I made my way quietly into John's room, stepping softly to try and avoid waking the sleeping man. I had been planning this for weeks. It was his birthday today and I had been told by his sister that I should do something for him. Apparently that is what friends do. I considered John to be one of my only friends and I hoped he felt the same. I opened the door, lifting it slightly to avoid any noises, and entered the room. John was sprawled out across his bed, one of his feet hanging off the side. He always looked so relaxed when he slept, all the stress he carried around fading away and leaving him looking younger and happier. I like seeing him like this. I watch him for a few moments more before moving to his closet, rooting through until I found the gift I had tucked into the breast of one of his suits. I hid it there a while back, knowing he wouldn't look there. I quietly snuck back out of the room and made my way to the kitchen, sitting at the table and placing the gift in front of me.
I was nervous about giving him this. I had no idea why though, it is merely a present. It was hard shopping for him, harder than I thought. No matter how well I knew him, trying to buy him something that would make him smile proved harder than buying him something I knew he needed. I heard shuffling upstairs; John was awake, right on time as always. I hid the present under the paper that I knew John would pick up and scurried into the living room. I plopped into my chair and slipped into my mind palace, opening the room I had designated for John. It was a big room, where I placed every fact and detail I had about John. I shuffled through the room, touching trinkets and reading files, once again studying every fact I had stored away about my flatmate. There was a box in the centre of the room; I had labeled it "Pandora's Box." Inside it was the one thing I didn't know about John, that one secret that he kept hidden better than anything. Hidden in the glances I couldn't read, in the cryptic words we sometimes shared.
"Sherlock, for god's sake will you pay attention?" I was shocked out of my mind palace by the harshness in John's voice. How long had I been ignoring him? I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach as I shook my head and glanced at the man sitting across from me. He looked frustrated, but there was something buried beneath the emotion. Something I couldn't place, so I tucked it away in the box.
"Yes, sorry John. I was-"
"I know where you were Sherlock." He snapped. I raised my eyebrows and tried not to let it show how much his tone was hurting me. I must have failed because his expression changed, guilt taking over. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, calming himself before looking at me again. "What is this?" He held up the present and my stomach knotted.
"It's a present."
"Well I can see that. Why was it under my paper?"
"Well I wanted to make sure you found it."
"So it's for me?" There was confusion in his voice. I smiled softly, maintaining eye contact with my friend.
"But of course John." He hesitated, looking down at the gift in his hands then back at me.
"Why would you buy me a gift?"
"Because it is your birthday and I have been informed that it is customary for friends to buy one another gifts on their day of birth."
"Who told you that?"
"Harry."
"Of course she bloody did." He laughed, rubbing his hands along his face and through his hair. He licked his lips and caught my eyes again, this time with a light hearted smile on his face. "Sherlock you didn't have to buy me a gift." He picked up the gift from his lap and ran his hands over the plain brown paper I had wrapped it in.
