After breakfast is finished, John gets up and grins at Sherlock. "Come on." he says as he bounces on his feet, a little impatiently until Sherlock gets up. Then he realizes that neither of them have shoes, and he turns toward Anthea. "We need shoes." He announces, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yes, sir." Anthea says in a dry tone, but it's clear that she's amused, clearing the plates before she walks into the other room and comes back with a new pair of shoes for both of them, holding them out. "I trust you don't need any help tying them."
"No. I'll help John if he needs it." Sherlock decides, sitting down on the floor to pull his shoes on, smirking a little as he sees the slightly outraged look on John's face. He is looking forward to whatever John has planned, since this is a new area for him to explore, a new part of humanity to understand. And maybe it will be beneficial, maybe it'll be something he deletes, but either way it won't hurt.
Sitting down beside Sherlock with a small grin, John pulls his shoes on and starts to tie them. After his initial glare at Sherlock, he gives up on trying to be annoyed about anyone implying he's not able to do something, instead he decides to enjoy things how they are, and maybe get Sherlock to enjoy it a little as well. He finishes with his shoes quickly, then hops up quickly, looking down at the brunette. "Come ooonnn." He says with a little groan, impatient and then grinning as he helps Sherlock to his feet.
Getting up from the floor, Sherlock can't help but smile in response to John's infectious grin. "We'll be in the back yard." He announces to Anthea in a confident tone, grabbing John's hand again to lead him outside. It apparently rained overnight, making the ground a little soggy.
"Lets see how well you can run now, Sherlock!" John yells, giggling like mad as he takes off across the lawn, making it a good distance before he hits a patch of mud that he didn't see, and he gives a high-pitched scream of surprise as his feet go out from under him and he lands on his back, mud splattering up around him, into his hair and through his clothes, making him laugh as he stands back up.
After a brief moment of surprise, Sherlock chases after John, laughing since he's always loved running. "John! John! Are you alright?!" He asks, sliding a little on the mud but staying on his feet as he comes to a stop, grabbing John's arms, then giggling a little with him as he sees how ridiculous with mud all down his back and into his hair a little. He tries to help and get the worst of it off, shaking his head a little and finally giving up, but he's still laughing a little.
Snickering a little, John nods a little. "I'm fine.. just muddy. You're supposed to get dirty when you're a kid!" He announces before he grins. "Come on!" He says as he grabs Sherlock's hand and starts jogging, being a little more careful this time.
Following after his flatmate, Sherlock shakes his head a little. "And you call me a madman." he says with amusement. He has to admit that it's fun, though, just doing things without having to worry about the consequences.
The sky is darkening over John and Sherlock, but the smaller blonde doesn't seem to notice, he has his eyes on a few mud puddles that he just spotted, releasing Sherlock's hand to take a mighty leap and landing in one of them with a big splash that gets the detective as well.
Sherlock manages to shield his eyes from the splash, but then he glowers over at John. "John, was that strictly necessary?" he asks as he shakes out his hands to get the water off of them.
"Hell yes, it bloody well was necessary!" John says with a broad grin. "Come ON, Sherlock! Let go, have a bit of fun!" He pleads as he watches the other boy, jumping up and down to make smaller splashes, giggling a little.
Deciding that maybe it couldn't hurt, especially when John looks like he's having so much fun, Sherlock jumps into the puddle beside him, grinning in a slightly evil way as John gets splashed. About then is when the sky opens up as well and starts to rain down on them, but the two boys are just laughing at this point as they jump in the puddles. At least until Sherlock ups the ante by scooping up a bit of mud and throwing it at John, hitting him square in the chest. "That's for saying I throw like a girl." he says defiantly.
Gasping in surprise as he gets hit with mud, John looks down at his chest, then with a little cry he launches himself at Sherlock, sending them both to the ground, struggling to try and pin Sherlock down, but the detective is bigger than he is at the moment so it's a little harder. Of course, he's laughing when he's doing this, which doesn't help his ability to hold the other down.
