#mtp moriarty

The kettle clicked off at precisely 6:47 AM, three minutes later than usual. William James Moriarty noted this with the same detached observation he applied to most things in his life  -- a fact catalogued and filed away, neither particularly important nor entirely dismissible. The heating element was likely wearing down. He'd need to replace it within the month.

He poured the boiling water over the tea bag in his mug  -- plain white ceramic, no adornment  -- and watched the amber color bloom and spread. Earl Grey. Always Earl Grey in the morning. The routine was comforting in its predictability, a scaffolding that held up the architecture of his days.

The flat was quiet. It was always quiet.

William carried his tea to the small dining table positioned near the window overlooking Baker Street. The morning light was grey and thin, typical for London in October. Below, the street was beginning its daily awakening  -- a jogger in neon trainers, a man walking three small dogs that tangled their leads around his legs, the newsagent across the way rolling up his security shutter with a metallic clatter that echoed up to the second floor.

He opened his laptop and began reviewing his lesson plans for the day while he sipped his tea. One year would be continuing with quadratic equations. Another had their mock exams coming up; he needed to prepare additional revision materials for those struggling with integration. The younger children -- well, year 9 was always a challenge. Keeping thirteen year olds engaged with algebraic expressions required creativity he wasn't certain he possessed, but he managed. He always managed.

His phone buzzed against the table. William glanced at the screen.

Louis - St. Bart's Hospital

His chest tightened, that familiar clench of anxiety that had become so constant he barely registered it anymore. He unlocked the phone.

“Temp spiked again last night. They're adjusting the antibiotics. Don't worry. I'm fine.”

William read the message three times. Louis always said he was fine. Louis had been saying he was fine for two years now, through diagnosis and treatment and relapse and the endless cycle of hospital admissions that had become their new normal.

He typed back: “I'll visit after work. Do you need anything?”

The reply came quickly: “Just company. Bring the chess set?”

“Of course.”

William set the phone down and stared at his tea. The surface had gone still, a perfect mirror reflecting the ceiling light. He should eat something. Toast, perhaps. He wasn't hungry, but he'd learned that skipping meals led to headaches by midday, and he couldn't afford to be anything less than fully present for his students.

The toaster was older than the kettle, a relic from when he'd first moved into this flat several years ago. It had been Albert who'd helped him move in, back when Albert still made time for such things. Before the government position that consumed all his waking hours, before the distance between them had grown from mere physical miles to something far more insurmountable.

William ate his toast standing at the counter, scrolling through emails on his phone. A message from Sebastian Moran about the Year 11 football team's upcoming match. A reminder from Fred Porlock about the staff meeting scheduled for Thursday. An automated email from the hospital about visiting hours and parking validation.

Nothing from Albert.

He washed his mug and plate, dried them, and put them away. The kitchen was immaculate, everything in its place. The whole flat was like that -- tidy to the point of sterility. No clutter, no mess, no evidence that anyone actually lived here beyond the most basic necessities. Sometimes William wondered what someone would think if they walked in. Would they be able to tell anything about him from these rooms? Or would they see only absence, the negative space where a life should be?

At 7:30, he gathered his things. Leather messenger bag, already packed with marked homework and his lesson planner. Coat from the hook by the door. Keys. Wallet. Phone. The same inventory every morning, the same order, the same smooth execution of routine.

The hallway outside his flat was narrow and carpeted in a burgundy pattern that had probably been fashionable in the 1980s. There were only two flats on this floor -- his own, 221c, and the one directly opposite, 221b. That flat had been empty for three months now, ever since the previous tenant, an elderly woman named Ms. Hudson who actually lived downstairs but had used it for storage, had finally cleared it out to rent properly.

William had grown accustomed to the silence from across the hall. He wondered, sometimes, what sort of person would eventually move in. Whether they'd be loud. Whether they'd host parties that kept him awake. Whether he'd have to make awkward small talk in the hallway.

He locked his door and headed downstairs, his footsteps muffled by the worn carpet.

Durham Secondary School was a forty minute commute by Tube -- Northern Line to King's Cross, then the Piccadilly Line to Manor House, then a fifteen minute walk. William had the timing down to a science. He could make it door to door in exactly forty-three minutes if the trains ran on schedule, which they did approximately seventy percent of the time.

Today was a seventy-percent day.

He arrived at the school at 8:35, giving him twenty-five minutes before the first bell. The building was a sprawling brick structure from the 1960s, all hard angles and narrow windows, surrounded by a concrete yard where students were already beginning to congregate in their tribal clusters. The sixth-formers by the bike racks, too cool to acknowledge the younger years. The Year 7s huddled nervously near the entrance, still new enough to be intimidated by everything. The Year 9s and 10s scattered across the yard in constantly shifting social configurations that William had long since given up trying to understand.

"Morning, Liam!" Fred Porlock appeared at his elbow as William crossed the yard. Fred taught English and had an inexhaustible supply of energy that William found both admirable and exhausting. "Ready for another thrilling day of molding young minds?"

"As ready as ever," William replied, offering a small smile. Fred was kind, and William appreciated that, even if he found the man's enthusiasm somewhat baffling.

"Staff meeting Thursday, don't forget. Apparently, we're discussing the new safeguarding protocols. Again." Fred rolled his eyes. "As if we didn't just do mandatory training on that last month."

"I'll be there."

"How's your brother doing? Louis, right?"

The question was well meaning. Fred was always well meaning. But William felt the familiar weight settle over him anyway, the heaviness that came with translating Louis's situation into words suitable for casual conversation.

"He's managing. Thank you for asking."

Fred's expression softened with sympathy that made William want to retreat. "If you ever need to talk, mate, I'm around. I know it can't be easy."

"I appreciate that."

They parted ways at the entrance, Fred heading toward the English department and William climbing the stairs to the third floor where the maths classrooms were located. The stairwell smelled like industrial cleaner and adolescent body spray, a combination that had become synonymous with his working life.

The maths office was a cramped room lined with filing cabinets and mismatched desks, a shared space for the department's six teachers. Sebastian Moran was already there, feet up on his desk, marking homework with a red pen and an expression of deep skepticism.

"Morning, William," Sebastian said without looking up. "Fair warning: Year 9 Set 3 didn't do the homework. Again. I'm about ready to give them all detention for the rest of the term."

William set his bag down at his own desk. "That seems excessive. It’s not like anybody expected them to do it, anyways."

"Does it, though?" Sebastian finally looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Does it really?"

Sebastian was the head of the PE department but taught some lower level maths classes to fill out his schedule. He approached mathematics with the same aggressive pragmatism he brought to football coaching, which was to say, with limited patience and a firm belief that effort mattered more than natural ability. William didn't entirely disagree, though his methods were considerably gentler.

"Perhaps a conversation about time management would be more productive," William suggested, pulling out his lesson planner.

"You're too soft on them," Sebastian said, but there was no real criticism in it. They'd had this conversation before. It was almost routine at this point, another small ritual in the structure of William's days.

The bell rang at 9:00, a shrill electronic sound that sent a Pavlovian jolt through the building. William gathered his materials for first period -- Year 12, Further Maths, his most advanced class and the one he found most rewarding -- and headed down the hall to his classroom.

The students filtered in with the characteristic mixture of enthusiasm and exhaustion that marked sixth-formers. These were the ones who'd chosen to be here, who'd opted into additional maths beyond the standard curriculum, and William felt a particular responsibility toward them. They reminded him of himself at that age, hungry for knowledge, for patterns, for the elegant logic of mathematical proof.

"Morning, Mr. Moriarty," said Charlotte, sliding into her usual seat in the front row. She was brilliant, destined for Cambridge or Oxford, already thinking three steps ahead of wherever the lesson was going. She reminded him of himself, somehow.

"Good morning, Charlotte. Did you manage the problem set from last week?"

"Most of it. I got stuck on question seven."

"Excellent. We'll go over it today."

The lesson proceeded smoothly. William moved through the material with practiced ease, writing equations on the whiteboard, fielding questions, guiding students through the logical progressions that would lead them to understanding. This was where he felt most competent, most useful. Here, there were right answers and wrong answers, clear paths from problem to solution. Here, he could help.

The morning passed in a blur of classes. Year 12, then Year 10, then a free period he spent preparing materials and responding to emails. Lunch was a sandwich from the canteen eaten at his desk while he marked homework. Year 9 after lunch -- predictably chaotic, but he managed to get through simultaneous equations with minimal disruption. Then Year 11, then finally Year 10 again for the last period of the day.

By the time the final bell rang at 3:30, William felt the familiar exhaustion settling into his bones. Not the exhaustion of physical labor, but the particular weariness that came from maintaining focus and patience for six and a half hours straight, from being "on" for every interaction, from carrying the weight of responsibility for dozens of young people's education.

He packed up his things slowly, in no particular rush. Sebastian had already left, off to football practice. Fred stopped by briefly to confirm something about Thursday's meeting, then disappeared. The building gradually emptied, the noise level dropping from cacophony to murmur to silence.

William left the school at 4:15 and headed not toward the Tube station, but in the opposite direction, toward the bus stop that would take him to St. Bartholomew's Hospital.

The hospital had its own particular atmosphere, distinct from anywhere else William spent time. The smell of antiseptic and floor wax. The fluorescent lighting that made everyone look slightly ill. The quiet that wasn't really quiet, underlaid with the constant hum of machinery and distant voices and the soft squeak of rubber-soled shoes on linoleum.

William had been coming here so often over the past two years that he knew the route to Louis's ward without thinking. Through the main entrance, past the reception desk where the volunteers sat, left at the corridor with the faded watercolor paintings of the English countryside, up to the third floor via the east elevator, through the double doors into Ward 3B.

Louis was in a semi-private room, though the other bed was currently empty. He was sitting up when William entered, laptop balanced on the adjustable table, looking pale but alert. At twenty-three, Louis was five years younger than William, though the illness had carved a gauntness into his features that made the age difference seem greater.

"You came," Louis said, smiling. It was a genuine smile, the kind that made William's chest ache with a complicated mixture of love and guilt and helplessness.

"Of course I came." William set his bag down and pulled up the visitor's chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Bored. The usual." Louis closed his laptop. "The new antibiotics are making me nauseous, but they say that's normal. Should know in a few days if they're working."

William nodded. He'd learned the language of illness over these two years, the vocabulary of blood counts and infection markers and treatment protocols. He'd learned to read between the lines of what Louis said, to hear the things his brother didn't want to worry him with.

"I brought the chess set," William said, pulling the magnetic travel set from his bag.

Louis's face brightened. "Excellent. Prepare to lose."

They set up the board on the adjustable table, and for the next hour, William let himself focus on nothing but the game. Chess was another language they shared, one they'd learned together as children. Louis played aggressively, always had, favoring bold gambits and sacrificial attacks. William played defensively, building careful structures, looking for the long game.

Today, Louis won in thirty-seven moves, a knight fork that William should have seen coming but didn't.

"You're distracted," Louis observed, resetting the pieces.

"I'm always distracted when I play you. You're better than I am."

"Liar." But Louis looked pleased. "What's on your mind?"

William considered deflecting, but Louis had always been able to see through him. "Just thinking about work. And wondering when Albert might visit."

Louis's expression flickered with something -- disappointment, maybe, or resignation. "He's busy, William. You know how it is."

"I know." William moved a pawn. "Doesn't mean I can't wish it were different."

They played another game, which William won through sheer patience, grinding down Louis's position until the endgame was inevitable. By then, Louis was flagging, the exhaustion showing in the way he leaned back against his pillows.

"You should rest," William said, packing up the chess set.

"I've been resting for weeks. I'm sick of resting."

"Nevertheless."

Louis sighed but didn't argue. "Will you come tomorrow?"

"I have a staff meeting after school, but I'll come after that. Around six?"

"I'll be here." A wry smile. "Not like I'm going anywhere."

William stood, shouldering his bag. He wanted to say something meaningful, something that would convey the depth of his concern and love and fear, but the words tangled in his throat the way they always did. Instead, he just squeezed Louis's shoulder gently.

"Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

The journey back to Baker Street felt longer than usual, though the Tube was no more delayed than normal. William felt hollowed out, scraped clean by the effort of maintaining composure, of being strong for Louis when what he wanted was to scream at the unfairness of it all.

