Work Text:
It was a quiet night, only the sound of a pen scratching on paper filled the cozy office with sound.
Sherlock Moriarty sat at his desk in a loose shirt, candlelight flickering in the background.
A window was slightly open, letting in a breeze of fresh air during these late night hours. The case he had been working on this past week turned out to be pretty convoluted.
Apparently two girls had mysteriously gone missing amidst a crowd of people, only for one of them to turn up again two days later, with no memory and an weird fixation on mushrooms. The other girl, Sally, was still missing.
The weirdest part about this case, seemed to be that Ari, the girl who returned, seemed to have forgotten all about her best friend and was now completely obsessed with mushrooms, to the point that her parents were worried. Every meal she touched had to purely consist of mushrooms. Even the water she drank, mushrooms were floating in it.
Usually the loss of memories would mean that someone from the Marauder Pathway must have stolen the subsequent memories, yet why the obsession with mushrooms? It made no sense!
Not only that, but a day after Ari had returned, the same thing happened again to two other children, this time boys. One returned with an obsession for mushrooms and the other was still missing.
Any kind of divination he had done, fell flat. Even above the fog, he could only find minuscule clues, but nothing made sense…
His ponderings were halted as the door to the office creaked open and the fragrant smell of Jasmine filled the air.
Sherlock didn't have to look up to know who entered his study, after all, it could really only be one person.
A cup of tea was gently placed on the desk and the now free hand made it's way and settled softly on Sherlock's shoulder.
"I see you are still working hard on this case, my love." The warm, baritone voice of his Azik reached Sherlock's ears. "Maybe you should take a break, it is already late and I know you have barely rested these past few nights, trying to figure everything out."
Sherlock looked up at his lover, meeting a warm, loving gaze.
Azik leaned down giving Sherlock a peck on his lips, before moving his focus on his Seer's back.
Strong hands started digging into his shoulders, massaging his tense frame. Sherlock groaned, closing his eyes tightly as his lover found a tense spot and started to work it loose.
"I can't right now… I am so close, I feel like I am just missing a single detail!" Sherlock mumbled as the massage was starting to get to him.
"Maybe you just need to step back for a bit. Please take a break. Have some tea and rest." Azik's head lightly rested on Sherlock's. "You are not of the Sleepless Pathway, you cannot go on with the little sleep you have. And… I miss you.." Azik moved his head to the crook of his lovers neck, kissing it lightly.
A shuddered breath escaped Sherlock.
Sherlock set the pen aside, one hand going to his eyes, rubbing them in exhaustion.
"Maybe I should take a break. You are right… It is just…they are so young… Every bit of time is crucial…"
"I understand. But if you are too tired, you will help no one. Please, for me, take a break?" Azik's arms wound around him, pulling him into a hug. "I could ask a few spirits to keep an eye out for anymore information in the mean time. Just for a few hours, please? You can continue after you had a nap."
"I don't think I will be able to nap right now." His mind was restless, something about this particular case had him on edge. Yet he didn't know what.
Seeing that his younger lover was close to caving in, Azik pulled out one of his trump cards. Something that he knew his Klein, his Sherlock absolutely loved.
"How about I read to you?"
Sherlock bit at his lip. That sounded so very tempting…
A deep sigh escaped him as he slightly nodded his head, being rewarded with a kiss to the head.
"Alright. Up! Let's move this to the couch." Azik grabbed the cup of tea he had placed on the desk earlier and moved to the other side of the room that held a fireplace, unlit, a low table and a comfortable red couch. He placed the cup on the table before moving to light the fire.
In the mean time Sherlock had made himself comfortable on the couch, the cup of tea clutched in his hands.
He sipped at the warm and flavourful concoction, feeling himself relax a little. He does love Jasmine tea- the cup ran empty quite quickly, as Sherlock hadn't known how parched he had been until this point.
With the fireplace lit, Sherlock's eyes followed, as Azik moved towards the bookshelf, picking out a book on the history of Intis.
When Azik finally settled on the couch, he patted his legs, making Sherlock rest his head in his lap.
