Mary's video had ended, but John and Sherlock continued to stare at the screen in silence.
"John?"
"Yes, Sherlock?"
"Are you okay?"
John turned to meet Sherlock's soft gaze in his direction.
"No, I'm not, but I will be," John replied.
"You do know that she's wrong don't you?"
John furrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Sherlock took a deep breath. "I mean, it does matter who we really are."
John was aware of the slight hesitation that laced his friend's voice. "Why do you say that?"
Sherlock placed his hand onto John's shoulder. "John, we need to talk about the elephant in the room."
"What about it? I blogged about the case ages ago. If there's something about the writing you don't like I'm not going to change it…"
"I'm not talking about the case," Sherlock interrupted. "I'm talking about the fact that you love me."
John looked down in embarrassment as his cheeks flushed pink. Shit! Of course Sherlock would have deduced that about him. He lifted his head to meet Sherlock's eyes once more and tried to remain calm. "Is that a problem?"
Sherlock smiled. "God no," he replied. "I love you too, John."
John paused for a second. "How long have you known?"
"I've always known, and I'm sorry that I waited this long to tell you."
"I don't need an apology, Sherlock." Slowly, John lifted his hand to Sherlock's face and closed the gap between them with a soft kiss. "This is all I need," he whispered.