John couldn't sleep. He lay on his back staring up at the ceiling in the unfamiliar city. If he were back home, he would go downstairs and stoke the fire before making himself a nice hot cuppa. Sherlock might join him, playing his violin softly and properly for a change, not saying a word. Once tired enough, he would take Sherlock's hand, and together they would retire to Sherlock's room to sleep. Maybe, Sherlock would finally get the courage to explore his legs and John would keep a pillow on his lap to hide any erection that might occur until Sherlock finally was able to look at it. John couldn't help but groan at the thought of Sherlock moving the pillow out of the way and looking at John's hard cock hidden under his pants. He imagined Sherlock would reach out, running his fingers along the outline. John closed his eyes placing his own hand on his growing erection imagining it was Sherlock's long fingers touching him.

He kept his eyes as he slipped his hand into his pants taking his erection in his hand. He moved his hand along the hot hard skin picturing Sherlock as he did. He didn't know if Sherlock would ever actually get comfortable enough to touch him but in his mind, Sherlock stared at his erection with fascination. He ran his thumb along the top and leaned down to kiss the slit causing John to shiver. Removing his hand for just a minute, he pulled his pants down to just below his groin, he licked his hand returning it to his cock. He moved his hand slower than he normally liked just enjoying the feeling. He imagined Sherlock deciding to lean down taking the head of his cock in his mouth. He groaned speeding up as Sherlock's hot mouth engulfed him further. He teased licking the underside as he sucked the head in his mouth. John felt his release approaching and he warned Sherlock softly but the man didn't bother to pull away as he looked up at John with trust in his eyes.

"Sherlock," John sighed as his body tensed. Hot cum spilled across his hand and onto his stomach. He opened his eyes back into the dingy hotel room, the illusion of Sherlock lost. Sighing he got to his feet heading to the bathroom to clean up. A quick glance at the clock on his way back made him realize he killed about half an hour. Sighing he flopped once more on the bed. He wasn't sure when he fell asleep but he woke up several times during the night making him feel as though he got no rest at all. He finally gave up on even trying around three in the morning, getting up to get ready for the day. He showered, dressed, then sat reading before it was late enough in the morning to get breakfast and coffee before heading to the conference.

The seminar was both informational and boring at the same time. He already knew a lot of the information due to his own research over the years but learned new ways he could help someone with eating issues such as anorexia. He also would follow the suggestion of trying to get Sherlock to eat small meals throughout the day. He didn't believe for an instant that Sherlock's brain was really slowed down by eating during a case but it would be almost impossible to convenience Sherlock. Instead, he would learn to work around it. Instead of a meal, he would try to get the detective to drink protein shakes, smoothies, or milkshakes while he was working in order to get nutrition into his lithe body.

John was relieved when they finally broke for the mid-day meal. He stood up stretching his legs, eager to get out of the building for a while. He helped himself to one of the sandwiches and struck up a conversation with a young woman named, Grace. She was also here from London and here for just the weekend. They got along amazingly well and in normal circumstances, John would invite her back to his hotel room for the night. He would exchange numbers with her and possibly start dating her when they returned home. Only he couldn't do that to Sherlock. Sherlock would act like he understood as he on purposely interrupted the dates with ridiculous reasons that he needed John when in truth he just wanted him home. So, while John spoke with her he made it clear that he had someone waiting at home for him. She understood and didn't push for more before excusing herself to go talk with another of the men standing alone. Pulling out his phone he was disappointed to see no new messages from anyone. Undeterred, he opened his messages typing a new one to Sherlock.

*Currently wondering if I can sleep through the rest of the seminar*

*Unadvisable as you tend to snore loudly. SH*

*I do not snore that loud*

*The whole of Baker Street would disagree. SH*

*May have Mycroft pull camera footage as proof. SH*

*Berk*

*Will need to wait until he has found his phone SH*

"He lost his phone?*

*No. SH*

John shook his head slightly confused and curious as to why Mycroft's phone was currently missing. It was time to return to the seminar, so instead, he pocketed his phone before heading inside. The afternoon focused on people with bulimia and binge eating. The two were often tied together with the person binge eating until they felt sick before purging. It was harder to recognize as not everyone who was bulimic was super skinny. Most were average weight or even overweight and used bulimia to try to control their weight gain or to lose weight. There were signs that could be looked for like calluses or lacerations on the backs of the fingers, tooth decay, and a swollen face. Looking back, they were all things he saw in Harry but once again he was too young to recognize the issue. He couldn't change the past but he could use the information to help others once he returned to London.

When the seminar was over for the day, he went to a small cafe for tea before returning to his hotel for the night. Once again the night passed slowly and he wondered how soon he would be able to leave the next day. He glanced quickly at his schedule and found that he would be in Dublin until almost eight the next evening.

"Sod that," John said pulling out his phone. Calling the airport, he claimed something important had come up and he needed to be home early the next afternoon. The lady on the phone was sympathetic and for a small fee, he was able to get on an earlier flight. He would miss the rest of the conference but he was fine with that as tomorrow would focus on long-term treatment and care facilities that could help people. Sherlock would never agree to go to a care facility in order to learn to eat properly and John didn't work at one so he saw no point in staying. Instead, he would take off at the mid-day meal and be home tomorrow by three, surprising Sherlock. Maybe, then he could convenience Sherlock to take him to Angelo's for supper.

The night passed by quicker and he slept a little better managing to stay in bed until five. He packed his small bag and checked out of his hotel before heading to the seminar for the day. He listened as the man talked about long-term care and how people could relapse from eating disorders even many years in the future, so it was important to follow up on their care. He made a mental note to check in on Harry but it would be hard to tell if she was still bulimic with her current addiction to alcohol. Either way, she would deny she had a problem and call him the golden boy. Changing his mind, he waited eagerly for the mid-day break before grabbing his bag and rushing out. He made it to the airport just in time to check in and make it to his gate. The jump from Dublin to London was quick and being that he didn't check a bag he was able to get out and into a taxi without having to wait.

It was upon arriving at Baker Street that John began to feel anxious. He had no way of knowing how Sherlock had reacted to his absence but at least the trip had given him a clearer idea of how much he wanted this relationship with Sherlock to succeed. Climbing the stairs he was surprised to hear laughter coming from inside. He was curious as he made his way up the last couple of stairs pushing the door open. Sitting in their chairs in front of the coffee table were Mycroft and Greg, an older couple that John didn't recognize but instantly knew had to be Sherlock's parents on the couch across from them. On the floor at the other end of the table was Sherlock. A trivia game was spread out between them and it was pretty evenly matched at the moment. Sherlock looked up grinning as John entered.

"Ah, John, you're just in time. Can you please explain to Mycroft that Jupiter is a Roman god and not a planet," Sherlock stated. John chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Sherlock but Mycroft is right and if you hadn't deleted the solar system you would know that," John answered pleased to see him happy. Sherlock grumbled about deleting useless information as John hung up his coat.

"We just started playing if you would like to join us," Greg offered. John nodded taking a seat at the other end of the table as Greg placed the last piece onto the board.

"John's on my team," Sherlock spoke up immediately.

"Fine, Mycroft and I can be one team, and Mummy and Daddy can be the last," Greg agreed. John looked at the board. Except for the science category he doubted that Sherlock would know any of the other answers. They were going to lose and Sherlock would end up pouting the rest of the night. Still, it was good to be home.