Morning comes, and Sherlock finds he's been awake for a few hours, not used to getting so much sleep. But he continues to lay holding the other man. The night before still worries him, that maybe John isn't as ok as he says he is. No one can hide from the world's only consulting detective, except this amazing man who has come into his life. Normally he can read John rather easily in the moment, but the former soldier is still able to surprise him from time to time. That means he can't be sure about the things he thought he knew about John. It's all very confusing and Sherlock doesn't like it at all. Finally, he starts to slide away from the other man, kissing the back of his head gently before slips out of bed and heads to the bathroom. He's sure that John will not be in a good mood this morning, so he wants to make sure that he has all the comforts that he usually requires in the morning. Namely breakfast and tea. Knowing that he won't be up for a few hours yet, Sherlock takes a quick shower, then grabs his favorite blue silk dressing gown to put over his t-shirt and pajama bottoms, silently sneaking out to try and get down to the kitchen without being seen. He's a little surprised to see Q already up and down there as well. "Ford." he greets quietly.
Q looks up from where he was sipping a cup of earl grey and he nods a little to his brother. "Sherlock, good morning. Merry Christmas." he greets quietly, still in his own t-shirt and pajama pants, glasses on and hair mussed from sleep.
"Merry Christmas." Sherlock says as he goes to get himself a mug of coffee, speaking quietly with one of the cooks who are in a different part of the kitchen, before he comes back, looking at his brother. "You and James have a good night?" he asks awkwardly but with a little smirk.
Watching his brother for a few moments, Q blushes a little. "We did, not that it's any of your business. But it's also not like that. We haven't been.. intimate." he says awkwardly, shifting in his seat, "You and John?" He asks, having figured out the night before that the two of them were sharing a room. He can't help but smirk a little as he considers it.
Sherlock stares into his mug with a slight smirk. "Together, but as you said.. not intimate. Despite my attempts." he says with a little sigh. "It seems John is more virtuous when it comes to me than I might like." He admits with a slight sigh as he sips at his coffee.
"Was he the one screaming in the middle of the night?" Q asks slowly as he finishes his tea and pushes the mug aside, sitting back a little before he looks over at his brother.
Humming tonelessly in agreement, Sherlock takes a deep breath. "He was a soldier. He got invalided home, and came back from Afghanistan with PTSD. He still has nightmares. We weren't together before yesterday. That, combined with the unfamiliar place and meeting my family, I think weakened his subconscious against his memories. If it weren't for that, he would be up by now." The detective explains. "I'm sorry that he woke you." he says with a nod of his head. "I had not anticipated that happening, he hasn't had as many nightmares in the last few months." he says quietly, letting his guard down around his brother and allowing him to see how very worried he's been over John.
Sometimes it's very hard to understand your relatives, Q knows this, but Sherlock has always been a special enigma to him. He understands Mycroft better than he does Sherlock. "You can't possibly know everything, Sherlock, no matter how you might try. If you were able to comfort him, that's a huge step from the last time we spoke. He must be a good influence on you." he says thoughtfully as he looks around the kitchen slowly.
A small nod from the detective is given before he takes a drink of his coffee. "He is, according to pretty much everyone." he says quietly as he thinks about it. "Does James make you happy, Ford?" He asks, looking over at his brother, having been worried about that because of the incident with Jasper which was difficult for the family to watch.
Q considers the question for a few moments, and then nods quietly. "Yes. So far, he makes me quite happy. I've cared about him for quite a few months I'm afraid. It's just taken us a little longer to get to this point." He says honestly, then thinks for a few more moments. "I know what he does is dangerous, and it's possible that he may not come back from his next mission. But I don't want to use that as an excuse to rush into something that I'll regret." he says before he looks down at the countertop in front of him. "I won't rush into things again, Lock." Knowing this conversation was going to come hasn't made it any easier, and he takes a deep breath for a few moments. "What about you? I know you said when you were away you were pining after John. Does being with him again make you happy?" He asks as he leans back in his chair.
"Yes." Sherlock's quick, easy answer is as he looks over at Q. "Being with him again.. it's like coming home. Only to a home I never thought existed. I don't believe I ever had a feeling of 'home' before I met John." He says, pressing his hands together in front of his face in his classic thinking pose. "Whether it was at Baker Street r somewhere else, I believe it would be home as long as he was there." he says quietly, before he takes a deep breath and finishes his coffee. "Speaking of Baker Street, John wishes me to invite you to visit sometime." he explains as he looks over at Q.
The cooks bring out a tray of food, then, looking like breakfast for two with a pot of tea from the smell of it, along with milk and sugar for it and a few other condiments. Q considers as he watches his brother examine the food, smirking a little. "Perhaps if I have some free time, and you're not on a case. I'll keep the invitation in mind. Ah. I know you have never been into gift-giving, and your acceptance of James is more than enough of a Christmas present for me, but I didn't want you to be surprised that I did get you and John a present each. And if you like, tell John not to worry about a present. I don't expect anything in return, and I have a feeling that you gave him very little warning about me." He says with a slight smirk at his older brother.
Sherlock just shrugs a little, picking up the tray. "I'll let him know." he pauses for a few moments. "Call me if you need me, or if you'd like to talk. Just don't complain if I give you the truth." he warns before he looks down at the food. "I had better get this back to John before he wakes up. He gets grumpy if he can't have his tea in the morning." He says with a fond little smile for a moment before his face clears and he turns to head out. "I'll see you in time for presents, Ford." he says before he heads back up to his room, glad that when he slips in John still appears to be asleep, and he's able to set down the tray on the desk with a minimum of ruckus.
