EXTRA CHAPTER: The Five Times Sherlock Kissed John… and the One Time John Kissed Him

The first time Sherlock kissed John after the Green-Eyed Soldier case was the very next day. John was taking a drink of his morning coffee when Sherlock stumbled out of his bedroom. Although Sherlock enjoyed playing off the fact he also needed sleep, John knew the signs of a man who had basically slipped into a sleep coma for the last fourteen hours: his hair was tousled, his movements sluggish, and his pyjamas were dishevelled. Chuckling under his breath, John shook his head and returned to reading the paper. He heard Sherlock drop something in the kitchen, a quick curse, and then silence. As he flipped the page, he heard footsteps getting closer. John looked up expectantly, assuming Sherlock wanted to say something to him. Sherlock, who was now holding a cup of coffee, swiftly leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on John's lips. Shocked, John felt a rush of giddiness and stared, dumbfounded, at his flatmate as Sherlock observed him. After a moment, Sherlock clicked his tongue and headed towards one of the windows.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" John inquired, watching Sherlock walk away.

Quickly, Sherlock replied, "Experiment."

"Experiment?" John clarified, unsure how to react to the new information.

Sherlock answered, "I'm beginning to believe that you should see an audiologist. Yes, John, an experiment."

"Well, warn me next time, would you?" John inquired, opening the newspaper back up as he licked his lips. They still tingled.

The second time Sherlock kissed John after the Green-Eyed Soldier case was three days after the first. They were at a crime scene – a body had been found completely dried of blood with two puncture wounds on the neck and the blood nowhere to be found. This was the third victim. Although the media was already advertising "The Vampire Killer," Sherlock was sure that there was a logical explanation. It was at the third crime scene that John realised that all victims had the blood type AB negative, which was incredibly rare. When John suggested that perhaps the blood had been pumped out of the victims to sell on the black market, Sherlock looked at him as if he had just solved the question of life. Before John could even react, Sherlock seized him and planted a kiss right on his lips. His heart began to race from the kiss, but horror iced John's blood as he shoved Sherlock off.

"For fuck's sake, Sherlock!" he yelled, causing Lestrade and Anderson to look over to see what was wrong. Quickly, he lowered his voice, "You can't do something like that."

Clearly confused, Sherlock inquired, "Why not? It's for the experiment."

"Because people will talk – experiment or not," John responded. "And it's not proper to just kiss someone in public like that."

Sherlock reiterated, "Not proper?"

"That's right, Sherlock," John answered. "And you sure as hell should not be kissing your flatmate in front of all of Scotland Yard, who – mind you – enjoy gossiping about you as much as possible."

Indifferent, Sherlock shrugged. "No one noticed. I made sure no one was paying attention," he informed John.

"Just – no, Sherlock," John snapped. "Do you understand me? I don't care if your experiment depends on it. No."

Sherlock frowned before heading over towards Lestrade, most likely planning the most offensive way to tell Lestrade just how much of an unobservant idiot he was. Meanwhile, John was left next to the corpse. His face was hot with embarrassment as he double and triple checked that no one was looking at him. Even so, his heart was still racing.

The third time Sherlock kissed John after the Green-Eyed Soldier case was a week after the second kiss. After solving another case for Scotland Yard, Sherlock decided he wanted something to eat. Naturally, they headed over to Angelo's since they got a discounted price. They had been sitting at a table in the corner of the room. As John tried to figure out what he wanted to eat, Sherlock was muttering to himself about the different foods, naming the different ingredients in each as well as describing why he did or did not like a certain food. Angelo had come by twice, once to take their drink orders and once to deliver their drinks as well as a lit candle. This time, John did not even have the heart to object. It was not like Angelo would listen anyway. Suddenly, Sherlock motioned for Angelo to come over. At seeing this, John quickly started to reread the menu in an attempt to figure out what he wanted.

"What would you like to eat?" Angelo asked as soon as he was right next to them.

Sherlock responded, "John would like the Shepherd's pie with mashed potatoes and vegetables on the side, and I will have the Cottage pie with the same sides."

Baffled, John looked up as Angelo wrote down the orders and walked off. He looked at Sherlock in confusion. "How could you possibly know what I wanted to eat? I didn't even know what I wanted to eat," John inquired.

"When reading the menu, your eyes kept lingering on the same spot. I looked at my menu and deduced from your previous meals that you were debating on whether you should get the Shepherd's pie or not," Sherlock answered.

Laughing slightly, John shook his head in awe. "Completely and utterly extraordinary," he said to himself. "Sometimes, I can't even believe you're human, Sherlock."

