10. Prague, part two

The anxiety that came over him after pressing send was unlike anything he had felt before. It didn't compare to the stress of being held at gunpoint, or watching Sherlock throw himself from a rooftop, the feeling didn't quite match the panic of Eurus' escape; but not because it was better or worst than any of the former, no. It was different. It entailed very different consequences and possibilities. So many possibilities, in fact, that his brain was stalling at the mere thought of it all. So he stared at the ceiling and listened to the low humming of the calefaction. Mycroft wasn't expecting an immediate response, but it had been at least twenty minutes since he had sent the text, so he reached for the phone and looked at the clock with an exasperated sigh. Apparently, it hadn't even been ten minutes...

He considered the possibility of Gaia being already asleep, she looked tired and a the copious amounts of wine they enjoyed before surely hadn't help. Mycroft rolled to his side, staring at the black mirror that was his telephone screen. What had he done? She was going to say no. Maybe not to this invitation, but eventually she was going to reject him and things were going to be awkward and then she would move on, and he would pretend that he had moved on as well and everything would be ruined. Romance was a bad idea. It was only useful on artistry, not on his life, much less in The Cabinet...But, what if she said yes? What if she kept on saying yes? What if this attraction he perceived from her, this tension, was a desire for something more? But how much more? How much more was he willing to give?

An unexpected vibration on his hand took him back to reality.

Is this your way of telling me we'll have a terrible day tomorrow? – G.B

What a smart girl. He smiled. She was luring him to state his intentions before she said yes. It was really clever. And tremendously complicated to answer. He couldn't simply say "no, this is me asking you on a date" or "yes, be ready for mayhem, i'll get the wine", so he settled for a simple (and perhaps a bit dry) "No".

Good. I'll see you tomorrow – G.B

Her response was immediate, but he wasn't sure if he should answer; instead, he texted Anthea.

Separate cars tomorrow on the way back. Having lunch outside- M

Sleep avoided him for most of the night, so he tossed and turned before finally falling asleep a few hours before sunrise. He got up early and layed out what he had deduced was her favourite suit on him, he carefully picked a scarf to go around his neck and tried to style his hair in a way that wouldn't seem like he was trying too hard. He polished his shoes obsessively, until he could see the white in his eyes clearly on the shiny surface of the black Oxfords. Mycroft was experiencing a sudden rush that only came whenever he truly needed something to work out as expected, except this time, he really did not know what to expect. There was a possibility that she was mistaking his intentions and thought it was something friendly, like the end of the month outings he started having with Smallwood a while back, or that she would think he was willing to break the rules and go into a formal relationship with her not caring about the consequences it would surely bring for both of them. Nonetheless, he looked for the weather report and pushed a bit too far on the meeting, so things would go smoothly and he would be free to join her for lunch without worrying about anything else. Mycroft instructed Anthea to let him know as soon as Gaia was out from her meeting and frowned deeply when she smirked with a bit too much cockiness on his opinion. He made a mental reminder that he would have to talk to her about the whole thing, ensure her silence and discretion. It was pointless to try and hide it from her, she was his PR after all...

Finally, a little after two o'clock, he stepped out of the meeting feeling triumphant but a bit nervous.

"Sir, Database is already on the entrance" Anthea informed him in a whisper

"Thank you Anthea, i'll meet you at the hotel later in the afternoon" she nodded with a smirk "I trust you won't say a word of this to anyone"

"Absolutely not, Sir. But i will suggest having lunch at the other side of the Moldava" she stated while looking at her phone "Too many familiar faces on the vicinity"

He hadn't even thought of that. Being so caught up on her wish to see the Astronomical Clock, he hadn't stop to consider that if they were together on the Old Town Square, someone from the czech government would surely spot them. And in situations involving an older man and an attractive female, little did it matter how professional they may actually be, the gossip was always a more powerful force...Mycroft caught sight of Damien first, standing outside of the building and talking to a smiling Gaia.

"Mr. Holmes" he said out of courtesy "Hope you enjoy your lunch"

The man extended an arm towards Anthea and they shared a complicit look before going inside the car.

"Hi!" Gaia greeted cheerfully "How was it?"

"Uneventful, really" he shrugged and pointed towards the Old Town Square "And yours?"

"Pretty successful, i'd say" she answered, walking with her hands inside her pockets. She was nervous as well.

"I'm glad" he tried to reassure her "I knew you'd do more than well on your own"

"And i appreciate the vote of confidence, Mycroft, i really do"

"It's all earned, my lady" she smiled, with a deep blush on her cheeks "Would you like to see the Clock before eating?"

