John was afraid for Sherlock, he really was. His face when they talked by the fire was haunting: his cheekbones seemed more hollow than usual and his eyes were wild with pupils the size of saucers.

"There is nothing wrong with me," Sherlock had shouted defensively, but both of them knew that wasn't true. He was terrified but too smug to admit it.

John couldn't sleep. He couldn't sleep because no matter how hard he was trying to fake unconsciousness, the man in the bed on the other side of the room was wide awake. John listened to his shallow and erratic breathing and then heard a quiet, weak little sound. A whimper?

"Sherlock, you're not fooling me with this act. Do you need a sedative to help you sleep?"

The tall man rolled over to face John. "No, no sedatives. Do you think...I mean, would you mind...if I came and slept next to you for the night?" He sounds so vulnerable, John thought, processing the request.

John moved to one side of the bed and parted the comforter. "Oh, go ahead and come over, Sherlock. There's no one around to talk and I've reached the point where even if there were I wouldn't bloody care."

Sherlock got out of his bed and softly padded over to John's. He slipped under the blanket and curled up into the fetal position facing away from John. He was careful not to touch the other man, seeming to worry it would be unwelcome.

"Oh Sherlock, I'm not mad. Relax, okay?" John said softly as he rolled closer behind Sherlock and lifted a hand to stroke his dark hair. Sherlock turned over and buried his head in John's shoulder and moved his left hand to rest on his bare chest. John took his right hand and idly twisted Sherlock's soft black curls around his fingers. This is nice...this is really nice, John thought. He felt Sherlock's hot breath on his skin and felt his chest rise and fall regularly. The poor thing was finally asleep. John buried his face in Sherlock's sweet-smelling hair and fell asleep himself.

Sun started streaming through the window and John began to stir. Somehow during the night they had moved so that he was spooning Sherlock. John started kissing Sherlock's neck sleepily and moved his hands up and down the man's thighs and abdomen. Sherlock's eyes bolted open but he didn't move. In fact, he froze solid and let out a little whimper.

"Wha's wrong, lovely?" John drawled, still mostly sleeping. He took Sherlock by the hips and pulled him back into his morning wood. Sherlock whimpered again, but didn't move. John moved his hands down between Sherlock's legs and suddenly was wide awake. This was not a woman in his bed. He suddenly remembered that he had let Sherlock sleep with him that night to ease his distress, and, again, this was not a woman in his bed.

"CHRIST, SHERLOCK! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?" John shouted, recoiling. His face was bright red but Sherlock hadn't turned to look at him, something John was a little bit thankful for. "Mmmmmnnng...it felt nice..." Sherlock said quietly, embarrassed.

Well, it did feel nice...John thought to himself, licking his lips as Sherlock twisted around to look at him. He covered his lap with a pillow, trying to look decent. Sherlock's eyes stared into his with an aching expression.

"I'm hard, John..." Sherlock whined. "I don't get like this. Please help me take care of it, will you?"

Oh god oh god oh god oh god...John's mind started racing. He'd been with men before, and he'd thought about Sherlock like this, but he never in a million years thought he'd hear the man asking him to help him "take care of" his erection.

Sherlock's eyes were pleading. "Errr, um, have you ever been with anyone before? I mean, at all?" John asked. Sherlock bit his lip and shook his head as he shifted his eyes down to avoid John's. "No, never. I hardly ever even get, well, aroused...just...you were kissing me and touching me and it just felt lovely...I didn't want you to stop..."

"Okay, sorry to have stopped, then," John grinned. Oh god this is mad...he thought for a moment, then climbed on top of Sherlock and engaged him in a deep kiss, reaching to pull up his shirt. Sherlock's eyes bolted open wide and he looked almost frightened. "Oh it's okay, Sherlock. I won't hurt you." Sherlock let his eyes close and melted into John's body, letting him take charge.

