The next chapter! I hope you like it and please let me know what you think! And thank you so much for the review, it makes me happy to know that you like it! This time, I listened to 'How Will I Know' by Sam Smith while writing this.

I don't own the characters or places!


A few days after Christmas, a black car was waiting for John in front of 221 B Baker Street. Mycroft had invited him over to his house for dinner. John was really excited, he hadn't been able to sit still the entire day. He really wanted to know what Mycroft's house looked like. And he didn't see him for some time now, so he was also happy to be able to see him again.

He didn't talk with Mycroft for two days, he was busy with work. There had been an attack on one of the big banks in the city and they suspected that it had a political reason. The message came three days ago, Mycroft had spent the evening at John's place, as usual. About half an hour after he arrived, he'd gotten a call and had to leave again. After that, John didn't see him again. And Mycroft just called once the previous day, asking if John wanted to come over for dinner. Of course, John had accepted immediately.

When he got in the car, he didn't find Mycroft waiting for him. Instead, Anthea was sitting on the backseat, typing on her phone. John felt a little uneasy, sitting next to her. He'd seen her many times in the past months, but they'd never been alone. Mycroft had always been with them.

"Good evening, Dr. Watson." She said without looking up. "Mr. Holmes will be waiting for you at his house, an incident at work prevented him from coming here to get you. He sent me instead."

John cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Alright. It's good to see you." She didn't reply and John looked out of the window while the car drove through London. Traffic was horrible as usual, and John feared that this would be a very long car drive. He had the feeling that Anthea was watching him, but he didn't turn around. He wasn't sure why he felt uncomfortable now, but the feeling just wouldn't vanish.

"Mr. Holmes likes you very much." Anthea said suddenly, ripping John out of his thoughts. Slowly, he turned around to look at her questioningly. She was looking at him through narrowed eyes, a cold smile on her lips. "It is very rare that he lets people get close to him. You seem to be a special person, John. The only other person he ever cared for was his brother."

John wasn't sure what she wanted to hear now, so he said the only thing that came to his mind in that moment. "He's very important to me."

"I hope you mean that." Suddenly, the friendly tone was gone. "If I ever get the feeling that you're just using Mr. Holmes, or that you are hurting him, I will come over for a visit."

Hurt or use him and I'll kill you. The message was clear. John swallowed, trying to process her words. "I could never hurt him." He replied, surprised at how steady his voice sounded.

She looked at him for a few moments, a calm expression on her face, before she nodded. "I see that you mean it." She said simply and then she began to type on her phone again, as if nothing happened at all.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Mycroft's house. When John got out of the car, Anthea was smiling at him again. Without saying goodbye, he headed for the house in front of him. Mycroft was already standing in the door, waiting for him.

John heard the sound of the car leaving, but he concentrated on Mycroft's face. He hoped that Mycroft wouldn't see that this conversation stressed him, but John already knew that it was an unnecessary hope. Mycroft knew him too well.

And it was true, when he got closer, the smile in Mycroft's lips vanished and a frown appeared on his face. "John, are you alright?" He asked immediately, but John decided to ignore his question. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Mycroft and kissed him. After a few seconds of hesitation, Mycroft kissed him back. When they parted, he took his hand. "Don't think that I'll just forget my question now." Mycroft said teasingly, probably to cheer him up. However, that wasn't necessary anymore. Now that Mycroft was there, John could relax again and he just wanted to forget the short conversation with his assistant.

"I've missed you. Could you solve your problem at work?" John asked when he took off his jacket.

Mycroft nodded. "Everything is in order again. We were able to catch the persons who planned the attack. It will be in the papers tomorrow."

John looked at Mycroft and smiled. He was still wearing his suit, so John suspected that he wasn't at home for a long time. Since something kept him busy, he might have also just returned. Then he looked around in Mycroft's house. It was big, probably even too big for someone who lived there alone.

John was aware of the fact that Mycroft watched him closely, his eyes slightly narrowed. He did that every time when he wanted to judge John's reaction. "You didn't tell me that your house is this big." John muttered. It was furnished in an old-fashioned way, except for the kitchen and the living room. John liked it. And it suited Mycroft. When he voiced his thoughts, the other man chuckled.

"It is good to know that you like my sense of fashion." He muttered before he took John's hand and showed him around. In the end, they stopped in the living room. John noticed that the windows on the ground floor were barred from the outside.

He raised his eyebrows at Mycroft. "Sherlock?"

Mycroft nodded and rolled his eyes. "He liked to break into my house very much."

"He mentioned it a few times." John said, smiling slightly. First, he'd been shocked at Sherlock's confession. But soon, he understood that Sherlock just did things like that and it wasn't of any use to lecture him about it. "I bet those weren't of any use?" He pointed at the windows.

Mycroft sighed. "He used the windows on the top floor then."

John couldn't help it. He started to laugh. "I'm sorry." He said. "This just sounds so much like Sherlock…" He didn't continue, hoping that Mycroft would understand what he wanted to say. And he did since he joined John's laughter.

"My brother was a special person." At the words special person, John stopped laughing. He remembered his conversation with Anthea again. Hoping that Mycroft didn't notice his change of mood, he decided to choose another subject.

"So we'll be cooking this evening?" However, Mycroft didn't take the bait.

"You still have to tell me what's wrong." He said slowly and sat down on the couch. Crossing his arms, Mycroft made it clear that he wouldn't move before they had settled this.

