Tara heard a knock on the door. It was Mycroft. She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a kiss.
'I've missed you.' she said without pulling away
Mycroft gave her a hint of a smile. 'The feeling is mutual.' he said curtly.
'Come on in' she said and pulled him inside.
'Smells lovely in here' he told her.
'I made mac 'n' cheese, fried chicken, and garlic bread' she said pulling him in 'ooh, what is this?' she asked pointing at the object in his hand.
'It's a bottle of Haig. Didn't think you were much of a wine lady. Am I wrong?' he teased.
'Nope' she smiled popping the 'P'... 'I'll set the table. You get this bottle open. The glasses are in that cabinet' she directed him.
Tara set the table and Mycroft poured their drinks. Mycroft looked around her house while he helped her set the table. He hadn't really noticed her apartment the last time he was there. She seemed to prefer neutral colors, mostly white, and had a lot of plants. It made her apartment look very bright and alive, unlike Sherlock and John's apartment. She added simple yet elegant accents to her apartment, nothing too fancy or extravagant. Her apartment was simple and felt like home.
'You have a lovely apartment' he said while pulling her chair for her.
'Thank you. You've been here before.' she simply stated.
'I have but I wasn't really paying attention to the apartment. I was far more interested in you.' he tried to flirt.
She blushed and shook her head at his bluntness. They both served themselves and began to eat.
'I thought you said you weren't good at cooking' Mycroft teased 'This is delicious'
'If only you could try my father's food. He is the king of good food' she laughed but Mycroft could see the sadness in her eyes.
Before he could say anything, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, ignoring it he flipped it over.
'You can answer it. I don't mind' Tara told him.
'No' he gave her a forced smile.
It rang again.
'Who is it?' she urged.
'My mother' he muttered
'Then why aren't you answering?'
'I don't want to'
'Mycroft, don't be a child. What if it is something important? Answer it.' She scolded.
Why were the women in his life so bossy? He thought before surrendering and answering the phone.
'Good Evening, Mummy' Tara sniggered at the grimace on his face.
'Mycroft Holmes, when were you going to tell me you had a girlfriend?' Mrs. Holmes was so loud, Tara could hear it and she turned red.
'Sherlock' Mycroft sneered 'Sherlock told you, didn't he?'
'Yes, he told me. You clearly weren't planning on telling me, so somebody had to.' she scolded.
'Given some more time, I would have let you know myself' he explained.
'You are not fooling anyone, Mycroft' Violet said plainly.
'What do you want me to do Mummy?' Mycroft asked.
'I hear she is Sherlock's nice new neighbor.' Violet asked in excitement.
'Yes. She is' he looked at her and smiled.
'Perhaps there is hope for you after all. Bring her over for Christmas, I want to see this girl.' Violet ordered.
'It's fairly new, mummy, I don't think it is appropriate' He refused to get roped into his mother's schemes.
'Nonsense. Sherlock tells me she is spending Christmas alone. Do you really want your girlfriend to spend Christmas alone while you spend it with your family?' She tried to guilt-trip him.
Mycroft thought about all the ways he could get back at his brother for getting him in trouble. 'Mummy' he started but was cut off.
'I don't want to hear it. You are bringing her along and that's final. This is not up for discussion. Good Night' she said firmly before hanging up.
'Good Night, Mummy' he said in exasperation, not sure if she heard him. He looked at Tara, who was struggling to control her laughter. 'You are just like my brother, deriving sadistic pleasure in my pain'
'Hey! I'm not the one who called your mother and ratted you out' she defended, barely getting the words out between her laughter.
'Well! I am sure this part will be enjoyable for you. My mother wants you to come over for Christmas' he smirked.
'Hmmnn. I guess it is better than spending Christmas alone' Mycroft was surprised by how well she took it.
'Is that a 'yes'?' he was taken aback.
'Yes. I'll spend Christmas with you and your family' she smiled warmly.
'Thank you.' he said awkwardly.
'No need to thank me. But if you do want to thank me, tell me about your childhood' she asked
She told him about her childhood. It was only fair he did too. 'Alright. It was fine, I guess. It was a little difficult. Growing up with Sherlock was difficult. Always thought he was an idiot. Actually, we both did. That was until we met other kids.'
She grimaced and gagged 'ugghhh. That can be ghastly.' He raised an eyebrow at this 'What?! I told you I didn't get along with my peers either'
'You want to bet?' he couldn't believe she had a harder time than him.
