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Chapter Text

Music was blasting loudly through her headphones as she pushed open the heavy doors that led into the swimming-pool. She really shouldn't be here, she was well aware of the fact that it was shortly after midnight and naturally the pool would have been closed at this time.

So one could imagine her surprise, when she pulled out her lock-picking-kit only to discover that the doors were already open. She furrowed her brows, contemplating on leaving, but curiosity got the better of her and she slipped past the doors and into the dark hall, the familiar smell of chlorinated water comforting her nerves.

It never even crossed her mind, to take out her headphones and when her favourite song started playing, she couldn't help but sing along, dancing through the dark hallway and towards the light that shone through the rectangular windows from the double-doors ahead of her. Pushing them open with her hips, she continued dancing but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, the lyrics she had been bellowing dying on her lips.

She cocked her head to the side, examining the scene before her, more curious than afraid. Three men stood near the blue shimmering water of the large pool and they seemed as surprised by her entrance as she was by their presence. A short, sandy-haired man stood near the entry to the changing cabins, wearing a large coat and underneath what seemed to be some kind of vest with packages fixed to them, red dots of lights dancing across his chest.

Snipers on the balustrades, how very interesting, she thought to herself, smiling inwardly.

A few steps closer to the pool stood a tall, curly haired man in an elegant coat who was pointing a hand-gun at a third man, smaller than the tall one but about the same size as the sandy-haired one if she had to guess. His dark hair was slicked back and he wore an expensive looking suit that fit him rather well she found.

His eyes looked like black orbs in his handsome face and they were fixed intently on her, a smirk playing on the corners of his full lips. She smiled brightly at him, oblivious to the potential danger she was in and finally took the headphones out of her ears.

Before she had the chance to say something however, the tall man in the coat spoke to her, a frown marring his almost angelic features. They all looked rather handsome, she mused, chuckling a bit at her herself for thinking about such mundane things in a situation like this.

She noticed the expectant and somewhat urgent look the coat-man levelled at her and she realized, that he must've been talking to her while she was pondering their attractiveness. Shaking her head to clear her mind from the inappropriate thoughts, she smiled at the person in front of her.

“Sorry, what?” The man in the bespoke suit chuckled at her nonchalant question and leaned a bit forward to have a better look. The curly-haired male shook his head in utter bewilderment though, probably wondering what was wrong with her, not that she could blame him, she got that a lot.

“I said, you shouldn't be here. You better leave immediately.” His voice sounded strained, as if he was trying not to shout at the obtuse creature he surely perceived her as. Swinging her head from side to side, she licked her lips, pretending as if she was contemplating his words, before giving him another beaming smile.

“You know what, I'm just going to sit down on the benches and you can continue with whatever it was you were doing before. This is all way to interesting for me to leave. Just... Continue and don't mind lil' ol' me.” Nodding decisively to herself, she took a step forward, intending to do just as she had said, when two voices rang out simultaneously.

“Are you crazy, woman? Get the bloody hell out of here!”, the one with the vest shouted at her, his expression baffled at her total lack of self-preservation.

“Oh, I like her! What's your name, kitten?” Suit-guy clapped his hands together in glee, grinning at her with a manic gleam in his dark eyes.

The tall man just looked at her confused, clearly not understanding why she acted this way. Stepping around him, she made her way towards suit-guy, not caring for the red dots that appeared on her chest, stopping in front of him and extending her hand.

“I'm Victoria, nice to meet you. Maybe you should tell tall, dark and handsome over there that he doesn't have to worry about his boyfriend being blown up. He seems a bit tense.” She whispered the last part conspiratorially, giving him a wink and another one of her bright smiles.

“Aren't you a clever one, Miss Victoria. Interesting that you noticed before he did. I'm Jim, by the way. Jim Moriarty.” His eyes lit up in amusement and he took her hand in his, lifting it up to his mouth to place a kiss on her knuckles. Giggling like a school-girl and blushing slightly, she extracted her hand and let her eyes wander over his slim frame appreciatively.

“Well, it's quite obvious really, Mr. Moriarty. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to sit down,” she gestured vaguely in the direction of the benches, “and enjoy the show. This is all very exciting!”

Clapping her hands together, she didn't wait for an answer and made her way over to the seats, tucking one of her legs beneath her, folding her hands in her lap and watching with rapt attention. Jim Moriarty's eyes were still on her, his face blank but his dark eyes shining with barely suppressed curiosity and amusement, before he turned back to the two men before him.

“Sooooo, where were we, Sherlock dear?” Her gaze flitted towards the man in the elegant coat, Sherlock, she corrected herself, to wait for his reply.

This was so much better than sitting on her dingy sofa at home, watching telly on her old, tiny TV or reading one of her well-worn books for the umpteenth time.

Sherlock's eyes briefly met hers and he frowned at her obvious enjoyment, but deciding that now was not the time, he turned towards the dark-haired man, letting his face fall into a neutral mask.

“Take it.” He pulled out a small, silver memory stick from his coat pocket, reaching it out towards his adversary.

“Huh? Oh! That! The missile plans!” Jim Moriarty grinned and took the stick from Sherlock's outstretched hand, bringing it to his mouth and planting a kiss on the plastic.

Shaking his head as he put it down to look at it, he singsonged the word boring and threw it into the pool. Victoria watched it sink down into the clear, blue water, momentarily distracted from their conversation. Her attention snapped back to the scene unfolding before her however, when she heard the sandy-haired man screaming at Sherlock to run, while he wrapped himself around Jim Moriarty.

What on earth was he doing? She let out a tinkling laugh, that floated around the high ceiling, as she realized his intentions. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she shot an apologetic glance to the three men staring at her, waving her other hand dismissively and sinking down in her seat.

She watched on, as they resumed their 'conversation', Jim Moriarty pointing out, that the blonde, Dr. Watson she learned, had shown his hand rather foolishly and a red dot appeared on Sherlock's forehead, making the Doctor release his grip and step away with his hands raised.

Straightening out his suit indignantly, Jim Moriarty turned around to Sherlock, “D’you know what happens if you don’t leave me alone, Sherlock, to you?”

“Oh, let me guess: I get killed.” The curly-haired man sounded bored and Victoria leaned forward in her seat again, curious as to what might happen next.

“Kill you?” he grimaced at that, “n-no, don’t be obvious. I mean, I’m gonna kill you anyway some day. I don’t wanna rush it, though. I’m saving it up for something special. No-no-no-no-no. If you don’t stop prying, I’ll burn you.” Running his dark eyes over the man in front of him, he added with a vicious snarl “I’ll burn the heart out of you!”

Sherlock didn't seem phased in the least, replying he didn't have one, only to be contradicted by Jim Moriarty with a soft ”but we both know that’s not quite true”, making Sherlock blink, seemingly involuntary.

Victoria's eyes wandered to Doctor Watson, who was listening to the exchange silently and her thoughts drifted off, not paying attention to the goings before here anymore. She took in his posture and expression, cataloguing every detail she could absorb and mulling over the information she had gathered.

The sound of a door slamming shut brought her out of it and she noticed, that there were only Sherlock and Doctor Watson left. Her eyes flitted through the room, looking for one Jim Moriarty, but apparently he had left and disappointment settled inside her.

He was the most interesting person she had ever met and she had hoped she would get the chance to talk to him some more. Alas he was gone and she was left sitting on the hard, plastic seat, contemplating on what to do next, while Sherlock put his gun down and rushed over to Doctor Watson to frantically remove the vest still strapped to the blondes body.

She rolled her eyes at this unnecessary action, wondering how he still hadn't noticed that the thing was a fake. Huffing to herself she pulled out her phone, ignoring the other two occupants of the room completely, their conversation fading to a distant mumbling as she immersed herself in a game of Candy Crush.

Oblivious to her surroundings, she didn't notice the return of the man she had wanted to get to know better, until the sound of her favourite song suddenly echoed loudly through the large room, making her head snap up in confusion.

It apparently was Jim Moriarty's ringtone, as he pulled out his phone and went about answering it, mouthing an apology at Sherlock. She wasn't listening to what was being said, instead wondering why he was back and about the strange coincidence that his ringtone was the same song she had sang when she got here.

An odd feeling of fondness swirled in her chest, making her frown and look down at her boot-clad feet, nibbling at her bottom lip. She faintly heard an irish-lilted voice yelling angrily into his phone, but she was too immersed in her own thoughts to pay any attention. She wasn't sure why she felt that unsettling connection towards a man she had just met and who was obviously some kind of criminal.

A voice called out her name and she lifted her head, disorientedly looking around, until her eyes fell on the tall frame of Sherlock standing at the edge of the pool, looking at her intently. Cocking her head, she stared at him questioningly, but her attention was drawn away to the retreating form of Jim Moriarty leaving through a side door, still talking on the phone.

Standing abruptly, she dashed after him, ignoring Sherlock shouting after her and reached the door just as it was closing. Pushing it open, her shoulders sagged in relief, when she saw a figure in a nicely-tailored suit walking slowly towards the exit, still immersed in conversation.

Grinning mischievously, she rummaged through the pockets in her bulky coat, taking out a scrap of paper and a pen. Scribbling her number on it, she sneaked up behind him, slipping the piece of paper unnoticed into the left pocket of his pants before retreating on silent feet back into the pool-area.

Adrenaline was flooding her system, making her heart beat frantically inside her chest and she let out a silent laugh, revelling in the rush her little trick had evoked. She didn't question why she did what she did, normally she avoided other people as much as possible, hence why she usually came here long after closing-time and barely left her small apartment.

But Jim Moriarty seemed different, in a dangerous and intoxicating way, giving her the urge to learn everything about him, something that had never happened before. Looking around, she noted that Sherlock and the Doctor had already left. Contemplating for a moment, she finally pulled her coat tighter around herself, put her headphones back in and made her way out of the building and into the misty streets of London.

Chapter Text

Avoiding the main-streets and taking her time, she wound her way through dimly-lit back-alleys until she reached the decrepit building which housed her equally dilapidated flat. Making her way up the old, creaky stairs, she pulled out her keys, opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside.

Frowning she stilled for a moment, the air inside felt different somehow, as if someone had been here while she was out, leaving behind the faint smell of cologne and gunpowder. She took another tentative step forward, turning the light switch on and the bare light bulb came to life, illuminating the room in a sickly yellow glow.

Her eyes immediately fell on her wonky coffee-table and the large package wrapped in sparkly, dark-blue paper, a large, silver bow on top. Closing the door and leaning her back against it, her eyes never leaving the mysterious gift, she wondered where it might have come from.

She didn't have any friends or acquaintances and beside her no one, except maybe her landlord, had a key for her apartment. With that in mind, she pushed herself off the door and swung it open again, crouching down and squinting at the lock, trying to determine if it had been tampered with.

Unfortunately it had already been pretty scratched up when she had moved in and she couldn't say if some of the scratches were more recent or not. Sighing she straightened and went back inside, closing the door more forcefully than was strictly necessary.

Anger bubbled up inside her, this was supposed to be her retreat from the outside world and now someone had come in here without her permission and even had the audacity to leave something behind. Glaring at the offending item, she stormed over and plucked it off the table.

For something this large it was rather light and she shook it cautiously, trying to guess what was inside. A cream-coloured card fluttered to the ground, it had been placed under the bow it seemed and she stared at it unblinkingly before putting the package down, picking the folded card up from the floor.

Running her fingers over the thick paper, she absently noted that it looked rather expensive and she idly wondered why people would throw away their money for something as mundane as paper.

Unfolding it with trembling fingers, her eyes scanned over the beautiful, cursive handwriting and a relieved smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

'Tomorrow, 8 pm. Jim xxx'

She didn't even question how he knew where she lived, instead opting for hurriedly removing the bow and wrapping-paper, staring at the white box underneath before carefully lifting the lid.

Her hand came up to cover her mouth, stifling the gasp that tumbled over her parted lips, staring in silent wonder at the blood-red satin nestled inside. Fingering the silky material for a moment, she finally pulled the fabric from the box, watching in awe as it transformed into a beautiful floor-length dress, delicate embroideries in golden yarn starting right under the bodice and travelling all the way down to the hem.

Squealing with unconstrained delight she pressed the dress against her chest and twirled around, watching the fabric fan out, floating around her like a stream of gold infused blood.

Moriarty was surprised when he put a hand in his pant-pocket to retrieve some of his favourite peppermint gum, only to find a piece of paper with bold, rounded numbers on it and the name Victoria scribbled above. Usually nothing took him by surprise anymore and little made him feel anything more than contempt or anger, but this little scrap brought a genuine smile to his face, the first in a long, long time.

Clicking his fingers, he summoned one of his men and ordered the guy to find out everything about the owner of the phone-number, ASAP. Watching the man scuttle away, he pulled out his phone again and gave specific orders for a special delivery, address to follow shortly.

His second in command observed his employers unusual expression, wondering what the hell had made him so fucking cheerful. Sebastian Moran had worked for Jim Moriarty for a long time and not once, in all their years together, had he seen the man before him look so.... happy.

That was the only way to describe it and it honestly kind of terrified the ex-soldier, anything that would make his boss this happy, must be something truly horrible. Not even his obsession with that Holmes guy had ignited this fire in his eyes and Jim had seemed as happy as someone like him could be, or so Sebastian thought.

Confronted with the evidence to the contrary right in front of him, he wasn't sure how to handle it. This was unknown territory for him and he cast furtive glances at his boss and friend through the rear-view mirror, seeing him still grinning, his knee bobbing up and down in barely contained excitement.

When his phone rang, he almost let it slip through his fingers in his eagerness to answer the call, but his voice betrayed nothing, when he spoke to the person on the other end of the line. His grin grew even wider with the news he received and he hung up only to make another call himself.

Shaking his head, the sniper concentrated on the road again, deciding to let it be for the moment.

Victoria went to sleep that night, staring at the beautiful dress hanging on her wardrobe, until her eyes fell close, a small smile on her lips. When she awoke it was almost noon and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the same thing she had seen last before falling asleep, the red dress.

Squeezing her eyes shut and trashing her legs, she squeaked and laughed in excitement. It hadn't been a dream, she truly had a date with Jim Moriarty, the most interesting person she had ever met and she was almost bursting with joyful anticipation. Calming herself a bit, she stood up and went about her morning routine, all the while widely grinning.

Changing from her tatty pyjamas into ripped jeans and a baggy sweater, she cast one last look at her gift and humming happily, made her way into her tiny kitchen. Putting the kettle on the stove to boil some water, she leaned against the counter, thinking about what might happen tonight.

She frowned, when she heard a knock on the door and turning her head towards the sound, she wondered who it might be. Tentatively walking towards the entrance to her flat, she looked through the peep-hole, but the hallway was empty and she frowned again, before opening the door and looking both sides.

Curiouser and curiouser, she thought to herself when she didn't see anyone outside. Just as she was about to close the door again, she noticed another package sitting on her doorstep. This one was wrapped in silver paper, with a dark-blue bow on top and another cream-coloured card sticking out from underneath said bow.

Picking the package up and closing the door, she carried it into the kitchen and set it on the counter, pulling out the card and unfolding it.

'Thought you might need those. See you soon! Jim xxx'

Even more curious now, she unwrapped her new gift, unveiling a black box with golden printing on it, spelling out the name of some famous designer, that faintly rang a bell inside her head. Removing the lid, she discovered a pair of beautiful stilettos, in the same red-tone as her dress, small red rhinestones all over, catching and reflecting the dim light in her flat beautifully.

Underneath them lay another, smaller and flat box coated in black satin and when she flipped open the lid, her breath caught in her throat. A pair of ruby earrings and a delicate, golden chain with a small ruby pendant were blinking up at her and she could feel tears fill her eyes. Blinking against the sudden wetness, she closed the lid and pressed the box against her chest, closing her eyes, a few tears spilling over.

No one had ever been this nice to her in her entire life and she couldn't help the emotional onslaught crashing over her. Wiping away the few stray tears that had escaped her, she put the small box back underneath the shoes and put the lid back on, carrying her newest treasures into her bedroom and placing them tenderly on the bed.

A high whistle came from her kitchen and she hurried back to take the kettle off the stove and make herself a cup of tea.

Jim hadn't slept more than three hours, laying awake in his bed and staring at the canopy above his head, thinking about the strange girl he was meeting tonight. She intrigued him even more than Sherlock did and he couldn't wait to learn everything about her.

Most people were boring and ordinary, not worth his time, but Victoria... Victoria was different, he just knew.

Remembering how he had heard her melodious voice singing 'Staying Alive', brought a smile to his lips. She hadn't been afraid at all, as she had danced into the room, only to stop and look at them with curiosity in her expressive eyes.

Her dark-brown hair falling loosely down her back, her pale, heart-shaped face glowing in the harsh fluorescent light, her extraordinary green eyes scanning each one of them, the keen intelligence in them the thing that had intrigued him first. But the smile that had lit up her whole face when she had looked at him, making her look ethereal and otherworldly, had made his heart stutter unexpectedly.

When she had walked over to him, introducing herself as if it were just a regular situation, he couldn't help but be impressed. But when he took her hand in his, electricity shot up his arm and he had to fight the urge to just pull her into him and taste her full, pink lips when she commented on the fact, that his leverage over the consulting detective and his dear Watson was a fake.

She had kept her voice low, so that the other two couldn't hear her and he was sure, that she had done it on purpose, not wanting to ruin the show for herself.

It had been hard not to constantly look at her during the altercation with his new nemesis and even harder to just leave. Ever so changeable he decided to come back, to finish Sherlock off, but that damn bitch had called before he could do so, luring him away with the prospect of bigger and better things. He had decided on letting one of his man follow Victoria, to learn about where she lived, but that hadn't been necessary anymore when he found her number inside his pocket.

He was still impressed with her skill and sneakiness, no one had ever managed to do something like this without him noticing. So it was only natural for him to plan a meeting, to get to know her better and convince himself of her extraordinariness.

Rolling to his side and checking the time on his phone, his thoughts wandered back to the evening before him. He imagined her wearing the dress he had send and he was glad that he had had the forethought to add a pair of shoes and some jewellery to her ensemble, which she should get sometime around noon.

After he had realized in which part of town she resided, it had occurred to him that she probably wasn't equipped with matching accessories and so he had remedied that by making two more calls, once he had come home.

Jumping out of bed, he exited his bedroom and made his way into the large kitchen, his second in command standing at the counter and shoving a cup of black coffee over to him, levelling him with an inquisitive stare. Jim ignored him diligently and sipped at his coffee without saying a word, inhaling the delicious flavour that rose from the cup, grinning to himself.

Chapter Text

Victoria Louise Harris was not a vain person in general, she didn't care if her clothes were ripped if they were at least clean and she usually never wore any make-up or jewellery, finding it unnecessary to do such a thing when all she did was stay at home.

But tonight, she found herself getting ready hours before her date, plucking and waxing the excess hair from her body, rubbing scented lotion into her now smooth skin and putting her hair in curlers, all the while humming along to the music that blasted from her phone. She had gone to the shops shortly after the second package was delivered to her, realizing that she was more than ill-prepared for an event like tonight, seeing as she didn't own any cosmetic products besides a bar of neutral-scented soap and a bottle of cheap shampoo.

Luckily she had a bit of savings stashed under one of the loose floorboards in her bedroom and thinking of it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, she hadn't hesitated to pull out the wad of cash and stuff it in her coat-pocket to make her way to Boots.

She had bought everything she didn't own and had almost done a little victory-dance when she had found a lipstick that would perfectly match with her dress and accessories. Dumping her findings on the belt, she had grinned broadly at the cashier, who had eyed her sceptically over the rim of her glasses.

Victoria had ignored her scrutiny, she was used to this by now, most people thought she was homeless, with her ripped and baggy clothes and her hair all wild and frizzy. With a smirk, she had payed for her purchases, relishing in the slight widening of the woman's eyes as she had pulled a stack of bills out of her coat-pocket.

With a spring in her step she had walked back to her apartment when she had felt the hairs at the back of her neck rising as if someone was watching her. Discreetly looking around for anyone who might be following her, she had seen one of the CCTV-cameras swing in her direction from the corner of her eyes and she had frowned at it, before waving her hand in greeting.

But she had been quickly distracted by all the things she still had to do and so she had averted her attention back to the task at hand, forgetting all about the strange occurrence in favour of hurrying home.

Another package had been waiting for her on her bed, this time without bow or wrapping-paper and when she had opened it, she found herself staring incredulously at the black lace ensemble inside.

She had blushed fiercely, when she had realized that it was a pair of panties and a matching bra, both items more revealing than anything she would've bought for herself. There was no card attached to this newest gift, but the instructions were more than clear.

So now she sat at her rickety vanity in nothing but her new undergarments, carefully applying her make-up, consisting of winged eye-liner, mascara and brilliant red lipstick. It was already half past seven and there was precious little time left until she had to be finished, so she hastily removed the curlers from her hair, running her fingers through the soft strands and pinning them up.

A few locks were framing her face, dangling down one side of her neck and she was pleasantly surprised by her transformation. She put on her dress, which fit perfectly of course, hugging her body in all the right places and the low-cut of the front brought out her generous cleavage without making her look cheap. It was elegant and tasteful and she twirled in front of her mirror, admiring her new look.

Just as she had finished with putting on the earrings and necklace as well as her shoes, her door-bell rang and she hurriedly spritzed some perfume on her neck before walking through her living-room and opening the door.

A tall, blonde man was standing before her, holding a long, black coat in one hand, the other buried in his pockets and his eyes widened as he looked her up and down. He started to talk, but had to clear his throat before he was able to get the words out.

“Good evening, Miss Harris. Mr. Moriarty has send me to pick you up and take you to the restaurant.” Pushing the coat in her direction, his breath caught in his throat, when she took it with a soft thanks and a smile, that was so bright it illuminated her entire face. She was already beautiful but that smile transformed her into something that seemed almost like it wasn't from this realm.

Shrugging on the coat, she stepped outside, closed the door to her apartment and linked her arm with his as if they had been friends for years and not strangers meeting for the first time.

He led her down the creaky, old stairs and into the crisp London night, watching her from the corner of his eyes. She was still smiling brightly and seemed to be vibrating with excitement when they reached the black Mercedes, parked in front of her building.

He opened the back-door for her, but she let out a tinkling laugh, that sounded like the wind-chimes his mother had hanging on the back-porch when he was a kid and instead slid in the passengers seat, leaving him standing there with the still open door.

Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, he rounded the car and got in himself, shooting her an amused look, which she returned with one of her own.

“Sorry, but I think conversation will be much more comfortable this way.” Her voice was light and melodious, fitting her perfectly and he was at a loss for words, disarmed by her natural behaviour towards him.

For all she knew, he could be driving her to her untimely demise, but she didn't seem to be phased the least bit about getting in a car with a stranger to be taken on a date with another stranger. Who was this girl?

Jim Moriarty sipped at his wine and let his eyes wander around the restaurant impatiently. He felt nervous somehow and it irked him that a girl he just met was evoking such unusual emotions inside of him. Unused to this sort of thing happening, he didn't really know what to do with himself, other than fidget in his seat and wait for his guest to finally arrive.

His fingers traced over the thick linen covering their table, deep in thought, but his head snapped up, when he heard a tinkling laugh coming from the entrance.

There she was, hanging on his snipers arm and looking like a goddess send from above to torture him with her beauty. His eyes raked over her hungrily, the dress he had chosen fit her like a glove, accentuating her waist and lush hips, the delicious swell of her full breasts peeking from the tight bodice. He scowled, when he noticed every man turning their head in her direction and looking at what wasn't theirs with thinly veiled desire.

Her hips swayed seductively, when she came towards him and he automatically stood when their eyes met from across the room, her face lighting up as she noticed him.

A smile appeared on his lips, almost on its own, but he was too distracted by the sight before him to give it another thought. When she finally reached their table, she let go of his snipers arm and elegantly bowed her head in his direction.

“Good evening, Mr. Moriarty. You look dashing tonight, if I may say so. Oh! And thank you for your presents, I really appreciate you going through all that trouble to make me look decent enough for a place like this.” She grinned at him and send him a wink, which made his heart stutter in his chest and he swallowed thickly.

What the hell was she doing to him? Composing himself, he stepped around the table and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, which to his amusement made her blush and helped him regain some of his control.

“Good evening to you too, Victoria and please, call me Jim. When a man buys you lingerie you can call him by his first name. You look beautiful by he way.” He looked deep into her eyes and noted with satisfaction, that her blush deepened, tinting her cheeks scarlet.

Her eyes never left his, when he pulled out a chair for her and she gracefully sat herself down. Breaking eye contact first, he turned to the tall blonde, still standing behind them and with a nod of his head he send him on his way. Victoria seemed to have almost forgotten about his second in command, but suddenly she turned her head and smiled her familiar bright smile at the ex-soldier.

“I guess I'll see you later, when you drive me home. Try not to kill anyone while you wait for us, Sebastian.” She winked at him and giggled adorably at her own joke and to Jim's amusement, the tips of Sebastian's ears turned pink, as he mumbled something under his breath and turned to leave.

Sitting back down across from his date, Jim couldn't help but stare at her. His eyes wandered to her ruby-red lips, wondering how they would taste and feel like against his own.

A waiter arrived at their table, handing them the menus and started to tell them about the days specials, but Jim just waved him off, which made Victoria giggle and hide behind her menu.

Not even bothering to look at his own, he watched her read the card, the tip of her tongue darting out at the edge of her mouth in concentration. The urge to just grab her and suck the pink, wet tip into his mouth made him squirm against the sudden tightness of his dress-pants and he cleared his throat in an attempt at reigning himself in.

His reactions to every little thing she did started to worry him. He was Jim-fucking-Moriarty for goodness sake and not some hormone-addled teenage boy, desperate for a quick lay. He had to take control of the situation, unless he wanted his reputation to go down the proverbial drain.

“So tell me, why is it that there are no records of your existence until a few years ago? All my men were able to find was a birth-certificate, only dating back four years and your signature on your lease and mobile-plan. Why is that?”

Something dark flitted across her green eyes that tempted his own darkness to come out and play, but it was gone so fast that he wasn't entirely sure he had really seen it. She cocked her head and smiled at him conspiratorially, before answering him in a hushed voice, making him instinctively lean closer as to not miss a word coming from her delicious lips.

“Well, I grew up away from society, one might say. My father was kind of a nutter, convinced that the government was out to get him, so we lived far away from civilisation on a farm outside of Merrivale. My three older brothers and me were born there and my father didn't want any record of his offspring, so he didn't register our births with the local authorities. My mum died when I was very little and according to my brothers, my father got even worse after her death. He wouldn't let us leave the premises and we never had any contact with people outside of our small family. When I turned twenty-two, I left.”

He waited for her to continue, but she seemed to be finished with her story and he tapped his finger against his glass, unsatisfied. There was something she wasn't telling him, something bubbling just beneath the surface. Leaning back in his chair, he levelled an inquisitive glare at her.

“And how did you manage to get away? It doesn't sound like your father would have just let you go like that.” The darkness he had witnessed before was back in her eyes, more visible this time and he took another sip from his glass, his eyes mesmerized by her lips as she let out another one of her tinkling laughs.

“I killed them of course.” He almost choked on his wine, when she so nonchalantly admitted to murdering her whole family and felt something stir inside his chest.

She leaned over the table, her voice barely above a whisper, as she added excitedly, “I put rat-poison in their food and watched them choke to death on their own vomit. Then I ingested some myself and walked into town before passing out in front of some old couples house. They called the police and an ambulance while I was out and when I woke up I told the nice officers all about how my deluded father forced us to eat the poisoned food, in fear of some ominous government-agency coming to get him. They believed every word I told them, especially after they had went to our farm and discovered my fathers hidden stash of weapons and ammunition, amongst other things. They took care of the paperwork I needed and sent me on my merry way.” Smiling smugly, she leaned back and watched his face intently, waiting for his reaction.

Victoria had never told anyone the truth about her family before, but she felt that of all people, Jim would understand, though she couldn't exactly say what gave her that impression. She hadn't told him what her father and brothers had done to her for years and years, deciding that it was a topic for another time.

His face changed from surprise to something more sinister and she shivered in delight when his dark-brown eyes turned even darker as he looked at her like he wanted to devour her whole, something she found herself no minding at all.

“I'm not going to let you go back to your sorry-excuse of a flat, you're coming home with me.” His hands played with the stem of his glass and he looked at her from underneath his dark lashes, challenging her to disagree.

Her eyes glazed over as she looked at a point past his shoulder, contemplating his demand. She didn't like when people tried to tell her what to do, but she couldn't deny the jolt of electricity that had shot trough her lower abdomen, or the increasing wetness of her lace panties.

Her need for independence paled in comparison for her need to spend as much time with the beautiful man sitting across from her as she could. Nodding to herself, as she came to a decision, she let her gaze settle back on his pale face and gave him a soft smile.

“Okay,” her voice was soft but determined and Jim seemed to relax visibly.

The waiter returned to take their orders and she let Jim decide on their meals as she had no idea what half of the menu was even supposed to be, never having been introduced to fancy food.

Conversation flowed easily between the two of them and she listened with rapt attention as he talked about his work, with her throwing in a remark or question here and there and revelling in his undivided attention.

When the food was brought out, conversation came to a temporary standstill as she carefully cut off a piece of her delicious looking steak and closed her lips around the fork. She let out a moan, when the taste of the perfectly cooked beef hit her taste-buds, having never before tasted something this delicious and her eyes fell close in bliss.

Chewing slowly, she opened her eyes again and her gaze landed on Jim's hands, tightly holding his knife and fork, his knuckles turned white from the amount of force he applied. Letting her eyes wander up his stiff form, she noticed how he ground his jaw and she was taken aback by the look he gave her. His almost black orbs were focused on her face and he spoke to her through gritted teeth.

“If you don't stop that, I'm not going to be responsible for my actions.” It sounded more like a growl and was clearly meant as a warning, but all it managed to do was stir her desire to tease him more, so she cut off another piece of meat, put it in her mouth and moaned even louder than before.

He snarled at her then and let his cutlery fall from his hands onto the table with a loud clank before he pulled his phone from his pocket, pressing down on the screen so harshly, she could hear it almost cracking, before he put it against his ear.

“Tiger, we're leaving, get the car ready.” Without waiting for a response he disconnected the call and stood up, his chair scrapping audibly against the floor, almost tipping over.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her seat, tugging her hurriedly towards the exit. She nearly stumbled over her own feet, unused to walking in heels at such a pace and she giggled about his eagerness to leave. He ripped her coat out of the concierges hand impatiently and without letting her put it on, he stormed outside, still gripping her arm tightly as he led them to their waiting car.

Sebastian opened the back-door for them, shooting her a knowing wink, which made her giggle again. She was pushed onto the soft leather seats and as soon as the door was closed behind them, Jim pounced on her, crushing her against the seat with his weight and devouring her mouth with his own.

Chapter Text

Jim noted with surprise, that he enjoyed talking to her and so he revealed more about his work than he had intended to. Somehow she managed to override every single one of his barriers and slip under his skin, with a simple upward-turn of her intoxicating lips.

When their food finally arrived, he felt a pang of disappointment, as their conversation came to a standstill, but soon he forgot all about it, as she let out the most sinful moan he had ever heard. It shot straight to his cock, making him painfully hard almost instantly and he tightly gripped his cutlery, to refrain from jumping over the table and taking here right here on the floor in front of everyone.

