Work Text:
It takes Jim a few weeks of basking in self-congratulatory triumph to realize that Sherlock Holmes is not, in fact, dead.
Because the thing is, even though Sherlock Holmes is so much like Jim, so close to what Jim is, he's only supposed to be as good. In their face-off, no matter how close, how tight the competition, Jim is supposed to win.
So Jim refuses to see the obvious signs of Sherlock's brilliance and pops open his champagne instead. He toys with the crown jewels, tries to guess when they'll realize he gave back fakes.
But when he does see everything Sherlock has done, all Jim wants to do is bury his face in his hands and scream out his rage, because above anything else that has ever been important in this world, only Jim is ever allowed to win.