Watson shivers a little under the touch to his scar, though not in pain, but partly from the complicated and sometimes strange sensations that result from damaged and healed nerve endings, and partly just because it feels so intimate to be touched that way. He stops working only briefly.

"I do seem to be... well, rather more formal than most people here," he says, with a soft laugh. "There's nothing wrong with 'John,' exactly, but it's quite common, while 'Watson' is less so." He flashes a brief smile. "Cerrit, then. Cerrit."

And then, a little softer, "I don't know how this is meant to work, between us. But I would very much like to try."