Sherlock grins, being able to recognize the difference between a playful John and an angry John, even at this age, so he struggles and finally rolls them over, pinning John down for a moment. They end up rolling back and forth through the mud which just gets worse as the rain continues to come down, until they're both coated, their hair soaked in water and mud, but they're laughing and have been outside for probably about two hours as they roll through the mud.
This is where Mycroft finds them, having a jacket on and umbrella over his head, shocked when he sees the two fighting and rolling around, each trying to get the upper hand. "Sherlock!" he snaps sharply in a scolding tone, frowning disapprovingly. "What do you think you are doing?" He demands once he has the kids' attention.
John looks up from where he has hold of Sherlock's shirt, the taller boy having him pinned at the moment. He can't help but grin, his hair looking more brown than blonde now. "We were playing, Mycroft. That's what normal children do." He says, then he grins up at Sherlock.
Looking up sharply when he hears his name, Sherlock smirks a little at Mycroft. "I've been assured this is normal behavior." He says before he gets up and helps John up, straightening each other's clothes as they grin at each other, then Sherlock looks at Mycroft. "I believe we need to get cleaned up." He says with a broad grin, taking John's hand again to lead the giggling doctor toward the house.
A little shocked at Sherlock's behavior since he's never acted like this before, Mycroft nods a little. "Yes, I think that's a wise decision, before you two get colds. The doctor will be here this afternoon to examine you." He says, watching the two closely. He has to admit that he's glad Sherlock as John, since he's never seen his little brother so happy and relaxed. A part of him wonders if this might have been what Sherlock could have been like if he had a friend growing up.
"Take off your shoes at the door." Mycroft insists, then adds, "Shirts too, stay there until I get you some towels." he says with a small shake of his head, putting his umbrella aside once he gets in, telling Anthea to run a bath for the two before he goes to get some towels.
"He's very.. protective of you. In a different way than normal, I mean. Almost.. like fatherly." John says as he tries to explain it, removing his shoes and socks, wiping some water out of his face with a smirk at Sherlock.
Nodding a little, Sherlock sighs. "Mycroft was always more of a father to me than our own father. He's 10 years older than I am." he explains to John as he removes his shoes and socks as well, then unbuttons his shirt and drops it to the ground.
Considering that for a few moments, John shakes his head. "I can't imagine that, Harry and I are only two years apart, and she couldn't care less about me." he says as he tries to pull the hem of his sweater up and over his head but the weave tightened as it got wet, and he has trouble getting it over his head. "Sherlock! Help!" He finally says as he struggles with the fabric.
Snickering a little and smiling at his friend, Sherlock reaches out and jerks the sweater up and off, dropping it with the rest of the clothes before he helps John out of his soaked t-shirt as well, smiling as he runs hands through his hair to slick it back but also to squeeze water out of it.
With towels in hand, Mycroft steps in then. "Here.. Your bath is ready." he says as he looks at them, putting a towel over each of their shoulders before he ushers them toward the stairs and up to their room. Anthea having already left, and the room warmed by a heater and the heat from the water in the tub.
Without a second though, Sherlock drops the towel and strips down the rest of the way before carefully climbing into the tub, sitting down in the water, then looking over at John expectantly.
"Oh.. er.. I'll just.. wait.." John says slowly, feeling a tiny bit awkward about sharing a bath with Sherlock. It's not that he's uncomfortable with naked bodies or anything, he is a doctor and he was in the army and Sherlock is not exactly shy about wandering about in just a sheet or something.
Sighing a bit at John and his values, Sherlock reaches out and grabs him by the arm, "John, once again you are being an idiot." he says before he pulls John into the bath, clothes and all, water overflowing the tub for a moment, but thankfully there's a drain in the middle of the floor just in case such a thing happened.
