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Continued from here.
(warnings: sexytimes. also, panic attacks, brutal violence, attempted murder, discussion of suicide and actual murder... )
(warnings: sexytimes. also, panic attacks, brutal violence, attempted murder, discussion of suicide and actual murder... )
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Date: 2021-12-17 05:07 am (UTC)It's easy enough to find things to do to fill the ten minutes at least. But then they carry the stuff to the cab, lock the door behind them, and get in and sit down, and suddenly there's not that much that can be done.
Ted reaches over and takes Joan's hand.
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Date: 2021-12-17 05:14 am (UTC)Once they're in the cab, Joan is staring out the window when Ted takes her hand. She turns her head to look at him, and gives him a very slight smile.
"I love you," she says quietly. There's a lot packed into those three words. Gratitude and apology and vulnerability and trust and grief.
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Date: 2021-12-17 05:21 am (UTC)He just wants to make this the least painful it can be. Especially right now, when she can't even share her grief with the people who knew her mother.
He returns the smile, and he understands the depth. "I love you too," he answers.
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Date: 2021-12-17 05:38 am (UTC)Joan leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Can I take a nap at your place?" she asks softly.
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Date: 2021-12-17 05:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-17 05:57 am (UTC)After a moment, she murmurs: "I'm sorry to be taking you away again."
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Date: 2021-12-17 06:10 am (UTC)He gives her shoulder a good squeeze, and he really means it. If he's sad, it's because his heart hurts for her, not because he has to skip out on the team for a week.
"Besides, circumstances aside, it'll be nice to see your place and meet your friends," he points out.
There is another consideration, which is that maybe Henry can come visit them up in New York for a couple days, if Joan's busy with family stuff that Ted shouldn't intrude on. Ted couldn't see him because of work, and cause the travel's very far, but now...
Well, he doesn't want to voice it yet, because he needs to speak to Michelle, and figure out what's happening the week they're there, and all that stuff. Besides, he doesn't want to seem like he's going with her just for that.
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Date: 2021-12-17 06:20 am (UTC)"They're going to love you," she says softly. There's a sadness to it, of course, as it echoes what she said earlier about how Joan's mother would have loved Ted. But she's sincerely looking forward to introducing Ted to everybody she can.
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Date: 2021-12-17 06:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-17 05:41 pm (UTC)She's just musing now, imagining Ted at the home that Sherlock and Joan share.
Or shared. They're living in London now.
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Date: 2021-12-17 11:35 pm (UTC)He doesn't know that much about bees, but he does know you don't generally see them during winter. Seems like the cold would do them in if they went flying around.
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Date: 2021-12-18 12:14 am (UTC)She turns her head a little to kiss his shoulder.
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Date: 2021-12-18 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-18 12:56 am (UTC)When the cab gets to Ted's apartment she squeezes his hand before letting go and climbing out of the cab to wait by the door of his building.
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Date: 2021-12-18 04:33 am (UTC)He thanks and pays the driver, getting their suitcases and following after Joan. He's of course long since given her a key, after what happened, so he lets her unlock it as he carries stuff inside.
He has a Christmas tree up in this apartment too of course, though it's a bit more sparsely decorated otherwise compared to 221A.
"You wanted to take a nap?"
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Date: 2021-12-18 04:38 am (UTC)"Yes," she answers. "I can do that when you go to Nelson Road."
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Date: 2021-12-18 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-18 05:00 am (UTC)Joan moves through the apartment, unplugging things. There really isn't that much to do, since Ted doesn't spend much time here. It strikes her that he came here last night, to an apartment that is barely lived in, when he was sad and angry. It makes her sad just thinking about it.
Once everything has been sorted Joan comes into the bedroom and sits on the bed to watch as Ted packs.
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Date: 2021-12-18 05:15 am (UTC)He doesn't have too much here, so the packing doesn't take very long. And he can always do laundry over there, or buy things he forgets to pack. He's just about done when Joan joins him.
"Alright, I think that's everything," he says, closing the suitcase and taking it off the bed, setting it by the door. "Bed's all yours."
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Date: 2021-12-18 05:22 am (UTC)She nods as he puts the suitcase by the door, then looks up at him. She's tired and sad, for so many reasons.
"Can you stay while I fall asleep?"
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Date: 2021-12-18 05:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-18 05:45 am (UTC)Joan leans into him for a breath. Then she toes off her shoes and climbs into bed, getting under the covers.
"Can you lie down with me?" she asks softly.
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Date: 2021-12-18 05:58 am (UTC)He's also grateful that she does actually ask for these things. She may be closing herself off now and then to deal with everything, but she's not afraid to make requests of him, because she knows he'll be there for her.
He crawls into bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her. He knows he probably has little hope of sneaking out without her waking up a little bit, but hopefully by then she'll be sleepy enough to not worry.
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Date: 2021-12-18 06:05 am (UTC)She moves close to him, nestling against him, and for a moment she gazes at him, lifting a hand to touch his cheek, her heart achingly full of love and grief.
"I love you," she whispers again.
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Date: 2021-12-18 06:12 am (UTC)"I love you too," he answers. "So much."
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