Sherliam

"Catch me if you can, Mr. Holmes"

- William's words to Sherlock in chapter 15 and the foreshadowing of future events

Sherliam is the slash ship between Sherlock Holmes and William James Moriarty from the Moriarty the Patriot fandom.

Canon
William and Sherlock's paths cross for the first time in chapters 5-6, on the board of a ship called Noahtic that also serves as the stage for one of William's plans. They meet during a party, when Sherlock, who's been entertaining other guests by guessing people's professions by only looking at them, is asked to try guessing William's profession. He correctly deduces that William is a mathematician and then proceeds to explain how he arrived at this conclusion by analyzing the other's actions. It appears to have piqued William's interest, who then decides to analyze Sherlock in a similar way. He lists off multiple accurate guesses about Sherlock based on simply observing and, notably, sniffing him. It seems to take Sherlock by surprise and he asks the question "How'd you know?" to which William replies with "It's obvious", which possibly marks the moment Sherlock realized he met someone similar to him and equal on the intellectual level.

The next time the two get to talk is after the cruise is over. Sherlock approaches William, wanting to discuss the events that occurred on the ship - Count Blitz Enders murdering a commoner on stage and soon after jumping off the ship to his death, which Sherlock believes was all orchestrated by a third party, a genius mastermind who left no trace of evidence. William, who happens to be said genius mastermind, listens to Sherlock's explanation and indulges him in the conversation, even praising his knowledge, asking questions about his deductions and smirking. He points out that Sherlock seems to be having fun despite the fact that the events that occurred were serious, in response to which Sherlock expresses that he's excited to be faced with such a puzzle and assumes William should also find it interesting, as solving a mathematic formula is what makes mathematics fun. That causes William to smirk, to himself this time it seems, as he perhaps realizes then that they in fact think a lot alike. They part ways soon after that, although not without William asking Sherlock for his name and Sherlock introducing himself.

During the Study in S chapters, the two might not interact, but the case Sherlock is solving is a mystery set up for him by William who wants to test him to see if he's fit to play a role in his plan. Sherlock quickly realizes that it's another crime with a third party involved, a mastermind working from behind the shadows, and this time he actually gets a confirmation when he's faced with the choice of either arresting Jefferson Hope, the culprit, or shooting him and getting to find out his benefactor's identity. Sherlock deciding to not to kill Hope proves him worthy in William's eyes. The case is also the official beginning of the detective's chase after the criminal soon to be known by the public as the Lord of Crime.

The next time William and Sherlock get to see each other face-to-face is in chapters 15-16 when they happen to be travelling on the same train. Sherlock is visibly thrilled to see William and even blushes before hurrying over to his and Louis's table. William looks startled to see him but allows Sherlock to sit with them. Sherlock then tells him about the Jefferson Hope's case and its probable relation to Enders's death on the during the cruise of the Noahtic. He also talks about the mastermind behind those cases and then accuses William of being the person behind everything. It almost ends the story right there and then as Louis is ready to murder Sherlock with a dull knife, but fortunately William speaks up in time. He neither confirms nor denies the accusation, instead answering in a somewhat evasive and rather flirtatious manner. Sherlock laughs amusedly at the response and says that he was only joking. It's interesting that he follows it by the words "This guy's the devil incarnate, after all!" considering that that's how William seems to actually view himself. On a more positive note, he then proceeds to wink at William and tell him that he'd like him to be that "sharp criminal". William looks surprised, but after a brief moment he smirks and speaks the words that became one of the most popular Sherliam quotes and serve as a foreshadowing for the future events in the manga: Catch me if you can, Mr. Holmes. Sherlock blushes and William asks if he'd be satisfied if he said that and calls him "Mr. Detective". Sherlock laughs loudly once again and says that William really is the best and that he feels they could really get along. Further flirting is interrupted by Lestrade and soon after by a scream coming from a different part of the train. It turns out that a murder occurred on the train. Sherlock suggests a competition to see which one of them can solve the case quicker, to which William agrees. In that moment Sherlock also calls William by the shortened version of his name, "Liam", for the first time. As they investigate the crime scene together, it's evident that they understand each other's thoughts well with no need for words. Later on, Sherlock is also the only one who catches on to William's bluff. William pretends not to know what Sherlock is talking about, but he does wink at him as he's leaving, in response to which Sherlock calls after him saying that they should get a meal together someday. After William leaves, Lestrade who witnessed everything thinks about how similar the two are and wonders if them meeting is destiny. In the meantime, William is talking to Louis and mentions that Sherlock believing too much in people is something that he likes about him.