Nothing and no one had ever managed to make him respond like this and he gritted his teeth, when her alluring eyes met his stare. He warned her to stop it, knowing full well that his control was thinning rapidly and then she went and did it again, even louder this time. That was it.

He called his second in command to let him know they were ready to leave and almost send his chair falling to the ground with the force of him jumping up from his seat. Grabbing the little minx by her arm, he hauled her out of her seat and dragged her towards the exit, momentarily contemplating on killing the concierge, as he stopped them in front of the doors, with Victoria’s coat in his hands.

Fortunately he had enough willpower left to just grab the coat, instead of shooting the guy in the face and splattering his brain against the luxurious interior of the establishment. His skin was buzzing and he felt hazy from the desire coursing through his veins like a fire-storm, barely acknowledging Sebastian holding open the door of the black car and he pushed Victoria inside, letting himself fall into the seat next to her.

Without any warning, he descended on her small frame, pressing her down into the leather, his mouth crashing down on hers. It was even better than he had imagined, she tasted sweet and spicy from her meal and her lips felt soft against his own, making him groan out in pleasure.

He cupped her face with both of his hands, relishing in her silky-smooth skin and deepened the kiss, letting his tongue trace along the seams to demand entrance. She opened her mouth eagerly, their tongues embracing in a passionate dance, that send shivers down his spine and straight to his cock.

Her hands tangled into his hair, tugging lightly at the dark-brown strands, driving him out of his mind with lust. He wanted to devour her, to kiss and lick every inch of her pale, creamy skin and make her scream out his name, when he made her come over and over again.

When they broke apart to take some much needed breaths of air, he let his fingers run all over the exposed skin on her arms and neck, dipping one of his fingers inside her bodice and pulling it down, revealing the black, lacy bra he had picked for her. Peppering kisses along her jaw and clavicle, he travelled further down to the swell of her breasts and her grip on his hair tightened, as he licked a stripe down to the hardened peak of her left breast, straining against the lacy fabric.

The moan that tumbled from her red lips, spurred him on even more and pushing down the thin barrier, he sucked her nipple into his mouth, making her buck her hips upwards. He was so lost in the feeling of her delicious, little nub against his tongue, that it took him a moment to realize that they had reached their destination. With an audible pop, he released his prize, earning him a disappointed whine from the owner. He smirked against her mouth, as he kissed her one last time, before tucking her back into her dress and stepping out of the car.

Victoria could barely use her legs, when she exited the car, clutching Jim's outstretched hand for some stability. He had flustered her so thoroughly, that her panties were already flooded, clinging uncomfortably to her sensitive skin. She was sure that there must be a wet spot at the back of her dress and her cheeks flamed with the knowledge, that anybody who looked could see the obvious sign of her arousal.

Jim rushed her inside a tall building, his hand resting on the small of her back, burning through her dress, hot and heavy. She had only eyes for him and totally ignored her surroundings, attacking his mouth with her own, once they stepped inside a lavish elevator, taking them high up to the penthouse-suite. He reciprocated her kiss eagerly, crowding her against the mirrored walls, his hands everywhere at once.

They stumbled out of the lift, drunk on each others lust and barely made it down the short, elegant corridor to the set of doors leading inside his apartment. She couldn't keep her hands and mouth off of him, as he fumbled with his key-card, trying to open the door and as soon as he managed it, he pulled her inside and closed the door, pressing her against it. He ripped the delicate fabric of her dress and it fluttered to the floor, pooling around her ankles.

Taking a step back, he let his eyes wander hungrily over her exposed flesh, rubbing one hand over the large bulge in his trousers. If she had been in her right mind, she might have mourned the loss of her beautiful gown, but as it was, she couldn't give a damn about anything else but the man in front of her. Goosebumps broke out on her skin and she was panting heavily, eyes glazed over in an almost animalistic hunger directed at the handsome specimen before her eyes.

They moved in sync, their bodies crashing together violently, lips, teeth and hands kissing, biting and roaming all over each other. Impatiently he shrugged off his blazer, his mouth never leaving hers and her hands undid his tie with trembling fingers, before she ripped open his shirt, buttons flying in every direction.

When her hands connected with the hard, muscular expanse of his chest, she sighed into his mouth and raked her fingernails over his pale flesh. With a growl, he lifted her by her bum and instinctively she wound her legs around him as he carried her through a minimalistic but elegantly furnished living-room and into an equally elegant bedroom.

Throwing her down on the soft mattress, he took of his shoes, socks and pants and she scooted into the middle of the large four-poster bed, laying hear head on one of the pillows and watching him through half-lidded eyes. He wasted no time and climbed in after her, nestling his lower body against hers and pressing his stone-hard cock against her aching core. Her eyes rolled back inside her head at the delicious friction and she let out a long, low moan, which was soon swallowed by his lips against hers.

One of her hands tangled inside his hair again and the other ran along his back, lightly scratching the soft skin. His hips bucked into her, when she added more pressure to her ministrations and his mouth descended down her neck, before latching on to one of her nipples, mouthing it through the thin fabric of her bra. She let out a mewl and wrapped her legs around his hips, rubbing her wet centre against his straining erection desperately wanting it inside of her.

“Please just fuck me, Jim! I can't wait any longer!” Her voice was hoarse and needy, urging him to just take her already. Every minute he wasn't buried deep inside of her seemed to stretch into an eternity and it was driving her mad. He chuckled against the flesh of her breasts, one of his hands wandering down between them to slip under the edge of her panties.

When his fingers reached their destination, he let out a groan at how wet she already was for him. Initially he had wanted to take his time, make her squirm beneath him and bring her to the edge over and over again, before finally plunging into her wet heat, but they both were more than ready and he himself couldn't stand to wait any longer.

Sitting up, he divested her of her lacy undergarments almost frantically, ripping the thin fabric off of her body and throwing the scraps over his shoulder and onto the floor. His briefs soon followed and Victoria let out another moan, when her eyes fell on his beautiful cock, her mouth watering at the sight and she pulled him back over her body to latch onto his neck, sucking harshly at the delicate skin, wrapping her legs back around his waist. The thick head of his penis rubbed against her wet entrance and with the aid of her left hand, she guided him inside her aching core.

Jim had to grit his teeth, when the tip of his member sank into her warm and welcoming heat, otherwise this would've been over before it truly began. Slowly pushing inside, it took all of his fraying willpower to not just plunge into her violently, like his body urged him to. Her legs tightened around his waist and they let out a collective moan, when he was finally sheathed deep inside of her.

He stilled, wanting to give her time to adjust to his length, but she started to squirm underneath him, her fingernails digging painfully into the skin on his back and a sheen of sweat started forming on his forehead. She brought her head close to his ear and her hot breath tickled against his face as she breathlessly pleaded with him.

“I want you to fuck me hard, Jimmy. Don't hold back, please!”

His cock twitched inside her, at her whimpered demand and he pulled out almost all the way, before slamming back into her, a scream of pleasure ripping out of her mouth. Gripping her wrists and pushing them down on the mattress above her head, he harshly pumped in and out of her at a rapid pace, fucking her as hard as he could and relishing in her lust-filled screams and moans.

Sweat began dripping down his body onto hers, glittering in the dim light from the lamp on his bedside table and the air around them was filled with the slapping sound of skin against skin and the musky smell of sex . Her inner walls started fluttering around him, announcing the start of an orgasm and he let go of one of her wrist to slip his hands between them and rub her swollen clit.

She nearly bucked off the bed, as his fingers made contact with her sensitive nub and she screamed his name over and over like a prayer, while her sweet pussy clenched around his cock, trying to pull him deeper and milk him for all he was worth. His thrusts became erratic as he chased his own climax, pounding into her with abandon, before he felt his balls tighten and with a shout he emptied himself inside of her, coating her insides with his hot seed.

Not wanting to slip out of her just yet, he rolled them around, so she was lying on top of him, his arms around her and they were both silent, while they tried to catch their breaths. Jim's mind was comfortably hazy with post-coital bliss and for once his always racing thoughts had quieted down. Victoria let out a contended sigh, before shattering the temporary peace of his mind with her next words.

“So this is how it's supposed to be. But then again, it doesn't really count unless you want it to happen, I assume.” She giggled and nuzzled her nose against his sweaty chest and his arms tightened around her, his body becoming stiff.

“What do you mean?” Lifting her head, she looked at him, a relaxed expression on her face.

“Oh... You know, it never felt like this when my father or brothers were forcing themselves on me. But I guess that is to be expected, after all it wasn't really mutual and in the end, they got what they deserved.” Shrugging her delicate shoulders, she settled her head back against his chest, humming against his skin.

He was at a loss for words, the way she had just dropped this bomb on him had him baffled. The way she so nonchalantly admitted to being raped repeatedly by members of her own family, made his respect for her grow into a warm, fuzzy feeling inside his chest. Before he could really think about it, he blurted out: “Marry me.”

Victoria was feeling more relaxed than she had ever been in her entire life and it was all because of the magnificent man she was laying on top of. Drawing comparison between her previous sexual encounters, she spoke her thoughts out loud, like usual not thinking before speaking. When his arms tightened around her and he went stiff, asking her what she meant by that, she told him about what her father and brothers had been doing to her. His reaction though was not at all what she had expected and his last words hung heavily in the air, the atmosphere suddenly tense and she looked at him incredulously, before she burst out laughing.

A flicker of hurt passed behind his eyes, but was soon replaced by a neutral mask. Shaking her head, she pressed a kiss to his lips before lifting her head and staring deeply into his dark eyes.

“If you really mean that and it wasn't just a spur of the moment kind of thing, than my answer is yes, I will marry you Jim Moriarty. But...” She held up a finger to silence his response.

“I have some conditions of my own. First of all, we only just met, so I think it would be wise to at least wait a few months and get to know each other a bit better, before we actually get married. Secondly I want children at some point and if you're not down for that, tell me now before it's too late. Speaking of which, you should probably get me some of these morning-after pills, because I'm not on birth-control of any kind and seeing as we didn't use a condom....” She trailed off, eyes unfocused and caught in her own thoughts. A hand caressing her cheek brought her out of her mind again and she stared down into Jims grinning face.

“I did mean it, my love. You make me feel things, I have never felt before and I would be an idiot if I would just let you go. I know we just met yesterday and I agree that it would be smart to wait a while before we finalise our union. Firstly, you should get rid of your terrible apartment and move in with me. I have more than enough room for the both of us and we could turn the spare bedroom into a sanctuary for you, if you need to have some time for yourself once in a while. Pertaining to the part about future children...” His face took on a thoughtful expression and he was silent for a few minutes, before he continued.

“I haven't really thought all that much about it before, to be honest. There wasn't anyone who I would have even considered starting a family with and I certainly didn't expect that to change, ever. But imagining your belly swollen with our offspring, does hold a certain appeal, I have to admit.”

He gave her a sultry smile and she blushed, despite the fact, that she just had sex with him and was draped across his body, still naked. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach from his response and she leaned down to capture his lips in a searing kiss, which he reciprocated eagerly. She felt his cock harden again, pressing against her right thigh and she giggled into his mouth.

“Ready for round two already? I'm impressed Mr. Moriarty.”

“Oh, I'm not nearly finished with you, future Mrs. Moriarty.” He gave her ass a slap and growled playfully against the soft skin of her neck, when she let out a startled yelp, that turned into another giggle.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Victoria found herself with one strong arm around her waist, her head resting on the other and a warm, reassuring presence pressed against her back and with her eyes still closed, she smiled happily.

Their date had been so much better than she could have ever imagined and she never would have guessed, that he would propose to her. It had taken her by surprise, but saying yes, had felt like the only right answer, even if they had met just yesterday.

She couldn't really explain it, but it already felt like they had known each other for years, the way they just seemed to fall into place, like pieces of a puzzle. They gravitated towards each other like moths to a flame and it was glorious and frightening and just right all at the same time.

Her body was a bit sore from their strenuous activities the night before and she blushed, as her mind wandered back to their second, third and finally fourth round of sexual exploitations, before they had finally fallen asleep, totally exhausted. Remembering the feeling of his tongue on her most intimate body-part made her clench her thighs together as a new wave of arousal hit her, making her wet once again.

A voice inside her head told her to not give him this much control over her, but she pushed the nagging thought away in favour of more pleasant ones. Her hand came down to rest on the curly hair between her legs, a finger slipping in between her moist folds to rub gently at her clit.

She bit her lip, to contain her moan as her hips began moving against her hand and in turn brushing against Jim's morning glory. He began to stir behind her, awoken from her rhythmic movements and his hand slid up her stomach to cup one of her breasts, tugging lightly at her hardened peak. His erection pressed more firmly against her behind and as he began rocking in time with her, she let out a hoarse moan, while he started nibbling on the skin between her neck and shoulder.

Abandoning her breast, he ran his hand down her body, lifting her left leg to place it on top of his, holding it there and the new angle allowed the head of his cock to tease her dripping entrance. She stopped touching herself and instead reached between them to carefully guide him inside her, letting out a soft cry, her still sore flesh overly sensitive to his invasion.

He began rocking into her at a slow and steady pace and her hand came back to rub at her swollen nub. His mouth planted hot, wet kisses along her neck and shoulder blade and the arm she had been lying on bent until his hand was around her neck. Her hips jerked violently, as he applied the barest amount of pressure to her throat and she let out a strangled moan, the vulnerable position and the potential danger it entailed turning her on beyond belief. He moaned into her ear and picked up his pace slightly, the grip of his hand tightening a little bit more with every few thrusts.

Her hand had long ago abandoned its task of stimulating her clit, instead clinging to his hand around her throat, pressing against it to increase the pressure even more. Her other hand was gripping the sheets, fisting them between clenched fingers and her gasps and moans sounded more like wheezing, due to the constriction of her airways.

Jim tired to loosen his hold, to let her take in some air, but she stopped his hand, pressing it firmly against her oesophagus. She could feel her orgasm building and as black spots started dancing in her vision, she exploded into a million pieces, unintelligibly screaming out Jim's name and rocking her hips against his wildly, while riding out the waves of her climax.

He pumped into her a few more times, before biting down hard on the junction between her neck and shoulder and emptying himself deep inside her pulsating core. His hands left her throat and she took in greedy breaths, coughing lightly. He brought her leg back down and rolled her onto her other side, to look at her, concern written all over his face as his eyes wandered to her neck.

She knew, that bruises would develop on the delicate skin, but she didn't care in the slightest and told him as much, though he didn't seem to be convinced, so she cupped his handsome face in her hands, a serious expression on her beautiful features.

“Jim, I mean it. I really don't mind and if you remember, I was the one who wanted you to press harder. You have no idea how much of a turn-on that was, to be at your mercy like this. And you will have to do it again, now that I know I like it, so stop worrying!” Her words sounded harsher than intended and a deliciously dark expression flickered across his face. He buried his hands in her tangled locks and tugged painfully at her scalp, bringing her face close to his.

“So, my little kitten likes it when I hurt her, is that it? You naughty, naughty girl.” His voice was a deep, seductive purr, that send shivers down her spine and she felt her arousal coming back full force.

A whimper escaped her lips as he tightened his hold on her hair, the pain only amplifying her need for him. Her eyes rolled back inside her head, when the oh-so talented fingers of his other hand slipped between her legs and plunged into her. His pace was relentless as he fucked her sensitive hole with his fingers, his thumb circling her clit and she was soon on the edge of another orgasm.

Just as she was about to tumble over that edge however, he withdrew, leaving her clamping around nothing, a desperate whine tumbling from her parted lips. Before she could voice her disappointment though, he rolled off the bed and without a word disappeared into the bathroom.

She stared at the closed door disbelievingly, half out of her mind with need and she was contemplating on finishing the job herself, when his head popped back out, a smug smile on his face.

“You coming or what?” She didn't need to be told twice and scrambled off the bed to join him in the shower.

After their not really productive shower, they reluctantly got dressed, him in one of his impeccable suits and her in one of his dress-shirts, that came down mid-thigh. She had left the first few buttons open, giving him a good look at her ample breasts and Jim had difficulties keeping his fingers to himself. He felt like a love-sick teenager, when he was around her, but if he was being honest, he didn't really mind, they were behind closed doors after all.

When they rounded the corner into the kitchen, she suddenly let out a squeal and sprinted towards the bulky blonde that was leaning against the counter, surprising him and Jim by wrapping her arms around his tall frame.

“Good morning, Sebastian! It's so nice to see you again. How has your day been so far?” She beamed up at the ex-soldier and before he could answer, she got distracted by the steaming mugs that were sitting on the counter.

“Coffee! Oh my goodness, I really need some of that!” Jim let out a chuckle at her antics, sharing a bemused look with his closest, and only, friend.

Victoria was already in her own world, perusing through the cabinets and letting out oohs and aaahs whenever she found something she liked. He watched her with a happy smile on his face, he still couldn't believe he had found someone like her and his mind wandered back to their conversation last night and the fact, that she had agreed to marry him. It should worry him, that his chest warmed, as he imagined waking up to her beautiful face every morning, but somehow it didn't.

He never thought, that he would find joy in something so ordinary as emotional connection, but then again, Victoria certainly wasn't ordinary in any way.

The clearing of a throat, brought him back to reality, making him realise that he had just stood and stared at his fiancée, grinning like a love sick fool for several minutes. He reluctantly tore his eyes from her and turned to look at his sniper instead, cocking his eyebrow questioningly at him.

“What is it, Moran?” Deliberately using his last name, Jim wanted to let him know, that he wasn't in the mood for whatever it was, the tall blonde wanted to talk to him about.

“Yeah, good morning to you too, Jimmy-Boy.” Sebastian scoffed, only using the nickname when he wanted to let his boss and friend know, that he wouldn't take any shit from him.

“And just for your information, yesterday you told me to be here at 10 am sharp, so don't get all pissy with me for doing what you tell me to.” Jim gave him a small smile, shrugging his shoulder by means of apology.

“I've been a bit distracted as you may have guessed. Remind me, why did I tell you to come here again?” The blonde looked at him incredulously and shook his head in disbelief.

“Alright, that's it! What the hell is going on here, Jim? You're acting stranger than usual and it creeps me the fuck out! What is it with you and little Miss-Crazy-Pants over there?” Sebastian whispered harshly, not wanting the girl to hear him and he was taken aback by the murderous look in Jims eyes.

“Don't ever call her that again Moran, or I will cut out your tongue and feed it to you, understood? That extraordinary creature happens to be my fiancée and she is going to live here from now on, so you better get used to her. Which reminds me...” He turned around and called out to Victoria, “Kitten, is there anything from your old apartment you want to bring over here?”

“No there is nothing of real value to me back there, so it can all be destroyed. Hell, you can burn the whole building down for all I care. Wouldn't that be magnificent? A great, big flame liberating all those ordinary, little people from their ordinary, little lives.” She got a far-away look in her eyes and a dreamy smile played on her lips.

To Jim she was the most gorgeous being in the whole universe at that moment, the darkness he had witnessed inside her, when they had talked about her family, now on full display. Sebastian on the other hand felt more than uncomfortable. This was bad, very very bad.

Jim Moriarty was the most dangerous person he had ever met, and he had met a lot of dangerous people in his life, but he had always been somewhat restrained when it came to creating chaos and mayhem. But with the way he looked at this girl, totally enchanted by her words, he feared what might happen if this all went sideways eventually.

The girl was obviously crazy, as sweet and innocent as she may appear on the outside and her carelessly spoken words just proved that to him. It seemed to draw his friend in and sooner or later he would succumb to his darker urges and the city might burn because of this. He had seen what Jim-fucking-Moriarty was capable of and even the hardened ex-soldier was frightened sometimes of the potential for total destruction his friend kept hidden inside his brilliant mind.

Victoria was watching Sebastian from the corner of her eyes, cataloguing every minute movement and change in facial-expression. Hopping on one of the counter-tops, she dangled her legs and grinned at him.

“You don't have to be so worried. I'm not going to let him burn my old apartment-building, or the city for that matter. I'm not crazy you know. I just don't give a shit about most people. They are dull and predictable and frankly, not worth my time. But that doesn't mean, I want to see them all burned to a crisp. Well, I mean it would be kind of funny, but when there is only chaos, then there is nothing left to destroy. And wouldn't that be boring as hell?” She cocked her head and studied his baffled face for a moment.

“No, I can't read your thoughts, I'm not a witch, even if that would be just awesome. I'm just very perceptive, your micro-expressions and your body-language gave it away. Might want to work on that, but on the other hand, you usual meet the clients from a good distance, being a sniper and all, so it's not that important.”

“How did you...”

“Didn't I just tell you, that I'm very perceptive? And quite clever too, if one is to believe the standardized IQ tests they made me take. But I think these things are worthless bullshit, trying to quantify something that can't be quantified.” She shrugged her shoulders and jumped off the counter, to walk over to Sebastian, patting him on the back reassuringly.

Jim had watched their one-sided exchange with growing curiosity. He knew that she was clever, but he hadn't known to what extent. It reminded him of himself, the way he saw the world, how every minute detail he observed told him almost exactly what he wanted to know, much like Sherlock.

That was what had intrigued him in the first place and why he had spend so much resources on his little game with the consulting detective. He had wanted to test his ability to keep up with him, believing he had maybe found someone who could equal his own genius. And even as Sherlock had managed to solve all his puzzles, Jim had been disappointed once he realized that his supposed equal was just as ordinary as all the other boring people he had to deal with throughout his life. Even Sherlock's vast intellect couldn't hide the fact, that deep down, he was just like everyone else, even if he couldn't see it himself.

Sebastian was still speechless and a tad bit uncomfortable with her bluntness. This reminded him an awful lot of his first meeting with James. The man had seemed to know everything he was thinking and it had irritated and impressed him in equal parts.

Now the same thing was happening with her and he finally got it, why Jim was so blown away by her. She was just like him, a brilliant mind to rival his and a darkness that crawled under her skin, just waiting to break out and tear everything apart.

Sebastian was still convinced, that this would end badly, but he understood, why his friend was apparently willing to take this risk. If he would find someone who fitted him so perfectly, all wrapped up in a bloody amazing body, he too would hold on as hard as he could, consequences be damned.

Chapter Text

Victoria was standing in Jims living-room with closed eyes, enjoying the silence. Her fiancée and his second in command had left twenty minutes ago to go to work and she had the apartment all to herself. Letting herself fall backwards with her eyes still closed, she slumped into the soft sofa, contemplating on what she should do with her day.

Jim had left her a key-card for the apartment and one of his credit-cards, telling her to get herself a new wardrobe, seeing as she didn't have any clothes at the moment. She had protested at first, not wanting to spend his money, but he had managed to convince her, by reminding her, that in a few months it would be hers eventually, so why wait?

Reluctantly she had conceded to his point and as he smiled happily at her resignation, she couldn't even be mad at him and had kissed him passionately instead, much to Sebastian’s chagrin. He had clearly been uncomfortable with their display of affection and had looked relieved, when Jim had finally pulled away from her, so that they could leave.

Opening her eyes, she looked at the high ceiling and after a deep sigh, she pulled herself up from the comfortable sofa and went back into the bedroom, to look for a temporary outfit. Luckily for her, she found a pair of sweat-pants and a regular shirt and after tying the pants as tight as she could, so that they wouldn't fall down to her ankles, she exited the bedroom to go look for her shoes.

She didn't even remember taking them off yesterday, but logically they had to be somewhere between the entrance and the bedroom. One heel she found under one of the armchairs and the other was hidden behind a large, potted plant. Before she put them on, she rolled up the pant-legs, not wanting to stumble over them and fall on her face. She grabbed the credit card from it's place on the hallway table, the key card already in the pocket of the black coat Sebastian had brought her yesterday, courtesy of Jim, and after standing in front of the doors for a moment, she opened them and stepped outside into the hallway, closing the doors behind her.

Driving down with the elevator, she exited the building, noticing the posh look of the place for the first time. Her motley outfit earned her some strange looks from passers-by but as usual, she ignored them, smiling to herself. Just as she was about to turn left to walk towards the city centre, a hand touched her shoulder and made her whirl around, ready to defend herself.

A lanky boy, a few years younger than herself stood awkwardly behind her, his eyes widening as she turned around and he opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out of him. She cocked her brow and everyone who knew Jim Moriarty, would have sworn she looked just like him in that moment.

“I-I'm sorry, M-Miss Harris. Mr. Moriarty has, uhm, arranged a driver to take you wherever you w-want and... Oh and that's me, I-I'm your driver. The name's Wallace, Wallace Kensington.” He stumbled over his words, seemingly nervous and Victoria took pity on him, he reminded her of a lost puppy and it was quite adorable in her opinion. Patting his arm gently, she gave him a reassuring smile.

“Nice to meet you Wallace, please call me Victoria, Miss Harris sounds so serious. And you don't have to be so nervous, I'm not gonna attack you or anything, unless you give me reason to.” Her cheerful voice had turned darker on the last part and she gave him a stern look. She started to laugh as he paled considerably and she had to assure him, that she was just messing with him.

He laughed nervously at her joke and led her to another black car, similar to the one Sebastian had driven, when he had picked her up yesterday. This time she took the back-seat, her momentary affection already vanished and replaced by the usual indifference she felt towards ordinary people.

She told him, that she wanted to go shopping for new clothes and he suggested a few high-end stores, which even she had heard of. They usually didn't hold much appeal to her, preferring to dress comfortably instead of stylish, but she surmised, that Jim would want her to look a tad more sophisticated and a tad less like a homeless person, so she agreed with his suggestions and they started driving through the traffic-jammed streets of London on their way to Mayfair.

The first store she visited was already trying her patience. The shop-assistant was following her and watched over her like a hawk, as if she would grab the over-priced stuff and try to make a dash for it at any minute. Still, she needed some shoes that would be more suitable and finally settled on a simple pair of black flats, that had a tiny golden bow on top of each shoe and made her way over to the cash-register.

She got the usual look of scepticism, right up until she pulled out the black credit card, which immediately changed the behaviour of the woman before her. Victoria rolled her eyes, as the obnoxious shop-assistant was suddenly turning on the charm, trying to talk her into spending more money. Putting on a bored expression, she brushed her off, taking back the card after it had been run through the card reader, accepting the bag with her new shoes and making her way out of there without another word.

Outside, she slipped out of her heels with a relieved sigh and put on her newly purchased flats. They had cost half of what she had been paying for her flat and unexpectedly she enjoyed spending money on something nice but not strictly necessary. She went into a few other shops, upgrading her outfit bit by bit until she was wearing a tight, black pencil-skirt, combined with a fluttery, silk blouse that had little white dots printed all over the red-coloured material.

Wallace was carrying the multiple bags filled with clothes back to the car and she decided, it was time for a lunch-break. Deciding to forgo the car, she walked down the streets, Wallace trailing behind her until she came upon a small café, that didn't seem as posh as the rest. As she opened the door to get inside, she was almost run over by a short sandy-haired blonde, who seemed to be deep in thought.

“Fancy seeing you here, Doctor Watson.” She smirked at him and it took him a while to recognize her, but when he did, a suspicious expression crossed his face.

“You're that girl from the pool the other night! What, are you following me around or something?”

Laughing at his accusation, she waved her hand to dismiss such a foolish notion.

“Heavens, no! Why would I even do that? I was simply taking a break from shopping to get a bite to eat. Care to join me?” He looked at her incredulously, taking in her changed appearance for the first time and noting that she had been hiding a very attractive form under the bulky clothes, he had seen her in the last time.

She caught him checking her out and his ears turned pink with embarrassment of being caught staring. Rubbing his hand through his hair, he agreed to join her, curious to learn more about this strange woman, but not before shooting a quick text to Sherlock to inform him of this development.

His friend and flatmate had been talking about the mystery woman non-stop, ever since their brief encounter at the pool and he was sure Sherlock would want to talk to her in person, to get the answers he so desperately wanted. And sure enough, just as they had ordered their food, the lanky detective strode through the doors and towards their table, letting himself fall into the spare chair, steepling his fingers under his chin and looking at the brunette intently.

John watched, as they just stared at each other silently for a few minutes until his flatmate finally opened his mouth, to presumably spout his deductions about her out into the world.

“Who are you and why can't I read you?” This was not, what John had expected him to say and he shot his friend a surprised look, which Sherlock ignored as per usual.

“Well, my name is Victoria Louise Harris, I'm twenty-six years old and according to the doctors who had me tested, I have an IQ of about 260, I have extensive experience with almost everything, that has to do with firearms and explosives, I speak thirteen different languages fluently, but only because I had nothing better to do last month, I'm well-trained in hand-to-hand combat and I like things that are out of the ordinary or that glitter. And you can't read me as easily as anyone else, because I don't want you to. Does that answer your questions, Mr. Holmes?” Sherlock was taken aback by her bluntness, he had expected her to be cagey or even hostile and he was even more confused than before.

“Is that why you refused to leave, when I told you to?”

“Yes, partly. A maybe a not so small part just wanted to stay because you told me not to. I think you can understand that impulse.” She grinned at him conspiratorially and despite himself, he had to chuckle at her statement, earning himself a disbelieving look from Watson. He did know what she meant, he himself had often enough done things just to spite the people, who thought they could tell him what to do.

“What about Moriarty, what's your connection to him, if I may ask?” This was the important bit, the part that had him baffled ever since the night at the pool. Not only her reaction to his adversary, but the visible reaction Moriarty had had to her.

“Oh... Umm... To be honest, when we met there wasn't any connection, I just found him interesting you know? So I left him my number in hopes he might call and don't give me that look Doctor Watson, I know that he is a dangerous criminal. Anyway, he didn't exactly call, but we went on a date yesterday, I went back to his place and I'm sure you can guess the rest. So I would say our connection entails both physical and emotional aspects, as hard as that might be to believe.” Her body-language was totally relaxed, as she just nonchalantly told him what he wanted to know and it irked him, that she seemed totally unphased by his inquisition.

“Why are you telling me all this so willingly, Miss Harris? Is this some sort of new game from Moriarty?” He was suspicious of her motives, no one just spouted out all their secrets like that, unless there was some hidden agenda, but he couldn't think of anything, that would require her to tell him all this.

“Oh Sherlock... Not everyone is out to get you. I'm telling you, because you asked me and I have nothing to hide. I would even tell you what kind of underwear I'm wearing if you wanted to know, none by the way, I totally forgot to buy some.” This wasn't an attempt at flirting, she was simply stating a fact and Sherlock took it as that, even if his eyes involuntarily wandered to her chest, noting, that she indeed wasn't wearing a bra. She turned away from him as he mulled over the information she had given him and addressed Watson.

“Now, Doctor Watson, is there anything you'd like to know?” The Doctor looked at her for a moment, taking in her open facial-expression. She seemed to be genuinely asking him and rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, he thought about her question.

“What I still don't get is, what you were doing at the pool in the first place. And why in the world would you seek out the attention of someone like Moriarty?”

“That's easy to answer! See, most people are so mind-numbingly dull and ordinary and he is the first person I met, which didn't make me want to scratch out my own eyes. So it's only natural, that I was drawn to him. As to why I was at the pool, I go there sometimes because I like the smell and the quiet and usually nobody is there at that time of night.” John was starkly reminded of similar conversations with Sherlock, the detective was always complaining about the stupid people around him, also referring to them as dull and ordinary.

