For all of the secrecy I kept from Sherlock...I wonder if this is my retribution?
As I look at the man in front of me, so full of twisted love for Jim, my best friend other than Sherlock, grin in a feral way I felt pure fear for the second time in my life. Professor James Moriarty, a man who Jim considers truly frightening and begrudgingly accepts as smarter than him was the one who truly pulled the strings. Who spuns the web of the underground world.
"Quite a turn up, isn't it Johnny boy?"
"No, not really" I say with cold detachment, I mused about how a like he was with Jim...but unlike Jim, this man knew of the true horrors of the world. The dark truth of misery that the world sees. Nothing in this man, not even his non-familial love for Jim was pure.
"oh! how cold! tell me Johnny, how does it feel like to know that your best friend, first love and former lover could easily do such things?" he smirked and looked smug. Taunting me with his body language.
"Are you referring to yourself who is pretending to be dearest Jim or my darling Jim?"
two could play at this game. He snarls and stomps over to me on the corner of my eye I could spot Jim and his loyal sniper Sebastian Moran hidden in the dark with the perfect view of what was happening.
"How dare you refer to him as yours!" he shouts to my face with pure rage as he pulls me closer to his face with both hands that held the front of my jumper "you discarded him easily! used him as you pleased and left him not even contacting him?!"
"what makes you think I did that?" I say smugly. It seems that there are even things the spider does not know and I could his confusion and anger combine, I continue on " do you really think, I cutted ties with him?" I raise a brow here and he snarls and says to me "let's see if you can still smile afterwards"
I stared with a blank face but my eyes were looking at him with cold regard. Even if he does not tell it, I know that Sherlock may cut ties with me...but until I am able to tell him everything, I'll hope that this love would not yet end in bitterness. I knew that behind that great mind hides a great heart that feels to much, that could love so much and hate so much.
"let's see" I say and turn my attention to Jim, I smile softly at him. If this is where everything end I could only hope Caccina would be there to place the final things I might not accomplish.
James leaves the room with Sebastian Moran, while Jim rushes to me and hugs me tight I hug him back and try to soothe him.
"John..." he says as he is racked with great emotion "please, don't do it" he sobs harder and I held him tighter, even if we were no longer lovers, I still felt so much for Jim,though it was not eros, I would never be able to stop caring for this person, who could still remain so child-like.
"I know...I know that you can't love me like I want to...but still...please...please for the sake of whatever is left...runaway, runaway now" He cries and I remove took a step back and gently caress his face. "Jim...my most precious Jim" I say softly to this fragile person "you know that I can't, that I won't. I have so much to lose"
"Even more so!"
"Jim, you don't understand" I utter, Jim's face who could look so broken made me wonder how everything led to this showdown between people who is tied one way or another. It was scary, knowing how much this could affect a whole lot of people. 'audiences' included, If everything ended in disaster it would be a domino effect.
"Then make me understand John!" Jim shouts and I widen in realization on how Sherlock said the same. Jim breathes deeply and continues " make me understand, how you can't just walk away and not be caught in the cross fire! how sure are you that Holmes won't bring you in behind bars and that his older brother won't kill you! how can you fantom to be used by James this way?! make me understand how could you be a self sacrificing idiot!"
his face is marred with tears and so much frustration, I felt my own mask cracked but I could only smile sadly.
"for every thing there is an equivalent value, you can't give more or less, receive more or less. It must be balanced or there will be chaos" I answer softly and look up to meet his eyes " my dearest Jim, let me start with you, for the love you've given me all this time, I give to you my unwavering love and loyalty, you who had made me dream more than one and made it possible are one of the people I care for, so if by any chance this is my final bow" I pause and make sure that he is hearing every word I uttered "let me tell you that I have loved you more than a friend for a long time until I saw that you love the adventure more"
"John?"
I smile at his questioning gaze "Jim during the time you up and left, I watched over you. I saw how happy you were, I knew then that I could not hold you back"
"You knew all along?"
