Sherlock narrowed his eyes and watched the relatively small girl eat her mammoth meal with ease, not even expressing any form of discomfort. He had his fingers resting under his chin, watching her closely. She didn't allow him to talk while she ate, because apparently, it distracted her eating ritual. He was left with no choice but to wonder – what happened to her. She was a victim of a substantial trauma, but she never expressed it.
Ayra looked up, chewing on her burger intently and narrowed her own eyes – the left eye was much browner while the right eye was very, very green, making her two different colored eyes pop from miles away, especially against her dark skin. Ayra took a deep breath and put her burger down and leaned closer. "You're thinking about what happened to me, aren't you?"I like to think of myself as a 17x17 Rubik's cube… quite impossible to solve."
"Yes. But not impossible"" Sherlock murmured. Ayra leaned back and shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, and I can assure you that you will get there… only because I will let you.I'll get over it eventually." Ayra mumbled, "Seems as though trouble and I are soul-mates." She whispered slowly, looking out the window. "I have been to all corners of the world, but London has always been in my Top city is far more beautiful than I imagined, you know." She said, her voice low. Sherlock narrowed his eyes and looked out the window. Yes, he has been to many places, but at the end there was no place like home- London.
"Were you raped?" Sherlock asked suddenly, making Ayra snap her head and frown. "No, wait, that wouldn't have a FBI hold, unless it was someone influential who did it-"
"No- I would break anyone's penis if they even had a fluttering thought about something like that-" Ayra snapped, tapping her fingers impatiently. She took her glass of soda and gulped it down, until the whole glass was empty. "It's a little more complex."It's so, so much more complicated, that I know for a fact you won't get it until it knocks on your doorstep."
"Like yourselfNo need to be so dramatic." Sherlock smiled, once again lacing his fingers under his chin. Ayra looked up and gave him a sly smile, her dimples appearing on her cheeks. He knew that she was subjected to sexual assault – that part was evidently clear from her reaction, perhaps when she was much younger…. bu But there was still something major he was missing.
"Yeah, I am quite the complicated bitch, aren't I?"My mama always said you gotta fight fire with fire." Ayra giggled, picking up the remainder of her burger and chewing on it. "I looked into your family- I mean I searched the name Holmes." Sherlock narrowed his eyes and his smile disappeared, making him scoff.
"Why?" Sherlock asked tightly, tapping his fingers.
"To understand why you are the way you are. So… shielded and terrified of humans hidden." Ayra said, wiping her fingers with a napkin which was neatly folded next to her. "I saw you, and I k- ssaw your older brother… man I thought you came from some seriously dysfunctional family."
"My family isn't dysfunctional." Sherlock replied. "Only Mycroft is."
"I know!" Ayra exclaimed enthusiastically. "Well, as far as the internet would provide anyways. You got your genius from your mother, a critically acclaimed mathematician."
"I'm aware of mummy's accomplishments." Sherlock murmured, making Ayra burst into laughter. He snapped his attention to her, completely baffled. "What?" he asked cautiously, narrowing his eyes.
"Mummy!" Ayra giggled, her laugh becoming so high pitch that it was beginning to hurt his eardrums. Sherlock wrinkled his nose and frowned. "You are such a babe." Ayra cried, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes from laughing too hard.
"What's wrong with that?" Sherlock asked defensively, making her purse her lips tightly to prevent from laughing once again.
"Nothing… you're just, such a cutie." Ayra said, making Sherlock roll his eyes and look out the window. His attention snapped outside when he saw Lestrade, Anderson and Donovan heading towards the entrance of the café, making him stiff. "What's wrong?" Ayra asked, noticing his change in body language.
"Why would anything be wrong?" Sherlock asked immediately, making Ayra widen her eyes and look behind his shoulder.
"Sherlock?" Lestrade's voice came from behind him, making him take in a deep breath. Lestrade, he never minded Lestrade… but Anderson and Donovan were a completely different story. "What you doin' here?"
"Lestrade." Sherlock acknowledge, turning around to see a very confused and questioned looks on all three of their faces.
"Who's that then?" Donovan asked, watching Ayra closely. Ayra dropped her napkin on the table and crossed her arms defiantly, arching her eyebrows. Sherlock turned around and saw Ayra, knowing she was going to say something unpleasant.