But screaming wouldn't help. Nothing he did seemed to help. So he sat on the Tube and stared at his own reflection in the dark window and thought about quadratic equations, because at least those made sense.

He arrived back at Baker Street just after seven. The evening had turned properly dark, the streetlights casting orange pools on the pavement. William let himself into the building and climbed the stairs to the second floor, already thinking about the marking he needed to do, the lesson plans for tomorrow, the small tasks that would fill his evening until it was time to sleep.

He was fishing his keys from his pocket when he noticed the noise.

Voices from across the hall. The sound of something heavy being dragged across a floor. A laugh, bright and sharp.

Someone was moving into 221b.

William paused, key halfway to the lock. He should probably introduce himself. That was the neighborly thing to do. But he was tired, and the thought of making small talk with strangers felt insurmountable.

Tomorrow, he decided. He'd introduce himself tomorrow.

He let himself into his flat and closed the door on the sounds from across the hall, sealing himself back into his familiar silence.

The problem with moving, Sherlock Holmes reflected as he attempted to navigate a bookshelf through a doorway clearly not designed for such furniture, was that it required one to acknowledge the sheer volume of possessions one had accumulated. And possessions were tedious. They required organization, maintenance, and transportation. They anchored you to physical space in ways that were profoundly inconvenient.

"Sherlock, for God's sake, tilt it the other way," John Watson said from behind the bookshelf, his voice strained with effort. "Your left. No, your actual left."

"I know which direction is left, John."

"Could've fooled me."

They managed to wrestle the bookshelf through the doorway and into what would ostensibly be the living room of 221b Baker Street. The flat was larger than Sherlock's previous studio in Southwark -- two bedrooms, a shared living space, a kitchen that was more than just a hot plate and a mini fridge. It was also significantly cheaper than his studio had been, thanks to the dual occupancy arrangement.

Sherlock had resisted the idea of a flatmate initially. He valued his solitude, his ability to work at odd hours without consideration for others, his freedom to conduct experiments that might be considered unconventional by those with limited imagination. But the economics were undeniable. London rent was extortionate, and his income as a consulting detective was irregular at best. When John had mentioned needing a place after his previous living situation had fallen through, the practical solution had presented itself.

Besides, John was tolerable. More than tolerable, actually. They'd met two years ago through a mutual acquaintance, and had fallen into an easy friendship built on John's unflappable nature and Sherlock's appreciation for someone who could keep up with his conversational leaps. John didn't mind Sherlock's eccentricities, and Sherlock didn't mind John's tendency toward conventional morality. It was a functional arrangement.

"Where do you want this?" John asked, hands on his hips, surveying the bookshelf.

"Against that wall. No, the other wall. Actually, it doesn't matter. Wherever there's space."

John gave him a look that Sherlock had learned to interpret as fond exasperation. "You're the one who insisted on bringing it."

"It's a perfectly good bookshelf."

"It's held together with duct tape and…hope."

"Your point?"

They'd been moving boxes and furniture up the narrow staircase for the past three hours. Mrs. Hudson, as enthusiastic as always, had provided tea and biscuits and a running commentary on the building's history that Sherlock had mostly tuned out. The important facts: rent was due on the first of the month, no smoking inside (a rule Sherlock had already decided he'd break occasionally), and the building was generally quiet.

"Quiet is good," John had said. "After the last place I stayed in, quiet sounds like paradise."

John's previous flat had been above a chicken shop that operated until 3 AM on weekends. Sherlock's studio had been next to a couple who fought with operatic intensity. Quiet was, indeed, an improvement.

Sherlock moved to the window and looked out at Baker Street below. It was a good location -- central enough to be convenient, but not so central as to be prohibitively expensive. The street had the worn, comfortable look of a neighborhood that had been there forever and would continue being there long after its current occupants were gone. A newsagent across the way. A café two doors down. A Tube station within walking distance.

"This'll be good," John said, coming to stand beside him. "Fresh start and all that."

Sherlock glanced at his friend. John had been through a rough patch recently -- a relationship ended badly, some trouble at the surgery where he worked, the general malaise that seemed to afflict people in their late twenties when they realized their lives hadn't turned out quite as planned. Not that Sherlock understood that particular anxiety. His life was exactly as chaotic as he'd expected it to be.

"Fresh start," Sherlock echoed, though he wasn't entirely sure what he was starting fresh from. His life was a continuous thread of cases and observations and the endless puzzle of human behavior. Geography didn't change that.

They returned to unloading the van they'd rented. Sherlock had fewer possessions than John -- his entire life fit into a dozen boxes and a few pieces of furniture. John had the accumulated detritus of someone who'd lived in the same place for three years: kitchen equipment, decorative items, a television that Sherlock found baffling (why watch television when reality was infinitely more interesting?), and approximately a million books.

"I thought you were a doctor, not a librarian," Sherlock said, hauling another box labeled BOOKS 4 BEDROOM.

"I like to read. Sue me."

"Reading is fine. Owning physical copies when digital versions exist is inefficient."

"You literally have a bookshelf."

"For reference materials. That's different."

They worked in companionable silence for a while, the rhythm of carrying and unpacking creating its own momentum. Sherlock's mind wandered as his body went through the motions. He catalogued details about the building, the neighborhood, the other occupants. Mrs. Hudson downstairs -- widow, late sixties, arthritic left hip, had lived here for forty years. The flat across the hall -- 221c -- was occupied, based on the doormat and the faint smell of Earl Grey tea that lingered in the hallway. Single occupant, probably male, organized, kept regular hours. Sherlock could tell with ease.

"I'm going to grab the last boxes from the van," John said, heading for the door. "Try not to reorganize everything while I'm gone."

"I make no promises."

Alone in the flat, Sherlock took a moment to actually look at the space. The walls were cream colored, scuffed in places. The floors were hardwood, worn but solid. The ceilings were high, with ornate cornicing that suggested the building's Victorian origins. It had character, this place. Potential.

His phone buzzed. A text from Lestrade: “Got a case if you're interested. Suspicious death in Brixton. Probably nothing but thought I'd ask.”

Sherlock smiled. Greg Lestrade was a DI at Scotland Yard and one of the few police officers who actually appreciated Sherlock's assistance rather than resenting it. They'd worked together on a dozen cases over the past year, and Sherlock had to admit he enjoyed the challenge.

He texted back: “Send me the details.”

John returned with the final boxes, looking exhausted. "That's everything. I'm knackered."

"Lestrade has a case."

"Of course he does." John set the boxes down with a thud. "Can it wait until we've at least unpacked the essentials? Like, I don't know, the kettle?"

"The kettle is essential?"

"Yes, Sherlock. The kettle is essential. Some of us require regular tea consumption to function."

Sherlock waved a hand dismissively but helped John locate the box with the kitchen items. They set up the kettle, found mugs, located the tea bags, vaguely scattered containers of milk powder and bags of sugar in random locations around the kitchen. John made tea with the focused attention of someone performing a sacred ritual, and Sherlock watched with amusement.

"You're laughing at me," John said without turning around.

"I'm not laughing."

"You're internally laughing. I can tell."

The tea was ready, and they sat on the sofa -- one of John's contributions, a comfortable if aesthetically uninspiring piece -- and surveyed their new domain. Boxes everywhere, furniture haphazardly placed, the organized chaos of a space in transition.

"We should probably introduce ourselves to the neighbors," John said. "Be polite and all that."

Sherlock considered this. Social niceties were tedious and unnecessary, but John was right that it was conventional to introduce oneself. And -- in all honesty -- he was curious about the occupant of 221c, if only to confirm his deductions.

"Fine. But you do the talking."

"Why do I do the talking?"

"Because you're better at it. I tend to offend people."

"You tend to deduce their entire life history within thirty seconds and announce it like you're reading a grocery list. That's what offends people."

"I'm simply observing."

"You're simply being a git."

They finished their tea, and John stood, stretching. "Come on, then. Let's go and be neighborly before I lose my nerve."

They crossed the narrow hallway to 221c. The door was plain, painted the same cream as the walls, with a small brass number plate. John knocked, a polite three-rap pattern.

No answer.

John knocked again. "Maybe they're out."

"No, they're in," Sherlock said. "I can hear movement."

"Maybe they don't want to answer."

"Why wouldn't they want to answer?"

"Because it's eight o'clock at night and they don't know us?"

Fair point. Sherlock was about to suggest they try again tomorrow when the door opened.

The man who stood in the doorway was not what Sherlock had expected.

Sherlock's brain, which processed information in rapid-fire bursts, catalogued details automatically: Late twenties, quite tall, slender build, blond hair neatly combed, red eyes suggesting recent crying or eye strain -- likely the former based on the slight puffiness, wearing casual clothes but well-maintained, posture perfect despite obvious fatigue, hands showing no calluses or staining except a small ink mark on the right middle finger suggesting frequent writing, faint smell of hospital antiseptic clinging to clothes, visiting someone recently -- someone close based on the emotional distress, and --

"Can I help you?" the man asked. His voice was soft, cultured, with a careful politeness that suggested someone who'd learned to mask whatever he was actually feeling.

John, bless him, stepped in smoothly. "Hi, sorry to bother you. We're your new neighbors from across the hall. We just moved in today. I'm John Watson, and this is Sherlock Holmes."

The man's expression shifted slightly, the polite mask settling more firmly into place. "William Moriarty. Pleased to meet you."

He extended a hand, and John shook it. Sherlock did the same, noting the firm grip, the slight tremor that suggested stress or exhaustion or both.

"We won't keep you," John continued. "Just wanted to introduce ourselves. Let you know that we're here if you need anything."

"That's very kind. Thank you." William's gaze flicked between them, and Sherlock saw the assessment happening, the same cataloguing he'd just done but perhaps less detailed. "I hope you'll be comfortable here. It's a quiet building."

"That's what we're hoping for," John said with a smile.

There was a brief pause, the kind that signaled the end of a polite exchange. William was clearly waiting for them to leave, and John was clearly picking up on that.

"Well, we'll let you get back to your evening," John said. "Nice to meet you, William."

"You as well."

William closed the door gently, and Sherlock and John returned to their own flat.

"Seems nice," John said, closing their door behind them.

"He's a teacher," Sherlock said, moving back to the window. "Mathematics, probably secondary school level. Has a sibling…younger, I suspect, who's seriously ill, currently hospitalized. Lives alone. Extremely isolated, possibly depressed. Hasn't had a visitor to his flat in weeks. Highly intelligent but underutilized in his current position."

John stared at him. "You got all that from a thirty-second conversation?"

"It was obvious."

"It was not obvious, Sherlock. That's not what obvious means."

Sherlock shrugged. "The ink stain on his finger is from marking papers -- the pattern of the ink print suggests mathematical notation. He writes a lot, sure, but not enough to be mistaken as an essay teacher of some kind. There would be a more prominent indent on his hand. The hospital smell and the redness around his eyes indicate he's just come from visiting someone, and the depth of emotional distress suggests a close family member. He's wearing a ring on his right hand that's too large for him -- inherited, probably from a parent, suggesting loss. His flat is directly opposite ours and I heard only one set of footsteps, so he lives alone. The isolation is evident in his body language and the way he interacted with us -- polite but with no genuine interest in connection. And the intelligence is obvious from the way he assessed us, the vocabulary he used, the precision of his speech."

John was quiet for a moment. Then: "The sibling thing?"

"He had a chess set in his coat pocket. Magnetic travel set, the kind you'd bring to a hospital. Combined with the other factors, it suggests regular visits to someone who's well enough to play chess but ill enough to be hospitalised long term. Sibling is most likely, given his age and the absence of a wedding ring. Probably younger due to the intensity of the emotional distress. He likely feels responsible in a parental manner."

"Christ," John muttered. "Poor bloke."

Sherlock turned back to the window. Below, Baker Street was settling into its evening rhythm. Lights in windows, people returning home from work, the ordinary flow of ordinary lives.

"He's interesting," Sherlock said.

"Interesting how?"

"Just interesting."

John gave him a look that Sherlock didn't bother to interpret. "Right. Well, I'm going to unpack my bedroom. Try not to deduce anyone else's tragic backstory before I get back."

"No promises."

John disappeared into one of the bedrooms, and Sherlock remained at the window, thinking about the man across the hall. William Moriarty. Mathematics teacher. Lonely. Intelligent. Sad.

Interesting.

William leaned against his door after closing it, eyes shut, heart beating faster than it should be.