"Yes, even before you realized it, I knew of it. Even Blanca's" I say and he laughs broken as it is I could hear the hope in it.
"Blanca" he said with a smile "told me one month ago, that birds are not meant to be caged, lest they forget to fly" he looks at me shyly and asks "does that mean you felt that you were caging me?"
and I only smile at him "perhaps. but now that you've realized it you too can love another"
"Sebby?"
I laugh and ruffle his head "let's get this started and face everything head on" I then walked towards the table and wore the bomb vest and parka. The ball is still in my court.
"Brought you a little getting-to-know-you present. Oh, that's what it's all been for, hasn't it? All your little puzzles; making me dance – all to distract me from this." Sherlock voices out loud, his baritone voice echoing through the walls of the pool.
John steps out with a calm face and a little smile and says "Evening, Sherlock" and he commends Sherlock's control and smiles even more proudly, to deviate from James' orders he'll turn this move into his favor.
"Bet you didn't see this coming" he says and walks over to Sherlock now standing face to face with his lover who is deducing everything but not seeing what lies. John blinks
... - ...
"yes, I didn't" Sherlock answers and starts to play along, if he breathes a sigh of relief John does not comment.
"John, you should really learn how to play by the rules" a voice comments outloud and out steps in Jim
"Hello, Sherlock... how does this midnight rendezvous with John and I feel?"
"I'm fine with John, Thank you" he answers in a clipped tone and John feeling stupidly brave despite being cloth with a bomb chuckles and Jim smiles wryly "John, gotta take that parka off"
John nods 'and this' he thought 'is where the show really starts' as James Moriarty comes out and says "Is that British Army Browning L9A1 in your pocket..."
"It's a L106A1, actually"
And James smirks despite the odds "and now we're complete" he looks over to where Blanca has appeared walking as if she owns the very ground.
"Let me introduce to you three our fourth player, Blanca Valmont" James introduces her and says "now I wonder how this would play out" seeing how tensed Sherlock Holmes was. This was even better than he hoped for.
"James Moriarty, Hi!" he waves at Sherlock "I was hoping that we would exchange numbers but John is such an unknown number"
"You've been a thorn, I thought of keeping you a pet honestly" James shrugs nonchalantly "a gift for Jimmy, but well seeing how our dearest Doctor " and he smiles when Sherlock realizes the stress of the word "got to you first, bah" he flips his hand "not interested in used goods...most especially if its John H. Watson"
Sherlock frowns and John held him back. From the far side of the pool, Blanca watches and hopes to God. Q and Adrian are on standby as wells 002. "acting out of turn, James?"she teases without good humor and Jim smiles a bit, seeing the 'bitch please' look Blanca is pulling.
"she's right big brother, you are acting out of turn" he joins Blanca's side.
James sigh and turns his words to Sherlock
"I've given you a glimpse, Sherlock, just a teensy glimpse of what I've got going on out there in the big bad world. I'm a specialist, you see ..." he pauses and addresses John "but your lover here trumps me, Tell me Mr. Holmes..."
Sherlock looks at him and waits for the next words "how much of John Watson do you know of?" and then every single one of them has a laser pointed at their chest. John looks at James with pure anger.
"really, Johnny you can never come close to me"
"Take it!" Sherlock says gesturing to his outstretched hand that held the missile plans
"Oh? I could get that anywhere" James say and Blanca interrupts " except, from Digital Fortress"
"ah" James says and turns around to look at Blanca "tell me how is little Adrian doing?"
"oh he's fine and mine"
"everyone wears mask, Blanca darling...are you really sure he is everything as he is?"
"oh! James dearest, are you also wanting my Adrian's attention?"
"he's all yours" James answers wryly and Blanca smirks in satisfaction " I know everything I need to know about him"
"do you really?"
