A/N
I'm so sorry it took so long! I helped one of my best friends with her own Sherlock fanfiction, I hope you can forgive me for letting you wait that long. Thanks a lot for the comments, follow and favorites, I really appreciate it!
If you're interested in Erin's story, she recently posted it here and the story is called "The Lost Vault". I helped her develop some plot point and oh boy let me tell you... Those plot twists are phenomenal. So yeah, I would be very thankful if you checked out her work :)
— iv. delight.
Soft beams of light were reflected on the silver gun as Jim Moriarty held it up high with a perfect posture—he looked more than elegant. Slowly, Jim licked his lips. "Don't disappoint me now."
"What do you want me to do, disarm you?" Khalista's gaze didn't leave his expression to read him as best as possible.
"That would be a start."
She sighed, trying not to lose her temper. He was already irritating her greatly because he thought Christmas would be a good time to discuss criminal activities and now he didn't stop playing around. "What if—just in theory—I couldn't?" In reality, Khalista could disarm someone within mere seconds. She might have been away for six years, but those years definitely weren't wasted. If Mycroft knew what exactly she was doing, he would have personally carried her back to England if he had to.
Jim tilted his head to the side, patiently waiting for something to happen. "Let's find out." He placed himself in front of her, the gun now only a few inches away from her forehead.
For just a little bit longer, Khalista thought about her next move. She could either show him her full potential and maybe gain some respect or she could have made him underestimate her by failing his request—he wouldn't shoot her either way, that would be stupid.
Khalista took a deep breath while gently combing the hair out of her face and behind her ear before rapidly grabbing his wrist. In a swift motion, she first pulled on his arm before twisting it and turning it on his back in merely a second. There was no resistance whatsoever. Jim huffed in pain as she mercilessly git hold of his arm before the corners of his mouth excitedly twitched up and down.
He didn't even notice when she ran her hand along his waistband, so it took him by surprise when she pulled out another gun. Khalista's eyes narrowed after aiming it at him.
In theory, it was a good plan to assert dominance, but since Khalista would do just the same dirty trick, it was easy for her to detect it—she already saw that he was hiding a second gun near his tailbone when he came in. If she took the unloaded gun that Jim was holding, he would have taken the second gun and still had her under control, even if she disarmed him.
"Didn't work out as planned, huh?"
"I couldn't possibly imagine the first thing you would do is check out my behind," he sneered. "The gun was covered by my jacket, you shouldn't be able to see it without looking at my butt extensively."
The dark-haired woman couldn't help but smile as she lowered the gun again. "In my defense, I looked at every inch of your body extensively."
"Not every inch." His tongue slowly went over his lips as he slightly shook his head. "There are a few important ones missing."
"I hope you are talking about a third gun or else I'm going to throw you out immediately."
"That would be a shame, I wouldn't want to miss dinner. It smells delicious already."
She wheezed in amusement. "What makes you think that I want to have you for dinner?"
"Who wouldn't want me for dinner? Actually, people usually want me for dessert…"
Khalista slightly rolled her eyes before handing the gun back to him. "If you really want to stay you should leave that in your pocket and those undiscovered inches in your pants."
"Great, now get the drinks!"
"I'm serious."
He puckered his lips while thinking. "Okay, I'll behave."
Jim enjoyed his whiskey on her dark gray sofa while Khalista checked on the meat in the oven. He moved his wrist in circles, letting the ice cubes clink against the glass. The whole house was silent except for the fireplace in front of the sofa, which bothered him immensely. He just needed constant stimulation. His eyes absentmindedly gazed into the burning embers.
"I had more fun with the gun out," he whined, getting no response from her.
Slowly he turned on the couch so he could see what she was doing since it faced the other way. Khalista was drinking her own glass while leaning against the counter, but it seemed as if she was daydreaming, her face adorned with a glum frown.
He wanted to get her attention by saying her name, but just as he wanted to speak his mouth gave in. Something inside of him didn't dare to say it—and maybe Eurus didn't dare as well. Quickly he tried to come up with a silly nickname.
"Hey Missy, how are you?"
"Oh, terrible," she mumbled into the glass.
"At least you look good."
Her eyes shifted from gazing into the nothingness of her kitchen to him while a rather small grin formed on her lips. "That makes two of us, then."
"Smooth," he sang as he watched her drink the last drop of her whiskey. "How about you come and sit down with me?"
"I have to watch the meat. It's deer, so it has to be perfect."
"I'm sure it will be perfect nonetheless," he said while gesturing her to come over.
Khalista thought about it for a moment, then nodded lightly. Before going over to the sofa, she set the kitchen timer and took the whiskey decanter with her. She took off her pointy black high heels and sat down next to him in a relaxed sitting kneel. Her left arm was propped up on the sofa's backrest as she turned to him. "So... what is on your mind?"
"Nothing much... I'm just bored." His dark eyes sent shivers down her spine. He just looked so damn sinister.
"Then let me ask you something. Don't you have someone to celebrate Christmas with?"
Jim just shrugged his shoulders. "No one who could be worth it."
"Not even family or friends?"
"I don't have friends, only business partners," he stated perplex. His tone didn't sound sad at all, it seemed like he was happy about it.
To her, he was so much like Sherlock.
"Okay maybe I have one friend, but he's also my partner," Jim said while thinking about Sebastian Moran.
"Why do you think that he is your friend?"
"We often do things together that aren't related to business. Mostly drinking though..." He scrunched his forehead in confusion after realizing what she was doing. "... Are you psychoanalyzing me?"