New neighbours. Of course. He'd known someone would move in eventually. He just hadn't expected it to be today, hadn't expected to have to navigate social interaction when he was already wrung out from the hospital visit.

He took a breath, then another, willing himself back to equilibrium.

The two men had seemed nice enough. John Watson -- the shorter one, stocky build, kind eyes, doctor or nurse based on the way he carried himself and the faint smell of antiseptic that matched William's own. Sherlock Holmes -- taller, dark curly hair, striking features, eyes that saw too much. His name seemed vaguely familiar in William’s mind. That one was dangerous, William thought. The kind of person who noticed things, who looked beneath surfaces.

William pushed off from the door and moved back to his laptop, which he'd left open on the dining table. He'd been in the middle of preparing tomorrow's lessons when the knock had come. Year 10, quadratic equations. He needed to finish the worksheet.

But he couldn't focus. His mind kept drifting back to the encounter in the hallway, to the way Sherlock Holmes had looked at him. Had he noticed William's red eyes? The exhaustion? Had he drawn conclusions?

It doesn't matter, William told himself firmly. They're just neighbors. You'll exchange polite greetings in the hallway and nothing more.

He forced his attention back to the worksheet, typing out problems with mechanical precision. If x² + 5x + 6 = 0, solve for x. Factor the following expression. Graph the parabola.

Mathematics was soothing in its objectivity. Numbers didn't care if you were tired or sad or lonely. They simply were, following their immutable rules, creating patterns that held true regardless of human emotion.

William worked until his eyes burned, until the worksheet was complete and printed and filed in his bag for tomorrow. Then he made himself a simple dinner -- pasta eaten standing at the counter while scrolling through news on his phone. He washed the single pot and single plate and single fork, dried them, and put them away.

The flat felt especially empty tonight. Or perhaps it always felt this empty, and he was simply more aware of it now, knowing that across the hall there were two people, conversation, life.

He thought about Louis, alone in his hospital room. He should have stayed longer. But Louis had been tired, and William had his own limits, and sometimes the weight of it all was just too much.

He showered, changed into pyjamas, brushed his teeth. The bathroom mirror showed him his own face -- pale and drawn -- the face of someone who wasn't sleeping enough or eating enough or doing any of the things one was supposed to do to maintain basic physical health. He looked away.

In bed, William tried to read, but the words swam on the page. He could hear sounds from across the hall -- footsteps, voices, the muffled thump of furniture being moved. His new neighbors, settling in. Creating a home.

He wondered what that felt like, to share space with someone by choice rather than necessity. He'd lived with Albert and Louis growing up, but that was different. Family was an obligation, blood ties that bound you whether you wanted them or not. But to choose someone, to say "I want to build a life alongside you" -- that was something William had never experienced.

Had never really wanted to experience it, if he was honest. Relationships required vulnerability, required letting someone see you fully, and William had spent so long constructing his careful facades that he wasn't sure there was anything genuine left underneath.

His phone lit up with another message. Louis: “Stop worrying about me and go to sleep.”

William smiled despite himself. Louis always knew.

“I'm not worrying.”

“Liar. I can feel you worrying from here. I'm fine. The nurses are taking good care of me. Sleep.”

“Goodnight, Louis.”

“Goodnight, William.”

William set his phone on the nightstand and turned off the lamp. In the darkness, the sounds from across the hall seemed louder. Voices -- John and Sherlock, discussing something he couldn't quite make out. A laugh. The creak of floorboards.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, tried not to think about the loneliness that sat in his chest like a stone, tried not to wonder what it would be like to have someone to talk to at the end of a long day.

Eventually, exhaustion won out over rumination, and he drifted off to the sound of his neighbors' voices through the wall.

Sherlock didn't sleep much as a general rule. His mind was too active, always processing, always working through problems. Tonight was no exception, though the problem wasn't a case -- it was the puzzle of their neighbour.

William Moriarty.

The name itself was interesting. Literary, almost. Moriarty. Where had he heard that before?

Sherlock lay on his bed -- mattress on the floor, he hadn't bothered with a frame -- and stared at the ceiling, turning over the details he'd observed. The man was clearly intelligent, that much was obvious. The precision of his speech, the way he'd assessed them, the controlled nature of his responses. But there was something else, something beneath the surface that Sherlock couldn't quite grasp.

Loneliness. That was part of it. But not just ordinary loneliness -- the kind that came from circumstance. This was something deeper, more fundamental. The loneliness of someone who'd forgotten how to connect, or perhaps had never learned in the first place.

Sherlock found himself curious in a way he rarely was about people. People were generally predictable, their motivations transparent, their behaviors following obvious patterns. But William Moriarty had layers, contradictions. The careful politeness masking genuine distress. The intelligence underutilized in a secondary school teaching position. The isolation despite living in central London, surrounded by millions of people.

Why?

His phone buzzed. 

Lestrade: “Case details attached. Let me know if you want in.”

Sherlock opened the attachment and skimmed the report. Suspicious death, possible homicide, victim found in his flat in Brixton. Blunt force trauma to the head, no obvious signs of forced entry. Police were treating it as murder but had no leads.

Interesting, but not compelling enough to drag him out tonight. Tomorrow would do. Sherlock’s cases had always been selective. If he didn’t feel it would take genuine contemplation to solve them, he simply wouldn’t partake in the ordeal.

He heard John moving around in the other bedroom, the creak of bedsprings as his flatmate settled in for the night. John would be asleep within minutes—he had that enviable ability to simply turn off his brain and rest. Sherlock had never understood it.

His thoughts drifted back to William. The chess set in his pocket. The hospital visits. The sibling who was ill.

Sherlock knew what it was like to have a sibling, though his relationship with Mycroft was complicated at best. Mycroft was seven years older, worked for the British government in some capacity he refused to specify, and had always treated Sherlock with a mixture of exasperation and grudging affection. They saw each other rarely, communicated mostly through cryptic text messages, and maintained a relationship that was more intellectual sparring than genuine emotional connection.

But if Mycroft were ill, seriously ill, would Sherlock visit him every day? Would he carry a chess set in his pocket, would he cry in private, would he wear his grief so openly that a stranger could see it? Maybe Sherlock was the only one perceptive enough to notice other things, but the aura of malaise surrounding William wasn't exactly subtle.

He didn't know. He'd never had to find out.

The flat was quiet now, the sounds from across the hall having ceased. William Moriarty was probably asleep, or trying to be. Sherlock wondered what he dreamed about. Mathematics, probably. Equations and proofs and the elegant logic of numbers.

Or perhaps he dreamed about his sibling, about hospitals and illness and the slow erosion of hope.

Sherlock turned onto his side, pulling the duvet up. He should sleep. Tomorrow would be busy -- unpacking, organising, possibly the case in Brixton if it proved interesting enough later on.

But his mind kept circling back to the man across the hall, to the puzzle he represented.

Interesting.

The next morning followed the same routine. Kettle at 6:47, tea, toast, lesson plans reviewed. The only difference was the awareness of presence across the hall -- the sound of a shower running, voices, the slam of a door.

William left for work at 7:30, as always. As he locked his door, the door to 221b opened, and John Watson emerged, looking considerably more put-together than he had the previous evening.

"Morning," John said with a friendly smile. "Off to work?"

"Yes. You as well?"

"Yeah, I'm a doctor at a surgery in Marylebone. Just a short commute."

They walked down the stairs together, an awkward parallel journey that William wasn't sure how to navigate. Small talk had never been his strength.

"How long have you lived here?" John asked, filling the silence.

"Four years."

"Do you like the area?"

"It's convenient."

They reached the ground floor, and William felt a wash of relief. "Have a good day," he said, moving toward the exit.

"You too, William."

The commute, the school, the lessons -- all proceeded as normal. But William found his mind wandering more than usual, drifting back to the encounter in the stairwell, to the easy friendliness John had displayed. That was how normal people interacted, he supposed. Casual conversation, genuine interest, the small connections that built into relationships.

William had forgotten how to do that. Or perhaps he'd never known.

"Mr. Moriarty?" Charlotte's voice pulled him back to the present. "Are you alright?"

He was in the middle of Year 12, halfway through explaining a proof. The entire class was looking at him with varying degrees of concern.

"Yes, sorry. Where were we?"

"The third line of the proof."

"Right. Yes." He turned back to the board, forcing his focus back to the mathematics. This was what mattered. This was what he was good at.

The day continued. Lessons, marking, a brief conversation with Sebastian about the Year 9s' persistent refusal to complete homework (and occasional attempts of “What homework, Sir? You didn’t give us homework.”). Lunch at his desk. More lessons.

At 3:30, William packed up and headed to the hospital, the same route as always. Louis was awake and in better spirits, the new antibiotics apparently working. They played chess, talked about nothing important, and William felt the knot in his chest loosen slightly.

"You seem distracted," Louis observed, not for the first time.

"New neighbors moved in yesterday."

"Oh? What are they like?"

William considered how to answer. "They seem nice. One's a doctor. The other..." He trailed off, unsure how to describe Sherlock Holmes.

"The other?" Louis prompted, eyebrow raised.

"I'm not sure what he does. He's... observant."

Louis smiled, the expression knowing in a way that made William uncomfortable. "Observant. That's an interesting way to describe someone."

"It's accurate."

"I'm sure it is."

They played another game, and William tried not to think about why he'd mentioned his new neighbours at all, why Sherlock Holmes had stuck in his mind enough to warrant bringing up.

He left the hospital at six, as the autumn darkness was settling over the city. The journey home felt shorter tonight, or perhaps he was just less exhausted. He stopped at the Tesco Metro near Baker Street and picked up groceries -- milk, bread, eggs, vegetables he'd probably let go bad in the fridge drawer but bought anyway out of some vague sense that he should be eating better.

When he climbed the stairs to the second floor, he could hear music coming from 221b. Something classical, violin. It was actually quite good, the melody complex and melancholic.

William let himself into his flat and unpacked his groceries, the music from across the hall providing an unexpected soundtrack. He found himself pausing to listen, caught by a particularly beautiful phrase.

Someone in 221b played violin. John? Or Sherlock?

He made dinner, a measly attempt at something more substantial than pasta, and ate at the table while reviewing homework. The music continued, stopping and starting, the same passage repeated with slight variations. Someone practicing, then. Working through a difficult section.

It was nice, William realized. The sound of life from across the hall. Less lonely than the silence he was used to.

His phone buzzed. 

Albert: “How is Louis?”

William stared at the message. The first contact from his older brother in three weeks, and it was a perfunctory question via text. He almost had half a mind to ask why he didn’t ask Louis directly.

“He's managing. New antibiotics seem to be helping.”

No response. William waited five minutes, then ten, then gave up and returned to his marking.

The violin music stopped around nine. William heard voices—John and Sherlock, discussing something—and then silence.

He finished his marking, prepared tomorrow's lessons, showered, and went to bed. As he lay in the darkness, he thought about the music, about the way it had filled his flat with something other than emptiness.

Perhaps having neighbours wouldn't be so bad after all.

The Brixton case turned out to be exactly as interesting as Sherlock had hoped. The victim -- a banker named Howard Shilcott -- had been killed by his business partner over a disputed investment. The partner had tried to make it look like a robbery, but had made several obvious mistakes that Sherlock had spotted within minutes of arriving at the scene.

Lestrade had been grateful, if exasperated. "You could at least pretend it takes you more than five minutes to solve these things."

"Why would I do that?"

"Common courtesy?"

"Overrated."

Sherlock had returned to Baker Street in the early afternoon, somewhat energized by the mental stimulation. John was at work, so the flat was empty. Sherlock spent an hour organizing his things -- books on the shelves, laptop set up on the desk, his violin case placed carefully in the corner of his bedroom.

The violin. He hadn't played in weeks, too busy with the move and various cases. He took it out now, tuning it carefully, feeling the familiar weight of it in his hands.

Music was one of the few things that quieted his mind, that allowed him to focus on something other than the constant barrage of observations and deductions. When he played, the world narrowed to just the notes, the bow, the strings.

He started with scales, warming up, then moved into a Bach partita. The muscle memory was still there, his fingers finding the positions automatically. He worked through the first movement, then the second, losing himself in the complexity of the counterpoint.

He was halfway through the third movement when he became aware of someone listening.

Not John -- John was still at work. Someone else. Someone in the building.