He shot a look at his friend, who was watching Miss Harris with an expression on his face, John had never seen before. It looked almost like he was intrigued by the beautiful brunette and John felt a knot of worry forming in his stomach. If Sherlock would take an interest in her, it would be more than a bit not good, seeing as Moriarty had obviously laid claim to her already.

This could all go downhill pretty fast and hard and he didn't want that to happen, so he nudged his friend and flatmate in the side, communicating with his eyes, that it was time for them to leave. Sherlock just shot him an annoyed glance, clearly not wanting to end their impromptu meeting just yet.

Victoria was very amused with the good Doctor and his friend. They both seemed to believe, that she was playing some sort of game with them and she chuckled to herself, when Doctor Watson was silently communicating with Sherlock, obviously wanting to leave. But the curly-haired man seemed to have other intentions and he opened his mouth to presumably ask her another question. She held up her hand, making his mouth snap shut audibly and gave him a smile, that showed more teeth than necessary.

“Let me stop you right there, Mr. Holmes. Instead of asking me another meaningless question about myself, why don't you ask, what you really want to know?” Her patience had run out and she was tired of tiptoeing around the real issue he had with her. His face took on a guarded expression, he wasn't used to be read so easily except maybe by his brother and that comparison felt wrong somehow.

“Very well, Miss Harris. Why is Moriarty so interested in you? From what I gathered about him, he didn't seemed to be interested in emotional attachments and I'm curious how you managed to change his mind.”

“That's not, what your really want to know though, is it? But I'll let it slide this time. And to answer your question, he sees himself in me. A man like him needs someone who is just as dark and twisted as he is and who can keep up with his brilliant mind. I may look innocent on the outside, but if you look closely, you can see the darkness seeping through the cracks. And on that note, I have to take my leave. It was nice talking to you gentlemen, but I have to get back to my fiancée, he has already threatened bodily harm to my driver by the looks of it. Can't let the poor boy get hurt, just because he is too afraid to tell me, that we have to leave. Have a nice day!” Standing up, she waved Wallace over and, ignoring the surprised looks on Sherlock's and Doctor Watson's faces over the reveal of being engaged to their enemy, she made her way out of the café and back to the car so the nervous boy could drive her back home.

“They are engaged? What the bloody hell?!” John stared at Sherlock incredulously, not being able to process the bomb-shell the dainty brunette had just dropped so nonchalantly on them, as if it were nothing.

Sherlock seemed to have the same problem as his blogger, as he was staring blankly at the wall in front of him, blinking rapidly. How on earth did this happen? And why had he felt a little pang inside his chest at her announcement? Shaking out of his stupor, he turned his gaze towards his friend, who was looking rather flustered by this recent development.

“I...” Sherlock had to clear his throat rather awkwardly before continuing,”I really have no idea, Watson. I'm as surprised as you are at the moment. However, I don't think we have seen the last of Miss Harrison and to put it quite frankly, I fear the worst is yet to come.”

Chapter Text

Poor little Wallace tried his best not to glance at Victoria through the rear-view mirror, while she was giggling silently the whole ride home. He had been working for Mr. Moriarty since he was a scrawny little thirteen-year-old street-rat, living off of scraps from dumpsters behind restaurants and the occasional fresh meal he bought from money he had pick-pocketed from time to time.

That had been only six years ago and he still was nothing more than an errand-boy to the intimidating criminal, but he rather liked it that way. It was less dangerous and still left him with enough income to afford a medium-sized apartment in one of London's less shabby parts, which he was more than grateful for.

When his employer had called him today, to inform him about his duties of driving around the beautiful brunette, that was now sitting behind him, he was confused at first. Of course he would never question a direct order from the man, he knew how well that would have gone over. But still, he was left slightly puzzled as to why there had been genuine warmth in Mr. Moriarty's voice, when he had given him the name and description of the person, he was to escort.

Never in all the years he had worked for the man, did he hear anything akin to affection for another person, as he had heard in those few seconds of him uttering her name and describing her appearance to him. It had send a shiver down his spine and he couldn't understand why that was.

When he had stood outside the apartment-complex, sweating under his too tight collar, due to his nervousness and saw her exit the building, he forgot to breathe for a moment, totally transfixed by her. She should have looked ridiculous in her mismatched outfit of too big sweat-pants and shirt, a dark coat around her shoulders and bright red heels on her feet, but instead she exuded grace and beauty, with an underlying current of danger.

He had been so entranced by her, that he almost forgot what his purpose for being there was. With a start he had remembered that he was supposed to drive her around today and quickly went after her, before she had a chance to get away. He had mentally face-palmed when he started stuttering about his orders like a love-struck idiot, but she surprised him by gently smiling at him, making him feel instantly at ease, just to shatter that illusion when her voice had turned dark all of a sudden.

She eerily reminded him of his employer, especially after she started laughing at his obvious discomfort, assuring him, that she was only messing with him. In his head her tinkling laughter had thrown him off course and he had once again trouble remembering, what he was supposed to do.

On their drive towards Mayfair, he had glanced more than once into the rear-view mirror, taking in her beauty as she stared absent-mindedly out of the window. He understood now, how his always emotionally cold boss had such an amount of affection in his voice, when he had talked about her. She truly was something seemingly out of this world and he couldn't imagine anyone who wouldn't immediately be captivated by her.

The more he watched her however, the more his feeling of unease grew. There was something not quite right about her, that he couldn't exactly put his finger on and it was unnerving to say the least. He pondered over that, while he was trailing behind her from shop to shop, carrying the steadily growing amount of bags in his hands, until she informed him that she needed a break and left him to load her new belongings into the trunk of the car, while she went into a nearby café.

Over the course of their shopping-spree, she had gradually updated her outfit and he had to force himself, not to stare too much at her. The skirt and blouse she had decided to wear, were showing off her curves in a way, that made him pop the first few buttons on his shirt, to relieve some of the heat, that had been building inside of him. He was awkwardly standing on the side-walk and watched her through the large windows of the café, sitting at a table and talking to a blonde man, who sat next to her.

The feeling of unease grew, when another man joined the duo and he recognized him as none other, than the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Just at that moment, his phone started vibrating in his pocket and with a startled jump at the sudden intrusion to his thoughts, he pulled it out. He gulped, when he saw who was calling him and a few beads of sweat were starting to form on his forehead. Inhaling deeply, he picked up the call.

“Y-Yes, Boss?”

“It is time to return Miss Harris to me, Wallace. I assume all went well?”

Wallace paused for a moment, unsure if he should mention, who Miss Harris- Victoria, heremindedhimself- was talking to at the moment.

“What is it, that you are not telling me? Spit it out!” Mr. Moriarty sounded rather irritated, that Wallace had made him wait for an answer, so the lanky boy stuttered out, what he was observing at the moment.

“W-We finished shopping for the d-day and Vic- I mean Miss H-Harris went to a café for a break and now she is talking with Sherlock H-Holmes.” Silence met him from the other end of the line and Wallace worried, that he had inadvertently made a mistake and Victoria would have to pay the price for his blabber-mouth. But he shouldn't have worried, because suddenly there was laughter coming through the phone.

“Oh, is she now. That little minx... Tell her to finish playing and that I expect her back here within the hour.”

The blonde boys eyes hadn't strayed from his target for even a second during the phone call and as Mr. Moriarty was finishing his sentence, Victoria stood from her seat and made her exit out of the café.

“That shouldn't be a problem, sir. She seems to have finished with Holmes and is on her way to me now.”

“Good. And Wallace?” The boy gulped at the sudden menace in his employers voice.

“Y-Yes, s-sir?”

“If I ever catch you looking at her again like you did today, I will personally gouge out your eyeballs and feed them to you, understood?”

Wallace paled and with his mouth suddenly dry, he squeaked out an 'understood, sir', before the line went dead.

Victoria was more than amused by Sherlock Holmes reaction to her blunt approach to his questions and couldn't wait to tell her lovely fiancée all about their little impromptu meeting. Speaking of which, she was pretty sure he had threatened her little driver not to look at her, seeing as he desperately tried to avoid any eye-contact with her, while retrieving her shopping-bags from the trunk and handing them over to a grim-looking Sebastian, who had been waiting at the curb for their arrival.

Deciding to mess a bit with the lanky blonde boy, she went to thank him for his service and put her hand on his biceps, to which he responded by jumping away from her, as if her touch had burned him. She sniggered to herself, as he scrambled to get away from them and drove off without a backwards glance. Sebastian shot her an exasperated look, shaking his head slightly at her antics, but she could see the small smirk he was trying to hide as he turned towards the entrance of the apartment-building.

Once they had crossed the lobby and stood inside the elevator, he shot her a side-ways glance and murmured under his breath, “I swear, you are just like him...”

“Oh, Sebby, of course I am. Why do you think he likes me so much?” She winked playfully at him and nudged his side with her elbow, eliciting an eye-roll from the tall blonde.

The elevator-doors opened once they reached their designated floor and she strolled confidently towards the double-doors leading into the apartment. Taking out the key-card from her newly acquired purse, she swiped it through the card reader and entered the suite.

“Honey, I'm home!” Her voice hollered through the living-room, followed by a giggle and a mumbled, “I've always wanted to say that.” When she lay eyes on her handsome fiancé, stepping out of the kitchen and towards her with a smile on his face, she flung herself into his arms and captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

“Someone has missed me.” He chuckled at her, more than pleased by her way of greeting him, and tucked a strand of soft brown hair behind her ear.

“Oh, I had so much fun today! Who knew that spending money on stuff could be quite that enjoyable? I certainly didn't, let me tell you that... By the way I met your little plaything and his boyfriend today, but I guess Wallace already told you that, right?” During her happy babbling, she had dragged Jim by his hand over to the sofa, pushed him down onto it and made herself comfortable by sitting sideways on his lap, her head snuggled into the crook of his neck, while playing idly with the buttons on his dress-shirt.

Not giving him time to respond, which would have been wasted time anyway, as she already knew the answer to her question, she went on to tell him all about her chat with the consulting detective. When she had finished, she looked up at the brunette, a sly smile on her face.

“You know, I think I left a lasting impression on the poor fellow the last time we met, he was so very interested in everything I had to say and you should have seen his pupils dilate, when I mentioned, that I wasn't wearing any underwear. And he looked positively heart-broken for a moment, when I let it slip, that we're getting married! It was hilarious!” Victoria giggled to herself, revelling in today's accomplishments, when she felt Jims arms tighten around her waist and noticed that his already dark eyes had become almost black. She quirked her brow at him questioningly, waiting for him to spit out, whatever it was that was bothering him.

“And um, why exactly did you tell him about your underwear, or the lack thereof?” His eyes bored into hers and understanding washed over her, accompanied by a feeling of sudden wetness between her legs, from the dark look he was giving her. Pressing her legs together to alleviate the building arousal, she fluttered her dark eye-lashes at him, pouting her full lips.

“I wanted to see what his reaction would be, so I sprinkled it casually into the conversation.” The subtle movement of her legs didn't go unnoticed by the dark-haired criminal and one of his hands slid under the hem of her skirt, travelling slowly up her bare thigh.

Deciding to fan the flames a bit more, Victoria leaned closer to him and whispered seductively in his ear, “You know, I'm pretty sure he would have liked to check for himself, if I would have let him. I mean he is rather handsome and this long, slender fingers of his could surely...”

She didn't get to finish her sentence, because with a growl Jim stood up and carried her bridal-style towards their bedroom, calling to Sebastian who was standing over in the kitchen.

“Go home Moran, you're services are not longer needed today!”

Without waiting for a reply, he went inside and threw her on the soft bed, making her almost bounce off of the mattress from the force with which he was throwing her. Before she could protest, he was on her, ripping her new blouse and skirt from her body, ruining both items in the process.

“Hey, I really liked that one! You have to stop destroying my clothes like that!”

Slap

Her head snapped to the side from the force of the blow and tears started to fill her eyes immediately. Instead of screaming at him for hitting her, she let out a moan at the burning pain of his slap and met his furious gaze.

“Do it again”, she whispered, a slow smile forming on her face, matching the one of her lover that had appeared at her words.

“Oh, you dirty little thing... That's what you wanted, isn't it? For me to loose my temper and really give it to you. Well, if that is how you want to play this, Daddy will happily oblige.”

With that, he yanked her up by her hair and roughly shoved her off the bed and onto the floor, while opening his belt and removing it from his pants. Walking behind her, he gathered her arms behind her back, bending them at the elbows, so that her hands were almost resting below her shoulders.

The position was uncomfortable and slightly painful, making Victoria whimper and moan simultaneously. He proceeded to bind her wrists tightly with his belt, making it impossible for her to release her arms from the awkward position they were in. After he was satisfied with his work, he grabbed a handful of her hair and pressed her face to the crotch of his pants, rubbing her face roughly against his erection.

Victoria could feel her arousal trickling slowly down her thighs, her mind wholly consumed by the incredible amount of lust she was feeling. She felt like she would come, just from him rubbing her face against his clothed dick and she wanted nothing more than for him to fuck her mouth and shoot his load down her throat. Looking up at him, she tried to school her features into the most innocent and pleading look she could muster at the moment and asked him exactly for that.

“Can you please fuck my face and come down my throat, Daddy?”

Chapter Text

Jim paced anxiously through the apartment, waiting for his girl to finally return to him. All day today, he hadn't been able to concentrate on anything but her and it had driven him mad, so he had to cut his work-day short, or else he would have murdered his clients for being idiots. And as satisfying as that would have been, it wouldn't have been good for business, which he had to remind himself of more often than usual today.

He was angry with himself for letting little Miss Victoria distract him so thoroughly, but who could really blame him? That woman was everything he could have ever wanted and didn't know he needed, all packaged in a sinful body, some women would kill for. Just thinking about her naked body, writhing in ecstasy beneath him, made him rock-hard and he growled in frustration over the loss of control he had over his own body, when it came to her.

He knew it was dangerous to let someone he barely knew get under his skin in such a way, but he was completely under her spell and surprisingly he liked it. The words he had taunted Sherlock with at their little get-together resonated in his mind, seemingly mocking him now.

'Nobody ever gets to me and nobody ever will'

He scoffed at his own arrogance, now someone had in fact gotten to him and he was powerless to stop it. The thought of just killing her and removing her permanently from his life, had never even crossed his mind, which in itself was concerning enough. Jim Moriarty was many things, but prone to sentimental attachments he was not and it irked him, that Victoria Harris had infected him like a virus, making him feel and care for another human being.

But as much as he liked to make fun of other people for succumbing to their, in his mind, baser desires of companionship, he couldn't help but understand, now that he fell into that trap himself. It all made sense now, how ordinary people would try and do anything to keep their loved-ones save from harm, sacrificing themselves if need be. Now that he experienced what it felt like to have someone that completed him in a way he never thought he needed, he knew that he would do anything to hold on to that.

He was brought out of his brooding by a sudden exclamation of “Honey, I'm home!”, followed by something unintelligible. A smile spread over his face, without him even realizing and his body instinctively stepped towards the object of his desires. She flung herself at him and kissed him like she had been away for weeks, not only a few hours, and he chuckled at her antics, enjoying her attention.

Listening to her exited babbling, he let himself be pulled through the room and onto the couch, where she fell into his lap, cuddling up to him. She told him all about her run-in with his former favourite past-time, amused by her enthusiasm, until she started talking about Sherlock's reaction to her.

His grip on her tightened in anger, as he imagined the stupid git staring at his gorgeous girl and he couldn't help himself and had to ask her, why she had to mention her lack of underwear to him. The response he got made him even more furious and without even thinking about it, he dismissed his second in command and carried her into their bedroom.

It seemed he had to remind her who she belonged to and in his anger he lost control and slapped her. A twinge of guilt started to form in his chest, until she let out a moan and begged him to do it again. His brain almost exploded with all the possibilities her sexual need for physical violence would provide and he couldn't stop the words that were tumbling from his lips, even going as far as to reveal that little kink of his.

Though she didn't seem to mind in the slightest and he almost came in his pants, when she looked up at him from her position on the floor and begged him to fuck her mouth. 'Daddy', she said teasingly at the end and it was definitely his undoing.

The speed in which he had opened his pants, pulled out his painfully hard cock and shoved it into her sweet, warm mouth would have impressed him, had he not been totally gone already. Both of his hands were tangled in her dark-brown locks as he continued to thrust as far down her throat as he could, not paying any attention if she could breathe or not.

His eyes rolled back into his head and he groaned with every stroke as she tried her best to take everything he was giving her, all the while gagging and moaning around him. Looking down, the sight he was met with might have been the most exhilarating thing he had ever come across. Her forest-green eyes were overflowing with tears, begging him to give her what she wanted and he just thought to himself that he couldn't last much longer, when his devious little minx started humming around his spit-slicked cock.

The vibrations were too much for him and he brutally rammed himself deep into her throat, her face mashed against his pelvis and cutting off her air-supply, as he came almost violently, spurting load after load down her constricting throat, feeling her swallow around him to consume every last drop of his gift to her.

Victoria was close to passing out, due to the lack of oxygen when Jim finally let go of her head and stumbled backwards onto the bed. She gasped for breath once her airways were free again and coughed violently, his cum almost coming up again, before dropping to her side in exhaustion.

“Thank you, Daddy...”, she wheezed out, pleased with the outcome of her little experiment and she heard Jim chuckle tiredly.

“You're going to be the death of me if you keep that up, doll-face. I don't think I can even stand right now and believe me, when I say, that that has never happened before.” Pride filled her at his confession and she tried sitting up to get closer to him, only to be reminded by the sharp ache of her shoulders that her arms were still tightly bound behind her back.

“Maybe you could still try, because I think the circulation in my arms might be a bit cut off at the moment.” With a muttered 'Shit' he quickly sat up and stumbled over to her lying form, removing his belt from her wrists.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips, but then she groaned as the feeling in her upper extremities came back with a painful prickle. Jim started rubbing her arms, massaging the abused flesh gently to ease her discomfort and she moaned softly from his ministrations, which earned her another chuckle.

“Come on baby, I'm gonna draw us a nice relaxing bath and then we can spend the rest of the day in bed.” He gingerly picked her up and carried her into the en-suite, gently setting her down on the counter and giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Victoria closed her eyes, humming softly to herself and feeling content for maybe the first time ever in her life. Who would've thought, that she would find happiness with a dangerous criminal mastermind? Well, if she was being honest with herself, it wasn't really all that surprising.

She herself was anything but normal and it would have been impossible for her to start a relationship with anyone who wouldn't have at least been somewhat strange themselves. Especially when considering her superior intellect to most of the people around her, she would have gotten bored quite easily with someone who could be considered 'normal' by societies standards.

Opening her eyes, she watched Jim fiddling with the taps, trying to get the temperature just right for them and she smiled to herself over his apparent need to please her. It was a pleasant change for her that she now had someone who cared for her this much and it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. A few days ago she would have scoffed at anyone who might have told her about the situation she now found herself in, but being here with him she couldn't deny that she had secretly craved a connection with another human.

He was exactly what she had always wanted, even-though she hadn't known it and she couldn't stop the butterflies in her belly from fluttering wildly as he turned around and winked at her as if he had heard what she was thinking about. Her face heated up and she felt herself blush, which was absurd, considering what they had been doing with each other over the last two days, but nonetheless she was still blushing like a school-girl.

Jim motioned for her to come closer, while he started taking off his clothes, throwing them haphazardly on the tiled marble floor, before he lowered himself into the large tub, sighing contently as the warm water engulfed his naked form. Smiling fondly at him, she too stepped into the tub and settled herself with her back against his muscled chest, letting out a sigh of her own, as the scented bath water washed over her sore muscles.

“Mm, this is perfect, we should definitely do this more often”, she said softly, her eyelids fluttering close. The day was catching up with her and she let out a yawn, settling more comfortably against the body behind her. His left arm was hanging over the edge of the tub, while his right arm was snugly wrapped around her waist, his fingers drawing lazy circles on the soft flesh of her stomach.

“Whatever Daddy's little princess desires, she shall have”, he murmured quietly into her hair, kissing the top of her head. Humming in agreement, she felt her body relax and slowly drift off into sleep.

Jim was contemplating on what to do with the sleeping girl in his arms, as he gazed down at her softly. His eyes roamed over her wet, naked body and he let his right hand follow the path of his gaze, grazing one of her nipples softly with the side of his thumb, watching it turn into a hardened pebble.

Smirking to himself, he started to tug on it more firmly, feeling his cock start to come alive against her backside, while his other hand slowly slid down her body, landing between her legs. Parting her soft folds, he applied the barest amount of pressure to her clit, rubbing it in gentle circular motions.

She let out a soft whimper at his ministrations and started shifting in his arms, she was still asleep though and he decided that he would soon remedy that. Gliding his hand further down, he slipped first one, then two fingers inside of her, moving them languidly in and out of her silky heat, pressing the ball of his hand against her already pulsing nub. He was rewarded with a breathy moan as his girl slowly awoke from his actions and started moving her hips in time with his thrusting fingers.

Her eyelids fluttered open and she leaned her head back to look at him through half-lidded eyes, her pupils blown wide with lust. Removing his hand from her breast, she instead brought it around her throat and he instantly tightened his grip around her dainty neck. She used her own hands to pinch and pull at her hardened nipples, moaning shamelessly with pleasure and eliciting a groan from him at the stimulating visual.

As much as he liked for her to come undone on his fingers, he would much prefer if she did so on his throbbing cock. A dark chuckle escaped him, as he removed both his hands from her body and Victoria whined pitifully at the loss of contact.

“Oh, baby-girl, I'm sorry. But I want you to ride me and come all over Daddy's cock, wouldn't you like that even more?” He cooed into her ear, making her shudder in delight at his suggestion.

She eagerly turned around, straddling his hips and he positioned himself at her entrance, before she let herself sink down, impaling herself on him. His head fell back against the edge of the tub when her warm heat gripped him tightly and pure pleasure shot through his body. Gripping on to her hips, he started guiding her movements, watching her face intently as it contorted in obvious pleasure, her mouth hanging open and her eyes rolling back into her head.

“Mmmh, your cock feels so good inside of me, Daddy!” Victoria moaned out, connecting her eyes with his. He could already feel her walls fluttering around his member and he picked up his pace, lifting her lithe body up and pushing her back down harder and faster than before, never breaking eye-contact with her.

The room was filled with their collective moans and the sound of water sloshing around, splashing over the sides of the tub and splattering against the marble floor, but neither of them seemed to even notice, too lost in chasing their approaching highs. Victoria leaned forwards, capturing his lips in a sloppy kiss, moaning into his mouth, already close to coming.

Her hips were moving on her own now and Jim let go of them to encircle her neck with one of his hands, while the other started rubbing roughly against her clit.

“I want you to be a good girl for me and come on Daddy's cock, baby. NOW!” He squeezed her neck, cutting off all her air and she let out a strangled sound as she careened over the edge, convulsing heavily around his dick and rocking her hips frantically as she rode out her orgasm.

The feeling of her pussy gripping him so tightly was enough to trigger his own release and with a growl, he emptied himself inside her contracting channel. He let go of her neck and she slumped boneless against his chest, gasping for breath and shuddering with the aftershocks of her release.

“Yeah, we should definitely do this more often.” They both chuckled exhaustedly at her joke, too blissed out to even consider moving in the foreseeable future.

Chapter Text

Sherlock Holmes was bored. This in and of itself wasn't something unusual, as it happened fairly often. With a mind like his, he constantly needed stimulation, or else he felt like going insane. What was unusual however, was that every time this had happened in the past couple of weeks, his mind inadvertently wandered towards one specific person.

That person, of course, was Victoria Louise Harris and for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out why she wouldn't stop running around in his mind-palace. No matter how hard he tried, there was no way to contain her presence. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to lock her in the room she had sneakily build for herself, but she always found a way out, taunting him with her laughter and leaving him generally baffled as to why she was even there in the first place.

Deleting her completely had been an utter failure on his part and he had tried, numerous times even, but it obviously hadn't worked. So, lying on the couch in his flat, with his fingers steepled under his chin, he contemplated on what to do about this. Under normal circumstances, he would just follow her, to try and solve the riddle she was presenting herself to be, but there were a few complications to that usual approach.

For one, he had no idea where she even was, not even his homeless-network was able to pinpoint her whereabouts and secondly he was pretty sure, that even if he did manage to find her, he wouldn't be able to discern anything more than he already had.

What he really needed to do was talk to her, but obviously that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Groaning in frustration, he sullenly turned on his side to stare frustratedly at the backrest of the couch. When the doorbell rang, his first intention was to ignore it and keep sulking, he wasn't in the mood for some stupid case that probably wasn't even worth his attention anyway, but with a resigned sigh, he abandoned his position and begrudgingly made his way down the stairs.

Ms. Hudson was away for the week, visiting relatives or something equally as dull and John was currently at work, dull as well, and wouldn't be back for another two hours, which meant he had to answer the door himself. At least it gave him something other to do than pondering over the enigma that was a certain petite brunette.

The door bell rang again and he began to get irritated over his visitors impatience. Tearing the door open, a scathing remark already at the tip of his tongue, his eyes widened in surprise and his brain came to a screeching halt. Before him, clad in a floral printed sun dress and a white cardigan stood the one person he hadn't anticipated to see at his doorstep.

Brightly smiling at him, she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, her arms crossed behind her back, as she greeted him like she visited him all the time.

“Hello there Mr. Holmes! May I come in?” He stared at her, completely dumbfounded, his mouth opening and closing several times, unable to form a sentence. She furrowed her brows at him, her smile dropping slightly, as she observed his strange behaviour.

“Sherlock, are you okay?”Tentatively reaching out, she put a hand on his arm and the feeling of physical contact finally managed to jolt him out of his stupor. Clearing his throat, he took a few steps back and motioned for her to enter.

“I'm perfectly fine, Miss Harris. My flat is up this flight of stairs.” He motioned with his hand in the direction, mentally slapping himself for being caught off guard in such a way. The amused twinkle in her eyes, as she made her way past him and upstairs, made him grit his teeth in annoyance at himself.

'Get a grip you bloody moron!', he chided himself, as he followed after her and made his way straight over into the kitchen. He may not act upon it most of the time, but he indeed had enough manners to know, that it was only polite to offer his guest some tea, to which she, politely, agreed.

Busying himself with the preparations, he silently watched her from the corner of his eyes as she was perusing his living-room. She was currently running her fingers over the bullet-holes in his wall, a small smile on her full lips, before she turned around and slowly slid her fingers over his violin. Before he could reprimand her for touching his things, the kettle let out a high-pitched whistle, momentarily diverting his attention from her to the task at hand.

When he turned around, with two cups of steaming hot tea in his hands, she had made her way over to the fireplace, standing in front of it with his beloved skull in her dainty hands, a look of delighted curiosity in her green eyes. Turning towards him, she held the skull up, “Who was he?”

Instead of answering her question, he walked over to his chair and put the tea on a side-table. He straightened his posture and gave her a blank look, no notable expression on his face and opted for a neutral tone, that didn't give anything away.

“Why are you here?” She rolled her eyes at him, gently put the skull back on the mantelpiece and took one of the cups of tea, before plopping herself down in John's chair, crossing her legs demurely.

“Straight to the point as usual, Mr. Holmes. I would have thought you would be at least somewhat happy that I'm here, seeing as you are so utterly intrigued with me.”

Once again, his brain short-circuited and he was at a loss as to how he was supposed to respond to that. Her boldness was catching him off guard and it started to irritate him that she managed to get to him that easily with a few well placed words. Deciding to ignore her statement, he just repeated his question, more forcibly than before, giving away his irritation, which in turn made her smirk knowingly at him.

“To be honest with you, I was bored out of my mind and thought it would be nice to visit my new friends. Where is our dear Dr. Watson this lovely afternoon?” She looked at him over the rim of her cup, as she carefully took a sip of the hot beverage. Sherlock, who had taken a seat in his chair, scoffed at her answer, not buying her innocent act.

“I think I can speak for John as well when I say that we are most definitely not friends. I wouldn't even go as far as to categorize us as acquaintances. We only met twice thus far and correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that you are sleeping with the enemy, so to speak. So excuse me for not being overly enthusiastic about your presence, Miss Harris. So I'm asking you for the last time, why are you here?” Anger was flashing briefly over her face, so briefly in fact, that he wasn't sure, if he had really seen it or not, before her expression settled into one of mock hurt.

“Why, you didn't have to be so harsh about it, Sherlock. I was telling the truth when I told you I was bored. Jim is currently away on business and I don't know anyone else in this city, so it was only logical of me to come here. And yes, I'm 'sleeping with the enemy' as you so eloquently put it, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. I'm not involved in any of my fiancées criminal dealings, so technically I'm just an innocent bystander in the little feud, you two have going on.”

She smiled brightly at him, clearly pleased with her little speech and it gave Sherlock an idea. If he accepted her proposal of 'friendship', he might be able to garner more information about Moriarty in the long run. Of course he was well aware of the fact, that Victoria was clever enough to guess his intentions, if he were to suddenly embrace her with open arms.

But if he went about this carefully and acted reluctantly at first, he was sure that in the end, he would accomplish what he wanted. He was a bloody genius after all, so this shouldn't be too hard for him to outwit her. And it would certainly give him ample opportunity to finally solve the riddle sitting in front of him.

Victoria saw the wheels in Sherlock's head turning and internally she was cackling at the curly-haired fool in front of her. She could almost hear the thoughts running through his brain and had to restrain herself from rubbing her hands together in victory.

Of course he would fall for her little ploy, moron that he was. People like him, who were so convinced of their superiority, weren't able to resist a challenge such as the one she presented herself to be. There was no question in her mind that he would try to act averse to her offer at first, to ease her suspicions and would gradually accept her friendship, trying to earn her trust.

It wasn't the first time, she had played this particular game with someone, but it was the first time playing with someone who had at least more than two functioning brain-cells in his head and she just knew it would be even more amusing this way. Taking another sip of tea, she patiently awaited his predictable answer.

“Why would I even want to befriend you? When we last spoke, you yourself told me that Moriarty likes you because you have the same darkness inside of you that he has. What makes you think, I would willingly associate myself with someone like that?”

Victoria was impressed by his lack of micro-expressions that usually gave everyone else away. Sherlock seemed to have found his equilibrium once again, so she decided to step it up a notch. She pretended to loose her patience with him and grimaced at his words, suddenly springing out of her seat and gesticulating wildly.

“Look, I know you don't trust me and I understand that. I wouldn't either, if I were in your shoes. But try to see things from my perspective for a moment here. All my life, I have been alone, not in a physical sense, but in a mental sense, if you will. Sure, there has been the occasional person who seemed to be fairly intelligent, but most of the time I'm surrounded by idiots. So imagine, that you suddenly find people who can understand what it is like to live in a world full of goldfish, who can potentially help you not feel so lonely anymore.

“Wouldn't you at least try to built some sort of bond with them? You can't tell me, that it's fulfilling your intellectual desires to talk with John or any other of your ordinary little pets on a daily basis. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone who can match your intellect? Someone who isn't boring, someone who understands and doesn't judge?”

