But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
"I'm... I'm hoping to find someone." She says it nervously, as if saying it aloud will hinder her efforts.
"You're not supposed to be here, miss." The man looks at her with some pity in his eyes now. Perhaps he can see how desperate she looks.
"Is this your house?" she asks, not willing to give up so quickly. The older man in front of her was certainly not Reginald, and if the house was his, then...
"No, miss. I work here, same as most people in the house."
"Mr Smith, surely you cannot-"
She turns around at the familiar, chastising, voice that cut off suddenly in the middle of the sentence. Mycroft Holmes stands in front of her, commanding, tall, and with a cold look in his eyes that makes the night air feel like a furnace. She sees her own surprise reflected in his eyes for a split second, before his mask is firmly back in place. She sees him realise, and then calculate his response.
"Dr. Hooper," he acknowledges. She looks away under his piercing gaze. She feels her skin prickle. She is terrified, and aware of his ability to read a person far too well.
Why is she at his home, of all places? Why would the Portkey send her to the one place she would be most unwelcome in? Had that even been intentional? Had Reg played a cruel trick on her? Would he have? Surely...
"Come inside, Dr. Hooper. Since you are here, there seems to be no reason for you to wait outside."
She hesitates, somewhat understandably. He sees her expression, the fear and the disappointment, and he doesn't offer any consolation. The sting of his turning away burns through the cold chill as she quietly, meekly, almost, follows him in.
They have hardly stepped inside, her hands not having thawed yet, when he asks her why and how she is there.
She stumbles over her words, syllables slipping over themselves, as she tries to lie. She knows it is useless, but a part of her, a strange stubbornness wants to atleast try, despite the knowledge that if she told him the truth, it would not make any sense.
"Dr. Hooper, I am not a fool."
His words cut her, and she falls silent.
"I personally saw to it that you were escorted out of the country. There is simply no way for you to come back in. And yet, here you are. How?"
"I'm hoping to find someone," she says again, a last ditch effort, as if the words are stuck on her tongue. "An old friend," she adds.
They are in his vast study now. A study that evidently doubles as a library if the endless shelves of books are any indication. In her awe of the old volumes and musty racks, she did not notice the strange effect her words had on him. He looks intrigued...or perhaps...hopeful? She cannot tell, when she finally meets his stare.
"A friend," he says, and she can tell he is trying to hide the shaking in his voice.
Notes: Almost there! One more chapter to go!
(Original found at: .net(slash)s/11953837/1/Irises )
The song lyrics at the beginning are from Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know".