Sherlock stopped playing and moved to the door, opening it silently. The hallway was empty, but he could sense presence. He looked at the door to 221c.

William Moriarty was home. And he'd been listening.

Interesting.

Sherlock returned to his flat and picked up the violin again. This time, he chose something different -- a Paganini caprice, technically demanding, showy. If he had an audience, he might as well make it worthwhile.

He played for another hour, working through pieces he'd memorized years ago, letting the music flow without thinking too hard about it. It felt good, this. The physicality of it, the way it engaged both mind and body.

When John came home around six, Sherlock was still playing.

"That's lovely," John said, dropping his bag by the door. "Didn't know you played."

"There are many things you don't know about me."

"Clearly." John moved to the kitchen. "I'm making dinner. Want some?"

"Not hungry."

"You need to eat, Sherlock. Preferably something that doesn’t contain nicotine."

"Later."

John sighed but didn't push. Sherlock heard him clattering around in the kitchen, the sounds of cooking, the domestic routine that John seemed to find comforting.

Sherlock set down the violin and joined John in the kitchen. "Our neighbor plays chess."

John looked up from the vegetables he was chopping. "What?"

"William Moriarty. He plays chess. I heard him moving pieces last night -- the magnetic set, distinctive sound. He was probably reviewing a game or working through a problem."

"You heard him moving chess pieces through the wall."

"Yes."

"That's not normal, Sherlock."

"Normal is boring."

John shook his head, but he was smiling. "You're obsessed with this bloke."

"I'm not obsessed. I'm curious."

"Same thing, with you."

Was it? Sherlock considered this. He was curious about William Moriarty, certainly. The man was a puzzle, and Sherlock liked puzzles. But obsessed seemed like an overstatement.

"He was listening to me play," Sherlock said. "Earlier."

"How do you know?"

"I could sense it."

"You could sense it."

"Yes."

“Right. You could sense him listening to you play through the wall. Several layers of wall. You just know, right?” John glared sardonically.

“Yeah?”

John gave him a long look. "Maybe he just likes violin music."

"Maybe."

They ate dinner -- John's cooking was adequate, if uninspired -- and discussed the Brixton case. John was always interested in Sherlock's work, asked good questions, provided a useful sounding board, gave further inspiration. It was one of the things Sherlock appreciated about him.

After dinner, Sherlock found himself restless. The case was solved, the violin practice complete, and he had no other immediate projects. His mind needed occupation, needed something to work on.

He thought about William Moriarty. Mathematics teacher. Lonely. Intelligent. Sad.

"I'm going to introduce myself properly," Sherlock announced.

John looked up from the television he'd been setting up. "What?"

"To William. Our neighbor. I'm going to introduce myself properly."

"You already introduced yourself."

"That was perfunctory. This will be intentional."

"Sherlock, it's eight o'clock at night. Maybe let the man have his evening."

But Sherlock was already moving toward the door. He crossed the hallway and knocked on 221c.

A pause, then footsteps. The door opened, and William Moriarty stood there, looking surprised and slightly wary.

"Sherlock Holmes," William said. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine. I wanted to apologize if the violin was too loud earlier."

William's expression shifted, something softening in his features. "Not at all. It was beautiful. You're very talented."

"Thank you." Sherlock paused, suddenly uncertain. He'd come over here with some vague intention of... what? Conversation? Connection? He wasn't good at this, at the social niceties that came naturally to people like John.

"Did you need something?" William asked, not unkindly.

"Do you play chess?" The question came out before Sherlock had fully thought it through.

William blinked. "I... yes. Why?"

"I heard you moving pieces last night. I play as well. Thought you might be interested in a game sometime."

There was a long moment of silence. William was clearly trying to decide how to respond, weighing politeness against whatever his actual inclination was.

"That's very kind," William said finally. "Perhaps sometime."

It was a polite deflection, the kind of non-answer that meant "no" without actually saying it. Sherlock recognised it, had heard it countless times from people who found him too intense, too strange, too much.

"Of course," Sherlock said. "The offer stands."

He returned to his flat, feeling oddly disappointed. John looked up as he entered.

"How'd it go?"

"He said perhaps sometime."

"Which means?"

"Which means no."

John's expression was sympathetic. "Maybe he's just busy, mate. Or tired. Don't take it personally."

But Sherlock did take it personally, though he wouldn't admit it. He'd extended an olive branch, had tried to make a connection, and had been gently rebuffed.

Fine. He didn't need friends beyond John anyway. He had his work, his cases, his violin. That was enough.

He told himself this as he lay in bed that night, listening to the silence from across the hall.

It was enough.

William closed the door and leaned against it, heart racing.

Sherlock Holmes had just invited him to play chess.

Why?

The question circled in William's mind as he returned to his laptop, to the lesson plans he'd been working on. Why would a stranger, someone he'd met once for thirty seconds, invite him to play chess? How did he know? William still hadn’t completely processed the fact that Sherlock heard him playing chess through the walls.

Politeness? Unlikely. The invitation had seemed genuine, not perfunctory.

Loneliness? Possible. Sherlock and John had just moved in; perhaps they were looking to make connections in the building.

Or perhaps Sherlock was simply curious. That seemed most likely, given the intensity of his gaze, the way he'd looked at William like he was a problem to be solved.

William didn't want to be solved. He didn't want to be observed and analyzed and deduced. He wanted to be left alone in his careful routine, his structured life, his manageable loneliness.

Except.

Except the violin music had been beautiful. Except the invitation had sparked something in his chest, some small flicker of interest or hope or longing that he'd thought he'd successfully suppressed.

Except he was tired of being alone.

William pushed the thought away and focused on his work. Year 9 tomorrow, algebraic expressions. He needed to prepare a worksheet, something engaging enough to hold their attention.

But his mind kept drifting back to the encounter in the hallway, to Sherlock's unexpected invitation, to the possibility of connection that he'd reflexively rejected.

Perhaps sometime.

What a cowardly response. What a perfect encapsulation of his entire approach to life -- never saying yes, never saying no, always leaving himself an escape route.

His phone vibrated. 

Louis: “How was your day?”

William smiled despite his turbulent thoughts. ‘Fine. Yours?”

“Boring. Hospital food is terrible. Tell me something interesting.”

William considered. “My new neighbour plays the violin. He's very good.”

“Oh? Tell me more about this neighbour.”

“There's nothing to tell. He just moved in.”

“But he plays violin. And you noticed. That's something.”

William could practically hear Louis's teasing tone through the text. “It's not something. It's an observation.”

“If you say so.”

They texted back and forth for a while, the easy banter that had always characterized their relationship. Louis had a way of drawing William out, of making him feel less isolated even through the barrier of a phone screen.

“He invited me to play chess,” William typed before he could stop himself.

The response was immediate: “And you said?”

“Perhaps sometime.”

“William.”

“What?”

“You know what. Why didn't you say yes?”

“Because I don't know him. Because it would be awkward. Because I have enough to deal with without adding social obligations.”

“Or because you're scared.”

William stared at the message. Louis had always been able to see through him, to identify the fears and insecurities he tried to hide.

“I'm not scared.”

“You're terrified. You've been terrified for years. You’re going to die sad and alone.”

I'm not discussing this.

“Fine. But think about it. What's the worst that could happen? You play chess with your neighbor, have an awkward conversation, and then go back to your separate lives. Or maybe you make a friend. Either way, you survive.”

William didn't respond. He set his phone down and stared at his laptop screen, at the half-finished worksheet, at the evidence of his small, contained life.

Louis was right. He was terrified. Terrified of connection, of vulnerability, of letting anyone see the emptiness inside him. Terrified that if he let someone in, they'd realize there was nothing worth staying for.

But he was also tired. So tired of the loneliness, of the silence, of the endless routine that filled his days without fulfilling them.

He thought about Sherlock Holmes, about the intensity in those eyes, about the violin music that had filled his flat with beauty.

Perhaps sometime.

Perhaps.

Three days passed. Sherlock saw William twice in the hallway -- brief encounters, polite nods, no conversation. William seemed to be actively avoiding him, which was both frustrating and intriguing.

John found the whole situation amusing. "You've scared him off."

"I haven't scared anyone. I simply invited him to play chess."

"You, a virtual stranger, invited him to play chess after deducing his entire life story. That's scary, Sherlock."

"I didn't deduce his entire life story."

"You deduced enough."

Sherlock couldn't argue with that. He had a tendency to overwhelm people, to come on too strong. It was one of the reasons he had so few friends.

But he couldn't stop thinking about William Moriarty. The puzzle of him, the contradictions, the loneliness that mirrored something in Sherlock himself, though he'd never admit it.

On Thursday evening, Sherlock was playing violin again -- Vivaldi this time (a perfect rendition of Four Seasons) prior to a knock at the door.

John answered it. Sherlock heard voices, then John calling, "Sherlock? You have a visitor."

Sherlock set down his violin and went to the door.

William Moriarty stood in the hallway, looking nervous but determined. He was holding a chess set.

"I thought," William said, "if the offer still stands. Perhaps we could play that game."

Sherlock felt something shift in his chest, a small spark of pleasure that he didn't quite know how to process.

"Yes," he said. "The offer still stands."

John, bless him, made himself scarce, disappearing into his bedroom with a knowing smile. Sherlock led William to the living room, where they set up the chess board on the coffee table.

"White or black?" Sherlock asked.

"You choose."

Sherlock took white. They began to play in silence, the only sound the soft click of pieces on the board.

William was good. Very good. He played with a careful, strategic style that suggested deep thinking and long-term planning. Sherlock played more aggressively, looking for tactical opportunities, willing to sacrifice material for position.

They were evenly matched.

"You're a strong player," Sherlock observed after twenty moves.

"Thank you. So are you."

"Where did you learn?"

"My brother taught me. When we were children." William moved his knight, a defensive maneuver that blocked one of Sherlock's threats. "You?"

"Self-taught, mostly. I read books on theory, played online."

They continued in silence for a while. Sherlock found himself relaxing into the game, into the comfortable quiet that didn't require conversation. This was nice, he realized. Just sitting with someone, engaged in a shared activity, no pressure to perform or explain or justify.

"I'm sorry," William said suddenly. "For being standoffish before. When you invited me."

Sherlock looked up, surprised. "You don't need to apologize."

"I do. You were being kind, and I was... defensive." William's gaze was fixed on the board. "I'm not very good at this. At connecting with people."

"Neither am I," Sherlock admitted.

William looked up then, and their eyes met.

"Perhaps we can be not very good at it together," William said, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Perhaps we can."

They finished the game -- a draw, both of them running out of material for a decisive attack. William packed up his chess set, but he didn't seem in a hurry to leave.

"Your violin playing really is beautiful," William said. "I hope you don't mind that I listen sometimes."

"I don't mind. I'm glad someone appreciates it."

"Do you play professionally?"

"No. It's just a hobby. I'm a consulting detective."

William's eyebrows rose. "A consulting detective?"

"I work with the police sometimes. Help solve cases they can't figure out on their own."

"That sounds fascinating."

"It is. Most of the time." Sherlock paused. "You're a teacher."

"Yes. Mathematics. Secondary school."

"Do you enjoy it?"

William considered the question. "I enjoy mathematics. The teaching is... complicated. But yes, overall, I think I do."

They talked for another half hour, the conversation flowing more easily than Sherlock had expected. William was intelligent and articulate, with a dry sense of humor that emerged once he relaxed. Sherlock found himself genuinely enjoying the interaction, which was rare.

When William finally left, returning to his own flat across the hall, Sherlock felt oddly content.

John emerged from his bedroom. "That looked like it went well."

"It did."

"Think you'll play again?"

"I hope so."

And he did hope so, Sherlock realized. 

He returned to his violin, playing late into the night, and if he chose pieces he thought William might enjoy, well, that was his own business.

It had been nice, William thought. More than nice. It had been the first genuine social interaction he'd had in months that wasn't with Louis or his colleagues at work.

He'd been nervous, walking across the hall with his chess set. Had almost turned back three times. But Louis's words had echoed in his mind -- What's the worst that could happen? -- and he'd forced himself to knock.

And it had been fine. Better than fine.

Sherlock Holmes was strange, certainly. Intense and observant and probably too clever for his own good. But he was also kind, in his own way. And he hadn't pushed, hadn't pried, had simply accepted William's presence and engaged with him on equal terms.

