Just Once (SherLiam)

Chapter 5 : The Letter

After the count left, Sherlock slipped his hand into his pocket, and took out the famous invitation that William had left him a few minutes before. He silently went back up the stairs and settled into his sofa, under the amazed looks of John and Miss Hudson, who were only beginning to understand what had just happened after the famous "kiss on the cheek". Sherlock ignored them and stared long and silently at the sealed envelope in front of him. He turned it over in all directions, observing it like a precious object. John exclaimed after sitting down in front of the detective, frowning, looking serious.

-What are you waiting for Sherlock! Open!
-How noisy you can be John! And then... Both of you get out of here! It does not concern you !

Sherlock then said in an authoritarian tone, throwing the two gossips out. Miss Hudson grumbled, her nose pressed to the door, exasperated by the detective's harsh behavior, then, convinced by John, the two finally left the room, leaving Sherlock finally alone.

After sitting down on his sofa, Sherlock delicately opened the envelope and took out a pretty cardboard invitation, decorated with gilding on the sides, enhanced by the crest of the James Moriarty house. It mentioned the date and time of the meeting at the Moriarty estate located in London.

" in three days... " Sherlock then noted in the back of his mind.

A dinner would be offered there, correct attire required . Sherlock frowned, he who hated wearing ties, the note was written in bold and clearly displayed in the middle of the invitation card, impossible to miss. He would still have to ask John to help him. Did William want to play him? The detective smiled amusedly at this thought.

-Would that be a challenge? Wait until you see Liam..

Sherlock realized that inside the envelope was another piece of paper, folded in half, a letter . As he had deduced, the envelope did not contain just a simple invitation. He hesitated for a few seconds before finally reading its contents, feeling his heart race, understanding in the moment that it was his Liam had written it.

“...  To my dear Sherlock Holmes.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I therefore understand that if this letter ended up in your hands, it is because we were able to discuss, a little, I think, but I know that this will not be enough, so here I am writing to you, alone, in my desk. If you want to know everything, it's two o'clock in the morning as I write to you, yet another insomnia, I think you know that too. This gives us a new commonality. Sorry, I digress, but let's get to the point ..."

“... These last few weeks have been quite hectic, I understand, which is why I am taking the time to write you this letter to explain my feelings more explicitly. Feelings that I have repressed so much since our first meeting on the Noathic. You impressed me that day with your incredible deductions. I wanted to know more about you, you intrigued me from the start. And then... I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but... you attracted me , from day one. And this attraction only grew as we met. But I didn't yet understand what it was about at that time. That’s why I let go “that day”, during that masked evening. For the first time in my life, I felt alive and free thanks to you, and I really enjoyed this intimate moment between us..."

Shelrock felt his cheeks heat up at this most disturbing confession. In addition, the fact that William used the informal address to write to him destabilized him, the count addressed him most of the time, which always put a certain distance between them despite their complex relationship. The memories of that night reappeared as if by magic in the detective's mind, tightening his grip a little more on the stationery, trying to maintain a minimum of lucidity. He too thought the same thing, Liam had attracted him from the start, even before he suspected him of being the Prince of Crime. Sherlock had loved the feeling that had taken over his body when William had detailed it in front of the audience that day on the Noahtic, the sprinkler watered as they say. Sherlock smiled amusedly, still not understanding at the moment how William had managed to know so much about him. He resumed reading conscientiously.

“... There are so many things I would like to say, but it is impossible for me to say even in writing, I hope you will accept this part of mystery concerning me. I'm not worried about it, I know I am, because you love mysteries, don't you? ... »

Sherlock gave a little grin, was he talking about the Prince of Crime? Or the fact that he wasn't actually the Moriartys' legitimate son? Or something that Sherlock was completely unaware of? William had hit the nail on the head, the mysteries were Sherlock's existence, his breath of fresh air, and William represented all of that alone. Sherlock bit his lip, imagining his Liam writing with him in mind. He scratched the top of his head awkwardly, denouncing a certain embarrassment, understanding that his feelings ultimately seemed to be reciprocated.

“... I hope you'll be there for the dinner I'm organizing, we'll be alone, just you and me . But don't expect too much from me, if it's quite easy for me to express myself in writing, orally it's completely different. This is the first time I've experienced this kind of thing, I'm still a little lost to be completely honest. I hope you won't hold it against me.

I'm looking forward to our next meeting, I can't wait to see you again, Mr. Detective.

William James Moriarty . »

Sherlock dropped the letter on his knees, placing his hand on his face, trying despite himself to hide the blush present on his cheeks. His heart was racing, he seemed to be dreaming. He jumped up from his sofa and stormed out of the room into a small sitting room where Miss Hudson and John were having tea.

-John! It's urgent ! Teach me how to wear a tie correctly! Question of life or death !
-Oh?...

While Miss Hudson continued to bitch at Sherlock for kicking them out like dirt, Sherlock smiled stupidly as he looked around the outside of the building, while John tried to explain to him what to do.

-At least pretend to listen when I explain Sherlock to you!....

Sherlock didn't respond, too caught up in William's thoughts at that moment.

“See you soon Liam, in three days a new man will face you.”