A little weirdness for Valentines Day!
Disclaimer – don't own the characters, wish I did!
It is a force of nature, stronger than hatred, inflexible as wrought iron, and more destructive than a nuclear explosion.
Unrequited love can be fatal. Not for the One Who Loves, nor for the Object Of Affection. No, the person most at risk is the Other, the one who has stolen the Object's heart.
That Other, that thief, must be done away with.
The Other was a certain ex-army doctor, and he was in mortal danger.
The Object, a self-diagnosed sociopath, was possessed of one of the most brilliant minds in the world, now he used it to discover the whereabouts of his Other.
When he met the One, the Detective Inspector and the Brother waited nearby, ready to act.
"I'm glad you came" said the One
"Me too" the Object's smile was sickly sweet. "But I worry – what if he finds out? He gets jealous"
"The Other won't trouble you after tonight"
The Object quirked an eyebrow, questioning.
"I won't allow him to bother you again, you will be free!"
"You'd do this for me?"
The velvety baritone washed over the One, spoke to his heart, made him careless.
"Time and tide will take care of him"
Grey eyes closed, the synapses of the brain sparked, and as facts and figures, times and dates flashed around his head, he knew exactly what fate awaited the Other. Dashing from the room he leapt into the Brother's car, the Detective Inspector gave instructions to his officers to search the riverbank.
As the tide rushed in, the officers spotted the stake, the blond head losing the battle to stay above the water, and they shouted a warning.
The Object flung off his coat and flung himself headlong into the water, swimming strongly towards the post now barely visible above the rising tide.
oOo
Tied to the stake, the Other felt his lungs would burst. He could no longer reach up and gulp the cold night air. His tears mingles with the murky river water as he realised he would never see his lover again.
Suddenly there were hands on his face, feeling for his lips, then lips on his, forcing air into him. But too soon they were gone again. Confusion filled the Other's oxygen-starved mind, and he struggled against his bonds.
The hands and lips came back, only this time as the lips forced air in, the hands wrapped around him, struggling with the ropes at his wrists. When they went again he tried not to panic, he thought he understood what they were trying to do.
The third time, as air rushed in the ropes gave, and together they broke the surface of the river.
"John! John, breathe!" Sherlock's voice was urgent in his ear, but all John could do was cough, and hang onto the other man's shoulders until he was able to support himself in the water.
Eventually, coughing subsided, and together they struggled to the riverbank and the waiting paramedics, who wrapped the two men in orange blankets and led them both to the waiting ambulance.
Mycroft and Greg watched as the doors of the vehicle closed, and with blue lights flashing it pulled away.
"I thought I was dead." John whispered hoarsely, leaning into his lover's side, resting his head on his shoulder as the ambulance raced towards the nearest hospital.
"I couldn't lose you, John, not now, not tonight"
"Tonight?" he was shivering with cold.
Sherlock wrapped himself around the smaller man, not trying to generate warmth for them both, but trying to get as close as possible to the treasure he had almost lost.
"I couldn't let you leave me on St Valentine's night!"