At some point John must have fallen asleep because he starts to wake up, stretching a little and then opening his eyes, jumping in surprise when he sees Sherlock sitting on the coffee table watching him. "Bloody hell, Sherlock! You just scared the life out of me!" He nearly yells at the other boy, frowning a little before he glances around. "How long was I asleep?" he asks, noticing that the ice pack is gone from him and it smells like there might be food in the kitchen.
Sherlock doesn't seem fazed by how John woke, fingers steepled in front of his face as he studies his friend. "Only about an hour." he says as he watches him. "I ordered food, I was debating whether or not I should let you sleep or wake you, but it seems you made the decision for me." he says as he continues to watch the other boy for a few moments, just observing him calmly but it's obvious that he has something on his mind.
Sitting up slowly with a small wince, John sighs a little, putting a hand against his ribs for a moment. "What is it, Sherlock? I can practically see your mind working, you might as well tell me what you're thinking about.." he says before he slowly stands up, stretching a little again before he walks stiffly toward the kitchen to where he smells the food, getting out a plate for both of them and flicking the kettle on for tea. For a moment he stares at the kettle because he just realized that whenever he goes to make tea, there is always water in the kettle, which means at some point Sherlock is refilling the kettle with water, and that just makes him smile a little.
Of course after John goes to the kitchen, Sherlock follows him, moving closer to the doctor. "I have been considering our relationship, John. We have become quite close. You are my only friend, and after careful examination of my memories, I feel safe to make the statement that you care for me as well." he says as he watches John, tilting his head slightly to the side before he moves closer, into John's personal space with his usual disregard for it.
Glancing over his shoulder at the taller boy, John sighs and finally turns to face him. "Of course I'm fond of you, Sherlock. You're my best mate as well, you know." he says as he looks up at him, leaning back against the counter and smiling. At least he's getting used to the invasion of his space by now. "Of course we're close, after all that we've been through." he points out as he looks at the brunette. "What's this all about, Sherlock? What is that brilliant brain of yours trying to get at?" he asks curiously, putting his hands on the counter on either side of himself just to have something to do with them.
"I believe it's time for us to take our relationship to the next level, John. I believe it will help ease some tensions that have developed between us." Sherlock explains before he steps forward, putting his hands on the counter outside of John's before he leans in and kisses the doctor with surprising skill, moving his body closer just a little.
Shocked for a moment, John's body response before his brain kicks in, and despite returning the kiss, his knees also buckle a little and he grabs onto Sherlock's arms, pushing him away a little afterwards, staring at him in shock. His brain is not in full gear now and he has no words to express exactly what he's feeling, though his mouth opens and closes a few more times.
A little smug at the reaction that he managed to get out of the other man, Sherlock does however get him over to a chair and sat down, pulling a chair over to sit in front of him. "Are you alright?" He asks with amusement, and seeing the surprise not fading, he just shakes his head. "John. John, are you alright?" He finally asks in true concern when the blonde doesn't seem to be snapping out of it as quickly as he might want.
John finally just blinks a few times and he nods. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Bloody hell, Sherlock, you can't just do that to a bloke." He mutters, but he doesn't seem truly angry. "I thought you considered yourself married to your work." He points out in frustration and surprise.
For a few minutes the detective remains silent as he carefully thinks over John's statement and how to properly convey what he's thinking so that he is very clear about everything. Sherlock finally looks up at his friend and he nods. "When we met, that is what I thought. Then you became my flatmate. My friend. You became my conductor of light. Somehow, you have slipped past every wall I have ever built up. This.. incident.. has made me realized that I need you, John." It's obvious that this is difficult for him to admit, and he looks down for a moment. "And that my feelings are stronger than merely platonic." He decides to leave it at that, not really knowing how much might be attributed to his hormones bringing these feelings to the surface.
Taking pity on his friend, John nods a little, reaching out and putting his hand on Sherlock's shoulder. "I understand. It's alright, Sherlock. How about we just get back to normal, and then we can figure everything else out, hey?" He offers as he looks at him with a little smile, squeezing his shoulder for a moment. "Come on.. let's get something to eat, alright?" he asks as he carefully stands, letting his hand linger on the other's lean shoulder for a moment before he releases him and goes to get something to eat.
Accepting that as a logical course of action, Sherlock nods before he gets up and gets some food as well. Fortunately he's not overly sentimental or emotional, or he might have been hurt by this reaction from John. But he is of course inordinately observant, and is more than aware of the reaction that John had when kissed.
The evening passes calmly as they both relax, eat, John going to his blog for a bit before going back to watch television, while Sherlock goes to his computer to check things on there, working the night away until John starts nodding off and finally decides it's bedtime.
By the time John wakes up in the morning, Sherlock is already up and on the phone with his brother if the annoyed tone is any indication. Though it doesn't hold the sharp edge that it used to before this started happening, so that seems to be an improvement. Trudging out to start tea for him and Sherlock until the detective gets off the phone. "Blimey, what is Mycroft doing calling so early in the morning?" he asks when he hears Sherlock hang up.
"Our second dose of the cure seems to be ready." Sherlock explains as he walks into the kitchen, looking at his friend for a moment, deducing obviously. "He advised that we eat before we arrive." he says as he looks at the phone. "They have changed the formula to account for the sedative this time. We will finally be back to normal it seems." he says as he looks at himself for a few moments, then John before he walks back to the bedroom, gathering clothes and going to the bathroom next.
"I suppose I'll be making breakfast, then." John says with a shake of his head, making his tea before he even thinks about starting to cook. Thankfully he doesn't have to cook because Mrs. Hudson comes up with a tray of food, smiling a little.
"Oh, John, good. I was worried you boys wouldn't be up yet. I brought you some food, I know you never have anything in for breakfast." Mrs. Hudson says with a smile as she walks over and puts the tray of food down gently on the table. "I went a little overboard on the baking, and I thought you boys could use something. I know how quickly young men go through food and grow. Look at you, so young and athletic." She says appraisingly with a fond smile.
Already picking up one of the muffins from the tray, John smiles. "You always cook too much, Mrs. Hudson.. Thank you, though. W e truly appreciate it." he reassures with a little nod of his head, starting to eat. "According to Mycroft, we should be back to normal by tomorrow." he explains as he goes over to get Sherlock a cup of tea as he hears the shower turn off, holding it up for the detective when he comes out.
"Oh, that's wonderful, dear! I'm used to cooking for people with big appetites, you know that." Mrs. Hudson points out before she smiles. "Well. I'll leave you two boys to it." She say with wink before she turns to head back down to her own flat.
Shaking his head a little, John finishes the muffin and his tea before he looks at Sherlock. "We are very lucky to have her as a landlady, Sherlock. Let me get cleaned up a bit and we'll be off. Eat something." He orders with a smirk as he heads to get his shower and to clean up, musing over the night before with small smile on his face. Sherlock Holmes, the seemingly callous detective has feelings for him of all people. And it seems that John has feelings for him, if what he felt during that kiss is any indication. Well. This is going to be an adventure.
Almost to the end now! I think my next chapter will be the last for this story. And then I will be spending more time with my other stories. Thank you to all of you who have followed and commented, I love hearing from you guys!
Reviews/comments welcome!