Part 3 of the fic (also on Fanfiction.com) 

Part 1 | Part 2| 

Rating: T 

London, 30th of May, 2011

«Then what happened?!» Nurse Betty is subconsciously tugging at the corner of Mycroft’s duvet.

“Well-“, Mycroft pulls his words out “, that was the coincidence leading up to our relationship. Let your imagination do the rest.” He smiles softly, not wanting to elaborate what happened that night in Prague to just anyone.

Betty was about to ask another question, but then her pager went off, and she had to leave. Not a minute too soon, Mycroft chuckled to himself as the woman disappeared out the door. He adjusted his head on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. He found himself strangely tired again, although he had just woken up. Mycroft closed his eyes slowly, his mind drifting off to that magical night in Prague.

Prauge, 8th of March 2008.

Anthea sits in a luxurious suite in one of the many fine hotels of Prague, waiting for Mycroft to show up. It was now late evening, and she didn’t know how many hours she had wasted trying to sort out the problems with their reservations. She had specifically ordered two rooms, she had even double-checked their reservation - but still, there was nothing she or the receptionist could do. Their second room had been given away by accident. She sighs deeply, resting with her elbow planted in the armrest of the suite’s Corbusier chair.

Mycroft makes his way down the carpeted hallway, his suit still immaculate. When he opens the door of his hotel suite, he wasn’t surprised to find Anthea there. The hotel manager had called him, apologizing profusely - even offering to relocate them to another hotel of the same standards free of charge, but Mycroft had politely turned him down. He sees no use in moving around when two people can certainly make do with a luxurious suite. He can’t afford to be spotted by too many people in Prague, and for various reasons including her own safety, he’d rather keep Anthea close by. This is her first trip - he still feels the need to protect her, at least keep her his immediate vicinity.

Closing the door quietly behind him, Mycroft walks over to her, offering her a gentle smile. “Are you not enjoying the view? “

She looks up at him and smiles back. “The view is absolutely wonderful.” She pauses. “I am so sorry, sir. I did everything I could to fix this… I’m sure you’ve heard?”

“Yes, I’ve heard.” Mycroft nods, taking off his suit and loosening his tie just slightly, leaving the waistcoat on as he walks over to the window, observing the outside view. ” And we’ve been offered the most sincere apologies and offers to relocate, but I chose not to, for security reasons. “Mycroft turns to look at her. “It’s not your fault, Anthea.”

“Thank you.” The waistcoat does a magnificent job of showing off his slim, long body and male features. Anthea discreetly lets her eyes run over him from behind. “I can take the sofa. ” She offers.

“Nonsense.” He shakes his head “We will be here for 3 days, and you need to remain fresh and ready. The bed is king-sizes, we can share…if you don’t mind, of course.”

She looks over at the bed, which was almost visible from where she was sitting in the room next to them. It looked very inviting. And, the thought of lying next to this man made tingles spread across her body. “No.” She answers resolutely and nods. “I don’t mind. We’re both adults.”

“Good.” Mycroft nods, taking her reaction to be a professional one* I’m going to use the shower, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead.” Anthea smiles, still eyeing Mycroft up from behind as he walks past her. “I’ll probably spend more time in the bathroom anyway.”

Mycroft, in all his decency, crawls into bed wearing the hotel’s bathrobe. He picks up a book from the nightstand as he waits for Anthea to join him so he can hit the lights. He tried his best not to think of the fact that he was going to spend a night next to his lovely assistant. It was purely professional, he told himself. The bed was very big and it would be horrible of him to let her sleep on the sofa. If she had refused his offer, he would be the one to take the sofa.

Mycroft’s chain of thought is forced to a halt as Anthea enters the room, only wearing a small, cream-coloured silk slip. He could immediately feel his pulse elevate. Anthea chuckles at him. “I don’t claim to have shared bed with a lot of men, but I’ve never seen a man sleep in his bathrobe before.” Anthea slips in under the duvet next to him.