"I am, by my definition"
"Let's get back to our main agenda?" Jim says seeing how they were deviating and John already has more than enough time "Of course, brother dearest" James say and turns his attention back to Sherlock "do you know what will happen to you, Sherlock?"
"you kill me" Sherlock answers blandly and James grins "no, Sherlock" he turns his attention to Jim while addressing the first part to Sherlock " Tell me, do you know how far they went? Jimmy whatever do you see in this man that you always disregard me?"
"the things you don't" Jim answers and Blanca smiles and is amusedly shocked "OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Buuuuuuuuuurn!" Sherlock frowns at her, Jim and John shares a look that says it was entirely inappropriate and James pointedly ignores her.
"He's loyal" James say referring to John " but he's your heart isn't he? now the question remains, will he still be?" he adds "Oh! I could see by the confused look you have John has yet to tell you of his..." James makes hand gestures and then "exploits?" with a raised brow and John could not describe what he felt, the man was just right in front of him, he could easily punch the living daylight out of him but everything was already out of control. He discreetly glanced at Blanca and could tell she was having a hard time knowing which would likely happen.
"The human heart is the most important part of the human body, it does keep the blood flowing" James taunted "well you'd know" He looks at his nails and brushes them off his Westwood suit "It was nice chatting with you folks, I'd better be off... appointments and all, the criminal network does run like a government afterall" he says offhandedly and walks off leaving everyone disturbed though who was the most affected was hard to tell.
"Ciao!" his voice echoes back to the pool and after a minute or so once the coast was clear and the red dot was gone Blanca breathed a sigh of relief and ran towards John and the rest that was on the other side of the pool.
"All right?" she asks as she takes into account John's appearance, mind reeling off deductions.
"I'm fine" John answers and looks over to Sherlock and calls his attention while Jim was helping Blanca take the bomb vest off John, Sherlock however remained silent and John sighs "We'll talk later" he says and Sherlock nods numbly and steps closer to John, arms angled to hug him the moment Jim and Blanca was out of the way and disposing the vest far far away. But before he could even hug John, the red dot came back to rest on John's chest and Sherlock felt anguished as John steeled himself.
Sebastian Moran was a damn good sniper and could see military material in people he meet. He could see that John Watson could make an excellent Captain even a General out of himself if he had joined the military. The doctor's moral compass was unlike others, He could kill someone without having nightmares about it.
That was why he felt it was a shame that the man's life would end here. James Moriarty easily changes his plans (the only good thing about it was that it all ended good anyways).
"It is a weakness with me but, to be fair to myself, it is my only weakness" he hears his boss say and he grunts, 'it could very well be his end' he thought and positioned his laser the one he really held to be aligned above the cement where the bomb lay to trigger it. The other lasers where just pointers. It took a while for James to get on with it since the man was just too damn dramatic but Sebastian held his complaints because the man does sign his check.
And so he fires when he receives the cue and ducks when the explosion occurs.
He escapes immediately, in the corner of his eye he could see two men in suits jump to the pool, he filed it in his mind and made sure to remain out of sight. He'll wait for further orders was his original plan was but a black sedan stop right in front of him. And the woman whom he had met before spoke when the windows rolled down. He reluctantly went inside when the door opened.
"We meet again Mr. Moran" she said as he sat across her "have you thought about whose side you're on?" she asked amicably though it was clearly fake, this much Sebastian could tell. If the woman was annoyed or mad about this she showed no signs of it.
"You must be disgruntled, Mr. Moran" she said " since you have yet to know my name"
Sebastian remained impassive and she chuckles " I'm Caccina Chiavarone" and that gets his attention.
"Now" she says and Sebastian looks at her attentively "let's get to business, I've told you before that to whom you work for would be essential to your survival, James Moriarty is my enemy, whether he knows or not is trivial, You've been a mercenary for a long time now surely you've heard of my Famiglia?"
He nods and she smiles in a pleased manner "Mr. Moran, between Jim Moriarty and James Moriarty which one weighs heavier to you?"
