Greg had always loved Christmas. When he was a kid, his family had started decorating the whole house by late November.
He and his siblings had made biscuits with their mum until the kitchen was covered in powdered sugar and sticky from marzipan, and everything smelled like cinnamon and clove.
They had sung Christmas carols together in the evenings and some years even picked out and cut down their own tree.
Later, after moving out, he'd come back at least for the holidays every year, until he'd met Theresa.
She'd found his enthusiasm adorable, and had indulged him in almost everything concerning Christmas.
Of course, things were bound to change after the divorce.
He just hadn't had the time to think about Christmas of all things when thy were fighting over everything, even the ugly couch they'd both hated.
Things had not been going well for years, but around the holidays, the always seemed to make up somehow.
So this year, after all the papers were signed and everything little detail was talked and argued about, and he'd moved into a small flat close to the Yard, he'd woken up one day, looked at the calendar and realized it was the third of December already.
He had buried himself in work until then, so he saw no real point in decorating a place he only used for sleeping.
He'd called his daughter later that day, asking her whether she would like to come by and bake biscuits like they used to when she was younger, but she'd said no.
"I'm not ten any more, Dad," she had told him."Also, Mum is getting me out of school early this year, so we can all fly to Bermuda together with Bob, and I need to go shopping for presents before."
Bob was the new boyfriend. Well, new wasn't quite the correct term.
He was the P.E. teacher Theresa had been sleeping with for over a year before they, in Theresa's words, finally got a divorce. He knew he should be glad that his daughter wasn't feeling left out, especially now that she lived with Bob and Theresa full time, but he couldn't quite get himself to be.
Every other teenager would rebel and despise the mother's new partner, wouldn't they? Especially if they found out their mother had cheated on their dad with that person, right?
He sighed, put on a scarf, and left the house for a walk.
The air was crisp and cold, and a thin layer of snow covered the trees and the grass when he reached the park.
It was a beautiful winter day, really, but Greg found that he wasn't able to enjoy it like he usually would. He pushed his hands into his pockets and walked at a brisk pace, trying to leave the dark thoughts behind.
"Good day to you, Gregory," a voice suddenly said from behind him.
He turned around, surprised to see Mycroft Holmes approaching him.
He smiled politely.
"Hello, Mycroft. Anything happen to Sherlock?"
To Greg's astonishment, Mycroft shook his head.
"No, nothing of the sort. I simply felt like taking a walk. Would you like to keep me company?"
He held out his arm.
Greg chuckled despite himself.
"Are you seriously offering me your arm?"
Mycroft just arched an eyebrow until Greg mock-sighed and took it.
They walked like that for a few minutes, the Greg burst out laughing. "I feel ridiculous!" He exclaimed.
"But also, no longer miserable," Mycroft pointed out.
Greg turned to face him and smiled widely.
"That's true," he said. "Thank you."