Swiftly, Sherlock lifted the wine menu up and blocked their faces from the rest of the restaurant. Before John could object, Sherlock captured his lips in a sweet kiss. Closing his eyes, John leaned in a moment before realising where they were. He pulled back a second only for Sherlock to follow. John quickly glanced to the side to find the menu still there – still blocking them from the rest of the world. Sherlock had taken his previous demand into account, so John would let him get away with this just once. After another moment, John slowly pulled back and sat back in his seat. Sherlock pulled back as well, lowering the menu.

"You have got to tell me what exactly this experiment is," he stated, licking his lips in an attempt to numb the tingling sensation.

Sherlock smiled enigmatically. "All in due time, John. All in due time."

The fourth time Sherlock kissed John after the Green-Eyed Soldier case had been four days after the third kiss. After a long day, John had decided to go to bed early. He had been sleeping for about four hours when the first nightmare struck. Unlike normal, this was not a nightmare about Afghanistan. This nightmare was about Sherlock. Beaten and bruised, Sherlock was restrained in a chair as a serial killer held a gun to his head. John was trapped behind a glass panel, unable to get to Sherlock no matter how hard he tried. As John pounded on the glass, the serial killer raised the gun and pointed it at the back of Sherlock's head. In the matter of seconds, Sherlock's brains and blood were splattered across the glass.

Screaming, John leapt out of his bed. Sweat covered his entire body, his heart raced from the adrenaline, and tears were still rolling down his cheeks. His blankets were wrapped around him. In a panic, John tried to untangle himself but fell to the floor in the process. He struggled harder to free himself only to wrap himself up more. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice say, "Stay still." John felt two hands deftly moving around the blankets, and the blankets began to loosen. John was finally freed from his captor, and he kicked the blankets far away from him. Looking up, he found Sherlock kneeling in front of him. John quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to stop shaking.

"Thank you," he managed to say. Even his voice was trembling.

Sherlock inquired, "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," John answered as he ran his hands through his hair. "Sorry to wake you."

Sherlock replied, "Don't worry about it. I wasn't sleeping."

"Alright then. Good," John said, swallowing and looking away from his flatmate. "Well, off with you then. I wouldn't want to keep you from whatever experiment you're working on right now."

Matter-of-factly, Sherlock responded, "You know that there's only one experiment I'm working on right now."

With that, John felt a lithe hand slip under his chin and lift up his head. He felt a pair of warm lips press themselves on his forehead. Closing his eyes, John relaxed under Sherlock's touch. He had to remember that, no matter what his imagination came up with, his reality was much different. Sherlock was alive and well – and right in front of him to boot. Breathing deeply, John calmed down. After a long moment, Sherlock pulled back and gazed down at John. Neither said a word until Sherlock rose to his feet. "Sleep well, John," he said before striding out of the room.

Surprisingly enough, John did not experience another nightmare for the rest of the night.

The fifth time Sherlock kissed John was five days after the fourth. John was searching for his handgun. He had basically torn the flat apart in search of it. What worried him most was that Sherlock was nowhere to be found. Just as he was about to head into Sherlock's room, John heard the front door open. He could hear heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, and he waited in anticipation. Quickly, Sherlock strode into the room. John watched in dismay as Sherlock removed the handgun and set it on the table.

"Sherlock," John said, exasperated.

"Problem?" Sherlock inquired as he removed his scarf and trench coat.

Shaking his head, John responded, "Yes! I have already told you that you cannot just take my gun whenever you please. If someone were to catch you-"

"No one is going to catch me, John," Sherlock responded confidently.

John snapped, "You just- you don't know that, Sherlock!" He grabbed the handgun and checked how much ammo was left. Luckily, a shot had not been fired.

"Of course I know so, John," Sherlock replied.

John took a moment to compose himself. In a very calm voice, he said, "You cannot know that for sure, Sherlock. Not even you. And if something went wrong-" He stopped himself from continuing. Would Sherlock even understand where he was coming from?

"If something went wrong? You mean, if I killed someone with your gun?" Sherlock pressed, observing John carefully.

John looked away from Sherlock and finally said, "If something happened to you, Sherlock, because of that gun – because you didn't use it right – or because someone disarmed you and used it against you– well, I… I just don't know if I could ever forgive myself." Blinking in surprise, Sherlock stared at John a moment as if he was trying to understand where John was coming from. John licked his lips as he continued, "So next time you feel the need to use it, come to me. You shouldn't be going into dangerous situations alone."

Sherlock watched John for a long moment, and John fidgeted under Sherlock's gaze. Suddenly, Sherlock declared, "I am going to kiss you."

Stunned, John looked up at him and replied, "What?"

