InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I love my Dalek overlords!"

john druitt had a chest monster (exquisiterush) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-09-09 01:34:00

Entry tags:

john druitt, mycroft holmes

Who: John Druitt and Mycroft Holmes.
What: Dealing with the frustrating new situation.
Where: The park.
When: Early evening.
Rating: TBD.
Status: In progress.

John had never been an overly social man. He could be perfectly charming and sociable when necessary, but the fact was that he hardly enjoyed it. Even in the old days, before the Source Blood had changed everything, he had kept his circle of friends small. It had just been easier. His temperament was not well suited to large groups, and he had always preferred to stick with what he knew. The Five had understood him, in a way nobody else had, and moreover had accepted him in spite of his failings. And, honestly, he preferred a private, intellectual discussion to any amusements society could provide. The parties, however small, he had attended with Helen had always left him feeling overwhelmed and out of sorts, and their outings, however enjoyable, tended to have the same affect. He knew logically that this was rooted in his mental instability, but at the time he hadn't really understood the way his own mind worked.

Now, in this city, he had fallen into similar habits. He was close with Ashley, of course, and James, and he was tolerant of Nikola, but his connections beyond the Sanctuary were few and far between. There was John Constantine, of course, by virtue of the man's relationship with his daughter, not to mention his employees and the irritating archangel who once more worked with him. But he had not connected with any of them, their personalities too different from his own. Beyond that, he had limited his interactions with others, uncertain he wanted to face the stigma attached to his name. He had changed, more than anyone could possibly understand, but he also knew that knowledge did not change his past and he was still a man who had horrifically murdered countless women over the past century. No, it was better to keep to those who knew his flaws and remained at his side.

He hadn't counted on being forcibly separated from the others, but he supposed few people would have predicted such a thing. He felt ill at ease, unable to interact with those closest to him, and he had grown rather isolated in the past days. Yes, he could still talk to Zoe, but it seemed odd to spend his time with a young child, however intelligent she was. Instead, when the frustration had become unavoidable, he had left the house and gone for a walk. The fresh air helped to clear his head somewhat, but he made no effort to return just yet. Much as he disliked crowds, he wasn't sure how much more he could take of the Sanctuary's empty, oppressive silence. He walked without direction or purpose, losing himself in his own thoughts. When he returned to himself, he was in the park, and the sun looked as though it was beginning to contemplate sinking in the horizon. Continuing his walk, he did his best to sidestep a young child who had escaped her parents, and in the process knocked into someone else.

"My apologies," he said calmly as he straightened and dusted himself off. "I trust I did you no lasting damage?"

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hisarchenemy
2012-09-10 04:48 am UTC (link)

If there was one fact, one singular, undeniable fact that was true about Mycroft Holmes, it was that he was a solitary creature. His personality and, even more than that, his superior intelligence to most of those that he encountered, ensured as much. It was difficult to interact with others on more than a perfunctory level when his way of viewing the world was wholly and completely different than most everyone else he encountered.

Of course, there were those few that he found himself connecting with. Pepper was a prime example of that fact. Although not necessarily at a level of complete, unquestionable genius intelligence as he was, Pepper was most definitely intelligent in her own right. More than that, she was competent, mature, and wholly able - and more so, willing - to point out every single flaw that he possessed in such a way that not only made him realize how right she was, but also made him want to be a better man. As far as Mycroft was concerned, she was his perfect match and the one woman he could easily see himself spending the rest of his life with without any issue whatsoever.

However, there were still those moments - those rare, yet incredibly real moments - when being around Pepper was a little too much. It wasn't because she was stifling, because she wasn't. It wasn't because she was overbearing, as she wasn't that either. It was simply that Mycroft recognized that, every once in a while, even those in the most healthiest of relationships needed a slight break from one another. And, considering Pepper seemed to agree with as much, it was because of that fact that, once a week, Mycroft opted to walk home from City Hall rather than utilize the vehicle provided to him by the city of Colligo.

