Chapter Text
John sighed. He was browsing the art shop at the modern art museum store, looking for all the things on the list he printed from the web site. These drawing supplies were bloody expensive! He needed several sizes and kinds of charcoal. He hadn’t realized charcoal came in so many varieties: soft, medium, and hard pencils; pencil-size blocks, compressed charcoal, and willow sticks. He finally chose a drawing set and a pad of very nice paper (Bamboo, for Christ's sake!). This was a bit more expensive than what John had set aside for a hobby, but his therapist insisted it would be therapeutic. John was just hoping that he would enjoy the 6 week long class. As he paid for his materials and went to his designated classroom, he also found himself hoping to meet some of the women he spotted heading to his studio.
There were about 15 easels spread in a circle around the center of the room, where there was a red velvet chaise lounge. A couple of the stools were already taken. John grabbed one and settled himself near the door. His military habits were engrained in his psyche, and he preferred to be near an exit when he could.
“Hi.”
He was surprised that a very attractive woman, mid 30s, had taken a seat beside him, given all the extra seats.
“I’m Sarah,” the woman looked him in the eye and smiled.
Well this was a good start. He cleared his throat. “I’m John.”
They chatted while the class filled up. It turned out that she owned a local medical clinic and was from London. John explained he was a doctor and recently invalided from Afghanistan.
“Oh well, welcome back.” She gave him a beaming smile that he returned. He liked the fact that she didn’t give him a once over looking for an injury, like many others had.
He glanced around the room and noted it was almost full. Mostly woman, but a couple other men were there as well. The teacher had come into the room, a small older lady in a purple dress.
“Hello everyone! Before we start, I’d like to go over some ground rules. We prefer to keep the door closed for the models’ sake. It gets drafty in the hall, and we’d like to preserve their modesty as much as possible. Now, we will have two different models during the 6 weeks, one male and one female. They will do a different pose every week, mostly nude, but we may play around with clothing textures. I know some of you are new to charcoal and perhaps drawing as well. Just do your best and I will walk around and give help where it’s needed. The important thing is to have fun and do your best.” At this the woman beckoned to someone behind a dark changing screen in the corner of the room.
Now, John had known there would be nudity in the class, it being a human anatomy study, and he knew there would be male model. Being a doctor, he honestly hadn’t given it a second thought.
As the model came out from behind the screen though, he thought his heart may have stopped.
It was the most gorgeous man John had ever seen, (and he had been to three continents). He must not have been the only one to think so because he heard a couple gasps from the women, and a nervous giggle from one of the men. Sarah cleared her throat.
He was long and lean, but well-muscled with angular features. His hair was dirty blonde with dark roots, short and styled with a little mousse. He had a 5 o’clock shadow just above his cupid’s bow.
Ignoring the commotion, the man looked around for a moment before settling down on the chaise, leaning back halfway, with one arm draped over his head as if in repose and the other falling off the chaise, his fingertips trailing the cream rug underneath.
The model took another minute to position his legs, one propped up, the other at an angle on the cushion. When he was done, he looked up, apparently looking for a point to train his eyes on, and he found John. His aquamarine eyes blazed with intensity, and it felt like he was looking right into John. John froze like a deer in headlights, terrified to look away or look at the rest of the model’s body. John refused to look lower. The man gave a knowing smirked.
“Stop being so cheeky, Sherlock,” Mrs. Hudson reprimanded, noticing the tension.
“Apologies, Mrs. Hudson.”
At this man’s unnaturally deep voice and slow careful pronunciation, which screamed sex now!, there was another collective gasp.
Now, John wasn’t usually attracted to men, but he had had a couple positive experiences in the military which made him rethink his sexuality. But overall he preferred women.
But there were always exceptions. This, for instance.
John found the model was still staring into his eyes, and he took a shaky breath, picking up his chalk. Whatever he was expecting, he was not prepared for this. He felt his heart almost beating through his chest, and struggled to control himself. Relax, he told himself.
Putting chalk to paper John began at the man’s hair, figuring that was safest. Maybe he would calm down by the time he got to the…rest of him. The class was sixty minutes. Sixty minutes of staring at the most gorgeous man he had ever seen…naked. Oh brother.