In chapter 31, William is visited at his work at the Durham University by Sherlock, who sneaks into his lecture and takes an exam alongside his students and shows himself after the lecture hall empties out, calling out to William and asking him teasingly to score his exam for him. Originally William acts unimpressed and a little confused as to why Sherlock is in Durham and after Sherlock reminds him about the dinner he asked him to get with him, he teases Sherlock about not recalling that he ever said he'd go. Still, right after that he offers that they can talk together during his lunch break as he grades exams after his next lecture, to which Sherlock happily agrees and asks if he can sit in William's next lecture as well, to which William replies that he doesn't mind. During the lecture, Sherlock pays close attention to William and the sound of his voice to determine if he's the Lord of Crime or not, whose voice Sherlock had the opportunity to hear earlier. After the lecture they sit down to talk together during William's lunch break as they planned and Sherlock shares his thoughts and theories about the Lord of Crime with William and also declares that no matter what the Lord of Crime's reasons for killing people might be, killing people is still wrong and Sherlock intends to catch and condemn him. William agrees with his decision and Sherlock reveals that he was feeling a little lost and that he's glad he got to talk to him. He then adds that he doesn't mind giving up his life to catch the Lord of Crime, to which William says that if Sherlock's prepared to go that far, there's no doubt he'll do just fine. Shortly before they leave, William shows Sherlock his graded exam, with the score zero, and also tells him about an exam with a perfect score that isn't signed and asks Sherlock if he could find the person who wrote it while William goes back to work, to which Sherlock agrees.

Sherlock manages to find the owner of the exam, Bill from Durham Printing, and then Sherlock and William decide to convince the dean together to let Bill study at the university. They're successful at doing so, which Sherlock later comments was thanks to William's "smile that doesn't let his opponent say a single word" as William walks him to the train station. As Sherlock's boarding the train, William refers to their conversation earlier and how Sherlock said he didn't mind losing his life if it meant the Lord of Crime would be arrested, and says that he should make sure to return alive. He also calls him "Sherlock" and it's the first time he calls him by his name instead of "Mr. Holmes", which causes Sherlock to blush and the cigarette he had in his mouth to drop to the floor. However, William then quickly denies calling him by his name, but he does it again after the train already drives away.

They meet again when they both confront Charles Augustus Milverton, William with the intention to kill him and Sherlock to get rid of the evidence the man has of the past of Mary Morstan, John Watson's fiancée, that could ruin John and Mary's marriage. Milverton is unaware of the fact that the two know each other, despite how proud he is of knowing everything about everyone, and is very proud to have successfully lured them in, as he believes that Sherlock will now have no choice but to let Milverton go and arrest William as there's supposedly no reason for him to let a mass murderer slip through his fingers when he's right in front of him. However, Sherlock's reaction to getting a confirmation that William's the Lord of Crime is to laugh in delight and he even says he hoped it would be him and needed it to be him. Interestingly enough, instead of leaving William to handle the situation, Sherlock shoots Milverton himself after making sure William's fine with the information about him being the Lord of Crime becoming public, which Milverton said would be the result of his death. He then declares that this is where the game gets serious and that he'll be the one to reveal everything about William and will catch his in his own way, to which William's response is "My reply to those words is the same as before. Catch me if you can, 'Sherlock'." However, when he escapes in a carriage, he is shown to be rather distraught, saying it's his fault that Sherlock committed murder. He then tells Louis that killing one person is no different from killing two and that now Sherlock will definitely end up killing him.