William set his chess set aside and closed his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he fell asleep without the usual weight of loneliness pressing down on him.

Two weeks passed in a rhythm that William hadn't quite expected to develop.

The kettle still clicked off at 6:47 AM. The commute still took exactly thirty two minutes. His students still struggled with the same concepts -- factoring, functions, the eternal mystery of why letters belonged in mathematics at all. But something had shifted, some small recalibration in the architecture of his days.

He saw Sherlock in the hallway now. Not every day, but often enough that it stopped feeling like chance and started feeling like a pattern. William knew enough about probability to know that, at the least.

Tuesday morning, William was locking his door when he heard the sound of Sherlock's door opening across the hall. He glanced over and found Sherlock emerging in what could only be described as organized chaos -- coat half-on, scarf trailing in a disheveled manner onto the floor, phone pressed to his ear.

"No, Lestrade, I already told you the wife did it. The mud on her shoes matches the soil composition from the garden, and the angle of the -- yes, I'm sure. Check her alibi again, she's lying about the --" Sherlock paused, noticing William. He raised a hand in greeting, still talking. "No, not you. My neighbor. Yes, I have neighbors, Lestrade, I live in a building with other people, it's not a foreign concept --"

William smiled and gave a small wave back before heading toward the stairs.

"-- what do you mean, 'since when do I wave at people'? I'm perfectly capable of partaking in basic societal -- oh, for God's sake, just arrest the wife!"

The door slammed shut, and William heard Sherlock's footsteps thundering down the stairs behind him.

They ended up walking to the Tube station together, Sherlock still on the phone, gesticulating wildly as he explained something about soil pH levels and the decomposition rate of organic matter. William didn't interrupt, just walked alongside him, occasionally stepping aside to let other pedestrians pass while Sherlock remained oblivious to the flow of foot traffic.

At the station entrance, Sherlock finally hung up with an exasperated sigh.

"Sorry," he said, though he didn't sound particularly sorry. "Murder in Hampstead. The detective inspector is vaguelycompetent but lacks imagination."

"It's fine," William said. "Did you solve it?"

"Of course I solved it. I solved it three days ago. They're only just now catching up." Sherlock tilted his head, studying William with that unnervingly direct gaze. "You're going to work."

"I am."

"You teach mathematics. A-levels, based on the textbooks I saw in your flat."

"That's right. I teach some other classes, too, but the more advanced mathematics is my specialty."

"Do you enjoy it?"

The question caught William off guard. Most people didn't ask if he enjoyed teaching -- they asked how he dealt with teenagers, or made jokes about summer holidays, or assumed that teaching was a fallback career for those who couldn't do "real" mathematics.

"I do," William said. "It's... rewarding. Helping students understand something they thought was impossible."

Sherlock nodded slowly, as if filing this information away. "John says I'd be a terrible teacher. Too impatient."

"Are you?"

"Impatient? Extraordinarily. But only with willful stupidity. Ignorance is different -- ignorance can be corrected." Sherlock's phone buzzed, and he glanced at it with a grimace. "Lestrade again. I should go. The Northern Line?"

"Yes."

"I'm taking the Circle Line. I'll see you later, perhaps."

"Perhaps."

Sherlock disappeared into the crowd with the same chaotic energy he'd emerged with, leaving William standing at the top of the stairs, feeling oddly lighter than he had when he'd left his flat.

The school day unfolded in its usual way. First period: Year 12, quadratic equations. Second period: Year 13, calculus. Third period: free period, which William spent marking homework and drinking terrible staffroom coffee.

Fred found him there, as he often did, sprawled in one of the ancient armchairs with a stack of papers that needed grading.

"Morning, Liam," Fred said, dropping into the chair beside him. "You look less exhausted than usual. Did you actually sleep last night?"

"I did, thank you."

"Miracles do happen." Fred pulled out his own marking, a stack of Year 10 English essays on Of Mice and Men. "How's Louis doing?"

"Better. They're talking about releasing him next week if his numbers stay stable."

"That's great news." Fred hesitated, then added, "And you? How are you holding up?"

William appreciated Fred's concern, even if he didn't quite know how to respond to it. Fred was one of the few people at school who knew about Louis's situation, who'd noticed when William had started looking more worn down than usual and had quietly offered support without making it awkward.

"I'm managing," William said. "Actually, I've been... my new neighbors moved in a couple of weeks ago. We've been talking a bit."

Fred's eyebrows rose. "Talking? You? Voluntarily?"

"Don't sound so shocked."

"I'm not shocked, I'm delighted. What are they like?"

"One's a doctor -- John Watson. He seems very kind, very patient. The other is a detective. Sherlock Holmes."

"Wait, the Sherlock Holmes? The consulting detective who's always in the news?"

William blinked. "Is he?"

"Liam, he solved that serial killer case in Brixton last year. And the thing with the banker in the Thames. He's brilliant but apparently completely insufferable -- at least according to the tabloids." Fred leaned forward, grinning. "And you're friends with him?"

"I wouldn't say friends. We've played chess a few times."

"That's more social interaction than you've had in months. I'm counting it as progress."

Sebastian chose that moment to walk in, coffee in hand, and immediately zeroed in on their conversation with the instinct of someone who lived for staffroom gossip.

"What's progress?" he asked, dropping into the chair across from them.

"William has made friends with his neighbors," Fred announced.

"I didn't say friends --"

"One of whom is apparently a famous detective," Fred continued, ignoring William's protest.

Sebastian's eyes lit up. "Sherlock Holmes? The one who's always showing up at the Met?"

"I don't know about 'showing up' --"

"Mate, that's brilliant. Is he as weird as they say?"

William considered this. "He's... eccentric. But intelligent. We get along."

"High praise from you," Sebastian said with a laugh. "You barely tolerate most people."

"That's not true."

"You once told me you'd rather mark essays than attend the Christmas party."

"The Christmas party is loud and involves forced merriment. Essays are quiet and at least somewhat productive."

Fred and Sebastian exchanged glances, and William knew he'd just proven Sebastian's point.

"Anyway," Fred said, "I'm glad you're making connections. You've been too isolated lately."

"I'm not isolated. I'm here every day."

"Being physically present isn't the same as connecting with people, Liam."

William didn't have a good response to that, so he returned his attention to his marking. Fred and Sebastian let the subject drop, moving on to complaints about the new curriculum changes and speculation about whether the headmaster would actually follow through on his repeated threats to ban mobile phones.

But Fred's words lingered in William's mind throughout the rest of the day. You've been too isolated lately.

He supposed it was true. He'd been going through the motions -- work, hospital, home, repeat -- without really engaging with anyone beyond the necessary interactions. Even his conversations with Fred and Sebastian were surface-level, friendly but carefully bounded.

It was safer that way. Easier.

But also, he was beginning to realize, lonelier.

The Hampstead murder was solved by Wednesday afternoon, exactly as Sherlock had predicted. The wife had indeed killed her husband, had indeed lied about her alibi, and had indeed left trace evidence all over the crime scene despite her attempts to clean it up.

Lestrade had called to thank him, which Sherlock found completely unnecessary but tolerated regardless. John had been telling him lately he’d been acting too standoffish.

"You were right," Lestrade said. "Again. How do you do it?"

"I observe. You should try it sometime."

"I do observe --"

"You just look. That's different." Sherlock was already losing interest in the conversation. The case was solved, the intellectual challenge was over, and now he was left with the familiar creeping sensation of boredom. "Is there anything else?"

"Just... thanks, I suppose. And try not to break into any more crime scenes without calling me first."

"I make no promises."

He hung up and stared at his laptop screen, where he'd been attempting to organize his case files into something mildly resembling a system. John had suggested it. Sherlock had agreed mostly to stop John from nagging him about it, but now that he was actually attempting the task, he found it mind-numbingly tedious.

John was at the clinic today, covering someone's shift, which meant Sherlock was alone in the flat with nothing to occupy his mind. He'd already played his violin for two hours. He'd already reorganized his books by subject matter, then by author, then by color, then back to subject matter. He'd cleaned his violin, checked his emails, and contemplated taking up smoking again just to have something to do with his hands.

He was considering going out to look for a case --  any case, even something mundane like a missing cat -- when his phone buzzed.

Unknown number: “Is this Sherlock Holmes?”

Sherlock frowned. “Who is this?”

“Mycroft gave me your number. I'm working on something that might interest you. Are you available to meet?”

Mycroft. Of course. His brother had a habit of passing Sherlock's number to people who had "interesting problems," which usually meant problems that were either too sensitive or too strange for normal channels.

“What kind of something?”

“Better discussed in person. Coffee? There's a place in Marylebone. I’ll forward the location. 4 PM?”

Sherlock checked the time. It was 2:30. He had nothing better to do.

“Fine. How will I find you?”

“You won't need to. I'll recognize you.”

The message was followed by a location pin. Sherlock saved it, then spent the next hour and a half pacing the flat and trying not to think about how bored he was.

Marylebone Coffee turned out to be one of those aggressively trendy places with exposed brick and mismatched furniture and a chalkboard menu that required a degree in graphic design to decipher. Sherlock hated it on sight.

He was scanning the room for anyone who looked like they might be waiting for him when a woman at a corner table raised her hand. She was in her forties, dark hair pulled back, wearing a blazer that suggested either law or government work.

"Mr. Holmes," she said as he approached. "Thank you for coming. I'm Irene Adler, Serious Crimes Unit."

Sherlock sat down across from her, already cataloging details. Wedding ring, recently removed based on the tan line. Stress lines around her eyes. Coffee cup half empty, suggesting she'd been here for a while. Nervous energy, but controlled. Incredibly well, too.

"You said Mycroft gave you my number," Sherlock said.

"He did. He said you were the best at this sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?"

Adler pulled out a tablet and slid it across the table. On the screen was a series of crime scene photos -- bodies, blood, the usual grim tableau of violent death.

"Three murders in the past six weeks," she said quietly. "All wealthy individuals, all killed in ways that initially looked like accidents or suicides. But the more we investigate, the more inconsistencies we find."

Sherlock scrolled through the photos, his boredom evaporating. "You think they're connected."

"I know they're connected. Same MO, same level of sophistication. But we can't find any physical evidence linking them. No DNA, no fingerprints, no witnesses. Whoever's doing this is extremely careful."

"Or extremely intelligent."

"Or both." Adler leaned forward. "I need someone who can see patterns that others miss. Mycroft said that would be you."

Sherlock studied the photos more carefully. The first victim: a banker, found dead in his study, apparent suicide by gunshot. The second: a property developer, fell from his balcony, ruled accidental. The third: a hedge fund manager, poisoned, initially thought to be a heart attack until the toxicology came back.

"What connects them?" Sherlock asked. "Beyond wealth."

"That's what we're trying to figure out. They didn't know each other, at least not obviously. Different social circles, different industries. But someone wanted them dead."

"And you think there will be more."

"I think this is just the beginning." Adler's expression was grim. "Will you help?"

Sherlock looked at the photos again, his mind already racing through possibilities, connections, patterns. This was exactly what he needed -- a real challenge, something complex and layered and interesting -- a much desired activity after the dreariness of the cases Scotland Yard tended to bring over.

"Send me everything you have," he said. "Case files, witness statements, forensics reports. Everything."

"I'll have it sent to you by tonight."

"Good." Sherlock stood, already mentally cataloging what he'd need to do first. "I'll be in touch."

He left the coffee shop feeling more alive than he had in days. A real case. A real mystery. Finally, something worth his attention.

William was halfway through his evening marking when he heard the sound of Sherlock's door opening and closing, followed by rapid footsteps in the hallway. Then, unexpectedly, a knock at his door.

He set down his pen and went to answer it, finding Sherlock on the other side, looking energized in a way William hadn't seen before. His eyes were bright, his posture alert, and he was holding a laptop under one arm.

"William," Sherlock said. "Are you busy?"

"I'm marking homework. Why?"

"I need a second opinion. Do you have a moment?"

William hesitated, glancing back at the stack of papers on his table. Then he looked at Sherlock's expression -- eager, almost boyish -- and found himself nodding.

"Come in."

Sherlock entered with the same chaotic energy he brought to everything, immediately setting his laptop on William's dining table and opening it. "I've just taken on a new case. Three murders, all made to look like accidents or suicides. The detective inspector thinks they're connected, and I agree, but I need to establish the pattern."

