bakerstreet | The Candlelight Meme

The Candlelight Meme

The Candlelight Meme

How To Play

1. Comment with your journal, listing fandom and sexual preference.
2. If you don’t want any sexual options, please make that clear in your comment.
3. Tag others and enjoy the romantic lighting.

i. Power Outage: The power’s gone out. Your flashlight is dead. The only choice you have is candlelight. Luckily you’ve got plenty of matches and candles to keep things bright.

ii. Camping: Out in the woods there are no lights. The campfire keep things warm and bright in your little corner of the world. It’s relaxing, isn’t it? To get away from it all.

iii. Religious: Lighting candles is a tradition in many religions. You feel the need for some peace and prayer. Light a candle to ease your burdens.

iv. Romantic Date: You really want to impress your date so you’ve pulled out all the stops. Amazing meal, fancy wine, and romantic lighting. The candlelight makes your date look incredible.

v. Seduction: Your lover certainly looks incredible in candlelight. In the dark, spread out on your bed with the candles casting teasing shadows, you are completely seduced. So is your lover.

vi. Kinky: A little pain can equal a lot of pleasure. In the right hands the sting of candle wax can really turn things up a notch.

vii. Make Your Own: Got an idea for your own? Go for it!

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I barely trust you to make tea when it's light out, you think I'd let you make it in the dark?

[It's a weak joke, but she's trying. The past few days have been weighing on her, but she'll get over it. This is nothing compared to what Mary Margaret is going through.]

See if I bring you any when you're sick again.

[ He chuckles quietly, shaking his head. ]

I'll be waiting. No rush.

I'll check in with the boys and head over.

[Call and make sure her child isn't still eating smores and learning games from the land with magic, that's step one. Step two is for her, even if she hasn't said as much. It makes her feel guilty when she does.]

See you soon.

[She hangs up and taps out a different number, because now it's not about tying up loose ends, it's about getting through what she needs to so that she can go there and not feel like the worst parent or sheriff imaginable.]

[ The phone shuts off with a click, before it finds itself resting against Jefferson's chin. He shouldn't say anything...but doesn't he have a right to know? She wouldn't say anything for fear of upsetting him, he knows her, or maybe he doesn't. Maybe he just hoped that he had, maybe this was a terrible idea.

It's the worst time imaginable for him to start feeling self-conscious and paranoid, so he pushes it down as hard as he can and waits for her to arrive, eventually standing to make his way towards the front door. Those tell-tale lights should be pulling up soon. ]

[It's a small town, she's there in minutes; one phone call and one text later. If she's lucky, her phone will hold the charge for the night and anyone who needs her will be able to get her. If she's not, they'll get what they need from David and Mary Margaret, who tend to be everyone's first choice anyway.

Without the street lights, it's darker than usual as she pulls up. Emma refuses to rush. She takes her time making her way up to the house, where she knocks lightly this time. Going home would have made more sense, this is harder to explain. But if the secret's out anyway, where's the harm in visiting?]

[ There's only a few seconds pause between her knock and the door opening. Jefferson's got a candle in hand, the flickering light somehow catching the faint lines on his face, sharpening them against the shadow in contrast. It makes him look more tired than he is.

Wordlessly he steps back to let her inside. ]

[He does look tired, it only takes a moment of studying him to pick up on that. She steps in first, reaching for the arm of the hand that isn't holding the candle, and smiles half-heartedly.]

Hey, Jefferson, if you want to get some rest, I can come back tomorrow or something.

[Or something. She should have checked in before this, so who knows when she'll work up the nerve next time. This is only happening now because he called.

But it's fine. She's fine. Everyone's fine.]

I had no plans for sleep, believe me. I've always been a night owl, I guess.

[ He smiles thinly and shrugs, shutting and locking the door behind them. Her hand on his arm allows that smile to warm a little, and God, why does she make him feel like this? It's inconvenient to the both of them, surely, just another complication, but just having her near makes things better somehow.

And there's no telling how long it will last, before she decides to find something better. ]

Me too. I guess I'll take that, us having something in common that doesn't always suck.

[As opposed to crime, loss, and parenting issues. She lets her hand lower to her side after a moment, with a nod to his decision to let her stay. It's not that she doesn't want to go home, there's nothing going on at the apartment that has her feeling like she needs to hide. She'd just rather be here, for a while.

If that's alright with him.]

Apparently Henry fell asleep too, so our kids don't get that from us.

Likely tired himself out with his father. The excitement probably got to him.

[ Jefferson's brow knits slightly as he nods down the hall, leading the way back to the study. It's warmer in there than the living room or anywhere other than the upper bedrooms, since heat tends to rise, but the amount of books and lavish furniture in there traps the heat better than most. ]

Storybrooke suddenly feels a little more crowded. You wouldn't think just three people would be capable of that, especially considering one of them is...well, one of us.

It's a small town, in some ways, I guess it makes sense that their presence would be felt.

[She follows just a step behind, not caring which room they end up in now that she's spent some time in the house. It gives off a vibe in the darkness, like it'd make a good haunted mansion if he went in that direction, but maybe that's because she's been alone in it with a vampire. Who knows.]

Regina's taken an interest in Greg, so I think I'll let her run him out of town on her own. Neal and Tamara are staying, as far as I can tell.

[She shouldn't assume, but given what she knows of the situation, she'd be surprised to see Neal go back to Manhattan now.]

She's good with the whole fairytale thing.

Are you good with them?