With a sigh, John sat down next to him. "It's nothing."

"You had a conversation with Anthea, in the car." Mycroft deduced simply. "And she said something that upset you."

"We were just talking nicely to each other." John tried again and let it sound as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You didn't. Otherwise, you wouldn't be like this. You would just tell me what it was about."

He sighed. "Let's just say that she's worried for your wellbeing. Nothing else."

Mycroft raised his eyebrows. "She threatened you?" His voice was cold now and John really wished that he was a better actor.

"No." Mycroft's eyes narrowed. "Alright, yes. She did. But since I don't plan to hurt you, or leave you, and since I don't just use you, it's not important."

"Well, to me it is." Mycroft argued. "I cannot tolerate her talking to you like this."

"Mycroft, she was just worried. She cares for you and I understand it. It's fine, really." Don't mention this to her, his words said. Mycroft got the message. He looked at John inconclusively.

"You are really alright?" He asked a little insecure.

Instead of answering that question, John kissed Mycroft passionately. In the end, they were both breathing heavily. "Probably we should cook." Mycroft muttered, but John just kissed him again. "Screw that." He began to unbutton Mycroft's shirt and when the other man just groaned, he grinned.

"Or shall we stop?" He whispered and kissed Mycroft's throat. His eyes were closed and the cheeks flushed. He was still wearing his suit jacket, the vest and his shirt, but they were all open now. John had never seen him like this before, it was exhilarating.

"Don't you dare." Mycroft whispered and shoved his hands under John's pullover.

Soon, they were both shirtless. John already wanted to kiss Mycroft again, but the other man held him back. "Wait a sec, let me look at you." And he did, with wide, dark eyes. To John, it seemed as if Mycroft wanted to memorize everything in at once. He felt himself blush, never before someone just wanted to look at him. He used this moment to look at Mycroft as well. When their eyes met again, they were both smiling.

Then Mycroft wrapped his arms around John and pulled him onto his lap. John made a surprised noise, not expecting Mycroft to do something like this. Now they could both feel how aroused the other was. Mycroft's hands were on John's back, wandering down slowly. "Maybe we should take this to the bedroom?" Mycroft asked innocently. John's laugh was breathless when he stood up, pulled Mycroft to his feet and took his hand.


Hours later, they were lying in Mycroft's bed, arms wrapped around each other. "Will you stay the night?" Mycroft asked, his face buried in John's neck. "We both don't have to work tomorrow."

John smiled. "I'd love to stay." He whispered and ran a hand down Mycroft's back. He felt him shiver. "And I love you."

"I love you too." Mycroft muttered.

"You let it sound like it still surprises you." John remarked. "That I love you."

Mycroft leaned back and John saw that he was smiling. "I never thought that I would ever have something like this, John. That I'd find you."

"Neither did I. Not after all this chaos in my life." John admitted. "And don't ask, you know exactly what I mean."

Mycroft chuckled. "I have a few ideas."

John kissed him again, ending their conversation. He rolled them over so that he was on top of Mycroft. He looked into his beautiful blue eyes and knew that he would never stop loving this man.


The new year came sooner than expected. They spent the evening with their friends, just like Christmas. Only Molly wasn't there. It was nice, this time, John and Mycroft were playing chess. Even if it wasn't easy to play against Mycroft, he always seemed to know what John would do next.

After that, their life followed a new pattern. They would both work very much, especially Mycroft, and they spent every free minute together. Not just at John's flat, he also visited Mycroft very often. When they had their free days, they spent the night together. And sometimes, they even stayed together when they had to work the next day.

John helped Greg with cases very often, it gave him something to do when Mycroft was busy on weekends. Or when he was on a trip again. Helping Greg with cases was also fun, it reminded him of his time with Sherlock. Even if it was much calmer with Greg. And less dangerous, which Mycroft was glad about.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months very fast. John really didn't know why time passed this quickly, but he didn't mind it. His relationship with Mycroft was great, ever since Christmas, they were very close.

After his interview with Kelly, no more reporters bothered John. However, he suspected that Mycroft had his hands in this. After all, he'd announced he'd make sure that no one would bother John again. The interview had been a full success. Suddenly, everyone believed John's version of things and those who'd written the stories about the 'Lying detective' were called liars. More and more people were reading John's blog, even if there weren't new stories anymore.

Next to Greg, John also found new friends at work. There was another doctor, his name was Phil. He was very nice, when John went out for a run, he accompanied him sometimes. And Phil's wife, Rebecca, was also working with them now. She was pregnant, it would be their second child. They liked stories about his and Sherlock's cases very much, later John found out that they'd been reading his blog regularly.

And there was a woman he'd met on a Friday when he was out with Greg, her name was Mary. Greg said that she was interested in John, but he didn't notice it. Probably, because he didn't look at people in that way anymore since he was with Mycroft. She tried to flirt with him a few times, but in the end, he told her that he had a boyfriend. She'd looked frustrated, but John thought that he just imagined that. Nevertheless, she was nice, even if there was something strange about her. They met her for a few weeks, but one Friday, she seemed stressed. And then she just vanished, they never saw her again. When they asked the owner of the pub, he just shrugged, saying that she probably left London. Apparently, she'd mentioned something like this. They didn't even know her last name and John forgot about her fast.

Because soon after her disappearance, a very dark day came.

The day of Sherlock's death. His best friend was gone for one year.