Chapter III | Love My Phantom Stranger

Red.

Whenever he closed his eyes his hands were covered with red.

Blood.

Why was it always blood?

Jim looked up from his hands into the full length mirror. His eyes went wide at the sight. Hands starting to shake from his blood covered for the Irishman gripped his hair and looked up again. "No, no, no… what did I do?" He panted softly and felt a chill run through his spin as his reflection started to form a wicked smirk on his face. His hands move out of his hair and he pressed his hand to the mirror.

"This is who you are Jim dear. A killer. You like it."

He shook his head and felt his chest start to heave as he panicked. "No, you're a liar, you aren't real!" He yelled at the glass covering his ears. The smirk slipped from the doppelganger's lips as he slammed on the glass making it crack. Little spider webs splintering across the mirror.

"I'm very, very real Jim."

Panting hard the brunette took a step back from the mirror as it started to crack more, all the way across. The last hard hit made it shattered and Jim let out a yelp, taking a quick step back but still managing to cut his feet. There was a sharp grasp around his wrist that made him feel like his wrist was going to be broke.

"Just you wait and see how real I am."

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James bolted up in the bed with a scream that reverberated off the walls. It was so loud and so shrill that it woke Sebastian from a drug induced sleep with a fright. The blond gasped and coughed trying hard to catch his breath, his hand moving to grab Jim's leg. His silent way of asking for help. Jim snapped out of his own nightmare to the real life one that was happening right now. He would have to think about it after he helped Sebastian gain back his breath. Shaky hands moved and groping for the inhaler. When he found it, he slowly raised the blond from the bed. "Sebby, Seb, calm down baby, take a breath, come on. Breath Sebastian." The commanding tone was enough to get him to open his mouth for the inhaler. Jim gently pressed it into his mouth and Sebby inhaled once. Shaking the medication again, the brunette pressed it to his lips. "Again, bit breath, come on." The blond nodded and did as he was told. Taking a deep breath as Jim pressed down, releasing the medication into his lungs. That seemed to do it. Gently laying the inhaler down Jim wrapped his arms around Sebastian and held him until the labored breathing passed, replaced by soft easy breaths. He gently scooted down and kept him close. "There… I got you. Are you all right now?" There was a weak nod, before he turned his head to look at the other. "W-what was your dream about?" He whispered softly as Jim shook his head. "What they're always about. Losing you." He lied and kissed the wild blond hair. Seb opened his mouth to say something again, but Jim just shook his head. "Sebby, focus on breathing and try to go back to sleep okay?" He said looking him over with soft brown eyes. It always amazed Sebastian to look at his eyes now days. They were so different from how they use to look. Hollow, cold, black more than the warm brown that he was starting at now. Reluctantly the blond nodded to him and closed his blue eyes, taking the best deep breath that he would. It wasn't very deep. He knew better than to try that. Deep breaths ended with a lot of pain. He was still really tired, having a hard time keeping himself conscious just to sit and talk to Jim for the few minutes that he did. Sebastian never slept well any more. If he wasn't waking up from Jim yelling in his sleep, he was in too much pain to let the exhaustion take him. He was a little afraid he was gaining a tolerance to his pain medication and that it would stop working. If that happened, he would have to go back to the horrible liquid morphine, and with how sick that made he, he would like to avoid it to the best of his abilities.

Jim watched very patiently until the ex-army corporal finally gave in to sleep. His breathing went soft and he was seeming to have an easier time now. Very slowly the Irishman slipped out of the bed and wandered towards the bathroom. Jim sighed and turned on the water, leaning against the sink to catch his breath. That dream had been too real for him. His heart still felt like it was going a million miles an hour. Cupping his pale hands under the water, the brunette leaned over and slashed it on his face, taking a few more deep breaths before he looked up at the mirror. He stared for a moment before his reflection smirked in his direction.

"Oh Jim dear. Have a bad dream sweetness?"

The Irishman's eyes went wide and he wheeled back away from the mirror. Pressing his eyes closed tightly, pale hands reached up and gripped at his while dark locks. "No, no, no. Not there. You… are a figment of my imagination." He said, taking his hand away from his eyes and pointing, trying to be firm with himself.

"Now James, that's not how you treat an old friend."

Brown eyes flew open and he recoiled away from the doppelganger who was now at his left side. "Shit—" He gasped as his knees hit the ledge of the tub and thudded into it with a soft hiss. That was going to leave a mark on his pale back. What was he going to tell Sebastian to explain the mark. Apparently Sebastian had not heard anything since there was no frantic banging at the door. The double raised a brow and laughed a little as he walked over to where he was in the tub and leaned over him.

"Did that bullet fuck up your balance too?"

He could feel the venom laced in the words, despite the smile that was spread across his face. Jim just stayed where he was for a long moment. His eyes closed again as he tried to get his breath under control.

"Jiiiimmmmmmmmmyyy. Pay attention to meeeee."

Shaking his head, James kept his eyes closed tightly in defiance to the doppelganger's order's. A cold hand reached out and gripped his chin.

"Look at me."

It ordered in a firm tone, when he didn't open the eyes the grip went iron, clenching his jaw so hard he thought it might break. A gasp came from the dark haired Irishman and he opened his eyes with a whimper. The sight in front of him made him recoil and slam himself into the tub again as he tried to get loose.

Blood all over his face.