"I would love to"

They walked in each other's company until they got to the clock, a living proof of the magnificence and attention to detail the old masters put into their works. It was remarkable, but it paled in comparison to Gaia's beauty...her curious eyes scanning carefully every bit of the wall, a soft smile of satisfaction, her hair falling freely at the sides of her face... she was stunning. And he was a troll...his intelligence and wit the only part of himself he would consider worthy of her attention. Mycroft needed to impress her somehow.

"Historical records show the clock has been up and working since 1410, even though it went for almost a hundred years without functioning in the sixteenth century..." he captured her attention with his words "It was believed for an extended period of time that the clockmaster that had supposedly built the clock had been blinded by the Councillors so he could not repeat his work on any other city, so the clockmaster disabled the clock and no one could repair it for a very long time"

"But of course, that was just a legend, and the blind clockmaster was not even the one who built it" she said, startling him

"Exactly"

"It went in and out of order several times along the centuries and it was almost destroyed in World War II. The most recent renovation was in 2005, but there's another one scheduled for the near future so it can be finished before the 610th anniversary" she looked back at the sculptures adorning the wall "Am i correct?"

"Yes, you are" he was impressed, for someone who had never been to the Clock before, she sure knew her facts...He watched in silence as she kept smiling to herself. "I thought you'd never seen it before"

"And i hadn't, but that didn't stop me from reading about it" she looked embarrassed, and he felt instantly bad for his comment

"That is very admirable" he said, attempting to correct his mistake "Most people just wait for someone else to tell the facts"

"Oh, so it's not the first time you pose as Wikipedia?" she smiled again, and the relieve he felt must have been noticeable from a distance

"Not the first time i've been compared to Wikipedia either"

"Poor Mycroft" she mocked playfully "Shall we go find something to eat?"

"I thought you may want to stay and watch the statues move when the next hour comes..."

"I wanted to. But i think i need the cake i was deprived from yesterday. If that's okay with you..."

"Absolutely. We can do anything you want" there it was again, the dark pupils and the subtle lick on her lips...it stirred something inside him, his own desire, Mycroft presumed, but it was not time nor the place to indulge...He would have to wait. "I know a place near Charles Bridge, if you don't mind the ride"

"Lead the way"

They walked towards a busy corner, where Mycroft held the taxi door open so she could enter. She looked pleased with his gesture and he took note on that. She liked the old-fashioned gentleman type. He could work with that quite easily, it wasn't far from his true nature, after all. He gave the cabbie the address in his very rusty czech and felt instantly satisfied when she looked at him in disbelief.

"You speak czech?"

"Only a little" he downplayed it, maybe it would be too much bragging if he admitted that he had learned the language during a quick assembly a few years back.

"Really? A little?" she was teasing him "How many languages do you speak, exactly?"

"Not many"

"Let's recount" she wiggled in her seat and started counting with her fingers "English, obviously; i've heard French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin and Russian before..." she closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating really hard "Japanese? Yes, i'm pretty sure that was Japanese..."

"You're forgetting German" he pointed out, a playful tone in his voice, as he listened to how much attention she had been putting on him during reunions.

"Of course! Silly me" she palmed her forehead with a small roll of her eyes "How could i forget German? Czech, Italian...You know what? I changed my mind..." she shook her head, a few loose strands covering her face partly

"I-I'm sorry?" he panicked, maybe she had find him too presumptuous.

"You're not Wikipedia, you are most definitely the Google Translator"

"Am i?"

"Yes, you are. I have never met anyone that speaks that many languages before...it's very impressive"

"Thank you" he said, sincerely

"You're welcome" she fixed the loose strands of her hair behind her ears "It surely must come in handy sometimes"

"Indeed it does. And you? Any hidden skill i should know about?" he tried to change the focus of the conversation on her, instead of him, just as he always did; except this time, it was for entirely different purposes.

"I can cook" she replied with a touch of shyness in her voice "Any recipe, any type of food. Just tell me what you want, and i'll find a way to cook it"

"Including cake?"

"Including cake, yes" she bit her lower lip "I'm not particularly good with desserts, but i can brulee something when needed be..."

