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A Child's Game

Chapter Text

Sebastian let the warm water pour down the filth in his hair. It has been long since he properly showered. He wasn’t really used to taking care of himself any more.
Seb rubbed the dirt from his arms and sighed. Waking up on the cold and dirty ground of the park simply wasn’t a hobby of his. Especially when it was a policeman to wake you.
The park-incident had been followed up by spending the night in jail. Thank God for Irene Adler, who’d been willing to buy him out. Which he hadn’t been able to do himself, because he had spent his last bits of money on liqueur.
‘Sebastian? Are you done?’ Irene sounded worried. He knew that being friends with him asked much of her.
‘Almost.’ Sebastian replied, hoping that he wasn’t asking too much of her with all the problems he had with, and in, life.

After five more minutes of enjoying the warm water, he stepped out of the shower and dried himself.
Partially dressed, Sebastian walked into the bedroom, he saw Irene sitting on her bed and he nodded towards her: ‘Thank you for letting me use your shower, I really appreciate all of your help.’
‘That’s okay, Bas, don’t worry about it.’
Sebastian saw a small pile of clean clothes laying next to Irene and he raised his brows slightly.
‘You can borrow them.’ She clarified and he nodded once before he put the T-shirt on. He already wore his own underpants and he moved into the jeans with ease.
When dressed, Sebastian took a seat next to Irene, ‘I’m sorry to have called you, I didn’t know who else to turn to.’
‘Sebastian, for the last time, don’t worry about it. It’s perfectly fine.’
It was strange for both Sebastian as Irene to be such close friends. They just seemed to have this connection.
‘How is therapy for you?’
‘Awful, I absolutely hate it to tell that man everything about me.’
‘I can imagine, but it is good for you.’
‘That doesn’t feel so.’
Sebastian almost instinctively wanted to attack Irene when she suddenly held his hand. She noticed the tension in his body and just started to pull back, when Sebastian forced himself to relax and therefore also forced Irene to keep holding on to him.
Seb observed their hands as their fingers intertwined. It felt right, to have her comfort him.
‘You’re still unemployed, right, Sebastian?’ Irene looked up to her only actual friend.
He sighed: ‘Yea…’
‘I might have something for you, then. You should text this number.’
The note Irene gave him said “Moriarty” followed by the phone number she mentioned.
‘Okay, thank you.’ Seb observed the phone number on the paper and raised his eyebrows, ‘Who is this Moriarty, exactly?’
Irene shrugged her shoulders, ‘A whisper.’

Chapter Text

Sebastian had searched for a normal occupation for about a week. Then he decided to just go to hell with it and ask someone he didn’t know for a job.
Texting with Moriarty went smoothly, even though the – so Sebastian assumed – man was slightly pissed at Irene Adler for recruiting a sniper for him. The idea of having a proper sniper did seem to appeal to Moriarty.

After two days of texting about more than just the job Seb wanted, a dark car with blinded windows arrived before his apartment.
Sebastian stepped inside without any doubts and didn’t ask where they were going or why he was being picked up with hearing from it first.
‘Mr. Moran!’ The rather cheerful, childish voice greeted him, yet the shorter man the voice belong to was dressed in well-fitted Westwood’s and his eyes were dark and cold and so deep.
It took Sebastian a few seconds to get over this first encounter with Moriarty, but once recovered, he smiled politely and got out of the car: ‘Mr. Moriarty, it’s a pleasure.’
They shook hands firmly as Moriarty grinned: ‘Most people don’t think so –’
‘But then again…’ Sebastian let go of the man and nearly drowned in his eyes, ‘I’m not most people.’
‘Please, Moran. Do come in.’ Moriarty seemed so excited that Sebastian compared him with a young puppo who got a new toy. And frankly, that might just be so.
‘Thank you.’ Seb said, following Moriarty inside.
Moriarty’s house was amazing, light and open, but not open enough for people to spy. The furniture was design and placed on exactly the right spot, so that the room looked exactly as it was supposed to.
As the men sat down on the sofa, they both turned to face the other.
‘Why am I here, Mr. Moriarty?’
‘Call me Jim.’ Moriarty insisted.
‘But why am I here?’ Sebastian repeated his previous question because Jim hadn’t answered.
‘I thought it was time for us to meet.’ Jim sounded casual and they smiled to each other crookedly, ‘I rather liked how you didn’t ask questions in the car.’
‘How did you –’
‘London is my chessboard. I oversee all.’
Sebastian’s forehead wrinkled even more at those words: ‘Chessboard?’
Jim Moriarty shrugged and smiled widely, which was something which didn’t suit the man at all.
Sebastian surprised Jim, though: the fact that there had been no fear in his eyes when meeting the consulting criminal.
‘Well,’ Jim sighed eventually, ‘I guess you’re hired. If you fail me, I will personally see to it that you die a very painful death.’
‘Naturally.’ Sebastian replied, not at all intimidated.
Jim looked at the tall ex-Colonel and suddenly folded his fingers around Sebastian’s throat: ‘Don’t be so dull.’
‘Dull?’ Seb raised an eyebrow, having trouble breathing for Moriarty was pressing his hand against Sebastian’s throat harshly.
‘Respond to me.’ Moriarty hissed.
Sebastian was forced to look into Jim’s eyes and swallowed uncomfortably, ‘I– What should I do?’
‘Kneel.’ Moriarty forced Seb on his knees roughly, ‘Beg me to not kill you.’
‘Please, Jim.’ Sebastian mumbled, powerless.
‘Louder!’ Moriarty yelled.
‘Jim! I beg you… Don’t hurt me, please.’ Jim’s hands were in Sebastian’s hair, pulling his head backwards.
‘Cry for me.’
Sebastian tried to fight his way out now, eventually Moriarty forced him back up his feet, punching him in his stomach so that he collapsed.
Jim laughed childishly as he left the room, leaving Sebastian on the ground, gasping for air painfully.

