"I still like that," Watson remarked, puffing on his cigarette. "Not nearly enough people tell me that I'm fierce. What a novelty it is."

Gingerly, he stepped into the bath, grateful for the water and the warmth and the sense of cleanliness that was already imparted by it. While hardly a small tub by any means, it was still a bit cramped for two fully-grown men, and the easiest position seemed to be to settle in with his back against Holmes's front. There was something comfortably intimate about that position, too.

With the hand holding his cigarette draped lazily over the edge of the tub, he reached for the sponge with his free hand and soaked it thoroughly in the hot water.