AN: And here we are with the final chapter! I'm sorry about the update delay – I had a busy weekend. So we see everything sorted out in this chapter and I'm sure you can all guess how it ends. I hope you like how I've structured their conversation and that I've managed to keep them in character.

Also – there will be sequel fic which will be the reactions of everyone to their relationship. It should have around 7 chapters with each on focused on a different character and their reaction. I'm not sure when I'll get the first chapter posted – will probably be a few weeks as I've got a rather full calendar April.

Thanks to everyone for reading!

Disclaimer: I'm praying to Santa to bring me the rights to Sherlock. Until he does so I own nothing.

Sherlock struggles to keep himself silent throughout their journey; per John's request. There are few instances in his life when has he remained silent at the command of another; and none at all when he has deductions and information to share.

But he does now. For John's sake.

Fifteen minutes later and they're back at the inn. John doesn't hesitate when they enter; heading directly for his room and undoubtedly expecting Sherlock to follow. Which he does of course. This is certainly a turn-about considering that it's usually Sherlock who expects John to follow. They enter; John clicking on the lights and motioning to one of two arm chairs for Sherlock to sit. He perches upon its edge, anxiously; whilst John sinks back into the other, allowing himself a sigh of contentment at it's comfort.

Sherlock; true to form, dives right in. "John, I want to apologize for this morning." he begins, which greatly surprises John. Sherlock almost never apologizes, well unless he wants something. In some ways that rule still applies here as Sherlock has figured that an apology is appropriate in this situation and t it might make John more cooperative in the ensuing conversation. "Shouting at you in the street was - well, it was a bit not good." John manages a half-smile at Sherlock's phrasing. "No it wasn't. Certainly got my attention though." "Yes well, I was just getting rather irritated at your ignorance. Usually your ignorance is simply an annoyance; easily ignored. But this simply continued to grate on me. I couldn't stand it anymore. However, I've come to realize that the obtuseness you've displayed is not your fault. It's merely a product of how slowly and inefficiently your cognitive functions are." "Right. Thanks for that." John quips.

"No - I mean -" Sherlock let's out an irritated huff and he tries to better explain himself. "I mean that I understand John." "You do?" "Certainly. You've simply reached and incorrect conclusion about the two of us. It's not dissimilar to your incorrect deductions made on cases." So he doesn't understand. John opens his mouth to protest, but Sherlock cuts him off before his first word. "No, I'm not reproaching you. As I already stated you're not at fault for your obtuseness. But it is something that needs to remedied and I intend to do so." So Sherlock thinks that he is still in disagreement about them being a couple. He tries to explain to Sherlock that they can skip all of this; that he does understand. But of course, he doesn't get a chance. "But I've realized -" Sherlock cuts him off before he can finish; not bothering to process John's half-sentence and continuing on with explaining his plan. "John just listen for a moment whilst I explain my solution to the issue caused by our undisciplined emotions this morning."

Our undisciplined? John wasn't the one shouting about being a couple in the streets. His emotions are rather submissive to his mental dictation thanks to years of military service; but then Sherlock has never been one to accept blame, even when it's rightly placed upon him. And really it's not entirely his fault either. He has had so little experience with emotion that it's unsurprising that he was unable to control them.

"I believe that this is best approached with logic, as are all things. When you make incorrect deductions and conclusions on a case the easiest way to correct you is to explain the evidence and facts that disprove your theory and support another's; in this case, mine." And John finds himself fighting a smile oddly enough. He can't help it; with how all of this is paralleling their Work and he can already see Sherlock transferring into case mode; submerged in his world of logic and facts and figures. That's what this is for Sherlock, a case. Another puzzle to be pieced together. Another mystery to be solved. The largest and most complex that he will ever encounter. People have spent centuries trying to decode love and analyze romance. Yet they often find themselves swept up in its tide; experiencing it instead of understanding it. This is not something Sherlock can deduce and reduce to chemicals; not something he can catalogue into bite-sized facts and figures. But he sure as hell is going to try.