"Sherlock! I can't believe you never told any of your coworkers about me!" Ayra gasped, making Sherlock frown. "Hi I'm Ayra, Sherlock's girlfriend." Ayra said, extending her hand out to greet them. All three of their jaws dropped at once, completely taken aback.
"What?" Lestrade asked, his gaze shifting from Ayra to Sherlock, then to Ayra again. Lestrade gulped and looked at Ayra closely, nervous at meeting her eye as he blushed. Sherlock rolled his eyes, annoyance taking him over once again. "You- your eyes are two different colors-" Lestrade commented nervously, his cheeks becoming darker.
"Yes, I do look at myself at the mirror constantly."that is something I've noticed before." Ayra smiled fluttering her eyelashes just to make the man more flustered.
, tilting her head and trying to gather her opinion on the other two.
"How's the missus Lestrade?" Sherlock snapped, making Lestrade snap back to reality and look at him for a change.
"Yeah… um… we are trying to patch things up." Lestrade answered, looking down at the floor.
"Really, her?" Sherlock murmured, knowing all too well his wife was still cheating on him, this time with the science tutor.
"But, you're hotfit." Anderson mumbled behind them, making Ayra scoff in disgust. Sherlock turned and narrowed his eyes at Anderson, ready to take him down at all his will when Ayra spoke up.
"Didn't your wife just have a fucking baby?" Ayra asked, making Sherlock turn around to Ayra again. How did she know about the baby? Turning back to Anderson, he noticed the blotched spots of baby formula and bags under his eyes. The child was no more than a few months old. Ayra crunched her nose and sniffed, another smile of disbelief forming on her face. "And you didn't… have a baby…"
"No, I didn't!" Donovan snarled, looking at her. "And how did you know he became a father?"
"Baby formula and sleepless nights." Ayra asked, looking down at her nails. "Pretty self-explanatory." She looked up sharply when she heard Donovan snort, making her tilt her head.
"Sherlock told you that, didn't he?" Donovan asked, making Ayra watch Donovan coldly, her eyes unwavering.
"Please, don't think he's wasting his time talking to me about you guys." Ayra winked, making the two men very uncomfortable.
"There is baby formula on his shirt, which is still wrinkled meaning he is still wearing the same shirt he wore to work yesterday, and spilled baby formula on his left chest while he was having a fight with his wife… can't blame her – I would probably kill my cheating husband."
"Excuse me!" Donovan spat, only making her smile more look at Sherlock. He must admit, he was enjoying his thoroughly. It's as if he didn't even have to do anything. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Shea butter will help you knees." Ayra said, arching her eyebrows and motioning Sherlock to exit. "Will heal those scraps right up." Sherlock looked back and smiled proudly.
"What the actual fuck!" Donovan cried, shaking her head. "Can't believe there are two of you… freaks."
Ayra narrowed her eyes and looked at Donovan with the coldest set of eyes, almost frighteningly cold. Ayra's smile wiped off and morphed into pure anger, her nostrils flaring.
"What did you say?" Ayra chewed out, balling her fists tightly. "I'm getting heat from the leech who stole a newborn's father aaway from her? really?"
"I will-" Donovan stood straighter when Lestrade stopped her, his eyebrows frowning.
"Enough Donovan!" Lestrade snapped, making her back off. "I'm sorry for my sergeant's and forensic specialist's behavior." Lestrade said, looking back with burning eyes at Donovan and Anderson.
"But-" Donovan began to protest when Lestrade once again stopped her.
"She wasn't wrong, now was she?" Lestrade asked in a low voice, making take a step back. "Sherlock, I wasn't aware… you did… girlfriends."
"Well he does trust me." Ayra chimed in, pushing Sherlock aside. "He is quite the charmer. when he wants to have sex with you." Ayra winked, making Sherlock hook his arms on hers and pull her to his side.
"I think we are done here." Sherlock murmured, pulling her with force.
"It was nice meeting you Detective Inspector… and you two… adulterers." Ayra mumbled the last part. Sherlock used his free hand to open the door as he swung out, listening to Ayra laugh loudly. "Okay you can't deny that wasn't fun."
"Oh no, it was very entertaining to watch." Sherlock smirked, hailing a taxi. "And the whole act would have been believable if you didn't blow it at the end." Ayra frowned and yanked her arm away from him.
"What? That isn't believable?" Ayra scoffed. "What do you do when your seeking courtship?"
"I don't court." Sherlock added briskly, making Ayra look at him bewildered.