"I am going to kiss you," Sherlock reiterated, taking a step towards John with every word. John's heart raced as he processed exactly what Sherlock said to him. As John looked up at him in shock, Sherlock paused a moment. Sherlock leaned down very slow and kissed John. His anger left almost instantaneously when their lips met. Adrenaline pumping, John closed his eyes instinctively and subconsciously leaned into the kiss. Sherlock pulled John a bit closer in order to get more contact. Shuddering, John could practically hear his blood pounding as he felt Sherlock's long, lithe arms wrap around him. John lost himself in the moment and found himself yearning for more when he felt Sherlock pull back. Grudgingly, John let him pull away. John was left breathless. Swallowing, John glimpsed the handgun and remembered exactly what they were talking about to begin with.

Licking his lips, John murmured, "Don't believe for a second that you're off the hook for this, Sherlock. My demand still stands."

Sherlock smirked enigmatically at he heard this but said nothing as he headed into the kitchen. Subconsciously, John touched his lips and smiled to himself. He would be lying if he said that he had not enjoyed that kiss at all.

"So is your experiment over with?" John inquired. It had been two weeks since the last time Sherlock had kissed him, longer than he had ever lasted since the Green-Eyed Soldier case. John was burning with curiosity as to what exactly Sherlock had been experimenting for. Or, at least, that is what he told himself. There would be no way he could even admit to himself that he missed Sherlock's kiss.

"Hm?" Sherlock inquired, not looking up from his microscope. "Ah, the experiment. Yes."

Surprised, John tried to play it off by taking a drink of his coffee. After what he felt was an appropriate amount of time, he pressed, "And what were the results?"

"Inconclusive. I need to re-evaluate my data and expand on the experiment," Sherlock answered nonchalantly.

John waited for Sherlock to continue only for silence to settle between them. "That's it?" he queried incredulously.

"What's it?" Sherlock asked, clearly not understanding.

Scowling, John said, "You randomly kissed me for two weeks, and there's nothing more you can tell me about your experiment except the fact that the results are inconclusive?"

"Problem?" Sherlock inquired.

John scoffed. "Yes, Sherlock, there's a huge problem. You can't just – you can't just randomly kiss me and then blow everything off as if it's nothing."

"Why not?" Sherlock queried.

Exasperated, John snapped, "Because I deserve an answer! It was me you're kissing, after all. Have you ever thought about how I felt about you kissing me?"

"I knew exactly what you felt about me kissing you," Sherlock responded. "You're incredibly easy to read, after all."

John shouted, "Well, what about me, Sherlock? What if I don't know how I felt about you kissing me?"

"And what? You think knowing my data will help you in some way to understand how you feel?" Sherlock clarified.

John honestly answered, "Yes!"

Turning away from his microscope, Sherlock looked at John fully. "Very well. You enjoy being kissed spontaneously, but you will not object to being kissed even if I tell you beforehand. By the way you lick your lips afterwards, you enjoy both equally. You also like it when I gently stroke your cheek given the way your heart sped up the moment I every time I do so. Judging your reaction after I kissed you at that crime scene, you do not like being kissed in public. However, you are compliant to being kissed in public as long as you are visually hidden from everyone who can see. And finally, you find the act of kissing comforting even if it is not on the lips, apparent by how you reacted after your nightmare and the fact that you did not have another nightmare that night."

John blinked in surprise. Sherlock had been experimenting all this time to find out what it was that John liked? Of course just asking John straight out would not have been interesting enough for Sherlock. He had to take the trail and error course. Suddenly, joy overwhelmed John. That meant that Sherlock was actually entertaining the idea of them. It was a step in the right direction for their relationship. He grinned at Sherlock, who looked at him in confusion as he went to change out two slides. With five short strides, John crossed the distance between them. He cupped Sherlock's face and drew him into a kiss. Very softly, John nipped at Sherlock's lower lip before slipping his tongue in and deepening the kiss. The sound of glass shattering sounded out next to them as Sherlock dropped the glass slide in his hand. Neither of them cared. John's left hand combed through Sherlock's long hair as Sherlock gently stroked John's cheek. As they both combated for dominance, Sherlock dropped his other hand lower and pulled John into him. When John felt that familiar rush of urgency, he knew they were going into uncharted territory. Very slowly, John pulled away from Sherlock, who followed him a ways before finally allowing the kiss to break. Sherlock's hair was dishevelled from John's hand combing through it, and John could not help but notice with a smug satisfaction that Sherlock was the one left breathless this time.

After a long moment, Sherlock turned back to his microscope. "If you could refrain from doing that while I'm working with my microscope, that would be much appreciated," he said as he cleaned up the shattered glass slide. "Next time, something deadly might be on there."

"I'll keep that in mind," John responded, smiling to himself as he headed into the living room. Somehow, his life with Sherlock was a little brighter.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed.