Prandium alio genere
Gavin asks Anthea to dinner, various
January 2007
"Anthea, light of my life, sunshine of my dreams."
Anthea turns, a slightly mocking smile on her face.
"Ah Gavin, bane of my existence. What do you want?"
"Dinner. You and me."
"Not happening."
Gavin holds a hand to his chest, dramatically replying, "You wound me."
"Yeah? Keep standing there and I can make it real."
March 2007
Anthea enters the office to see Gavin sitting in her chair, leaning back and looking far too comfortable.
"You better have a good reason for sitting there."
"Do in fact."
"Out with it."
"Charlie wants to put a team in for the trivia competition at his local pub. Want to go with me?"
"You going to give this up any time soon?"
"Nope."
"Keep dreaming then. Now out, I actually have work to do."
July 2007
Anthea and Gavin are waiting at the security checkpoint for the Ambassador of Spain to come through the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport. Anthea is on her phone receiving last minute instructions from Mycroft while Gavin flicks through the mornings newspaper. She glances at Gavin before firing a question at him.
"How's your Spanish?"
"Dejame que te gritan cena."
"No."
"Por favor?"
"Is that the only thing you can say in Spanish?"
"Yes."
"Answer is still no."
"Damn."
November 2007
Anthea can hear Gavin's voice from the opposite end of the corridor, punctured by the laughs of the staff. There's a crash and a shriek and a chorus of "Are you okay" before it dissolves again into laughter. Anthea enters the room just as Gavin and Kevin are getting to their feet next to a table on its side, files and stationery littering the floor.
"What happened?"
Gavin turns, grinning, "Ah, mon cher, you missed it."
"Don't my dear me. And what exactly did I miss?"
Kevin claps Gavin on the back before explaining. "He was telling us about his cousin's wedding. Demonstrated how well they could dance up here. Funniest thing I've seen in a while."
Anthea shakes her head. "All right, all right. You've had your fun. Back to work. Quicker we get this sorted, quicker you can all go home."
Still chuckling, the staff moves off back to their respective offices. Anthea calls out, "Gavin, a word please."
She turns and heads towards her own desk, knowing Gavin will follow. She sits and indicates to him to pull up a chair.
Gavin speaks before Anthea can.
"Anthea, I'm-"
"I don't want to hear it. There are times when it's fine, and times when it's not. Today really wasn't that day. Not to mention the health and safety concerns in that. What were you thinking?"
"Bit of fun, lighten the mood."
"I know. Save it for a more appropriate moment next time, please."
Gavin runs a hand through his hair before nodding.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now Mycroft wants a chat when you're free. Not sure what about."
Gavin stands hesitating slightly.
"Will you let me buy you dinner?"
Anthea laughs, slightly disbelieving.
"I just told you off, and now you're asking me out?"
Gavin shrugs.
"No. Stop asking. I'm not going to change my answer."
August 2008
Anthea entered the office, an apology ready to go. She knew she was late, her mother wouldn't get of the phone the numerous times she said that she had to go. Anthea can't really complain. The one day she doesn't mind her mother's phone calls is Christmas and on her birthday. It's sometimes nice to hear a familiar voice. What Anthea wasn't expecting was the loud shout of "Surprise" and the entirety of Mycroft's staff to be standing in wait with streamers and balloons.
Anthea yelped slightly, something she would deny later before stepping forward, slightly lost for words.
"I, I. Well, I can say I was not expecting this. Thank you."
Mycroft moves towards her, handing over a card before saying "Well, it's not everyday you turn another year older. Enjoy it, dear." He leaned forward slightly and said quietly, "I'm taking you out for lunch. No complaining," before stepping back and letting the rest of the staff wish her well.
Grinning, Anthea moved to her desk, sitting down to read the card. She had just reached the end of all the messages when she noticed Gavin next to her, holding his own card. Anthea looked at him and raised one eyebrow, waiting for him to speak. Gavin instead, shook his head and held out the card, indicating Anthea should open and read it.
Happy birthday. Now, I'm not speaking out loud, because every time I ask you this, you give me some form of negative answer. So, my thinking is if I don't actually say anything, you might say yes.
Go out with me. Celebratory dinner.
Anthea looked up from the message seeing the hopeful look on Gavin's face.
"I'm sorry, Gavin. Answer's still no. I'm going out with Nancy and Molly from St Bart's."
Gavin visibly deflated, before shrugging.
"Was worth a try. Have a happy birthday, Anthea."
He turns and walks away, his hands in his pockets.
"He's quite enamoured with you."
Anthea jumps. She didn't notice Mycroft walk up behind her.
"Yes, and he is also an insufferable prat who thinks he's job on this planet is to be the class clown."
"I have to admit, he is good for morale."
"Oh dear god, not you too."
"You can't deny it, dear, he has a way with people."