"Then what, you just take your pants off in front of a yellow-page whore of something?" Ayra asked, somewhat afraid of the answer. Ayra swiped a quick look over him, making her smile. "Yeah, if someone looked like you, I can see how that works."
Sherlock rolled his eyes and slid inside the cab, telling him to go back to the museum. He held his breath, and he could practically feel Ayra's brain tweaking, swirling with question, or perhaps another disturbing and uncomfortable comment. The long silence was heavy, almost making it hard for him to breathe – he did not like being this anxious and it was infuriating that Ayra would make him feel that way. He never knew what to expect from her.
"So that D.I. still thinking about getting back to his wife?" Ayra asked, making Sherlock turn around and meet her mischievous glint. Sherlock tilted his head and pursed his lips in question, waiting for her to explain further. "He's a real daddy-"
"Please don't." Sherlock pursed his lips and clenched his fists. "I did just have a joyous luck of watching you devour a meal like a hyena going down on an antelope… I really don't wish to barf so don't push me over the edge-"
"Aww, you're jealous again." Ayra purred, making him roll his eyes more. "You know I got a special soft spot for you." Ayra began when her phone buzzed in her back pocket, making her squirm and pull the phone out clumsily. She slid her back against the rest as Sherlock saw her read the text – from her eyes growing wide in surprise, into the widest smile… followed by blank, nervous wide eyes.
"Day after tomorrow…" she mumbled to herself, scratching her head. "I-yes…" she whispered, typing away rapidly on her phone.
"He's too normal Sherlock…" Ayra mumbled, picking her head up and scratching chin. "I don't do normal."
"So I'm aware." Sherlock mumbled under his breath, making Ayra look up.
"Don't worry boo, you are still my number one man." Ayra said, looking up at her phone once again. "Time to dump myself in the local trash can-" Ayra sang.
"He did wait two whole days to text me, which obviously rings out his intentions loud and clear… but still… so basic."
"Quite tedious, isn't it?" Sherlock nodded, making Ayra take a deep breath.
"No, quite a refreshing change, actually."Yeah sometimes I wish I was an hermaphroditic worm. Ayra mumbled, pulling her wallet out from the bag and paying the cab driver. "May be good for my mental health… but he still isn't the ideal wiggle my disgusting slobby body and live my life my life and exchange slimes with other worms to reproduce."
"You'll be bored.I don't understand why you voluntarily want to be bored." Sherlock whined, prancing up the stairs. "Ordinary people are boring – dating is boring! It's pointless… why would you want to make small talk by choice?"
"Um… so I can, eventually fall in love…" Ayra pushed him aside. "You know, I'm not like you. I do believe love is something much more than a chemical reaction."
"It really isn't." Sherlock argued back, making Ayra crunch her nose. "Just serotonin at its peak."
"Well… neither of us have ever been in love, so we aren't the once to , I really got you there with the bullshit, didn't I?" Ayra shruggedsmiled, waiting by a corner and watching tourists slowly make their way out of the museum. "I think I deserve an Oscar for that. Your girl here will never find the Hollywood Version of love- it's doesn't exist."
"Please, you're making people uncomfortable." Sherlock commented, noticing the confused stares for passer-byers overhearing their conversation.
"You're just sad because I'm stealing the spotlight from you." Ayra pouted.
"Your cynicism isn't natural-" Sherlock replied sharply, "Almost seems fake to the untrained eyes." Ayra remained quiet, making Sherlock meet her eyes.
Her eyes, there was something very different about them. He could see the bright colors of greens and golds turn into a dark shadow, like a storm. The bright light from her eyes were gone, and they almost seemed dead. "You have no idea what I'm truly capable of, Holmes." She whispered, making his skin prickle. It was unnerving, looking at her eyes. It's as if he wasn't looking at Ayra's eyes, but something very, very sinister. No one can gauche a reaction like that from him-
"Its' all facts and data…" Sherlock whispered, taking a seat by a bench and checking his time impatiently. "Where's John. He should be here."
"I don't mean the levels of neurotransmitters, I mean what events provoke such… surges?" Ayra shrilled, tucking her legs in. "I mean, it must be nice to be that happy at some point in time, right?" Sherlock looked at her from the corner of his eyes, her façade of usual excitement and happiness slowly dissipating as a shadow of sadness overcame. It lasted only for a few seconds until she realized she let her guards down. She looked up, noticing Sherlock observing her and smiled, but not her usual smile.