Sherlock seemed genuinely taken aback by her outburst and even Victoria felt a little off kilter, she hadn't meant for it to come out quite like that. Most of the time, she didn't really think about her own loneliness, but here words rung true in her own ears, now that she had spoken them out loud.

This was definitely not part of her plan and she was surprised at herself for losing her composure like that, in front of Sherlock nonetheless. She felt herself blush at her involuntary admission and averted her gaze to instead stare at her sandals and fiddle with the hem of her cardigan.

Emotions usually weren't here strong-suit, sure she put on a very convincing mask for other people, but her real feelings were always hidden, often even from herself.

Suddenly playing games with Sherlock didn't seem that amusing anymore, all she wanted to do was to go home and hide herself away, so she turned on her heels without even glancing in the direction of the consulting detective and briskly walked over to his door.

“Victoria, wait!” Freezing on the spot at his exclamation, she chanced a curious glance over her shoulder. Sherlock was slowly walking towards her with an expression on his face that she couldn't decipher and it made her brow furrow in confusion.

“We both know, what your real intent in coming here was and it most definitely wasn't to befriend me. But maybe we could...”, Sherlock looked away momentarily, seemingly embarrassed, before meeting her eyes once again, an almost soft look on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe we could at least declare a truce? You and I obviously both know how tedious it is to deal with most people and I guess it would be nice to get a break from that from time to time. So how about we continue this little game and see who breaks first?”

It was Victoria's turn to be speechless now, she certainly hadn't expected him to say something like that. And despite her initial shock over her confession, she felt herself thinking that maybe she could use this to her own advantage.

“You have yourself a deal, Mr. Holmes.” Grinning at him, she winked flirtatiously over her shoulder and made her exit from 221 Baker Street.

Chapter Text

Mycroft Holmes prided himself on knowing almost everything there was to know about the important or dangerous people that resided in this country and especially in this city. So naturally, when the sudden appearance of a new player came to his notice, he ordered a thorough background check.

What his people found though, left him slightly baffled, as there was no logical reason, why a man like Jim Moriarty would suddenly develop an interest in an unemployed, orphaned girl without any significant merits. Sure, her origins were quite interesting, giving her an almost clean slate in every way, which could come in handy for a criminal such as Moriarty.

And according to the evaluation the doctors did of her before she was released from the hospital, she was highly intelligent, but he doubted the legitimacy of those tests and seeing as she was living in one of the worst parts of town, he was certain, that those results were not very accurate. If she really was that bright, there would be no reason for her to live the way she had lived for the last four years.

According to his surveillance, she hadn't been back to her flat in a few weeks and every time she had been spotted by CCTV or his team, she was either accompanied by Moriarty himself or one of his men, making it nearly impossible for him to approach her. So when word reached him that she was out by herself and at Baker Street of all place, he didn't hesitate to grab his trusted umbrella and order his driver to take him there, post haste.

This was his chance to get some answers and he intended to get to the bottom of this peculiar problem. It shouldn't be too hard though, after all, Miss Harris didn't seem to be all that interesting to begin with, just another goldfish in a sea of other goldfish.

Victoria was mentally occupied with making new plans for her little game with Sherlock, so it took her a moment to notice the black limousine that was following her at a snails pace. When she did finally turn her head to acknowledge its presence, the car came to a stop beside her, just as she herself stopped walking.

The driver got out, rounded the car and opened the back-door for her, gesturing for her to go inside without uttering a word. She frowned at him, confused for a moment, before she shrugged her shoulders and climbed in. Her eyes immediately fell on the figure sitting in front of her, observing his bespoke suit, gleaming leather shoes and distinct facial features, before it all clicked into place for her. Giving her signature bright smile, she leaned back in her seat, addressing him politely.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Holmes. How are you this lovely day? I hope I'm not keeping you from important government matters?”

“Not at all, Miss Harris. And I see, you already know who I am, which saves us the tedious introductions, so we can get right to the point. What business do you have with my brother and Mr. Moriarty for that matter?” Victoria turned her head towards the window, to try and hide her smirk and she could feel his inquisitive stare on her, trying to deduce everything he could.

Turning back around, she opted for a neutral expression, noting his slightly irritated look, as his eyes glanced over her once more. Apparently he wasn't able to deduce her anymore than Sherlock could and she had to work hard to keep her neutral expression and not burst into laughter.

“Oh, please call me Victoria, you have been observing me for quite a while now and I think at this stage, you can call me by my given name. And as you well know, Jim and I are engaged, so I would say our business is very personal. As for your brother... I'm not sure at the moment to be honest. He is quite an interesting character, wouldn't you agree? And he will be elated to know, that even the great Mycroft Holmes wasn't able to properly deduce me. That should really brighten up his day.”

She couldn't stop herself from smirking at him at the last part and she relished the look of indignation that flitted across his face. He shifted in his seat imperceptibly, the grip on his umbrella tightening and she knew she had hit a nerve with her comment.

“Ah, I see Mr. Moriarty has properly informed you about my brother and I, how novel. It seems the self-appointed king has put another pawn on the chessboard. You do realise, that to him, you are just a pretty face to dangle in front of my dear brother?” Holmes the elder was obviously perceiving her as just another imbecile, not worthy of his time and effort and she felt anger bubble up inside of her.

“You seem to be under the false impression that I'm just some stupid, wide-eyed girl that has no idea what she got herself into. I have to admit, I'm quite disappointed with your assessment, Mr. Holmes. And no, Jim hasn't told me any personal information about you or Sherlock for that matter. In fact, he doesn't even want me to associate with your brother, not that that would deter me, mind you. He just mentioned, that you work for the government and that I should be careful, because he believes you to be quite clever.

“And don't think I didn't notice the people you had following me, or the suspicious movement of CCTV-cameras, everywhere I went. I have to say, your try at secrecy was quite appalling, maybe you should work on that. As to the sibling rivalry, it was glaringly obvious on your part, your micro-expressions gave you away easily enough. Now, if this was all, I would like to take my leave.” She just about had it with the Holmes for today and all she wanted to do now, was go home and relax on the sofa with a nice cuppa, but apparently Mycroft had other ideas.

“I do apologise, Miss Harris. I indeed underestimated you, a mistake I'm not going to make again, I assure you. I can certainly see now, why both Moriarty and my brother have taken an interest in you and I have to admit, I'm quite interested myself. Would you accompany me to dinner this afternoon? I would like to offer amends for my previous behaviour, if you would let me.” Victoria couldn't help herself, she burst out into loud laughter, shaking her head at the suit-clad man before her.

“I don't know, if your attempt at charming me is insulting or just plain hilarious. But tell you what, I will go to dinner with you, because this is probably the only time you will be able to have me all to yourself. As soon as Jim hears about my exploits today, he will doubtlessly lock me inside our apartment and only let me out with him by my side, overprotective sweetheart that he is. And just so we're clear, I don't have any information about my fiancées business and even if I had, I certainly wouldn't tell you about it. So if that's the only reason for your invitation, you can just drive me home.”

Mycroft had met many people in his life, most of them almost insufferably dull and he had expected Miss Harris to fall into that category as well. It came as a pleasant surprise to him that she was, in fact, not dull at all, quite the opposite actually and, as was custom for a Holmes, he felt himself drawn to solve the puzzle before him.

The added sense of danger that such an endeavour would most certainly entail, just made it much more tempting to him. It had been a while, since he had come across such an interesting problem and the anticipation of finding the answers felt exhilarating in a way he hadn't encountered in a long time.

He hadn't been lying, when he told her, that he understood the fascination two of the most intelligent men in all the kingdom seemed to have for her. There was something about her that seemed to attract people to her and even if he initially dismissed her importance, he had nonetheless felt the draw. It was as if she had her own gravitational pull and her beauty, without a doubt, added to that pull. He usually thought himself to be above physical attraction, but what caught him off guard though, was the sound of her laughter.

Sweet and melodious, sounding like the clearest bells and he was so entranced by the sound, that he almost missed her next words. Mentally shaking himself from her spell and admonishing himself for getting distracted in such a way, he gave her a tight-lipped smile.

“I assure you, that I have no intentions of interrogating you about Mr. Moriarty. As I said, I simply want to make amends for my previous behaviour, Miss Harris.” The smile she bestowed upon him was dazzling and he had to reign himself in, as to not smile back just as brightly.

This woman was definitely more dangerous than he had anticipated and he shouldn't forget who she was in the scheme of things, or else he might fall into the same trap as James Moriarty and his brother had done.

After a few more minutes of discussion, they both agreed to dine at a small but exclusive Japanese restaurant and as soon as they arrived, they were led to a relatively secluded table in the back of the establishment. Despite his best efforts, Mycroft found himself once again entranced by the woman sat in front of him as they discussed current politics, as well as delving into the topic of arts and literature.

The more he talked with her, the more he felt drawn to her, it had been quite a while since he was able to actually enjoy socialising like this and she made it increasingly pleasant by following his train of thought effortlessly every time. She was witty and more knowledgeable than he had anticipated, despite her lack of formal education she could rival any of his fellow Golden Triangle graduates, in truth she did surpass them on some level.

It was clear to him, that she was very well read and he surmised that she had taught herself most of the things they were talking about. All in all, he admitted to himself, he was more than impressed with the intriguing brunette and that, in and of itself, was very dangerous indeed. He couldn't afford to be distracted by her beauty and intelligence, no matter how intriguing and so he tried to act as nonchalant as possible during their dinner, only to be disarmed by her openness and smiles.

The way she presented herself confused him though, she didn't seem to put on an act and Mycroft was unsure why she was so open with him. His inability to read her was decidedly not helping the matter and so, after they had finished their meal, he did the only thing, he could do: He asked her directly.

“Tell me Victoria, why are you so open with me? For all you know, I could be trying to gather as much information about you as I can, just to use it against you in the future. You don't seem to be oblivious of our positions here and still, you make no effort in concealing anything from me. Why might that be?” She graced him with another of her delightful smiles, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, before she answered him.

“To be honest, I don't think that anything we have talked about today could be used against me in the future. And as I have already told your brother today, it is refreshing to finally meet people who I can have a decent conversation with, so why not make the best of it? There are not many people who would understand our discussion of Gustave Moreau's works and even fewer, who could reach our level of reasoning. As much as you try not to show it, I can see that you enjoyed yourself equally as much as I did, no matter our roles in this game.

“You of all people should know that nothing is just black and white, we all consist of different shades of grey, trying to exist in an ever-changing world. There is no evil, just as there is no good, in the end it is all the same. The purest of intentions can lead to the most corrupted of outcomes, it is all simply a matter of perspective. Take yourself for example, you have the pure intent of keeping your brother out of harms way, but by doing that, you have alienated him to a point of resentment and no matter how many times you try to reconcile your relationship with him, it will never be what it maybe once was.”

Mycroft was left a little uncomfortable at her insight and had to avert his gaze from her. She was right of course, but he hadn't expected her answer to be so philosophical and it only managed to increase her appeal. If he wasn't careful, there was no way of telling, what would happen.

But he felt like it was already too late to reinforce his defences, he certainly had developed a soft spot for the enigmatic woman in the small amount of time he had been in her presence. So instead of acknowledging her words, he just gave her a small nod of his head and waved over the waiter to pay for their dinner. He had to get away from her, if he wanted to properly analyse everything he had learned today and to distance himself from her allure.

Once he had paid the bill, they made their way back to his car, but to his surprise, she declined his offer to take her home, instead opting to walk. They politely made their goodbyes and Mycroft, now sitting in the back-seat of his car, was left to ponder over their encounter. He came to the conclusion, that he had to keep away from Victoria Harris if he wanted to be on top of things, for she had the power to make him forget what his purpose was. And that was a very dangerous thing indeed.

Chapter Text

Victoria slumped down on the sofa, as soon as she was back home. Her day dealing with the Holmes brothers had been exhausting, to say the least. Things went completely different than what she had anticipated and now she had to re-evaluate the new information and analyse her own reactions to both men.

When she had initially decided to pay the younger Holmes a visit, it had indeed been out of boredom. Jim had been away on business for at least a week now and Victoria was getting restless. Their relationship was only three weeks strong, the first week spend in absolute bliss, getting to know each other better and having sex on almost every surface in the big apartment.

Then Jim had to go back to work and she had been left alone most of the time and logically she understood that of course, but that didn't mean she liked the fact any more because of that. She had nearly begged him to take her with him on his trip, but Jim had been unrelenting, arguing that she would only distract him and he wouldn't get anything done this way. He promised her that he would make it up to her and the way he had said it, in a deep seductive purr, had made her thighs clench in anticipation.

According to their last conversation over the phone, he would be coming home three days from today and Victoria couldn't wait to have him back with her. Things were so utterly boring when he wasn't around to entertain her and she didn't like this dependency on him, so in an impulsive mood, she decided to pay Sherlock a visit.

Her fiancée wouldn't be happy with her when he found out about her little trip. He had specifically told her not to engage with the Holmes' while he was away and Victoria was pretty sure that he was going to be angry with her. Unfortunately for him though, she had never intended to listen to his advice anyway and the added bonus of her dark-haired lover being angry and the things he might do to her while being so, just enticed her all the more to go against him.

Victoria’s daydreaming about Jim punishing her for her disobedience was interrupted by the ringing of her mobile phone and without even looking, she knew it was him.

“Hello my love, how was your day?” Her voice was all sugar and innocence, sure to rile her fiancée up even more.

“I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I told you to stay away. Daddy is very disappointed with you, babygirl. I think a punishment is in order, wouldn't you agree?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Good, I will be home in an hour.” With that surprising announcement, he ended the call, leaving the green-eyed brunette with worried butterflies in her stomach.

He sounded even angrier than she had expected and Victoria gulped nervously. She knew Jim would never kill her or, hopefully, leave any lasting damage, but that left open a very wide field of possibilities and her imagination was running rampant. It did nothing to quench her arousal though, in fact it had only heightened more when she had heard the genuine anger in his voice and she felt like the anticipation was killing her.

Flitting through the apartment, she constantly checked the time while she was tidying up the large place. She just came out of the bedroom where she had put her clothes, that had previously been strewn about the living-room floor, into the hamper when the front-door banged open. Her heart almost exploded in her chest, as her eyes fell on Jim and the look on his face made her freeze on the spot, like a dear caught in the headlights of a truck.

Even if she wanted to, her body refused to move and she just stared at him wide-eyed as he stalked towards her, his eyes filled with fury and his fist clenched tightly at his sides. She saw one of his balled fists coming towards her face, almost as if in slow-motion and the last thing on her mind was that this was going to hurt like hell, before everything went black.

When she woke up, her head felt like an over-ripe melon about ready to burst open and she groaned in discomfort. Her muddled brain needed a moment to fully grasp the situation, but when it did, Victoria was left feeling a little uneasy.

Her arms and legs were spread and bound to the bedposts, allowing her minimal movement, and she was stark naked, which didn't come as a surprise. What did surprise her though and added to the feeling of uneasiness, was the plastic sheet that had replaced the usual silk one. Taking such precautions could only mean one thing, Jim intended to draw blood and Victoria wasn't too sure, how she felt about that, to be honest.

She tried to calm her racing heart, but her efforts were futile because as soon as Jim entered the room, her pulse sky-rocketed even more. He stood at the foot of the bed, silently examining her naked form with black eyes and his gaze seemed to leave a trail of fire wherever it landed.

The only sounds in the room were her heavy breathing and the crinkling of the plastic sheet, as she couldn't help herself and squirm under his watchful eyes. Victoria felt like she was going mad, an equal amount of lust and fear was coursing through her, clouding her brain and making it hard to think about anything other than what he could and would do to her.

The throbbing between her legs intensified when he pulled out a switch-blade from his pocket and the needy whimper that slipped past her parted lips gave her the answer to her earlier question. She most definitely liked the thought of Jim drawing blood and she could feel herself getting wetter, her juices trickling down between her spread legs.

Her headache all but forgotten, she desperately tried to close her thighs to apply some friction to her aching core. Victoria started squirming around on the bed, her eyes never leaving the knife in Jims hand as he climbed on top of her, still fully clothed in a dark-grey suit, and straddled her hips. He trailed the dull end of the blade along her collarbone, applying just the bares amount of pressure, before he suddenly flipped the knife and quickly made a small incision just above her right breast.

The accompanying burn went straight between her legs and Victoria moaned out loud this time, meeting Jim's eyes as she did so. His usual chocolate-coloured irises were completely swallowed by his blown-out pupils, making his eyes appear more black than brown and a dark smile, that send Victoria’s libido into overdrive, was grazing his lips.

“You know, today was the first day since I met you that I genuinely thought about killing you, my love. Count yourself lucky, that I only knocked you out and didn't just shoot you where you stood. It did take a lot of my self-control, let me tell you.” The tone of his voice was deep and menacing and it made shivers run down Victoria's spine, but she smiled up at him regardless of his words.

“You're not going to kill me Jim, we both know that.” He leaned into her, bringing the knife to her throat, putting just enough pressure on it to make it uncomfortable but not cut her as he whispered in her ear.

“Is that so, little girl? And what brings you to that conclusion, might I ask?” Victoria lifted her head just enough for the knife to shallowly bite into her skin, making drops of blood slowly run down her pale neck and with utmost confidence, she whispered back.

“Because you, Jim Moriarty, are madly and desperately in love with me and now that you had a taste of how good it feels to lose yourself in someone else, you're not going to be able to stop. But don't worry, I feel the same way about you and I pity the fools who would try to take us away from each other.” Jim leaned back and met her eyes, studying her features intently, before his gaze fell to the blood running down her neck and pooling in the hollow of her collarbone.

Removing the knife, he dipped one of his fingers into the small pool of blood and brought it back to his mouth, holding eye-contact with her, whilst he licked her life-juices from his finger. His eyes rolled into the back of his head at her taste and a beautifully twisted smile broke out across his handsome face as he gazed back down at her.

“As usual, you are absolutely right. But I'm afraid, Daddy still has to punish you for disobeying the rules, baby.” Victoria innocently looked up at him trough her thick lashes, licking her dry lips, Jim's eyes hungrily following the track of her pink tongue as she formulated a response.

“I have been very bad, Daddy. I think you have to really make it hurt this time, or I'm not going to learn my lesson.” Jim chuckled, scratching the tip of the knife from the hollow of her neck down to between her bare breasts, leaving a raised mark on her pale skin, but not drawing new blood.

“Oh, I am going to hurt you, don't you worry. And then I'm going to make you cum over and over again, until you beg me for mercy and then I'm going to fuck you so hard, you will forget everything other than the feeling of my cock buried inside your sweet little pussy. How does that sound, babygirl?” Victoria knew, that Jim wanted her to answer, but her mouth was unable to form any coherent words, so she could only let out desperate sounds of encouragement.

She felt her core pulsing with every word Jim spoke and when he pressed the tip of the knife a little harder between her breasts, breaking the skin and making a small trickle of blood run down her sides, she whimpered in a mix of pain and pleasure. He let the knife trail down to a spot on her left ribcage, right underneath her breast and slowly cut a curved line, as if he was sketching the outline of her breast into her skin.

This cut was deeper than any cut before and Victoria whined as the pain registered in her brain, but before she could get accustomed to the burning, Jim positioned the blade a few centimetres under the first one and started cutting again. The urge to wriggle away from the feeling of cold steel cutting into her soft skin was almost overwhelming, but Victoria tried her hardest to stay absolutely still, not wanting Jim to accidentally cut too deep.

A sheen of sweat had broken out across her naked body, mixing itself with the blood that was running down her sides and pooling underneath her. She was grunting with the effort it took her to stay immobile and despite the pain, or maybe because of it, her arousal had hit heights she hadn't even known existed.

Jim didn't talk to her, he was completely absorbed in his task, a small smile playing across his lips as he cut a third and fourth line into her flesh, before taking the knife away and looking at his handiwork. Victoria's sigh of relief was short-lived however as Jim simply switched sides and repeated the process on the other side of her body. By this point the cuts on her left side were burning intensely and Victoria realised that Jim must have cut deeper then she thought, because the puddle of blood she was lying in was slowly but steadily growing and she felt a bit light-headed.

Before she could voice her concern though, Jim put aside the blade, obviously finished and she thought he seemed to have noticed it too, but instead of getting off of her and doing something about it, he dipped both of his hands into her blood and then ran them over her breasts and legs, painting her body red.

“You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I don't care what you said, I won't wait any longer for you to marry me. We both know that neither of us will ever find anyone more perfect for one another, no matter if we wait six months or six years. I love you Victoria Louise Harris and I want you to be my wife as soon as possible.”

Butterflies erupted in her stomach and despite her dizziness and pain, her lips turned into the brightest smile she could muster. She had been goading him earlier by stating he was in love with her, they had never used the L-word before and Victoria hadn't been sure if someone like Jim could or would ever say it out loud to her. Regardless of the way he acted with and around her, she was never really sure what he felt for her, always afraid of him losing interest in her, that she was just another distraction for him and that he would get bored of her eventually.

So she never told him about her own feelings as a means to protect herself from, in her mind, inevitable heartbreak when he finally decided to get rid of her. Hearing him say those words so freely and with such conviction, squashed those fears and doubts instantly, because she knew that he would only say them if he really meant it. Victoria felt so happy, she felt as though she might float away at any moment, but on second thought that might have been the blood-loss talking.

“I love you too Jim Moriarty, more than you will ever know and probably more than is entirely healthy. But if you want to marry me, you might want to do something about all the blood I'm losing, because I don't think you want to marry a corpse.” Her words sounded slurred even to her own ears and Jim finally seemed to really notice the state she was in and a flicker of concern showed in his dark-brown eyes, before he smirked devilishly at her.

“Oh, I don't know about that, love. At least I wouldn't have to worry about you breaking the rules anymore. And besides, I have seen people die of blood-loss and you might feel a little light-headed at the moment, but I can assure you, that this isn't nearly enough blood-loss for you to die.” With that, he dipped his hand into her blood once again and this time smeared it across her face, before shoving two of his finger into her mouth, the metallic taste of her own blood explode on her tongue.

Instinctively she began sucking on his digits and the low embers of arousal turned into a wild-fire, when she heard Jim groaning above her, witnessing the look of pure animalistic lust on his features. Removing his fingers from her wet mouth with an audible pop, he leaned down to her face, entwining one of his hands painfully in her hair and capturing her lips in a ferocious kiss, while his other hand trailed down her body and between her legs.

Jim let out another groan as he discovered how wet she was for him and gathering some of that wetness, he began circling her clit, swallowing her whimpers with his mouth. Her hips began to move of their own accord as Jim picked up the pace and instead of whimpering, she was outright moaning now. When he suddenly inserted two of his fingers, the same that were covered in her blood and saliva, into her soaked pussy and started pumping them rapidly, she fell over the edge with a shriek of his name.

If she thought, she had been feeling light-headed before, it was nothing to how she was feeling now, black spots danced across her vision and she was having difficulties focussing her eyes. But Jim didn't give her any time to recuperate, in fact, he was still going, finger-fucking her through her orgasm and building on the next one.

Victoria tried wriggling away from the over-stimulation, for a moment forgetting the fact that she was still bound securely to the bed-posts. Her second orgasm crashed through her without warning and this time she apparently did pass out, for when she was able to focus on her surroundings again, Jim was now shirtless and kneeling between her spread legs. When they made eye-contact, he confirmed her suspicions with a very pleased smile on his lips.

“Ah, there you are. You had me worried there for a moment that I wouldn't be able to finish with your punishment. Let's get to it then, shall we?” Not giving her time to form a response, he grabbed her thighs and went to work, licking over her slick sex from top to bottom.

Victoria's eyes rolled into the back of her head at the overwhelming feeling of his hot wet tongue against her over-sensitive flesh and any protest she might have voiced was forgotten when he took her swollen clit into his mouth and started sucking on it. His grip on her thighs tightened painfully as she tried to roll her hips against his face and the air was filled with her desperate moans and Jims appreciative groans.

She could feel her third orgasm approaching fast, the muscles in her stomach contracting and tensing, preparing for the inevitable conclusion of Jims ministrations, but just as she was about to reach her peak, Jim was drawing away from her. A weak sound of protest escaped her as she felt the promised release fading away and panting heavily, she glared down her body at the dark-haired man between her legs, who in turn just smirked cockily and winked at her. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but before she could do so, he roughly shoved his fingers into her and intently stared at her face, which contorted in a mixture of discomfort and lust.

As soon as he felt her walls flutter around his rapidly moving fingers, he pulled them out, amusedly watching her crestfallen expression as he denied her her climax once again. None of them said a word, they just stared at each other silently, once more the only noises that could be heard Victoria's harsh breathing and the crinkling of the blood-drenched plastic sheet underneath her.

Light as a feather, Jim brushed his fingertip over her aching clit, goosebumps breaking out all over her body and she shivered in response to his touch. Still holding her gaze, he started undoing his belt-buckle and opened his pants, letting them slide down to his knees. Victoria couldn't help herself and let her eyes wander down from his face and torso to the straining erection hidden behind his black boxer-briefs, noting the darkening of the material where the head of his cock was already weeping with pre-cum.

Biting down on her lower lip at the sight, she trailed her eyes upwards again and noticing the look of hunger in his dark-brown orbs, she knew that Jim couldn't wait any longer either. Without much preamble, he freed himself from his underwear and brushed the engorged tip against her drenched entrance teasingly, never once taking his eyes off of her face.

“I still want you to beg, babygirl. And you better make it good, or I...” She didn't even let him finish his sentence, so desperate for him to take her, that she already began to beg.

“Please fuck me, Daddy! Please, please, please! I promise I will be a good girl from now on, just please fuck me!” Obviously pleased with her grovelling, he pushed his cock slowly inside her eager body, going one millimetre at a time, driving Victoria to the brink of insanity with her need for him to just slam into her and fuck her as hard as he could. Tilting her hips slightly, she unsuccessfully tried to speed up his process, but all it did was earn her a slap on her blood-covered thigh and a hissed warning to be patient.

A high-pitched whine was all she could let out when Jim finally bottomed out inside of her, his pelvis pressed against her clit and his fingers brutally digging into the soft flesh of her inner thighs, sure to leave behind bruises. He slowly pulled back out and just as slowly pushed back inside, repeating the process over and over again, the muscles on his neck straining from his efforts to hold himself back from plunging relentlessly into her.

Placing his arms on either side of her body, he leaned over her torso, changing the angle of his penetration and increasing the pressure against her clit, grinding into her body maddeningly slow as he swallowed her moans and whimpers with his mouth. The friction of his movement was enough to fuel Victoria's lust, but not nearly enough to send her over the edge, so in a desperate attempt to get Jim to speed things up, she bit hard into his lower lip, only stopping when she tasted blood.

The pain seemed to have the desired effect, because after letting out a moan of his own and a brief faltering of his rhythm, Jim started to pick up his pace considerably. His bleeding mouth peppered sloppy kisses along her cheek and jawline, trailing down to her neck and shoulders, where he latched on to her skin, sucking and nibbling on every inch of flesh he could reach.

But for Victoria it still wasn't enough, she felt like she wanted him to consume her whole, to fuck her so hard that she wouldn't even know where he began and she ended. She tried telling him as much, but she was unable to form coherent sentences and all that came out was garbled nonsense.

Jim seemed to understand her regardless and pushing his body off of her, he resumed his grip on her thighs and brutally pounded into her, making her squeal with the force he was now using. She felt something rip at her entrance and the hot flash of pain it caused send her over the edge, stars and colours exploding behind her eye-lids, accompanied by a high-pitched humming in her ears.

Her body was contorting in her bounds as spasms wracked her small frame and she felt her consciousness slipping away once more. Jim was fucking her through her orgasm with the same speed as before and she tried to warn him about her passing out, but he was intently staring at the place where they were joined, mesmerized by the sight of his cock disappearing into her slick folds over and over again. Her last conscious thought, before her body decided to give up on her, was about how Jim would be pleased with himself, that he made her black-out twice during this whole thing.

The third time she woke up that day, if one didn't count her waking up in the morning, Victoria was greeted with pain. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, from her head to her shoulders and sides, right down to her hips and her lady-parts. She wasn't bound anymore, but she was still lying in a mixture of blood and other bodily fluids that had accumulated on the plastic sheet underneath her.

At first glance, Jim was nowhere in sight and with a groan, Victoria tried to sit up, letting out a pained moan as her sore muscles protested against her actions. As if on cue, the bathroom door opened and revealed Jim, naked and smeared with her blood, a smug grin on his face as he caught her staring at him. She felt herself blush and inwardly cursing herself over the fact that she was still blushing like a little girl, even after everything they had done together, she broke eye-contact first.

Her gaze fell behind him and she could see the shower already running, steaming up the room and a smile broke out across her tired face. Knowing exactly what she had noticed, Jim stifled a laugh and reached out his hand to help her up.

It took some effort on both of their parts to extract her from the bed, due to the pain in her body and the fact that the dried blood had glued the sheet to her skin in some places, but they finally managed to get her into the bathroom and with shaky legs, she stepped into the shower.

The hot water felt heavenly on her head and shoulders, but the cuts on her sides and the ripped part between her legs started burning uncomfortably as soon as they came into contact with the almost scalding water and she equally hissed in pain and groaned in pleasure at the opposite feelings. Jim stepped in behind her, encircling her smaller frame in his arms and leaning his head on her aching shoulders, giving her a small peck on the cheek.

“I'm sorry love, I might have gotten carried away a bit back there. Seems like I have torn your perineum and unfortunately that means, that we have to refrain from fucking for a while, so you can heal properly.” Victoria let out a sigh, leaning her head back against his wet, naked chest and stared up at the ceiling.

“Yeah, I know, this happened to me before. But just so you know, it was totally worth it in my opinion. I mean, I passed out twice from orgasming, so there is that.” Jim laughed silently and pressed his hands against the cuts in her side, making her yelp in pain.

“That might have had more to do with these beauties here, I'm afraid. You lost quite the amount of blood, not life-threatening, but enough to weaken you. A few days of bed-rest and nutritious food and you will be right as rain again.” Turning her around so she was facing him, he clasped her shoulders in his hands and looked at her solemnly.

“I meant what I said by the way. I want you to become my wife, as soon as possible, I'm done with waiting. So, when we are finished with cleaning up and I have taken proper care of your wounds, we will start looking for a venue we both like and in a month from today, we will get married. If it were just about me, we would do it right now, but I know that you wanted a real wedding with the perfect dress and food and flowers and all that, so I will give you at least that amount of time to handle those things.”

Victoria's tears of happiness were mixing with the hot water of the shower, as they ran down her face and she only managed to nod and whisper an 'okay', before Jim kissed her passionately. Their tongues danced languidly with one another as they continued kissing for several minutes, both of them out of breath, when they finally came up for air. Pressing her forehead against his, Victoria focused her tired eyes on his face, smiling goofily at the warm expression in his chocolate-coloured orbs.

“I love you, Jim. So, so much.” Smiling back at her just as goofily, Jim pressed another kiss to her lips, before meeting her eyes again.

“And I love you. More than I ever thought possible. You are the most wonderful and unexpected thing that has ever happened to me and I will never let you go. Always remember that.” The underlying threat in his words was loud and clear, but at this point, Victoria couldn't even fathom leaving this incredible man, so she just kissed him again, revelling in his skin touching hers and forgetting everything else around them, because at this moment, everything was utterly perfect and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as she could.

