"Mm, yes. We must leave room for ourselves to improve on things next year," he returns, smiling playfully, and he squeezes Watson's hand in return. "What do you think -- shall I spill something on the rug? Start a small fire where a fire should not be?"

Really, though, if everything goes awry tomorrow then at least they have had this; this is enough Christmas for Holmes, if he will get nothing else. It's peaceful, lovely, and perfect to sit on the sofa and lounge about with his husband; it's everything a Christmas ought to be, like there's a Christmas checklist out there, and they've already checked everything off it.