The tenth thing that Mycroft realized was that wasting time was not always a bad thing…

Beta:OneWhoSitsWithTheTurtles

Wasting Time

Mycroft Holmes hated wasting time. Some people said that time is money; he personally thought that wasting time equaled missing opportunities. An opportunity to make a good deal, to get the information his enemies were after before them, an opportunity to stop some stupid politician from compromising themselves – Mycroft was not the type of a person who could easily let others get what he wanted too.

It took effort to be aware of everything, be it information for public announcements or the real going ons. That's why no time wasting was allowed. Mycroft fired his last secretary because she was painting her nails during working hours, which caused her to pick up the phone a second later than was appropriate, which in turn irritated the caller. So when Mycroft was finally connected with that person, the man was annoyed and snapped at the politician. There is no need to explain why the negotiations didn't go well at all.

And now here he was. Sitting alone in a restaurant, waiting. Mycroft was used to dining alone, actually preferred to eat in peace and quiet, somewhere in a corner of a fancy restaurant. It was also a good thing that he was acquainted with the owner of this establishment, which helped to keep the nosy waiters away from his table. But right at that moment, that was not what Mycroft wanted. He had a date with Lestrade but the other man was late – he had phoned earlier in the evening, which was very nice but kind of useless as the politician was already informed about the robbery case that the DI was assigned. Mycroft felt like he was wasting time.

He took a long sip of his water, longing for a taste of good wine, but waiting for his date's arrival to order. Mycroft was curious about what Lestrade would prefer, what he liked. He wanted to know his tastes, try it all for himself and see how different they were from his own. Mycroft imagined that Lestrade's taste in beverages, even though not as sophisticated, still might please the politician.

Mycroft glanced at his wrist-watch, noting that it was precisely twenty three minutes since Lestrade should have appeared, which was fine after his phone call and a promise to arrive. But the politician could not shake off the feeling of time spent absolutely uselessly. Minutes ticked by and nothing happened, no important phone calls and no deals made. Nothing.

It pained Mycroft to look around and notice two people in business suits obviously having an informal business meeting. Inevitably it brought an idea to the politician's mind that dates were a waste of time. He snapped out of it as soon as his mind registered that train of thought. He lifted the glass of water to his lips again; cool liquid helped to sooth the starting anxiety. Mycroft used to think that way some time ago, considering dating and relationships on the whole unneeded and boring. He was in a process of changing his mind now though.

The date still might be boring but the outcome was worth it. Spending time with the person he liked, Gregory Lestrade, even if the man was ranting about his job cases or Mycroft's insolent younger brother, was better than work and more satisfying than exposing an enemy. With Lestrade, Mycroft's life consisted of more than just diplomacy and intrigues. And that felt wonderful.

"I'm sorry I made you wait," a voice intruded on his thoughts. When Mycroft looked up from where his gaze was locked on the rim of high glass he was met with the worried face of his long awaited date.

"It's nothing," Mycroft replied with a smile.

"My work can get rather hectic," the DI said as an apology.

"Believe me, I understand. I…don't mind waiting…a little." He calmed his date with a tight smile. It was almost true.

"I know you hate waiting," Lestrade said suddenly; he was smiling with a light hearted smile.

For a second Mycroft just stared at him, amazed at his partner's insight, then he brushed it off with a more sincere smile.

"I can wait for you."

Lestrade nodded, a hint of a smile and serious gleam in his hazel eyes, doing wonders to Mycroft's heart. Calming him down one second and then throwing him off a metaphorical cliff the other. It was beautiful and worth any wasted time.

Sometimes it was nice, to waste time together with someone else.