Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock – the characters or the image used as a cover. Everything belongs to the BBC.
Mycroft is eighteen when he leaves for university. Sherlock is inconsolable for weeks beforehand, begging him not to go. He clings to his side much more than normal and wants to do everything with him, afraid to be left alone. He says that Mycroft can't leave, because if he does, he'll be all alone. Mycroft reminds him that he'll still have Mummy and Father, but they both know that isn't quite true. Their father has become more and more distant over the years, spending more time with his work at the office during the day and more time with his bottle of scotch in his study in the evening. Their mother, bless her, still tries her best, but they know she is tired of it all, despite the brave, stoic face she puts on each morning.
Still, Mycroft tries to be positive for his brother's sake, but it doesn't help; things continue to get worse. Ever since he learned that Mycroft was going away, Sherlock's moods have been more frequent and he's become a general terror. He refuses to eat and there are days when Mycroft has to literally drag him out of bed just to get him to go outside and play. He's so pale and withdrawn and stubbornly insistent on wearing the same heavy sweatshirt every day, even in the hottest days of summer. Mycroft worries about him, but he chalks it up to nothing more than an exaggerated sulk.
On the day he actually leaves, Sherlock stands on the sidewalk, bravely trying not to cry as Mycroft crouches before him, promising he'll be back to visit soon if Sherlock is good and eats his vegetables and practices his violin and goes to school. Mycroft gets an armful of little boy as Sherlock suddenly launches himself at his older brother, throwing his arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. Mycroft eventually plies him away, discreetly kissing him on the head and ruffling his curly hair and telling him to be a good boy, to listen to mother and mind father. Sherlock sniffs and straightens and doesn't say anything at all.
Mycroft gets in the car and waves a final goodbye as he drives away. Sherlock doesn't move, but his large blue eyes stay locked on Mycroft as long as they can, staring off into the distance long after the car has rounded the corner and disappeared.
...
The first time Mycroft comes home, it's Christmastime. He arrives with a bag full of presents for Sherlock and expects to have his ear chatted off, but his little brother is oddly silent. He barely speaks, barely looks up at him. In typical Sherlock fashion, he plays his violin and reads his books and refuses to eat anything but sweets. Mycroft assumes he's being stubborn, that he's punishing Mycroft for having left him behind, and doesn't pay much mind to yet another of Sherlock's frequent tantrums.
It isn't until the last day of his holiday that Sherlock decides to grace him with an agreeable mood. They spend the day playing chess and eating cake and drinking hot chocolate. Their parents go out that night – they've a New Year's party to attend – and the two of them are left to manage on their own. As usual, Sherlock protests vehemently when Mycroft says it's time for a bath and bed, but Mycroft wins the battle – he always does – by promising to read to him about pirates before he goes to sleep. Once Sherlock is out of the bath, Mycroft checks on him to make sure he hasn't suddenly decided to run around naked and catch his death of cold.
He knocks on the door to Sherlock's room and enters just as Sherlock is pulling on his shirt. The boy jumps and yells at his older brother for just barging in, but Mycroft isn't paying attention. He's fixated on the deep purple bruises that cover the boy's torso. Alarmed by their size and color, he asks what happened. Sherlock shrugs, saying he fell one day last week on his way home from school, slipping on the icy sidewalks. Before Mycroft can say anything else, Sherlock grabs his pirate book and hops into bed, demanding that Mycroft start to read.
Mycroft doesn't mention the bruises again until he leaves the next morning. He says his goodbyes to his mother and father and brother, teasingly admonishing Sherlock not to slip on any more sidewalks. When their mother asks him about it, Sherlock turns white as a sheet and mumbles a half-hearted reply. Mycroft smiles gently and explains that it wasn't anything to be worried about and Sherlock is fine now, isn't he? His little brother nods, forcing a smile.
Mycroft thinks his response odd, but then again, so is Sherlock.
...
In the spring of Mycroft's sophomore year, their parents divorce. Mycroft wants to say he's surprised, but he feels like it was inevitable. For years now, they've been unhappy in their marriage. Mycroft wants to say it has nothing to do with Sherlock, but he doesn't quite believe that's true. He knows his brother has been a strain on their family, that their parents have fought about how best to deal with him ever since he was very young. He wonders if it got worse after he left for university, once he wasn't there to help with Sherlock. He wants to believe that that's not true, but he just can't quite accept it.