Personally, even without needing a bit of time away from Pepper, Mycroft likely would have gone for a walk on his way home anyway. The fact was, he liked walking the streets, seeing the way the city functioned at its very basic. It helped keep him grounded to everyone, helped him see, firsthand, the people who passed by, every day, with no idea whatsoever what happened behind the scenes to ensure it kept going.

The park, he'd found, was a great place to do just that. So he'd altered his route some time ago, taking his stroll home through the park rather than the much more direct route down the various streets. And, every once in a while, he encountered people who caught his eye, through some way or another, which made the walk even more rewarding.

Particularly this time. Because, although he'd come across quite a few during his strolls in the past, he'd yet to cross paths with someone who was actually worthwhile. Until now.

Granted, the initial interaction hadn't been his doing. No, instead it had come across something as commonplace as a mere bumping into by someone who wasn't paying a bit of attention to their surroundings. But while Mycroft normally would have simply shrugged the person off, offered a polite reply, and gone on his way, it was ultimately who it was who made him take a brief pause this particular time. Meeting the man face to face who, once upon a time, had been known as Jack the Ripper made the mayor of Colligo take pause and actually respond in a sincere way. Even if it might not seem as such to the casual observer.

"It's quite all right," he replied with a tip of his head, brushing himself off and smoothing away the invisible wrinkles across the front of his shirt as he met the man's gaze directly with a somewhat intriguing gleam in his eyes. "Clearly, no lasting damage whatsoever." He said no more, curious if the man would continue to speak to him or merely go about his business. History told him one thing. His instincts, and superior deductive skills, however, told him another.

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exquisiterush
2012-09-12 03:08 am UTC (link)

Now that John was focused on the other man, he recognised him. Mycroft Holmes. The Mayor of Colligo. The brother of Sherlock Holmes. It was still terribly strange to him to think that there was a reality where a fictional Victorian representation his lover and long-time friend was alive as a very real, very modern man, but he supposed it was no stranger really than any other aspect of this city. His dead daughter was alive. Superheroes and aliens and gods walked among them. The only strange thing any more was to think any one thing was odd. Everything was odd and, because of that, nothing was. It was all relative, normal for a given definition of the word. But he was dwelling too long on the subtleties of language.

He had not had much cause to interact with either of the Holmes brothers, but he probably should have found time to talk to one or the other. He did have an appreciation for intellectual conversation and, with Helen's appearances so sporadic, he could only monopolise so much of James's time before he was left feeling selfish. He could have, he supposed, engaged Nikola, but the man was already dividing his time between work and family. He hardly wanted to distract him. It was a far cry from the past, when his excuse would have been that Nikola was trying and something of an ass, but the city had been good for the both of them. He had others he spoke to, of course, his daughter and her young man, the girls he worked with and the archangel who shared ownership of Crowley's club. But he still missed intellectual discussion, particularly with his usual sources temporarily lost to him.

He supposed he could do worse than engaging this particular man in discussion. When it came down to it, he suspected that the elder Holmes would be easier to talk to than his younger brother. Brilliant as he was, Sherlock seemed to have a reputation for being rather frustrating at best and infuriating at worst. Though he was no longer plagued by his former bloodlust, he still didn't enjoy putting himself in situations where his temper might be provoked. Even without a parasite, he still had a century's worth of blinding rage clawing at him, barely kept in check. It was really best not to chance it.

He gave Mycroft a small, dry smile. "You look quite well, Mayor Holmes," he said politely, as he did his best to straighten himself up, though there was little to straighten in his case either. "To be quite frank, I did not expect to see you in such a place. My understanding of the government of this city is somewhat limited, I must admit, but I rather thought they would want you to have a more secure means of returning to your home, particularly in light of recent events." The bombing of City Hall had been a shock to everyone, and he honestly was surprised that Mycroft was out and about without some means of protection. His estimation of the man grew at the suggestion that this man might not need anyone to keep him from harm. He could always appreciate a competent fighter.

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