Hello everyone, I'm finally posting a chapter that matters a lot to me, since it introduces some characters that I care for a lot. For once, I'm going to add some notes at the end of the chapter, to avoid giving spoilers. Enjoy!
As always, many thanks to my beta readers, Finrod and Alexandra.
Warnings: slight physical violence
oOoOoOo
Chapter 10 – Secret twins don't happen in real life
Dear Sebastian,
How is life in London? Here in Cornwall, everything is going well. I moved to Fal Vale for work; I had thought it was in the middle of nowhere, but in the end it's a nice place, less stressful than the capital. I'm the chief technician now, so I don't go on the rails as often as I used to, and I have a team to manage. It's a lot of work, a lot of responsibility, but it's also much more interesting.
Sebastian smiled as he recalled his brother's reluctance a few months before, when he had had to move to Cornwall: his e-mail was just a long complaint about the desolated landscape and the lack of social life. Now Severin seemed to have changed his mind.
I met a boy there (well, I say a boy... we're almost the same age). His name is Richard, he's a train driver. He was the one who welcomed me and showed me around when I arrived. He is part of a theatre group in his spare time, he also plays in London from time to time.
He is adorable, kind, considerate... I love guess what? He asked me out! We've been together for a month now, and it's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. I hope you can come over soon, I'd love for you to meet him. In the meantime, I'm sending you some pictures of us.
While Sebastian had been happy to receive news from his brother, his good mood was quickly killed when he opened the documents. The photos all depicted Richard, and Severin was also in some of them. The driver's uniform and cap were not a good enough disguise for Sebastian not to recognize the face of the young man who had been haunting his life for over a year. He quickly reviewed the images, all showing the same black hair, the same dark and impenetrable eyes, the same happy smile, which Sebastian had long believed was reserved for him.
It must be a joke... he thought as anger began to invade his mind. The last picture was like a cold shower that drowned his last hopes.
Severin and Jim - or Richard, whatever his real name was - were sitting on a bench in front of a lake, in the light of the setting sun, kissing passionately.
Sebastian remained frozen for a moment, his eyes fixed on the heresy facing him. Finally, he slammed his computer screen down with an angry gesture and put his head in his hands. Even with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but see that image again. He felt like it was burning his retina, while his heart was tightening mercilessly in his chest. He couldn't believe that Jim had lied to him so much. Cheating on his identity was something that didn't have any consequences - he had done it himself. Using him as a cover was embarrassing, but he had forgiven him a long time ago. Leading him on and playing with his feelings was cruel, but he had gotten used to it - and even appreciated the pain, strangely enough. But this time, Jim had reached the point of no return. Sebastian may be tolerant, but cheating on him with his own brother was not something he could handle.
He got up and grabbed his phone, then started pacing around the room while he typed a short text message to his boyfriend.
"Where are you?"
The answer came quickly.
"On the move. I'll tell you where when I get there."
The sniper violently threw the device on his bed before sitting down again with a sigh of resignation. Then he reopened his computer, tried to ignore the picture while he closed it, and began frantically typing a reply to his brother.
oOoOoOo
Richard Brook was on his way to the station when he received a text from his boyfriend. Slightly surprised, he opened the message: it was not Severin's habit to write to him so early.
His boyfriend was simply asking him to meet him near the back door of the station. The place was always empty, Severin probably wanted to talk to him alone. The young man had no idea what it was about, but nevertheless replied that he would be at the meeting point.
When he arrived, the place was deserted. Richard leaned against the wall and took off his headphones, then just stared at the sky and let his thoughts wander.
Severin arrived a few minutes later. Richard smiled at him and shouted a cheerful "Hi!", but he quickly realized from the blond's expression that something was wrong. He didn't have to ask, because he came up to him and immediately asked:
"Richard. How long have you known my brother?"
Richard frowned, perplexed. He and Severin had almost never talked about their respective families.
"Your brother? You barely ever mentioned him, I don't know him."
"Of course you do."
Severin's tone remained calm, but Richard knew him too well to be fooled. The young man was boiling with a dull anger, that he didn't know the origin of. Despite his concern, Richard preferred to remain cautious.
"I don't understand what you mean", he replied.