William moved to stand beside him, looking at the screen. Crime scene photos. He'd seen worse in films, but there was something different about knowing these were real people, real deaths.

"Why are you showing me this?" William asked.

"Because you're intelligent, and you think in patterns. Mathematics is all about patterns, isn't it? Finding the underlying structure in apparent chaos."

"I suppose it is."

"Look at these." Sherlock pulled up three separate files, arranging them side by side. "Victim one: Richard Thornton, investment banker, age 52. Found dead in his study, gunshot wound to the head, ruled suicide. Victim two: David Pembridge, property developer, age 48. Fell from his tenth-floor balcony, ruled accidental death. Victim three: Marcus Whitmore, hedge fund manager, age 55. Poisoned, initially thought to be a heart attack."

William studied the information, his mind automatically looking for connections. "They're all in finance. All wealthy. All middle aged men."

"Yes, but that's surface level. Thousands of people fit that description. What makes these three specific targets?"

William leaned closer, reading through the case notes. "Were they involved in any scandals? Legal troubles?"

"Thornton was being investigated for insider trading, but nothing had been proven. Pembridge had several lawsuits from tenants claiming unsafe living conditions. Whitmore was clean, at least publicly."

"So they all had enemies, I suppose?"

"Everyone has enemies. The question is: who had the means, motive, and opportunity to kill all three?"

William found himself drawn into the puzzle despite the grim subject matter. There was something compelling about the way Sherlock approached it -- not with morbid fascination, but with genuine intellectual curiosity. He wanted to understand, rather than just know.

"What about their deaths?" William asked. "You said they were made to look like accidents or suicides. That suggests someone who understands how investigations work. Someone who knows how to avoid leaving evidence."

"Exactly." Sherlock's eyes lit up. "Someone with knowledge of forensics, police procedure, perhaps even criminal psychology. This isn't an amateur."

They spent the next hour going through the files together, William asking questions and Sherlock explaining details, both of them falling into an easy rhythm of analysis and discussion. It reminded William of working through a particularly complex mathematical proof--the same process of hypothesis, testing, refinement.

"You're good at this," Sherlock said at one point, glancing at William with something like approval. "Most people get squeamish or bored. You're neither."

"I find it interesting. The logic of it."

"Most people don't see the logic. They see the blood and the tragedy and they stop thinking clearly."

"The tragedy is still there," William said quietly. "These were real people."

"I know." Sherlock's expression shifted, something more serious entering his features. "That's why it matters. That's why I do this."

William understood then that Sherlock's apparent detachment wasn't callousness -- it was focus. He cared about the victims, but he cared in a way that drove him to find answers rather than drown in emotion.

"I should let you get back to your marking," Sherlock said eventually, closing his laptop. "Thank you for the input. It was helpful."

"Anytime," William said, and meant it.

After Sherlock left, William returned to his marking, but his mind kept drifting back to the case. Three murders, carefully planned and executed. Someone intelligent, methodical, patient. Someone who understood how to manipulate systems and people.

Someone, William pondered, who was very dangerous indeed.

John came home at eight, looking tired but satisfied in the way he always did after a good day at the clinic.

"How was work?" Sherlock asked from his position on the sofa, where he'd been lying for the past hour staring at the ceiling and thinking about the case.

"Busy. Lots of flu going around. How was your day?"

"I have a new case."

"Of course you do." John dropped his bag by the door and headed to the kitchen. "What is it this time?"

"Serial killer. Three victims so far, all wealthy men in finance. Made to look like accidents or suicides."

John paused in the act of filling the kettle. "That's... dark."

"It's interesting."

"Those aren't mutually exclusive, but I take your point." John switched on the kettle and leaned against the counter. "Have you eaten?"

"No."

"I can’t even pretend to be surprised."

"I've been thinking."

"You can think and eat at the same time. It's called multitasking." John pulled out his phone. "I'm ordering Chinese. The usual?"

"Fine."

While John placed the order, Sherlock's mind continued working through the case. The pattern was there, he could feel it, but he couldn't quite see it yet. What connected these three men beyond their wealth and their industries? What made them targets?

"I showed the case to William," Sherlock said.

John looked up from his phone. "William? Our neighbor William?"

"Yes. He has an interesting perspective. Thinks in patterns."

"And he didn't mind you showing him crime scene photos?"

"He seemed more interested than disturbed."

John shook his head, but he was smiling. "You two are well-matched, then. Both completely mental, if that's the case. Shame, really. I thought he was half normal."

"I'm not mental, I'm focused."

"Same thing, really."

The food arrived twenty minutes later, and they ate in the living room, John watching some medical drama on TV while Sherlock continued to think about the case. He'd received the full files from Adler, and he planned to spend the rest of the evening going through them in detail.

"Are you going to be up all night?" John asked around a mouthful of chow mein.

"Probably."

"Try to keep the violin playing to a reasonable volume, yeah? Some of us have work in the morning."

"You have work every morning."

"Exactly."

After dinner, John retreated to his room, and Sherlock spread the case files across the coffee table, laptop open, notebook at hand. This was when he did his best work -- late at night, free to follow connections wherever they led.

He was deep into the forensics report on the second victim when he heard it: the faint sound of music from across the hall. Not violin this time, but piano. A recording, probably, something classical that Sherlock didn't immediately recognise.

William was still awake.

Sherlock found himself wondering what William was doing -- marking papers, reading, or perhaps just sitting in his flat the way Sherlock was sitting in his, thinking about patterns and problems and the strange architecture of human behaviour.

He returned his attention to the case files, but some part of his mind remained aware of the music from across the hall, a quiet reminder that he wasn't entirely alone in his late-night vigil.

Thursday morning brought rain, the kind of persistent drizzle that made London feel even greyer than it usually was. William stood at the bus stop with his umbrella, watching the traffic crawl past, and tried not to think about how much he was dreading the day ahead.

Parent teacher conferences. Four hours of sitting in the school hall, explaining to concerned parents why their children were struggling with mathematics, listening to complaints about homework loads and university entrance requirements, and maintaining a pleasant, professional demeanor throughout.

He was good at it -- he'd been doing it for years -- but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

The bus arrived, crowded and damp, and William squeezed into a space near the back. 

The conferences went about as well as expected. Most parents were reasonable, some were demanding, and a few were genuinely lovely. William found himself explaining the same concepts over and over -- yes, mathematics is challenging; no, there's no shortcut to understanding calculus; yes, practice really does help.

By the time his last appointment finished at three o'clock, he was exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with physical tiredness and everything to do with emotional depletion.

Fred found him in the staffroom afterward, slumped in an armchair with his eyes closed.

"Survived?" Fred asked.

"Barely."

"I saw you had the Hendersons. How did that go?"

"They want their son to get into Oxford despite the fact that he hasn't turned in homework in three weeks."

"Ah. The 'my child is gifted, the system is failing them' parents."

"I suppose that is what they’re like."

Fred sat down beside him. "You look knackered, Liam. Go home. Have a drink. Relax."

"I need to visit Louis."

"Louis would want you to take care of yourself first."

William knew Fred was right, but the guilt of not visiting felt worse than the exhaustion. "I'll be fine."

"You always say that."

"Because it's always true."

Fred gave him a look that suggested he didn't believe that for a second, but he didn't push. "Well, if you need anything, let me know. And try to have a decent evening, yeah?"

"I'll try."

William left the school at 3:30, took the Tube to the hospital, and spent an hour with Louis, who was in good spirits despite being bored out of his mind. They played chess -- Louis won, as he usually did -- and talked about nothing in particular, and by the time William left, he felt marginally more human.

The rain had stopped by the time he emerged from the hospital, leaving the streets slick and reflective under the streetlights. William walked to the Tube station, rode home in comfortable silence, and climbed the stairs to his flat feeling the familiar weight of the day settling over him.

He was unlocking his door when he heard voices from across the hall -- Sherlock and John, arguing about something. Not something he wasn’t used to since they’d moved in.

"-- completely unreasonable --"

"I'm not being unreasonable, I'm being practical --"

"You set the kitchen on fire!"

"It was a small fire --"

"There's no such thing as a small fire, Sherlock!"

William smiled despite his exhaustion. There was something oddly comforting about their bickering, the easy familiarity of it. It reminded him of how he and Louis used to argue when they were younger, before illness and distance had made their relationship more careful, more precious.

He let himself into his flat, made tea, and settled at his table with his laptop. He had lesson plans to prepare for next week, but his mind kept drifting back to the case Sherlock had shown him. Three murders. A pattern he couldn't quite see.

His phone lit up with an email from the school, reminding staff about the upcoming inspection. William groaned. As if parent teacher conferences weren't enough, now he had to prepare for inspectors. Teaching seemed to feel more like putting up a front than educating, at times.

He was about to close his laptop and give up on productivity for the evening when there was a knock at his door.

Sherlock again, looking slightly singed around the edges.

"Did you actually set the kitchen on fire?" William asked.

"It was an experiment. And it was barely a fire. More of a... vigorous combustion." Sherlock waved this away as if it were irrelevant. "I came to ask if you'd like to get dinner. John's refusing to cook, and I'm banned from the kitchen for the next twenty-four hours."

William blinked. "Dinner?"

"Yes. Food. The thing people eat to sustain themselves." Sherlock tilted his head. "Unless you're busy?"

William thought about his lesson plans, his exhaustion, his usual evening routine of solitary meals and quiet evenings. Then he thought about Fred's words: You've been too isolated lately.

"I'm not busy," William said. "Give me a moment to get my coat."

They ended up at a small Italian place two streets over, the kind of neighbourhood restaurant that had been there for decades and would probably be there for decades more. Sherlock had walked past it a hundred times without really noticing it, but William had suggested it, and Sherlock was hungry enough not to care where they ate.

The interior was warm and slightly cramped, with red-checked tablecloths and the smell of candles and (more importantly) a lack of the burning scent that had been lingering around Sherlock and John’s apartment the last hour or two. They were seated at a corner table, and Sherlock found himself studying the menu with more interest than he usually gave to food.

"Do you come here often?" Sherlock asked.

"Sometimes. When I don't feel like cooking." William set down his menu. "It’s good."

They ordered and settled into the kind of comfortable silence that Sherlock rarely experienced with other people. Most people felt the need to fill silence with chatter, but William seemed content to simply exist in the quiet.

"How was your day?" Sherlock asked eventually, more out of curiosity than politeness.

"Exhausting. Parent teacher conferences."

"Ah. The parents who think their children are geniuses despite all evidence to the contrary?"

William smiled. "Some of them, yes. Others are genuinely concerned and trying to help. It's just... draining. Explaining the same things over and over."

"I can imagine. I'd be terrible at it."

"You said that before. About teaching."

"It's true. I have no patience for willful ignorance." Sherlock leaned back in his chair. "Although I suppose you deal with regular ignorance, not willful. That must be different."

"It is. Most students want to understand, they just struggle with the concepts. It's rewarding when something finally clicks for them."

Their food arrived, and they ate in companionable silence for a few minutes. Sherlock found himself watching William, noting the way he seemed more relaxed here than he did in his flat, as if being in a public space paradoxically gave him permission to let his guard down slightly.

"Can I ask you something?" Sherlock said.

"Of course."

"Why mathematics? What drew you to it?"

William considered this, glancing momentarily out of the window. "The certainty of it, I suppose. In mathematics, things are either true or false. There's no ambiguity, no grey area. If you follow the logic correctly, you'll always arrive at the right answer."

"But life isn't like that."

"No. Life is messy and complicated and full of grey areas. Which is perhaps why I find mathematics comforting." William looked up, meeting Sherlock's eyes. "What about you? Why detective work?"

"The puzzle of it. The challenge. Every case is different, every mystery has its own logic. And when you solve it, when you see the pattern that everyone else missed..." Sherlock paused, trying to articulate something he rarely put into words. "It matters. Finding the truth matters."

"Even when the truth is utterly morbid?"

"Especially then."

William nodded slowly, as if this confirmed something he'd already suspected. "You're very good at what you do. I could tell, from the case files you showed me."

"You're good at what you do too. Your students are lucky to have you."

"I'm not sure they'd agree."

"They will. Eventually. When they're older, they realize that someone actually cared about whether they understood."

William smiled, and Sherlock felt an odd sense of satisfaction at having put that expression on his face.

