John sat up and yawned silently, looking around the room for Sherlock. He saw the man laying next to him and smiled a little, picking up his jumper from beside himself and slipping it on.
Recently, he's been having horrible nightmares. Sherlock told him having a bed companion (or as John said, 'cuddle buddy’) relaxes the human body, since a brain will release chemicals that produce happiness. Sherlock didn't expect to be labeled John's cuddle buddy so soon and they've been sharing a bed for almost a week now.
Sherlock got a little touchy yesterday and John felt like he was overheating, so he took off his shirt and Sherlock slept with a hand over his chest and an arm under him. That's why he wasn't wearing something over his torso.
They'd always sleep quite peacefully, John's face buried in Sherlock's collar bone, holding him closely with their legs tangled together.
Now he was awake. He had things to do other than think about Sherlock.
John yawned quietly and stepped off Sherlock's bed. He heard a pout and a whine as he got off.
Sherlock sat up and looked at John with a frown. “Don't leave yet,” he pleaded.
“I thought you only did this so my nightmares would stop,” John said, looking at Sherlock's eyes.
Blush spread over Sherlock's cheeks and he looked down. “I don't want you to leave yet, John. I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me later, I gotta get a shower and do my morning routine before getting to work.” John stepped out of the room and smiled, walking up the stairs to his room. He picked out some clothes then undressed and got in the shower. A few minutes later, the curtain moved and Sherlock stepped in.
“We can save time like this.” He said, looking at John and forcing his eyes to stay on his face. John was having trouble with that and kept looking down, but covered himself with his hands. He cleared his throat and made eye contact with Sherlock.
“Uhm…” John was frozen. Sherlock put some shampoo on the palm of his hand and started to wash John's hair.
“I need to talk to you,” he said matter of factly. “I can't text it to you, and I need to see your face.” He frowned, massaging the shampoo into John's hair.
“Uhm… o-okay…” John mumbled, looking around for help. But they were alone.
And naked.
And Sherlock was washing his hair so nicely.
He leant into Sherlock's hand, closing his eyes. He felt better with his eyes closed. “Okay… s-so what do you want to talk about…?” he asked shyly.
Sherlock hummed and walked closer to John, “I love you, John,” he said. “I feel so happy when I'm with you, I feel excited..” he smiled softly. “And ever since I was so easily able to convince you to cuddle with me, I think my crush has grown-- no, I know my small tiny crush expanded, I have a major crush on you, John, and I can't keep it bottled up inside me anymore. It feels wrong, you know? I'm not used to this feeling in me, or how it is when the only sound is the room when you're breathing, or your hands in my hair. It's all so overwhelming, when I like you, because I know I could get more out of you if I just asked, but I felt to shy until now.” He closed his eyes gently. “I love you, John, please don't hate me for this.”
John was pretty much stunned. He stared at Sherlock's face, then down a bit. He looked back up and nodded, closing his open mouth.
He set his hand on Sherlock's shoulder and leant up to kiss him. Sherlock smiled a little as he felt the cushiony shampoo on John's head get stuck in his curls.
John was kissing him and it was amazing. Sherlock set his hands on John's waist, returning the kiss. “Do you love me?” Sherlock asked in a whisper.
“I've always loved you. I said you should be my cuddle buddy--”
“Bed companion.”
“Well, bed companion, because I knew that would be my chance to spend time with you. It's so nice snuggling with you.” John smiled.
Sherlock tilted his head and wrapped his arms around John's waist, pulling him closer. They kissed each other gently for a few minutes, then stared into each other's eyes with a newfound love and excitement.