John woke up in an empty bed, feeling cold. He looked out the window to see that snow was still falling and it showed no signs of stopping. Groggily he pulled himself out of the bed and tugged a sweater on.
Sherlock was sitting on the floor in the living room and threw his arms up to shield what he had in front of him when he heard John approaching.
"Wait!" Sherlock yelled, startling the still sleepy John. "I'm not finished, I didn't expect you to be up so early. Please return to our room until I come and get you." Sherlock's back was still to John and he was trying desperately to shield the items on the floor.
"What kind of experiment to you have going on in here?" John asked. "Whatever it is, it better not blow up." John retreated to the bedroom and sat back down on the bed. He pulled the covers up about him. As he slumped back down, he heard the heater kick on and so he decided to sleep until his crazy lover finished whatever he was doing.
John was awoken an hour or so later by a rush of cold air followed by a long thin body pressing up against him. "G'morning," he mumbled into his pillow, snuggling backward into Sherlock.
"Good morning. I apologize for earlier."
"Oh no..." John turned to face Sherlock, snuggling closer as he did so. "What did you do?"
Sherlock raised a single eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"You're apologizing? That makes me worry. What damage am I going to find in our living room?"
Sherlock made an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Always thinking so poorly of me."
"Past experience, my love."
"Well then, you will be surprised to know that I wasn't conducting an experiment, and that there is no...new damage to the living room. I was wrapping your Christmas gifts. I didn't want you to see them because they were not all wrapped yet."
John's heart swelled at the thought that Sherlock had been doing all that for him. He snaked his arms around the tall detective and pressed close against him.
"I guess it's my turn to apologize," John muttered against Sherlock's chest.
"Hmm?" Sherlock mumbled into John's mussed hair.
"I shouldn't have assumed that you would be experimenting."
"It's quite alright John. After all, you are right. Past experience tells you that is a statistically likely occurrence. And since you didn't catch a glimpse of your presents, there is no harm done."
Sherlock and John lay pressed together for some time, enjoying the warmth of each other and the relative silence of the morning.
John blinked the sleep from his eyes and wriggled out of Sherlock's embrace. Looking over at the clock, he was surprised to see that it was already 1:30 in the afternoon. Sure Sherlock and John sometimes slept in, but never this late. John gently uncovered himself and stood, yawning and stretching.
John ventured to the kitchen and put the kettle on, it had been far too many hours since his last cup of tea. While he waiting for the water to boil, he stepped out in the living room and took in the sight of the Christmas tree, now with beautifully wrapped gifts underneath. John knelt down to look closer at the presents.
They had been carefully wrapped in a beautiful white wrapping paper that was adorned with the silhouette of fir trees and reindeer in gold. Some had little gold or black bows on top, and all of them had "To: John From: Sherlock" scrawled on them in Sherlock's fine script.
"Must I put a sign up that say's 'Do not open till Christmas'?" Sherlock asked, startling John.
"God you're quiet." John said as he stood up and turned to face Sherlock.
"That's not what you usually tell me. You usually say something along the lines of 'shhh, you'll wake Mrs. Hudson.'"
John chuckled and stepped closer to Sherlock. "Yes, that is true. So why is it that the rest of the time, you're silent as the grave when moving around?"
"I believe my loudness is in response to your sexual prowess. As for the rest of the time, I have acquired the skill of moving stealthily in order to more easily do my detective work. It has become my way of carrying myself.
"What ever am I going to do with you?" John asked with a smile. "I put the kettle on. Would you like a cuppa?"
"Yes please."
After a very late breakfast of eggs and toast with tea, the boys had retired to the living room. John sat reading the news paper while Sherlock played his violin. John could think of no better way to spend an afternoon.
But, rather suddenly, a thought came across John's mind. I haven't gotten any gifts for Sherlock yet. We have plans all the rest of the week. When am I going to have time to go shopping?
"Umm, Sherlock?" John said hesitantly.
Sherlock's violin scratched to a halt and he looked to John who was sitting in his armchair.
"I just remembered, I have to go out and pick up something I bought for you."
"Oh? Alright."
"I'll text you on my way back. Maybe you could visit with Mrs. Hudson for awhile while I wrap your gifts?"
"Not a problem. Just text me when you're on your way home."
John stood up and pulled his coat on, and grabbed his wallet and mobile off the coffee table.
"John, do be careful in the snow," Sherlock said.
John crossed over and stood in front of Sherlock and, standing up on his tip toes, pressed his lips to Sherlock's. "I'll be careful. See you in a bit love."
It had been several hours since John had left, but he was finally in a cab on his way back home. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Sherlock.
On my way home now. Please be in Mrs. Hudson's flat and stay there till I come get you. -JW
A reply came within seconds.
Of course. I'm heading down there now. - SH
When the cab pulled up in front of 221, John paid the driver and made his way inside carrying several bags on his arms.
Inside the hall, he could hear Mrs. Hudson talking to, he assumed, Sherlock. He smiled to himself and made the trip upstairs.
John loved wrapping presents. He loved to picture the looks on the recipient's face when they opened it. Because he had always loved wrapping gifts, he had gotten rather good at it, and so he was able to finish all his purchases in under an hour.
Done with the wrapping. Should I come down to visit with Mrs. Hudson also?-JW
No, I'll come up. She's watching some dreadful show on the telly.-SH
John listened hard but couldn't hear Sherlock on the steps. Even though he was waiting for him, he still managed to become startled when Sherlock opened the door.
"See, how can you possibly climb all those stairs without making a single noise?" John asked.
Sherlock looked at him amused, and then glanced past him to the gifts under the tree. "You are very efficient at wrapping gifts."
"Thank you, years of practice. Want to help me clean all this up?" John asked, motioning to the paper scraps and tape pieces littering the floor.
"Before we do, should we get the rest of the gifts we bought wrapped?"
John had forgotten all about the gifts they had bought for their friends and family. "Sure, let's get those ones done too."
Sherlock and John sat together on the living room floor and wrapped gift after gift. Laughing and swapping stories about the strangest gifts they'd ever received.
That night they sat cuddled close on the couch, listening to Christmas songs on the radio. They marveled about how much more beautiful the tree looked now that it was surrounded by presents.
Author's note:
I am so sorry it has been so long. It has been a very hard time for me. You see, my grandfather(in-law) passed away. I was very close to him and so was my partner. We have both been grieving. On top of this, I have had lots of work to do in school. Overall, it has not been the best year so far. Hopefully the rest of 2015 will be better.
Anyway, I hope to be writing more frequently, but with school, I don't want to make any promises. Thank you to everyone who is following/favoriting this story and me as an author. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.
-Padfoot333