Sputtering from the water, John surfaces, and he stares a little at Sherlock, sighing as he pulls off his jeans and pants, tossing them onto the floor. "You are ridiculous, Sherlock." He says as he takes his place at the other side of the tub, shaking his head and scrubbing his hands through his hair for a moment since some of the drying mud was making his scalp itch.
For a few moments Mycroft stares in surprise before he smiles, putting the towels aside before he removes his jacket, tie and vest, rolling his sleeves up. "If you two are quite finished with the antics... Stay still, Sherlock, let me get this mud out of your hair." he says with a shake of his head, picking up a sprayer from the side of the tub, turning the water on to use it to wet down Sherlock's head.
While he may not be happy about it, Sherlock is used to being treated like this, so he doesn't object to Mycroft's words, just glowers a little. "Fine." he says as he pouts, then he smiles a little at John. "You have to help John, too." He finally stays childishly, but stubbornly as he points at the blonde.
"I can wash my own hair!" John objects, squeaking a little, sliding down in the tub a little so that his chin and mouth are both covered by water, but his nose is above so he can breathe just fine.
"I think you'll find that washing your hair in a tub is quite difficult." Mycroft says as he turns the water off, picking up Sherlock's shampoo and arching an eyebrow as he looks at it, then he works it into Sherlock's long locks. "I'm glad to see you've kept the longer hair, Sherlock. Mummy always did love your hair." He says with a fond little smile.
Sherlock snorts a little. "I didn't keep it because of Mummy. I just think it looks better." He says in a slightly pouting tone, though he stays still and allows the wash and the rinse, closing his eyes and mouth tight during the rinse.
John sighs a little, pouting, before he sits up properly. "I can't imagine you with shorter hair, Sherlock. It would look really strange. You do look good with longer hair." he says with a nod of his head, running a hand through his own hair as he considers how it's been getting longer over the last month and that he really should get a haircut.
Blushing a little under the praise, Sherlock endures it as Mycroft puts conditioner in his hair, eyes dropping to the water where he idly moves his hands around in the water, tilting his head forward when Mycroft urges him to.
The elder Holmes brother continues to wash Sherlock's hair, sighing a little. "We will get to the bottom of what happened, Sherlock. But I hope you two will let me care for you to the best of your ability." He says as he looks between the two. "If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. I want to make you as comfortable as I can." he says as he watches them.
Sherlock just nods a little once his hair is rinsed out. "Very well. I'd like my violin to be brought here." he says quietly as he looks down at the surface of the water.
"I've already sent for it, dear brother, I thought you might be missing it." Mycroft says as he moves over to John, repeating the process with the seemingly younger boy's hair. "It's not a crime to ask for help from people when something like this has happened to you." he says, speaking more to John now than Sherlock. "This is an unfamiliar situation, your older minds caught in your younger bodies. If there are any other changes, please let me know immediately, it may be signs of something more serious." He says as he looks between them, finishing more quickly with John's hair since it's shorter, finally standing and drying his hands and arms off, though his suit is wet and not fit to be worn out anywhere, even with the precautions.
At that comment, John looks up at Sherlock questioningly, a silent conversation going on between the two of them for a moment, before John slides down into the water a little more, relaxing and warming up in the water.
"Thank you, Mycroft." Sherlock says finally after shaking his head at John, looking up at his older brother. "I think we'd both appreciate something warm to drink after our bath. Decaffeinated tea, if Anthea was kind enough to get it. Or I suppose hot chocolate if not. Perhaps some lunch, as well, sandwiches or something I imagine you'll want to feed us." He says, trying to be nice to his brother but it doesn't come out exactly like that.
Nodding a little at the two as he collects his jacket and vest, Mycroft smiles. "Of course. I'll have something brought up for your bath. I'm also having both of your computers brought here." He offers as he looks between them, nodding before he turns and heads out of the bathroom.