In chapter 52 Sherlock decides to talk to John about William. He explains William's actions to John. When John is torn between not wanting to condone murder under any circumstances and understanding the Lord of Crime's reasoning, Sherlock admits he would feel the same if he was in John's position, however there is a decisive difference between them, which is that William is a dear friend of him and he wants to save him. In the same chapter, he meets with Louis and Fred who come to ask him to save William from his own plan, which Sherlock realizes by now William doesn't intend to survive. Once again, he declares he's going to save William as his friend even though he doesn't know if the other sees him the same way. At the very end of the chapter, William visits Sherlock in his flat on Baker Street 221B. He asks Sherlock if he can finish the story of William James Moriarty. The conversation continues in chapter 53. Sherlock asks William why he wants to die so badly, William's reply being that he must erase all the devils on Earth and he's the only one left now and he wants to leave the decision how to finish it to Sherlock. Sherlock asks William why he chose him, pointing out that there was no good reason for him to do so. As he asks the question, William is shown recalling the times when Sherlock winked and laughed at him. Instead of answering he turns the question around and asks why Sherlock wanted him to be the Lord of Crime. Sherlock simply replies that he had his mind set on befriending a person like that and repeats his own question. Instead of answering, William hands him two letters one in a white and the other in a black envelope and explains that inside the envelope there's a time and place of their final showdown written. When asked about the black envelope, he says that Sherlock can throw it away for all he cares, then leaves.

Sherlock opens the black envelope, inside which there's another address. When he goes there, he finds a place with all of William's criminal plans stored, as well as William's and Louis's birth records and a letter left to Sherlock by William. In the letter, William first talks about his plan and about how he wants to entrust this world to Sherlock, and next he answers the question Sherlock asked him earlier in the chapter. He confesses that meeting Sherlock was more fun that he could have ever anticipated and how for a moment he could forget about the weight his sins carry. He admits he felt as if he met the only one who could ever understand him and that he wanted to continue talking to Sherlock and even throw everything away to keep solving puzzles with him. He says that it was strange to have such feelings for a detective and that from the very first time they met Sherlock felt like an old friend of his. Lastly, he says that he wants Sherlock to be by his side in his final moments, him and no other, and that he has no doubts that if they could be reborn into another world, this time they'd be able to take one another's hand as true friends do. After he finishes reading the letter, Sherlock sits in shock for a moment as the realization dawns on him that they felt the same way the whole time. He then abruptly runs out of the building, shouting he can still make it in time so they don't have to be reborn into another world yet.

Sherlock spends chapter 54 running to where William is waiting for him on top of a bridge. As he arrives there, he shouts how it's not too late yet and that there's nothing unforgivable in this world. However, as Sherlock reaches out, William refuses to take his hand and instead draws his sword and initiates a fight. In chapter 55, when William decides they can stop fighting, he declares it's time for him to close the curtains. Sherlock asks angrily if death is really his idea of atonement, shouts at him not to use death as some cheap escape route and accuses him of trying to escape the pain this way and says that if he really wants to repent for his sins then he should stop running away when things get hard and choose the thorniest path for him. He points out that he's now a murderer too, just like William, since he put an end to Milverton's life, and suggests they can both atone together from now on. William, however, says that this is farewell and proceeds to throw himself off the bridge, but Sherlock catches his hand in time before he can fall. William asks why Sherlock would go this far for him. Sherlock replies that it's because William is his friend and that's more than enough of a reason. He also says he read William's letter, and William's eyes widen as he hears that. As Sherlock explains that just as William never saw him as a mere chess piece needed for his plan Sherlock never saw William as just a puzzle to solve either and that they felt the same way from the beginning so they must be able to witness the same future, light seems to come back to William's eyes. Sherlock asks him to live on and says that he'll protect this world so William should too. To that, William replies with the words "So you came here not as a 'detective'... but rather as a 'friend', huh... it's my loss. Sherly." He says that the scaffold can't possibly support this much weight and he says that the only one he wishes to have return home alive is Sherlock. Then, he lets go of Sherlock's hand and smiles fondly at him as he falls. Sherlock looks at him, stunned, for a brief moment, before yelling that he won't let him die alone like that and jumping after William. He smiles as he catches William and embraces him tightly as they fall together, asking him to survive so they can both live on. Right after that both of them fall into the River of Thames.

In chapter 59 it's revealed that both Sherlock and William survived the fall. They were saved by Billy the Kid, who was sent by the US government and who takes them to New York City after rescuing them. Sherlock is the first to wake up as well as the less injured one, even though it's revealed that he protected William during the fall. The first word to leave his mouth when he wakes up is "Liam!" and he completely ignores Billy who tries to talk to him in order to check if William is okay and only speaks to Billy to ask what happened to William's eye when he notices the bloodied bandages over it. Later, when Billy asks Sherlock to work for the United States for a while, Sherlock's condition is that Billy looks after William when he's gone. The next time we see Sherlock and William together is when Sherlock comes back to the place they're staying at and sees William's empty bed, which causes him to panic and run around looking for him until he finds him sitting on a bench on top of a roof. He calms down then and looks at William with a fond expression before sitting with him. It's also revealed that after William got better they worked together for a few years. Later Sherlock travelled alone and stayed in a while in Paris, until he got a letter from William asking him to contact MI6 for him which resulted in Sherlock eventually returning to London.