[ He pauses at the study door, the crease in his brow furrowing deeper. Even from a distance, he's seen the two in proximity to one another, seen the look on their faces. Tamara's presence isn't fooling him. He's spent a lifetime conning people, he can spot one of his own. ]

It can't be easy for you, suddenly having him around the corner at any given moment.

It's not as bad as I thought it'd be. Henry's pretty much in awe of him, and Neal cares enough to make an effort with his kid.

[She stops when he does, letting that first question linger for a moment. If she said it all made sense, and felt right, that would be a lie. She has her own questions about Neal and Tamara that are going to go unanswered, simply because she's too stubborn to ask them.]

For Tamara to just accept all of this, he's found the perfect woman. Good for them.

[That, right there. How does that happen?]

Perfect, huh?

[ He huffs softly. Emma's got blinders on, but it's little wonder. The issue's too close to home, and how would it look if she started searching for fault in her old lover's fiance? ]

I've seen perfect, or as close to it as people get. That woman's anything but.

That woman's been supportive about all of this, Jefferson.

[She can't imagine what she would do if she was seeing a guy who suddenly ran off with his ex and their kid, but showing up to support him wouldn't be at the top of the list. She sighs, not sure what she's supposed to say about Tamara.]

As long as she's good to Henry, it's none of my business.

[Regardless of what her instincts would tell her if she was willing to listen.]

...alright.

[ He's going to keep an eye on her regardless. He's got a feeling, and he's certain Emma does as well. She's not stupid. Just...emotionally compromised. That he can understand.

Regina comes to mind.

The candle gets set on the study's desk, but not before lighting a few more candles, enough to see the edges of the room at least. ]

I noticed Regina's back to gliding around town like nothing happened.

What am I supposed to do, tell him not to marry her?

[She smirks, taking an empty seat while he works on the candles. Regina is a better topic. Hating her doesn't make Emma feel like a bad person, it makes her feel like the majority.]

Regina's probably plotting her next move, I don't know. After what happened with Cora, I'd only be surprised if she didn't try something else.

[She gave up one option for Henry, that doesn't mean there aren't ten more hidden away in that mausoleum.]

Next time it'll be something less obvious. She only gives in when Henry sees what she's capable of.

Do you want to?

[ Not 'are you going to' because they both know the answer to that, but he can't help but be a little curious. The subject change seems to be seized upon quickly, though, and he takes the hint, shaking his head. ]

...I don't think there's anyone I hate more than that woman. But even I know what she'll do for family. Whatever family she has left, at least. I don't doubt she'll try something soon, I'm just surprised she's leaving herself out in the open like this. All things considered.

All things considered, she knows my family isn't going to try anything.

[Not with how Henry reacted the last time. She doesn't want to be the person who resorts to ending a life to protect theirs, but for Henry, she would. It makes it a little easier to understand how Mary Margaret made that choice.

There wasn't any other way. Everyone would be dead if she hadn't done something.]

Gold's afraid of losing Belle and Neal, we're afraid of hurting Henry. I'm sure others have some power, but none of them would really go at her.

[None of them would go for it and survive, anyway.]

We're all stuck.

Then I suppose we should be grateful for the peace, while it lasts.

[ None of them are happy about it, but Rumplestiltskin is the only one who can do anything about her, and Emma's nailed it on the head. He won't do anything to endanger the woman he loves or his son, and Jefferson can't begin to fault him for that. Not when they're all just trying to protect the people important to them. ]

And be ready for the inevitable fight when it comes.

[That's the other side of it. There's something wrong here. Whether it's Regina or something else, she doesn't know. She can't make sense of it on her own, and the only person who could help her his gone.

There aren't a lot of options, other than to wait and see, and be aware. She draws her legs up, curling into her seat, careful to keep the soles of her boots off of the fabric.]

August was trying to warn me about something, when he - by the time we found him, it was too late. He started to say something, she - and that could have been Regina, but it could have been someone else.

[Would he have been so upset if it was Regina? So help her, if she finds out the woman was behind what happened to him, Henry's disapproval may not be enough to prevent her from taking action.]

Whoever it was isn't likely to stop with him. Though I don't know why Regina would have gone after August, of all people.

[ It doesn't add up. Regina's fairly obvious in her aims, everything's about moving the pieces and manipulation, and August had been minding his own business out in the woods. What brought him out after things with Cora went down...well, that doesn't fit. Not with anything he can conjure. ]

He must have uncovered something important.

[What it was, and who it was about, she doesn't know. All she has is the idea that it's a woman and the memory of another person she cared about dying in her arms.

It's not the same, she knows. But the man she knew is gone, and will likely never exist. She'll watch him grow into someone else now.]

When I figure out what it was, someone is going to pay for what they did to him.

[ There's nothing he can really say to that, nothing she doesn't already know. If he can do anything, he will. In the meanwhile... ]

Hey.

[ Taking a knee in front of her chair, he reaches for her hand, giving it a squeeze. She's not going to be alone in this, not ever again. Whatever small part he has to contribute to that, even from the sidelines, he owes her that after everything that's happened. ]

[But she was alone, that's the thing. When Henry was dying, when no one else knew, she was alone and August told her she could save them. And to think that he spent months alone in an abandoned trailer when he could have been with them...

She squeezes his hand and takes a deeper breath, wiping at her eyes with her other hand. There are no tears, none that will show in the darkness at least. Just a sting in the corners of her eyes that remind her she's being an idiot about this.

Pinocchio got a second chance. It's a good thing.]

I shouldn't even be here.

[For all they know, he could be next. First Graham, now August. The thought has occurred to her more than once.]

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