My eyes suddenly opened and I found myself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. I was in a bed, John's bed, a bed we both were currently occupying. I couldn't fight the grin that erupted once I recalled the events that led to my current position. A warm, comforting weight pressed me down into the mattress and small puffs of air fluttered across my chest—my nude chest.

The slight movement of my leg notified me that the rest of my body was of the same condition. I let my mind wake and revel in the closeness of John's body to my own; feeling his own body heat radiating from his own unclothed body. If he were awake or possibly even now asleep, he would be hearing the quickening of my heart palpitations. Then again, those were not considered normal.

"It's not even half six yet Sherlock, why are you awake? Did you even sleep?"

"How did I miss that you were waking up?"

I felt his body shift as he chuckled against me. One of his fingers began tracing an odd patter on my right hip.

"That massive intellect of yours must've deemed me unimportant."

I knew he was jesting, but something within me was struck with the strangest notion that displeased me. I turned my gaze to him, moving swiftly, shifting our positions, pulling him up with my strong grasp on his biceps. His wide eyes met my own.

"My dear John, you are by far the most important thing to ever cross my mind, never degrade yourself like that again. I may have given you the impression of that before, but you must know, you have to—"

"Sherlock, relax. You still lack the ability to pick up on sarcasm."

I blinked at him and realized he was inwardly laughing at me.

"You are important to me. Extremely."

"And you to me."

Giving into instinct—pure emotional instinct—I lent forward and pressed my lips to his. His arms encircled my chest, pulling us closer and I couldn't help but whimper at the unexpected warmth that spread through me at the skin-to-skin contact. My mind immediately returned to last night.

Fingers curled into my hair, grasping, pulling me closer to him. I felt his body tremble beneath me; he's laughing. I couldn't fight the grin that erupted against his lips as my hips stuttered against his. Pelvis to pelvis, clothed erection to clothed erection; the feeling of his warm body beneath me was breathtaking.

My heart is pulsing, my skin flushed, warmer than my natural disposition and my mind, my thoughts, were centered on the man beneath me. My brain—my hard-drive—was centered on John Watson and I had never felt my mind so stimulated before.

"…u finally lost yourself?"

I shook my head and stared at the man before me; the smile that caused his eyes to crinkle at their ends, genuine and only given to a few. I pressed my lips to his once more, shifting our bodies till I had him on his back once more. Pressed chest to pelvis with him, it still felt like it wasn't enough, I craved more of him. He pulled away and his giggle met my ears.

"I have to be at work in an hour Sherlock; believe me, as much as I would love another round of last night, especially skin-to-skin, I need a shower. You could join me if you'd like."

His hands trailed up my back as he awaited my answer. I pressed one more kiss to his lips before I nodded. He grinned.

I climbed off of him and out of bed, waiting for him to do the same. I suddenly felt embarrassed to be unclothed in his presence. I felt his hand link with mine and give it a squeeze.

"It's all fine Sherlock."

I let him lead me downstairs to the bath, watched as he let go of my hand once in the small room and busied himself turning on the water and pulling out our towels. I took in the sight of his shoulder, the one forever marred by the bullet hole. I knew he was self-conscious about it, I couldn't ever fathom why. It marked him as a survivor, as the soldier he is.

I took the handful of steps required to meet him, his body mere inches from my own, leaning down far enough to press my lips to his scar. He tensed and quickly pulled away from me, nearly losing balance over the lip of the tub.

"Don't be ashamed of it John."

"I'm, I…I'm not."

I wrapped my arms around him from behind and simply stood pressed against him; feeling as he regulated his breathing, letting his hands reach for my own.

"The water's warm now."

I removed myself from him and watched as he stepped into the tub, the water flow changing as it accommodated around his body's intrusion. I couldn't move; rooted to the spot because I realized what his problem was. I should've realized it a while ago.

Quickly shaking my head I scrambled into the shower and pulled him into my arms, nuzzling my nose into the patch of skin behind his ear.

"I'm sorry."

It was merely a whisper but I knew he heard me. He turned in my arms, facing me and pulled me closer, putting his head beneath my chin. For some reason, standing like this felt even better than last night.


Deepest apologies you lot! Between hurricane Irene and power outages and the busiest two weeks from hell at work, I've finally had a moment to sit down and throw together a rather botched update. Not a fan of this chapter...hope it's not too horrible. Any mishaps, feel free to point out.

I'm going to attempt to upload my next story within the next two days; time and work permitting. It will not be related to this; as I doubt I'd write a sequel. I've learned that sequels and I, we're not friends. That being said, this may have one or two more chapters left. :\

I hope, especially if any of you were in Irene's path, or are still dealing with this crazy weather the East Coast is dealing with, you're safe! No serious harm or damage was done!

Regardless, it's Friday (well for me)! I hope you lot have a wonderful weekend! :D