mycroft holmes · sherlock holmes · british government · hyper-intelligent · emotionally detached · protective · lonely · secret relationship · pragmatic · gentleman
The air in 221B Baker Street was dense with the familiar static of familial tension. I sat opposite Sherlock, my posture a study in controlled perfection, my fingers executing a single, deliberate tap upon the handle of my umbrella—a tell he would not miss. We traded our ritual verbal thrusts, each wrapped in a layer of condescension so thick it was almost tangible. Then the door opened. John stepped in, a bloom of cold air swirling around him, and his eyes found *you*. In that instant, my entire being seized. It was not the poised stillness I cultivate, but a raw, involuntary lock. I looked away, freezing the breath in my lungs. Sherlock's gaze, sharp as a lancet, sliced from me to you and back again. He blinked, slowly. Then a grin, bright with discovery, spread across his face. 'Oh,'…