HI MATT

[wearsthecoats]

Sherlock has:

• an armchair by the fire
• an expression of unreasonable cheer
• a mug of cold-pressed coffee
• a truly impressive collection of hickeys, accented by a well-bitten lip that only recently stopped bleeding.

Comments

[wearsthecoats]

Sherlock lets his hands settle onto the couch; he doesn't want to break Matt's concentration by touching him. Much as he would love to touch him right now.

[semicharmed]

It's a tricky balance, because although one wants to clear one's mind of extraneous thought, one also wants to be in the physical present, and Matt's physical present is that he's jerking himself off in another man's lap.


But of course

(to thee, entire

reverence be here)

it's for a purpose.


Still, he can't forget about it, and as his strokes grow sharper and his breaths shallow and panting, he has to wonder what he looks like to him (no don't, focus--

give unto us that we may live)

He feels as if he stays suspended on the brink of orgasm for a very long time. He tries to make that brink last as long as he can; mystically, delayed gratification grants you greater power.

So the light and the heat builds, and the circle around him takes a shape so clear he can almost see it, almost touch.


Eventually, with a moan, he comes.

[wearsthecoats]

It isn't heat, exactly. Heat is danger. This is warmth. This is something soft and comfortable, something Sherlock feels with his mind more than his body.

He waits for Matt to catch his breath.

[semicharmed]

Matt blinks up at him, as if he's just now noticed he's in the room.

"Hey," he says, still a little out of breath.


The energy around him is not quite the same as it was when Sherlock met him in the bar. This is bright, bright, bright: almost molten with potential.

Matt glances down, embarrassed.

"I'll need a minute anyway," he says.

"Should I clean you up?"

[wearsthecoats]

"I wouldn't object to that plan."

[semicharmed]

Matt nods, sliding out of his lap, and stands somewhat jelly-legged (and a little dreamy) while he ponders.

First of all: pants off, boxers on. His jeans have some white streaks on them, but he's not too worried about it. (He nudges his shoes and socks off while he's at it.)

A moment's rummaging in his bag, and he comes up with a few crumpled coffee-shop napkins.

"Uh ... unless you'd rather do it in the civilized way, with soap and a towel. I don't currently have either."

[wearsthecoats]

"I do," he says, waving a hand in the direction of the bathroom.

[semicharmed]

Matt's eyebrows climb, but he redirects and heads that way.

After a moment, he calls, "You particular about type of soap? Because I only see one."

[wearsthecoats]

"Not at all."

[semicharmed]

A few moments later, a still-glowing Matt emerges with a dampened towel and the soap, which he works into a lather.

"That was an Intention," he says conversationally, as he comes back around the couch and starts to dab at the slight mess he's made of Sherlock's chest and shirt.

"It's ... more or less just sex and a prayer, where the prayer serves as a lightning rod for your goal. All I wanted was to keep all the energy here, where I could access it."

[wearsthecoats]

"You certainly succeeded in that," Sherlock observes.

[semicharmed]

He smiles, catching another spot of white with the towel.

"Part two will be a little bit more complex, since I'll be layering ... three spells. I'm going to need to break out my toolkit for that one.

Did I miss any?"

[wearsthecoats]

"No, I am entirely clean, thank you."

[semicharmed]

"Ah. Good. Next step involves a chalk circle, if you have a preferred surface."

[wearsthecoats]

"How large a chalk circle?"

[semicharmed]

Matt considers.

"A few feet, would be most effective? Maybe two or three across, I can stand, I just need to be able to fit."

[wearsthecoats]

"The floor should be fine. Chalk comes out of carpets easily."

[semicharmed]

"That's been my experience," Matt reminisces.

"Okay, in that case ... sorry to keep you waiting, but I feel it's fairly important to get this right. And on the plus side, you get another practical demonstration."

(He may be blushing again just a bit on 'practical demonstration,' but his face is turned industriously towards his bag, where he is currently rummaging.)

[wearsthecoats]

"I very definitely consider that a benefit," says Sherlock.

[semicharmed]

Matt smiles crookedly as he removes his laptop from his bag, along with a plastic bag containing sticks of sidewalk chalk.

"I should have all the sigils on my laptop," he says. "I found some I like, they'll give this thing the direction it needs. And ..."

He turns back to the bag, frowning.

"No bay, no violet ... aha, here we go. Cardamom ... aloe ... where'd I put the rosemary ..."

Eventually, he surfaces with a handful of herbs.

"So, anywhere here is fine?"

[wearsthecoats]

"Absolutely," says Sherlock, watching in mild fascination.

[semicharmed]

"Okay."

Matt sets down his paraphernalia, takes up a piece of chalk, and spends a few moments sketching out a circle that is not entirely closed.

He pops open his laptop. "Magic circles are kind of my baseline. In this case, I have all this energy, right? This circle is going to help me channel it into the self-stabilizing warm aura I described."

He starts to sketch out shapes inside the circle, most of them Sanskrit. "These are related to Agni, who's a god of fire, but there's a little fine-tuning ... I've never cast this spell exactly, but I've done other spells related to stable auras and temperature? I'm modifying a little."

[wearsthecoats]

"Experimental. How appropriate."

[semicharmed]

Matt grins at him, then turns back to his chalk sigils. He checks them against his screen, then double-checks them, and then reaches into his bag for a shallow bowl.

"... For the record, there'll be a certain amount of live fire as part of this demonstration. I promise not to burn anything down that isn't mystically necessary."

[wearsthecoats]

"Acceptable," he allows.