Chapter Text

Victoria was running out of time and patience. True to his word, Jim and her had proceeded to pick out a venue for their wedding, right after he had patched her up after the 'Holmes Incident', as she liked to call it. Surprisingly it had taken no time at all to find a location they both agreed on, but organising everything else was beginning to turn into a nightmare. Victoria had insisted on doing everything by herself and had refused Jim's continuous offers to hire someone to do the job for her.

Perfectionist that she was, she didn't want anyone else meddling in her plans, but at this point, it had more to do with her stubbornness than anything else. She had severely underestimated the amount of flower arrangements, tableware, foods and decorations she would have to choose from and she hadn't even started thinking about her wedding-dress. There were still three weeks left for her to make all those decisions, but if she was honest with herself, she felt totally overwhelmed.

Of course she couldn't tell Jim about any of that, their relationship had been a bit tense, despite Jim reassuring her, that he wasn't angry with her anymore. But she couldn't help the feeling that something had changed between them and he had been more distant lately. So no, it was definitely not an option to go to him for help, so what was she to do?

She knew few to none people here in London and most of them she only knew because they were working for Jim, so that wasn't an option. There was only one person she could go to and it was exactly the person her and Jim had been arguing over repeatedly. But she wasn't about to let her fiancé dictate who she was allowed to see or not see and so she stood once again in front of Sherlock's door, wearing only yoga-pants and an over-sized sweatshirt, hair in disarray and purple bags under her tired eyes.

She knocked on the door and impatiently tapped her foot on the ground, peering down the road to look out for any of the men Jim had ordered to follow her whenever she left their apartment. Victoria was pretty confident that she had managed to slip through unnoticed, hence her dishevelled state, but one can never be too careful. The front door opened, but instead of the curly-haired detective, an elderly woman was greeting her today and she surmised that it had to be Mrs. Hudson, the landlady.

“Hello deary, are you here to see Sherlock?” Victoria graced her with the brightest smile she could muster, which going by the concerned look she was receiving, lacked it's usual impact.

“Indeed I am. Is he in at the moment? It is quite urgent, I'm afraid.”

“Oh, of course, of course. Come on in, he is right upstairs. Would you like me to bring you a nice cuppa? I don't mean to pry, but you look like you could need one, poor dear.” Victoria's smile immediately brightened at the offer and as she stepped past the landlady, she gently squeezed her shoulder.

“That would be truly wonderful. But only, if it isn't too much trouble for you. Your the landlady and not a housekeeper after all and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you.” Mrs. Hudson looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head and Victoria wondered what she had said wrong, when the elderly woman suddenly burst out laughing.

“Oh, this is just too good! That is exactly what I'm always telling the boys upstairs, but they just don't listen to a word I'm saying, Sherlock mostly, always ordering me about to bring him biscuits and whatnot. I mean, I don't mind, they are very nice boys after all, but at my age, it isn't as easy as it used to be, going up those stairs. My hip you know.” Victoria's smile brightened even more and she shook her head in amusement.

“I can only imagine. Maybe you should go on vacation for two weeks and leave them to fend for themselves. That should teach them some appreciation for all the things you do. Of which, I am sure, they only realise the half of it, if even that.” Mrs. Hudson winked at her conspiratorially and shuffled her towards the stairs.

“I might just do that. Now, you go up to Sherlock and I will bring you a nice cuppa in a minute. Maybe I even bring you a piece or two of my lemon drizzle cake.”

Grinning to herself, as she made her way up the stairs, Victoria decided that she really liked the

chatty landlady. The door to Sherlock's flat was closed, but before she could knock, it flew open, revealing a disgruntled looking Dr. John Watson whose expression soured even more when his eyes fell on her.

“Bloody hell, speak of the devil! Sherlock, your new girlfriend is here!” The last part was obviously directed at his flatmate and Victoria was curious as to what might have transpired before her arrival.

Apparently they had been talking about her, but before she had the chance to ask the good Doctor about it, he pushed past her none to gently and stomped angrily down the stairs, slamming the front door behind him as he left the building.

When she turned back around, Sherlock was standing in the doorway, his face as usual expressionless, but his eyes were filled with a mixture of frustration and surprise. Instead of asking her what she was doing here, he simply opened the door wider and strode towards his chair, letting himself fall into the seat and groan out loud, his head thrown back. Victoria made her way over to the sofa, gingerly placing her bag on the floor next to her feet and sitting down comfortably.

“So... What was that all about then?” Sherlock shot her an indiscernible look and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Not that it's any of your business but as I am sure you have already figured out, we had an argument about you.” When he didn't elaborate any further and seemed to get lost in his own head, she loudly cleared her throat to get his attention back.

“And...?” He shot her another look she couldn't read, but quickly averted his gaze again, rattling down his explanation so quickly, that she had difficulties following him.

“Mycroft came by a few days ago, unannounced as usual, and let it slip, that you had been visiting me. Unfortunately, John overheard him and he isn't necessarily your biggest fan, so you can imagine how he took that information. He is of the opinion that I have some kind of unhealthy obsession with you, which is ridiculous of course, and that Moriarty is going to kill me if I keep associating with you. For the last three days, he kept arguing with me about it and you just witnessed how those discussions usually end. Which brings us to something much more important: Why are you here? Again, I might add.” He looked her over inquisitively, seemingly just now noticing her appearance.

“And what is going on with all of that?” Pointing at her rumpled clothes and her unkempt hair, he arched his brows, curious.

Victoria let out a sigh and opened her mouth to answer him when she heard shuffling from the stairs. Standing up abruptly, she walked towards the open door, just as Mrs. Hudson climbed the last steps, a tray with tea and cake in her hands.

“Here, let me help you with that. It's the least I can do, after all the effort you went through.” Gently smiling at the elderly woman, Victoria took the tray from her hands and placed it on the coffee table.

“Thank you deary. See Sherlock, that is how you ought to treat me! None of that yelling and grumbling you usual do. Maybe she can teach you some manners after you finished her case.” Mrs. Hudson fondly patted Victoria on the arm and smiled warmly at the younger woman.

“With all due respect Mrs. Hudson, but I don't think I need to be taught manners from someone who is willingly marrying a wanted criminal and mass-murderer. That seems to be a bit wrong morally, wouldn't you agree?” Sherlock spat out.

“Oh hush, that just proves my point if anything. If she can be polite, than so can you and don't forget that I was married to a criminal too, Sherlock.” Mrs. Hudson seemed to be personally offended by Sherlock's outburst and Victoria had to suppress a smirk. It was funny watching the always domineering detective get taken down a few pegs by his elderly landlady.

Sherlock turned to her then, looking exasperated and slightly accusatory for some reason.

“How do you always manage to do that?” Victoria just shot him a confused look, having no idea what on earth he was talking about.

“Do what exactly?”

“Get everyone to immediately like you! You even managed to pull Mycroft into your orbit and he doesn't like anyone, period. Given enough time, I'm sure you could even convince John to be your best friend and I want to know how you do that, so tell me.” He looked at her expectantly, as if she would reveal some magic trick she was using to rope people in.

“I'm sorry Sherlock, but there is nothing I can tell you. People just seem to like me, is that so hard to believe?” She of course knew that the reason people felt drawn to her was a mixture of her looks and the way she could almost always pinpoint exactly what someone wanted to hear or how they wanted her to react, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because in her estimation, Sherlock wouldn't be able to do the same, seeing as he usually didn't seem to care about other peoples wants and needs and the whole process happened more or less unconsciously on her part. But he obviously wasn't the least bit satisfied with her answer, stalking over to her and standing much closer than necessary as he glowered down on her.

“No no no, there is something else. Of course people like you because of your looks, even I can see that, but not only do people like you superficially, they like you to the point where they defend you from others and go out of their way to be nice to you. Take my brother for example, you spent what, a few hours with him? And he has already told me five times since then, that he wants me to stay away from you. Now, one might think, that he is just trying to protect me from harm, preposterous as that might be, but he seems to forget that I know him better than anyone else. Whenever he keeps insisting I stay out of the way, it usually means he himself as a vested interest in whatever it is, he wants me to stay away from. You are able to get people to want to be close to you, to want you getting under their skin.” Sherlock had lowered his face closer to hers during his monologue and now he was so close, that Victoria could feel his warm breath on her cheekbones.

She could also feel herself blush and her pupils dilate from his close proximity and she caught herself glancing at his plush lips, before she looked back into his green-blue eyes, ashamed of the directions her thoughts had taken for a fraction of a second. Noting that Sherlock's pupils were dilated as well, she decided to wind him up a bit more, angry at him for tempting her with his stupidly handsome face.

Leaning in even further, so their lips were almost touching, she whispered, “Do you want me to be under your skin too? Or am I already there?”

She expected him to get agitated by their prolonged closeness and her insinuations, but he surprised her by brushing his lips against hers for just a microscopic moment and then moving his head to whisper in her ear.

“You know bloody well, what you are doing to me. But make no mistake Miss Harris, two can play this game and despite what outside sources might tell you, I am no blushing virgin. Just because I don't feel the need to constantly indulge like the rest of them, doesn't mean that I couldn't make you scream out my name in pleasure, if I wanted to.”

The way he had whispered in her ear in his deep baritone voice send shivers down Victoria's spine and she felt herself blush fiercely at his words. This was going to become a problem if she let him get to her like that and he damn well knew it, the bloody bastard. Luckily for her, her phone started ringing and she had never been more thankful for an interruption than in that moment.

Stepping away from Sherlock and acting like nothing ever happened, she went through her bag in search of her phone, but when she found it, her elation quickly turned to annoyance. Of course it was Jim and Victoria could already guess why he was calling her, so she picked up the call and started talking without greeting him first.

“You do realise, that I am a grown woman and can make my own decisions on who I want to spend my time with, right?”

“Well, hello to you too, my love. May I ask, why you keep insisting on spending time with my so-called arch nemesis in spite of me telling you not to, several times I might add? I really thought after the last incident you would've learned your lesson, kitten. But it seems to me that you purposely ignore my orders and I have to say, you are really testing my patience here.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Victoria inhaled deeply to get her temper under control, knowing that snapping at him would only make matters worse.

“Look, I'm sorry okay? But you can't expect me to just obey you like some little lap-dog, that is not what I am. I know you like to be in control of everything, but I am not going to let you control every little aspect of my life. I won't allow that to happen to me ever again and you of all people should understand why. I love you Jim, but if you can't let me control my own life, then I don't know if I can do this.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Victoria knew that she had made a mistake. The deadly silence from the other end of the line was almost palpable and her mind raced to find a way to salvage the situation.

“Forget I said that please, I'm just upset and not thinking clearly. This whole wedding-planning-thing is really taking a toll on me and you were right, I do need help with it. I haven't slept well in almost a week now and I feel like I'm losing my bloody mind. Can you forgive me?” She was only greeted with more silence and desperate tears started to fill her green eyes, as she waited for Jim to say something, anything at all.

“I think it would be best, if you stayed somewhere else tonight. I don't think I want to see you right know and seeing as you are living in my apartment, you're the one that has to go. I will call you tomorrow.” The call disconnected and Victoria tried her hardest not to break out in tears, well aware that Sherlock was watching her every move, but today just wasn't her day and before she could reign herself in, she dissolved into heart-wrenching sobs.

A pair of fragile arms enveloped her into a tight side-hug and Victoria jumped at the unexpected contact, having all but forgotten about Mrs. Hudson, who was know trying to console her.

“Oh you poor thing. Do you want to tell me what happened?” Leading her over to the sofa, Mrs. Hudson sat down, gently pulling Victoria with her, ordering Sherlock to get some tissues for the crying girl.

As soon as Sherlock had left the room, Victoria confided what had happened to the elderly woman in between more tears and sobs and as she was finished, she had somewhat calmed herself down again, only occasionally sniffling. Sherlock had already returned with a box of tissues in his hands and was observing the state she was in critically.

“So he basically kicked you out of the only place you have to stay, without any money to rent yourself a room? You really got yourself a keeper there, don't you?”

“Sherlock Holmes! For the love of Christ, could you just, for once in your life show a little compassion to someone? You realise you are at fault here too, don't you?” Mrs. Hudson seemed genuinely upset with the curly-haired genius, but Sherlock appeared to be confused by her accusation.

“How is any of this my fault? I'm not the one who ran into a relationship with someone I barely know just to get thrown away like last weeks paper at the mere hint of complications.” For a woman her age, Mrs. Hudson was jumping from her seat rather quickly, standing before Sherlock and poking him in his chest with her bony finger, to emphasize her point.

“Don't you dare go shifting the blame for this! Don't think I don't know what is going on in my own house, young man. I heard you and John arguing over her more than once and how you play your violin for hours on end after he leaves. The same song over and over again, it's driving me up the walls sometimes! The song you wrote after you met her and don't you try to deny it, I know you well enough after all those years, to know things like this. Just like I know that you made her want to visit you again, because you knew what would happen. So don't try to play the innocent bystander in this situation, because you are equally as much to blame as everyone else involved.”

Sherlock was a bit flabbergasted to be honest, not once in all the years he had known her, had she ever spoken to him in such a manner. Sure, there had been the occasional dressing down for his rudeness from time to time, bit never like this. Not waiting for him to respond, Mrs. Hudson turned back to Victoria, obviously not yet finished with what she had to say.

“And as for you my dear, maybe you should really think about what you want. I know this sounds harsh, but you seem to be very inexperienced with this sort of thing and I don't think you have really thought it through. Take it from someone with a lifetime of experience, love can make you blind to the faults in your partner and that is not always a good thing, especially if the bad outweighs the good in the end. You seem like a bright young woman and it would be a shame, if you ended up trapped in an unhappy marriage. Now, enough of all that. I'm going back to my flat to prepare some dinner and you are welcome to join me downstairs, the both of you. And after that we're going to decide, where you will stay for the night. I do have a guest-bedroom you could use, but it is your decision of course. See you in a bit!” With that she left the detectives flat, leaving Sherlock and Victoria alone, both of them avoiding to look at the other.

Chapter Text

Jim was sitting in his office, staring blankly at nothing in particular and thinking about his fiancé. Her words still rang in his ears and even though she apologized, he still felt a niggling sense of worry over her first reaction. He knew from the beginning, given her history, that it would only be a matter of time, until something like this might happen. Jim Moriarty wasn't exactly known for being the most patient or agreeable person around and now it had finally come back to bite him in the arse.

Unfortunately, his default reaction to things that didn't go his way was anger. Usually he would just see to it that whoever managed to piss him off was being taken care of, but in this case that wasn't an option. No matter how furious he felt right now, he still wanted Victoria and just thinking about ordering her demise made him more than uncomfortable.

But he couldn't let her continue to associate with Sherlock, especially once they were finally married. It would reflect more than poorly on his business if his wife kept fraternizing with the enemy and it would more than likely make her a target. They had talked about this already and he had been under the impression that Victoria agreed with him.

The fact that she went to Sherlock for help with the planning of their wedding was pissing him off even further and he would like nothing more than to just get rid of the younger Holmes, but regrettably that would cause more trouble than it was worth. Jim didn't necessarily saw Sherlock as real competition to himself, but he was still wary of the nosy detective.

He knew, that his kitten was inexperienced with relationships of any kind and despite her arguing to the contrary, she did strive for acceptance from people she deemed worthy of her attention. Which could complicate matters extremely, if Holmes decided to take advantage of that fact, something he by now had surely figured out.

Even though he was widely referred to as 'The Virgin' in underground circles, Jim had dug up some unsettling rumours regarding his adversary, nothing that could be confirmed in any way, but it still painted a very different picture of the man. According to those sources, Sherlock wasn't a virgin by a long shot, quite the opposite in fact and his allegedly sexual interest were quite similar to Jims, which was only cause for more worry.

He wasn't so much worried about Victoria actively seeking the so called consulting detective out in that way, but more about the fact that he knew what kind of pull she had on other people. Jim himself had seen it enough times to know that even someone like Sherlock Holmes wouldn't be able to resist her for long and the fact that she was getting married to him was probably only adding fuel to the fire.

Him and Sherlock weren't all that different, if one didn't count the obvious moral differences between the two, both of them got obsessed with things and couldn't let them go until they got what they wanted. And if Sherlock decided that he wanted what was Jim's, there was no telling what might happen. Because one thing was for sure, Victoria was his and no one was going to take her from him, no matter the cost.

Victoria lay snuggled under a thick duvet in Mrs. Hudson's guest-bedroom and though about Jim. Or more specifically, she thought about what the older woman had said to her, that she should really think things through, and that was exactly what she had been doing for the past few hours, with no real solution in sight.

Dinner had been a rather silent affair, with both Victoria and Sherlock obviously deep in thought and the former only occasionally showed any reaction to the chatter of the landlady, while the latter stayed completely silent for the whole duration of their meal and then left without another word.

Victoria had helped her new-found friend clean up the kitchen, despite the protest she was receiving. The menial tasks of tidying up and washing the dishes gave her time to somewhat settle down and let everything that happened that day sink in.

Now, lying in a strange bed and staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, Victoria tried her hardest to think about the whole situation rationally. Something that usually wasn't a problem for her but for whatever reason, she had difficulties with lately. This wasn't like her at all and she wondered if loving someone really did make one crazy in the process. Sometimes she really did feel like she was losing her mind, especially with how her live had changed over the past four weeks and now with planning a wedding all by herself.

Lately she had been more tired than usual and she was getting increasingly emotional, which was definitely not something she was used to. Ordinarily she only got this way right before and during her period, but …

"Oh shit! No no no no.... FUCK!" Frantically searching for her mobile phone, Victoria stared disbelievingly at the date that was shown on the display of her device and screamed out another curse.

This couldn't be happening right now, not with how things were between her and Jim at the moment! But there was no denying the facts, she was overdue almost two and a half weeks and her period had never been late before.

Now that she thought about it, although they had talked about it briefly after their first sexual encounter, they never did get her the morning-after pill and they had never used any form of protection afterwards. They had been acting like horny teenagers and were too lost in their desire for each other most of the time that it didn't even register to them apparently.

Just because she was late didn't mean she was necessarily pregnant though and her period being late could definitely have something to do with the stress and change in environment she had been through. She had to know for sure, preferably right now, but it was the middle of the night and even if she found an all-night pharmacy, she didn't have any money to pay for anything anyway.

Suddenly she remembered an article she had read a few years back, about home-made pregnancy tests and even tough it recommended using morning-urine because of the higher concentration of pregnancy hormones it contained, she couldn't wait a second longer.

Without hesitation, she practically flew out of the bed and ran into the bathroom to look for paracetamol and some hydrogen peroxide, but she found neither one. Determined to see this through, she left the downstairs flat and made her way up the stairs.

She wavered in her decision for a moment, when she stood in front of Sherlock's door, but straightening her shoulders, she marched right into his flat, ignoring everything around her and walking straight into his bathroom. Luckily she found what she was looking for and continued her way into the kitchen.

Going through the cupboards she took out a glass bowl and a cup that looked clean. Putting everything on the counter and taking a spoon from one of the drawers, she crushed two of the pills inside the bowl and before she added a quarter cup of peroxide to the mix, she remembered the most important ingredient. Taking another larger cup from the cupboards above, she went back into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

At first nothing happened and she was about to give up, when finally she was able to collect enough urine to use for the test. After finishing up and washing her hands, she went back into the kitchen and continued her preparations. She added the peroxide to the crushed pills and used the spoon she had crushed them with to add some of her urine to the now fizzy mix. Almost immediately the colour changed to a bluish hue and Victoria burst into tears for the second time that day.

"What the hell are you doing in my kitchen?" The crying brunette almost jumped out of her skin and let out a startled yelp. Wiping away her tears, she gave Sherlock a watery smile and pointed at her little experiment.

"Home made pregnancy test. Looks like I'm going to be a mommy in about eight to nine months."

Sherlock was deep inside his mind palace, trying to figure out what exactly was going on between him and a certain brunette. Despite outwards appearances, he was in fact familiar with attraction and it even happened to him from time to time, no matter how aloof he acted. But the extent of his attraction to Victoria clearly surpassed anything he had dealt with before.

It may be because she was one of the very few people who was able to intellectually keep up with him, but logic dictated that there had to be more to it than that. Somewhere along the lines, attraction had turned into infatuation and he wasn't sure when exactly that line had been crossed.

Sherlock had never had something like this happen to him and it scared and excited him in equal parts. His brain always appreciated learning something new and the more curious part of his mind wanted to explore everything he could. The rational part though kept reminding him that for one thing, this whole infatuation could easily become a weakness for him and secondly, Victoria was already spoken for.

But nothing was written in stone yet, was it? Obviously there was trouble in paradise and if he played his cards right, he might even be able to make Victoria see reason and she could leave Moriarty to... To what? Be with him instead? That was ridiculous, this whole thing was ridiculous! No, he would just keep his distance from now on and in time, this whole infatuation would just disappear, of that he was sure.

More or less satisfied with his plan of action, he came out of his mind palace to witness a very peculiar scene. The same person that had just occupied his mind was standing in his kitchen in nothing but her underwear, conducting some sort of experiment.

For a moment, he could do nothing but let his eyes roam over her bare skin, drinking in her curvy form. After all, he was still only a man and this might be his only chance to ever get a look at her in such a state of undress. His blatant perusal was short-lived however, when he realised that the half-naked woman in his kitchen was apparently crying. Standing up from his chair, he made his way over, looking at the things she had used and trying to figure out, what exactly was happening.

"What the hell are you doing in my kitchen?" She startled at his sudden presence but the answer she gave him, was not at all what he was expecting. Examining her expression and body language he guessed that she wasn't too pleased with this new development, but he couldn't be sure if it was just because of her relationship problems or if she genuinely didn't want any kids.

"'You don't seem to be too happy about this development." Victoria scoffed at him and grimaced.

"Of course I'm not happy! The father of this child basically threw me out on the street today and I have no idea if he and I are going to reconcile or not. Oh God, I have to call him... Give me your phone!" She extended her arm out towards him, making a grabbing motion with her hand.

But Sherlock found himself reluctant to hand her the means to communicate with Moriarty about this. His earlier train of thought was replaying through his mind and the less rational side of his brain was screaming at him to use this situation for his own selfish interests. At war with himself over what to do, he did something he rarely ever did, deciding to go with his baser instincts.

"Maybe you should take this as a wake-up call and get away from Moriarty. Surely the safety of your child is more important to you than pursuing some sort of forced happiness with a man who doesn't seem to be all that interested in you."

The palm that connected loudly with his face seemingly came out of nowhere and Sherlock's head snapped to the side from the force of it. For someone so small, Victoria was clearly strong, his ears were ringing and his cheek felt like it was on fire. Turning his head back around, whatever he was going to say in response to her assault, died on his tongue when he saw the fury in her eyes.

"Really Sherlock? You think now is the time to further your own agenda? What am I asking, of course it is. I would've done the same damn thing in your position. For fucks sake, this baby is already turning any rationality I have to shit. Now give me your god-damn phone so I can fucking call Jim!" Without another objection, Sherlock handed her his mobile, angry Victoria was scaring even him, he had to admit.

It reminded him eerily of his childhood and the way he had been afraid of his mother when she had genuinely been angry at him. It was rather unsettling he found and he reminded himself not to get her angry again.

Victoria was still seething as she typed Jim's number into Sherlock's phone and put it to her ear, not because of what Sherlock had said to her necessarily, but because of her own initial reaction to it. While she let it ring, she reviewed the last few weeks of her behaviour and suddenly realised that she had been acting very out of character more than once, but at least now she knew why. This was going to be a very long pregnancy, if this trend kept continuing.

She was suddenly starting to make friends left and right and her mind conjured up a bizarre vision of the Holmes brothers and Mrs. Hudson sitting at a table at her and Jims wedding. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jim's voice answering his phone and he didn't sound too happy.

"Why on earth are you calling me at three in the morning, Sherlock? Or even call me at all for that matter." Suddenly nervous and unsure, Victoria just blurted out the first thing that ran through her mind, "We need more tables for the wedding!"

"Victoria? Why are you calling me from Sherlock's phone?” She wanted to answer, she really did, but found herself unable to utter a single word, hearing her fiancé let out a sigh.

“Bloody hell woman, are you still there? Of course you are, what am I saying, where else would you have gone? Listen babygirl, I'm sorry I threw you out today, I might have overreacted a bit and... Wait, why do we need more tables?" Victoria took a deep breath, preparing herself for Jims reaction as best she could and decided to just go for it.

"I'm pregnant." There, that wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be, but she started to get worried, when there was no reaction from her hopefully still fiancé.

"Are you still there, did you hear me? I said I'm pregnant. With your child of course, in case that wasn't obvious. I told you I wasn't on birth control and we never used any protection at all. Never mind the morning-after pill we forgot to get for me. Jim..? Say something please..." Nibbling nervously on her bottom lip, she heard him exhale into the phone.

"I'm coming to get you. Don't go anywhere." He ended the call, nothing in his voice giving away how he was feeling about her revelation. Taking the phone away from her ear, she blinked at the now black screen confusedly, before turning to Sherlock who had been observing the call from a few feet away.

"He is coming over. Right now."

"That is just great. I always wanted Jim Moriarty killing his pregnant fiancé in my living room. Maybe you should put on some clothes, lest he gets any stupid ideas and kills me too." Sherlock glared at her and then pointedly looked down her body.

Victoria hadn't even noticed that she was parading her almost naked body in front of Sherlock the whole time and immediately felt her face heat up as he pointed it out to her. Trying to maintain at least some kind of dignity, she confidently strutted towards his door, but as she was just about to leave, she turned back towards Sherlock, catching him in the act of looking at her backside. A faint blush spread over his cheeks as their eyes met and he became aware of the fact that she had caught him staring. Giving him a sad smile, she shook her head.

"You know, even if I would want to leave Jim and pursue any kind of relationship with you, he would never let me go. You realize that, don't you? The only way to end things with Jim would result in either his or my death. Even before there was a child in the mix, leaving was never an option, I knew that right from the start and I was and am fine with that. Do you understand what I am telling you?

“As stupid as you might think I am for loving someone like him, I know exactly what I signed up for with this. It might seem fucked up to you, but I think it is the most romantic thing in the world that he would rather kill me than let me leave. I think it says a lot about me as a person that I feel this way and it should tell you, that whatever this thing between us is, it is never going to lead anywhere, because you can't give me something like that. And that is not a bad thing. John is right about me, I am only going to get you killed. You are a good man Sherlock and in all honesty, I don't want to see you hurt. Not that any of what I just said is going to keep me from coming by unannounced, because I seem to be equally unable to just let it go. Just... keep it in mind."

Giving him another smile, she walked out of the flat and closed the door behind her, leaving a baffled consulting detective standing in the middle of his living room, surprised by her honesty. Neither of them knowing, that a certain Doctor had been listening the whole time, sitting at the top of the stairs that led to his room.

Chapter Text

Victoria had rushed down the stairs and back into Mrs. Hudson's flat to get dressed and wait for Jim to arrive. The nervous butterflies in her stomach made her feel a bit nauseous and her mind was working even faster than usual, running through numerous scenarios at the same time. She had no idea what would happen when Jim got here, their short conversation had left her with no indication of how he felt, which of course only added to her already flustered state. When she came out of the guest-bedroom, she almost ran into the occupant of the flat who was standing in the hall, wearing a robe and slippers, tired eyes looking at her curiously.

"What's all this then? You know, when I offered you a place to stay for the night, I didn't imagine you waking me up at half past three in the morning." Although the words came out a bit harsh, Victoria could tell that the landlady wasn't really mad at her for being woken.

"I am so sorry, Mrs. Hudson. I just found out I'm pregnant and now Jim is coming here to... I don't know actually. Hopefully he will take me home and not kill me, but I never really know with him, so we'll see. Anyway, I'm very grateful for your hospitality and in case he doesn't kill me and everything works out, I would really love it if you would come to the wedding. I will send an official invitation with the date and place should it come to that, but for now I really must be going." During her rushed out explanation, Victoria had gathered her things and was already half out of the flat, when a hand on her arm made her stop and turn around.

"Are you sure this is what you want? " The concern was evident in the older woman's inflection and smiling gently, Victoria took both her hands in hers.

"I know how this may look from the outside and I appreciate your concern, I really do. But the fact of the matter is that I have never loved anyone as much as I love him and just the thought of leaving him, is too much to bear. So yes, I am sure that this is what I want, more than anything else in the world."

"In that case, thank you for your invitation and congratulations on the baby. I'm sure you will be a wonderful mother, with or without a man by your side." Squeezing her hands, Mrs. Hudson smiled back at her and Victoria felt her eyes prickle with unshed tears.

After thanking her once again for her hospitality and inwardly cursing her hormones for making her almost cry once more, Victoria made her way outside. During her little chat with Mrs. Hudson, the worry gnawing in her stomach had settled somewhat, but as she stepped down onto the streets and saw Jim standing next to a black car, his intense gaze focused on her, it came back with a vengeance.

Her steps faltered slightly and she had to clutch the iron fencing next to the exit to keep herself upright. Before she was able to regain her balance however, Jim was already by her side, looking worried but not saying a word. Putting a hand around her waist, he led her to the car and helped her get in, avoiding eye contact.

While he was rounding the vehicle to get to the drivers-side, her eyes were glued to his form, searching for any indication of his state of mind. She felt more than confused by his behaviour, on one hand, he had seemed genuinely worried for her when she had lost her balance just moments before, but on the other hand, he still hadn't said a word to her and she didn't know what to make of it.

His face was impassive and it was too dark to see his eyes, never mind the fact that he refused to look at her. The ride home was spent in complete silence and Victoria's mood turned from worried to angry, the longer the silence lasted. When they had reached their apartment-building and got out of the car, she was positively seething. Not wanting to make a scene, she reigned herself in until they were safely inside their flat and she was just about to explode when Jim finally spoke, still facing the door he had just closed.

"I don't know what to do. Ever since you came into my life, I find myself feeling things I have never felt before and to be completely honest, I'm scared shitless. You do things to me Victoria, things that make me feel like I'm losing control. Every second that I'm not with you, my mind tortures me with visions of you leaving me and when you told me you weren't sure if you still wanted to be with me... It made me so fucking angry that you would even say something like that, even if you didn't mean it. I am not a good man, we both know that, but sometimes I wonder if things would be easier if I were." Turning around to face her, his eyes burned into hers, as he slowly stalked towards her.

"A good man wouldn't throw out his pregnant fiancé with nowhere to go, a good man wouldn't feel the need to mutilate the love of his life to punish her for making friends. A good man would give you the freedom you deserve and not try to hold you hostage in a golden cage. But as I said, I'm not a good man. I want to make you bleed, I want to lock you up where no one can find you, I want to posses you in every possible way and I'm sure even then it won't be enough." Taking her face in his hands, he pressed their foreheads together and stared into her eyes.

"I love you, more than I ever thought myself capable of loving someone and the fear of losing you is driving me insane. Promise me, that you will stay by my side, promise me, that you will never leave me. I need to hear you say it." Her anger had melted at his words and at the desperation with which he had said them. It was clear to her, that he was struggling just as she was, they both were unaccustomed to this and it assured her in a way, she hadn't known she needed. Placing her hands over his still cupping her face, she smiled at him lovingly.

