It is never difficult to deal with people with high egos as long as Sherlock believes they deserve them.

In this case, he knows Punchy does.

And with Punchy, he can actually speak his mind, safe in the knowledge that almost no one will completely understand them.

"I been sweeping for the tech litter. Ain't gonna build a whip but once I get a motor to purr, I'll be doxing the chips." He was building a computer, and had several harddrives he wanted to access. "Then I'mma relay to you. I like my eggs unscrambled."

Punchy was always excellent with encryption.