OPEN POST; [ HERLOCK SHOLMES / TGAA ]

[retroductions]

(( hold you in my dreams ))

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[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 ]

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[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?

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[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.

[retroductions]

[Easy enough for a man with deft fingers and a familiarity with women’s clothing alike. He fastens them, quickly but delicately, one by one.]

In the broadest sense possible, I hope. Waterdeep treats you well?

[velluminous]

[ suppressing a little shiver, just a pleasant one. ]

It treats me.

[retroductions]

[Ah.]

Much like London treats its own residents time and again, no doubt.

[But the comparison is not wholly a fair one, and he knows it — both are cities that might devour a single man or woman whole like a thing alive. But Sholmes has the privilege of a profound reputation, a sometimes-shield against the worst of it. And unless things have changed, he knows that hers is one seen ill in circles that matter to her.

All at once, a sting of regret sticks inside of him. He should have visited; he should have had her visit earlier. But there is little to do now but endeavor to keep her happy and wanted and at home in 221B.]

Tell me, my love, how long do you wish to stay in London?

[velluminous]

[ Waterdeep is gone, and she will never want to leave it, truly. that makes this marriage thing so much more difficult, in the end. she can rage and hate and be hurt by the city's callousness towards her, but she cannot let it go for love nor money. it's her home. it's her heart.

her own profound reputation poisons it against her.

she will win. one day.

little inhale, not quite looking at him. ]

I don't know. I think I decide when time comes.

[retroductions]

[All the more reason for him and Iris to visit someday. He’s certain she would find it fascinating, and he would, too, in all its newness.

Think of the crime that might need solving… Can Waterdeep handle Herlock Sholmes?]

No need to decide now, or anytime soon.

[Buttons… done!]

Only know that whether that timeframe is a single day or forever, we will happily accommodate you.

[velluminous]

[ forever?...

wordless, she wraps her arms around his back and tugs herself into his body for a hug. ]

[retroductions]

[O-oh-

Sholmes puffs out a plume of smoke, surprised but chucking lightly, balancing his pipe with his teeth as he returns the hug. A hand running up and down her back.]

Aha, I’ll take that as approval.

[velluminous]

[ his house and his home—it still feels surreal that he would share in it. ]

If you insist to.

[retroductions]

[Oh, but he has shared this flat with those he considered family before. If he is not to do the same with the woman he loves, then what sort of cad would he be?

Selfishly, he’d not be opposed if she stayed here forever, or something very close to it.]

Well, I hope you did not think I was merely exaggerating when I said you may stay however long you like.

[velluminous]

[ this is too vulnerable!! gives his bum a little cupped-palm smack, not even painful. ]

You are grandiose man. Prone to such manner.

[retroductions]

I may enjoy putting on a show now and again, but a liar, I am not.

[(lying)(but not about his desire for her to stay with him perpetually)(but he has been known to lie about other things)

Sholmes steps back.]

Still, as I said, think on it when you’ve the time. For now… are we all cleaned up, dressed, and prepared for Iris’ arrival?

[velluminous]

I can no longer delay inevitable. I must be ready.

[ as she rakes unsteady fingers through her hair to tidy it ]

[retroductions]

In which case, back out we go. Any minute now...

[Iris will return! But, ah, Sholmes takes a moment to straighten up his clothes, smoothing them here and fussing with a garment there, before taking another long drag of his pipe and crosses over to the door, holding it open for her. Gesturing his free hand at it.]

She will offer to make you tea. You may as well sit and consider what sort you'd like in the interim.

[velluminous]

[ might, to anyone else, say "shouldn't it be you making us tea?", but this is. Sholmes. so instead, she merely arches her brow and brushes past him, back into the cramped and gloriously busy main room. her luggage, she presumes, will be laying open where he fumbled through it for his gift—the hat of disguise.

as she perches on the chaise, her tail wraps around her ankle...

she hasn't yet remembered to put back on her own disguise. ]

My heart is going so fast.

[retroductions]

[Girl, do you really want Herlock Sholmes to make you tea. You don’t know what he’d put in it. This is a man who put soap in a cake back in Reverie.

She’s right about the luggage, of course. Though it adds no extra upheaval in term of messiness, given the entire state of the flat.

Sholmes crosses over to the chaise, humming with vague amusement.]

So much that you’ve forgotten something? Or is it while in your natural state-

[He leans against the back of the chaise lounge, bending forward so that he’s over her shoulder.]

-how you plan to greet her? Either way, the decision is yours; I’ve already described you to Iris in excruciating detail at least thrice before! Haha!

[is he Helping]