform, looking at it for a few moments, combing his hair down before he starts to dress.

By the time Sherlock is finished shaving, drying his hair John is dressed, looking at himself in the mirror and feeling slightly uncomfortable. At first, Sherlock doesn't even see John, too distracted by his own thoughts, and he wanders blindly over to the wardrobe where he puts on his trousers and is putting on his shirt before he spots John. "Bloody hell.." he breathes in surprise as he stares at the soldier before him, his hands pausing at his collar where he was about to flip it down, before he completes the action and moves over toward John. "I.. I've never seen you in uniform before.." he says as he moves to stand behind the older man, looking at him in the mirror.

The soldier glances back at Sherlock through the mirror, still fidgeting with his clothes. "I haven't worn this for a while.. I'm glad that it still fits. I think it's a bit more snug around the chest than it used to be though." he says before he drops his hands to his side, unconsciously straightening his spine and shoulders as he looks at Sherlock.

While still looking him over, Sherlock starts buttoning his shirt, his eyes glued to his small soldier. "I think it fits perfectly. You are going to make quite the impression tonight." he says as he watches John. When he's finished buttoning his shirt, he put his hands on the older man's waist lightly. "I thought you were attractive before, but you are absolutely mouthwatering." he murmurs as he ducks his head, kissing John's neck lightly. He pauses to give John one more heated look before he turns to go back to the wardrobe, tucking his shirt in and pulling out a small box with cufflinks in it that he puts in with ease, walking back to the mirror as he does up his tie.

John move to the side and watches him with a little smile. "I'm glad I've gotten your attention." he says with amusement, before he goes and retrieves Sherlock's jacket, holding it up and helping him slide into it, smoothing down the shoulders and back slowly, but it's really more of an excuse just to touch him. He smiles a little as he moves around in front of Sherlock. "It really isn't fair how good you look in a suit, Sherlock." He says with a little smirk as he looks the other man over, reaching up to straighten his tie a little.

Sherlock blushes just lightly and he smiles. "I'm glad you approve." he says with a bit of amusement, before he sits down and slips on his shoes, completing his outfit. "Shall we?" he asks as he looks at John.

The army doctor steps over to Sherlock, pulling him down for a lingering kiss, resisting running his hands through that hair, instead just rubbing the back of his neck. When he releases the other man, he straightens his clothes and then nods firmly.

"I'm ready. Do your worst, Holmes."


FINALLY! Next chapter - party! It's going to get a little complicated for me after this, so I'm not sure how it's going to effect my posting times. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.

Reviews/Comments welcome!