Blood from the bullet the tore through his head. There was crimson around his mouth as he smirked at him a bloody, wicked grin. Insanity. It was so easy to see on his face at this moment and it made Jim squirm to try and get away from him. The grip on his jaw got tighter. "Please… Stop it." He whimpered a little. "You aren't real. You can't be. Only one me…" He muttered as the doppelganger shook his head.

"No, I'm always going to be here. You can try to bury me with your drugs and therapy, but I'll always be here."

His free hand moved and gently pressed a finger against the back of the brunette's head and it made him whimper more. He didn't even like when Sebastian accidently touched him there. He didn't like when anyone or anything touched him there. This doppelganger made him want to scream for Seb. He didn't know if he would hear him or not. His pain medication was good at tossing him for a loop.

"You can't get rid of me."

Closing his brown eyes as tightly as he could, Jim started to cry. "No… no, go away." He whispered as he felt lips against his ear. He was afraid to hear the taunting voice again.

"Never."

"Get away from me!"

For a moment, everything went eerily quiet, like Jim had lost all sense of hearing. He didn't hear his heart beating or even his own breathing. It was almost a relief, but short lived when there were hands suddenly on his face once again. With all his might, he shoved his hands into the chest of the person who was touching him. He didn't even see who, his eyes were closed. But instinct told him to shove them. There was a thud and a loud gasp, followed by a harsh cough. "J-Jim?!" Instantly the brown eyes opened and looked to see Sebastian laying on the floor, trying to push himself back up to his feet. "Oh shit… Sebby, I-I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He asked quickly as he tried to scramble out of the tub. His head hurt and everything spun a little. He must have hit it harder than he originally thought. The blond swallowed hard and looked over at him, taking a long moment before pushing himself to his feet. He leaned against the sink and looked Jim over, his blue eyes trying to search his face for what was wrong, for what had happened. "You were shouting. What's the matter?" James looked down at his feet and shifted uncomfortably. Should he lie?

No.

Not about this.

He needed help and the only way he was going to get it was if he told Sebastian what was going on. "I… was talking to myself." He said raising his gain to look over the ex-soldier who was listening contently. "My reflection changed and he was smiling at me. When I tried to ignore it and tell myself it wasn't real, it was like he appeared out of nowhere. I got scared and I tripped in the tub."

"Then what?"

Jim bit his lip and shifted again, moving a little closer to him this time. "I tried again, saying he wasn't real, but he said he was real and that I was never going to get rid of him! He scares me Sebby! Makes me want to do horrible things, I don't want to be that person. T-That stranger isn't me… I don't-…"

"Shh…" Sebastian moved and wrapped his arms around him tightly, kissing over his wild hair. "We'll go in and get you something so you stop seeing him. Okay?" Nodding softly the blond reached out and gripped his shirt tightly. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked while burying his face into his chest. He felt him nod even as he gently pressed against his chest to listen to him breath. It sounded like it hurt, but Seb didn't make any indication that it really did. "Let's go sit for a little while huh? Relax on the couch, watch a little telly. I'll make some tea." Jim took a deep breath and nodded to him. "Yes…" He whispered and pulled away, allowing his fingers to twine with Seb's as he tugged him out to the cough, making him sit. He took the clicker and shoved it into his hand, before leaving he pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Jim watched him go and pressed the button to turn the telly on. He flipped through channel after channel until he hit the news saying something about Sherlock Holmes. The Irishman leaned forward and stared at the television as he flashed a picture of the man they were talking about.

"Proclaimed genius Sherlock Holmes faked his death three years by jumping off a building. We are still unsure how he survived, but when we asked his older brother Mycroft Holmes what the reason for such a stunt was he reported back to us that his brother was face with an ultimatum from criminal master, James Moriarty. Either Mr. Holmes was to die or three people he was close to were going to in his place. James Moriarty, or Richard Brooke died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He killed himself so Sherlock would have no way to call off the sniper unless he jumped. Mr. Mycroft Holmes said he was happy to have his brother back, but would not talk about why he vanished for three years or where he was."

James blinked and leaned back into the couch, moving his hand to touch the scar on the back of his head. "Who is he?" He asked out loud even though there was no one in the room. He could hear the kettle screeching in the kitchen. This time when the cold hands touched him, he didn't even flinch.

"He's the reason for all our troubles. The reason Sebby's hurt. He did it. He did it all, and now we know he's still alive. Does that seem fair that he got away from this unscathed?"

The voice was hushed, cold tenor. Jim's eyes turned to the kitchen then back to the telly. "No… Seb didn't deserve what happened to him. But what do I do?" He asked looking back at his doppelganger. Moriarty gave him a warm smiled and touched his cheek, whispering into his ear.

"We wait for the opportune moment."

"Opportune moment?" He asked looking over the face that was like a harsh reflection. The doppelganger nodded to him.

"Let him rebuild his life, and then we'll destroy it, just like he destroyed ours."

"I-…"

"Jim? Who are you talking too?" The Irishman turned and looked over at Sebastian, flipping the channel from the news and getting up to help him bring over the tea. "Just to the telly, no worries." He said flashing a convincing smile, placing the cups down as Seb wandered back into the kitchen. Jim turned to look and see if the phantom stranger was still lurking around, but the room was quiet. He sighed and brought his tea to his lips.

The opportune moment.