"I promise, that I will stay by your side always and that I will never leave you. I didn't fall in love with a good man Jim, I fell in love with you. You seem to forget, that I'm not a good person either. I don't want you to change who you are, just to please me, love. Whatever issues we have, we will work them out, together, no matter what. And just for the record, I rather liked it when you made me bleed."

Jim let out a relieved breath and closed his eyes, capturing her lips in a slow and sensual kiss that made her toes curl and her heart pound. Breaking the kiss, Jim took a step back and let his eyes wander down her body. His hands left her face and followed the path of his gaze, until they carefully came to rest on her stomach, then he looked up at her with the most genuinely happy smile Victoria had ever seen on him.

"I'm going to be a father."

"It seems like it. We have to go to the doctors to be really sure of course, the pregnancy test I did was a little unconventional and to be honest, I am surprised it did show anything at all. I can't be more than three to four weeks along for obvious reasons, so there shouldn't be much to see via ultrasound. Oh, and I'm going to need some prenatal vitamins and stuff like that and we need to..."

Jim stopped her ramblings with another kiss and she melted into his frame, gripping him by his lapels and trying to get their bodies even closer. She could feel him smile against her lips in response to her eagerness, but after yesterday, she needed to reassure herself that he still wanted her. Picking up on the direction she wanted this to take, Jim manoeuvred her towards the bedroom, making her walk backwards as he was starting to trail his mouth from her lips to her ear.

"You have no idea, how much I missed you, babygirl. I'm going to savour every inch of your body until you writhe underneath me and beg me to fuck you." Victoria could only moan throatily at his whispered words, already out of her mind with arousal. He always managed to do this to her, make her melt into an incoherent puddle of goo with just a few well placed words and touches.

Pulling on his hair, she recaptured his lips in a heated kiss, starting to work on the buttons of his shirt. She felt the overwhelming need to feel his naked skin against hers and in her impatience to reach that goal, she didn't even notice, that they had already reached their bedroom and were standing in front of their bed. Jim chuckled lowly against her mouth and removed her frantic fingers from his shirt, taking both her hands in one of his. Victoria let out a sound of protest, which turned into a delighted gasp, when he tangled the fingers of his other hand into her hair and harshly yanked her head to the side, to suck at her pulse-point. Closing her eyes, warmth was flooding her core and she pressed her thighs together to alleviate some of the tension, pressing her body closer to his. Her eyes flew open, when he suddenly took a step back and she shot him a confused look, which only made him smirk devilishly at her.

"Take of your clothes little one, Daddy wants to see you, all of you." The low purr in which he commanded her, made a shiver run down her spine and she eagerly acquiesced to his demand. Almost ripping her clothes off of her body, she soon stood naked in front of him, revelling in his ravenous look and obvious approval of what he saw.

"Go lie on the bed. On your back with your legs spread, I want to see how wet you already are for me, baby." Victoria did what she was told, settling in the middle of their large king-sized bed, spreading her legs as far as she could. She started squirming, when Jim just stood there, staring at her and deciding to spur him into action, she peeked up at him trough her lashes.

"Please touch me, Daddy."

He shook his head at her, amused by her impatience and without breaking eye-contact, started to unbutton his shirt the rest of the way. Propping herself up on her elbows, Victoria hungrily watched him undress, disappointed, that he left his boxer-briefs on. Crawling on the bed, he ran his hands from her hips up to her breasts, cupping them gently in his palms and rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. Her own hands came up to his head, when he leaned down and softly licked over her hardened peak, her body arching into his touch and a mewl escaping her lips.

His hips were pressing into hers and she could clearly feel that he was as turned on as she was. Tilting her lower body slightly upwards, she groaned as his erection brushed against her most sensitive spot. Jim abandoned her breasts, licking and sucking his way upwards to claim her lips, running his tongue along the seam of her mouth. Without hesitation she let him enter, swirling her own tongue against his, while he ran his hands down her arms, entwining their fingers and raising her arms above her head. His hips were pressing more insistently against her and she brought up her legs to wrap them around him, starting to rub herself against him shamelessly.

She felt him raise her arms higher and his fingers let go of her hands, as he started to fiddle with something on the headboard. Something cold and metallic closed around her wrists with an almost silent click. Breaking their kiss, she craned her neck to look at the handcuffs that now secured her to the headboard and then back at Jim. He was giving her his devilish grin once again, looming over her with his arms on both sides of her head.

"Now the real fun can begin. Are you ready baby?" Victoria only managed to nod, the anticipation of what he would do next making it impossible for her to respond verbally.

Sliding down her body, he peppered every inch of her skin with open-mouthed kisses, nipping at her flesh occasionally and making her gasp and moan out his name. His hands roamed over her body, caressing her skin with feather-light touches, stoking the flames of her desire for him even higher, making her breaths come out in pants.

When he reached the apex of her thighs, he put one arm across her lower abdomen to keep her in place and lifted his head to look up at her, giving her a saucy wink. He lowered his head again to blow against her slick sex, pushing her legs further apart with his other hand. The feeling of his warm breath ghosting across her drenched folds, almost send her over the edge and her hips bucked up towards his face.

"Please..."

"Please what? Tell me what you want Daddy to do, darling."

He ran the fingers of his left hand along the outside of her slit, stopping just below her clit. Victoria thought she might explode any moment if he didn't get on with it, but she knew that she would only get what she wanted if she answered him, no matter how hard it was for her at the moment to string together sentences.

"Please, please lick my pussy Daddy!"

Smirking at her with smug satisfaction, Jim lowered his head again and licked from her entrance all the way up to her clit, sucking the pulsating button into his warm mouth and flicking his tongue against it rapidly. Victoria screamed out his name, as her orgasm crashed over her unexpectedly, making her whole body spasm.

Jim didn't stop however, after the first wave of her climax was over, he pushed two of his fingers inside her still convulsing hole and pumped them in and out of her, never relenting on her clit. She could already feel her second orgasm approaching fast and she strained against the handcuffs, her body going taut like a bowstring as her back arched of the bed. Letting out a garbled cry at the overwhelming sensation, she came again, her walls fluttering around his fingers, drenching them in her juices. Still Jim kept going, now alternating between pumping his fingers and crooking them inside of her to press on her g-spot, his mouth still attached to her now over-sensitive clit.

She made a weak sound of protest, trying to wriggle away from his onslaught, but the handcuffs and the arm across her hips made it impossible for her to move. The third time she came almost made her pass out from the force of it and her mouth opened in a silent scream, no sound leaving her lips. Finally Jim stopped, removing his fingers and making a show of licking them clean, his chin glistening in the dim light as he stared at her hungrily.

"Say it."

Victoria's brain felt like mush, totally blissed out from three orgasms in a row and she didn't immediately grasp, what he wanted her to say. Blinking at him owlishly, she tried to get her thoughts in order, with little success. Jim seemed to take pity on her and looked meaningfully at his crotch and then back up at her with raised brows. Finally getting what he was asking from her, she smiled lazily at him, licking her lips.

"Do you want to fuck me, Daddy? Make me come all over your big cock, while you fill me up to the brim?"

"Oh, that's how you want to play, you little minx? I'm sorry baby, but Daddy's only going to do that, if you ask him very nicely." He grinned at her mischievously, running his hands along the insides of her thighs and pressing his thumb into the soft flesh, where her legs met her hips. Victoria's body jerked upwards and all intentions of teasing him flew out the window.

"Please fuck me Daddy, I'll be good, I promise!" She looked at him pleadingly, eager to feel him pounding into her.

Apparently pleased with her effort, he shimmied out of his underwear, brushing the head of his erection against her still sensitive clit, making both of them moan. Writhing against the sheets, Victoria tried to angle her hips to make him slip inside her, but Jim proceeded to rub his already weeping member against her drenched pussy. Not able to take anymore of his teasing, she did the only thing she could do, beg.

"Please Daddy! Please fuck me, please!"

"Now, that his how you ask properly, babygirl." Jim had a more than smug grin on his face, which changed to an expression of pure bliss, when he finally entered her in one swift stroke.

They both groaned when he bottomed out and he immediately started to pound into her. He gripped her under her ass, lifting her slightly off the bed to change the angle and Victoria's eyes rolled into the back of her head, as this new position made him hit all the right spots inside of her. Picking up his pace, he slammed into her over and over again, the sound of his balls slapping against her ass obscenely loud in the otherwise silent room.

She was already close again and from the looks of it, Jim wasn't far behind, she felt him grow impossibly harder inside of her and his pace started to get more erratic. With one final hard push and a shout, he ground his pelvis against hers, shooting streams of cum into her, which in turn made her reach her own climax, for the fourth time. If she thought, her third orgasm was almost too much to handle, she was sorely mistaken. She felt like her whole body was on fire, her muscles constricting as if she was having a seizure and she could swear she saw stars explode behind her closed eyelids.

When it was finally over, she could do nothing more than lie there with her eyes still closed, her breathing irregular and a stupid smile plastered across her face. Jim had softened inside of her and as he moved, he slipped out, followed by a steady trickle of their mixed cum.

Too exhausted to do more than blink her eyes open, she watched him as he got off the bed and walked into the bathroom, returning moments later with a damp towel in his hands. He cleaned her carefully between her legs and then leaned over her to unlock the handcuffs, gently rubbing her reddened wrists when she was free. Pressing a kiss on both of her hands, he looked at her, with a smile on his lips, his dark eyes sparkling.

"First thing in the morning, we will go see a doctor to confirm the pregnancy and how far along you are. And after that, I'm taking you with me to work. I'm not going to let you out of my sight for the foreseeable future and besides, it is time for me to show you what I do for a living. Would you like that?" Despite her exhaustion, Victoria perked up at this, smiling brightly at him, excitement shining in her eyes.

"I would love that! I was bored out of my mind, whenever you left me here and maybe I can even assist you with some of your plans. Just imagine what we could come up with together! We could make whole nations crumble before us!" Jim laughed at that, a full on belly laugh, which was a rare sight.

"Easy there my little trouble-maker, one thing at a time. Let's just see, how well we work together, before you plot world domination." Victoria let out a huge yawn, grinning tiredly up at him.

"You're probably right, my love. Right now. I am too tired anyhow. You have worn me out pretty well." Winking at her, Jim kissed her hands once again, before placing them back down.

"I can see that, little one. You should get some sleep, I'm going to sort my schedule out so there wont be any interruptions when we go to the doctor." Yawning again, Victoria pulled the blanket out from under her and snuggled into her pillow, already half asleep. Before she completely drifted away, she opened her eyes once more, gazing at Jims face.

"G'night, Jim. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight, my queen." Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and she was asleep, before Jims lips left her.

Chapter Text

The next day, after a short breakfast, Jim and Victoria were sitting in another sleek black car on their way to the doctor. Sebastian was driving them today and Victoria had decided to sit in the passenger-seat instead of next to her fiancé in the back of the car. Jim had only smiled indulgently at her and had swiftly pulled out his phone to get some work done.

With her legs bobbing up and down nervously, she was casting furtive glances at the blonde sniper every few seconds, contemplating on telling him about the baby. She was sure, that Jim hadn't mentioned it and she could almost taste Sebastian's curiosity in the air around them.

“Either you stop hopping around in your seat like some hyper-active toddler or you can just tell me what has you wound up so tightly.” His gruff voice made her head snap towards him and she stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, before coming to a decision and nodding to herself.

“I'm going to have a baby!”, she all but squealed out, making Jim speak up from the back-seat without lifting his eyes off of his phone.

“You mean WE are going to have a baby, love. I'm quite certain, that that is how it works.”

The sniper almost ran over a red light and into a group of kids at the news, barely managing to step on the brakes in time. They all lurched forward from the sudden stop and Jim all but snarled at the sniper.

“Moran I swear, if you pull a stunt like that again with my pregnant wife in the car, I'm personally going to castrate you, understood?”

“Not your wife yet, Jimbo!” Victoria chirped, not giving Sebastian any time to respond to Jims threat.

“Bloody hell woman, don't call me that! Makes me sound like I'm some dirty factory-worker.”

“Whatever you say... Jimbo.” Giggling she turned around in her seat, winking at her soon-to-be husband cheekily.

He just shook his head at her antics exasperatedly and went back to his phone. Sebastian had been watching the whole exchange silently, thankful for Victoria's interference, his mind still reeling with the new information. The light turned green and he was extra careful with his driving now, not wanting Jim to make good on his promise. He liked his balls and dick right where the were, thank you very much and had no desire to part with them.

Victoria looked at him expectantly, obviously waiting for him to acknowledge her pregnancy, but he was at a loss for words. Huffing and crossing her arms over her chest, Victoria slumped down in her seat, glaring at the sniper.

“You know, you could have at least congratulated us. I really thought you would be happy about this, I mean, you love kids!”

”How would you even know... You know what, never mind.” Sebastian shot her a perplexed look, before her raised eyebrow reminded him, who he was talking to. Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, he ran a hand over his face, before placing it back on the wheel.

“You're right and I'm sorry. Of course I'm happy for the both of you, I'm just surprised I guess. No offence, but you are moving pretty fast in my opinion.”

“That's why no one is asking for your opinion, Tiger”, Jim piped up, making Victoria roll her eyes at him. Not that he could see it, as he was still glued to his phone. Deciding to take the conversation in a different direction, Victoria clapped her hands together and grinned at the blonde next to her.

“Oh, before I forget, are you planning to bring someone to the wedding, or are you coming alone?” The tips of Sebastian's ears turned pink at her questions and she raised her brows at him in surprise. He opened his mouth to answer her, but was interrupted by Jim, who once again decided to chime in.

“He is working, so I don't think he is going to have the time for a date. That is not what I'm paying him for.” Turning in her seat, Victoria glared at him, her green eyes narrowed to slits.

“James Moriarty, you stop that nonsense right now! Sebastian is not going to work on our wedding-day, so he can bring whoever he wants with him! After all, he is going to walk me down the aisle and give me away.” Both men stared at her in stunned silence for a moment, before Jim rolled his eyes at her and let out a huff, waving one of his hands in the air.

“All right, fine! Have it your way then. It's not like I don't have other people to do his job.” Victoria growled at his words, her protective instincts kicking into overdrive.

“Don't think I don't know what you're implying here! If you so much as think about replacing him permanently, I'm going to...” She was interrupted by Jims hand in her hair, tugging her head back harshly and snarling into her ear.

“You're going to what, hmm? You seem to have forgotten who you are talking to here, baby. Do I need to remind you of your place or are you going to behave yourself?” Heat was pooling in her belly at his rough handling of her and she all but purred when she answered him.

“I'm going to behave. But I think you're still going to have to punish me, Daddy.” Jim chuckled lowly into her ear, making shivers run down her spine and he tightened his grip on her hair, before letting go abruptly, settling back into his seat.

“That's my good girl. Now, we better stop before Tiger is going to crash into a tree or something.”

Sebastian was squirming uncomfortably in his seat, the sexual tension in the car waking up parts of his body he would rather not have woken right now. Clearing his throat, he shot a glance at Victoria, who was watching him with a bemused smile on her full lips.

“You really want me to walk you down the isle?” Even to his own ears his voice sounded dubious and he saw Victoria's tense next to him, so he scrambled to reassure her.

“I mean, I'm honoured, I really am. Just surprised. Didn't know you held me in such high regards.” Relaxing again, she looked at him fondly, placing her small warm hand on his arm.

“Of course I do, you're my friend and you know I don't have many of those. And of those I have, you are on top of that list.” Sebastian smiled at her, but their tender moment was once again interrupted by Jim, who made retching sounds at her words.

“Oh shut it you! No need to be all jealous, you're still the only one I truly love, for now at least.” She grinned while she said it and Jim shot her a wink, letting her know he knew that she was just teasing him.

The rest of the drive continued in companionable silence and it didn't take long before they reached their destination. The big brick-stone building looked nothing like any doctors office Victoria had ever been to, but then again, she hadn't been to that many, so how would she know. Suddenly nervous, she tightened her grip on Jims hand as they made their way up the few steps and he squeezed back reassuringly, his thumb stroking over the back of her hand.

The inside of the building was tastefully decorated and as they walked towards the reception-desk, Victoria took in her surroundings. Of course Jim would take her to a private doctors office, she really should have expected that. This whole baby thing was definitely making her loose her touch, she mused to herself. She expected Jim to stop at the desk and announce that they were here for their appointment, but of course he didn't and instead walked right through the open doors of what looked to be an office, making her take a seat in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk while he settled in the other.

It didn't take long for a balding middle-aged man to enter through another door, a fake smile on his face that did nothing to hide his nervousness.

“Mr. Moriarty, what a pleasure to see you again. How may I be of service to you today?” His beady little eyes never once strayed in her direction and Victoria felt the familiar stirring of anger at being ignored like that. Before Jim had a chance to speak, she decided to show this puny little prick, how much she didn't appreciate his manners.

“You know, I don't like the way you look. I think it would be a rather great improvement, if I cut you open and make you wear your entrails as a necklace, wouldn't you agree darling?” She looked at Jim, a gentle smile on her lips but a burning fire in her eyes.

The poor doctor had blanched at her proclamation, instinctively clutching at his protruding belly and staring at her with wide eyes full of fear. Patting her hand in a show of soothing her, Jim addressed the doctor directly, a menacing tone to his voice.

“You have to excuse my fiancé Dr. Waller, but she really doesn't like it, when people ignore her. Maybe you should apologize to her?” Dr. Waller looked like he was about to piss his pants, Victoria noticed with satisfaction and she smirked at him, as he stumbled all over himself to remedy his faux-pass.

Already over the whole thing, she graciously accepted his apology with a wave of her hand and let Jim explain why they were there. The doctor led them into an exam-room, called for a nurse to take some of her blood and told her to change out of her clothes and into a provided gown, so he could do a pelvic ultrasound. When she lay on the exam-table, her legs lifted into the stir-ups and both men in the room looking at the monitor in front of them, while the doctor was moving the probe inside her body, she was asked a question she should have expected.

“Is this your first pregnancy?” Gulping nervously, she didn't immediately answer, which made Jim look at her with a mix of confusion and suspicion. Averting her eyes from his, she opted to stare at the ceiling above her, not wanting to see his reaction.

“Third actually, but neither of the others came to term.” Dr. Waller was oblivious to the tension that was suddenly filling the room and Victoria already dreaded the argument with Jim, that was sure to follow after this visit was over.

“I see. Miscarriage or termination?”

“Both. The first one was a miscarriage and the second one was terminated.” Jims hand landed on her shoulder, squeezing it to the point, that she had to suppress a wince from the pain.

She chanced a glance at him and immediately regretted it. Outwardly he looked totally calm, but she knew him well enough to see, that inwardly he was seething and that certainly didn't bode well for her. Dr. Waller finished the exam, pointing out the barely noticeable clump of cells that was nestled in her uterus, confirming what she already knew. This should have been a happy moment, but she was feeling anything but happy right now, because she knew, that as soon as they were alone again, Jim would pound on her like a starving dog on a piece of meat. She hadn't meant to keep it a secret, not at all, but it was a part of her past she almost never thought about, because it was painful to relive it.

As soon as she was allowed to, she put her clothes back on and ventured back into Dr. Waller's office, where Jim was already waiting for her. After another short conversation about the early stages of pregnancy and what she might have to expect during this early stage, the doctor prescribed her some pre-natal vitamins and arranged their next appointment in about six weeks for another ultrasound.

She expected them to leave then, but Jim seemed to have other ideas, as he told Dr. Waller to get out, to which the doctor replied, albeit flustered at being kicked out of his own office. When they were alone, Jim stared at nothing in particular, seemingly trying to gather his thoughts.

“For a moment I almost forgot, what happened to you before we met. But then I remembered and I felt like an arse for automatically assuming the worst. Sometimes I wish those pieces of shit were still alive, so that I could make them pay personally for what they did to you. Do you want to tell me what happened?” He looked at her then, nothing but concern in his eyes and Victoria was once again reminded of how much she loved this man, which brought tears to her eyes.

She didn't want to relive one of the worst parts of her past, but if anyone had earned the right to know, it was him.

“The first time, I didn't even know I was pregnant. I was only twelve and had barely hit puberty. My father had started to show me his special brand of love only a few months prior, when one day, a few hours after an especially vicious beating I started bleeding like crazy. As you can imagine, I was terrified. I had no idea what was going on and was too afraid to tell anyone about it, but my brother found me passed out in the backyard. I had lost consciousness while I was hanging up laundry and when I woke up again, my father was furious with me for not telling him. According to him, I could have died and he seemed genuinely upset by that. He always used condoms after that, to make sure it didn't happen again.” Victoria had to pause, tears were streaming down her face and she had a hand protectively placed over her stomach. Jim wordlessly handed her a handkerchief and she gave him a grateful but watery smile as she took it to wipe away her tears. After taking a deep breath to ground herself in the here and now, she continued.

“The second time was shortly after my fifteenth birthday and this time I knew, because I anticipated it. One of my brothers had cornered me two months earlier, while we were alone at home and despite my fathers warnings he didn't use any protection, threatening me to keep my mouth shut about it, so at first I didn't say anything. When I realized I was pregnant, I went straight to my father of course. He was livid with my brother and nearly beat him to death that day if my other brother hadn't intervened. Ironically enough, my father had been a doctor before he went crazy, so he took care of the problem and got me on birth-control after I recovered. Which of course made my life only more miserable because now none of them had to be careful anymore.” Standing up and crouching down in front of her, Jim took her shaking hands into his own, stroking her skin to soothe her.

“I'm sorry you had to go through this, my love. But I'm glad those wastes of human beings got what they deserved, even if I think they should have suffered more than they did. I can't promise you that you're never going to get hurt again, because we both know that such a promise would be impossible to uphold. But I can promise you that I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you stay as safe as possible for as long as you are mine. And since I intend to keep you around for a while, that is going to be a long long time.”

To everyone else, Jim Moriarty was someone to be feared, no one ever saw this side of him, the caring side, the side only she got to see and she felt privileged to have someone like him trust her with this version of himself. Victoria, for the second time that day, was reminded how much she loved the man kneeling before her and she showed it to him by leaning forwards and kissing him fiercely, mumbling a thanks against his soft lips.

Chapter Text

Victoria was sitting snuggled into a large wing-back chair in Jim official office and was pretending to be doodling in a notebook she had found on his desk. In reality though, she was listening intently to Jims latest client, Jonathan Williamson, going on and on about how he couldn't pay the money he owed in full, because he needed to support his family and maybe Jim would agree to smaller monthly instalments? It was glaringly obvious that he was lying and she knew, that Jim knew it too, even if he acted understandingly. From what she had gathered about the poor fool, he had a serious gambling addiction, ironic if one considered that he was the renowned owner of several large stables full of racing-horses.

Well technically, Jim owned those stables now, according to the file she had read he had acquired them a few years ago, when Williamson had come to him the first time with serious financial troubles. Jim had only agreed to help him because he wanted to use them as a cover for some sort of smuggling enterprise he had had in the works at the time. So they had struck a deal that on paper Williamson was going to remain the official owner, but that fifty-five percent of the monthly earnings would go straight to Jim.

It had all worked out well enough, but now Mr. Williamson was behind on his payments and was trying to convince Jim, that it wasn't his fault and that business hadn't been good the last few months. Which of course was a load of crap, Williamson was just trying to save his behind and was apparently under the impression that one could simply get away with lying to Jim Moriarty. She snorted at that thought, gaining the attention of both men as they turned almost in sync to look at her. Jim had an expression of exasperated boredom on his face and rolled his eyes at her, indicating that he very well knew what was going on and was merely playing along, just as she had suspected.

Williamson on the other hand looked a little startled at first, as if he hadn't noticed before that she was in the room with them. Her assumption that the man was an utter moron cemented itself when he decided to address her directly, a disdainful sneer on his face.

"Instead of sitting in a corner and doing nothing, you could offer me some coffee and make yourself useful." A menacing smile made her lips curl upwards, showing just a hint of gleaming white teeth and she relished in his momentary confusion. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see that Jim was trying his hardest not to launch himself across his desk and pummel the idiot into the floor. She slowly put her pen and notebook down on a side-table and gracefully stood up, putting an extra swagger to her hips as she walked towards him. His pupils widened when she perched down on the arm of his chair, running a hand down his cheek and gripping his jaw tightly.

"I would advise you to use your tiny little brain before you speak, Mr. Williamson. Do you really think that Mr. Moriarty would allow me in here, if I were just a lowly secretary?" He mutely shook his head, eyes transfixed on her plump red lips, his breath quickening when she let go of his jaw and started playing with his tie, pulling his face closer to hers.

"Of course he wouldn't. So what does that leave us with?" Williamson just gaped at her, floundering like a fish out of water and Victoria smiled at him, letting some of her darkness seep into her expression, making the balding man blanch. Tugging harshly on his silk tie, she brought her mouth to his ear, whispering seductively.

"In a few weeks, I'm going to be his wife and you just managed to insult me. How do you think, that is going to end for you? I strongly suggest that you leave now or I can assure you, you're not going to leave at all." Pressing a chaste kiss on his cheek, she stood up, leaning against the desk with her back to Jim. When Williamson stayed in his chair, staring at her with wide, frightened eyes, she just cocked an elegantly arched eyebrow at him in amusement.

"Now, Mr. Williamson." He shot out of his seat, nearly stumbling in his haste to reach the door and just as he had put his hand on the door-knob, she called out to him, making him turn around.

"Oh, and Mr. Williamson? I'm expecting your debt fully payed by the end of this week or I will have to pay a visit to your wife and daughters and show them in detail, what the insides of their bodies look like. Have I made myself clear?" He looked almost ready to pass out from fear but he nodded furiously at her, stammering assurances, before he hurried out of the room as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. Satisfied with herself, she turned around to face Jim who was meeting her gaze with ravenous hunger in his dark eyes.

"Come here, babygirl." His voice was dark and sensual as he beckoned her over with a curl of his finger, sending delicious sparks down her spine. Strutting around the desk, she made sure to keep the expression on her face neutral as she stood before him, wanting to tease him a little bit. He caught on immediately of course and a lazy grin formed on his handsome face, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement. Standing up, he crowded her against his desk, pushing himself in between her legs, almost making her loose her balance, so she had to put both her hands on the wooden surface behind her to steady herself. His hands came to rest on her hips, slowly increasing the pressure of his grip until she started to squirm, his face burying itself against her neck, inhaling deeply.

"You have no idea, what it does to me when you threaten people like that, my love." She gasped when he bit down on the juncture between her neck and her shoulder harshly and her hands gripped the edges of his desk tightly, as her head fell back in pleasure.

"Why don't you show me then?" Her voice was nothing more than a husky whisper, her tone laced with her own growing arousal and he growled against her skin, making her shiver. Roughly turning her around, he bend her over his desk, pressing down on her back to keep her in place, while he ground his erection against her ass. She moaned wantonly and pressed back against him, silently begging him to take her and he leaned over her bent body, hissing into her ear.

"Is that what you want? You want me to fuck you on my desk, while another client could come in at any moment?" The thought of someone coming into his office while she was bend over and helpless, with Jim pounding into her relentlessly made her moan softly and she ground back against him, making him growl again.

"Mmh, yes Daddy, please!" With a snarl, his weight left her as he was flipping her skirt up, yanking her panties down her legs and after she stepped out of them, pushing two of his fingers inside of her, making her scream out in surprise, followed by a moan.

She was more than ready for him, as always, and he let out a satisfied grunt when she clenched around his intruding fingers, more wetness gathering between her legs and coating his digits. He pumped into her a few times and then suddenly ripped his fingers away, making her whine in disappointment which was short-lived however, when she heart the clinking of his belt and the sound of his zipper. Preparing herself, she reached out to grip the edges of the desk, wriggling her ass enticingly and it didn't take long for Jim to align himself with her entrance and push inside of her.

He bottomed out in one stroke that had both of them gasping and he wasted no time in picking up a punishing pace, one of his hands gripping firmly onto her hips and the other wrapped in her hair, making her back arch as he pulled her head up harshly. Suddenly his hand left her hips and his palm came down on her ass, one, two, three times, while he continued to pound into her. She made a garbled sound in her throat, the pain only intensifying everything and she begged him for more.

"Please Daddy, hit me harder!" Complying to her wishes, he hit her again, much harder this time and she clenched around him, already close to release.

The edges of the desk were digging harshly into her hipbones with each of his thrusts and her ass was feeling as if it was on fire, but she still wanted more. Jim seemed to have read her mind and the tight grip on her hair disappeared, but before she could slump forward, he snaked his hand around her throat, pulling her body against his chest. His other hand snaked between her legs, rubbing her clit, never once faltering in his rhythm and he gradually increased the pressure around her throat. Her strangled screams of pleasure filled the air around them, interspersed with Jims own grunts and groans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. She could feel her release approaching fast and knew that Jim wasn't far behind, his thrust growing more erratic, his fingers against her clit working more furiously.

When his teeth sunk into her neck again, breaking her soft skin, she came hard around him, her vision going blank for a moment as his hand squeezed her throat harshly, cutting off her airway. She had barely enough time to throw her hands out before her and prevent face-planting onto his desk when his hand suddenly let go of her, returning back to her hips to fuck into her a few more times until he came as well, his head thrown back in bliss, coating her insides with his seed.

Slowly rocking into her, he rode out his own release and let himself fall back into his chair after he was spent, leaving her lying on his desk, her face pressed against the smooth, cool surface of the wood, breathing heavily.

Her legs felt wobbly and aftershocks were still racking her body, but she pushed herself upwards, her skirt fluttering back down and his cum trickling slowly down her legs. Before she could do more than take a few unstable steps, Jim was at her side, his pants back in place and he took her face in both of his hands, kissing her slow and languidly. She melted into the kiss, butterflies dancing in her belly, her hands clutching desperately onto the lapels of his suit to steady herself. With one last nip of her bottom lip and a soothing lick of his tongue against the stinging, he broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against hers for a moment. Then he took a step back, grinning at her mischievously, his eyes flickering over to the door and back to her.

"You know, I think Sebastian is going to have some difficulties looking you in the eyes for the next few days. I'm sure that everyone in this building knows by now that you are mine." Victoria blushed at the thought, even though she wasn't embarrassed about what they did, but somehow he always managed to do that to her. Giving him a coy smile, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking up at him through her thick, dark lashes.

"I think everybody knew that already, thanks to your little display down in the lobby. And Sebby is a big boy, he will get over it, I'm sure." Jim just shook his head at her, chuckling to himself and pushed her towards the adjacent bathroom.

"You're probably right, love. Now go and clean yourself up, Daddy still has work to do." Snatching her panties off of the floor, she gave him a mock salute and a wink, disappearing into the bathroom.

After she cleaned up the remnants of their encounter and put her underwear back on, she stood in front of the mirror, sighing in annoyance that Jim had managed to ruin another one of her blouses. She had decided to go with a pale-blue chiffon skirt, that swirled around her legs with every move and had paired it with a cream-coloured silk blouse that had shimmering pearly buttons and a wide neckline with delicate stitchings on the collar. But know, one side of said collar had stained red with blood from Jims bite earlier and she was pretty sure that the stains weren't going to come out.

