Requested by: Sherlock Harry Winchester
Not entirely sure if it's what you expected, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!
Rachel :)
Chapter 10: The Holmes Siblings
Sherlock peered over the crib curiously, staring in wide-eyed wonder at the silent baby looking back up at him.
Next to him, Mycroft sighed petulantly, "She'll still be here tomorrow, you know".
He gave a soft smile, "She's very pretty".
"She's only a few days old, Sherlock. I'd say she resembles a potato more than a person whom could be considered pretty".
He stuck out his tongue at the eldest Holmes, his youth overtaking his intelligence.
"You're just jealous".
"Of a black haired loud toddler?"
"I've got black hair! She got my hair!"
Mycroft sighed, stared speculatively at the wild curls, "Yes, unfortunately she does. But let's just hope she doesn't get your hair texture also".
He pouted and turned back to the crib where greeny-grey eyes gazed back at him, "She got mummy's eyes. They're too green to be mine".
"No one knows why you have blue eyes Sherlock, in fact genetically speaking, you are something of an outlier".
"Out-li-ar? What's that mean?"
"What does that mean, please correct your grammar" He shot back, "And it means that you're strange".
"We're all strange" He replied firmly, "You, me, and Jessica!"
"Jessica?" Mycroft's lips curled in disgust as he straightened up resolutely, "Oh, heavens no. No sibling of mine will have such a boring common name".
Sherlock glanced up at him, frowning, "But that's what mummy and daddy call her".
"Yes, and they also call you William and me Alexander. What sort of dull names are those?" He replied, "No. She shall take her middle name just as we have done".
The younger slowly nodded and turned back to the baby, "The East Wind".
"Yes, the East Wind" He agreed, reaching in as she held up a chubby arm, tiny fingers immediately wrapping around his thumb.
He couldn't help but give a small smile, "Hello, little Eurus. Welcome to the family".
She was 6 months old when she started speaking, and much to the younger brother's approval and the elder brother's shame, her first words were "Sherlock".
Her second word, however, and only redeeming feature according to Mycroft, was "deduction".
From then on, they were inseparable, and it was clear from the beginning that the youngest Holmes child was just as, if not more, intelligent as her brothers.
By age 1, she could have fully fledged conversations with her family, by age 2, she could write and read, surpassing even her brother's early development stages, and by age 3, she could teach Sherlock violin and win a chess match against Mycroft.
They were best friends, perfectly balanced, and the only people that could understand each other, and she was clearly the baby of the family, despite being the most gifted.
It was a silent agreement amongst the two older boys that they would protect her at all cost.
And then mummy made the error of introducing them to other children.
"Well this is ghastly" Mycroft announced after approximately 0.7 seconds of arriving at the playground.
Next to him, automatically reaching out for his brother's hand for comfort, Sherlock nodded, "What is mummy thinking of?"
On the other side of Sherlock, holding onto his hand, stood Eurus, staring in shock at the screaming children in front of them.
"They're all... idiots".
"Maybe we can deduce them for fun".
Mycroft rolled his eyes at him in all his 11-year-old glory, "Oh, don't be smart".
Sherlock groaned, "Why do you always have to say that? 'Don't be smart, Sherlock, I'm the smart one".
"I am the smart one".
"I used to think I was an idiot".
"We all thought you were an idiot, Sherlock" Eurus replied, "We've had nothing else to go on until now".
Mycroft nodded, "Yes. This is most definitely a mistake".
"Why is mummy even doing this to us?" Eurus asked.
"Probably something about trying to make friends" the younger brother replied, and the elder nodded, "Oh, yes. Friends".
"Well" Sherlock finally decided, "Mummy said she'd pick us up in half an hour, so, until then..."
"Agree to meet back here in 25 minutes?" Mycroft asked, and they all nodded in response.
Making his way over to the monkey bars, Sherlock watched with interest as once red-haired boy made it completely across, his feet swinging half a meter off the ground.
Turning back around, he grinned at him, "'ello. Are you new?"
Sherlock frowned, "In general? Of course not, I'm five years old. At this playground? Yes".
The boy blinked, "... You don't go to school wi'v me".
The younger Holmes smirked, "I'm home-schooled".
"Poor you".
"Why?"
"Well, it must get lonely".
"I have my siblings".
"Oh... I don't like my siblings. My sister's always mean to me".
"My sister and I get along perfectly well".
The boy frowned, "You speak funny".
"It's 'talk'. Not speak" He corrected before taking a deep breath and holding out his hand, "I'm Sherlock Holmes. Will you be my friend? My mummy says I have to make one now or she'll leave me until I do".
"A'right!" He replied, grinning, "I'm Victor. Victor Trevor".
Mycroft carefully sat down on the swings, watching his siblings carefully.
Sherlock, it would seem, had already made an acquaintance, and the black-haired boy was currently being shown how to cross monkey bars without falling flat on his face.
Currently, he was failing miserably.
Letting his gaze drift across the playground, he found his little sister standing in front of a group of kids playing in the sandpit.
He frowned.
The children were older than her, more around his own age than hers, and despite the fact he knew perfectly well that she was a 3-year-old with far more intelligence than a 6-year-old, the other kids might not see it that way.
And children really could be rather cruel.