"My brother Sebastian. How long has this been going on? Were you already dating him before we got together?"
Dating Sebastian? Try as he might, Richard couldn't put the pieces of the puzzle back together. He had only been with the blond for a month, after having been alone for a long time. Then why did the young man think he was seeing someone else?
Severin had taken a step forward, and only a few inches separated them, while Richard was pressed against the wall. Severin was taller and stronger than him, and in that moment the young man had very little trust in his boyfriend's self-control.
"It must be a misunderstanding, Severin", he replied, struggling to control the tremors in his voice. "I swear to you, I don't know your brother!"
Severin put his hand against the wall near the brown boy's head and leaned down towards him. Richard was doing his best to try to merge with the bricks. He couldn't understand what his companion had against him; and not knowing the reason for the anger of the man he loved frightened him more than the atmosphere of imminent threat, which was no small feat.
"Stop it", Severin scolded. "I won't take another one of your lies... Jim."
Richard's answer remained stuck in his throat.
"J... Jim?" he stuttered, stunned.
Finally the puzzle was put in place.
James. It was James who was responsible. Somehow, Severin had heard of his brother - probably through Sebastian - and had confused him with Richard. People often made that mistake until they saw the twins together, and Richard hoped from the bottom of his heart that Severin would never get to meet him.
And if he called him a liar like that, it was because Sebastian had not spoken to him in very positive terms about the criminal.
"Sebastian warned me", the blond continued. "You should have known we'd find out sooner or later."
...And Sebastian was dating Jim. It was the only possible explanation.
Richard put his face in his hands. He could not believe that his brother had found a new way to tear apart his happiness and privacy, while he was doing everything to stay away from him. Severin had no idea of the complexity of the relationships in which he had entangled himself. And Richard couldn't see how to get out of this mess.
"Severin... I don't know Sebastian, I swear."
He looked up at Severin. The tall blond was looking at him harshly.
"And I'm not Jim!"
"If you're not Jim, then who is he?"
The criminal had been very clear on this point: no one could know they were related. He himself did not really want to shout out to the world that he was the brother of a murderer.
"I can't tell you about him..." Richard said in a hushed voice.
Severin backed away and looked him down sadly.
"You'd better forget about me, then. It's me, or my brother; but there's no way I'm staying in a relationship with a liar."
And there was the end of the dead-end. Richard's heart tightened even more, if that were possible. Telling Severin about Jim put him in danger. But keeping silent meant that Severin would leave him, and Richard could not bring himself to let that happen.
"I am not a liar."
Suddenly a faint glimmer of hope appeared in the young man's panicked mind. If Sebastian and Jim were together... maybe Jim would agree to let someone in on their secret? Sebastian was apparently no more aware than Severin of the twins' existence, and Jim would soon be faced with the same problem as Richard.
"Look, I'll tell you everything", said Richard in a shaking voice. "I'll tell you about Jim... but not now. It's too long to explain, and we have things to do."
Severin hesitated for a moment, staring harshly at his companion, before answering:
"All right. I'll see you at lunch break. I sincerely hope you will have a good explanation to give me by then."
Then he turned around and walked away. It was only when he was out of Richard's sight that he added, in a whisper:
"...because I don't want to have to give up on you."
oOoOoOo
Sebastian had rushed to Baynes Street as soon as Jim told him he was there. The sniper had been careful not to warn his boyfriend of the earful he was going to give him; he knew the criminal too well, and he would certainly make up a passable excuse for himself by the time he arrived.
"James fucking Moriarty!" he exclaimed as he opened his office door on the fly. "This time it's too much!"
"You're late, my love", the other replied with a mocking smile. "What have I done this time?"
"This."
He threw on the desk copies of the photos Severin had sent him, then crossed his arms and stared at his future ex-boyfriend with a furious look, while the latter reached out for the documents.
Jim went through all the pictures, with a faint smile on his face; then he looked up at the fulminating sniper, then back to the pictures, and burst out laughing.
This was too much for Sebastian, who walked up to the criminal and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket - holding back with great difficulty from grabbing him by the throat - at the same time kicking his wheeled chair back a few centimetres.
"You think it's funny, you son of a bitch? How long has it been going on? Did you think maybe we weren't going to find out?"
