"Sir, I have some news..", Anthea entered Mycroft's office, looking a bit distraught.
"Weren't you supposed to be..", Mycroft glanced at his computer screen in orde to check the time, "at lunch already with Miss Kostov?"
"Exactly, Sir", Anthea nodded nervously, "Except, Lora..well, Sir, it appears she has left."
"Left where?", Mycroft rarely asked stupid questions, but he couldn't form a better one as he was staring at his PA, noticing her discomfort.
"To Macedonia, I suppose", Anthea avoided meeting her superior's eyes.
"When?", Mycroft asked coldly, putting his mask of indifference on.
"It appears that she returned home two days ago", Anthea cringed.
"Two days!"
"..she left you a letter.", Anthea said as she already started backing to the door.
"Well, where is it?", Mycroft asked in annoyance.
"At Sherlock's. He wouldn't give it to me", Anthea answered quickly as she was closing the door behind her.
"This is entirely unacceptable", Mycroft said to the closed door. What in the world is going on? Why did she leave? Everything seemed all right..well, I did leave her for a few days, and I didn't bother to check on her..I didn't make sure who would spend time with her. I haven't called her, I haven't called John or Sherlock, I haven't checked with Anthea on her plans with Lora for these few days..I completely ignored this situation. Did I do it on purpose? ..and now Sherlock, making sure I talk to him first before I get the letter. Surely this is him getting back at me for all my meddling in his affairs. ...have I done something else to her, have I offended her somehow? Is it because of mother? Lora and mother do not like each other. …maybe something happened in Macedonia so she had to quickly get home? But she would have called me..except I didn't give her my phone number.
"This is entirely unacceptable", Mycroft repeated more quietly.
…..
"Ah, brother dear", Sherlock smirked as Mycroft walked into the flat in Baker Street.
"Please spare me your gloating and just give me the letter", Mycroft said darkly and sat in the living room.
"Are you sure you don't want to try Lora's sarma first? You know, she was actually right, it does taste better after a few days", Sherlock's grin didn't falter.
"Sherlock, stop being such a brat. Give me that letter. Now.", Mycroft looked at Sherlock with menace in his eyes.
"Oh, so you are interested in what Lora has to say?", Sherlock feigned surprise.
"Of course I'm interested in what my Om…Lora has to say", Mycroft growled.
"Your Omega, eh? Is the Alpha kicking in, finally?", Sherlock chuckled, "Since when is she your anything, anyway?"
"Since I bloody kissed her and scented her, all right?", Mycroft snapped.
"That's all nice and well, brother dear, but does she know that?", Sherlock shot him a look full of condescension.
"She..I'm sure she..isn't it obvious that..", Mycroft's mind was fogged by confusion, anger and a sudden sense of loss.
"Yes, Mycroft, it is so obvious that as a result of it, your Omega is now thousands of miles away from you", Sherlock said a bit sadly as he handed Mycroft Lora's letter, "there you go. Want me to give you some privacy?"
Mycroft didn't answer as he was already reading the letter, holding it tightly like it kept all the answers to all the questions in the entire world.
She feels compelled to please me? I can live with that, actually..but she's not sure if I have feelings for her. What does she expect me to do? Throw a parade? I kissed her, isn't that clear enough? Usually, when people kiss, that means they like each other..
Eh, the scenting..she liked my scent, I knew that already, but I didn't know she found it perfect..her scent was more than perfect. Ah, here we are, she expected more. But we did agree that we would get to know each other as people first, yet she actually hoped nature would take over..and God knows there were moments when I had to battle nature, but we had an agreement..that counts for something, doesn't it?
Yes, I am a private person, and I am very busy, and I do have a very different life from hers. Still, I honestly don't know if I am or am not the type to share my life with anybody.
And she is right, there were a lot of moments when I liked her, a lot, and when I felt something close to being happy with her.
Oh! So my leaving her for a few days was the trigger for all of this, after all.
She is disappointed with me and this situation..she hoped I would woe her, just as all the other couples experience. But I did take her out on dates, I gave her presents, I spent time with her…that was not enough? That was a thousand times more than I invested in any prior attempt, I don't understand!
Wait, "blah"?! All of my efforts are characterized as just "blah"?!
She didn't like the scarf?! I picked it myself; it was the same shade as the details on her dress that she wore at my parent's gathering! Did she not notice that? That color compliments her hair and eyes, how could it be impersonal?