Sebastian likes the frankness of the woman but hated everything else about her. It does not matter about which one weighs heavier in his heart or anywhere else, all that matter was who was going to sign his check by the end of the day. The smug grin the woman had, pissed him off, this time it showed outwardly.
"A word of advice, keep this a secret from James Moriarty...and choose Jim when the time comes" she says and the car stops in his getaway location, he is surprised as he steps out and the car moves. Not once did he notice Irene Adler beside the driver's seat.
The explosion had sent John to a comatose state when he had covered Sherlock, while Jim and Blanca was not found along with Moriarty. Sherlock had remained in the hospital for almost a week now. Not once leaving John's side unless made to by Mrs. Hudson who was sympathetic to him. Mycroft had yet to make his appearance and Sherlock wishes that John would wake up soon.
He knew that the longer it took the slimmer the chances were that a patient would wake up from a comatose state. They had so much to talk about, John had yet to tell him the story and he just misses John so much, he fears that it would all end this way with John dying for being such a hero, always wanting to save everyone. That even the death of his patient could take so much from him, that it would take him days sometimes even weeks to move on from a patient's death.
John just cared too much and that Sherlock thinks is both a blessing and a curse.
John was his heart and the one that feels for Sherlock when he is too deep in his thoughts and too confused by society rules. John is the one who keeps him in line, without constricting him, who participates in his experiments willingly, stayed even if his house had already been deemed safe by the hazmat suit wearing people, John makes him tea and tells him to go to sleep, complains about his violin yet does nothing to stop it and only bothered by the fact that the head was near his food container.
John does not see him as a freak, loves him as he is and goes by Sherlock's pace and takes over when he deems fit, there are so many things Sherlock can say about John from the way his lover sleeps to the way the impossible man speaks.
"I don't want this to end like this, John" he says and lets a tear fall down as he burrows his head on John's arm, his lover remaining impassive. He sobs quietly unaware that Mrs. Hudson had entered with Lestrade who for the first time saw what John had seen right from the start. Mrs. Hudson merely shakes her head and leads DI Lestrade out of the room and gesture for them to wait outside until Sherlock has composed himself.
"How long?" Lestrade asked their landlady clearly at lost on when the two had taken such a step in their relationship even if the whole Yard and even he himself saw it coming. But she only shakes his head at him and says "not now dear, I'll tell you all about it when John wakes up"
Lestrade sees how positive the woman was and he smiles sometimes being a copper took out too much from him. He thought of how behaved Sherlock was when around John, always commenting about how John would do things and saying John's name as if it was an explanation itself whenever he could not be bothered. Sherlock despite not attending his classes still studied even if the man was a genius, John made sure the man made time to read his chemistry books, conducting experiments with him to encourage his studying habits sometimes just to get rid of the man's ennui.
He was also a good chap and despite being a genius though John had claimed to be just clever, he could see the same look John would have when seeing crime scenes though why the man always prefered to be out of spotlight he could not imagine.