Chapter Text

Coming home after his third hit, Sebastian was all excited and completely energetic. He hadn’t let Jim down. Jim, who seemed awfully pleased by how Sebastian did.
‘On your knees.’
A gun against the back of his head. Jim’s playful voice singing the words.
Sebastian placed his rifle on the ground and then dropped on his knees, raising his hands a bit. He had no idea of what was coming.
‘Where have you been?’ Said Jim’s melodic voice.
‘I did what you told me.’ Sebastian tried hard to keep cool.
‘Good boy!’
He was a dog, for Christ’s sake! Sebastian sighed and he got hit hard by the side of Jim’s gun, the back of his head pounding out of pain.
‘Don’t be so impatient, Sebby.’
What. On earth. Sebby? ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ Sebastian growled.
Another punch.
He closed his eyes and tried to abandon the pain.
‘I’m going to teach you my rules, Sebby.’
‘For fuck’s sake. Don’t call me Sebby!’
Ouch. ‘Rules, Sebastian!’
‘What rules?’
‘No big mouth.’
‘Why not—’ Shit, he really had to stop talking, or his head would get permanently damaged.
‘No interruptions.’ Jim waited for a while, but Sebastian remained silent, ‘You do as I say,’
‘I’m not your—’ Sebastian’s head was hit forwards, the gun in his neck.
‘You are my toy. This is my game, with my rules, Moran!’
‘Sorry, sir.’
‘Good. Where was I?’
‘You do as I—’ Jesus!
‘Shut up, Moran. Right, you do as I say. No questions, no other life. No secrets, no lies.’
‘What? Wh—’ Damn this, Sebastian stood up and pushed Jim against the wall, ‘Stop it! You can’t play with me like this!’
Jim just smiled a mad man’s grin: ‘Oh, in fact, I can.’
Sebastian’s fist hit Jim’s cheek short after, which made Jim point the gun between Seb’s eyes. Sebastian froze.
‘Don’t ever do that again.’ Jim’s voice was low. No jokes, no childishness.
Sebastian was breathing heavily, looking at his boss, anger shown on his face, fire burning in his eyes dangerously.
‘I will burn you alive, if you ever punch me again, you hear me?’
Seb nodded, still not able to grasp what just happened.
‘Okay,’ Moriarty said, smiling again, ‘Time for dinner…’
‘I’ll make us some.’ Sebastian said. Jim was simply awful in the kitchen.
‘Great!’ Jim sang and he went over to the sofa to watch some awfully boring television program.

They ate dinner silently. They didn’t watch one another, or at least… Sebastian didn’t watch Jim. He had no clue of how to label what happened after he got home, it was too weird. Especially when realizing that it turned him on, that he wanted to kiss James Moriarty.
No. Just no. This couldn’t happen. It wasn’t happening.
‘Fuck.’ Sebastian stood up and left the plate behind, he walked upstairs and locked himself in his room. Fuck! He was in love with a fucking criminal mastermind.