"Come on, Sherlock. You can do it," Mycroft said as he sat on the sofa and looked over at his baby brother who sat quietly on the floor, a block in his hand as he looked up curiously upon hearing his name. Previously, Mycroft had been intent on trying to get Sherlock to walk when the youth had spotted his little brother trying earlier that week. He was excited to see his brother growing up, and wanted it to continue at a brisk pace.
The one year old Sherlock grumbled some sort of incoherent baby babble thoughtfully, looking back down at his block and contemplating it as Mycroft grumbled and got off the sofa, coming over to Sherlock's side. Pulling his little brother up to his feet, he held the child carefully, supporting him as Sherlock stood and fussed.
"No!" the child insisted, his lip trembling as he stood uncertainly on young feet that were not yet skilled in the art of walking. But Myrcoft held his hands and kept him upright.
"It's alright, Sherlock! I've got you, I won't let you fall," Mycroft promised, and though the one-year old Sherlock didn't understand what his brother was saying, the older Holmes sounded like he knew what he was doing, and so Sherlock calmed down a bit, taking comfort in the tone of his older brother's voice.
Stepping away from Sherlock ever so slightly, Mycroft kept his hands holding Sherlock, encouraging the child to follow. Though hesitant at first, Sherlock eventually took one step, then another, and froze. Looking up at his brother for confirmation, he gave a smile when Mycroft offered a grin.
"There you go, you see? It's not so hard," Mycroft encouraged, and repeated the motion of stepping away. Sherlock followed again, this time giggling as he managed a couple more steps and babbled up at Mycroft.
"Mycoft!" he exclaimed, his somewhat clumsy pronunciation of his brother's name spoken in excitement at this new action. He was a quiet and serious child, but seemed to show a certain passion for things he was interested in.
Wondering if his little brother would be able to manage on his own, Mycroft released Sherlock's hands and stepped away, and for a moment Sherlock managed to keep his feet. But then he wobbled slightly, attempted a step, and then lost his balance and fell backwards onto his bottom.
For a moment he sat there in shock, then his small face wrinkled up and Mycroft instantly moved to his baby brother's side as Sherlock began to cry.
"Oh, Sherlock! Please don't cry, I'm sorry," Mycroft pleaded and wrapped his arms around Sherlock, pulling the infant into a hug. Sherlock didn't seem in pain, but more just startled as he cried quietly and pushed Mycroft away at first.
"No!" he insisted again, but Mycroft tried again and this time Sherlock allowed his older brother to comfort him and he sniffled and stuck his thumb in his mouth, sucking in it. A habit that Mycroft ofttimes tried to prevent Sherlock from doing, but guilt made him allow it to pass this time and he cuddled with his brother.
"It's okay, Sherlock. You'll learn to walk eventually. Someday you'll be bigger and we can finally have fun together," he said, gently patting Sherlock dark hair as he sat on the floor with Sherlock.