Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my contribution for the Mythea Christmas Fanswap I am/did host on Tumblr. My person was Losthompson who was very open and up for anything for what she wanted. I came up with this after talking to her briefly so I really hope she likes it! And I hope the rest of you like it too. Please read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Even When You're Insufferable – For Losthopmson by Blood-Sucker-1428
Anthea held her gun tightly in her hands as she surveyed the now empty room. She made sure no one else was on their way quite yet and checked for any bugs or cameras in the room before she began frisking the three bodies lying freshly dead on the floor.
"It won't be a literal key." Mycroft's voice rang though her ear thanks to the little ear peace she was wearing. Anthea rolled her eyes.
Mycroft, her boss and current boyfriend, and she had fought only hours ago. The fight in the hotel room had been about his utter disregard for her. She'd wanted to go have a nice dinner last night before they she was sent out on this message but Mycroft had not been in the mood. To which Anthea pointed he was never in the mood to do anything and they always seemed to do what he wanted to do, even outside of work. Mycroft had called her needy and obsessive and that had been the end of it. The only reason they stopped arguing was because they both knew they had to get a good night's sleep. After renting herself her own hotel room Anthea could definitely say she did not sleep well at all. She doubted Mycroft had any trouble. The man was so selfish and enjoyed his own company so much he was probably just happy to have a bed to himself.
"I know." Anthea hissed quietly as she leant down to frisk the first body. "Despite what you might think, sir, I am not an idiot." She knew she could be looking for a key card or some sort of identification. She was going to take it all just in case.
"Grow up." Mycroft scoffed into her ear as she pulled out wallet and began rifling through it. "You're working right now."
"I had realised when I was shot at." Anthea answered as she pocketed the money and continued looking. "How are you enjoying your cushy armchair?" She could imagine him rolling those deep blue eyes of his right now.
"Don't forget to look for any identification that might help us or any documentation."
"I know!" The assistant checked the second body and found the key card. "Got it." She said far more calmly.
"Good. Continue forward." Anthea rolled her eyes again. Continue forward? Where else was she going to go? Back to the entrance, out, and then back to the hotel? She felt like he was treating her like a child.
She pulled open the next heavy metal door to find a man standing there brandishing a knife. A knife of all things! Anthea quickly dodged out of the way and used the man's forward momentum to push him to the floor. Using the butt of her gun she knocked the guy up. She took out her handcuffs and cuffed him to the door. After checking for any other weapons, of course.
"Anthea?" She heard. His voice was calm but there was a sense of urgency that hid underneath his façade. The man on the other end would have heard nothing but the silent scuffle.
"I'm fine." Anthea wiped her hands on her trousers. "Moving forward." She continued down into the dark hallway. Why were these places never pretty? Or at the very least well lit?
"Now, what you need to do next is-"
"I know." Anthea sighed. "I planned this with you." She came up to the door with the key card and the number pad.
"I'm looking out for you, not trying to belittle you. Learn the difference." The voice used what sounded very much like a belittling tone to Anthea.
"Learn how to talk to people and maybe I'll know the difference." Anthea muttered to herself quietly enough that maybe the earpiece didn't even pick it up. She swiped the card key and entered the code.
Nothing happened.
"Oh." She pouted her lips and tried not to let any panic set in.
"What?" She tried again. She swiped the card and entered the code.
Nothing happened.
"It's not working." She answered as she frowned. She tried entering the code first this time.
Still nothing.
"What do you mean it's not working?"
"It's not working!" She entered just the code. "It's… It's just not." She swiped the card. "It's not even giving me a denied message." Silence on the other end but she could hear the clicks of the keys of a keyboard.
"What are you doing?" The strange, deep, male voice came from behind Anthea. She whipped around quickly, brandishing her weapon. She didn't even get a good look as a large boom filled the echoing room and an all engulfing burning feeling filled Anthea's abdomen. Her hands began shaking and she lost grip on her gun, it falling to the ground with a clang.
"Anthea?" The voice rang in her ear. "Anthea? That was a gunshot. What is happening?" Anthea looked down to see her blue shirt soaked in a deep red colour. The liquid saturating the shirt so much it began to drip off and hit the cement floor in an almost hypnotising way. "Anthea? Are you there? Say something." The voice was pleading with her to speak. Anthea brought her hand up to the location of the blood.
"I…" She couldn't form anything to say. She touched the wound. Her abdomen filled with both fire and a piercing pain that felt like being stung all over by a million bees. She gasped in pain.
"ANTHEA!? Anthea!?" The voice yelled deafening in her ear as her world went back and she fell onto the floor.
Anthea opened her eyes to a blinding white light. She could see nothing by white and it hurt her eyes to even squint at it. As she moved a hand to block the light from her gaze she found her limbs to be heavy and sluggish, the response time not being the best. As her eyes adjusted to the lights she realised she was staring up at a white ceiling with stark white lighting. That was strange. The last thing she could remember about her surroundings was a whole lot of grey. It was then that Anthea became aware of a soft fabric on top of her and a firm mattress underneath her. She tried to sit up only to be met with an incredible stabbing pain in her side. She almost crumpled into herself but her will power allowed her to keep going and to get in a slightly more upright position. Enough to see white walls with, flowers, and medical equipment.
She was in hospital.
She had failed her mission.
"Ah, damn it." Anthea cursed with an extremely croaky voice.