What is it with her and refusal of my gifts? What am I supposed to do with her dress and shoes, this is ridiculous! She keeps on thinking that I'm trying to make a sponsored girl out of her, unbelievable!
I actually like her broken English. The way she says my name..it's funny and endearing. But if she wishes to learn it better, that is very well. I know she was frustrated being unable to express herself completely. I know she is actually kind of a chatterbox. I know more about her than she knows. She is actually the one who knows little of me…
Ah, she likes Anthea – off course she likes her, Anthea is an outstanding person. John, too. Wait – what?! Sherlock is what? The best? What is this extensive praise of Sherlock for?! After all my hard effort, Sherlock gets all the praise?! Did I miss something?!
Hm, I know she's not fond of mother, I can understand why, as well. Lora felt attacked by her..Correction. She WAS attacked by her, Lora doesn't even know how much.
The media, well there's not much even I can do about that…why does she say that she hopes they will leave me alone..that sentence sounds as if she doesn't plan to ever come back again..?
She DOES sound whiny, but I can understand why, and actually, I'm starting to feel whiny myself.
Oh. OH. She does want to stay in contact. So bridges are not burned and doors are not entirely closed. Very well. Wait, again something about Sherlock. "Ask Sherlock if you don't believe me, he knows." What does Sherlock know? Are they best friends now or what?
Wait, there's something more after her signature…oh. She likes me.
She likes me.
"She says she likes me", Mycroft finally raised his eyes to Sherlock. Off course Sherlock didn't miss the opportunity to observe his older brother as he was reading the letter-it was too amusing! He didn't even know Mycroft was capable of all this feelings that crossed over his face as he was reading different passages: from joy to irritation, from sulky agreeing to complete bewilderment, from blatant jealousy to surprise and maybe even some affection.
"Yes, that's a part of what she said", Sherlock smirked, "But apparently..I'm the best."
"Maybe she humored you since she knew you'd read the letter", Mycroft growled.
"I doubt that, she went on and on explaining why I'm the best", Sherlock taunted his brother.
"Would you stop it", Mycroft's mood turned to bitter and angry.
"All right, all right", Sherlock sighed and the quickly added, "I'm the best, though."
"But she likes ME!", Mycroft yelled.
"Well, off course she likes you, you daft old cow!", Sherlock yelled back, "She only wants to talk about you, she craves your approval, every steps she takes she keeps on questioning herself if she did something wrong and if the ever-so-perfect Mycroft would grace her with his presence! She was on verge of having her confidence completely destroyed, and thank God she came to her senses and left while it wasn't too late!"
"You are surely exaggerating this..", Mycroft started.
"I am not! Do you know that the other day she tried to force herself to drink tea with milk? I was sure she would barf all over the carpet, and told her to stop, but she said that she must start loving tea, otherwise we'd all think she was some kind of barbarian! As we did, actually!"
"God, I know", Mycroft ran a hand through his hair, "But was it really so bad that she needed to run?"
"Apparently it was, brother", Sherlock confirmed, "And this fighting against your nature..that was really a bad idea, and I encouraged you in it..I was wrong, Mycroft."
"That is not your fault, Sherlock", Mycroft said, his voice filled with honesty, "It was my idea. And actually, the idea was not that bad. I still don't like this system that we have, bonds being made simply based on scents and genes..there's more to people."
"Is there more to her?", Sherlock asked after a pause.
"I wish I could answer that right away. I need more time, Sherlock", Mycroft's intelligent eyes radiated sadness and uncertainty.
"Your intellect is stronger than your Alpha. My intellect used to be stronger than my Omega. Then I met John. My intellect is still here, and my inner Omega is happy and satisfied. Have you ever seen me more happy and calm? Think about that, Mycroft."
After a truly great review that really touched me (and urged me to update ASAP), I took extra care to update quickly. I hope you guys like this new chapter.
The text in italic is Mycroft's thoughts as he reads the letter..they're in the same order as the topics in the letter.
I'm feeling a bit ill, so I'm not sure if I'll update in 2-3 days or maybe I'll need some more time. However, it will not be too long, I promise, cause I love to write this story and also I want to deliver to you guys. I appreciate every single reader and every single click!
Thanks for all the new favs and follows! Please comment and enjoy.
I wish you all a happy new 2016 and I hope you all will have a great time celebrating New Year's Eve! I'm staying home with my hubby and our cat and we'll cuddle in front of TV