Nightmares

John was no stranger to nightmares. Of course he wasn't. How couldn't he be after all he had been through? However it could have been a lot worse. Thanks to Mr Sherlock Holmes and his uncontainable need to solve cases and go running all over the city without a rest until the case was solved, often John was exhausted and he just collapsed into bed and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Sherlock was a different story. It wasn't unusual for him to not sleep during cases but he often took to not sleeping between cases too. It was common for John to come home from work to find Sherlock slumped on his experiment fast asleep as his body could not go any longer without a rest. He always looks so innocent and childish when he sleeps. His face doesn't show any of the normal signs of tension and constantly thinking. He actually looks sweet, even if John didn't think that by the time he had managed to drag or carry the consulting detective into bed or lie him comfortably on the couch. After all entering Sherlock's room is always a risk.

So you can imagine as it came as a shock one night when he was woken up by shouting coming from the room next door. Ok it's not that unusual to be woken up at unmentionable times in the night by Sherlock. However it is normally the sound of a violin, experiments exploding or sometime even a gun shooting holes in the wall. But never shouting. Never…

John sat in bed for a while just listening but the shouting continued. It sounded as though Sherlock was fighting someone. Slowly the doctor slipped out of bed and padded to Sherlock's room before knocking softly on the closed door. Two minutes… Three minutes… No answer. But the shouting continued. Knowing Sherlock would most likely kill him in the morning for going into his room he pushed open the door and slipped inside.

The only time John Watson ever dared to go into Sherlock's room without his permission he had instantly regretted it after what he found. That and the headache he had by the time Sherlock had finished shouting at him, claiming that John had ruined his experiment was unbearable. Thankfully this time what he encountered was different although equally surprising. Sherlock was rolling around his bed, face contorted in pain as he punched the air violently to escape his attacker while shouting random things such as 'don't touch him' and 'I swear I'll help you if you just leave him alone!'

Carefully John approached the bed with the full intention of waking up his flatmate up, however that was before Sherlock lashed out again unexpectedly with his fist catching poor John in the face and sending him flying to the floor. "Shit Sherlock! You have you quiet a punch on you!" he growled not bothering to keep his voice down. But clearly it hadn't woken his flatmate as the shouting continued.

Once again he again he approached the bed this time avoiding any punches thrown his way before leaning down and taking hold of both of Sherlock's arms stopping him from throwing anymore punches. The army doctor was that close now he noticed for the first time since he entered the room the train tracks of tears lacing the detective's beautiful face.

Wait, beautiful? Since when had he thought of his flatmate as beautiful? Well in all fairness he truly was beautiful. He had stunning icy blue eyes that had small flecks of green and brown in which always seemed to x-ray you. His dark brown curls always sat perfectly but would bounce around happily as he walked and his defined check bones that suited his face perfectly. Not to mention his perfect cupids bow lips… Of course his flatmate was beautiful! However this observation meant nothing. John wasn't gay… He simply recognised Sherlock as beautiful.

Just as his mind was beginning its usual 'I'm not gay' argument, Sherlock let out another shout reminding John where he was. "Wait a minute. How am I supposed to wake him up? If I let go of his arms he'll lash out again… Shit." He murmured almost silently under his breath as his mind came up with a solution to his problem.

Without giving himself time to think about the consequences, he leaned down and softly brushed his lips against Sherlock's. John noticed with surprise how soft Sherlock's lips felt but didn't allow himself to dwell on it before he pulled away and braced himself for the questions. But none came his way. Peering down he noticed with relief Sherlock was still asleep but also that he had stopped fighting against him. His face has once again become the innocent childish picture it is when the detective allows himself to sleep, though this time wearing a small smile. Gently he brushed away the tear stains then quietly left the room, completely oblivious to the blue eyes following him. After that, John returned to his room where he fell into a restless sleep, his lips still tingling.

The next morning John had completely forgotten about the nightmare, the punch and even the kiss. That was until he spotted his reflection in the mirror and noticed a blue bruise and small bump on his check.

"Fuck you Sherlock! Your bloody lucky I didn't punch you back!"

"Hm I'm rather glad you didn't. I found the end result much more enjoyable," the sly, unexpected reply came from directly behind John, causing him to jump.

"Damn Sherlock stop bloody sneaking up on me… wait. You were awake during that?!" john felt his face flooding with colour until he resembled a tomato.

"Only halfway through sadly" John jumped again as he felt long thin arms wrap around his waist before gently turning him around so he was facing his flat mate. It was only after Sherlock took hold of John's chin forcing him to look up would John actually make eye contact.

"Thank you John" the taller man whispered softly before leaning in and capturing John's lips with his own. This time John fully allowed himself to appreciate how perfectly soft Sherlock's lips are.