Musical adaptation
In the musical adaptation of Moriarty the Patriot, Sherlock and William additionally appear together during the scene where Jefferson Hope asks Sherlock to kill him. A vision of William appears then and starts singing, trying to convince the detective into shooting Hope, using phrases like "I hold you in the highest of regards", "you want to know all about me, do you not?" and "I will give you my everything". In the second musical, the two also sing a duet together which was said by William and Sherlock's actors to be a love song.

I hope/I will
I hope/I will is a song from the second Moriarty the Patriot musical. It's the ending song which takes place after Sherlock realizes that the Lord of Crime protected James as promised and so he burns the letter with the Lord of Crime's name. Below is an English translation of the lyrics, made by @megane_tantei on Twitter:

Sherlock's part:

That was Irene Adler the Woman

The authorities announced she was dead

but you made up such a clever story

''isn't that right, Lord of Crime? That woman is alive''

That day's client was also you, wasn't it Irene

Now everything has connected

To you who made it happen

Lord of Crime you saved that woman perfectly

That's why I will protect this oath between us

William's part:

Holmes, you didn't come to me

You realized the truth that was erased and did not see the true name (of the Lord of Crime)

I believed YOU ALONE could perceive the truth

If you protect the promise you made with me

Both of them (Sherlock on the left, William on the right):

Your name/Holmes you are

Disappeared into dust/The light that shines in the darkness

That's okay because I will definitely catch you/No matter what valleys of death I walk through

Lord of Crime, you/To the end with you

I will expose you/Catch me if you can

I will capture you/Catch me, you can do

You who is like/Catch me if you can

A phantom/Catch me, you can do

William: I hope (you catch me)

Sherlock: I will (catch you)

Both:

Beyond this deep mystery's fog,

Beyond this mystery

Quotes
"I would've liked you to be that sharp criminal."

- Sherlock to William in chapter 15

"Catch me if you can, Mr. Holmes."

- William to Sherlock in chapter 15

"You should make sure to return alive after arresting the Lord of Crime, Sherlock."

- William to Sherlock in chapter 31

"Right, Liam!! Isn't that right!? I'm glad it was you!! Ha - I'm so glad... truly... to be honest, I didn't want it to be anyone else. I wanted it to be you, and I needed it to be you, so I'm really happy that you're here now."

- Sherlock's reaction to learning that William is the Lord of Crime in chapter 47

"I want you to be the one by my side in those finals moment. You and no other. If, if we could be reborn into another world, I have no doubts that this time we would be able to take one another's hand... As true friends do."

- The ending of William's letter to Sherlock, chapter 53

"With these hands, I put an end to Milverton's life... I'm a criminal now, just like you... So why don't we atone together from now on?"

- Sherlock to William in chapter 55

"You never once saw me as a mere chess piece needed for your plan... and it's the same for me! I never once saw you as simply a puzzle I wanna solve, either!! It was never like that to begin with!!"

- Sherlock to William in chapter 55

"So you came here not as a 'detective'... but rather as a 'friend', huh... it's my loss. Sherly."

- William to Sherlock in chapter 55

"Finally, I've caught you now. Liam... let's both survive. Live on, both you and I..."

- Sherlock after catching William during their fall, chapter 55

Fanon
The ship is very popular in the fandom and by many readers, it's interpreted to be pretty much canon, due to how many scenes seem to be intentionally written with clear romantic undertones, similarly how in multiple panels Sherlock and William are seen looking at each other with extremely fond looks and Sherlock often blushes at William. William's letter is also often considered to be a love letter, the lack of an explicit love confession in it making sense considering the circumstances such as the time period the story takes place in, William not being certain what Sherlock's feelings towards him are and the letter also serving as what is technically a suicide note. Some argue that Sherliam is only supposed to be a close strong friendship and that the author might not be aware that it comes off as romantic, however it's doubtful that the author is unaware that gay people exist, especially considering that there is a canon trans character in the manga. It's also worth mentioning that the way William and Sherlock are written is vastly different from how the author wrote Sherlock and John, who are an example of a very close and affectionate platonic friendship.

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