Summary: Natalie Lestrade knows her soon-to-be ex-husband is hurting, knows it's partly her fault. When she meets the obviously interested Mycroft Holmes, she decides that she owes it to Greg. He deserves to be happy. Mystrade.
Rated: T...Idk why.
So I didn't really expect to be interested in Mystrade...and then I got hit with the feels. Thanks, tumblr.
Natalie swiped back a few strands of graying brown hair as she read over the document in front of her. Everything was very straight-forward: neither party would benefit financially from the divorce, Natalie would keep the house and pay all bills for it, and everything they'd worked ten years to buy would go to Natalie.
She didn't want it that way. She wanted to split everything evenly. She wanted to sell the house and give half the money to Greg. She wanted both of them to come out of this divorce in one piece, rather than shattered into a million tiny pieces and harboring resentment. Of course, Greg had every reason to resent her; she'd cheated on him three times, with three different men. He's tried so hard to patch things up but she just kept screwing everything up. Ten years of marriage, and what did she have to show for it? A head of gray hair and a piece of paper that basically said "congratulations, your husband wants nothing to do with you!"
Her hands shook as she signed the few spots and pushed the pen and paper toward Greg. He picked the pen up quickly, scribbled his signature, and pushed them both to his lawyer.
"Alright, these will be filed within the next week. We'll notify you both when the divorce officially goes through."
The four people stood up, shook hands, and left the room quietly. Outside, Natalie parted with her lawyer. She looked both ways down the street and spotted a coffee shop. Her legs moved toward the shop without even thinking about it, and soon she found herself settled in to the tiny corner business with a steaming cup of coffee and her iPhone, checking when her next client was scheduled to pay her a visit.
"Natalie."
She looked up from her phone and smiled awkwardly. Greg was standing in front of her table with what appeared to be a cup of tea. He smiled down at her, though it didn't touch his eyes.
"Do you mind if I...?" He motioned to the table and she nodded quickly, pulling her big bag off the seat in front of her.
"Not at all!" He slid into the seat and sipped at his tea for a moment, savoring it before the topic came up.
"So, that's it, then?" She asked softly. He looked into her eyes sadly and nodded.
"Ten years of marriage torn apart by a few sheets of paper," he laughed, though the lines on his forehead became more pronounced.
"We both know that isn't true. I did this."
"No, no, it wasn't-"
"It was," she cut him off quickly. "I did this to us. To you. Don't try to pull that gentlemanly crap. We've been married ten years, it doesn't fool me anymore."
He bit his lip and nodded slowly. Natalie sighed and pulled her pony tail down, fading brown hair collecting around her thin face. She toyed with the split ends a bit before taking another sip of coffee.
"It could have been worse, though," he said with a tired smile.
"I suppose we could have killed each other." Natalie laughed along with Greg, though on this inside she felt a bit dead. People could say anything they wanted about her, but the truth was, she loved this man. She loved him more than anything on this Earth. It had been her own self-consciousness and dread of growing older, feeling middle-aged, that lead her to fool around with younger men. In the end they only made her feel older and she betrayed the trust of such a good man. And she hated herself for that. She just wanted to make things right again, but had no idea how to do so.
"Gregory, pleasure to see you here!" Natalie looked up from her coffee cup at the man standing next to their table. He was tall and important-looking, his tailored suit probably costing more than Natalie's yearly salary. His receding hair was brownish-orange and he looked to be a bit of a party killer. Everything about him said "all business, no pleasure", yet when he looked at her husband (ex-husband, remember?) the corners of his mouth pulled up into a smile that said "I'm trying to be professional but the sight of you is making that very hard".
She turned to watch Greg's reaction, and wasn't disappointed. Greg flashed his signature wide smile, complete with laugh lines and dimples, and his eyes softened.
"Mycroft, what on Earth are you doing in a cafe?" He said it as if the idea of this man stepping foot in a tiny cafe was absurd, and maybe it was. Maybe he really was as important as his clothing suggested.
"Just stopping by to have a chat with John. It appears I'm a bit early. Might I ask your friend's name?" The man, Mycroft, turned to smile at Natalie.
"Oh, of course! Mycroft, this is Natalie, my..." She could practically see the gears at work in his head, trying to figure out what to call her while at the same time sparing her feelings. But to hell with her feelings; he'd sacrificed enough on her behalf.