"Now that is a far more impressive and useful skill" he pointed out "I can't cook for my life. I'm simply terrible at it"

"Mycroft Holmes being bad at something, that is simply not possible"

"On the contrary, my lady, it is more than possible. You just don't know me well enough to have seen it"

The taxi stopped and he went out first, hurrying to open her door, to which she blushed again. He really loved having that effect on her. It was endearing. He offered his arm and walked close to her to the doors of a restaurant he had been in before. It was a nice and quiet spot close to the stairs that led to Charles Bridge, secluded enough to think of it as a romantic spot. A waiter promptly assigned them a table and soon, they were clinking their wine glasses together like the night before.

"This is really delicious, Mycroft, thank you for inviting me"

"Don't thank me, i'm just happy you said yes. Most would've refused"

"Well, i wouldn't have"

"Really?" he asked not so innocently "Why is that?"

"You are a very interesting man, Mycroft" she answered, without much innocence as well "I like interesting people"

"It's only natural that a beautiful, interesting woman like yourself likes stimulating conversation"

"Thank you for the compliment, but i'm really not interesting at all…" she looked down at her plate, moving her food from one side to another

"Merely stating facts, Gaia, i don't do compliments very well…" he tried to make her look up, but she resisted

"It was nice either way"

"May i ask you something?" she nodded, and he waited for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts and hoping that the words came out of his mouth in the right way "Why did you ask me for a drink yesterday?"

She froze in the spot. The fork stayed mid air, between her fingers, and her mouth a little open, ready to take the bite. Colours started rising to her cheeks soon enough, and her breath got caught in her throat.

"Don't fret, Gaia, you don't have to answer if you don't want to"

She put the fork down, re-composing herself. Apparently, she was seriously considering not to answer his question.

"Oh, it's okay, i'll answer" she didn't want to answer, that was clear on her body language "If you answer one question for me as well, that is" clever girl

"Okay" maybe they would finally come clean about their mutual attraction "I think i can manage that"

"Good, you go first" she took the fork back into her fingers and finally ate the little piece of meat that she refused earlier "Why did you ask me out today?"

"I really like spending time with you" he looked into her eyes, enjoying their expressiveness "And i want to know you better" he paused mid sentence, trying to find something he could say that made a clear statement that this was not something coming out of the blue, he had thought about it long and hard, he had dreamed about it, he had fantasized about it enough times before "I believe we've had enough lift conversations, don't you think?"

Gaia looked surprised by his response, but the faint smile she tried to hide with her wine glass was a dead giveaway.

"It's your turn now. Why did you ask me?"

"I know it's silly, but it really felt like we could use a drink last night. Work was awful, we both needed to release some pressure, i guess" she put down her glass "It felt like the perfect excuse to spend the evening with you"

The waiter interrupted them, asking if they were ready for dessert; so Mycroft inquired about their cake selection, ordering for the chocolate cake she had wanted yesterday. Gaia looked nervous through the exchange (probably worrying that he was not pleased with her answer) and placed her hand flat upon the table, drumming her fingers against the surface a couple of times.

"Now i'm intrigued, why would you want an excuse to be in my company?"

"Mmm, we agreed on one question, didn't we?"

"Then ask me something else…"

"Tempting" she drummed her fingers again "But i think i'll pass. I can't think of anything else i would like to ask right now"

"Really? I'm certain there was something you wanted to ask yesterday and didn't" he looked at her small hand upon the white tablecloth and his stomach clenched, longing to touch her "I could answer it, if you wish"

"You're bluffing" she said, raising one of her brows with incredulity

"Try me" he replied with confidence. It was time to come clean…

"Go ahead, then, answer the magical question i never asked"

"The answer is yes, this is a date" he reached to touch her fingertips with his own, looking at her stunned expression without adding anything else. She looked down at their touching fingers, but didn't attempt to end the contact. She was just there, silent and motionless. Mycroft caught the waiter carrying their dessert in the corner of his eye, so he slowly retreated his hand from hers, missing her warmth instantly.

She cleared her throat and thanked the man with the little czech she knew, taking the small fork in an instant and slicing the first bit of cake without hesitation.

"Am i right? Is that what you meant to ask yesterday?"

"This cake is really good" she said "You should try it right away, did you know that sometimes the chocolate flavour can be altered when the temperature changes and…"

"Gaia" he interrupted with a warning tone on his voice, causing her to sigh deeply in defeat, shifting in her seat and finally putting the fork down

"Yes, i wanted to ask that" she looked down and bit her lip with shame

"Why didn't you?"

