Jim flounced into the whitewashed flat,
throwing himself down violently upon the newly upholstered leather couch. (Recently cleaned of blood when he and Sebbie had gotten a little out of hand with a new plaything)
He was bored. The consulting criminal had not slept for a total of 72 hours and his mind would not shut up. It was filled with possibilities. How would he burn Sherlock? Through John, obviously. But what was the best way to cause maximum pain? He needed a sounding board to bounce ideas off, he called out for Sebastian but no answer came...Of course, he'd sent him to Amsterdam last week to dispose of a certain circle of men that had become irrelevant. Ugh he was still sooooo bored.
The consulting criminal's eyes drifted to Seb's case of rifles he kept in the corner of their lounge, one rifle shaped space told Jim that Seb wouldn't be gone too long maybe just long enough...
When the exhausted sniper returned to the flat 3 hours later he found Jim curled up in the foetal position down in the basement, gun in hand. He was high.
Again.
"Jim, Jim? JAMES!" Sebastian was pulling Jim into the recovery position, trying to pry the gun from his hands.
"Sebbie!" The man laughed, tears still streaming from his eyes. "You're back! You know I thought you'd left me." He sobbed. "Jim, I wouldn't leave, I couldn't, you know that." Moving Jim's handgun away from his now shaking frame he picked up the fragile man and padded upstairs to their plush, white couch, setting Jim down gently.
"Sebbie? Won't you tell me a story?"
Sebastian sighed fondly at this immature man, lolling on their couch and began, wondering if he was more than just a carer to Jim. "Once there was a Queen, a prince and the prince's knight. They were all very happy in their own world, they would laugh and laugh, and sometimes the queen would send the prince and his knight to other parts of the kingdom where they would run around on adventures. Then one day a mighty dragon showed up. He was the finest dragon in the whole kingdom, and the cleverest because he could talk. He and his hunter friend invited the prince and his knight down to the lake where the nasty prince tried to slay the dragon because the dragon had tempted the weak knight. Luckily his tiny sword was no match for Mr. Dragon's hunter friend's arrows and both the Knight and the prince were soon dead on the floor. The queen was very sad and cried all alone in her chamber room. But she had to learn that if you mess with the fierce dragon then soon his hunter will get rid of everyone you love."
Seb glanced down at his sleeping dragon and let him lie. His strong arms wrapped around the smaller man and carried him to his bed. Setting him down the sniper wondered at how vulnerable the consulting criminal looked his black hair and rosy cheeks from crying contrasted against the cream, silken sheets. He wondered too at how people couldn't see that really he was just a frightened boy, frightened of himself. Sebastian was reminded of the first honest words Jim had said to him; while they were lying on a rooftop somewhere in soho in the pouring rain having just killed two men and celebrated accordingly. Sebastian had asked why the genius was with him (marvelling at how he wasn't bored by now.) Jim had whispered into his neck: "Our life together was the only home I ever really had."