"John is such a good man, smart too just like Sherlock" Mrs. Hudson says and that snaps him out of his thoughts and the good old lady continues " I guess he'd had enough of being in the spotlight that he lets Sherlock take all the credit"
and Lestrade looks at her in confusion and Mrs. Hudson chuckles "didn't see that coming did you?" she sighs and has a faraway look " John was always helping Sherlock with the case, he'd admitted to me once that he would sometimes solve the case even before Sherlock would"
Mrs. Hudson gave Lestrade a playful conspiratory wink and said playfully "Keep it a secret from Sherlock would you? John wants Sherlock to remain in the limelight, terribly good chap that John"
and Lestrade nods and smiles for the first time realising how little he knows of Sherlock and John out of work and a few pints of beer in the pub. "Why does John do that?" he phrases his question in an unsure manner to Mrs. Hudson who gently smiled to him like a mother would to a child " John's the youngest doctor to ever graduate, he'd had enough of people expecting to much from him; well that and he's tired of politics" she answers and looks sadly at her hands " They're a bit like what I would have wanted in my children or in-laws, John most especially"
And Lestrade waits for her to finish " I've met John once, good child that lad is, he was but an assistant doctor but he cared for me like he would to a mother, I've been sent to the Emergency room once, beaten by my old husband within an inch of my life...but John!" her voice cracks at this part " John had persuaded the doctor to not give up and even took care of me after it" She sniffles and Lestrade hands her his handkerchief which she refused with a slight shake of her head. "It was amazing, seeing how much he cared for others even if he carried a load or problem at that time, His cousin was experiencing troubles at home and had bought a ticket to visit him in New Jersey, such a young girl and brave too" she smiles as she reminisces "She reminded me of Sherlock or is it the other way around?" she chuckles and so does Lestrade "what happened next?" he asked
"She cared for me too, made me strong and stand by my belief, made me see that" Mrs. Hudson's voice trails and Lestrade smiles gently and held the woman's and in comforting gesture and says "I could see how they mean the world to you too, Mrs. Hudson...I hope we could all get better"
"Sherlock too" she says and they both nod.
Sherlock has step out of the room, composure in tact and looked surprised when he saw Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson.
"Is there anything you need DI Lestrade?"
"statements and John's condition" he says bluntly knowing by now that if Sherlock was distressed it was best to be blunt. Mrs. Hudson shakes her head and mutters 'boys' before addressing Sherlock with John's condition.
"They've said that it would take a week for him to wake up"
"Oh dear! I know that this is John's alma mater but I hardly trust them at all, Sherlock" Mrs. Hudson says and the two boys look at her quizzically " I've only trusted Dr. Wilson's or Dr. House's diagnostics when it comes to John, terribly unpredictable that chap" she says and bids them goodbye as she made mental preparations to send them in London, John's niece would be glad to help.
"How have you been holding up?" Lestrade asks as they both sat down the waiting chairs outside John's room.
"Fine" Sherlock answers as he pouts and in Lestrade eyes he looks like a child trying to dress in a big man's clothes and Lestrade felt compelled to hugged the man out of brotherly gesture and affection.
"John's silent...he never gave me the cold shoulder!" Sherlock whines as much as he could if only to bring a semblance of normality in his life that John's absence disrupts "Sometimes, Sherlock" Lestrade began because he was feeling oddly poetic and he had always hated hospitals "we meet people who can change us in the smallest ways that we barely notice" he closes his eyes and leans his head to the white wall of the hospital as he remembers how John once showed him that hospitals could also mean hope and not death "and when we do" he smiles when he remembers how Mycroft had just come out and asked him to dinner "we are amazed and we just might get a tiniest bit terrified but" and then he is reminded of how kind John was to listen to him worrying about Mycroft acting cold to him "when we see how we've become better since they arrived" he trails off a bit now looking down to his hands a little bit melancholy "we treasure them a bit or a whole lot more"
he finishes this by patting Sherlock's back "I could understand how you feel, since I have My" he says and that was the closest he came to admitting that he was in a relationship with Mycroft Holmes. He smiles and hugs Sherlock and bids him farewell as he leaves St. Barts, If John was able to let him see the bright side of things, then he could do to if only to return a favor.
Sherlock stares after Lestrade in shock and a slow smile breaks out of his face as he rushes back to John. He thinks that Lestrade being able to keep this behind his back is an achievement and so he chatters John. In his mind he could hear John answering even if the man is deep REM no one could really blame him if he takes comfort in this illusion.
A/N: Next part of the Phantom Thief Series would encompass the Fall and the Great Hiatus told from the Sherlock, John, Blanca, Jim and 221 B Duo's friends' perspective, in that order.
It would be entitled as "Rondo of The Sun and Moon"
thank you for reading :)