I touch no one
Before, John Watson had been a body to make use of, a small brain to bounce ideas off of, an assistant who actually admired what he did, even if he didn't understand it. But in an instant it had changed, subtly but irreparably. Which moment was it? The moment he realized John had saved his life and Sherlock made the instantaneous decision to protect him in return? Or that astonishing moment when John called him an idiot and he caught in his eyes the amused intimacy that only friends shared? Friends. He could not deny it, though he wanted to.