"I'm Greg's ex-wife," She smiled and held her hand out. She watched, fascinated, as Mycroft's smile faltered ever so slightly. Nonetheless, he grasped her hand and shook it.
"Mycroft Holmes. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Holmes?" Natalie shot Greg a look and his head jerked forward in confirmation. "So you're Sherlock's older brother?"
"Indeed, though he would rather I not spread that bit of information around town."
"On the outside, maybe. I'm willing to bet he's secretly very proud to have you as a brother." Mycroft raised an eyebrow at her as she sipped her now lukewarm coffee.
"Well, I'd better leave you two to your business-" Natalie could practically hear the reluctance in his voice. For whatever reason she set her cup down quickly and pulled over another chair from the table next to them.
"Actually, would you like to join us? I'm sure Greg wouldn't mind?"
She watched her husband carefully to see his reaction. He looked interested in having Mycroft around, but not at all happy about Natalie inviting him to sit with them. If she was being completely honest, he looked jealous. That was when it hit her: Greg thought she was flirting with Mycroft.
That settled it. Mycroft needed to sit with them.
"Are you sure?" He eyed Greg questioningly. "I would hate to interrupt."
"Um..." Greg looked to Natalie for help but she had her head bent over her phone purposefully, wanting to make sure Greg knew that it wasn't for her. It was his choice. "Please join us, it's not a problem at all."
Mycroft sat carefully in the seat, dusting off his jacket and leaning his umbrella against the table.
"So, Mr. Holmes-"
"Please, call me Mycroft," he said charmingly. And oh yes, Greg definitely looked a bit green around the gills.
"Mycroft, may I ask what you do for a living?" She gave him her friendliest, most platonic smile, but kept her phone poised in her hand. She checked it every thirty seconds or so to appear busy and preoccupied.
"I occupy a minor position in the British government," he said proudly. Greg laughed and they both looked to him.
"Minor, my arse," he muttered through his laughter.
"Well, it's minor as far as anyone else is concerned, Gregory."
The way he said Greg's full name caught her attention. It was so formal, yet Mycroft managed to make it sound so personal. He smiled every time the name fell from his lips and his ego seemed to deflate in his presence, almost like he had programmed himself to uphold an act that he didn't feel he needed to uphold around Greg.
"Is there anyone special in your life, Mycroft?" Natalie really didn't know how to ask that question without Greg getting jealous. It just goes to show how deeply their separation had affected him, the depth of the scars it had given him. He may not know what she was doing now, but by God, she would do it anyways. For him.
"Someone special," Mycroft mused, looking up in concentration. "There might be."
"Well, I really hope whoever it is knows it. Life is too short to hide your love." She looked at him knowingly and something in his features changed. He knew she knew. Perfect.
"But love can also be very dangerous, wouldn't you agree?" He leaned toward her, his face much more serious now. Poor Greg was watching the two across the table, his features torn between jealousy and confusion. "Love makes a person vulnerable, weak."
"So does fear of falling in love," was Natalie's quick retort. Mycroft sat back slowly and watched her. Her eye caught a man across the shop who was watching Mycroft curiously and she guessed it was John.
"Well, I'd better get going. I have a client in thirty minutes. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mycroft."
"Likewise," he smiled. They shook hands and Natalie tried to keep herself from laughing at the suspicious look on Mycroft's face.
"I'll see you around, Greg. You two had better stay here until that John fellow shows up, he'll probably come any minute." She grabbed her phone off the table and headed toward the door. The short man who had been watching Mycroft was walking toward the table and she grabbed his arm, spun him around, and towed him out the door.
"I'm sorry, but who are you? What are you doing?" He pulled his arm away as they rounded a corner.
"Playing matchmaker. Go home, tell Mycroft later that something came up."
"Are you mad? He'll poison my dinner if I do that," John said, exasperated. Natalie smiled and motioned for John to look in the window. They both peered in at Mycroft and Greg. Mycroft had moved his seat closer to Greg and their hands lay on the table next to each other, pinky fingers touching. They both looked so happy.
"I think your dinner is safe this time," Natalie smiled and walked away slowly.
A big part of her ached to see Greg happy with someone else, but she reminded herself how much damage she had caused over the years. She loved him, and in the end just wanted him to be happy. If the only way for him to find happiness was to be with someone else, well, who was she to stand in the way?
Yay, Mystrade! Well, sort of. Reviews would be much appreciated, and if you have any requests please let me know! Thanks for reading!