"Lift your arms," John told Sherlock, and he raised them so John could take off his shirt. It wasn't often that he saw Sherlock without a shirt on, and John thought the sight was simply gorgeous. His skin was so soft and pale and he could see the slightest muscle definition in his chest and abdomen. And that neck...oh that neck! He buried his face in it and started to suck and bite a bruise as his fingers played with one of Sherlock's nipples. The dark-haired man let out an obscene moan and John felt his cock twitch against him. This is actually a little fun being in charge of Sherlock...John thought. Oh I am thoroughly enjoying this...

John moved down Sherlock's chest and abdomen with little kisses, stopping to suck on each of his nipples for a moment (being greeted with little whimpering moans) until he got to his waistband. He looked up at Sherlock. "Is this okay?" he asked softly. "Oh god, please. Yes. Yes it's okay." Sherlock whined impatiently.

John took Sherlock's pants and slid them down over his knees. His hard cock bobbed up and as it was released and he looked down at it, then looked at John with pleading eyes and a parted mouth. John noticed that Sherlock's cock was longer than his own but not as thick. He took Sherlock in his hand and pulled back his foreskin to reveal the flushed glans. Sherlock groaned and threw his head back as John ran his thumb over the tip, smearing it with precum.

"Do you want me to put you in my mouth?" John smirked, looking at Sherlock and meeting his heavy-lidded gaze. He nodded slowly, biting his bottom lip and knotting his eyebrows. John took him into his mouth enthusiastically and Sherlock yelped, throwing his head back again.

"Shhhh! Someone will hear you and think you're being murdered!" John laughed. Sherlock shoved John's face rudely back onto his cock. "D-d-d-d-on't s-t-t-t-op..." John chuckled with Sherlock in his mouth, making him moan gently at the buzzing sensation. John took Sherlock as deep into his throat as he could, but couldn't fit his entire length. He wrapped his hand around the base and began stroking up and down with a slight twist of his wrist as he bobbed his head up and down.

"John..." Sherlock whimpered. "Please...please..."

John stopped and looked up at his lover. "Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?"

"It's just so intense...I've never felt like this...I'm starting to lose control and my head is all foggy and I don't know if I like it..." Sherlock whispered, eyes closed, choking back emotion. His black curls were matted to his forehead with sweat and he was breathing raggedly.

"It'll be okay, Sherlock, I promise. I'm not going to hurt you. Sometimes letting go of yourself feels good. Really, try to relax and I'll take care of you."

Sherlock looked at John, still noticeably frightened. "It's okay, Sherlock...really, it's okay...does it feel good? It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No, no...it feels lovely...I just...I just...oh Johhhhhhhn..." he whimpered.

"Do you want me to stop? It's okay, really,"

"No, I'll be okay...please keep going."

John plunged Sherlock's cock back into his mouth as far as it would go and Sherlock tried to knot his long, slender fingers into his short sandy hair as he let out a throaty moan. John discreetly took Sherlock's pulse-his heart was racing. His breath was uneven and heavy and he would occasionally let out little whimpers and moans. He started bucking his hips against John's face, clearly no longer thinking about anything but the mouth around his cock and how absolutely brilliant it felt. John tolerated Sherlock's thrusting into his mouth...I'm glad he's stopped panicking about this...he thought as Sherlock knotted the fingers of one hand in the sheets and the fingers of the other in John's hair.

"John...John...I'm going to come...oh god...John!"

Oh I've gotta see this...John thought, pulling his lips off Sherlock and looking up at his face as he continued to stroke his cock violently. Sherlock feverishly thrust his hips into John's hand and then let out a noise that sounded almost like a growl as he came into John's hand and onto his abdomen. John took Sherlock in his mouth and sucked off the dripping cum, causing the slender man to shudder and yelp from overstimulation.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" John asked him, grinning.

Sherlock took a pillow and shoved it over his flushed face. He made muffled sounds through it that resembled "fantastic" "wonderful" and "brilliant."

"Maybe later you'll let me shag you senseless?" John asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Sherlock pulled the pillow away from his face and looked into John's eyes intensely. "Yes, yes John, I might like that."