Wanting John to get the most sleep that he can, Sherlock is torn between waking him up so the food doesn't get cold and letting him sleep. After a small debate, Sherlock sighs a little as he walks over to the bed, leaning down and gently rolling the man's pliant body onto his back before he leans in and kisses him, slowly and gently, coaxing him to wakefulness and then gently coaxing a response from him.
Waking up to a certain consulting detective kissing him is a good way for John to wake up, his dreams having been peaceful. When he finally gets aware enough, he returns the kiss, deepening it a little as one hand comes up to pull him down closer for a few moments before slowly releasing him, smiling a little up at the younger man, letting his hand rest along the slightly stubbled cheek. "Good morning to you, too." he says with a smile, slowly stretching.
The response that Sherlock gets from the kiss sends a little thrill through him, knowing that he did something right. Afterall, John didn't push him away or yell at him or anything, he actually pulled him closer. To Sherlock, that is a very, very good sign. Looking rather pleased with himself as he watches his doctor stretch, he nods. "Good morning, and Merry Christmas." he says quietly getting up and then bringing the tray over to the bed, carefully slipping onto the bed with it and putting it in the middle, pouring them both some tea and making it the way John likes it before he hands it over. "I brought you some breakfast. I did not want to deal with the family over breakfast, and I know how grumpy you get if you don't have your tea and something proper to eat in the morning."
John laughs happily and he takes the tea, taking a drink. "Mmm. That's good. Thank you. You didn't delete how I like my tea or what I like to eat in the morning. I'm flattered, Sherlock." he says with amusement before he reaches out and touches Sherlock's neck gently. "Are you sore at all?" he asks, worry overshadowing the previous happiness in his face, remembering how he had his hand around Sherlock's throat after his dream the night before.
"I'm fine. No bruising, no residual soreness. Full range of motion." Sherlock reassures, taking the other man's hand away from his neck and placing a kiss in the center of the palm before releasing it completely.
Relaxing a little and regaining some of his humor. "Good." he says with a nod, considering. "I would be suspicious of why you brought me breakfast if I didn't know how much you wanted to avoid your family until you have to talk to them." John says with a little smirk, glancing at the plates. "You going to eat, too?" he asks, a little surprised, but pleased.
Sherlock nods a little. "Yes. Dinner last night was good, but I thought it would be good to eat breakfast as well." If only to please John, though he's not about to say that one out loud. And he's a little disturbed that that even crossed through his thought process. He puts his tea on the tray before he hands John his breakfast and takes up his own, though his own is still considerably smaller than the other.
Getting Sherlock to eat a piece of toast in the morning is a fight, so John seeing him eat two pieces of toast, and what looks to be about two eggs' worth of scrambled eggs, makes the doctor very happy. Therefore, he doesn't comment on it, eating his own breakfast silently as he leans back against the headrest, wincing a little and lifting a hand to put it over the spot that twinges, causing him to hiss lightly when he presses down. "Blimey, Sherlock, I'd hate to see what this bruise looks like right now." He says with a slight smirk as he looks over at the man responsible for the round bruise on his shoulder with obvious teeth marks in the middle that are a bit more red than the rest. Still, when he's not pressing down on it, it proves to be more sensitive, and not necessarily in a bad way.
It was probably too much to hope for, getting any sort of guilty expression from the world's only consulting detective, the expression on Sherlock's face is closer to pleased and smug as he turns a little, chewing his toast, to reach out and brush John's hand away from the bruise, lightly running his fingertips over it, watching the small shiver that runs through the older man's body. "It's quite sensitive, I see. It should be easy to hide, don't worry. I was very careful." he says with a little smirk, before he finishes the rest of his food, putting the dish back on the tray and pouring himself a second cup of tea.
"Yes, it is sensitive, you prat." John says as he swats Sherlock's hand away gently, finishing his meal before he smiles softly. "This is still a bit odd." He admits honestly as he looks at the detective. "After so long, being here with you like this, Sherlock, so very domestic..." he shakes his head. "It feels like we're in an odd sort of bubble. I just hope it doesn't burst when we get back to Baker Street." he says, finishing his tea before he gets up and stretches again, going to get some clothes and his shower stuff. "I'm going to take a shower." he says as he glances back at Sherlock as if expecting some sort of response.
Instead, all he gets is a noncommittal hum. "Were you wanting me to join you?" he asks after a moment with a slight smirk. "Because I took one earlier." He says casually, picking the tray up off the bed and putting it back on the desk before he picks up his cell phone, walking over to John and giving him a light kiss before he goes over to the bed and stretches out to fiddle with his phone.
John is about to make some comment, but then he chuckles a little. He shakes his head, not really sure what he was expecting from Sherlock, or even what he might have asked. But as always, the younger man read his mind. He stays still long enough to receive the kiss from the taller man, before he smirks a little and turns toward the bathroom, calling over his shoulder.
"You are a real git sometimes, Sherlock. Idiot."
Ok, I feel much better about this chapter than the last. Now that I'm good with that, I can work on the chapter for my other story. I threw a bit more Q/Sherlock in here just because, well.. It wanted to be written, apparently.
I hope you enjoy, this week I may be a little delayed in my postings because of the holidays. Reviews/comments welcome!