There's a part of him that's loathe to give anyone else a moment of glory at his expense, and yet there's another part of him that very much enjoys seeing the expression of victory on John's face. He can divide it away from the situation, away from his own uncertainties and fears that John has appallingly hit on, and simply relish this side of John. And maybe that's uncomfortably too close to being introspective in its own way. He's sitting here accusing John of getting turned on when he'd nearly died, and now he can't think of anything but how the same physical reactions crop up in him when John is like this. Confident, cocky even, so assured in his own capabilities that he jumps into risky situations without another thought... John, if he were perceptive enough, could easily be sitting on the other side of the table calling Sherlock out.
But he's not, thank God.
He lets John work through it. He can almost see it in the look on his face, like he's mentally answering his own question -- who gets off on that? Clearly you, John.
"Not always... there have been plenty of times you've been in danger without that particular reaction..." Sherlock can recall all of them. Granted, he hadn't been looking for that particular piece of evidence from the start, but going backwards he can recall the lack of signs in certain situations. John is actually quite remarkable. There are times when they're in the thick of it that they're breathless, pulse racing as they race through London, and other times when tension runs high and any other man would be shaking with nerves that John is cool, collected, standing firm. No, this reaction is definitely not always -- he'd have connected it far sooner -- but it's definitely there. And it bears more investigation, but for now he's got enough to press on with.
"...I'm not saying you're a sexual deviant. The neck is a highly sensitive area, in many individuals, yourself obviously included, an erogenous zone... granted, not everyone enjoys quite that level of, shall we say, stimulation..." because he clearly had, in the alley and in the kitchen, and there's no convincing Sherlock otherwise, because he knows.
no subject
But he's not, thank God.
He lets John work through it. He can almost see it in the look on his face, like he's mentally answering his own question -- who gets off on that? Clearly you, John.
"Not always... there have been plenty of times you've been in danger without that particular reaction..." Sherlock can recall all of them. Granted, he hadn't been looking for that particular piece of evidence from the start, but going backwards he can recall the lack of signs in certain situations. John is actually quite remarkable. There are times when they're in the thick of it that they're breathless, pulse racing as they race through London, and other times when tension runs high and any other man would be shaking with nerves that John is cool, collected, standing firm. No, this reaction is definitely not always -- he'd have connected it far sooner -- but it's definitely there. And it bears more investigation, but for now he's got enough to press on with.
"...I'm not saying you're a sexual deviant. The neck is a highly sensitive area, in many individuals, yourself obviously included, an erogenous zone... granted, not everyone enjoys quite that level of, shall we say, stimulation..." because he clearly had, in the alley and in the kitchen, and there's no convincing Sherlock otherwise, because he knows.