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John walks up the stairs to 221B with two suitcases, finally moving back in after the whole Mary debacle. He opens the door and Sherlock gets up from his chair in the kitchen, immediately neglecting the experiment he was working on. Sherlock walks over to John and stands there, not knowing what to say, looking nervous. John sees this and closes the space between them to give him a tight hug, burrowing his head in Sherlock’s shoulder, his head tilted towards Sherlock’s face. After recovering from shock, Sherlock hugs back, clutching onto John’s waist, trying to memorize the moment so he can store it in his mind palace. Sherlock turns his head, his lips brushing against John’s forehead, which causes Sherlock to freeze still. Once he realizes what he’s done, Sherlock releases John and tries to move away, mumbling “Sorry” while avoiding John’s eyes.
Sherlock clenches his fists, cursing himself internally. He just got John back and now he has already messed things up. A hand brushing his cheek shakes him from his thoughts, and he looks up to see John looking at him with soft eyes. Sherlock braces himself for a goodbye when John says, “You missed.”
Confused, Sherlock narrows his eyes at John, asking “What do you mean I missed?”
“You missed,” John repeats, and then pulls on Sherlock’s collar and brings their lips together. Sherlock is as still as a statue, trying to process what is happening, why John is kissing him, but then John is pulling away just as Sherlock closes his eyes with the intention to kiss back. Sherlock immediately opens them again to look down at John’s expression. His beautiful, weathered face is resigned and sad, and his eyes are afraid. Sherlock hates that John looks this way, his John must never be sad, not again, after all the hurt and pain he has experienced. John opens his mouth, no doubt to make up an excuse for the kiss, and Sherlock takes the opportunity and leans down, pressing their mouths back together. This time, he tries to communicate all his feelings, his love for John, into the kiss. He melts into John, trying to cover his inexperience with passionate enthusiasm. John kisses back, gently teaching Sherlock what to do, tenderly encouraging him to mimic his movements. Sherlock wraps his arms back around John’s waist, trying to get closer, and John moves his hand to Sherlock’s nape, lightly tugging on the dark curls there. An involuntary moan threatens to leave Sherlock’s mouth but John swallows it, using Sherlock’s parted lips as an invitation to slip his tongue inside, Sherlock quivering when it touches his own. John seems to sense the way Sherlock tenses slightly and eases out of his mouth, turning the kiss into something soft and sweet. When John finally pulls away from his mouth, he shifts his focus to Sherlock’s face, peppering small kisses to his nose, cheeks, and eyelids. Sherlock smiles and then opens his eyes to see John’s adoring gaze.
“Thank you,” Sherlock says shyly, his cheeks slightly pink, feeling as though he was going to melt from the total and complete happiness that he feels.
John narrows his eyes quizzically, “For what, love?”
Sherlock’s cheeks redden even further at the use of John’s endearment. “For correcting my mistake,” he replies, the corner of Sherlock’s lips tugging into a smirk.
John’s eyes glitter with amusement as he laughs, squeezing the back of Sherlock’s neck. He then pulls Sherlock down for another kiss and another, with breathless giggles from the both of them interrupting the proceedings.