He opened the book and began to read - one hand tenderly carding through his detectives hair.
Oh how glad he was that he had been there that day.
~~
Azik's heart felt heavy as he gazed at the tomb stone in front of him, his eyes heavy.
He had been too late.
His Klein was gone and it was all his fault! If only he had been there more quickly!
Azik gripped the bouquet of purple Hyacinth's, Lavender and Forget-me-nots. He felt so very hollow, as if someone had taken his heart and destroyed it. If only he had made it in time…
To think they had only been together for two months - it had felt like years. He missed him. He missed his Klein, his Love, his Seer…
He could have stood there for minutes or hours, he didn't know anymore. Time just passed, but to Azik it just felt meaningless.
The professor knew that he had felt this kind of loss before - the memories of his wife's death still clear on his mind, but this felt worse. Don't get him wrong, he had loved his wife completely, but there was something about Klein that made him feel whole.
A tear trailed down his cheek.
"I wish I would have made it in time…I don't know what to do… I have never felt this excruciating pain in my soul… I.."
Something stirred in the air.
This…could it be…
Azik's eyes widened, as the bouquet fell from his hands. Throwing himself at the grave, he quickly started to dig at the ground- tears welling up in his eyes.
This feeling. This feeling!
Traitorous hope blossomed in his chest. He didn't want to believe it! Please let it be true…
Finally noticing that this was taking too long, he summoned a few of his skeletons to help with the work - the casket quickly making its way to the surface afterwards.
With shaking hands Azik gripped the lid of the coffin, lifting it slowly before throwing it aside.
Trembling, Azik moved closer, gazing at his love lying there with eyes closed.
A stutter, a breath...
Tears streamed down Azik's face as he saw Klein's body regain signs of life. A quivering hand moved to rest on Klein's cheek, his thumb tracing the lips - feeling the soft exhales.
A sob rose up from the depths of his being, as the truth finally settled in his bones. He leaned over the body, his forehead resting over his once dead but now alive lover.
Eyes fluttered, a sharp inhale.
Klein felt something wet on his face. Weird. The last thing remembered was that he…died…oh.
But he felt alive? How could this be?
And he felt so safe and warm right now, a hand was on his cheek and..
"Azik?"
A shaky exhale answered Klein's question. Who else could make him feel so safe, so warm, but his lovely partner. He wound his arms around his crying lover, pulling him into - what Klein could now recognise as a coffin, hugging him tightly.
He did not know how he came back exactly, but he can figure it out later. Right now he had to calm his Azik.
Klein gently kissed the side of Azik's head and started to whisper into his ear. "I am back my love! This is real! I will not leave you again! I love you!…"
It took a while for the shaking to die down, but when it did Azik released Klein from his death grip to look into Klein's eyes.
Klein felt as if his breath had been stolen.
Azik looked a mess, his hair was undone and his eyes bloodshot, but when red shot eyes gazed down at him in wonder and full of love, Klein could only think that he had never seen a more beautiful sight.
"You came back to me!" The statement was almost a whisper, but the strength behind the words stayed true.
"I did." Klein brushed a loose lock behind Azik's ear. "I am back."
~~
To think that he could have missed the resurrection… he did not want to even contemplate it.
He moved his gaze from his book down to his detective, seeing that he was close to sleep.
"And thus Roselle overthrew the old Intis Kingdom and became its Emperor."
"What a fraud…he is … such a …" Azik had to swallow a chuckle as his Dearest sleepily mumbled - the words breaking off and slowing down, before tapering off as Klein fell asleep.
Azik looked at the crackling fireplace after softly closing the book - handing it to a skeleton of his, his other hand still stroking Klein's hair softly.
He was so glad that he got a chance at this kind of life with Klein, as he had never felt as complete as he did now. People will have to fight him first if they ever think of harming his Seer. He will keep his love safe. Something like what had happened in Tingen will never happen again! He will not let it! He will regain his memories and become stronger, so that he can stay by his Love's side forever!
He knows that Klein has a difficult journey ahead of him, but he will be there with him every step of the way. That he promises on his soul!
He will not let his Love fall ever again!