visits

[searchingfordistraction]

Jim's never brought a guest back from Milliways before. It hasn't seemed worth bothering with.

But he has visited Matilda's home several times, and traditionally speaking it is only polite to return the favor.

More importantly, she asked, and the reasons to say no were far outweighed by the reasons to say yes.

Comments

[missnicegirl]

"Miss Trunchbull kidnapped her," Matilda explains. "Jim helped me get her back. Don't worry, he didn't get near any fireballs. But anyway, that's when I figured out that my powers are actually magic, because Miss Trunchbull was doing obvious magic stuff with hers. Like fireballs."

The fireballs are kind of a theme here.

[searchingfordistraction]

"It was perfectly safe, Seb," Jim murmurs into his mug.

By his standards - namely, no one whose preservation he was concerned about was harmed - it was indeed perfectly safe.

[catslash_rp]

He knows all about Jim's standards of safety. They are the bane of his fucking existence.

"Glad it worked out all right, then," he says evenly.

Fucking fireballs.

[missnicegirl]

Matilda summons her tea to hover in front of her, inspects it, and then banishes the teabag into the trash and pours herself some milk, all without actually touching anything.

Using magic is just so much more convenient.

"Me too," she says solemnly. "I would've been really upset if anything bad had happened to Jenny. Or Jim."

[catslash_rp]

Moran is somewhat distracted from his irritation by this display.

He's not usually easy to distract, but he is only human, and this is a bit different from watching it happen in a movie.

[searchingfordistraction]

(Next to him, Jim has gone very still.)

[catslash_rp]

"Wouldn't have been too pleased myself," he says, after that extra second's pause.

(He should be paying more attention to Jim, but he's slightly preoccupied at the moment.)

[missnicegirl]

Matilda, on the other hand, looks up from her tea and blinks.

[searchingfordistraction]

Jim's eyes are closed.

If he hadn't spent time looking for it before - sessions of concentration deep enough to be meditation of a sort, building on his previous efforts with Matilda - he might have missed it now.

Or he might not have.

"Did you feel that?" he asks, after a long silent moment.

[missnicegirl]

Interested: "No, what?"

[catslash_rp]

The sound of the flat's front door opening, followed by heels on hardwood, is audible in the kitchen.

(It isn't quite true that Jim is the only one who can break into this flat. He's just the only one who ever does. Usually.)

Irene Adler is drawing a breath to say hello as she enters the room, but she pauses instantly as she picks up on the atmosphere. Something is going on.

She cocks her head and stays silent, waiting to see what it is.

[searchingfordistraction]

Jim opens his eyes, looking up at Irene.

Her hair is up in her preferred style, sleek and neatly-formed and assisted by several discreetly placed bobby pins.

A tendril of it loosens and falls as one of the pins slips out, then floats serenely across the room into Jim's waiting hand.

"That," he says.

[missnicegirl]

"...You got it!" she says, grinning and bouncing up and down. "It must've been because I did magic here! I guess it's transmissible or something? Jim, that's so cool!"

Her tea darts out of the way so she can hug him in celebration.

[searchingfordistraction]

He reaches down with one arm to hug her back, saying,

"It's been just out of reach since we rescued Jenny. I was hoping a visit from you might tip it over the edge."

[missnicegirl]

"Try flying," she suggests as she steps back. "But don't try fireballs because this is a really nice apartment and they kind of get everywhere. Flying's just like telekinesis except the center's different."

Turning to Irene at last: "Hi! You're Irene, right? I'm Matilda."

[catslash_rp]

"Lovely to meet you," Irene says warmly.

"And here I was afraid I would miss all the fun."

[searchingfordistraction]

He can feel immediately what Matilda means about the center, but it's still significantly more difficult than the bobby pin had been. He is a bit heavier, after all, not to mention being considerably more complex physically. He only manages to raise himself a couple inches, for a few seconds, but that doesn't bother him.

He'll just need to practice.

[catslash_rp]

(It's still more than enough to make Moran mutter,

"Oh, Christ, this is all we bloody need.")

[missnicegirl]

Matilda looks at Moran, looks at Jim, looks at Irene, and giggles.

"I could try to give you magic, too," she offers nobly.

[catslash_rp]

Moran visibly searches for the most appropriate way to say oh fuck no; Irene smiles and says,

"I think I'll siphon mine off Jim. Speaking of -" She levels a look at Jim, holding her hand up. "I'll have that back, if you don't mind."

Obligingly, he floats the pin back to her. Their eyes meet as she fixes her hair, the kind of quick and knowing look only the best of friends can share.

Sherlock Holmes had best brace himself, because this is one hell of a game changer.

[missnicegirl]

She retrieves her tea out of midair and decides not to ask what they're planning, because the answer is probably not a rain of bunnies.