mousedetective MHAW Prompt #2: temul (mongolian) - (v.) signifies a sense of creativity and passion; to rush headlong, to be inspired, to have creative thoughts, and even to take a flight of fancy
He stood on the ledge, staring down as the wind blew his hair into disarray, down, down, down to the pavement below where his passion for the truth - and, yes, his own arrogance - had led him.
I owe you a fall, Sherlock.
Moriarty was dead, brains blown grey and grisly on the roof behind him. But the moment had been prepared for - why did that ring a faint bell in his memory? Was he echoing someone else's words, yes, a character from a nearly forgotten childhood favorite show, someone else who was dying, who had taken a fall but was about to be reborn.
Project Lazarus is a go.
Mycroft believed they had everything under control, but what was control, really? Nothing but an illusion. Even now, anything could go wrong; people failed - look, there was John Watson, stepping out of a cab as Sherlock slowly, slowly raised his mobile to his ear and spoke the lies that would cause his friend so much grief.
Lies that could all too easily become the truth; there were so many factors, so many variables in this chancy subterfuge the Brothers Holmes were undertaking...
I don't count.
He steadied himself with a breath.
There was one variable he could absolutely rely upon with rock-solid certainty, bone-deep and undeniable.
You've always counted and I've always trusted you.
Governments might crumble, financial institutions crash, consulting criminals blow their own brains out on a whim, but nothing could shake his absolute faith in her.
What do you need?
"You," he whispered as he flung his mobile aside, raised his arms..
...and jumped.
This leap of faith, in the end, was no leap at all, and he fell, secure in the knowledge that all would go exactly to plan, if only because Molly Hooper had been so integral to those plans.
John Watson would grieve, but Sherlock Holmes would live - because Molly would always, always be there to catch him when he fell.