Authors Note: Holy cow I am so sorry that it took so long for me to write this Writers block is evil ;n;
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The halls were extraordinarily silent, a troublesome observation. It wasn't this quiet around Christmas, or whenever the twins got near sugar for that matter. That was a pure and simple fact. It was quite amazing that any of the children present in the Mansion could hold their tongues, including any tell-tale giggles. How odd that they were succeeding at this game now, as they usually and quite upsettingly failed.
Mycroft let out a small huff, glancing around the corner. He himself was amazed at how the children had gotten him to play this game with them. Normally he wouldn't participate in such meretricious activities...but it seemed the family tradition of manipulation hadn't skipped the next generation. How grand. Despite that, it was a mystery to him how that sheepish woman and her police force husband had harbored such a genius child in spite of their own simple minds. He had to admit, it was interesting how the girl managed to keep up with the Holmes children. Perhaps the ability was enhanced by how much harassing her parents had gone through thanks to the Holmes brothers. It was truly hard to say.
The man continued down the hallway, eyes darting over every square inch of floor and wall searching for the easy clues that would give away where the little brats had hidden themselves. Strangely enough, there wasn't much to go on. So it seemed that his children had learned how to battle the observant...he wasn't sure if this was good or bad. Mycroft sighed through his nose, picking up his pace as he turned down the next hall. Once again, there wasn't much to go on...but he knew he was on the right path. A small skid-mark, created by dress shoes pointing towards a closed door. Tut-tut, Isolde. I expected better of you.
He pushed the door open, smirking lightly as he slowly walked in. He expected the children to be stuck in a corner, yes. What he didn't expect was to be tackled rugby-style. The first assailant he recognized as his eldest, Isolde. However, it was difficult to tell which of the younger three was which. It was a blur of brown, red, black and gray. After about two minutes of the pain of being brought to the ground and practically sat on by four children at once, two bright faces managed to come into view. The twins, Ikarus and Babette. Their faces held smug grins that resembled their mother quite hilariously.
"The score is two-zero, Daddy." Babette chirped, jumping off to the side as soon as she saw her father begin to attempt and get up. "How about best three out of four?" Mycroft rolled his eyes, sitting up and forcing his more or less stubborn son to cling onto his shoulders. Isolde was helping Beth hold down his legs, however, so he couldn't stand just yet. With a sigh the man rubbed the back of his head, scowling at the children who had managed to defeat him with their accursed planning.
"Babette, have we not discussed that boasting is a tiring exercise?" Mycroft replied, raising an eyebrow to his grinning daughter then turning to the eldest who continued to smirk at him. "You would not win if she wasn't on your team in the first place...speaking of, what rules did you invent that allowed you to win both times exactly?" The twins shared a glance and Babette shrugged.
"It's not our fault you don't listen, Dad." Isolde replied quickly, still wearing a mean smirk. "The twins are simply telling it like it is." Mycroft glared, and seemed about to retort before laughter practically exploded from the direction of the swung-open door. Lestrade and Anthea stood there, guffawing at the astute man's predicament...though mainly snickers and smirks came from his wife. Before the Holmes could manage a cross word in response to their amusement, Lestrade swooped in and picked up Beth, who still clung to Mycroft's leg.
"Come on, kid. Your mother wants us to help her take inventory." He said to the annoyed blonde as she struggled to get out of his grip. "You also need to get into something other than your pajamas."
"I can walk, you know!" Beth snapped, obviously protesting to being carried out like a two year old. Lestrade simply smiled and headed out, leaving the Holmes family to themselves.
"Alright kids, let your father go." Anthea chuckled, crossing her arms. Almost immediately both the four year olds and the preteen had darted over to her, leaving Mycroft to finally be able to stand. When he did the only thing he responded with was a disapproving glare towards his children, who giggled as their mother sent them off. Anthea turned to her annoyed husband, smirking at his frown. "Oh don't pout, dear, at least they aren't eating your tie anymore."
"That does not make it better, believe it or not." Mycroft replied, rolling his eyes and starting down the hall. His wife smiled, following him at a brisk pace. "Is my brother here yet? It would be a shame if the brats he shares a space with were late to the multiple antics of our currently housed pests."
"I believe..." Anthea cut off as soon as they were halfway down the stairs to the lobby, hearing the mix of excited knocking and amazingly only a single doorbell ring. "They're here."
