AN: This is just basically a fic about various members of Greg's and Mycroft's families finding out about their relationship.
This can be read on its own or as a sequel to Blind Date and Telling Your Ex.
Sorry this has taken me a while to post, been busy with exams coming up. Not sure when the next chapter will be up(assignments to finish and study to do) but I'll get it up as soon as I can!
I hope you like it and let me know what you thought.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to BBC and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Nine months ago Detective Inspector Gregory Lestrade had just been divorced from his wife, and he was miserable. Not as miserable as he had been towards the end of his marriage, but still miserable. If someone had told him that nine months from now he would've been sitting in his parent's house, introducing them to his boyfriend, he would've laughed in their faces. Firstly because, for Greg to be introducing someone to his parents, he must be serious about them; he doubted he would ever find someone like that ever again. Secondly, but most importantly, he was not gay, so he'd never even entertained the possibility that the partner he would find could be a man.
So here he was, sitting in his parent's living room, waiting for the most opportune time to tell his father that Mycroft was more than just his friend. Mycroft and Greg had been dating for six months now so he figured it was time to tell his parents about them, well his father anyway. Greg had told his mother about Mycroft even before they had started dating, which had helped him open up about his feelings towards the elder Holmes.
Just over 6 months ago
"Hello, Sue speaking," said Sue Lestrade as she answered the phone.
"Mum? Hi, it's me, Greg," replied Greg, a bit nervous about his reason for calling.
"Hi dear, how are you? Are you OK, you sound upset?" Of course his mum would notice he had something on his mind even though he'd barely said five words.
"I'm fine," he paused, thinking of the best way to phrase what he was trying to say, "I just… need some advice on something."
"Of course darling, what is it?" Greg had always loved how caring his mother was and this was one of the reasons he trusted her enough to ask her about something like this.
"Well…" and then everything that had been on his mind lately came rushing out, "I'd been feeling miserable since the divorce and so a colleague at work set me up on a date. Things didn't exactly go as planned but I bumped into an acquaintance at the restaurant and we became friends. Now we see each other practically every day but I've…well…I've sort of developed feelings for them and I'm unsure what to do now."
He stopped then, taking a deep breath and waiting for his mother's reply.
"I don't see what the problem is Greg, why don't you just tell them how you feel?"
"That's the problem," replied Greg, knowing what he would have to say for her to understand his dilemma, "it could ruin our friendship and I have no idea how they feel about me in return".
"You see each other practically every day, I'm sure she likes you as much you like her."
"He."
"What?" replied his mother, confused now, did Greg just say he?
"He, the person I'm talking about, he's male," Greg was holding his breath, waiting for his mother's reply. Maybe this had been the wrong way to tell her?
"Well he then, I'm sure he likes you as much as you like him"
Greg let out the breath slowly.
"Mum, are you...umm…are you OK with the fact that he's a guy, I mean...ahh… the person I like is, well, a man?"
That hadn't come out of his mouth exactly as planned but he had to make sure that his mother was OK with this.
"Of course dear, now you go tell that man how you feel."
"But…" His mother cut him off.
"No buts, you obviously care a lot about him or we wouldn't be having this conversation, now go."
Greg smiled to himself; it was just like his mum to tell him exactly what he needed to hear. He needed the courage to tell Mycroft and this was her way of showing support which she knew he needed too.
It was the very next day that Greg had told Mycroft how he felt.
"Mycroft, why don't you join me in the kitchen? You can tell me all about your job," said Mrs Lestrade, rousing Greg from his thoughts.
Mycroft glanced at Greg, who nodded, before standing and following Mrs Lestrade into the kitchen.
Greg had no choice but to tell his father now that Mycroft was his boyfriend. They had already been at his parent's house for almost an hour and this was the first opportunity he'd had to be alone with his dad. His mother had obviously noticed he would prefer to tell him alone. Taking Mycroft into the kitchen was her way of telling him that it was now or never and he should just get it over with.
"Dad, I…there's something I have to talk to you about, I mean, there's something I have to tell you," Greg said nervously, after a moment of silence.
His dad looked at him curiously, silently telling him to continue. Greg could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest and he was breathing quickly. Taking a deep breath he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.
"Greg?" His father had noticed his hands shaking and realized something was wrong.
"I…Mycroft and I, we're a...we're a couple," he said, relieved that he'd finally got it off his chest but he now worried about his father's reaction.
He looked down, not wanting to look his father in the eye. Telling his mum had been easy because he knew how she would react. His father he was unsure about. Mr Lestrade had always been more of the silent type and could be hard to read sometimes. Greg finally glanced up at his father, bracing himself for the look of disgust that he was sure would be present on his father's face. He was surprised, and slightly confused, to see his father smiling at him.
"Are you happy?"
"What?" asked Greg, still confused.
"Are you happy?"
"I..yeah I am, happier than I've been in a long time actually," said Greg, a small smile appearing on his face.
"Well then, don't worry about it. As long as you're happy, don't worry about what other people think, you shouldn't have felt scared telling me this."
"So, you're not mad or anything then?" Greg asked hesitantly.
"Of course not. I know I may not say it often but I do love you son, and if Mycroft makes you happy, then I'm happy for you," replied his dad, smiling warmly at him.
This reaction was ten times better than Greg could've ever hoped for. He had been stressed for the past week, since his mum had convinced him it was time to tell his father. Greg and Mycroft had taken the day off work and driven the 2 hour drive to visit his parents. Upon arriving at their house, he had introduced Mycroft as a friend. If his father was confused as to why he would bring a friend on the long drive with him, he didn't mention it. Maybe he had suspected from their arrival that Greg and Mycroft were more than just friends, that's why he wasn't surprised now? Greg had told him now so it didn't matter, and his father had accepted his news so Greg was happy.
"So, does that mean you're−" Greg cut him off.
"Don't say gay, I'm not gay," said Greg, as his father chuckled at him, "I'm not, it's just Mycroft, he's different, I'm not attracted to other men, just him."
His father just laughed again, seemingly enjoying the uncomfortableness that Greg was now feeling at discussing this with his father.
Luckily Mrs Lestrade and Mycroft chose that moment to return to the living room, after probably having listened to their entire conversation. Mycroft returned to his seat next to Greg. Greg leaned over and took Mycroft's hand in his own, squeezing it slightly. Mycroft returned the pressure and smiled over at Greg.
Greg's father chuckled again and both Greg and Mycroft looked at him, curious as to why he was laughing now.
"We both know about you too now, now you just have to tell Jack and Emily."
Mrs Lestrade joined in laughing after hearing her husband's words. Greg groaned inwardly, he'd been so focused on telling his dad about Mycroft he'd forgotten that his siblings didn't know. He wondered how they would take the news that their older brother was in a relationship with a man. All he knew was that there would most likely be a lot of teasing.
AN: I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter is going to be Greg telling his siblings and later on Greg is going to meet Mummy. Thanks for reading and reviews are much appreciated.