The bite on her neck wasn't bleeding anymore, the flesh around it swollen and an angry shade of red. Gingerly touching it with her fingers, she winced at the burn and resigned herself to spend the rest of Jims workday looking like she had been mauled by some rabid animal. Knowing her dark-haired lover, she was most certain that that had been his intention, marking her so everyone that entered his office and saw her would immediately know who she belonged to, just as he had staked his claim when they got here. Devouring her lips just as they had entered the lobby, making everyone stop in their tracks and stare at them. Her cheeks heated up at the memory and she grinned stupidly at herself in the mirror before she wet a small towel to at least remove the dried blood from her skin.

Finally finished with making herself look somewhat presentable again, she smoothed out her skirt and went back outside. To her surprise, the office was empty and so she peeked her head out of the open door, her eyes searching the wood-panelled hallway for Jim. She found him standing in front of Sebastian who was leaning against a wall, listening intently to whatever Jim was telling him. Striding over to them, she caught the last part of their conversation and immediately knew, who and what they were talking about.

"...want you to do it tonight. That idiot isn't going to get away with something like that." Putting her hand on Jims shoulder and feeling his muscles move under the expensive fabric of his suit, she decided to chime in.

"I want to go with him. After all, he insulted me and I do have experience with long range weaponry, so it should be easy enough for me to take him out." Sebastian stared at her incredulously, clearly not on board with the idea, but Jim gave her a contemplative look, thinking it over in his mind before he nodded.

"Alright, why not. But I want you to listen to Seb, you may have experience with firing a weapon at target practice, but he is the one who actually has killed a great deal of people this way. So you follow his orders tonight, understood?" Victoria squealed, throwing herself at Jim and hugging him tightly, happy that she got to do something more exciting than just sitting around all day.

Sebastian was glowering at both of them, not overly pleased by this turn of events, but his face softened immediately when Victoria let go of Jim and smiled up at him, excitement shining bright in her forest-green eyes. That damn smile got him every time and he inwardly cursed himself for falling for her charms, but who could really blame him? No matter how many times he told himself that she was nothing but trouble and that he should keep his distance, she always managed to break through his carefully constructed barriers. And to both his surprise and annoyance, he actually found himself liking the tiny brunette.

For some reason, he had grown fond of her over the course of the last few weeks and he regarded her somewhat as the little sister he never had. And that was precisely why he didn't want her to come tonight. The job wasn't dangerous by any means, taking out the pompous git shouldn't be all that difficult, but still he couldn't help himself feeling protective. Sometimes he forgot that she was equally as insane as his best friend and boss, with her small stature and angelic looking face it was easy to assume her to be innocent and pure and to some extent, this might even be true. She clearly had little experience when it came to interpersonal relationships, that much was obvious even to him and from what little she had told him about her life before she met Jim, that didn't come as a surprise at all.

Still, she managed to wrap people around her finger without really putting any effort into it and he was more than wary of that, despite already being firmly enthralled by her. Maybe a few hours with just the two of them could give him more of an insight into the mind of the woman who had managed to garner the affections of a man he had long ago deemed incapable of such things and such an opportunity should not be wasted in his opinion.

Chapter Text

Victoria was elated at the prospect of doing something as exiting as executing a man. As much as she loved Jim, his constant need to supervise her made it difficult for her to do anything other than stay in their apartment or follow him around like a lost puppy. She loved spending time with her soon-to-be husband, but every once in a while, she wanted to do something more exiting. Even though she hadn't left her old apartment often, she still went out sometimes, simply to wreak a little havoc and have some fun. Nothing major or outright illegal, mostly she just picked out a random person at a bar or a café and messed with them a little.

Sometimes though, she would find someone incredibly perceptible to her subtle manipulations and she would spend weeks with pushing them as far as she could. There had been the heartbroken husband of a cheating wife she had met at a local pub and she selflessly provided him a shoulder to cry on that night, already laying the groundwork for her next move. Originally, she had just wanted him to hurt his wife a bit, maybe send her to the hospital, but her plan had worked better than intended and instead he had killed not only his wife, but also their two teen-aged children, killing himself afterwards.

She had found out about it in the news and she remembered fondly how hard she had laughed. She had been a bit sorry for the children though and even went to the funeral, staying hidden amongst the grieving friends and family. Unfortunately she had to leave pretty early, because she had barely been able to contain her laughter as the priest started to describe the deceaseds marriage as happy and fruitful.

Victoria let out a sigh, a small smile playing along her plush lips as she relived those memories with fondness. She missed being able to mess with people like that and tonight wasn't only about getting some excitement, but also to prove to Jim that she was more than just an obedient housewife. Sometimes she felt, that even after everything he knew about her, he still wanted her to only take on the role of his dutiful wife and mother to his children, but that just wouldn't do. Tucking a strand of her dark curls behind her ear, she turned her head to look at Sebastian, who threw her a short glance before concentrating back on the road.

They were on their way to the office Mr. Williamson spend most of his time at after one of the employees, who of course actually worked for Jim, had informed the sniper of their targets usual routine. Everyday like clockwork, he would leave the office at exactly eight o'clock in the evening through the back-door, to go home to his wife and children. It was half past six now and they had been on their way over to find a good spot that would allow them to have a clear view of the back-entrance and consequently a clear shot at their target.

Earlier that afternoon, when Victoria had asked him why they didn't just kill him at home, Sebastian had reminded her of the children in the house and had looked at her funny, when she had just shrugged her shoulders, not seeing what the problem was with that. They would have been there for their father and not them, so what did it matter? But apparently the normally stone-cold sniper had something against involving children in such matters and she had been a bit surprised at that information, knowing about Jims own callousness on the subject. In the end it didn't matter where they did it if she would be the one to pull the trigger. That was all she really cared about, so she had dropped the topic.

The car came to a halt a few streets away from their location and after hefting a large duffle-bag out of the trunk and swinging it over his shoulder, the blonde sniper motioned for her to follow him. They didn't speak during their walk, Sebastians eyes continuously scanning the surrounding buildings to pick out a good spot for them. Settling on a four story building that contained several flats from the look of it, they walked around to the side, searching for the fire-escape. Luckily Sebastian was a very tall man and so he had no problem in pulling down the ladder once they found what they were looking for. In true gentlemanly fashion, he let her climb up first, letting the ladder rattle back into place after he had followed her. Once they had made it undetected to the roof, Sebastian put down the bag and walked towards the only other entrance, making sure that no one was going to come through the door while they were up here.

Victoria opened the duffle-bag and gasped in excitement, when she saw the .338 Lapua Magnum AWM rifle and she started assembling the weapon immediately. Her father had taught her how to shoot with the exact same model, letting her disassemble and assemble the weapon so many times that she would have been able to do it blindfolded by now. Crawling towards the edge, Victoria placed the barrel on the ledge and peered through the scope, adjusting her position, until she had a clear view of the back entrance of the office building. Sensing Sebastian next to her, she turned her head to grin brightly at him, taking the rifle back down and laying it next to her before sitting with her back against the wall, her legs stretched out in front of her.

“I have to say, I wasn't really convinced about taking you with me tonight, but after seeing how quickly you assembled that rifle, I think I have changed my mind.” He looked at her and they both chuckled silently when Victoria playfully shoved his shoulder.

“Good to know, that you have faith in my abilities without needing prove, Moran.” She stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle again, curiosity in his eyes.

“Who taught you how to do that?” Victoria regarded him warily, contemplating on how much she was willing to share of her past with him.

“Did Jim tell you anything about my family?” The blonde snipers expression turned sombre and he looked away from her for a moment as if to gather his thoughts.

“He didn't say much to be honest, but he got really angry, when I asked about it. I'm guessing it's not a nice story?” His blue eyes were on her again and this time Victoria averted her gaze, looking down at her lap, where she nervously fiddled with her fingers.

She avoided talking about her father and brothers, the wounds still fresh, even after all this time. Jim had been the first one she had told about some of the things she had been through, though never in detail. She didn't like him getting angry over it, there was nothing anyone of them could do to change the past, so she tried not to dwell on it too much. But she felt safe with the big blonde and she imagined that this was how it should have felt like to have a brother.

Maybe it would be good for her to talk about it with someone she trusted, someone who wouldn't fly into a rage over the things that had been done to her. She got the feeling that Sebastian would understand better than Jim, she saw similar signs of childhood trauma in the blonde. Letting out a deep breath, she looked back up at him, giving him a weak smile.

“My father taught me and my brothers all about weapons and fighting from a very young age. He was convinced that there was going to be a civil war, people against the government and all that, so after being discharged from the military, he took his wife and newborn son and bought a farm outside of Merrivale, Dartmoor. He had been a doctor, serving during the conflicts in Ireland and the Falkland Wars and whatever he witnessed there messed him up enough to move to the middle of nowhere and start preparing for the, in his mind, unavoidable conflict. I only know all this from my two older brothers, my father never spoke about any of this himself after my mother died giving birth to me. According to them, he had been relatively stable, despite all the prepper stuff and not letting anyone, except for him, leave our property. After the death of my mother however, he spiralled further downwards, starting to loose his temper at the drop of a hat, which almost always ended in my brothers or me getting disciplined. His favourite form of punishment was using one of his leather belts on our naked backs and locking us up in the cellar for a few days, without water or food, or clothing for that matter.” Victoria paused in her explanation, exhaling shakily while looking up at the sky. A large, warm hand suddenly enveloped hers and her eyes shot towards Sebastian in surprise.

“I have a feeling, that there is more. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I can tell that this must be difficult. For what it's worth, I know a thing or two about abusive fathers myself.” He squeezed her hand reassuringly, smiling slightly, though it didn't reach his blue eyes which were clouded over with old pain. She was thankful to him that he wasn't pressuring her, but she felt the need to tell him the rest, wanting to share this burden that she had been carrying around with her for so long.

“Thank you. I know I don't have to, but I want you to know. I think it would help if you knew. Jim already knows to some extent, but you know how he gets, where I'm involved.” Rolling her eyes, she let out a nervous chuckle, gripping his hand hard enough to make him wince, though she didn't notice, too lost in her own memories.

“When I turned twelve, my father decided that it was time for me and my brothers to learn, what it meant for me to be the woman of the household. So he showed them very thoroughly that same night, letting both of them have a turn themselves, while I just lay there in my childhood bed, almost unconscious from the pain that was radiating through my small body. Three months later I had a miscarriage after my father kicked me in the stomach a few times because I had made his coffee wrong. I almost died from the blood-loss and was incredibly weak for a few weeks, one of the only times I was save from their advances. My brothers were even worse than my father when it came to forcing themselves on me, every time my father was going into town, they would corner me inside the house and force me to do despicable things with them. They knew that I would only get into trouble myself if I told father about any of it and they got bolder and bolder each time. Beating me with sticks, pissing on me, telling me that I deserved everything they did to me for killing their mother and being a worthless dirty whore.

“One time, my oldest brother surprised me while I was taking a bath, pushing my head under water over and over until I nearly passed out from lack of oxygen and then fucking me on the bathroom floor, while I was coughing up water and crying hysterically. He loved to make me cry and beg before violating me. He was the one that got me pregnant the second time when I was fifteen and my father almost killed him for it, which only made things worse. One morning, I woke up with all of my hair having been shaved off during the night and I lied and told my father, that I got sick of taking care of my long tresses, that I did it myself. It got me twenty lashes with his belt and almost a week in the cellar and of course my brother was the one who brought me a bottle of water every two days, telling me that I finally looked as ugly on the outside as I did on the inside.

“When I turned seventeen, my father finally caught on after catching him red-handed during the process of, once again, trying to drown me in the bathtub. Things got a bit better after that, my father watched him like a hawk, giving him more and more responsibilities around the house to keep him occupied. One might think that he did it to protect me, but the truth was that he thought only he had the right to hurt me, he told me so himself. The day I watched them all choke to death, was the greatest day of my life. The shock in theirs eyes as their noses started bleeding almost simultaneously, the desperation as they tried to breathe but couldn't and then the seizures started, while bloody vomit came out of their open mouths...” Victoria trailed off, a deranged smile on her lips and an almost dreamy expression in her forest-green eyes, before she shook herself out of the memory to look back at Sebastian. The tall blonde was regarding her with something akin to pride in his blue eyes and Victoria felt validated in her assumption that he would be the one person to understand.

“You were right, I do understand you better now. If I had been through half of what you went through, I would want to see the world burn too. Now, how about we kill someone? Nothing like a hit well executed, to lift the spirit.” He winked at her, making her snort, her hand shooting in front of her mouth in mortification at the sound, before she broke out in laughter, trying to keep silent. Sobering up a few moments later, she nudged him in the side with her elbow, her eyes sparkling with gratitude as she looked at him.

“Thank you for not making a big deal out of this and trying to lighten the mood. I know you don't always like the fact that I so suddenly came into your lives, but I'm really glad I met you and Jim. It's nice to finally have someone in my corner for a change and I couldn't be more grateful to the both of you for letting me be part of your world.” Sebastian turned and grabbed her shoulders, making her upper body turn towards him, as he looked at her earnestly.

“You have nothing to be grateful for, it is a pleasure to have you with us. You are part of our dysfunctional little family now and I promise that this one will treat you infinitely better than your last one.” To her absolute surprise, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug, her face crushed against Sebastians muscular chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

The hug lasted only a few seconds and Sebastian let go of her almost as if he had been burned, his ears turning pink with embarrassment over acting so emotionally. Victoria grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, before letting go and looking down at her phone for the time. They had been talking for longer than she had thought, it was already a quarter to eight and so she picked up the rifle and winked at the blonde next to her, who was back to his usual stoic self.

“When Mr. Williamson is going to come out of the door, he is going to be blown away by our little surprise.” She knew her pun was terrible, but it still got her the reaction she wanted, as the corners of Sebastians lips twitched in amusement.

Jim waited patiently for his fiancé and his second in command to drive off in their car, before he went on his own mission for the day. He needed to have a long overdue conversation with a specific someone that could no longer be postponed, especially so close to the wedding. Forgoing a driver, he opted to drive there himself and despite Londons terrible traffic, he made it to his destination relatively quickly.

Parking was appalling as usual and he had to walk quite a bit before he finally arrived at 221 Baker Street. Already knowing that Sherlock was currently alone at home, he didn't bother with knocking, opting to pick the lock in mere seconds. Walking up the stairs, he didn't care to conceal his presence and made sure to hit every creaky step on his way up. He was sure that Sherlock had most likely already spotted him down on the street and was waiting for him, probably sitting in that stupid chair of his or standing in front of the fire-place, with his back towards the room, acting all nonchalant.

Jim sneered at the thought, already feeling annoyed at the consulting detective before even talking to him. Pushing open the door, the dark haired criminal rolled his eyes when he saw Sherlock sitting in his chair, with his hands steepled underneath his chin, his multi-coloured eyes already on Jim. At least he wasn't standing in front of the fireplace, like Jim had almost anticipated. Letting his eyes wander around the room, Jim ignored Sherlocks presence to instead observe the cluttered surroundings. His dark eyes shot back to Sherlock, when the detective spoke up first.

“What do you want?” Though he tried to ask as disinterested as possible, Jim could still sense the hostility in his voice and it made him smirk.

“Well, what do you think I want?” Slipping his hands into his pockets, he rocked back and forth on his heels, keeping his dark eyes trained on Sherlock who started to look annoyed at his antics.

Rolling his eyes at him, Sherlock lifted himself out of his seat and walked over into the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards. Jim heard him curse John under his breath, something about hiding his cigarettes if he heard correctly, until Sherlock let out a triumphant grunt when he found what he had been looking for under the sink. Not even sparing him a glance, Sherlock walked back to his chair, letting himself fall into the seat and lighting a cigarette. After closing his eyes and taking a long drag, he blew it out again, looking speculatively at Jim through the hazy smoke.

“You do realize, that she is never going to leave you for me? So if my assumption of that being the reason why you are here right now instead of with her is correct, than you might as well leave. Goodbye.” Jim sauntered over to the chair that was facing Sherlocks and gracefully sat down, crossing his legs.

“Actually, I'm not worried about her leaving. I'm more concerned about her straying from the path of fidelity. I heard about your particular tastes and I have to say, I found myself quite shocked over the fact that you are not the virgin I thought you were. You naughty, naughty boy.” Jim smirked deviously, playfully wagging his finger as if to scold him and Sherlock scowled back, clearly not amused.

“I still don't understand, what you want from me. If your fiancé insists on associating with me, there is little to nothing I can do against it. You of all people should know how stubborn that woman is. And if she wants to get between my sheets, who am I to deny her?” Sherlock was the one smirking now and Jim had to restrain himself from jumping up and strangling the smug looking bastard, opting to just snarl at him instead.

“If I so much as see you looking at her for too long, I will personally rip out your eyes and feed them to you.” Sherlock had the audacity to laugh at his threat, which only angered Jim more and he was seriously contemplating just to kill the curly-haired nuisance and get it over with.

“Jim, we both know, that she would never forgive you for doing something like that. That is why you are here, trying to talk me into breaking off contact with her, as if I had any say in that. I wasn't the one to pursue her, she came to me of her own free will and if that will extends to her wanting to have sex with me, I'm going to take full advantage of the opportunity and there is nothing you can do about it. I'm guessing she doesn't even know you are here right now, am I right? You probably send her off somewhere else so she wouldn't find out, hence why you came alone. She is going to be furious if she ever finds out about this no doubt.” The threat in his words was clear and Jim gritted his teeth in barely suppressed rage.

Worst of all was that the bloody wanker was right with everything he said, even though Jim would never admit that out loud. He did send Victoria off, the only reason why he even agreed to let her go with Moran was so that she was out of the way for his visit here. And she would indeed be furious with him, if she knew that and more specifically why he was here and she most likely wouldn't forgive him for harming her supposed friend, if it came to that. Pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, Jim let out a sigh, slowly shaking his head. Standing up, he straightened his clothes and levelled Sherlock with a look of disappointment.

“It is rather a pity that you turned out to be so ordinary in the end. I had expected more of someone who claims to be brilliant, but your petty threats show very clearly, just how much of a commoner you are. Once Victoria comes to the same inevitable conclusion, she will vanish from your life and when that time eventually comes...”, Jim trailed off, an evil smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, his eyes alight with fire, as he winked at Sherlock, “Well, I'm sure you can guess where this is going. Until then, Goodbye Mr. Holmes.”

Turning on his heels, Jim strode out of the flat, internally raging at himself. Why-ever did he think it would be a good idea to come here? There was nothing to gain from this, quite the opposite actually, he had revealed his own cards, shown his vulnerability to a man who was intent on destroying him. But he knew that he would do it all again if it meant keeping Victoria by his side. His normal sense of self-preservation evaporated wherever she was concerned, but his concern over that development was drowned out by his obsession over keeping her to himself. He wasn't going to lose her to Sherlock Holmes, no, he just had to find a way to get the self-proclaimed consulting detective to abandon his pursuit. A real smirk suddenly appeared on his lips as he started the car and swerved into traffic. He had just thought of someone who might be able to help him with that. After all, she owed him.

In another part of the city, a gun-shot rang out loudly, cutting through the normal sounds of the evening, followed by the dull thud of a lifeless body hitting the ground. On a rooftop across the street, Victoria was smiling proudly at Sebastian, while quickly disassembling the rifle and putting it away. On their hurried way to the fire-escape, she let out a silent laugh, a skip in her step as they made their get-away.

Chapter Text

A week later, Victoria was smiling pleasantly at the beautiful brunette with blood-red lips that was sitting next to her on the plush cream-coloured sofa and who had been introduced to her as Miss Adler, or Irene as she had insisted Victoria should call her. Jim had arranged this little meeting, citing her need for someone who could help with the wedding-planning, but she knew immediately, that Irene wasn't simply meant to help her with that. The moment Victoria's forest-green eyes had landed on the other woman, she knew that her fiancé was planning to use Irene against Sherlock.

There were some visual similarities between her and the slightly older woman, the same porcelain skin, similar shade of dark hair that framed similarly attractive features, but whereas Victoria always exuded an air of innocence, albeit being anything but, Irene was practically sex incarnate.

She felt almost a bit insulted that Jim thought Irene would be an adequate replacement for her, not to mention the fact, that he seemed to think Victoria wouldn't figure out his motives immediately. He still underestimated her and her capabilities to match his genius, but she figured it had more to do with him not being used to having someone as smart as him around and less to do with him thinking of her as stupid, at least she hoped, that that was the case. It stung nonetheless and Victoria was already making plans to derail whatever Jim had plotted against Sherlock.

For now, she was going to play along and pretend that she hadn't immediately seen through this, in her mind, obvious ploy. Clearly Jim had wanted her to meet Irene so he had an excuse as to why he himself was meeting with her and had no idea that Victoria already knew of Irene's main occupation. Under different circumstances, Victoria might have even enjoyed meeting the alluring woman, she had been somewhat of a fan of the dominatrix when she had first learned about her, years ago.

As it was however, all she felt was irritation and an alarming amount of jealousy that had quite frankly surprised her in it's intensity. Logically, she knew that she had no claim over Sherlock, she was almost a married woman and pregnant no less, but she couldn't help how she felt. The thought of Irene hooking her manicured claws into the curly-haired detective, left a bitter taste in her mouth and she had to restrain herself from lunging at her and strangling the other woman to death, whenever she pictured them together.

What made matters worse, was the way Irene seemed to genuinely be interested in her, even though Victoria was pretty certain that it was mostly sexually motivated. But in her mind that was a good thing, she could use that little fact to her own advantage if she played her cards right. So, she acted delighted with Irene's company, initiating innocent touches here and there, a delicate hand placed on Irene's arm or knee, shy smiles and blushes whenever Irene complimented her and Victoria could almost watch in real-time, how Irene's interest in her grew. Victoria noted with satisfaction, that every time they touched, the other brunettes pupils dilated and she decided it was time to test her theory.

“I don't think I can look at any more wedding-stuff today. How about we pick this back up next time and instead do something more fun?” Victoria smiled innocently at the dark-haired beauty and had to suppress a delighted giggle at the sudden flare of lust that had entered her counterparts pale blue eyes.

“And what did you have in mind, my dear?” Irene's voice had gone a bit husky and Victoria wasn't sure, if the other woman even realized it, but not wanting to miss this opportunity, she leaned in closer, reducing her own voice to a mere whisper.

“Don't tell Jim, but I know about your usual occupation and I have to say, I consider myself as a bit of a fan of yours. How you successfully use peoples desires against them is nothing less but brilliant in my opinion.” If Irene was surprised by her admission, she didn't let it show, but she definitely was intrigued by it, leaning in closer as well and cupping Victoria’s face in one of her manicured hands.

“Jim really knows how to pick them, not only beautiful but also smart.”

“Thank you, that is very kind of you to say.” Inwardly Victoria rolled her eyes at the patronizing tone, but outwardly she shyly averted her eyes and blushed. Thankfully, she just had to think about the deliciously dirty things she did with her fiancé to tinge her cheeks pink and make it believable.

Irene let go of her face and leaned back, a smirk playing on her full, red lips, as she regarded her with calculating eyes.

“You don't have to thank me, darling, I'm just telling the truth. Now, tell me, what do you want to do?” Victoria pretended to nervously fiddle with her hands, peering at Irene through the curtain of hair that had fallen into her face, acting apprehensive.

“Do you think you could show me? How you work I mean. Not.. not on myself of course, I don't think Jim would like that very much, but maybe you could let me watch?” Her expression hopeful, Victoria lifted her head to look directly at the pretty brunette, who seemed to contemplate her request for a moment, before she grinned mischievously at her, blue eyes sparkling.

“How do you feel about a hen night? Now that we are friends, I feel obligated to throw you one, giving you the full wedding experience should also be in your fiancés best interest, wouldn't you agree?” It was Victoria’s turn to grin now and she didn't even have to fake her excitement, this would be the perfect opportunity to get even closer to the other woman, to find out what Irene's and Jim's plans were, regarding Sherlock.

“Oh, that would be fantastic! We just have to figure out a way to convince Jim not to send any of his goons with us. Now that I'm pregnant, he is even more worried about my safety.” Irene's eyes widened slightly and she covered her momentary surprise with a smirk but Victoria noticed of course, wondering, why Jim hadn't told her.

“Don't worry about that, I will think of something.” Patting her arm reassuringly, the other woman graciously stood up from the sofa and straightened the tight-fitting dress that clung to her curvy form almost like a second skin.

Victoria got on her feet as well, keeping up her charade of acting inferior to the woman before her, as she seemingly struggled with lifting her body from the cream-coloured sofa with the same grace as Irene. The almost pitying expression on the dominatrix face as she observed her, was almost disappointing to Victoria. She secretly had hoped, that the woman wouldn't be so easily fooled by her, but it seemed as if Irene really was oblivious to being played.

They said their respective goodbyes, including a hug and a kiss to the cheek that lingered far longer than what would be deemed appropriate and Victoria let out a sigh of relief, when she closed the door behind Ms. Adler. She had almost forgotten, how draining it could be to pretend to be someone else, but the prospect of continuing this game and getting what she wanted, elated her in a way, she hadn't felt in quite some time.

Giggling to herself, she made her way into the kitchen, contemplating on making herself a nice cup of tea with some of those delicious biscuits Seb hat brought over a few days ago. Just as the kettle began to boil, filling the silence of the empty flat with a high-pitched whistle, her phone vibrated inside the pocket of her pants. Switching off the stove, she pulled the device out, her eyebrows rising in surprise, when she saw Irene's name on the display.

“Hello?”

“I'm going to pick you up tomorrow at eight pm. You should pack a few things, because you're going to stay overnight.” The smirk was obvious in Irene's voice and giddy excitement filled Victoria, as she tried to suppress a triumphant shout.

“How did you manage to get him to agree this quickly?”

“Oh, I can be very persuasive my little dove. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'll see you tomorrow!” The line went dead and Victoria rolled her eyes at the smugness that had radiated from Irene's voice, glad that the other woman couldn't see it.

Her attempt at making it sound like she had Jim wrapped around her little finger was pathetic at best and Victoria felt a spark of irritation at the other woman. Maybe she should do a bit more than just thwart her and Jim's plan, make Irene Adler see that Victoria wasn't someone to be messed with.

A sinister smile curled her plush lips and turned her usually angelic features into something much darker.

The next day went over tortuously slow and for most of it, Victoria was staring impatiently at the clock, willing time to move faster. Jim had stayed home today and their sexual exploits had at least managed to alleviate some of the tension that was running through her body.

Her fiancé had been eyeing her warily for the last half hour, but hadn't commented on her obvious incapability to sit still for more than a few minutes. When she had sprung up from the sofa and paced in front of the kitchen for the umpteenth time that day, Jim had had enough.

“Would you stop that already?” His voice boomed loudly through the living-room, making Victoria halt in her step and snap her head in his direction, looking like she had been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie-jar. She blushed and sheepishly averted her eyes again, nervously wringing her hands in front of her.

“I'm sorry, but I'm just so nervous! I never had any female friends, or friends at all for that matter and I'm afraid I will do something stupid and embarrass myself. I really want her to like me you know?” Victoria looked at him with pleading eyes, seemingly urging him to understand her plight.

Getting up from his spot at the dining-table and walking towards her, he cupped her face in his hands and stared into her eyes.

“I don't know, why you are so worried, love. Everybody loves you the moment they meet you. You even managed to get Seb to turn into an over-bearing mother-hen and he usually is a cranky old bastard, who doesn't like anyone. Just be your charming self and everything will be alright.” His thumbs were stroking the soft skin of her cheeks lovingly and Victoria almost felt bad for lying to him like this. Almost, because in the end, it was his own fault for going behind her back and blatantly disregarding her request to leave Sherlock alone. Nuzzling into his hands, she released a shaky sigh, before nodding once.

“You're right, of course you are. I'm just making myself worry about nothing, I guess. Thank you.” Leaning forward, she gently pressed her lips against his to show her gratitude, but when she tried to move away, his hands wove themselves into her hair, keeping her in place as he deepened the kiss.

The tip of his tongue teasingly stroked against her bottom lip and she eagerly opened her mouth to greet the warm and wet appendage with her own, her hands settling on his broad shoulders. He slowly walked her backwards, until her spine hit the counter of the kitchen-island and she groaned into the kiss, when he pressed his body flush against hers, his hardening manhood pressing into her abdomen. Their kiss got more forceful, the familiar pressure in her nether-regions flaring to life and she let out a needy whine, when one of his hands roughly grabbed her breast and started to squeeze.

Things were about to get very heated, when they were interrupted by the door-bell and Victoria immediately broke the kiss and shimmied out of his hold, ignoring the frustrated groan from her fiancé, as she sprinted towards the door, flinging it open excitedly. Irene smirked at her ruffled looking appearance and a real blush spread across Victoria's cheeks, when she realized how she must look with her kiss-swollen lips and messy curls.

Nonetheless, she grinned brightly at her new 'friend' and motioned for her to come inside, practically skipping back to Jim to plant a sloppy kiss on his cheek, while he glowered at their guest, clearly displeased by the interruption. Victoria patted his arm with an apologetic smile and skipped past him into the bedroom to retrieve her overnight-bag, eager to take the next step in her plan. When she came out of the bedroom, she immediately noticed Irene's pinched expression and her eyes flitted over to Jim, only to see him grinning smugly. Rolling her eyes, she walked over to them, bag in tow, to playfully slap her fiancé on the arm and admonish him.

“Stop threatening my new friend, Jim. She's trying to do something nice for me, so the least you could do is be a bit nice to her in return.” Jim's expression softened, when he looked at her and he let out a deep sigh, as if the mere notion of being nice to someone was some kind of unbearable chore he would only acquiesce to for her sake.

“Fine, if you insist....” Looking at Irene, he put on a fake smile and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, “I deeply apologize for threatening to skin you alive, should something happen to Victoria. I sincerely hope you can forgive me, Miss Adler.” Irene rolled her eyes at him, but graciously accepted his less than convincing apology, while Victoria tried to suppress her snigger, amused by the whole situation.

Not wanting to stay and listen to them bicker anymore, Victoria grabbed Irene's hand and tugged her towards the door, throwing a quick, “see you tomorrow, love you!”, over her shoulder, as she closed the door behind them. Letting go of the other woman's hand, Victoria grinned at her mischievously and voiced her excitement, though said excitement wasn't solely what she made it out to be. Not that Irene needed to know that.

The mission had been a raging success in Victoria's mind. Although she hadn't accomplished yet, what she had set out to do, she had learned a lot about Irene that she could use against her. Namely where she kept her most prized possession and the reason for being so successful in what she did.

The little pink phone, which contained everything Irene used to blackmail her way through life, had been safely tucked into a safe hiding behind a large beautiful mirror in her sitting-room, while Victoria had watched from the corner of her eyes, pretending to casually chat with Kate, Irene's personal assistant and most probably bed-warmer. Whatever Jim and Irene were planning, Victoria was sure, that it had to have something to do with the pink phone and now she just had to figure out a way to take it, without anyone noticing it.

Unfortunately, she had to put all of that on hold for the time being, the wedding was about to take place in less than a week and all she had done since her little 'educational lesson', as Irene had called it, was despairing over flower-arrangements and trying to choose what kind of flavour she wanted for the wedding-cake. Funnily enough, Irene had been an immense help to her, seriously invested in Victoria herself and she involuntarily felt a bit guilty, whenever she reminded herself that she wasn't interested in actually befriending the other woman.

