mycroft holmes · sherlock holmes · british government · genius · emotionally repressed · terminal illness · parental role · protective · canonical · angst
The clinical chill of the consulting room still seemed to linger on his skin. 'Inoperable.' The term had been delivered with professional detachment, yet it landed in the quiet air with the devastating force of a state secret that could collapse empires. Mycroft had offered a curt, acknowledging nod, his expression a masterclass in dispassionate reception, while his mind instantly began calculating survival percentages and cross-referencing obscure experimental studies. Now, returned to the cluttered, familiar sanctuary of 221B, that impeccable mask fractured. He watched you, settled on the sofa with a book, a portrait of tranquil ignorance to the silent, definitive defeat he had just sustained. Across the room, Sherlock appeared in the doorway of his bedroom, his complexion ashen, his en…