thesadchicken

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Title: Doing It Again
Author: [personal profile] thesadchicken
Rating: PG+13.
Universe: ACD.
Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes.
Summary: Grand revelations over breakfast.
Word Count: 374.

Prompt: Working Cases in Your Sleep: Your work today should include an issue with sleeping (Somnambulism, exhaustion, insomnia, etc)

‘I believe you will be doing it again, then.’

This was how my friend, Sherlock Holmes, greeted me one morning as we both sat down to breakfast. ‘I beg your pardon?’ I blinked at him, perplexed.

Holmes’ lips curled into a playful smile. ‘You’ve spent the night with someone.’

My eyes widened in surprise. ‘How could you possibly have –’

‘It was quite simple,’ he said, leaning back in his chair and bringing his fingertips together, ‘First I saw the mark on your cheek; a straight line from below your eye down to your jaw; the imprint of the edge of your pillow – a pillow shared. Since you had not planned another pillow, it is safe to presume that this encounter was unplanned. Unplanned encounters in bed at night are more often than not – and you will forgive my using the word – illicit. This confirmed my suspicion that the marks upon your neck are not bruises. Following the trail of these marks, I found a stain on your collar, and several wrinkles in your trousers and shirt. I have never known you to be careless with your appearance, Watson, and even in the morning you are rarely dishevelled. As to how I deduced that you would be doing it again – the dreamy half-smile you entered the room wearing was the only clue I needed.’

I said nothing. Holmes tilted his head to the side. ‘I do have one question, Watson.’

‘I would rather not –’

‘Oh, come, humour me.’

‘Very well,’ I sighed.

‘You know me well enough to understand that I ask this without judgement, but – was it a man?’

I stared at him, completely in awe – as usual – of his ability to make such grand deductions out of such small details. But my revelation was surely the most stunning that morning, for I said, ‘It was you, Holmes. You sleepwalk. Last night you found your way into my bed.’

He paled and his smile vanished. I had never seen him so surprised. ‘Good Lord,’ he breathed, ‘did I –?’

‘You rather insisted on it, yes.’

‘Good lord!’

Silence. And then, ‘I’m terribly sorry, Watson.’

I smiled at him. ‘But you said it yourself – we will be doing it again… if you still want it as much as you did last night.’