At the moment, that reminder wasn't even necessary, as she currently felt more than irritated with the vivacious brunette who had dragged her across town for what felt like hours, trying to find the perfect wedding-dress. Victoria had tried on so many different ones that her head was spinning and she could feel a migraine beginning to form behind her eyes. The last dress she had tried on, was already being carried away by the shop-owner and all Victoria wanted to do, was put her own clothes back on and go home.

But unfortunately Irene wouldn't hear of it and pressed another piece of overflowing white tulle into her arms, ignoring the younger woman's groan of annoyance. It didn't really matter to Victoria what dress she would be wearing, for all she cared, she might as well attend her own wedding in nothing but her pyjamas, but according to her self-proclaimed 'best friend', the dress was the most important part. She had tried to reason with her that the most important part was marrying Jim and that whatever she wore that day, wouldn't change that, but Irene kept insisting.

Not wanting to tarnish their relationship and make things more difficult in the future, Victoria had begrudgingly complied with Irene's wishes. Had she known how excruciatingly the whole thing would become, she would have stood her ground, but alas here she was.

Scrutinizing the new dress in her hands, Victoria had to admit that it was the most beautiful out of all the dresses she had already tried on today. Careful not to rip any of the flowing tulle that spread out from the tapered waist, she put it on, admiring herself in the floor-length mirror. The under-dress was made of silk, that felt incredibly soft against her skin and the off-shoulder bodice with delicate tulle sleeves which only covered a small portion of her upper-arms, hugged her frame snugly. The dress was covered in tulle, even the silk of the bodice was covered with it, delicately knotted in the middle, accentuating her lush breasts. The tulle-skirt flared out around her, culminating in a moderately long train, the trim embroidered in lace, a few shades lighter than the dress itself.

Despite insisting that it didn't matter what she wore, Victoria felt her heart flutter as she imagined Jim seeing her in this when she walked down the isle. She ripped open the curtain and stepped out of the changing-room towards the raised platform surrounded by large mirrors, specifically designed to let the customer inspect themselves from all angles. A small gasp came from Irene as soon as Victoria fully emerged and the younger woman couldn't help but smile at her,

suddenly thankful for the persistence Irene had shown.

Stepping onto the platform, tears of joy formed in her wide, green eyes, when she saw herself in the large mirrors. This was most definitely the dress she wanted to wear and in a sudden impulse, she searched for Irene's eyes in on of the large mirrors, smiling coyly at the other woman, who looked almost awestruck.

“I don't know about you, but I think we found it.”

Irene had seemingly recovered from her shock and replied smugly, “I told you it mattered, didn't I? Jim isn't going to know what hit him, when he sees you in this. I wish I could be there and see the look on his face.”

Victoria chuckled good-naturedly, knowing full well why Irene wouldn't be attending the wedding herself. Despite the excuse of not being able to attend due to a business-trip she had been planning for months, Victoria knew that Irene couldn't attend due to Sherlock probably being there. Not that she really minded, after all, it just meant that whatever plan Jim had hatched, it wouldn't come into effect till after the wedding. Which was a good thing as Victoria herself was still in the planning-phase of how to steal the pink phone and time everything accordingly. It just wouldn't do to simply take it, no, she had to make sure that it had the most impact she could achieve and for that, she needed to know what they were actually going to do. But for now she could only play along, so she frowned at Irene, pretending to be sad over the other woman's absence on her big day.

“It really is a shame you're not going to be there. You could've been my maid of honour and I could've made you wear something horrid, preferably in mustard-yellow or something like that.” They shared a laugh at her joke, bantering back and forth like they had been friends for years, all the while Victoria was thinking about destroying Irene for thinking she could so easily take what wasn't hers.

Chapter Text

Victoria Louise Moriarty was being twirled around the dance floor by her husband, her head thrown back in joy, while she laughed at some scathing remark he had made about one of their guest at the reception. The ceremony itself had only consisted of a few carefully picked people, but there were far more guests at the after-party, most of them acquaintances of Jim's, which included other crime-lords from all over the world with their entourage. She didn't really mind that she knew almost no one, simply relieved that the mass of people would act like a buffer between her husband and a certain curly-haired guest of hers. After what had happened shortly before the wedding, she had been a tad worried over the two of them clashing once again.

2 hours earlier

Victoria felt nervous, more nervous than she had ever felt in her life. In less than thirty minutes, she was going to walk down the isle and get married to one of the most dangerous men in this city, maybe even this country. But that was not why she was nervous, quite the contrary. No, she was nervous because when she had taken a much needed breath of fresh air, she had seen Sherlock and Mycroft standing across the lawn with Mrs. Hudson in tow. That in and off itself wouldn't make her worry though, the fact that Jim was obviously in a heated discussion with the Holmes brothers on the other hand...

Watching them from the open window of the little annex next to the church where she was currently getting ready for the ceremony, she contemplated on intervening. To her utmost relief, Seb was determinedly walking towards them and said something in Jim's ear. Though Victoria couldn't hear what the tall blonde was telling her very soon to-be husband, she saw his face immediately relax and loose his pinched and angry expression. He shot one last glare at both Holmes' and thankfully retreated with Seb in tow, making Victoria let out a sigh of relief. She had known beforehand that them being here might raise an issue with Jim, but she had foolishly hoped that he would refrain himself from being obvious about it, seeing as it was their wedding-day. After all she knew about him, she should've known better by now and she scolded herself for her naivety.

Hopefully, he would at least wait till after they had said their vows to continue whatever he had been doing to her guests, preferably even till after the reception. A knock on the door, broke her out of her troubled thoughts for a moment and a beaming smile curled her carefully painted lips when she saw her favourite sniper step into the room, grinning sheepishly at her.

“I saw you looking at the little clash of opinion that happened on the lawn and I thought I would come and see if you were alright.” Victoria let out a small sigh, her smile faltering as she smoothed down imaginary wrinkles in her wedding-dress.

“What did you tell him that got him to lay off so quickly?”, she curiously asked, cocking her head to the side. Sebastian's grin brightened and he let out a soft chuckle, slightly shaking his head in amusement.

“All I had to say was that you wouldn't be very happy with him, if he made a scene today. Shut him up instantly. You really have him wrapped around your little finger.” Victoria let out a scoff and rolled her eyes at his assumption. While it might be true that Jim Moriarty was acting softer towards her than anyone else, she knew that he still disregarded her wishes if it suited him.

Of course she couldn't say that to his most trusted employee, she didn't want to raise any suspicions as to the amount of information she had about Jim's dealings behind her back. She trusted Sebastian, she truly did, he was like a brother to her, but she also knew where his loyalty would lie if push came to shove.

So, she just turned towards the floor-length mirror and scrutinized her appearance once again. The dress really was a dream and now that her hair and make-up had been professionally done as well, she almost didn't recognize herself. She knew that she was attractive, going by the reactions she got from the people around her, but today, she felt truly beautiful.

Her long, dark-brown curls had been piled atop her head in a delicate up-do, a few strands perfectly framing her face and sparkling hairpins held a long, lacy veil that fanned out behind her and down her back. Her make-up was light, a bit of eyeliner to make her forest-green eyes pop even more and barely any eye-shadow. A light blush on her cheeks and rose lip-gloss that made her full lips seem even fuller, rounded up the look and despite the minimal amount of cosmetics on her face, she still marvelled at how a few well placed splatters of paint could make someone look so different.

Sebastian cleared his throat to get back her attention and nodded towards the door behind him when her eyes snapped back to him through the mirror.

“We should go, it's almost time now.” Her heart beat faster at that, the muscles in her body feeling like they were vibrating under her skin and a bubble of excited giggles spilled over her lips. Clapping her hands together and rushing over to pick up her bouquet , she shot once last glance at the mirror, making sure she looked perfect and took the arm Sebastian had offered her.

Present

They had danced to three more songs until Victoria wanted to sit down for a while, her feet beginning to ache, and she sighed happily when she slipped her shoes off once she was seated. Guests periodically made their way over to their table and she patiently endured all the ensuing small-talk, nothing could ruin the happiness and contentment she was feeling today.

As soon as that thought had ran through her mind, Sherlock of all people stopped at their table and Victoria pleaded with her eyes for him to not antagonize her husband and prevent either of them from making a scene.

“I hadn't had the chance to congratulate you after the ceremony, so I'm going to rectify that now. Congratulations on marrying the devil my dear Victoria. He doesn't deserve you and probably never will, but he seems to make you happy for whatever reason, so who am I to judge. Just remember, if you should someday finally see him for what he is, you know where to find me. My door will always be open to you. And for your child for that matter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have to pry Mrs. Hudson off of that Ukrainian mobster she has been clinging to all night. Wouldn't want her to make the same mistake twice, especially after I got rid of her first one.” He turned around with a flourish and disappeared back into the crowd, winking at them over his shoulder before he was gone from view. Jim was seething beside her and she put a calming hand on his arm when he tried to get off his seat.

“Please don't. Just ignore him this evening and let us enjoy ourselves instead. I don't want the two of you ruining my wedding-day with your petty squabble over me. In case you have forgotten, I married you today, not him and if that doesn't convince you that you have nothing to fear, then I don't know what else will.” He tensed even more at her words and she was about to call over Sebastian, afraid that Jim might still go after his adversary, but to her immense relief, he relaxed back into his chair and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles when he took her hand in his.

“I'm sorry my love. This is our special day and I'm not going to let that git ruin our night with his pathetic display of jealousy.” Victoria had to bite her tongue at his last remark as to not blurt out that he was equally as ridiculous as Sherlock when it came to acting jealous, though a small part of her was still pleased that two men of their calibre were fighting over her. It made her feel desirable, especially because they weren't only interested in her because of her looks, something she hadn't experienced before.

Leaning in to kiss him properly, she sighed against his skin as their lips met. She hoped she would never get tired of kissing him and that despite their underlying problems, they would live out their lives together in happiness. The dreams of a naïve child, she knew, but she so desperately wanted to hold on to the way she was feeling now, to keep it going forever.

Unfortunately, her bladder decided to pipe up and she excused herself from her new husband to answer it's call. Once finished, she washed her hands, staring at herself in the mirror and wondering, not for the first time, how she had ended up where she was. If she hadn't gone to the pool that night, none of this would have happened and if she had been anyone but herself, she might think it had been fate that brought her and Jim together. But such a notion seemed utterly ludicrous to her, even in her heightened state of elation.

She was just drying off her hands, when the door suddenly swung open, making her whirl around in surprise, sure that she had locked it before going about her business. Her eyes widened when she recognized the intruder and she swallowed thickly when he closed the door behind him, locking it again with an audible click.

“And what do you think you're doing?” There was no authority in her voice, even though she had tried, it just sounded breathless and small. Her back connected with the sink behind her as she took a step back, warily watching him stalk towards her, her heart pounding loudly in her ears.

Without answering her, he stopped right in front of her, completely invading her personal space and her breath hitched in her throat when she glanced up into his beautiful eyes. One of his large hands came up to cup her cheek and her eyes fluttered close almost instinctively, a small sigh escaping her plump lips. The feeling of his skin against hers send all kinds of delicious sparks dancing across her body and the knowledge over how wrong this was, only further heightened the tension in the room.

“We shouldn't be doing this...” she whispered, but there was no real conviction behind her words and they both knew it. Her eyes were still closed, unable to look at him again and she almost jerked away, when his chapped lips suddenly connected with her soft ones.

It felt exactly like she had imagined, maybe even better if that was at all possible and she melted into him, throwing all caution to the wind, entwining her tongue with his when he deepened the kiss. Standing on her tiptoes, she buried her hands in his curls, pulling him even closer and revelled in the feeling of the silky-soft strands between her fingers. They stayed like this for what felt like hours and she was the first one to break the kiss, stepping out of his arms and taking a few steps away, her fingers touching her lips as if to reassure herself that it had really happened.

“Why?” she asked him in a quiet voice, watching his broad chest rise and fall rapidly from his exaggerated breaths, very similar to her own. He was staring at her, the intensity in his eyes startling her and feeling like having a deja-vu, she stepped backwards when he came closer again.

This time her back connected with the tiled wall and before she could escape, he had already caged her in with his long arms braced against the wall on either side of her. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him, something she hadn't noticed up until now and she tried to take only shallow breaths, afraid of their chests brushing together.

Her self control was practically non-existent at this point and she didn't know what she might do if she were to be exposed to even more bodily contact. Warm breath skimmed across her neck, making her shiver in response when he leaned his head closer and whispered in her ear.

“I just wanted you to think about me when you let your husband fuck you tonight.” The way he had said husband sounded more like an insult than a mere description of fact and even in her flustered state, she picked up on it.

All rational thought left her though, when he nipped at her earlobe with his teeth and she moaned as he sucked on the small piece of flesh, the feeling going straight between her legs. She was still reeling from his actions when he stepped away, a smug smirk on his face and with a wink and a last lick of his lips, he turned around and exited the bathroom.

Victoria hurried over to the door, locking it behind him and pressing her forehead against the cool wood. Maybe she should have seen something like this coming, but as it was she only felt surprise that he had been the one initiating this. Abandoning the door and walking back to the sink, she stared at her reflection, noting how flustered she looked and how her lips were a bit swollen. She couldn't go back out there like this, even if no one had seen him enter or leave, Jim would just have to take one look at her and immediately know what happened.

This was bad, very bad and she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do, her thoughts still in disarray because of the unexpected kiss. Touching her slightly swollen lips again, tears started gathering in her eyes and she tried blinking them away, not wanting to ruin her make-up. Today was supposed to be nothing but joy all around and now she had gone and ruined it because of her attraction to someone else. Maybe her father had been right after all and she was only useful for one thing and didn't deserve anything more.

The tears ran freely now, cascading down her face in thick droplets, all concerns over her appearance drowned out by the dark turn her thoughts had taken.

Jim was vividly imagining killing the horrendously dull woman, he had been forced to listen to since Victoria went to the bathroom, in some very creative ways when he took another look at his watch, his eyes immediately scanning the crowd for his wife. She had been gone for nearly ten minutes now and he started to get concerned, something that was still knew to him and only happened when it was about her. Moran already came towards him shaking his head, a look of concern in his eyes as well and they silently made their way to the bathroom at the back of the large room. Jim ignored the guests who wanted to talk to him, focused on finding his wife and grateful that his second in command took care of the more persistent ones.

Knocking on the dark wooden door, he called for her, waiting for her to open, but nothing happened. The lock was picked in no time at all and he immediately rushed towards his crying wife, his brain rapidly cataloguing every detail to figure out what was wrong. He almost missed it, the smell only faint now, but he still caught the scent of expensive aftershave that wafted from her clothes when he took her in his arms. It was almost impossible to control his sudden rage, but he miraculously managed, successfully calming his sobbing wife down enough to ask her what had happened.

“I was thinking about us and... how my father used to tell me that I was only good for one thing... that someone like me didn't.... deserve to be happy and it got me thinking that I didn't deserve you... and I started crying and I just couldn't seem to... stop,” she forced out through little hiccups and the occasional sob and Jim felt a dark sort of satisfaction at her self-doubt and misery.

A part of him wanted her to feel unworthy of him, especially after what she had done and he had to remind himself that she was pregnant with his child and to not give in to the urge to hurt her like she did him. There would be time for that later, after she had given birth and if she was lucky, he would've forgiven her by that time.

His own thoughts disturbed him, the vicious anger he felt towards her at the moment battling against his affection for her and he continued to mechanically rub her back, unable to respond in any other way.

Victoria felt like her world was crumbling down around her, the moment she had seen Jim enter the bathroom, all air had left her lungs and she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She could feel in the way he had tensed imperceptibly once he pulled her into his arms, that he knew exactly what had happened in this room and the guilt she was feeling swallowed her whole. He didn't respond when she told him what she was thinking and she frantically tried to find some way to make it okay again, to get back to the way it was before.

“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen... I had no idea he would do such a thing and I'm sorry that I didn't push him away like I should have. I can't lose you like this Jim, I love you! I love you so much that it hurts me and I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, oh god I'm so sorry...”

She cried harder, mumbling apologies over and over, her mind spiralling further and further as she cried into his shoulders, tightly gripping onto his suit, afraid he was going to leave her any moment now. Her heart was breaking into a million little pieces, the shrapnel racing through her body and making it hurt everywhere as if she was being ripped apart from the inside.

The room she was in seemed to shrink in on itself, the feeling of Jim's suit beneath her fingers not able to ground her in the moment and she felt herself drifting further away with each passing second. Then there was nothing, no sound, no pain, just nothing, as if she was floating in a vacuum inside her own mind, able to look at the outside but unable to interact with it.

The trembling woman in his arms suddenly stilled, her sobs and pleas cutting off abruptly and he looked down at her in confusion. Her red-rimmed eyes were glazed over and empty, her pale face completely blank, devoid of any emotion. She didn't even flinch when he snapped his fingers in front of her face and a flicker of panic ignited in his chest. Of course he wanted her to miserable, but he hadn't wanted her to be so upset her mind decided to disassociate itself from the situation.

He contemplated over what to do, the best curse of action would be to bring her mind back to the here and now, but he wanted her to be in a familiar environment for this and seeing the degree to which she had pulled back, he would most likely need some outside help.

Leading her out of the bathroom, he instructed a worried looking Sebastian to get the car, relieved that there was another exit back here so he didn't need to make his catatonic wife walk through the throngs of nosy guests. It took some manoeuvring to get Victoria into the car and after buckling her up, they sped down the streets towards home, Jim already on the phone to his personal physician, ordering him to come to his flat immediately and bring ammonia inhalers with him.

He stared at his unresponsive wife, wondering how it had all gone so terrible wrong in such a short amount of time. This was most definitely not the way he had imagined their night to go.

Chapter Text

Sherlock had neither heard nor seen the woman, who seemed to occupy most of his waking thoughts these days, in over a month. Not since he had kissed her on her wedding day, the memory replaying in his mind over and over again, though he refused to acknowledge the small stab of guilt he felt each time. There had been a calculated risk that his adversary would find out, and a part of him even wanted him to, but that part was hardly rational. Then again more or less cornering a woman that had just married someone else in a bathroom and kiss her wouldn't exactly fall under the umbrella of rationality either.

But he had convinced himself that it might be the last chance he ever got to do such a thing and he was an opportunist at heart after all. He was a tad bit worried however after Victoria and her husband, he truly hated thinking of Moriarty that way, fell off the face of the earth right after the reception which he knew they had left early. According to his sources, the freshly made bride had not looked all that fresh anymore, her make-up smeared which would indicate crying and the curly-haired genius had had been concerned for a moment about him unwittingly putting her life in danger with his actions but as much as he despised Jim Moriarty, he also knew that the other man truly cared about the woman that should not be his.

It had been clear for everyone to see whenever his dark eyes would fall on the beautiful brunette, turning Sherlock's stomach each time he had to witness the two gazing at each other with obvious love. Sickening that had been what it was and his decision to follow Victoria into the bathroom may have had something to do with that, though he of course would never admit that he had given into such a petty thing as jealousy. He had a reputation to uphold after all.

John had been furious when he had found out what had happened at the wedding about two weeks after the fact. His flatmates dislike for the woman he deemed dangerous and claimed would be Sherlock's downfall if he did not stop pursuing her had only heightened, a sour expression always on the blonde doctors face whenever Victoria was so much as mentioned.

Much like the one he was wearing now, though to be fair, John himself had brought her up when they had been talking about Irene Adler, a case they had gotten from Mycroft and which had taken an unexpected turn when they had arrived at the dominatrix house only to find the woman in question as well as her assistant dead in her bedroom. Both had been killed by a long range sniper, shot through one of the open windows, though it had been clear that the assistant had been killed first and Miss Adler had tried to escape, only to be struck down as she had nearly made it to the door.

The phone they had been tasked to retrieve had been missing as well but since someone like Adler would likely have a plethora of enemies, it was not hard to imagine that one of those enemies had ordered a hit and taken the phone for themselves. His flatmate however seemed to be under the impression that things were not as they seemed and he could not understand why Sherlock did not want to investigate this further, which prompted him to bring up Victoria, accusing the curly-haired detective of letting himself get distracted by her, even if she had not been back at Baker Street for weeks.

“That is ridiculous. My disinterest in this case has nothing to do with her. I'm starting to believe that you are the one obsessing and not me as you so regularly claim. You seem to be talking more about a certain someone's wife than I do. Paranoia does not suit you,” Sherlock boredly pointed out, lifting one brow as he gave his flatmate a bland look which was returned with an incredulous expression before John threw up his hands in exasperated surrender, shaking his head disappointedly.

“I give up. There is no talking with you about this, is there? You're too blinded by her to see what she is doing to you without even being here,” John sighed but he received no verbal response, just another raise of Sherlock's brow that made the blondes features go blank.

“I'm going to take a walk.” With that emotionless proclamation, the good doctor took his jacket from a hook next to the door and left the flat without looking back, the door slamming shut behind him. Sherlock let out a sigh and rubbed a hand over his face as he blankly stared at the door his flatmate had just left through, a crease forming between his brows when he heard John's voice from the other side, the way he was talking indicating he was not merely speaking to himself.

Curious and maybe also a little excited since he could tell by the tone alone that whoever his blogger was conversing with was not someone he liked, which could mean that a certain someone had returned from wherever it was she had been hiding. Just as the genius had pushed himself off of his usual chair, there was a distinctly female yell of surprise, followed by the obvious sound of a body tumbling down the stairs and he was out of the door in no time, his eyes refusing to accept what he was seeing.

For the first time he did not want to be as smart as he was, his brain already rattling off statistics about the likelihood of miscarriage as he detachedly stared down at Watson who was kneeling next to a clearly unconscious Victoria, already on the phone to call for an ambulance as the lower part of the sunflower yellow dress the brunette was wearing began to change its colour to red, a puddle already forming underneath her.

Sherlock felt disgusted with himself for the quick burst of relief her felt upon realizing that she would most likely lose the baby, a baby he believed to be the main reason for Victoria to stay with Moriarty in the first place. But that relief was soon replaced by worry for the only woman aside from his mother he had ever truly cared for and with a start, he realized that he was actually in love with the wife of his worst enemy. Pushing those disturbing thoughts away for the moment, all of this having taken less than a few seconds, his long legs carried him down the stairs almost on their own, his voice monotonous as he addressed his flatmate, his eyes never leaving the woman crumpled down at the foot of the stairs.

“What happened?” Clearly not having heard him, John visibly startled, looking up with tears glistening in his eyes, his phone clutched tightly in his hand to the point his knuckles had turned completely white.

“She lost her footing and fell, I tried to grab her but it happened so quick, I simply wasn't fast enough. Her stomach hit the corner and she bumped her head a few times. I didn't mean for this to happen, Sherlock. I might not like her, but I wouldn't have wanted this.” The blonde doctor helplessly gestured at Victoria, obviously distressed and Sherlock sunk to his knees next to the unconscious woman, taking one of her small pale hands in his, absentmindedly stroking over the back of it with his thumb.

“You should leave now. And I mean the country. As soon as her husband finds out about this, he is going to hunt you down. Speak to my brother, he might be able to help you. Moriarty will not care if this was an accident or not and every second of lead you can gain will mean more seconds of you being alive.” Tearing his eyes away from the ever increasing amount of blood pooling around Victoria, Sherlock looked at the pale face of the man he considered a friend, trying to keep his own irrational anger in check. He knew that this had been an accident but still he felt furious with John who shakily got off the ground, staring down at Victoria, his mouth opening and closing a few times before snapping shut.

Nodding once, the blonde veteran carefully stepped over the bleeding woman, glancing back over his shoulder as he placed a hand on the front door handle, a siren audible in the distance, growing closer quickly.

“I'm sorry.” Sherlock acknowledged the choked out words of his former flatmate with an incline of his head not bothering to actually look at him and the sounds of sirens grew louder as the front door opened and John stepped out into the streets, leaving the door open for the EMT's who arrived shortly after the blogger had left.

The second her awareness returned to her, Victoria knew that she had lost yet another child, though this time she had truly wanted to keep it. Her eyes hadn't even opened as they filled with tears, a chasm opening in her chest that seemed to suck all of the happiness she had ever experienced into it, leaving her with nothing but agony. Not in a physical sense, though she could tell that her body had been bruised badly form her fall, but similar to how she had felt after Sherlock had kissed her, her mind was seemingly splintering along with her heart.

She mourned not only the loss of her baby but also the imminent loss of her marriage for she had no doubt that Jim would truly begin to hate her once he found out about this if he had not already. Ever since the incident at the wedding, involving a certain detective, things had been tense between her and her husband to put it mildly. Or maybe cold would be a better word to use, since they didn't even sleep in the same bed anymore, not during their four week long honeymoon in France which she had mostly spend on her own, and not when they had returned to London.

Jim was barely speaking to her and Victoria knew that the only reason he had not outright killed her was because of her pregnancy, though she had hoped that there was still some form of affection for her in his heart as she was still desperately in love with the dark-haired criminal mastermind. But all her efforts to reconcile had been met with disinterest and after crying herself to sleep for about a week, she had simply contended herself to wait this out in the foolish hope that her husband just needed time to process.

That she could forget now. Not only had she lost the only protection she had, but she had also once again gone against Jim's direct wishes to never contact Sherlock again by seeking him out behind her husbands back. Her intention had been to make it clear to the curly-haired detective that she could no longer associate with him, although that decision could be argued against since she had gone out of her way to make sure that Irene could not put her claws in him.

Rolling from her side onto her back, she opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling, her vision blurred though tears no longer rolled down her cheeks. There was an emptiness inside her stomach that spread throughout every cell in her body until it filled her completely, the last remnants of wetness disappearing from her now dry eyes.

Crying about any of this was not going to help her in any way, there was only one thing that truly mattered, the only thing that made sense. With gritted teeth, Victoria heaved herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet connecting with the cold linoleum floor as she shakily stood, supporting herself against the mattress until she had regained her balance.

The room she was in was a private one, meaning she was the only occupant, so no one alerted the nurses as she pulled out the IV in her hand and the clip from her finger. That would most likely trigger an alarm since the heart monitor had flat-lined but she didn't much care about that, staggering over to the closet in hopes of finding something other to wear than a hospital shift, finding her coat and shoes inside.

Victoria slipped on both, already buttoning the coat when the door swung open, a flustered looking brunette in a nurse's uniform storming inside, a look of confusion passing her face as her eyes fell on the woman who should be resting in bed.

“Save yourself the speech. I am leaving and you can not keep me here as my condition does not pose an imminent risk to me or anyone else. Now if you'll excuse me,” Victoria gave the stunned nurse a tight-lipped smile, pushing past her and out into the hallway before the other woman could overcome her surprise.

The only good thing about hospitals was that there were signs on the wall that told her where to go and she soon found herself outside, turning up the lapels of her coat to protect herself against the fine mist of rain that greeted her. Someone must've had her coat dry-cleaned because it smelled like that and she was also pretty sure that there would've been blood on it otherwise.

Experimentally pushing a hand into her pocket, Victoria felt something papery inside and upon further inspection, it turned out to be money, enough for her to take a cab back to the apartment. Her mind was calm, focused laser-like on her goal, blocking out the pain in her body and the pounding in her head. She knew she had a concussion and severe bruising on her stomach and back, but that didn't matter now.

Paying the driver, she got out of the cab and strode over to the entrance in determination, nodding at the doorman who opened the door for her, looking a little concerned as she strode past him towards the elevators. She had no idea what she looked like at the moment, her gaze disinterestedly wandering to her reflection inside the elevator where she scanned herself without any emotion, her head turning away again when the door opened after a ding.

Her key card was still in her coat as well and she pulled it out, running it through the card reader, the little light changing from red to green as the lock clicked open. The sounds from inside had already been audible from the hallway, lustful moans intermingled with throaty encouragements and as Victoria gently pushed the door open with her fingertips, she tilted her head to the side, studying the scene in the living room.

Her beloved husband was sitting on the couch, his pants around his ankles, whilst a naked blonde bounced up and down on his lap, the origin of the sounds she had heard. Neither of them had heard her enter and she slipped off her shoes as she walked over to the kitchen, taking out a chefs knife from one of the drawers before silently striding over to the pair, whom were still blissfully unaware about Victoria’s presence.

Jim had his eyes closed, a look of utter concentration on his face and the blonde had thrown her head back, eyes closed as well, though they snapped open, the lusty haze in the blonde's brown orbs clearing to be replaced with fear, the knife pressing against her throat freezing her, which prompted Jim to open his eyes as well, connecting straight with empty green ones.

“I would urge you not to move,” Victoria informed the blonde in a conversational tone, though her eyes never left her husbands who was staring back at her, his real emotions hidden behind a blank mask.

“I wanted to kill him. That's why I went there. But his little lap dog figured it out and pushed me down the stairs. John Watson is the reason our baby is dead and I will stop at nothing until I have made him pay for this. Are you going to help me or do I have to kill you as well?” The blonde between them whimpered, her terrified face streaked with mascara, fat ugly tears spilling from her eyes and running down her cheeks as she sobbed but neither Moriarty nor Victoria paid her any mind.

“You're incredibly sexy when you threaten me,” Jim purred out, one corner of his mouth curled into a smile and Victoria regarded him emotionlessly before tightening the hold she had on the blondes hair, making the girl whimper in pain, her hands coming up to relieve the strain.

“It will be some time before I let you anywhere near me again in that way. I just caught you cheating on me, Jim. But I will forgive it this once since you were clearly under the impression I had done the same to you and of course because of the tragic end your new plaything endured.” With that, Victoria pressed the kitchen knife harder against the blondes throat and sliced it open from one ear to the other, never once breaking eye contact with her husband who was splattered in blood, a guttural moan escaping him as the blonde trashed on his lap, gurgling helplessly as she bled out between them.

Chapter Text

Hello my lovely readers!

I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but unfortunately my health doesn't allow for much writing at the moment. I've been dealing with carpal tunnel for over three years now (at least that's the official diagnosis) and despite getting surgery last year, things have only gotten worse. I'm in almost constant pain, which makes writing for any amount of time very uncomfortable and isn't exactly helping my motivation either as you can imagine. Which yeah, sucks big time because I love writing so much and would probably do nothing else if it were up to me. But for some reason, my body has decided that I'm not allowed to do the things I love and there's no real end in sight as to when I'll be able to return to my favorite hobby. (I swear, not even going through chemo therapy for breast cancer in 2022 was as difficult to deal with than this shite. I'm really at the end of my rope because nobody seems to really know what the hell is going on, considering that the surgery that should've made it better only made it much worse.)

So, for now at least, I'm putting all my works on an indefinite hiatus. I just felt like I needed to explain a little bit as to why to those of you that are genuinely interested and also because I myself always hate when I find a fanfic that hasn't been updated in ages with no reason given as to why. Maybe that's just me though, but in any case, now you know.

Anyway, thank you very much for reading this little rant and I hope that one day, I'll be able to finish this story and all the others I've published on here. (And maybe even get to continue some of the over 500 other unfinished stories currently collecting electronical dust on my PC. Yes I know I have a problem but we don't talk about that.)