Only once he's sure that Mycroft is gone does John look over at Sherlock. "Why didn't we tell him about the scarring?" he asks, looking curious as he reaches out for the wash cloth and soap to clean himself up with.
Considering the answer for a minute or two, Sherlock finally formulates what he thinks is an appropriate response. "Because I don't understand it. I don't want to give him or any doctor's any more reason to be able to poke and prod us more than they already do." He admits as he looks around the rather modern bathroom but with more traditional fixtures.
"Sherlock.. you know, sometimes I think you forget that I am a doctor as well." John admits with amusement, finishing getting cleaned up before he hands the cloth and soap over to the detective, then he leans back more comfortably in the tub.
Taking the soap and wash cloth, Sherlock washes his face and neck up before moving onto his hands and arms and the rest of himself. "I know you're a doctor, John. I never forget. It's different. You're my friend, I trust you with my life. If you needed to do something, I am confident it would be for my own good, and it would be necessary, not for some pointless test or task." he says thoughtfully before he reaches out and flips the drain on the tub. "I'm getting pruney." he says as he washes off the rest of the soap from himself, getting up and climbing out of the tub to rub himself dry with a towel, wrapping it around his waist before he looks back at John to help him out of the tub, since for the smaller boy it will be harder.
"I understand now, Sherlock. It's alright." John says with a small smile as he gets up, hesitating since he doesn't want to slip, he accepts Sherlock's help out of the tub, grabbing onto his arms as he nearly slips on the tile floor, then nods and accepts the towel to dry himself off as well, following Sherlock's example and wrapping it around his waist before walking into the bedroom, pulling open the wardrobe to pull out clothes for himself and quickly dressing before he moves out of the way so Sherlock can get his clothes out and dress as well. He glances at the detective for a moment and he smiles, something in him relaxing as he watches the other man fondly, then he catches the smell in the room, taking a deep breath."Ohhh.. That's brilliant. That smells like tea." He says before he turns and heads over to where Mycroft left the tray of tea and sandwiches.
Sherlock dresses, aware that John is staring at him and unable to stop himself from blushing a little before he fixes his hair in the mirror before he follows John over to the tray. "It seems Anthea followed through for us." He says with a soft smile, pouring tea for both of them, making John's up just the way he likes it before passing the cup over to him and smiling a little.
Taking a slow sip from his cup, John closes his eyes and sighs. "Oh, that's lovely." he says with a nod of his head, picking up a sandwich and starting to eat slowly. "I'd like you to stay with me when the doctor is there as well. I don't want him to say anything to either of us without the other knowing, ok?" he asks as he looks up at the detective.
A firm nod is given from the taller boy as he sips some of his tea, taking a deep breath. "Agreed." He says with another nod of his head, giving a small yawn. "Perhaps we should rest a bit until the doctor gets here. I hate being young, having no control over my body." he says in frustration, frowning a little as he eats a little more, and finishes his cup of tea, before he crawls up onto the bed.
A small nod comes from John as he finishes eating and his tea, moving the tray over to a safer place, very carefully, before he returns to the bed. "It'll be ok, Sherlock. Napping isn't so bad. Not like we have anything else to do." he says as he watches Sherlock, scooting down to lay with Sherlock, wriggling over until he's curled up close to the detective, taking one of the brunette's hands in his. "Is this ok?" he asks as he looks at the other boy.
Giving John's hand a little squeeze, Sherlock nods slowly and then smiles, scooting a little closer so he can put his free arm around John's shoulders before he gets comfortable, closing his eyes and smiling slightly as he relaxes.
"Yes, it's quite alright, John. Sleeping this way is much more comfortable."
Whoo! Cuteness. Boys will be boys. :) And a little paternal Mycroft for good measure. He does have a heart! Awww. The doctor will be coming around next. Sherlock really does have a dislike for doctor's visits, and I might have to figure out something for that next chapter. :)
Hope you're enjoying this, reviews/comments welcome!