"Now is not the time to be lamenting over your perfect record, my dear." The velvet smooth voice came from right beside her instead of ringing in her ear. She looked over to see Mycroft Holmes sat by her bedside. He was dressed in a three-piece suit as always but his tie was loosened and his top button undone. He was also pouring a cup of water. Any anger Anthea had for him was matched by her relief to see someone by her side. They'd always made sure the other had never woken up alone at the hospital, even before they began dating. Mycroft placed a straw in the cup and held it over to Anthea so she wouldn't have to sit up completely to drink it. The personal assistant took enough of a drink to moisten her mouth and stopped. Mycroft placed it on the little table besides the bed. It was now that she noticed the IV in her arm and the liquids being pumped into her system.
"How bad was it?" She asked. Her eyes went from the drip to the steely eyes of her boss turned boyfriend. Something passed through those eyes, something dark.
"Not… great." He quirked his eyebrows. "If I hadn't gotten there as quickly as I had you'd…" He trailed off as he looked down at the floor, his eyes searching the tiling carefully. She wondered what that must have been like. For him to find her surrounded by a pool of blood and close to dying while in the middle of a fight. No doubt it brought back many of his fears when it comes to his relationship with his little brother.
"Good thing your perfect record is still intact." Anthea muttered, using her dark humour to defuse the heavy feeling. It seemed to work as Mycroft sniffed something close to a laugh and eyed her like she was crazy. "What did it get?" She asked. She was curious to check out the wound and the bandaging but she really didn't feel like moving.
"Liver." Mycroft answer. Anthea winced. That means the bullet went through some lower ribs and into her liver. No wonder Mycroft had looked so concerned moments ago. He nodded in agreement to her wince. After finding her there would have been tubes, induced coma for a few days, and an operation. Now she thought about it, Mycroft looked tired. His close were freshly laundered, of course, but the exhaustion around his eyes spoke of no solid sleep in days. She wondered what it would be like to think your best friend and romantic interest was about to die on the same day you had told them to grow up.
"I'm sorry you had to be here for everything that entails." She didn't have family. She didn't have anyone who'd want to be here and give Mycroft a break. The genius pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I wouldn't have been here if I didn't want to be." That's right. That's what their fight had been about. About how he only ever did what he wanted to do and disregarded what others want. He had decided to be by her side this entire time and to stay up to keep an eye on her. His selfish attitude quite often benefitted those around him. Anthea smiled warmly at him.
"It always is your way, isn't it?" She rolled her eyes playfully. The genius chuckled under his breath.
"Talk about needy. Ending up in the hospital." He jabbed back. Anthea began to laugh only for the pain to turn it into a cough which in turn hurt even more. She grabbed at her side and winced as hard as she could to stop tears from falling. She felt a hand on her shoulder firmly but lovingly. It took a minute for the pain to dissipate and for Anthea to catch her breath. The fact that laughing had cause her so much pain cause the weight of the situation to hit Anthea hard. This was not something she could walk off easily.
"I suppose I'll be having some time off work." She said quietly as she still only breathed lightly from the pain. "And even longer off missions." Mycroft, looking at her with a stern expression, nodded.
"You'll have to be monitored here for longer, and then you'll be discharged into someone's care." Mycroft explained. She wondered if the doctors and nurses had told him this of if he already knew it. Or even possibly he could have looked it all up because of her. Anthea sighed and shook her head.
"I can't go home?" She lamented. Anthea didn't have any family to look after her. She didn't have parents to go stay with, or a sibling or even a cousin to come stay with her. She had friends but she'd never impose like that. Anthea had always been alone in this world. What was she supposed to do? Stay in the hospital.
"You can go home," Mycroft frowned at her. "Simply not to your flat." Anthea pulled a face at the genius. Did he just offer, or rather imply, that she could stay with him? But he loved his solitude and they'd just had a huge fight. Even on the best of terms he couldn't spend longer than a weekend away with Anthea without going crazy and needing some alone time. He hate, absolutely hate having someone in his house.
"Are you offering me one of your guestrooms?" Anthea cocked her head to the side.
"No!" Mycroft scoffed in her face. "I'm telling you that you will recuperate in my room." Anthea's expression fell. She loved that room, she did. She loved the feel of the sheets, and the scent of Mycroft that filled it. She loved that it was the only room with photos in it. She loved waking up to him. However, if he couldn't escape to bed when pretty much caring for her where was he going to go? She would be there with him for possibly weeks. He'd be giving up his solitude for her health.
"Mycroft…" Anthea spoke gently. "I can't do that. That's your safe place."
"And it can be your safe place." He pulled a look like she was being ignorant. If she were still angry she'd say he was belittling her.
"Why would you want me in your house for that long?" The genius shrugged dramatically.
"As it turns out my dear, even when you're incredibly insufferable I love you." She sighed heavily. "And love is great weakness that leads us all to do crazy things, such as letting our girlfriends stay in our bedrooms." Anthea tried not to laugh as her face burst into a large grin.
"I don't know why, but I love you too." She waved her hand to gesture him towards her. He stood up, leaned over her and kissed her. Anthea used her tube free hand to stroke Mycroft's hair tentatively.
"It's proximity and exposure." Mycroft said in his matter-of-fact tone as he straightened out his suit and sat back down in the plastic hospital chair. "We spend so much time together that our bodies tricked us into falling in love."
"Or maybe." Anthea crinkled her nose up at the man. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you'd actually get off your nice chair to come save me that makes me love you." Mycroft clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, but his eyes were filled with love and laughter.
"If you expect me to save you from dying every time we fight from now on, then you're just being unrealistic."
Author's Note: I hope you all liked it! In particular, I hope it met expectations dear Losthompson! Do let me know. I look forward to reviews and to reading/seeing all the other fan swap done for this thing. Merry Christmas!