Chapter 2

Sherlock had eventually (with some convincing) turned down the Russian Nuclear Arms Dealers Case, to John's relief. However, Sherlock did it with an attitude that was all but pleasant. It was almost a week after he had said no to the Russians and John could see the consequences of his refusing the case. Now, John had become accustom to Sherlock's overall unsocial behavior, for example Sherlock had the habit of not saying good morning to him, or not eating for long periods of time, or just telling John how painfully obvious something was and making a note of John's stupidity. These, among other unique traits had become the norm at 221B. And John was alright with them. However, the week that preceded the turning down of that particular case was even more uncomfortable for John than normal.

Sherlock had not spoken but 5 words to him the entire week. He was not looking for new cases nor was he doing experiments, at least none of which John new about. Sherlock would just quietly sit in his chair holding his violin (not playing it, just holding it) and he would watch John. When John got home from his work at the clinic, Sherlock would idly watch his flat mate come in take off his coat as he tossed it on the chair casually and walked into the kitchen for some tea. All the while John's face was flushed. He couldn't help it; he felt like one of Sherlock's experiments. Like he was being analyzed under a microscope.

And according to Sherlock this was exactly what was happening.

Sherlock had been curious as to why John had cared whether or not he went on the Russian's case. He and John had been on countless cases where danger was quite literally around every corner. However, for some reason this time was different and Sherlock wanted to understand why. So he made John, his new puzzle. Just like if he was studying something at his microscope; Sherlock was incredibly focused when watching his flat mate in his daily life. He had no reason to speak to John, for he was a test subject of sorts. So obviously he couldn't contaminate his findings with conversations with his friend.

In the beginning of the very long week, he had begun to see things that he normally hadn't. For instance, when John didn't think Sherlock was looking he would stare at his flat mate with an expression that Sherlock could only describe as "awe." Sherlock knew that his flat mate thought him brilliant, which was obvious because he was in fact, brilliant. But something about that look …It stuck in the back of Sherlock's mind.

Sherlock watched now as his flat mate went into the kitchen and started up a pot of tea. Sherlock watched as John awkwardly glanced over at him, Sherlock didn't look away which made John blush. Sherlock decided that he would observe John more discreetly now, seeing as that his watching his flat mate only made John act more out of character. So Sherlock reached over to the table and picked up the paper and placed it in front of his face, obstructing his view of John. John instantly became less anxious as he poured tea into one cup and coffee into Sherlock's cup. Sherlock peered around the paper ever so carefully and watched as John dropped two sugars into Sherlock's coffee a small content smile spreading across his face. John, was notably relaxed as he thought that Sherlock was maybe now getting back to normal… Well, their normal at least. He took the two cups and headed into the living room as Sherlock raised the paper again. John sat the tea down and then sat in his chair with his laptop.

"John, have you had something on your mind recently?" Sherlock asked without lowering his paper. John looked up from his laptop and swallowed. He was afraid that Sherlock would catch on. He knew sooner or later Sherlock would figure him out. I mean, come on! He's a bloody genius! John sighed.

"Not anything that normally isn't already on my mind." He replied, which was the truth. Sherlock had always been on his mind, it's just now his thoughts were less…Pure…

"Hmmm." Sherlock knew John was lying by the wavering tone in his voice. But why lie to him? For someone so smart Sherlock was having quite a difficult time trying to figure John out. Which excited him, maybe even more than any of his cases. This struck him a bit funny and he lowered the paper to reach for his tea. As he lowered the paper he looked over at his cup and picked it up, as he began to drink he looked over at John. John's face… Sherlock almost dropped his cup at the realization. That face was not awe, it was not admiration, and it was not the face of just a friend or flat mate. Sherlock stared in wonder over the top of his teacup at John. The man's lips were parted slightly and his hand gripped his thigh as if he was physically trying to stop his legs from standing. These were all things that Sherlock noticed instantly. But the thing that really caught the consulting detective was his friend's eyes. Those were eyes filled with lust. 'Nothing on your mind, indeed.' Sherlock thought with amusement.