It took Jim a few seconds to control his hilarity, and finally answer Sebastian:
"Sebby... Take a closer look. It's not me in these pictures..."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'm much sexier."
"You'll be much less sexy once I turn your face into cat food!"
He dropped Jim and put a picture under his nose.
"Richard Brook. Thirty-one years old, plays in theater, and looks just like you. And you dare to claim that it's not you."
Jim fell back into his chair, looking very smug.
"He's my twin brother."
Sebastian stopped for a moment and stared at his boyfriend in an unbelieving way.
"Of course! A secret twin!"
Jim simply raised his eyebrows, as if to challenge Seb to contradict him. He was not buying the news at all.
"And why did you never tell me about him, huh?"
Jim ran a tired hand across his face, before looking up at the sniper.
"Because the purpose of a secret twin, Moran, is precisely to be a secret. Do you ever think before you speak? Richard lives in Cornwall, and so does your brother. You think I go back and forth between London and Fal Vale every day, drive trains while I run the Firm, all just to cheat on you with your brother? It would be a lot of work for not much."
Sebastian shrugged.
"A lot of work for not much, says the man who has been maintaining a false identity for over a year just to..."
He frowned his brow, uncertain.
"To what, by the way?"
"You'll know soon enough. But that's not the point."
"... I suppose you're right. And so, you're telling me you have a twin brother... whose identity you're stealing... who's a train driver... and who's dating my brother. I'm not a statistician, but I do see a small problem. Don't you?"
"Well... I may have directed Severin's transfer to Fal Vale, just to have a man I could trust near Richard."
"Wait... what!?" Sebastian choked again. "Severin's watching Richard for you?"
Jim smiled.
"No. He really works for the railway company, and he's never heard of me. But it doesn't hurt to have someone I could contact if necessary and convince them to take action in case of danger. Richard hates when I assign him bodyguards, I had to find another method."
"Let me guess. You were going to use the 'I have your brother hostage' argument to convince him to protect Richard?"
Jim waved Sebastian's comment away.
"It would have been more subtle than that. Anyway, I won't need that anymore, it seems."
Sebastian sighed. As always, the criminal had twisted and brilliant ideas, but had no understanding of human nature...
"And I suppose it didn't occur to you to warn me about the situation? You must have known they were dating, and you should have guessed I'd find out eventually."
"Of course, I knew that. I just didn't expect you to trust me so little and jump to conclusions so quickly."
"He's your twin brother, Jim!" the sniper shouted, exasperated. "He's your spitting image and you regularly steal his identity, and then you wonder why I confuse the two of you? And as for trust, it wouldn't be the first time you've told me complete bullshit. You know I love you, and I'd do anything for you, but trust? Try again."
An awkward silence set in. Jim knew he was at fault, /but he would rather have died than admitted it. Fortunately, his boyfriend knew him and didn't hold it against him.
"You should call Severin and explain the situation to him," he said eventually. "If all Morans are the same, Richard might end up with a hurricane to deal with. And he's far from having my confidence in this kind of situation."
"Wait, you care about Richard, now?" Sebastian mocked.
"He's my brother, mind you. He may be my twin, but we are very different. Whether he likes it or not, I have to look after him."
"Well... you found him a boyfriend, I guess he can at least be grateful for that."
oOoOoOo
After he finally drove the last train of the day to the hangar, Richard felt like he had spent the longest day of his life. He had tried to contact Jim, unsuccessfully, and explaining the situation to Severin without any support other than his own word had been difficult. His boyfriend had finally come to his senses, but Richard had noticed that he was still on the fence. It would take time to fully regain his trust.
He sighed as he remembered that his day was far from over. When he left Severin to return to work, he had taken a decision, and he intended to stick to it. He had searched the blond's phone to find Sebastian's number - given the questionable opinion his boyfriend already had of him, he might as well do it. He didn't know the eldest of the Morans and had only a vague idea of the kind of relationship he might have with Jim, but Richard felt it was his duty to warn him against the criminal. If Sebastian was indeed in love with Moriarty, it would probably be impossible to change his mind, but at least he would have tried.
He settled in a park not far from the station where he worked to make the call. The place was almost empty at this time of day, so he was sure not to be disturbed.