They finished their meals and walked back to Baker Street together, the evening air cool and damp. Sherlock found himself talking about the case, explaining his theories and the gaps in his logic, and William listened with the same focused attention he'd shown before, occasionally asking questions that made Sherlock reconsider his assumptions.

"You should have been a detective," Sherlock said as they climbed the stairs to their floor.

"I don't think I have the temperament for it. Too much chaos."

"Says the man who teaches teenagers."

"That's manageable chaos. They are just children, in the end. I don’t imagine they’ve yet contemplated things like…evisceration, or cyanide poisoning, or any of those dreadful things in the papers. It’s very different."

They reached their doors, and Sherlock found himself reluctant to end the evening. It had been... pleasant. More than pleasant. He'd enjoyed William's company in a way he rarely enjoyed anyone's company outside of John.

"Thank you for dinner," William said. "I needed that."

"We should do it again sometime."

"I'd like that."

They said goodnight and retreated to their respective flats, and Sherlock found himself smiling as he closed the door behind him.

John looked up from the sofa, where he was watching TV with a cup of tea. "How was dinner?"

"Good."

"Just good?"

"Very good. William's interesting."

"It's surprising to hear laudation from you." John's expression was knowing. "You like him."

"He's intelligent and doesn't bore me. That's rare."

"Uh-huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just... it's nice to see you making friends."

"I have friends."

"You have me, and you have Lestrade, who you mostly insult. William is different."

Sherlock didn't have a response to that, so he retreated to his room and spent the rest of the evening working on the case. But some part of his mind remained aware of the presence across the hall, the knowledge that William was there, probably marking papers or reading or doing whatever it was he did in the evenings.

It was a strange feeling, this awareness of another person. Not unpleasant, just... new.

Friday brought better weather and a lighter teaching schedule. William had only three classes, which meant he could leave school by two o'clock and actually have an afternoon to himself.

He stopped by the hospital on his way home, bringing Louis a stack of books he'd requested and a decent coffee from the shop across the street.

"You're in a good mood," Louis observed as William settled into the visitor's chair.

"Am I?"

"You're smiling. You never smile after parent teacher conferences."

"That was yesterday."

"Exactly. Usually you're still recovering." Louis studied him with the same perceptive gaze that had always been able to see through William's carefully maintained composure. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I had dinner with my neighbor, that's all."

"The detective?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And it was nice. We talked. He's interesting."

Louis's smile was knowing. "You like him."

"I barely know him."

"But you want to know him better."

William couldn't deny that, so he didn't try. "Perhaps."

"Good. You need more people in your life, William. You can't just work and visit me and go home to an empty flat every day."

"I'm fine--"

"You're lonely. There's a difference." Louis's expression softened. "I'm glad you're making friends. Even if one of them is a famous detective who apparently sets kitchens on fire."

"How did you --"

"You mentioned it in your text last night. 'Sherlock set their kitchen on fire but it's fine.' I have questions."

William laughed despite himself. "It was an experiment gone wrong. John wasn't pleased."

"I can imagine."

They spent the next hour talking about nothing in particular -- Louis's boredom, the dullness of hospital routine, the novel he was reading, William's upcoming school inspection. It was comfortable and familiar, and William felt the usual pang of guilt when visiting hours ended and he had to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow," William said, gathering his things.

"Bring more coffee? The stuff here is criminal."

"I will."

William left the hospital feeling lighter than he had in weeks. Louis was getting better. He had friends at work who cared about him. He had neighbors who were becoming something more than just people who lived across the hall.

Things were, he realized, actually going okay.

He spent Friday evening preparing for his classes next week, making dinner, and reading a book he'd been meaning to get to for months. At nine o'clock, he heard the sound of violin music from across the hall -- Sherlock, playing something again.

William set down his book and just listened. It felt like being allowed into a private space, witnessing something personal.

His phone lit up.

“This is Sherlock. John gave me your number. I hope that's alright.”

“It's fine.”

William saved the number into his phone.

The music continued for another half hour, and William found himself reluctant to turn his focus away. When it finally stopped, he felt oddly bereft, as if something precious had been taken away.

Another text: “Are you free tomorrow evening?”

“I am. Why?”

“John and I are having people over. Nothing formal, just drinks and conversation. You should come.”

William hesitated. Social gatherings weren't his strong suit -- too many people, too much noise, too much effort required to maintain the appropriate facade. But this was different. This was Sherlock and John, people he was beginning to consider friends.

“What time?”

“Seven. Bring wine if you want.”

“I'll be there.”

“Good.”

William set his phone aside and returned to his book, but he couldn't focus on the words. He was thinking about tomorrow, about spending an evening with Sherlock and John and whoever else they'd invited. The prospect was both appealing and unnervingly terrifying in equal measure.

But he'd said yes. And he meant it.

Saturday morning, John woke Sherlock at what he considered an unreasonable hour (eight AM) to inform him that they needed to clean the flat before people came over.

"Why?" Sherlock asked from his position face-down on the sofa, where he'd fallen asleep at some point around four in the morning.

"Because it's a disaster, and I'm not having people over to a disaster."

"They're adults. They can handle a bit of mess."

"Sherlock, there are case files on the kitchen table, your violin is on the floor, and there’s a human skull on the bookshelf."

"That's for reference."

"Normal people don't have human skulls for reference!! Were you aware of that?"

Sherlock groaned but hauled himself upright. John was right, unfortunately. The flat was a mess, even by Sherlock's standards. He'd been so focused on the case that he'd let things pile up -- papers, books, coffee cups, the detritus of obsessive thinking.

They spent the next two hours cleaning, John doing most of the actual work while Sherlock made halfhearted attempts to organize his things. By ten o'clock, the flat looked almost presentable, and John declared himself satisfied.

"Who's coming tonight?" Sherlock asked, collapsing back onto the sofa.

"Lestrade said he'd try to make it. Mrs. Hudson from downstairs. And William, obviously."

"Obviously."

"Anyone else you want to invite?"

"No."

"Sherlock, you have other friends --"

"No, I don't."

John sighed but didn't argue. He knew as well as Sherlock did that Sherlock's social circle was extremely limited, and he preferred it that way. Too many people meant too much noise, too much meaningless conversation, too much effort expended on social niceties that Sherlock found exhausting.

But William was different. William was quiet and intelligent and didn't require constant entertainment. He could sit in silence without it being awkward, could engage in conversation without it being tedious. Sherlock found himself looking forward to seeing him again, which was unusual enough to be noteworthy.

"You really like him, don't you?" John said, watching Sherlock with that knowing expression he got sometimes.

"He's interesting."

"You've said that. Multiple times."

"Because it's true."

"Sherlock, you've invited him to a social gathering. You hate social gatherings."

"This is different. It's…small. Controlled."

"Uh-huh." John's smile was infuriating. "Well, I'm glad you're making an effort. William seems nice."

"He is nice. He's also intelligent, observant, and has an interesting perspective on pattern recognition."

"High praise indeed."

Sherlock threw a cushion at him.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of preparation. John went shopping for food and drinks, Sherlock continued working on the case, and by six-thirty, the flat was as ready as it was going to be.

Mrs. Hudson arrived first, bringing homemade biscuits and immediately fussing over the state of the kitchen despite the fact that they'd just cleaned it.

"You boys need to take better care of yourselves," she said, rearranging things in the cupboards. "I don't know how you survive without an ounce of basic life skill."

"We manage," John said diplomatically.

Lestrade arrived at quarter to seven, looking tired but pleased to be there. He and John immediately fell into conversation about some case at the Yard, leaving Sherlock to hover near the window and watch for William.

At precisely seven o'clock, there was a knock at the door.

Sherlock opened it to find William standing in the hallway, holding a bottle of red wine and looking slightly nervous.

"Hi," William said. "I wasn't sure what to bring."

"No worries. This is perfect. Come in."

William stepped inside, and Sherlock watched as he took in the flat--the organized chaos of it, the books and papers and violin, the evidence of lives being lived in a space that was both home and workspace.

"This is nice," William said. "Very... you."

"Is that a compliment?"

"It is."

Sherlock smiled and led William into the living room, where John immediately came over to greet him.

"William! Glad you could make it. This is Greg Lestrade, he's a detective inspector at Scotland Yard. Greg, this is William Moriarty, our neighbor."

They shook hands, and Sherlock watched as William slipped into polite conversation mode, answering questions about his work and his life with the same careful courtesy he'd shown from the beginning. But there was something different about him tonight -- he seemed more relaxed, more present, as if he'd decided to actually engage rather than just go through the motions.

Mrs. Hudson claimed him after a few minutes, asking about his brother and expressing concern in the way that only landladies could. William handled it with grace, and Sherlock found himself impressed by how easily he navigated social situations despite claiming not to be good at them.

The evening unfolded in a pleasant blur of conversation and laughter. Lestrade told stories about cases gone wrong, John contributed medical anecdotes, and Mrs. Hudson provided running commentary on the state of Baker Street and its various inhabitants.

Sherlock found himself gravitating toward William, the two of them ending up in a corner of the room with glasses of wine, talking about everything and nothing.

"This is nice," William said at one point. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Thank you for coming. I know social gatherings aren't really your thing."

"They're not really yours either, from what I understand."

"No. But this is different. Small groups. People I actually like."

William smiled. "I'm honored to be included in that category."

"You should be. It's a very exclusive list."

They talked for another hour, the conversation flowing easily between them. Sherlock found himself telling William about cases he'd worked on, about the strange and fascinating things he'd encountered in his work. William listened with genuine interest, asking questions that showed he was actually paying attention, actually thinking about what Sherlock was saying.

It was, Sherlock realized, the best evening he'd had in a long time.

The gathering broke up around eleven, Lestrade leaving first with promises to call Sherlock about a case, followed by Mrs. Hudson, who insisted on hugging everyone goodbye.

William helped John and Sherlock clean up, carrying glasses to the kitchen and collecting empty bottles.

"You don't have to do that," John said. "You're a guest."

"I don't mind."

They worked in comfortable silence, the three of them moving around each other with the ease of people who were becoming familiar with each other's rhythms. When the flat was reasonably tidy again, John excused himself to bed, leaving William and Sherlock alone in the living room.

"Thank you again for inviting me," William said. "I had a good time."

"So did I." Sherlock was standing by the window, looking out at the street below. "You're easy to be around. That's rare."

"So are you."

Sherlock turned to look at him, and William was struck again by how intense his gaze was, how it felt like being seen in a way that was both uncomfortable and oddly reassuring.

"I should go," William said, though he found himself reluctant to leave. "It's late."

"It is." But Sherlock didn't move toward the door, and neither did William.

They stood there for a moment, the silence stretching between them, and William felt something shift -- some small recalibration in the space between them, a recognition of possibility.

"Goodnight, Sherlock," William said finally.

"Goodnight, William."

William let himself out and crossed the hall to his own flat, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. His heart was beating faster than it should be, and he felt oddly energized despite the late hour.

He got ready for bed mechanically, his mind replaying the evening -- the conversations, the laughter, the way Sherlock had looked at him when they were talking in the corner. There was something there, something William couldn't quite name but could definitely feel.

William set his phone on the nightstand and lay back, staring at the ceiling. Across the hall, he could hear the faint sound of movement -- Sherlock, still awake, probably working on his case or playing violin or doing whatever it was he did in the small (somewhat ungodly) hours of the morning.

William closed his eyes and let himself imagine what it might be like to know Sherlock better, to move beyond polite neighborly interactions into something deeper.

Sunday morning arrived grey and drizzly, the kind of weather that made staying in bed seem like the only reasonable option. Sherlock had been up until three working on the case, and he was paying for it now with a headache and the vague sense that he'd missed something important.

He dragged himself out of bed at nine and found John in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"Morning," John said without turning around. "There's coffee."

"Bless you."

Sherlock poured himself a cup and collapsed at the kitchen table, where his laptop was still open to the case files. He stared at the screen, trying to make his brain work through the fog of exhaustion.

"You were up late," John observed.

"I'm close to something. I can feel it."

"You always say that."

"This time I mean it."

John set a plate of eggs and toast in front of him. "Eat. Then think. In that order."

Sherlock ate mechanically, his mind still working through the case. Three victims, all wealthy, all in finance. The pattern was there, he just couldn't see it yet. What connected them? What made them targets?

