The consulting detective scoffed. “Please, I am most certainly not flirting with you.” His expression became confused for a second and he quickly glanced at James. “Am I? In truth Sherlock was well aware that his grasp on emotions was not always the strongest. There were often times when he couldn’t fathom exactly why a person would be so emotionally traumatised by a crime or act in a way that suggested they were distressed. It dodn’t help that sometimes his own emotions would escape him and make his demeanour seem more hard and cold than he intended. “No, I am merely catering to what I know you seem to like, attention. I will give praise where praise is due. As far as detective’s go, you appear to possess a certain level of natural skill so I am merely praising you for what I feel deserves such credit in the nineteen minutes and thirty seven minutes of being acquainted.” He smirked. “Think of it as your role model flirting with you if you wish though. Whatever gets you through the long days and nights when you aren’t out investigating.”
Reaching the top of flight of stairs, Sherlock nodded in agreement. “London is a wonderfully chaotic city. Beneath all the beauty of the capital city is a venomous epicenter of criminals, con artists and smugglers just waiting to cross my path. Life there is never dull. It is like a living breathing city that keeps me, physically and intellectually, on my toes. I imagine you understand that though. Unfortunately for this vile, repulsive man I am on the tail of, he is far too outlandish and slow to stay out of my sights and his time as a free man is ending!” The detective grinned proudly at the thought. “Of course, I would be happy to comment on your assistance and how your meticulous time keeping proved to be quite the blessing for me in tracking him down. I may even hack John’s blog to write up this case at some point.”
“I must admit, my interest has been piqued by your own pursuit of a suspiciously marked man. I expect the whole story to be recounted to the finest detail upon your visit to my home. I will ensure Mrs Hudson keeps you fueled on her special blend of tea and John, if he is around, keeps his stupid questions to himself." Sherlock gestured at the door they needed to enter. "I am curious also as to this place. Do you visit here often. The familiarity you seemed to know the receptionist suggests so. Who exactly are we going to consult over the CCTV footage? Are they an acquaintance too of yours? I presume you haven’t charmed everyone in this building with an inviting smile?”
“They happen to be one of my clients, actually… I do the occasional job for the owner, and part of my payment is access to footage when I need it. That said, we won’t actually need to consult anyone… I know my way around the booth and,” Hakuba paused in front of the door, glancing back at Sherlock with a smirk, “…they understand that I prefer to work alone.”
He knocked on the door and waited, folding hands behind his back. In the end, he wasn’t sure if Mr. Holmes had been flirting with him or not, but it hardly seemed to matter. Neither of them were, apparently, good at socializing with those they didn’t need to utilize, and even then their interactions were suspect. With each other, it was non-stop challenges and posturing, making a show of it and attempting to diffuse any negative factors of their own reputations.
The door opened and two men gave nods as they slipped out past them, regarding each by name ‘Ho, James’ and ‘Afternoon, Mr. Holmes,’ respectively, on their way to the stairs. The teenage watched them go, gaze shifting from them to Sherlock and back again, before gesturing to let the older man enter first. There was still much to be said and addressed, but it could wait until they were safely situated behind closed doors.