The phone didn't ring for long, and the man on the other end of the phone answered almost immediately.
"Sebastian Moran?" the young man asked.
"Jim?" said the sniper's voice after a brief hesitation.
"I'm not Jim, but it's a common mistake. Look, I don't have much time."
"You must be Richard!" the other exclaimed, suddenly friendlier. "Jim told me about you, eventually."
Richard frowned. Bad news for him.
"Whatever he told you about me, don't believe him. He lies as he breathes, and you're no exception. You think you're special... but he's just manipulating you."
oOoOoOo
Sitting on the sofa in his apartment, Sebastian could not help but smile at Richard's words. Jim, sitting next to him, urged him to put the speaker on, in vain.
The voice in the handset rose again:
"I know it's hard to hear..."
"Richard", Sebastian cut him off. "I know Jim better than you can imagine. And he knows better than to manipulate me. I trust him, to a certain extent."
"You shouldn't."
The sniper turned to his boyfriend:
"Should I trust you, Jim?"
"...to a certain extent," the criminal admitted with a smirk.
oOoOoOo
Richard was taken off guard by hearing his brother's voice.
"He's here?" he said. "Oh no..."
"Are you worried for my sniper, Richie?" Jim continued. "How sweet of you. Tell Severin that Sebastian will be fine."
The criminal's voice became more insidious, as Richard tensed up.
"Because that's what you're afraid of, isn't it? That your boyfriend will hold you responsible if anything happened to his brother?"
"No," Richard answered firmly. "It's just that I have empathy, unlike you. Sebastian is part of my family now, and I would hold you responsible if anything happened to him."
The silence settled for a few moments, before Jim spoke again.
"I love him. Does that seem like enough of a guarantee to you?"
Richard hesitated. He knew his brother well enough to know that loving someone was no guarantee of his safety; but he also knew him well enough to know that he would get nothing more.
"It will have to do."
"Is that your brother?"
Richard jumped when he heard the voice behind him.
"How long have you been there?" he asked, turning to face Severin.
"Hand me the phone", the blond just answered while sitting down on the bench next to him.
Richard did not argue and handed him the device.
"Mr. Moriarty? "
"I plead guilty."
"Richard explained the situation to me", announced the youngest of the Morans. "Let me be very clear. I don't care that you're a criminal. I don't care that you're dating with my brother."
Richard gave him an alarmed look. Talking to Moriarty in this tone was a very, very bad idea for his survival.
"But I warn you: if you touch one hair on Richard's head, if you hurt him in any way..."
He paused for a moment and met his boyfriend's gaze.
"Well, I think you already know what a Moran looks like when he's angry."
oOoOoOo
Back in their London apartment, Sebastian could not hold back a small burst of laughter when he saw Jim's face. The latter took a look at the blond, before smiling as well.
"Yes, I know that, but thank you for the reminder. Besides, perhaps I should remind you that Richie is my brother. It wouldn't be in my interest to hurt him."
"The way he talks about you, I don't think we have the same definition of 'hurting'."
"I don't..."
He stopped when he felt Sebastian's hand on his shoulder.
"Jim!" the blond called in a menacing voice.
The criminal sighed.
"Alright. I won't lay a hand on Richard, you have my word... and Sebastian's surveillance. I already have enough of one angry tiger at home."
Only a persistent beep replied. Jim smiled and gave Sebastian his phone back.
"You should be proud of your brother. He has more in his pants than most cis men."
Sebastian smiled back at him.
"I am."
oOoOoOo
Note – I'm back with a few precisions. Firstly, the town where Richard and Severin live (Fal Vale) is fictional, and comes from the novel The Hound of the D'Urbervilles by Kim Newman, a book about Moriarty and Moran that I like very much and highly recommend. That novel as well as a comment made by Jim in The Final Problem are the reasons that made me choose this job for Richard. Secondly, I'd like to thank my friend and beta Finrod for suggesting that Severin could be trans, as well as Arsène for helping me include this detail in the story. Thirdly (and lastly), I am working on another fanfic centred around Richard and Severin. It should be finished by the end of April / mid-May (but I might only publish it after this one is over, I'll see).
And while I'm here, don't forget to leave a review, it's always nice to read them and it helps me get better at writing!