Part of the reason Sebastian hadn't dealt well in the army was the lack of freedom, the lack of control. He didn't like being told what to do. Too many rules, too many dos and don'ts. He didn't have a problem with authority but when the authority claimed to know more than him when they clearly didn't he had a problem with it. Of course, authority wasn't the reason he got kicked out the army. He claimed it was, he liked to make himself sound like a bit of a rebel. It was better, it was safer than the truth. The truth being that he had been scared, he hadn't been able to cope with the situation of the war. He hadn't been able to cope with the lack of control, with the horrors of seeing his teammates and friends killed. It only got worse when he worked himself up and became a colonel. At that point he was the one giving the orders. He was the one who sent them out to their deaths. He didn't have a problem with death. No, death wasn't the problem. It was the lack of control. These men had meant something to Sebastian, he had felt that it was his place to protect them but he hadn't been able to. He would never forget the day he sent four of his six men out and all of them had been killed. It was the day before he got himself kicked out. The day after that horrific day, he turned on the two left. Oh they did nothing wrong, their biggest crime had been surviving and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sebastian had been so angry, so desperate that the first time he had a gun in his hand he was putting the bullets in those two men. It was cold-blooded murdered, it was treason, betrayal. Sebastian hated himself for it, but it had done the right job. It got him out. He didn't give a damn about the dishonourable discharge because he was heading back to England. Back to the safety of London. He didn't even care about the prison sentence. At least he wasn't going to be in a war zone.
Once he was in prison, he was bored. He was glad for the break, he was glad to have enough time to be able to breath, but he was bored. Bored because he had nothing to do, bored because in comparison to the war, jail was so quiet and peaceful. He had tried picking a couple of fights because he couldn't deal with how safe it felt. He had wanted the safety of London but once he got it, it didn't feel right. The day he was told he had a visitor, was the day everything changed. He didn't understand who it could be. His parents had disowned him when they found out what he did. He wasn't too bothered by that, they hadn't bothered to write or anything while he was over in the war anyway, they clearly didn't care about what happened to him. He hadn't kept any of him friends from before the war and he had no other family. He knew of no idea of who it could be.
"Sebastian Moran," the man sat on the table opposite him was small and clearly thought he was important. He wore a perfectly tailored suit and an emotionless expression. "The name's James Moriarty, you won't have heard of me. No one has unless I want them too."
Sebastian added self-important to his mental list of information about this name. "What do you want?" he asked, uninterested.
"I have a job for you," Jim said, simply.
"You may've noticed that I'm a little caged in right now," Sebastian replied, laughing slightly at his own pathetic joke.
"Yes," Jim agreed, unimpressed by the attempt at a joke. "I'm also aware that you get out in a fortnight's time," he replied.
"And what if I don't need a job?" Sebastian smirked.
"Ex-army colonel with a dishonourable discharge, you need a job," Jim said simply. Sebastian's face fell at Jim's words. "Oh, yeah and I know everything about you. Every little detail. You're a sniper, are you not?"
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, wondering where this man had got all this information from. "What of it?"
"I need a sniper," Jim shrugged as though it wasn't important, as though he had a list of other snipers if Sebastian didn't take the job. "And I only take the best."
"That'll be why you came to me then," Sebastian said, without a hint of modesty.
Jim nodded, in all seriousness. "Yes. And more than that I need a bodyguard. You seem to be the perfect man for the job. Now. You get out Tuesday week. I will give you the details then."
"I haven't agreed to the job yet," Sebastian pointed out.
"I'll give you the details then," Jim repeated, standing up and turning to go.
Sebastian smiled. He was sat leaning against his bike. He had no idea where he was. It was his day off and he had just ridden for an hour or so, stopping in an empty street. He liked to take some time to himself to just be able to stop and reflect. It was interesting, because Jim had had every risk of being just like every other man in power had been and in many ways, but for Sebastian it wasn't like that. When Jim told him what to do, he wasn't afraid to contradict it. He wasn't afraid to go against it if it was better that way. And Jim liked it. Oh of course, his boss denied it, claimed to hate it, but it was obvious he liked having someone who wasn't scared of him, who was happy to speak up again him, and hit back.
The only problem now was, Sebastian's feeling for his boss had gone beyond his job. He had always felt protective of the other. He hadn't been able to do his job and protect his men in the way, but it was his job to protect Jim and he was going to do that even if it killed him. But it went beyond that. Now it didn't feel like duty, it didn't feel like a job. It felt natural, it felt right. He pulled his phone out, writing a text.
I love you, boss –SM.
He had to press send quickly because he was sure he would chicken out and delete it if he didn't. His heart was beating faster. For the first time he felt fear in relation to Jim. He had no idea how his boss would react and a million possibilities ran through his head. A reply came through quickly though, which Sebastian was grateful for
I was wondering when you would get around to admitting that to yourself and actually telling me –JM
Sebastian laughed slightly. Of course Jim already knew. Sebastian had realised himself a few weeks back and just hadn't dared tell him. He had thought he had been acting exactly the same, but of course, Jim would notice the little differences. Before Sebastian had the chance to answer the text another one came through.
By which I mean, I love you too, tiger –JM
Sebastian almost dropped his phone, grinned like a school boy at it. He almost didn't believe it, but Jim didn't say that without meaning it. He pocketed his phone and jumped on his bike again, kicking the balancer off and revving up quickly before zooming off. But this time he wasn't going home to see his boss, this time, for the first time, he was going home to see his partner.