So John decided to humor him for just a bit. He is rather curious how the emotionally-obtuse sociopath managed to deduce their mutual attraction before he did. But then again, he was up to his ears in denial, so maybe it's not that much of a surprise.

"I've sorted through my Mind Palace and devised three main categories of relevant information that lead to revelation and will undoubtedly lead to yours. The three categories are -

How We Function As A Couple Already

My Reactions And Opinions Regarding You Which Suggest A Romantic Attachment

and Your Reactions And Opinions I've Deduced That Suggest A Mutual Romantic Attachment To Me"

Wow. He really is treating this like a presentation or something. This is actually a relief to John; who is happy to see that being in love isn't going to change the Sherlock he has come to know and love. Well it will change him a bit; but he will still be Sherlock. And he notes something, a glimmer that might be considered a "common symptom" of affection. If he can just get Sherlock to focus on it that might help things along. He certainly doesn't want to change Sherlock; but he also doesn't want their relationship to be so academic. "Now to start off I will begin with how we function as -" "Can we skip ahead?" he pipes up, cutting Sherlock off. "What?" "Skip ahead to your - what was it - reactions and opinions in regard to me." "That will disrupt the methodology of my argument." "I think it will be of more benefit to me though. This is about the two of us, so we need to understand each other. It's more important for me to understand your feelings in regard to this. So just start there okay?" "I - um -yes, alright." Sherlock fumbles, adjusting to this change in course.

"To start off we shall retrace my footsteps which lead to my discovery of my uh - fondness for you." John listens intently; all amusement gone. This will be a rather revealing conversation. "I found myself analyzing your personality as it was intriguing to me. I noted it most vividly one evening when I was attempting to organize my Mind Palace and I realized I was having a difficult time sorting you into any particular area so I began to file through every area and adjective that applies to you and I was rather intrigued by what I found. I will relay my cataloguing to you." a sort of wry humor plays across John's mind as he recalls that he did something similar shortly before his own realization.

"You're a fighter and a soldier. Always determined to move forward and never letting anyone stop you. Determined to protect those who can't protect themselves and to do so with honor. You're a doctor. You're always concerned with caring for others and look to their welfare before your own. This may be considered foolish in some instance but overall it is an admirable quality. It was exasperating at first when you began to force me to eat and sleep. Yet I've found that I actually appreciate your concern with my transport. It's an inarguably valuable asset to have someone that can and will care for me so I don't put my body out of commission when I'm too focused on a case to be concerned with it. You're loyal and steadfast almost to a fault at times. You can be irritatingly average and your slow cognitive function is often an inconvenience. However you're very steady under pressure and calm in the face of chaos which is a rare virtue. You would appear to be a fairly average man and in some ways you are. However I've learned that overall you're anything but average. You come quite close to um- well -remarkable actually." Sherlock finishes, faltering a bit and trailing off uncomfortably as he realizes how close to affectionate his ending sentence sounds. John is finding it hard not to grin like an idiot at Sherlock's description of him. Clearing his throat; and putting his embarrassment aside Sherlock continues "So, that would sum up my analyzation of you. Now to move on to the reactions and opinions on regard to you." "You know those are usually called feelings Sherlock." John can't help but comment. Sherlock shoots him an irritated look and continues on as if he hadn't spoken. "To start off I should say that you have the rare pleasure of proving me wrong on quite a few points. I should be greatly displeased by this; however I find it difficult to remain angry at you for any extended period of time." Yep, here it comes. Trickles of sentiment and affection are starting to seep through his analytical facade. "I've always thought that emotions are a distraction. Relationships are troublesome and require too much effort that would be better spent in more intellectual pursuits. Yet you've shown me the benefits that can be derived from a relationship. You've shown me that emotions are a key element in relationships and shouldn't be dismissed so lightly. You've also disproven my opinion that many romantic notions do not exist anywhere except for literature. I always thought that it was unrealistic to favor someone's laugh simply because of your attachment to them. A smile can't raise your body temperature. A voice should sound pleasant or unpleasant regardless of the affection you feel for the speaker. But with you I learned that is far from true. When you laugh I always want to join in. When you smile I do feel an odd sort of warmth. I find that I enjoy it when you talk, though other's voices grate on my nerves." John can't believe what he's hearing this from Sherlock of all people. "And the idea that a touch can feel electric? Impossible! At least I always thought so. But no, wrong again!" Sherlock is beginning to get more animated and agitated as various shades of affection and love begins to bleed through into his attempt at a logical argument. "Whenever we touched; just accidental brushes even, I felt a current pass briefly between us. And I would feel the contact linger; tingling afterwards. And it makes no neurological sense!" John is surprised that Sherlock has remained seated as he steadily grows more expressive; gesturing in exasperation with his arms. "And another thing. Why in god's name do I have the constant desire to card my hands through your hair?" he demands, more of himself than of John. "And the strangest things occupy my mind. I wonder how your skin feels. I wonder how you're lips taste. And it's ridiculous! I'm transfixed by your lip-licking habit and it's so damn annoying!" He stops, forcing himself to calm, before continuing. "I spent weeks dwelling on these sort of questions. I went through two boxes of nicotine patches. When I finally understood where my own -" he falters for a moment, obviously struggling with his word choice. "my feelings" he decides; causing John to smile a bit "where coming from everything else clicked into place." Sherlock barley takes a breath before he starts back up, trying to redirect the conversation away from him feelings as quickly as possible.