'I got stuffed into the janitor's closet. At kinder garden. At KINDER GARDEN' she told him.
He tried to picture it and grimaced at the image. 'I'm sorry.'
'Don't worry. Never happened again after my brothers taught me how to throw a good punch'
They both laughed.
'My mother was so upset when she got to know about it, she wanted to change my school but my father wouldn't let her' she continued.
'Why not?'
'Well. Going to school at 'The Cathedral' was like a tradition for him. Everybody in my family went there. My grandparents, my parents, my uncles, my brothers... Everyone.' She explained.
'Did you like it?'
'I guess it was fun after I learned how to deal with bullies.' She wondered.
'Being different is never easy' Mycroft said with a sad smile.
She shared his sad smile. She knew what he meant.
Once they finished their dinner, Mycroft helped her clean up and do the dishes.
'I think it's time I leave' he said kissing her on the cheek
'You don't have to' she caught his wrist.
'I do. I have an early meeting tomorrow' he told her.
'You could stay.' she made a sad face and placed her hand on his chest.
'I don't think you understand. I'm tired' he explained.
She rolled eyes at the implication. 'We don't have to do anything, silly. Think of it as a sleepover'
'Again, I have an early meeting...' She cut him off
'You could get Anthea to bring your clothes or stop by your house in the morning. Pretty please' she pouted.
'Well! If you say 'pretty please' like that, I can't say no. Can I?' he smiled and kissed her.
'No. I'm just too cute'
'Yes, you are'
They both got ready for bed, Tara lay in Mycroft's arms with her back towards his chest. He pulled her closer to him and whispered into her ear 'Thank you.'
'For making you stay?'
'No. For coming into my life, it's better with you in it' he laid a kiss on the crown of her head
'mine is too' she turned her head towards him and smiled.
...
Tara was woken up by the sun shining brightly on her face and Mycroft laying soft kisses on her shoulder. She smiled and turned towards him. He caressed her face with his thumb and smiled. It still puzzled her how a man who had spent years of his life trying to avoid intimacy, could suddenly muster the courage to open up to someone like her. She loved the way he made her feel. He didn't just make her feel needed. He made her feel desired. It was like she was suffocating and being with him was like coming up to fresh air. She smiled at the thought. Mycroft Holmes a breath of fresh air.
She had nothing to hide from him. She could be her true self around him. Tell him things she swore not tell another living soul. Sometimes she wondered if her past was just leverage to him. That he was so open with her because he knew she wouldn't tell anyone and even if she did, he had something he could hold against her. But she pushed that thought out of her brain every time it crept in. It didn't matter to her that he refrained from showing any form of affection in public. He would only ever show his love for her in private when it was just the two of them. She knew he liked her, that was enough. Her entire life felt like a lie, it didn't feel like her own, and he was the only truth. She wanted to keep just the one part of it that was true to herself and never let it go.
'Spend the next weekend with me' he whispered into her ear bring her out of her trance.
'I'm sorry. What?!' that was definitely not something she had expected him to say first thing in the morning.
'No work. Nobody else disturbing us. Just the two of us in my house for two whole days' he explained as he continued to kiss her.
She beamed at him and nodded 'I'd love that'
He got on top of her, kissing her neck, moving towards her collar bone and shoulder. She giggled.
'Don't you have a meeting?' she teased.
He continued kissing 'Darling, I am the British Government. They can't start without me. They'll wait.' He said before continuing.
...
Mycroft was getting dressed for work when he caught Tara staring at him from her bed.
'Enjoying the show?' he teased.
'Oh yes! Loving it. Except the show would've been better with fewer clothes' she grinned.
He shook his head and huffed a small laugh. 'Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for work?'
'I'm tired. I'm just going chill here for a while.' She stretched on the bed.
'Alright. Rest well, my dear. I am afraid, I can't keep the Queen waiting any longer.' he joked and turned to leave.
'Aren't you forgetting something?' she teased.
He smiled and walked over to the bed, kissing her.
'I was talking about your umbrella sword gun but that works for me too' she teased.
'How do you know about that?' he was surprised.
'Oh! come on Mycroft! A man like you wouldn't carry around an umbrella just for the heck of it. Also, my father had a sword walking stick' she told him and smirked.
He shook his head and smiled 'Have a nice day, sweetheart'
'You too' she smiled as he kissed her goodbye and left.
