The mood at the kitchen table is solemn, but not in a bad way. Sherlock's uncharacteristically quiet, sipping his coffee, and John's studying his tea as if it contains the answers to life, the universe, and everything.
The morning after. It's supposed to be awkward, isn't it? Especially when you sleep with your charming but insufferable flatmate. So why is this working out so well? Both men are slightly on edge – not with each other, but with the expectation that this is suddenly going to come crashing down around them.
"Thank you, John. Last night was… more than I was expecting."
John smiles. "Not like you've got a great lot to compare it to." He notices Sherlock bristling self-consciously. "No, no, I'm sorry, Sherlock. That came out crueler than I meant it to. I like it, being the first one you deemed worth your time. Hopefully…" he pauses, expectant. "The only one?"
"That's just it, John. What is this? What are we now? Are we still friends? Lovers? I was getting quite fond of having you as a friend." He rolls the word around in his mouth, as though unused to it.
John sighs, fondly touched by seeing Sherlock so befuddled, so out of his element. "That's just it, Sherlock. Nothing has to end. Friends, and lovers. We can be both."
I am sorry for the lack of drabbles these past few days. I suspect they're going to be a bit erratic for a while. Early Monday morning, my aunt and uncle's house burned to the ground. They're safe, as is my cousin, but they lost everything they own, and their cherished pug didn't make it. My mom and aunt are identical twins, so our families are really close, and their place was a second home to me growing up. I don't want to turn this A/N into a huge angstfest but I'm a little distracted right now, and running around trying to help out while dealing with an inflamed achilles' tendon on top of everything else. I'm also working on the next chapter of Out of my Head, so those of you following that will hopefully have some new content within the next few weeks, but things might be a little sparse for me over the coming month. Please bear with me.
Your comments and support mean so much to me, especially right now. Mirith Griffin, Atlin Merrick, chasingriver, xLupinxLover, Blue TARDIS Everdeen, Call Me Sunshine, Elemental Ink, the whole #innercircle crew, amongst others I am being awful and forgetting - your reviews and notes cheer me up so much, even if I haven't had time to reply to them all lately. Thank you so much.