Ugh, this is making my tooth rot with how sweet it is😭😭
If John is operating on heavy pain meds, then he has the urge to be close to someone. That someone is often Nikolai, but he can't just be close. He needs to be touching him.
So, it isn't uncommon if John is on the good stuff to walk into a room to find him mid conversation with Nikolai and clutching the Russian's pinky in his hand.