“I am only a man”, Mycroft answers sincerely as he looks into Anthea’s sparkling, blue eyes. “I am afraid my bodily reactions would might be… Indecent.” He explains.

Anthea looks back up at Mycroft, completely mesmerized by his honest gaze. After a long minute of silence she opens her mouth. “I wouldn’t mind.” She almost whispers up at him. The atmosphere in the room was suddenly so thick one could almost touch it. Anthea’s body was screaming for him to touch her.

“Very well…” Mycroft’s voice is slow. She can hear that he’s thinking. Slowly, the bathrobe comes off, and Anthea holds her breath as she takes in the sight of his pale, freckled shoulders and his subtly toned upper body. He was long, slim and lean – only wearing a pair of boxers. Mycroft lies down, his head resting on the pillow. “Aren’t you going to sleep?” He asks.

Without a word, Anthea scoots closer to Mycroft, settling herself in his arms. Soon, her arm is resting on his stomach, and her head on his chest. “Is this all right?” She holds her breath. Her heart is pounding in her chest.

“Yes. Yes…,” Mycroft closes his arms around her small body. She felt so small against his broad chest. The next second, Anthea’s small hand closes around his wrist and guides it down towards her bum.

Next thing he knows, they kiss. Mycroft has to make thoroughly sure that this is what Anthea truly wants, before their clothes come off and they lie naked next to each other in bed. He takes his time, spending a good hour simply indulging in her body; kissing, touching, massaging and caressing, before they eventually end up making love.

They smile and kiss, tease and laugh. The entire night is spent doing anything but sleeping up in the hotel suite in Prague. It was a night they would both remember until the end of their days.

London, 1st of June, 2011.

After a few days in the hospital, the doctors deemed Mycroft healthy enough to leave, but they had to order him to stay home for a few weeks to take “a break” as they said. Mycroft had immediately started negotiating with the doctors, and they had come to an agreement of which neither of the two parts were entirely satisfied. Mycroft would work 50%, but from his home office. “At your own risk,” the doctors added with a slightly displeased frown.

It didn’t take Mycroft long to step out of the hospital gown and into a sharp, charcoal suit. His chauffeur was waiting for him outside the hospital in a matter of minutes. Mycroft was going home for a change. He had spent many nights at the office, pulling out the bottom drawer of his desk where he would find clean shirts when the night turned into dusk, but now he would have to stop living like that.

From the sidewalk he could see Amelia staring out through the window by the entrance door. Poor Amelia. He knew her well enough to know that she had been sitting there every day, expecting him to come home any minute. As she notices her master he can see her getting up on her feet, wagging her tail eagerly. The old dog tries her best to jump in excitement as he turns the key around. “Amelia,” Mycroft soothes as he gets down on his knees to embrace his faithful friend and companion. “I don’t deserve your loyalty.” With his big, tired hands he ruffles Amelia’s coat, and she tries her best to lick Mycroft’s chin, whimpering in happiness to see her old friend again.

As Mycroft leans back to get up on his feet, he notices a pair of small, black pumps standing next to his shoe rack. The door to his study was open. He frowns slightly, brushing his coat as he straightens up. He recognized those shoes. What was she doing here?

“I expected you about an hour earlier than this.” A firm, female voice calls from Mycroft’s study. “Someone had to take care of Amelia while you were in the hospital. Didn’t I always tell you that your 5 hours of sleep arecritical for your health and well-being?” A slim, elegant, white-haired woman steps gracefully out into the entrance hall.

“Mother?” Mycroft frowns in confusion. What was she doing here? He looks down at Amelia. She met his gaze, wagging her tail. The last thing he had heard from his mother was that she was vacating in France. But he couldn’t expect to be up to date when he had been sleeping for almost three days. “How is… Sherlock?”. Mycroft hesitates.

“Sherlock is Sherlock.” The elegant woman answers. “And it’s best you don’t know more than that.”

Mycroft looks back up, clearly disagreeing “But I am his broth-“

She was gone.