( week 4 afterparty ) and if you're still bleeding, you're the lucky ones

[respring]

The trial was certainly to bring about despair for the ones remaining, if not confusion. After such a loss, Nirrti took the last of Syaoran's execution for herself, saving Watanuki from the pain. What motive did she have? Did anyone's words manage to reach her? 🗈

Well, that all was suitably horrific! Honestly, Sakura kind of just wants to ball up in her room and not come back out, but when she thinks about doing that, she remembers the last words she exchanged with Syaoran. Not just Watanuki, not just Nirrti, not just herself...there were too many people here who knew what loneliness felt like, and after something like that, they were liable to feel even more cripplingly alone.

So, against the grain of her usual behavior, Sakura will seek out anyone who looks like they might feel better having some company, and ask them to come to the dining room. She set out the breakfast foods she'd made the day before, reheated but no less delicious.

Please, don't go through this alone.

Comments

[improbablenotimpossible]

[His expression is sphinx-like, but there is an impression that he is aware the joke did not quite land]

Thank you, I appreciate the offer. I'd suggest tea, but I am not sure if I am going to make this pot right.

[cryosurgeon]

You're not used to brewing your own?

[He seasons the beef, then starts spreading mustard on one side of each slice. Leaving that to rest, he gets out some thick-cut bacon and begins frying that up.]

[improbablenotimpossible]

Generally someone else is brewing, either Watson or my Landlady when alive... or Archer either in Chaldea, and someone always had it or coffee brewing at the Foundation. I find any kind of cooking terribly dull and tend to lose focus.

[cryosurgeon]

I don't find it boring, I just never bothered much. But this is something I think I enjoyed when I was young, one of the few things that slipped through my memory blocks. I don't even know who taught me how to make it.

[Definitely not his parents. It had to have been someone before his arrest.]

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He smiles slightly at that, pausing as the kettle starts whistling, pulling it off the stove]

Hopefully you'll eventually more of your missing memories.

[Despite what Erhard may think, Holmes is still skeptical about this man being some kind of terrorist]

[cryosurgeon]

I hope so, too.

[He's looks like he's about to ask something, but he convinces himself not to. Holmes isn't the best with feelings. Someone else might be better suited for that question.]

... I understand if I've damaged our relationship beyond repair.

[improbablenotimpossible]

... No. You had not.

[He answers softly, his voice quiet]

I will not lie, what I saw had concern me, but - it does not push me away. It just makes want to be better at understanding how other people feel.

[cryosurgeon]

So do I. We're a lot alike, aren't we?

[Then why aren't we as close as Sora and Riku? Why can't we confide in each other like Takumi and Syaoran? What am I missing?

The thoughts bang around in his head until his chest hurts. He actually hunches over slightly.]

[improbablenotimpossible]

[His lips pulled into a melancholic smile in understanding but a quiet sound escapes as Erhard hunches over, he actually rushes over to steady him]

Are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere?

[cryosurgeon]

No... no, I'm fine. Sometimes my chest feels tight when I'm thinking.

[He straightens, takes a deep breath, and returns to working on his food.]

But thank you for worrying about me after what happened today.

[improbablenotimpossible]

... it's been a trying day,

[He should give the man space, but he hasn't stepped back yet, his fingers just a fraction of an inch from touching, curling towards him but pausing]

I am not good at giving emotional advice... but I am willing to listen, that is at least I'm good at.

[cryosurgeon]

You don't need that kind of burden from me.

[He could step away, too, but he hasn't. He can't keep the secret. So much for his plan.]

I let Nirrti think I was interested in becoming a witch... because I was afraid of how close I might be to it. I needed to know the threshold.

[improbablenotimpossible]

[The hand touches his arm, resting there unless Erhard decides to pull away]

To see where the line is...

[Then, Holmes shook his head]

I may not need it, but I want to.

[cryosurgeon]

[His hands are contaminated right now, so he can't give in to the urge to lay one over Holmes's fingers. He feels... strangely disappointed.]

I don't know if some of the others will ever trust me again. I didn't want you to lose your faith in me, too.

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He closes his eyes for a moment, the way Erhard said it - it made him ache]

I'm not a man who acts on faith alone, I act on what I see - and what I saw is a man, who tries even when he's hurting - that is a man I can trust to do right in the end.

[cryosurgeon]

Thank you. I know there are others you're closer to, but... you're important to me. I can trust you.

[He might be trembling ever so slightly under Holmes's touch when he says that.]

[improbablenotimpossible]

[At the trembling of the man's body and the words, his breath catch for a moment, his fingers curling against the man's arm for a moment]

Dr. Muller... Erhard,

[He stops, as if something catches in his chest, seeming to be at once at a loss for words]

[cryosurgeon]

[There it is again, his given name instead of polite formality. So many others here call him by that name, but Holmes-- Sherlock-- keeps maintaining that professional distance. Not now.

Erhard's heart is racing.]

I....

[The word comes out cracked and weak. He doesn't understand what's happening.]

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He breathes in, taking a moment to compose himself - trying to compose himself. He's a grown man, not an easily excitable teenager]

I hope you didn't mind that I used your given name there.

[cryosurgeon]

N-- not at all.

[Did he really just stammer?]

Most of the others do in some form. I tend to be aloof, yes, but I don't stand on formality. And... we're colleagues, right? Friends?

[improbablenotimpossible]

Friends.

[There's a quiet warmth to his voice, his lips curling up in a smile, but there is a lingering question there - but that is for when he can assess things more objectively]

[cryosurgeon]

[The smile and that soft warmth bring a fluttering something into Erhard's chest, rather than the crushing tightness he's felt so many times. He's blushing again, but more than that, he's smiling a genuine, unforced smile.]