From mrspencil: a letter from an old friend
==Day 8: The Past Is Too Much with Us==
"The Past is too much with us; and the Future not enough."
—Allen Upward, The New Word
Mrs. Hudson called attention to the envelope, noting that there was no return address, but she left the room before Holmes picked it up to examine it. It was just as well she was gone and Watson was out—Holmes stumbled back into a chair at the table, heart beating rapidly at the sight of the familiar handwriting. It was a hand he hadn't personally seen in five years, but he would not have forgotten it had it been ten.
His hands were strangely calm and still as he slit the envelope open—strangely, because his heart seemed to have taken up residence in his throat, throbbing painfully.
My dear young friend,
...and just at that, Holmes was angry. After everything that man had done to him, how dare he call him "friend"?!
I was pleased to hear of your removal from Montague Street to a more respectable part of town. Better still that you had acquired a flatmate and a friend; you have never done well being lonely. And it is my understanding that your little practice is beginning to acquire more recognition. Your years of hard work seem to be paying off, and I am proud of you.
He did not want the man's pride.
It has been a pleasure to watch your career unfold; I have always wished my students success in their endeavors, and you are no exception. I feel proud to have been your teacher, and I should feel equally honored to be considered your friend again.
I ask for your forgiveness. You may laugh, but I do feel that I was careless, and needlessly cruel, and for that I am sorry. I wish to make amends, if you are willing to forgive me.
I should be delighted to see you again.
Yours in contrition,
James Moriarty
Sherlock Holmes crumpled up the letter. After all this time, after everything the man—his professor, his friend, his mentor, it turned his stomach now to think of it—had done… how dare he ask for forgiveness? How could he possibly even trust that the apology was sincere, and Moriarty didn't simply seek to use him again?
Or worse, that he was sorry only for how his actions had affected his onetime pupil, and still sought to use Holmes to further his own ends?
Holmes stood to throw the letter into the fire, and halted. ...God help him, he didn't want to throw it away. He had been close to the professor, once… a kinder relationship than he had ever had with his own father…
He could hate the man, but not enough to burn the letter.
Not bothering to straighten the paper out, he unlocked his drawer in the writing desk, set the letter inside, and shut and locked the drawer again.
He turned to his Stradivarius for comfort, and quickly discovered that he couldn't play properly. His hands were trembling.
A/N: Yeah, okay, I fell to the dark side while writing Children of Time with Ria—I can't unsee Moriarty as Holmes's former mentor now! I know it's not canonical, but I can't help it: the potential is just… phenomenally huge. Also plays into this thing I have for villainous dads and heroic sons, don't judge me.
This also, btw, is why Deliver Us from Evil: Mortality is getting a massive rewrite. This story kind of plays into that. Holmes is… this is maybe a year after the events of STUD? So twenty-four. (I feel very strongly about Sherlock Holmes not being as old as twenty-seven in STUD.) Golly, I'm actually older than him at this point in time.
The next installment is going to be another story-from-another-story, this time part of the Children of Time universe. It features Beth Lestrade again, but rather differently from last time...
