11. The morning swim
When John woke up, Sherlock was in pyjamas and gown, sitting on the armchair by the window, looking into the folder on his lap.
'Morning. Did you sleep at all?' He stretched and yawned.
'No.'
'Did you go out last night after I fell asleep?'
'Yes.'
'Where did you go?'
'Walked. On the beach.'
'You did?'
'Why the surprise?'
'That's just so... unlike you.' Seeing Sherlock's annoyance, he let it go. 'Well, I want to go for a quick swim before breakfast.'
'I'll go with you.'
'What?'
'John.'
'Yes, I heard you, I'm just surprised. Are you also going to swim?'
'Of course not. I just want to go outside. I need a break from this case Mycroft is trying to push on me.'
'Oh. Any progress?'
'Perhaps.' He knew John wouldn't press. Not on a 'National Security' case. He wasn't reading it, though. In reality, he had been watching John sleep. Now he just wanted to watch him swim, up close.
John changed in the bathroom, brushed his teeth, washed his face and came out wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops. Sherlock took his turn, saying he'd meet John at the pool.
It was still a bit early so there was no one else around, only a few hotel employees here and there. The sun was already high, but the water was still a bit cold. John had completed a lap when he saw Sherlock lazily walking around the pool. When he got to the end, he stopped by Sherlock. He was wearing his usual white shirt and black trousers, but this time his shirt was untucked and the sleeves rolled up loosely. He was also wearing...
'Since when do you wear flip flops?' Granted, they were made out of leather and looked more expensive than his jacket and trousers from last night combined.
'I've always had them. I just usually have no occasion to wear them. I'm in a pool now. It's appropriate.'
'I guess. I've just never seen you like this.'
'Like what?'
'Looking... relaxed. Informal. Unfussy.'
'I'm not fussy.'
'Yes you are.' John flashed a smile and resumed his swimming. In the water, he thought he liked Sherlock like this. He looked so attractive even when being careless in his attire. His arms looked lovely in the rolled up sleeves like that.
This was hard. He felt attracted to Sherlock. Whose reaction to Gwen's attention yesterday only confirmed what he had known since that first time at Angelo's. Sherlock is simply not interested. If he could be so unmoved even by someone like Gwen, no one would ever attract his attentions. He had shown some interest in Max, but it seemed to be just because he's a sniper. I've never been interested in men before. After a lifetime of being straight and with all the men in the world, why did it have to be him?
He knew the answer, of course. His fascination with foreigners indicated that all throughout his life he had been looking for someone different, unique, interesting. Sherlock fitted all that, even if by gender alone. After him, everybody else sounded boring, both men and women. By the end of their first year together as flatmates, his dating had started to decline precisely for that reason. True, their crazy lifestyle (and Sherlock himself) interfered with it. But all relationships faded after the initial spark wore off. He had had great hopes in Marisa at first, she was by far one of the most interesting ones of late. But after his own body's reaction to Sherlock's touch - one finger, on his scars alone - it became clear to him that his feelings went beyond friendship. His situation was hopeless.
As long as John was swimming, Sherlock could watch him. He enjoyed cataloguing the way his back muscles moved. John seemed to favour his left side in his strokes, yet still looked graceful. When John stopped, Sherlock made sure to be looking towards the sliver of sea visible from the pool deck.
'Sherlock. I'm also-going to check-their sauna.' he panted, still in the water. Sherlock felt his stomach drop hearing him breathless like this.
'Oh. Maybe I should try that too.'
John was surprised, but didn't comment. He felt a momentary twinge of embarrassment, he needed to get out of the pool. Well, nothing he hasn't seen by now, plus Sherlock couldn't care less... So he pushed himself up and out of the pool, grabbed a towel from the pile available to guests and patted himself dry, trying not to think of the observant eyes that could see through him. Sherlock observed out of the corners of his eyes, mesmerised.
The saunas were separate, inside each locker room, which meant men could go in in any state of undress they wanted to. Sherlock took a towel and started to unbutton his shirt by the lockers. John shoved his clothes in one and quickly walked away. The sauna was a small room, with two tiers of benches. He set the timer for 15 minutes and laid down on the bottom bench, still in his bathers and using a towel to line the wooden deck. Sherlock climbed up and sat above John, sideways, his legs stretched out on the bench. It was a dry sauna, and soon John's skin glistened with sweat. He had his eyes closed. Sherlock tried to do the same, but he couldn't keep still, stealing glances now and then. There were beaded sweat drops right above John's upper lip... Halfway through, John flipped onto his stomach. Sherlock really liked that view and desperately tried not to stare. It would be really a bad idea to get aroused now. John seemed to have dozed off.
When the timer beeped and stopped the sauna, John sat up and wrapped the towel around his waist. Outside, he went to a stall ostensively to use the loo but put his clothes back on while in there. Sherlock noticed that, when John came out, he was holding the blue bathers in front of him. Which meant he had nothing under the shorts. John was about to wait for him, but Sherlock said it would be best if he showered in the locker room, to avoid waiting for his turn upstairs. 'I'll meet you at breakfast.'
John was relieved to hear that. He had tried to close his eyes in the sauna, but knowing that Sherlock was next to him wearing nothing but a towel drove him crazy. Soon he had to flip onto his stomach to hide his arousal. When the timer went off, he made sure to always have his back to Sherlock. Then he carried the bathers in a way to discretely cover himself. He would have privacy now.
Sherlock decided to stay in the locker room for privacy's sake. Three times within the past 24 hours! This is unprecedented. Insane.
They had a quiet breakfast. Sherlock looked sleepy.
'Sherlock, maybe you should go upstairs and take a nap. You look really tired. You haven't slept for... what, three days now? You were up the whole night again yesterday and we have the wedding and party tonight. Speaking of which, are you still planning on coming tonight?'
'Yes.' He was looking forward to seeing John in uniform. He had been wondering about it ever since that night he had listened in.
John was puzzled. 'But what about the case? It's unlike you to eat breakfast, let alone go to a wedding party during a case.'
'Mycroft's case is not really my case. It's just a distraction so I don't die of boredom. I'm going back to it after breakfast.'
'Oh. Right. Then, will you make sure you eat?'
'Of course, John.'
John didn't believe him. 'Okay. I might just go walk around and see the town then. Text me if you need anything. I'll be meeting Terry, Jeannie and Max for lunch, then Max and I will go for a walk on the beach. We might swim, but I think the sea will be too cold.'
'I never knew you liked swimming that much.'
'Well, I don't get to pools and beaches very much, so might as well enjoy while I'm here. It's quite a pretty place, it's so nice to be outdoors. Plus, it's Summer, you should try to enjoy it. You could come too, if you want. They enjoyed meeting you.'
'My brain would rot if I had to sit on the beach for more than five minutes. Dull!'
…..
After his exertions, Sherlock did fall asleep for a few hours.
