Sherlock is nine years old and his teacher has demanded a meeting with his parents. Mummy is recovering from her mastectomy and cannot leave her bedroom, let alone listen to her son's teacher tell her how infuriating he is. The British government has abruptly called Father away to some undisclosed location. The nanny resigned months ago after the incident with Sherlock's chemistry set and their parents have yet to replace her. Thus, Mycroft is the only representative of Sherlock's family who can go to the meeting, and he and Sherlock will go, no matter what Sherlock says. (At least I can return to Harrow in the morning.)
Sherlock whines, "Mycroft, I don't want to go!"
Mycroft barks, "You should have thought of that before you called Mrs. Jenkins a sadistic twat!"
The younger boy huffs, "Well, she is a sadistic twat!"
(Yes, and that's exactly why you shouldn't have said so!) "I don't care if she's a sadistic twat! If I have to miss playing Risk with my roommates, you have to come to this meeting!"
With Mother sick and Father taking on more and more responsibilities at work, Mycroft is beginning to feel like Sherlock's third parent. His greatest fear is that he will never escape that role.
A/N: Yes, Mycroft is still at boarding school. Harrow is in London and Holmes Manor is also in the London area, which makes it relatively easy for him to come home for things like this (much to his consternation).