â  â YES  WELL,  perhaps  if  i  had  any  rough inkling  of  where &  when  youâre  going  to  show  up⌠ i  might  have  had  more  time  to  prepare,  get  us  a  better  spot  on  a  better  night.  â the  detectiveâs  words  were  played off  as  nothing  more  than  his  usual  dry  dramatics;  but  sherlock  couldnât  help  but  feel  a  sting  of  truth  to  his  words.  a  truth  he  put a  great  deal  of  effort  into  not  thinking  about  in  fear  of  perhaps  facing  emotions  he  wasnât  quite  ready to  face.  still,  he  knew  he  was  being  a  tad  bit  unfair  in  this  instance.  he  knew irene  wasnât  critiquing  him  or  his  efforts.  quite  frankly  this  food  was  over  priced  for  the  quality  of  it;  &  only  a  few  select  seats  would  actually  have  a decent view.  so,  with  swallowed  pride ( something  he  was  capable  of  on  occasion  );  sherlock  softened.  â  â  at  least,  weâre  here.  itâs  been  a  few  months  since  weâve  had  more  than  a  couple  hours. â
â I know, I knowâ Iâm sorry my love. I didnât mean it to come across as ungrateful. â Reaching across the table, her hand blindly finds his own upon the cloth, their fingers instinctively interlocking as she gazes upon him with a somewhat remorseful expression, softened only by the gentle, pleading curve of her lips. â The flightâs just knackered me out, thatâs all. We could be sat in Nandos for all I care. â Irene had, indeed, pulled the short straw for this visit, the seven-hour flight time between New York and London weighing heavy on her as she forced herself to remain awake. â Sitting here, doing this with you, itâs enough. Itâs always enough. â