OPEN POST; [ HERLOCK SHOLMES / TGAA ]

[retroductions]

(( hold you in my dreams ))

Comments

[retroductions]

[And like any proper Victorian man living in London, he will very much appreciate the secondhand smoke wafting his way.]

For as long as you like, my dear. Who am I to shoo my own wife out of my flat?

[velluminous]

[ after a few puffs more, she holds the pipe back to him ]

I think I am going to very much like it here.

[ it's starting off pretty good. :) ]

[retroductions]

[He takes the pipe and places it between his lips, teeth keeping it in place with a light clack.

Puff puffs.]

You will be both loved and spoiled to the highest degree... Ah, I've said it a hundred times before, but Iris is very excited to meet you. She's not had a mother figure before, you know. You'll be the first.

[velluminous]

[ how different those words are, when someone else says them aloud. "mother figure". she never wanted that, to be a mother, and yet she has Minato, and now she may have Iris, too. better she than Eunoia Vaux.

the feeling clenches in her chest. ]

[retroductions]

[A non-reply is about as telling as one spoken with words. Sholmes is aware that being motherly was never a lifelong goal of hers, and perhaps the notion feels strange, despite how (in his opinion) well she wears the title.

But he understands; he never thought himself suited to be a father, either, in his younger days. But he’s doing decently enough now.]

Does the idea still overwhelm, my dear?

[velluminous]

Bah.

[ she plucks the pipe and brings it once more to her lips. a deep inhale, causing the bowl to glow, and then an exhale of tendriling smoke through her nostrils. it gives her a distinctly devilish look.

a few moments more before she answers. ]

Do you know, Minato asks to call me same thing? "Mother". This was always such ugly word in my home.

[retroductions]

[He rather likes the look. Here, in London—no, on Earth—her devilish appearance is quite literally otherworldly. He is blessed to be privy to such a sight.]

But you are not in that old home of yours when you are with Mr Arisato, nor when you choose spend time with Iris. The ugliness of “mother” can be left to rot in those old halls, don’t you think?

[velluminous]

[ maybe.

she hopes so. ]

If I am to being mother figure for Iris, then you are father figure for Minato. You can call him that. He is not your colleague.

[retroductions]

[Sholmes is certain of it.]

Ha, it’s only fair. Very well. I accept my responsibility as father figure to Minato, as well!

[velluminous]

[ it still unsettles her. fortunately, the opportunity to tease him takes precedence. ]

Papa...

[retroductions]

[Oh. That sounds-

Strange.]

Maybe… not “papa.”

[The teasing works.]

[velluminous]

[ she stifles her laugh and exhales smoke before returning the pipe. ahh. she feels so incredibly light. ]

Why not "papa"?

[retroductions]

[He takes it and explains with a few exuberant puffs.]

“Papa” makes me feel like a wizened old grandfather — why, I didn’t even call my own father papa. No, Minato can make due calling me the Greatest Consulting Father Figure, instead.

/2

[velluminous]

[velluminous]

"Father", then.

[retroductions]

[His grin returns with ease.]

A bit trite, but acceptable.

[the way they’re making this decision for Minato]

Though it is your daughter and not your son that you need prepare to see now. Shall we get dressed?

[velluminous]

[ this ain't about him ]

Oh. I...

[ abruptly nervous ]

[retroductions]

[Immediately bounces off the bed, onto his feet, turning to offer her a hand up.]

No need for nerves, my love! I'll be by your side.

[velluminous]

[ she takes his hand and allows him to pull her up. papers crinkle. the slickness between her thighs begins to leak out...

she shudders. ]

Has nothing ever unsettled you, even little bit?

[retroductions]

[He grabs a folded handkerchief with his free hand and offers it to her — ideally, she’d have time to wash up in the washroom, but… Well. It’s clean, at least, the cloth.]

Of course I’ve been unsettled on more than one occasion. I’m only human — and a detective at that, privy to many a crime, and also many a dead body.

[Some cases more… harrowing than others. And that’s not even counting some of the more worrisome things that happened in Reverie, though Sholmes often tries to remain stalwart when he can.]

[velluminous]

[ she remembers, abruptly, the awful rending feeling of sobbing on him after that cannibalism trial. it sticks in her stomach, ruining some of the afterglow.

dabbing between her legs with the soft kerchief... ]

I rarely saw you then. In such times as those. We were always pulled apart to tend our own.

[retroductions]

[Ah, yes, moments such as those were so chaotic. Pain and confusion abounded, and checking on each other only meant less time to make certain their teammates were fine, too.]

Mm.

[He’s going to find himself a few extra garments lying about to make an outfit; smoking the entire time, a trail of it coiling behind every step.]

The fear of losing someone I love, in any capacity, will dash my bravado to pieces. It is not a feeling I hope to revisit with you ever again.

[velluminous]

Me? Warden could not touch me.

[ she was never the one in danger, the one walking away harmed. she used to fume about it: all that effort and Basilisk would not win, nor would they fail so utterly that she was given wounds to lick. ]

Bah. Over now, in any case.

[ so she folds the kerchief once she's dry—slipping it purposefully and subtly (she hopes) beneath his pillow. a gift for him later. then, one piece at a time, she redresses herself. ]

[retroductions]

[The fact that she hopes Herlock Sholmes of all people will not notice something is cute, but he doesn’t say anything about it. It does rather seem like he’s focused on getting dressed; underwear, trousers, shirt, vest—]

The unpredictability of that prison was its most dangerous trait. One was never truly safe, not if a baleful whim overtook the Warden.

[He steps forward once he’s mostly put together. Need help with that dress?]

But it’s as you say. Over and done with now. I am a better man for it!

[velluminous]

[ perhaps it isn't about whether he notices or not, but that he finds a charm in the intent either way. as he approaches, she turns so that he can help with the many small pearl buttons that fasten her dress. ]

And I am happier woman.