His phone lit up: Adler.

“Any progress?”

“Some. Still working on the connection between victims.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

Sherlock set his phone down and returned his attention to the case files. He pulled up the financial records for all three victims, looking for overlap. Bank accounts, investments, business dealings...

There. A shell company that all three had invested in. Small amounts, nothing that would raise red flags, but it was there. A connection.

Sherlock's pulse quickened. This was it. This was the pattern.

He spent the next two hours tracing the shell company, following the money through layers of corporate obfuscation. It led to a property development scheme, one that had displaced hundreds of low income families to make way for luxury apartments.

The victims weren't random. They were being targeted for their involvement in this scheme. Someone was punishing them for what they'd done.

Sherlock sat back, his mind racing. This changed everything. This wasn't just murder -- this was justice, or at least someone's version of it. Someone who believed these men deserved to die for their crimes.

Someone who was very, very dangerous.

He needed to tell Adler. But first, he needed to verify his theory, make sure he wasn't missing anything.

He was reaching for his phone when there was a knock at the door.

John answered it, and Sherlock heard William's voice: "Sorry to bother you. Is Sherlock available?"

"Come in," John said. "He's in the kitchen, probably having some kind of breakthrough."

William appeared in the doorway, and Sherlock looked up from his laptop.

"I think I found something," they said simultaneously.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then Sherlock gestured to the chair across from him.

"You first," he said.

William sat down, pulling out his phone. "I was thinking about your case last night. The three victims. And I remembered reading something in the news a few months ago about a property development scandal. Families being evicted, unsafe conditions, that sort of thing."

He pulled up a news article and showed it to Sherlock. It was about the same development scheme Sherlock had just uncovered.

"I thought it might be connected," William continued. "If your victims were involved in this, it would give someone a motive. Someone who was hurt by what they did."

Sherlock stared at the article, then at William, feeling something like awe. "That's exactly what I just found. The shell company, the development scheme, all of it."

"So I was right?"

"You were right." Sherlock leaned forward, energized. "This changes everything. We're not looking for a random killer. We're looking for someone with a personal connection to this development. Someone who lost something because of what these men did."

"A victim seeking revenge."

"Or justice, depending on your perspective."

William's expression was thoughtful. "Does that make it better or worse?"

"Neither. It just makes it understandable." Sherlock pulled up the list of families who'd been displaced by the development. "We need to go through these names, find out who had the means and opportunity to commit these murders."

"That's a lot of names."

"Then we'd better get started."

John appeared in the doorway, looking between them with an expression of fond exasperation. "Are you two seriously going to spend Sunday working on a murder case?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

John shook his head. "I'm going to the clinic. Try not to burn the flat down again while I'm gone."

After John left, Sherlock and William spread the case files across the kitchen table and got to work. They went through the list of displaced families methodically, cross-referencing with the timeline of the murders, looking for anyone who had the knowledge and resources to pull off something this sophisticated.

It was tedious work, but Sherlock found he didn't mind. William was good at this – patient, thorough, willing to follow leads even when they seemed to go nowhere. And there was something satisfying about working alongside someone who understood the process, who didn't need constant explanation or reassurance.

They worked through lunch, John's absence meaning they survived on coffee and the biscuits Mrs. Hudson had left. By mid-afternoon, they'd narrowed the list down to a dozen potential suspects.

"We need more information," Sherlock said, rubbing his eyes. "Background checks, financial records, alibis for the dates of the murders."

"Can you get that?"

"I have contacts. It'll take a few days, but yes."

William nodded, then glanced at his watch. "I should go. I need to visit Louis."

"Of course." Sherlock stood, stretching. "Thank you for your help. You've been invaluable."

"I'm glad I could contribute." William gathered his things, then paused at the door. "Let me know if you need anything else. I'm happy to help."

"I will."

After William left, Sherlock returned to the case files, but his mind kept drifting back to the afternoon they'd just spent together. Working with William felt natural in a way that working with others rarely did. He didn't have to explain his thought process or justify his methods. William just understood.

It was, Sherlock thought, the beginning of something. He wasn't sure what yet, but he was curious to find out.

And for Sherlock Holmes, curiosity was everything.

The hospital was quiet on Sunday afternoons, the usual bustle of weekday visiting hours replaced by a more subdued atmosphere. William found Louis in his room, reading a book and looking bored.

"You're late," Louis said without looking up.

"I was helping Sherlock with a case."

"The detective? The one you're definitely not interested in?"

"I didn't say I wasn't interested. I said we barely knew each other."

"And now?"

William sat down in the visitor's chair. "And now we know each other slightly better."

Louis set down his book, giving William his full attention. "Tell me about him."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. What's he like? What do you talk about? Why do you keep smiling when you mention him?"

"I'm not --" William stopped, realizing that he was, in fact, smiling. "Okay, fine. He's …brilliant. Eccentric. Sees things that other people miss. And he's kind, in his own way. He doesn't perform kindness, he just... is kind. When it matters."

"You like him."

"I do."

"As a friend, or...?"

William hesitated. He'd been asking himself the same question for days now, and he still didn't have a clear answer. "I don't know yet. Maybe both. Maybe neither. It's complicated."

"Feelings usually are." Louis's expression was gentle. "But you're letting yourself feel them, which is progress."

"I suppose it is."

They talked for another hour, Louis asking questions about Sherlock and John and the case, William answering as best he could. It felt good to talk about it, to put words to the strange new feelings that had been building inside him.

When visiting hours ended, William left the hospital feeling lighter than he had in months. Things were changing, shifting, opening up in ways he hadn't expected. It was frightening and exhilarating in equal measure.

His phone buzzed as he was walking to the Tube station: Sherlock, of course.

“I've sent the information to DCI Adler. She's going to start running background checks tomorrow.”

“Good. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I will. Thank you again for today.”

“Anytime.”

William pocketed his phone and descended into the Underground, letting the familiar rhythm of the journey carry him home. When he emerged at his stop, the evening was settling in, streetlights flickering to life against the darkening sky.

He climbed the stairs to his flat, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. The space felt less empty than it used to, less like a place he simply existed in and more like a place he actually lived.

He made dinner, marked a few papers, and settled on the sofa with a book. And for the first time in a very long time, he felt something that might vaguely have been happiness.

Monday morning brought news from Adler: the background checks were underway, and she'd found something interesting in the financial records of one of the displaced families.

“Charles Milverton. Lost his home in the development, filed multiple complaints that were ignored. Has a background in chemistry -- worked as a lab technician before losing his job. Fits the profile.”

Sherlock read the message twice, his mind already racing through possibilities. Chemistry background meant knowledge of poisons. Displaced by the development meant motive. And the timeline matched.

“Where is he now?”

“That's the problem. He disappeared three months ago. No one's seen him since.”

“Three months ago. Right before the first murder.”

“Exactly.”

Sherlock forwarded the information to William, then spent the next hour researching Charles Milverton. The man had a wife and daughter, both of whom had also disappeared. No social media activity, no credit card usage, no digital footprint at all.

Someone who knew to disappear. Completely off grid. Sherlock has known suspects like these, who have tried to wipe all records, but all of them left a trace at some point. Not like this.

Adler rang his phone. Sherlock answered promptly.

"We need to find him," she said without preamble. "If he's our killer, he's not going to stop at three victims."

"I know. I'm working on it."

"Work faster. I've got pressure from above to solve this before there's another body."

Sherlock hung up and stared at his laptop screen, thinking. Where would someone go if they wanted to disappear? Where would they hide while planning murders?

William responded spontaneously to the information Sherlock had forwarded him.

“I've been thinking about Charles Milverton. If he's planning more murders, he'd need somewhere to work from. Somewhere private, off the grid.”

“But where?”

“The development that displaced him. There are still empty buildings there, aren't there? Places that haven't been renovated yet?”

Sherlock sat up straighter. That was brilliant. Hide in plain sight, in the very place that had destroyed your life. It was poetic, in a dark way.

“I need to check this out. Are you free this evening?”

“I have work until four. After that, yes.”

“Meet me at Baker Street at five. Bring comfortable shoes.”

“Are we breaking into a construction site?”

“Possibly.”

“I'll be there.”

Sherlock spent the rest of the day researching the development, finding blueprints and construction schedules, identifying which buildings were still empty. By the time William arrived just before five, he had a plan.

"This is probably illegal," William said when Sherlock explained what they were going to do.

"Probably."

"And dangerous."

"Possibly."

"And you're going to do it anyway."

"Yes."

William smiled. "Alright. Let's go."

They took the Tube to the development, a sprawling complex of half-finished luxury apartments in East London. The area was deserted at this hour, construction workers gone for the day, security minimal.

Sherlock led the way to one of the empty buildings, a skeletal structure of concrete and steel. They slipped inside through a gap in the fence, moving quietly through the shadows.

"What are we looking for?" William whispered.

"Evidence that someone's been living here. Signs of occupation."

They searched the ground floor, finding nothing but construction debris and graffiti. But on the second floor, in a corner room with a view of the street, they found it: a sleeping bag, a camping stove, and a stack of newspapers with articles conveniently about the three particular victims.

"He's been here," Sherlock said, photographing everything with his phone. "This is his base."

"Should we call the police?"

"Not yet. I want to --"

A sound from below. Footsteps on concrete.

Sherlock and William froze, looking at each other. Someone was coming.

"Hide," Sherlock mouthed, and they ducked behind a pile of construction materials.

The footsteps grew closer, and then a figure appeared in the doorway -- a man in his forties, carrying a bag of groceries. Charles Milverton.

He stopped when he saw them, his expression shifting from surprise to anger.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Sherlock stood slowly, hands visible. "My name is Sherlock Holmes. I'm a detective. I know what you've been doing, Charles ."

"You don't know anything."

"I know you killed three men. I know why. And I know you're planning to kill more."

Charles 's jaw tightened. "They deserved it. All of them. They destroyed people's lives and got rich doing it. Someone had to make them pay."

"That's not justice. That's revenge."

"What's the difference?"

Sherlock didn't have a good answer to that. He glanced at William, who was watching Charles  with an expression that was hard to read -- not fear, exactly, but something more complex.

"What’s the point?" William spoke up quietly. "It’s not going to change anything."

"Nothing will bring back what I lost. But at least I can make sure they don't hurt anyone else."

"There are other ways--"

"No. There aren't." Charles's hand moved to his pocket, and Sherlock tensed momentarily, but he just pulled out a phone. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I'm not going to stop, either. Tell the police whatever you want. By the time they find me, I'll be done."

He turned and ran somewhat comically, disappearing down the stairs before Sherlock could react.

"Should we go after him?" William asked.

"No. He's right -- by the time we catch him, he'll have disappeared again." Sherlock pulled out his phone and called Adler. "But now we know who we're looking for. And we know he's planning more murders."

They waited for the police to arrive, giving statements and handing over the evidence they'd found. By the time they left the construction site, it was past eight, and Sherlock was exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with physical tiredness.

"That was intense," William said as they walked to the Tube station.

"It was. Are you alright?"

"I think so. It's just... he wasn't wrong, was he? About those men deserving punishment."

"No. But that doesn't make murder right."

"I know. It's just complicated."

They rode the Tube in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. When they reached Baker Street, Sherlock found himself reluctant to say goodnight, to end the evening and return to his own flat.

"Do you want to come up?" he asked. "John's probably made dinner. You should eat."

William hesitated, then nodded. "Alright."

They climbed the stairs together, and Sherlock felt something settle in his chest--a sense of rightness, of pieces falling into place. This was what he'd been missing, he realized. Not just intellectual stimulation, but connection to someone who wasn;t unintentionally ignorant, like he always said. Someone who understood him, who could keep up with him, who didn't find him too much.

Someone like William.

John was indeed making dinner when they arrived, and he took one look at their faces and said, "What happened?"

"We found the killer," Sherlock said. "And then he got away."

"Of course he did." John shook his head. 

They sat, and John served dinner, and the three of them talked about the case and what would happen next. The police would find Charles Milverton eventually -- they had his photo now, his description, his pattern. It was only a matter of time.

After dinner, William stood to leave, and Sherlock walked him to the door.

"Thank you," Sherlock said. "For coming with me tonight. For helping."

"Thank you for including me. It was..." William paused, searching for words. "It was interesting. To be part of something that matters."

"You matter," Sherlock said, and meant it.