"So there you have it. Now I shall return to my original topic so we can get this sorted out." "Sherlock you don't need to -" "John I've humored you long enough, please allow me to continue as planned." Sherlock intercedes. "Now I've gathered a great deal of data in relation to how we already function as a couple. This will be a key piece in the removal of your denial." "But Sherlock I'm not-" "Gay. Yes, yes John I know." Sherlock cuts in, erroneously anticipating the rest of John's sentence. "If you'll simply let me finish-" "No Sherlock. Let me finish. I'm not in-" "John! Please just be silent for a moment. I know you're resistant to this idea but once I explain everything will make perfect sen-"

And the room goes silent. Well not exactly silent. There is the gasp of surprise from Sherlock as John stands swiftly moving across the space between them and pressing his lips against Sherlock's in one fluid motion. There is a sigh of pleasure from John when Sherlock recovers from the above-mentioned surprise after a few milliseconds and responds enthusiastically. And of course a few involuntary muffled moans. Then heavy gasping breaths when they finally break apart.

So not silent. But they certainly weren't doing any talking.

Sherlock recovers after a moments and inquires with a breathless "Wha -?"

Okay maybe "recovers" isn't quite the right word. John smiles at his dazed question and explains. "I was trying to tell you something and you wouldn't shut up long enough for me to say anything. So I shut you up myself." "Oh - uh - okay. I mean - go ahead then." He says, gesturing with his hand for John to speak. "I've figured it all out Sherlock. I realized it at the pub. I do love you. I was just so submerged in denial that I missed it. It was so obvious and I can't believe it took me this long to realize it, but I have. And I agree, we already function as a couple and should certainly make it an official arrangement." the grin that had been working its way onto his face as he spoke turned into a full blown smile at the look of thrilled surprise on Sherlock's face.

"Ah" is all Sherlock can say as his expression transitions from surprised to simply thrilled, then into a very familiar expression. That look of fascinated delight he gets when there is a new case. One with a particularly clever criminal judging by its intensity. John loves that look, but it's never been directed at him. Sherlock will often wear it when explaining something about the case to him, but he knows the look isn't meant for him during those times. Sherlock simply can't contain it. But now it is meant for him and it's amazing. That intrigue mingled with exalting excitement and a concentration akin to obsession. All focused on him.

Forget adrenalin, the high he's getting from that look is unbelievable. And the fact that he's still standing barley a breath's distance from Sherlock, enveloped in his scent and presence is just taking him higher.

"So we're a couple now?" he murmurs, just wanting to be sure that there isn't anything else they need to clear up at the moment. "Mhmm" is Sherlock's response, still holding his gaze intensely. Damn him, that look is practically aphrodisiac. And before he's even aware of it the words slip brazenly from his mouth "What's that you were saying about handcuffs earlier?"

If convenient please review; if inconvenient review anyway.

KP