Surprisingly enough, their mother is the one who ends it. She packs her suitcase and leaves the country, deciding to live with her sister in France for a while. She doesn't even say goodbye; just up and goes, leaving a note and divorce papers on the dining room table. Mycroft is shocked when Sherlock calls him, distraught, crying over the phone, saying that Mummy has gone and she's not coming back. Mycroft doesn't fully believe him at first, and tells him to calm down and tell him what actually happened. So Sherlock takes deep breaths until he can speak clearly again and tells Mycroft all the facts – the note, the papers, the lack of Mummy's things, her total absence – and Mycroft believes him.
It's just so unlike their mother… Despite her frustrations with her husband, she had honestly tried her best to love and care for both he and Sherlock. Mycroft knows that it was never easy, that it became decidedly less easy as the years passed and their father began to choose work over his family, leaving her to deal with Sherlock and his moods and eccentricities and troubles all on her own, but she was never a woman to just give up. Something must have happened, he reasons, something drastic that pushed her over the edge, but Mycroft doesn't ask. He doesn't want to upset Sherlock any further. Besides, their parents' relationship was never his business and now, with Mummy's shocking betrayal, he's beyond caring.
When he stops to think about it, Mycroft is more angry and confused than hurt by the whole situation, but Sherlock is understandably devastated. He was never close to either of their parents, but Mycroft knows that he always preferred their mother over their father. That was never a secret. She at least tried to understand him. He wonders if perhaps Sherlock and Father will be closer now that they are the only two left in the house, but he doesn't put much faith in the notion. It's best that he doesn't, for as the weeks progress following Mummy's departure, their father's response to the divorce is to remain as married to his work as he ever was, which leaves Sherlock to fend for himself even more than usual. Sherlock doesn't seem to mind their father's absence – in fact, he tells Mycroft he doesn't mind, and actually prefers it – but Mycroft still worries that he's spending too much time alone. Mycroft wishes he could be there with him, but with his busy class schedule and the fact that his university is a two hour train ride from home, there's not much he can do.
Mycroft tries, but he just can't hold everything together. He's not all-powerful.
...
Mycroft graduates from university and gets a job with the government. It's not much, just an entry-level position that will get his foot in the door. Mostly, it consists of long hours and tiring, often tedious work, but he enjoys it. The pay isn't great either, but he earns enough to pay the rent on a tiny flat in a fairly respectable part of London.
Now that he lives closer, he makes an effort to come home on Sundays to see Sherlock. Mycroft knows that Sherlock hates having to live with their father – their mother still ignoring Sherlock's calls and letters that beg her to let him go and live abroad with her – so Mycroft tries even harder to be the one stable constant in his life. Recently, Sherlock has once more started asking if he can come and live with him, now that he's done with university. Despite his sympathy for his brother, Mycroft continues to say no. His schedule and work are too unpredictable and, while Sherlock isn't a child anymore, Mycroft doesn't want the responsibility of dealing with him every moment of every day. He's just beginning to carve out a life for himself and he doesn't need any new distractions. He's given enough time already. Sherlock is nearly an adult and Mycroft can't be expected to continue parenting him forever. At some point, he has to start fending for himself. He's not trying to be cruel, just logical.
Still, Mycroft is disturbed by the fact that every time he goes home, it seems as if Sherlock is more and more distant. He's no longer excited when he stops by the house and he hardly even bothers to come out of his room at all. Rather than come downstairs and be civil, he sits alone in his bedroom doing God knows what while Mycroft makes conversation and shares a glass of scotch with their father. Sherlock usually manages to make an appearance by the time dinner is served, but not always. Sometimes Mycroft will go upstairs to literally drag him down to supper, just like when he was a child. Other times, their father will holler up the stairs and threaten him until he comes down.
One such Sunday, when their father's shouts finally bring Sherlock down the stairs, Mycroft is shocked to realize that he barely recognizes the tall, lanky teenager who takes a seat beside him at the table. Looking at his pale face, his sunken cheeks, and his empty eyes, Mycroft wonders where his little brother went, and when this dark, moody stranger replaced him.
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