"Look, Mr. Holmes…"

"Its Mycroft, we've been through it before"

"Mycroft" she played with the napkin over her lap "I didn't want you to think that i was overstepping my boundaries, i know i am nothing more than a subordinate to you and of course you wouldn't be interested in going out with me, but then you sent that text last night and i thought that maybe…"

"You're rambling" she groaned in frustration and digged into the cake again "But just so you know, i did intend for this outing to be a date"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" he took the first bite out of his own slice of cake "I thought it was obvious"

"No, it is not obvious" she said, warily "Tell me, please"

"I find you beautiful, smart, interesting…" he took the first bite out of his own slice of cake "Why wouldn't i want to go out with you?"

"Because you're my boss"

"No, the Prime Minister is your boss"

"Well, you are unofficially everyone's boss"

"You said it yourself, unofficially" she didn't reply right away, so he kept on talking before she had the chance to try and change the conversation "What i still can't understand is why a woman like you would want a date with a man like me…"

"You are kidding me, right?"

"Of course i am not! You are young, bright, dedicated...you could have anyone…"

"But i don't want anyone" she sought his hand and touched it, mimicking the move he had made before, a rush of electricity coursing through his body "I've had the biggest crush on you for a very long time, Mycroft" his heart started thumping in his ears and he felt dizzy with joy "I thought you knew" her voice lowered

"I…I think we should finish our dessert and talk more about this once we're outside, if that's okay with you" he gave her fingers a light squeeze before letting go

"Yes, yes, of course" she shook her head "But you are not upset, are you?"

"Not at all, i would never be upset with you for being honest"

"Okay" she gave him a little smile and they both continued eating in silence.

After a few minutes, when the cake and the wine were gone, he asked for the check and they left the restaurant. He offered his arm again and she took it in an instant, deprived from the shyness that she had displayed the day before. Now that the cat was out of the bag, things were really going to change between them, and for once, he was welcoming it with open arms.

"So you really didn't know i've been pining over you for years?" she asked

"I had my suspicions. And you?"

"Mycroft, please don't take this the wrong way but you are unreadable, there was no way of knowing! I can't read minds like you, you know?"

He laughed

"I can't read minds, Gaia, that is impossible"

"So you're telling me you simply guessed what i wanted to ask?"

"No, but i didn't read your mind either"

"The point is, i did not know, never in my wildest dreams would've occurred to me that perhaps you were also interested"

"I always felt like i was staring at you a little too much, i feared you were thinking of me as...creepy"

"No, but i did wonder why you looked at me"

"I couldn't help myself, you are a sight to behold, Ms. Brookfield"

"And you're not too bad yourself, Mr. Holmes"

They looked to each other in the eye, and he realized how smitten he was with her. If she asked, he would move the sun so it wouldn't bother her…

A tourist pushed her as they walked by, making her lose balance and take his arms for support; at this sudden movement, he stumbled a few steps backwards, he felt relieved when his shoulders made contact with the stone wall, preventing them from a sure fall to the ground. Mycroft realized how close their bodies were, and he became hypersensitive to every bit of stimulation she provided...the pressure from her fingers, the smell of her hair...She looked up, and her stunning eyes made him shiver with delight, this woman, this beautiful creature had a crush on him...it was intoxicating…

"I'm very sorry, Mycroft, that man just pushed me and i…"

"No, don't apologize, it was only an accident"

Neither of them moved.

"Gaia…"

"Yes?"

"I think i need to kiss you now..." he caressed her cheek softly, his fingertips ghosting over her skin "Would you let me kiss you?"

"Yes, yes please" her voice came out breathy and ragged, a reflection of the inner struggle between reason and desire, and for once, Mycroft chose to go with his own desire, consequences be damned…

He leaned into her slowly, reveling at the sight of her eyes shutting and her lips become slightly parted; he stopped a few millimeters from her lips just to see if she backed down, but to his surprise she seeked out the contact and, finally, their lips met in a slow and exploring kiss. Mycroft placed a hand upon her waist, a deep need inside of him begging to pull her closer and kiss her with more depth; so he did, and he felt her raise to her tiptoes and lift her arms to come around his neck.

Gaia was delicious, sweet and warm and willing, melting into his arms like chocolate between his fingers.

For a moment, for a blissful, exquisite moment, his mind was quiet. The storm would have to wait.

Some fluffy stuff for you guys! I tried really hard to make this look like a conversation between two people pining for each other secretly would look like, let me know if accomplished it. Also, i wanted to emphasize Mycroft's self confidence issues and his struggle to put his own needs first, so give me your thought on that, did you like it? Is it too ooc?

Thank you for your support and interest in this story 3

S.