She just chuckled before trying to stop herself by biting her lower lip. "I'm a therapist, so it's in my nature. Also..." Khalista laid her head onto the hand that was on the backrest while staring at him. "You seem to be very interesting, at least for someone like me."
Jim's black eyes lit up. "Interesting?"
"Yes."
"So you're curious what I'm gonna do with your brother then?"
Her smile disappeared, turning into a disappointed frown. "No. I'm curious what is in there," Khalista said, her index finger lightly tapping on his forehead.
"Come here, I'll tell you," he grinned, gesturing her to lean in closer. Carefully she lifted her head up again and moved closer to him, still leaving enough distance between them. Jim closed that distance to reach her left ear.
"A brain," he whispered amused.
Immediately, Khalista grabbed one of the small pillows behind her and tossed it into his face. "Idiot muppet!" she exclaimed before letting herself fall into the sofa again.
"Did you just call me an idiot muppet?" Jim laughed broadly, lifting his hands up to be prepared for another hit.
Khalista crossed her arms and turned her head away from him so that he couldn't see how she was fighting with herself not to laugh. "Stupid jokes... And I thought you were a criminal mastermind."
"I am a criminal mastermind. But you said you were terrible, I was just trying to cheer you up."
"Wow," she taunted, "You're really good at it."
"Cheering people up?"
"Manipulating."
His face turned into a blank canvas in the matter of a second as his laugh disappeared. "You're spoiling my fun again. It's the third time already this evening," he mumbled.
"I just want to make sure you know that I'm not just... Someone. I can see right through you."
"I knew that the moment I..." Just as he wanted to finish his sentence, the awful beeping of the kitchen timer echoed through the room. "Doesn't matter," he said.
Khalista quickly jumped up from the sofa, hurrying to the oven. Since she was only wearing black nylon tights instead of shoes, she nearly slipped on the dark laminate.
After taking everything out of the oven, she went and set the table for one more person. She didn't really care that he was eating with her, in the end, she loved cooking for people. She coated the pieces of venison in a layer of chopped hazelnuts before laying them aside. Khalista took the potatoes and started to puree them, along with that she served dates carefully wrapped in pancetta and walnut crumbles. After arranging everything on two plates, it looked like a piece of art.
Jim was already waiting patiently at the ornately decorated table. "Deer in a roasted hazelnut crust, potato puree, pancetta-wrapped dates with walnuts and a blackberry sauce," she explained as she put the plates down. With a smile, she poured some wine from a swan decanter. "I hope you like Pinot Noir, it goes best with the dish."
"Oh, no doubt. I'm sure it will be good."
"Well then, enjoy your meal." With that, she sat down across from him and watched closely as he started to eat.
He chewed the meat with a slight smile, savoring every bit. "It's really good," Jim said before taking another bite.
Khalista was so mesmerized by him that she forgot to eat. While dining, he tried to have constant eye-contact, which didn't make it any better. It was almost as if his eyes were a lightbulb and Khalista a helpless moth. She wasn't in control—and she hated not being in control. This time, however, while watching him doing something as mundane as eating, she didn't care that he was above her.
And his self-assured smile proved that he knew he was in control.
"What are you going to do to him? Will you kill him?" she suddenly said. Her tone was calm.
"I told you I'll destroy him, but I won't kill him."
She finally took a bite herself after pinning one of the dates on her fork. "There is nothing much to destroy, really. He's heartless."
"Makes me assume that he wasn't so nice to you."
"He didn't treat me any differently than our parents or our brother, to be fair. But I did some... questionable things when we were younger that made him despise me. I don't blame him."
Jim wiped up the rest of the blueberry sauce with the last piece of meat, smiling curiously. "Now I'm interested."
"It's nothing to be discussed while having dinner. It is rather disgusting actually..."
"Now I'm really interested."
She shook her head, uncomfortably looking down her plate. "I'll tell you once I fully trust you."
"But I'm curious now. Do I have to get my baby out again?" he grinned, his hand already reaching into his jacket.
"And that's exactly the reason I don't trust you."
"I guess I'll have to accept that. I learned more than once that it's never good to piss off my partners."
She raised one of her sharp eyebrows. "Oh really?"
"Yeah, maybe I'll tell you about it when I trust you," Jim sneered.
Khalista couldn't help but laugh. Smarty, she thought to herself while shaking her head slightly.
Jim drank the rest of his wine in small sips as he watched her finish the meal. "See, I did cheer you up. You can't even stop smiling."
"Because you're an idiot. It's rather amusing, actually."
"Well, that's better than an idiot muppet. Give me a few more hours and I might be just Jim."
After finishing his sentence, his throat tightened. At first, he didn't question it, but when his eyes suddenly started to see double, he scrunched his forehead in discomfort. The room started to spin and his limbs went heavy.
"Is everything okay?" Khalista grinned devilishly.
His sight might have been compromised, but he saw the mischievous look on her face. "What did you do?" The man tried to stand up, but his legs just didn't want to hold the weight of his torso.
"I told you, you're an idiot. But to be fair... The psychedelics I like to use are quite tasteless, especially in alcohol."
He concentrated and took the gun out of his Jacket, his hands shaking immensely. With all the strength he had left, Jim aimed the gun at her, but he just couldn't pull the trigger.
"I don't think so," she whispered before effortlessly taking the fun out of his hand. "Be nice and say thank you, yes? I let you enjoy dinner first, after all."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that I'll see you in the next one :)
Comments are always appreciated!