"There you two are." John said, out of breath. "I've been looking for ages." Sherlock blinked rapidly, losing his train of thought. He looked up at John with confusion, and then back at Ayra. She greeted him with a bright smile, as if nothing had changed.
Sherlock looked at her with disbelief, blinking rapidly again.
"We were on a date." Ayra said, nodding her head. John paused panting and stood straighter, his face filled with actual horror.
"What?" John exclaimed, looking at Sherlock with shock. Sherlock rolled his eyes and looked away, making Ayra giggle. "Oh, I see… funny that one was. And impossible."
"Scotland Yard seemed to believe it." Ayra said, crossing her arms.
"That should show you the level of Scotland Yard's incompetence." Sherlock answered, clearing his throat, making Ayra shake her head. "Should be wise for us to stake out and wait in the restoration room. She should come there once everyone has left."
He got up swiftly from his chair and looked back, watching Ayra smile and have a casual, pointless conversation with John. No one can bring upon that expression with acting, well… not unless they were taught to.
There was something very, very major he was missing from this puzzle.
Ayra looked at Soo Lin Yao, a beautiful girl not much older than her, crouch her knees together and rest her chin on it, taking a deep breath. She was mortified, and for obvious reasons. Ayra knew exactly what she was going through – waiting for death. "You saw the cipher; you know he's coming for me."
"You've been clever to avoid him so far." Sherlock commented, his eyes not blinking once.
"I had to finish… to finish this work. It's only a matter of time before he finds me." Soo Lin said.
"Who is he? Have you met him before?" Ayra asked, leaning her head in. Soo Lin turned around and nodded, looking down.
"When I was a girl, living back in China… I recognized… his 'signature.'" Soo Lin said.
"The cipher." Sherlock replied robotically, making Soo Lin nod again.
"Only he would do this… Zhi Zhu." Soo Lin revealed.
"The Spider?" Ayra and Sherlock exclaimed at the same time, making John look back at Ayra. "I took Mandarin in college."What? I am fluent in 17 languages."
Soo Lin lifted her right leg on the counter and began to undo her shoe laces, quickly pulling off her shoes. Ayra got up and turned to see the tattoo on Soo Lin's sole, the tattoo of a black lotus flower inside a circle. "You know this mark?"
"Yes, it's the mark of a Tong." Sherlock said, pursing his lips.
"Hmm?" John asked, looking at Ayra and Sherlock blankly.
"Ancient crime syndicate in China." Sherlock replied. Ayra looked down at the tattoo carefully. She took a short breath and kept her expression neutral; she has seen that mark before. – sheSoo Lin could have been no more than twenty-five, and that tattoo looked old. She frowned and looked at Soo Lin.
"How old were you, when you started smuggling for them?" Ayra asked, crouched down on her knees. Soo Lin looks down and puts her shoe back on, biting the inside of her cheek.
"I was fifteen. My parents were dead. I had no livelihood; no way of surviving day to day except for working for the bosses.
"Who are they?" Sherlock asked.
"They are called the Black Lotus." Soo Lin informed, making Ayra creased her eyebrows deeply. The Black Lotus… she has heard that name before. She can't quite put her finger on it, but she was sure she had heard of them before. Biting the inside of her cheek, Ayra turned her attention back to Soo Lin.
"By the time I was sixteen, I was taking thousands of pounds' worth of drugs across the border into Hong Kong. But I've managed to leave that life behind – I came to England." Soo Lin flashes Ayra a small smile, turning to Sherlock. "They gave me a job here; everything was good… a new life."
"Then he came looking for you." Ayra added.
Soo Lin pursed her lips and gulped, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. "Yes." She continued. "I thought after five years they would have forgotten me, but they never really let you leave. A small community like ours – they are never very far away." She let a single drop of tear roll down her eyes, quickly wiping it off. "He came to my flat. He asked me to track down something that was stolen."
"And you have no idea what it was?" John asked, his arms crossed tightly across his chest.
"I refused to help." Soo Lin said. John leaned forward, resting his arm against the counter.
"So, you knew him well? Back when you were living in China?" John asked. Soo Lin nodded in response and sniffled, looking up at Sherlock.
"Oh yes…" She whispered, her voice cracked. "He's my brother."