Hearing chains creak near him, he turned only to find a boy not much older than he was take the seat next to him and give him a shy smile.
"Hi".
"Hello" He replied coolly.
He nervously kicked the dirt beneath his feet, "I'm, uh, I'm Greg".
"Mycroft".
The older gestured at the sand pit where Eurus was now kneeling down next to a dark-haired boy, "You here to mind your sibling too? My sister Anthea is around here somewhere"
He nodded, strangely fascinated by this quiet yet bright-eyed boy, "Yes. My sister and my brother... Though mummy did threaten to take away my chess set if I didn't make any friends".
Greg gave him a funny look, "Your chess set? What are you, like, 10?"
"11, actually" He replied primly, turning back to check on Sherlock, and the boy frowned, "Oh, no, I didn't mean to... mock you, or whatever. It's just... well... I'm 13 years old, and I still find chess really complicated. You must be really smart".
"I'm a genius" He said simply, "It runs in the family".
Greg laughed, and Mycroft couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"You may be a genius, but you sure as hell ain't modest" He shot back, "This is your first time at the playground, then?"
"Yes" He replied faintly, watching as his sister suddenly got to her feet as another boy marched over, and the band of children around them separated into a wide circle.
"Uh oh" came the eloquent response next to him, "Now that looks like trouble".
Quickly standing up, he began to walk over, thankful to find Sherlock almost immediately fall into step next to him, while Greg jogged to catch up.
Meeting his brother's eyes, he gave a near-invisible gesture at their sister hovering in the middle of the group, and received an imperceptible nod in return. Sherlock was the slightest of the three, after all, and his lean frame would have no trouble squeezing in between other's twice his age.
Arriving at what was now most certainly a fight, Mycroft quickly squeezed himself into the circle with every intention of finding out just who the hell dared threaten his little sister?!
Sherlock, as quick and agile as always, had successfully managed to pull the tearful Eurus from the circle without anyone noticing, while the eldest Holmes stole everyone's attention by tapping the boy, who had his fist raised, on the shoulder.
"Excuse me?"
The boy spun around to face him, and Mycroft quickly estimated he was around 12 years of age and quite... jealous?
Jealous of what?
"Yea? What do you want?!" He snarled.
"To dispatch this pathetic excuse of a fight" He replied dryly, and the crowd around them boo-ed.
"Well that's just too bad, cause I fully intend on fighting that little-"
"I would strongly advise against finishing that sentence".
"Oh yea?" He smirked, turning to face him fully, "And why's that?"
"She's my sister" Mycroft said tightly, "And if you insult, injure, or upset her in any way, I will not be responsible for my actions".
He laughed, "What could you do about it, kid? You saying you could take me on?"
"I know I could".
The crowd riled up once more, and Mycroft subtly glanced past the angry boy to see Sherlock crouched down in front of Eurus, far away on the other side of the playground, with Greg standing guard in front of them, and a young girl, who he could only presume to be Greg's sister, talking quietly to his youngest sibling. And as if sensing his stare, his brother looked up, meeting his gaze squarely as he gave a small nod.
She was okay then.
He turned back to the boy, "What is your name?"
"... What?"
"Your name" He replied tightly, "What is it?"
He stared at him, clearly confused, "... Sebastian".
"Okay then, Sebastian, why did you try to hit my 3-year-old sister?"
He shifted on the spot, uncomfortably, "She's... She's only 3? Man, I thought she was... like... at leat 6 or something".
"That doesn't answer my question".
Sebastian swallowed nervously and glanced to the side, and Mycroft followed his gaze only to find the dark-haired boy that Eurus had knelt down besides staring back, calmly.
"Oh" He said suddenly, "I see... You were jealous".
The older boy turned back and glared at him, "What?!"
"Of my sister sitting next to your friend" Mycroft explained, "You were jealous, because you thought she'd stolen him from you... That's why you tried to fight her. To win him back".
He hummed thoughtfully, "Though I suppose your friend knew all this, based on his expression, and wanted to see you fight. You're close, a bit too close, and you wanted to prove your worth to him, you needed to prove your worth-"
He was abruptly cut off as a sharp fist made contact with his jaw, and he was sent spiralling back into the crowd who merely cheered and shoved him forwards.
"Well if I can't fight her, I'm sure as hell going to fight you!" Sebastian snarled, and Mycroft carefully brought a hand to his mouth, only to find it stain with blood.
Glancing back up at him, he could only smirk as he saw Sherlock sneak up silently behind the taller boy.
"Agreed" He replied easily, stepping forwards as his brother did the same, "But you threatened by baby sister. So don't expect me to fight fair".
And when Mrs. Holmes showed up exactly 20 minutes later to collect her three children, she found them waiting by the gate in various stages of disarray.
She stared, shocked into place, as they all looked up when she arrived.
Mycroft, with a split lip but proud grin, threw his arm around a shy-looking teen, "Mummy, I'd like to introduce you to Gregory".
Sherlock, holding his wrist protectively to his chest but using his other arm to hold the hand of a red-haired boy, also smirked, "Meet Victor".
And little Eurus, with tears staining her cheeks but a bright smile on her face, gestured at the young girl standing next to her, "And this is Anthea".
She stared at their defiant faces, took a deep breath, and then thanked whatever deity that was out there, that she hadn't tried for a fourth child.