Just so everyone is clear: This is a VERY AU story. Meaning OOC is expected. I imagine that if John had gotten his hands on younger versions of any of the people in his life in cannon lots of things would be different. So…Yeah.

Summary: The first time John visits the Holmes' Manor, he's blown away. It's so big and he feels almost small. Sherlock fixes it though and soon they're running around the garden outside playing pirates again- John knows it's Sherlock's favorite game- but this time John brought water pistols.

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John stares at the Manor. "It's so big." He only whispers it, but Sherlock, Mycroft and Violet all hear him.

"It's the ancestral Holmes' Manor. It has been used by my family for a long time." Sherlock tells him.

John is staring at the large brick mansion in front of him and fidgets. He's not used to such a large home. He's used to the small house he lives in with just enough room for his sister, him and their parents. The idea that Sherlock had…all of this…made John feel…small almost. He wondered why Sherlock had picked him out of the crowd in the park.

"Because you were interesting."

John jumps a little at the sound of Sherlock's voice, turning to look at his friend, who is watching him with bright ice blue eyes. "What?"

"You're interesting. You were observing and you didn't get mad at me when I told you about the man on the bench. It's why I kept talking to you."

John blinked, distracted. "Do people get mad at you?" He was also impressed again at Sherlock's ability to almost read his mind.

"Usually."

"But…why?" John didn't understand. Sherlock was brilliant.

"They don't like that I can see everything and tell them."

"But…you're telling them the truth. Mum always tells me not to lie. So does everyone else. And you tell them stuff everyone can see if they know where to look. They shouldn't be mad at you for telling them the truth."

Sherlock smiled at him and John automatically grinned back.

Mycroft started at John. "Oh." He suddenly realized why Sherlock had connected with John. He didn't have to hide his brain. John didn't get angry at him for pointing out all the different things he could see about a person at a glance. John understood. Maybe not completely, not yet, but he was on his way to understanding completely. Mycroft blinked once, his estimate of John growing just a bit more.

If he kept that up, Mycroft just might end up liking him on his own merits.

Violet watched the interaction with a small smile. John would be important to her boys. He would stay at Sherlock's right hand, but she thought he would be one of the few people Mycroft would end up protecting to protect… because he cared-no matter what he might tell others. Like he protected Sherlock.

Sherlock grabbed John's hand and dragged him into the manor without another word telling him where everything was and how he would have to show John the map he had made from memory so he didn't get lost.

After the tour Mycroft is drafted into watching over Sherlock and John as they play outside in the garden since they weren't allowed outside without someone older.

Mycroft acts like it annoys him on principle, but really he enjoys watching Sherlock laugh and play and be happy. It's not a hardship to watch his little brother enjoying himself when just a week before the closest Mycroft had seen to a smile on his brother's face had been a smirk when he got something to react just so in one of his experiments.

They're playing Pirates again, but this time John had brought water pistols with him.

John brought the water pistols out- having filled them before stepping outside- and handed one to Sherlock.

The game of pirates would only stop when the water in the pistol ran out, where they would call 'refill' and run to the hose Sherlock said the gardener used. Both boys were careful not to ruin the plants they ran through.

Eventually the game moved closer to Mycroft and the twelve year old was surprised when he was suddenly shot in the face.

The boys had decided to team up and shoot Mycroft with their water pistols right in the face. Mycroft blinked rapidly, wiping the water from his face to stare at the laughing boys. John walked right up to him and offered a third water pistol "I thought you might play with us, so I brought another one just in case. Will you play Mycroft?"

Mycroft almost said no on principal, but both boys were watching him with these ridiculously happy expressions and hope in their eyes and for some ridiculous reason Mycroft found himself reaching for the water pistol.

He didn't even realize he had it until both boys smiled up at him and ran for cover in the garden.

As soon as he saw his little brother smiling up at him though, Mycroft knew he couldn't take it back and so, with a glance around the area to make sure no one saw what he was about to do, Mycroft jogged after the two five year olds.

From the second story of the manor, Violet Holmes smiled.

John Watson was a good boy and an excellent influence on her boys.

Mycroft hadn't played with his little brother in the traditional sense since he was nine years old and Sherlock was two. It was one of the best sights she had seen since watching Sherlock's first meeting with John to see Mycroft jogging after his little brother and his friend in the garden ducking, dodging, and shooting the water pistols.

When she saw the small smile on Mycroft's face when he turned to face the manor while keeping his eyes on the two smaller boys Violet decided John Watson was welcome in their home at any time, and would have an open invitation on weekends. If she could help it that boy would be over at the manor at every opportunity.

Her smile grew as she continued to take pictures from her position. She knew if Sherlock or especially Mycroft realized she had taken pictures of this they would stop or get embarrassed that they had been caught so she resorted to using an excellent quality camera to get pictures without letting them know.

There was absolutely no way she would let this go without taking pictures. Especially since both her boys were there and smiling. There was none of the tension that had developed between her boys because they weren't sure how to interact with each other. Her eyes drifted to John.

The boy didn't know how much she owed him. Didn't even know he had done anything worth mentioning.

She decided then and there that she would protect him, for this if nothing else. For making her boys laugh and play together.

She snapped another picture, mentally making a note to save all of these pictures on her computer and protect all the files so Mycroft wouldn't try to get rid of the evidence.