Sherlock and Ayra are hunched over Soo Lin, showing her the ciphers that were left on the wall. The numbers were codes that were based upon a book – which meant it was a book both Van Coon and Kurtis owns. Ayra jolted up when all the lights went off in a snap, leaving the room in cold, eerie darkness. Soo Lin looks around, her eyes filled with dread as she gulped painfully.
"He's here… Zhi Zhu." Soo Lin whispered, her eyes wide. "He has found me." Without a warning, Sherlock turned around and raced out of the room, leaving John and Ayra baffled. Ayra opened her mouth and looked up at John in confusion, unsure of what to do next.
"Sh-Sherlock!" John whispered urgently, balling his fists.
"There's a closet over there." Ayra said, making John take Soo Lin's hand and lead her there.
"Get in!" John said, pushing Soo Lin under and taking Ayra's hand next. Ayra look up and pursed her lips dramatically.
"Whatcha doin' solider boy?" Ayra asked, taking her hand away from him. "I'm going out there." John turned his lips into a thin line and shook his head violently, taking Ayra's hand again.
"Not a chance; this isn't up for debate." John said, pushing Ayra into the tiny closet with Soo Lin. "This is far too dangerous." Pushing John aside, Ayra headed towards the door, running towards the exit.
"See you on the other side!" Ayra laughed, waving him goodbye and leaving. John crunched his eyebrows and looked at Soo Lin, who was equally perplexed as he was.
"That girl is mental." John murmured under his breath, taking a deep breath. "Okay, you stay here and bolt the door shut once I leave. I have got to go and help them." John whispered, giving Soo Lin's hand one last tap and running out the exit.
Ayra ducked behind a pillar as a bullet rang out into the dark halls, making her pretend squealmaking her squeal. Covering her head, she moved to the other pillar again, crawling under a display of ancient pots. "This is getting eventful." Ayra rolled her eyes, seeing Sherlock's shoes moves across the pale marble floor. Smiling mischievously, she crawled out of her hiding space, and ran up to him.
"What are you doing here?" Sherlock asked, pulling her aside and placing their backs flat against the wall.
"What? I'm not equipped enough to handle this because I'm a girl?" Ayra scoffed, crossing her arms dissent and frowning. "Get your head out of your ass, man child!"
"No, you aren't trained." Sherlock chewed out, both ducking again as another shot fired into the darkness. "Careful!" Sherlock shouted out, peeking from the corner of the wall. "Some of those skulls are over two hundred years old, have a bit of respect!"
"I do have training." Ayra whispered harshly, grabbing Sherlock's coat and peeking from his side. "And I have been in the middle of a cross fire before."
Sherlock looked down at Ayra and frowned, waiting for another shot to be fired. "Yes, I figured that bit out. Your hands are perfectly still…" Sherlock said, looking up. "The shots have stopped."
"See, you are smart." Ayra said, patting Sherlock's face and making him twitch under her touch. She smiled and straighten his coat, looking around the dark halls. "Now, where did he go?"
"I haven't the faintest-" Sherlock paused when he heard a single shot fire off into the distance, towards where the restoration room was. Looking up at Sherlock, Ayra parted her lips in dismay, her incongruous eyes rapidly moving across her eyes.
"That-" she muttered, making Sherlock nod.
"Yes." He said plainly, moving Ayra aside and running towards the restoration room. Ayra took a deep breath and followed shortly after him, trying not to slip and fall on the slippery marble floor. How could her own brother do this to her? Her stomach began to form in knots when she slowly entered the room, watching John peer over her body.
Ayra took a shaky breath and walked closer, seeing Soo Lin's body sprawled across the table with her arm extended out, planted with one single black origami lotus. Ayra closed her eyes and turned away, beginning to bite on the corners of her blunt nails. Soo Lin was a nice girl, from the ten minutes she knew her… and just like that, she's dead.
I am currently binge-watching Friends for the umpteenth time and, well, I don't know if you can tell but my OC is a mixture of all of them (some more than others) - she's most like Chandler (with the wry sarcasm), kind of crazy like Phoebe, OCD like Monica, obsessed with fashion and sort of a bitch at times like Rachel, academic like Ross and loves to eat like Joey.
Next chapter she meets Molly and gives her a genuine freak out. I can't wait to write that chapter
Anyways lemme know what you guys are thinking and don't forget to comment - those reviews put a smile on my resting bitch face.
Until next time 3
