In Which a Questionable Decision is (Hopefully) Made {for elementrymydear}

[thewomanswit]

It was only a handful of months after the true circumstances of Sherlock Holmes' fate at Reichenbach Falls was revealed to all that Irene Adler moved into the address of 221B Baker Street

Comments

[elementrymydear]

Of course, Holmes had noticed Miss Adler's appearance weeks prior. There was very little he did not take note of, after all, in his surroundings. He did, however, choose not to comment on the matter, as he was not entirely certain what comment could be made. The matter of his slightly bruised pride in matters of the affair concerning the King years earlier, still stood between them, and he had decided that to handle the situation with any dignity whatsoever, he should simply refrain from showing any reaction at all.

Of course, this could not pass without comment.

"Excuse me?" was his eloquent response, as he looked up from his chemical set, with something of a baffled expression.

[thewomanswit]

Irene, with a dramatic roll of her eyes, approached Holmes and dropped the tray unceremoniously onto the table next to him. She had half been tempted to knock a number of flasks from his chemical set over in the process, but thought better of it, suspecting whatever he was mucking with could quite possibly ignite, or explode, or, at the least, contaminate her already questionable meal.

"I've made you tea," she stated blandly, her eyes running over his experiment with guarded interest. "I think it's best if you eat it while it's warm, don't you?"

[elementrymydear]

There was something immediately troubling about this situation to the detective, and he carefully lowered a pipette to the table, eying the tray.

"Miss Adler," he said, somewhat coolly, "you are certainly free to correct me if I am wrong in this - though I assure you I am not - but in the three weeks, five days, and fifteen hours since your arrival, you have never once seen fit to prepare my tea prior to today. Is there an occasion?"

[thewomanswit]

Scoffing, Irene rounded Holmes' desk and took a seat in an arm chair diagonal to him, resting her hands patiently in her lap.

"No occasion, if one does not count this sudden onslaught of severe boredom." To be fair, Irene's boredom was more or less self-imposed; it had been quite a few days since she had felt the need to take leave of the residence, but sitting in her room perusing books and news papers had finally taken its toll.

Her eyes traced the room, landing on a clock, and she sneaked a sideways glance at her unlikely companion. "Three weeks, five days, fifteen hours and twenty-two minutes precisely," she stated. "Mister Holmes, your aloofness towards my company did implicate you didn't actually notice when I moved in, but I should have known better than to doubt your observational prowess. Now, please do eat your meal. I promise, it's only slightly burned, not poisoned."

[elementrymydear]

It had never really crossed Holmes' mind that Miss Adler might be bored, which was ironic, given how easily he lapsed into the state himself. He had simply figured that she was making use of her time in whatever way most benefited her

[thewomanswit]

Irene tried not to smirk, instead biting her lip as she settled into the arm chair and pulled a newspaper out from a pile stacked on the side-table. She ran her gaze across the articles, her attention shifting between the subject matter and Holmes.

"It's quite an easy mistake to make," she noted, teasing him with her tone. "Minutes turn to hours quite quickly, they're so easy to overlook."

She stole a glance at his plate, and she couldn't help but let a little bit of hope seep into her voice. "I do hope it's edible. I fear my culinary talents have suffered as of late, with no need for me to practice them."

[elementrymydear]

Holmes heard the anxious edge in her tone, and attempted to cover his momentary surprise at the unexpected flavor with a mild cough. He quickly raised the back of his hand to cover his grimace, and then flashed her a tight smile.

"Perhaps you will find more occasion to practice," he commented, and then realized that this sounded quite different than he had intended it to. "Meaning that I would appreciate a repeated performance, of course."

[thewomanswit]

Unable to hold back her smirk any longer (Even though she felt slightly guilty at the fact that the meal was, obviously, not very good.), Irene held the newspaper up over her face, pretending to be enthralled in some article or another.

"I think that is a distinct possibility," she admitted. "I feel it is highly desirable for a woman such as myself to be well-rounded in her hobbies, be it domestic or otherwise. Besides," she lowered the paper down at that point, raising her eyebrows playfully at Holmes. "It seems I shall be residing here for an indefinite amount of time. It would certainly look ill of me to allow London's most sought after detective to starve in my company."

[elementrymydear]

Holmes' own eyebrows shot up at the word indefinite, though he forcibly brought them back down as he returned to his tea.

He offered her no reply for several minutes, simply taking to it in silence (aside from the odd cough now and again). Eventually, however, he broke the stillness:

"I trust you intend then, to stay on, and are not seeking another place of residence, madam?"

[thewomanswit]

Holmes' reaction was certainly one Irene had been hoping for; it quite amused her to keep her companion on his toes. Flattered her, even, on the occasions she was able to surprise him.

"I see no need to," she answered idly, dropping the paper back upon the side table with a flourish. "After all, I am quite pleased with our situation, as it gives me the freedom to do as I want. I do hope you agree, Mister Holmes, and do not find me to be an undesirable neighbour."

[elementrymydear]

"I wouldn't say undesirable," he mused, though something in his tone made it uncertain whether what he would say was better or worse. "I was simply asking because it appears to me that perhaps..." He trailed off into his own thoughts, and seemed to forget entirely she was there for a moment, before jumping back in as if he hadn't missed a beat.

"Miss Adler, it appears to me that we've entered into a very practical arrangement." It was obvious this was not what he had intended to say moments before.

[thewomanswit]

Not knowing precisely how to respond, Irene tilted her head pensively and let her eyes wander across the fabric of the chair she sat in.

"It seems we have," she agreed, warily, because she wasn't entirely sure what Holmes was getting at with that statement. "In some circumstances, such as living arrangements, practicality is certainly a basis for growth. I, for one, have found our similar schedules and lifestyles to be quite complimentary."

[elementrymydear]

"A basis for growth - a fitting choice of words, really," he remarked. "I believe you are correct, Miss Adler - your particular view of a domestic arrangement, if I dare use the word, meshes rather impressively with my own."

"Which is why I have a proposition, which has only come to me just now."

[thewomanswit]

It was Irene's turn to be surprised. Often, Holmes train of thought often outran her own; it was one of the things she had been quite fond of in his company, to be honest. After all, there was no challenge in outwitting one who could not, in turn, outwit her.

On the other hand, Irene found herself frozen, unable to prepare herself for what was to be said.

"Go on, Mr. Holmes," she urged, warily. "You have my full attention."

[elementrymydear]

Holmes approached the subject with his usual airily disconnected demeanor, as if discussing the particulars of a vexing case.

"Considering that you have had sufficient scandal attached already to your name, I see little reason to add any more than necessary by keeping you on here as a house guest indefinitely," he explained, assuming she would understand his implications.

"And given our temperaments, and the way we both detest some of the more expected societal patterns," he continued on, being very precise in his selection of terms, "I see no reason why we shouldn't unite our fortunes, so to speak, and make use of the similarities. In an arrangement of a ... marital nature."

[thewomanswit]

Irene stared at Holmes