@premonite ( sherlock ) / "Think you can keep up? Who am I kidding, you know you can't keep up."
here comes a challenge, and though its nature does not immediately become apparent, james need only wait a beat for it to reveal itself. sherlock has spotted it a second before him, but evidently found it appropriate to take enough time for his remark to settle in before he makes himself scarce. faster or not, james better follow suit.
the list of things that james can keep up with is generously long and uncommonly versatile, even when compared to sherlock, who by all standards is an extraordinary person. sherlock can't throw a punch nor out-drink him, and his luck with the ladies is equally poor, but if there is one thing the man can do better than anyone, it's running.
a well-known consequence of lying and thieving, if one is either untalented or ( in their case ) unfortunate, is the chance of having the scotland yard on one's tail. sherlock is already in a good load of trouble, and the stocky officer rounding the corner is well on his way towards them. huffing and puffing as he may be, he is directing everyone's attention onto the two men, who, well, are now running as they should.
james is laughing, carefree, because even while running from the police, together with sherlock he's invincible. he dodges a woman with a large basket of vegetables, artfully avoiding a collision without losing much momentum.
β you wouldn't throw me to the wolves now, sherlock, would you? β he calls after him, enough breath still in him to laugh and banter. β if you leave me behind, i may well have to work with the lovely officers to catch you! β