"May be so. Doesn't change the fact he is still irritating."
"Hmm."
"What's that meant to mean?"
Mycroft grins. "Oh nothing. Just a thought. You shouldn't be so harsh on him."
"Well, maybe if he didn't ask me out every other week, I might be."
"If I'm correct, he hasn't asked you out since January."
Anthea sighs. "Still. The point stands. I'm not going to change my opinion of him overnight. Nothing he has done so far has shown anything else than a rather inflated ego."
Mycroft moves past Anthea, heading for his own office. "Is that so. I'll see you for lunch."
December 2009
There's a cup of tea placed down in front of her and a chair pulled up next to her desk. Anthea blinks, not realising how drained she was. She turns to see Gavin with his own cup next to her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Anthea stretches, takes a sip of the tea before asking, "What time is it? Where is everyone?"
"It's two in the morning. Mycroft went home an hour ago. I promised him I'd make sure you didn't stay here any later then three."
"You didn't have to do that. I would have gone soon. I'm almost finished…"
"You wouldn't have."
Anthea doesn't say anything, instead taking a large mouthful of the tea. "Why are you still here?"
I've got a conference call with Australia soon. I only got in at midnight.
"Oh right. I forgot about that."
"I don't blame you. You've been awake for far too long."
"Things to do."
They fall silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. It's quiet; the only sound the ticking of the wall clock and the whirling of the various computers in the room. Gavin's voice gently breaks the silence.
"Can I ask you something?"
Anthea nods, leaning back in her chair and cradling her teacup in her hands.
"Sure."
"What did I do that makes you detest me so much?"
"I don't detest you."
"What then?"
"You frustrate me."
"How?"
"Do you really want my opinion?"
"Yes."
Anthea paused, drinking another mouthful of tea before placing her cup on her desk and turning to face Gavin.
"You can be childish and irresponsible. Immature at inappropriate times. You have a habit of turning up late to meetings, to not being prepared then bluffing your way through it. You might be able to fool a lot of people, but not me. Generally acting like you own the place."
Gavin nods, a blank look on his face.
Anthea continues. "You have so much potential. It seems a shame to see that go to waste. To me, you are more worried about what everyone thinks of you, making sure everyone likes you. We never see the real Gavin. The Gavin that I'm talking to now."
"I'm that transparent?"
"You don't spend as much time around Mycroft Holmes as I do without becoming good at reading people. You're good at what you do. Mycroft would not have hired you if you weren't. It's okay to be amusing and to tell jokes. It's achieving a balance."
"You're younger than me and giving me life advice."
"My father wasn't around as a kid and my mum worked full time. I looked after my sister and myself. I grew up fast."
"I didn't know."
"Most people don't."
There was silence for a while.
"I don't detest you. I might even like you if we'd started off differently. And you didn't try and ask me out every second week."
"You never know. You might still come to like me yet." Gavin stands returning the chair to its former position by the wall. "Go home, get some sleep."
"Yes, sir."
May 2010
Anthea passes through security, hits the button to call the lift and steps in. Just before the doors close, Gavin joins her, his glasses askew and a slightly harried look on his face.
"Is Mycroft in?"
"Yes, but he's in a meeting. Cameron. Why?"
"Question for him. Was looking over the summaries from last night noticed a few things that don't add up."
"How so?"
"Conflicting information from different sources. Subtle, but it's there."
Anthea stares at him. "What?" The lift reaches Anthea's floor, and the doors open. They step out and Gavin leads the way over to Anthea's desk. He opens the files and lays the reports next to each other.
"Here. Different timings, and the description of the suspects are different. We assumed it was just the victims not remembering it correctly. I checked the CCTV footage. It was definitely two different times."
"Damn. I didn't even think to check that." Anthea switches on her computer, pulling up the information and logging into the database at Scotland Yard. "They've taken someone in. Sherlock is meant to be questioning him later." She pauses, tapping her hand on the desk. "Mycroft really should know about this." She stands moves towards the office. Gavin follows her, grabbing her arm.
"Wait, you said he was in a meeting. With David Cameron."
"Yes. Time for you to meet the Prime Minister."
It was well past midnight by the time Mycroft and Anthea had sorted the problem. It included a few trips to Baker Street, terse conversations with Sherlock and one memorial trip to Scotland Yard that involved Sergeant Dimmock attempting to refuse Anthea entry until she pulled out a government clearance above anything Dimmock had seen before.
Anthea walks out of Mycroft's office having set up the necessary meetings for tomorrow. She notices Gavin still sitting at her desk, a look of exhaustion on his face. He can barely keep his eyes open. She places one hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. His eyes snap open and he looks confused for a moment before working out where he is.
"Come on. Dinner and to bed for you."
"What?"
"There's a place around the corner. Technically they aren't still open but I know the owner. They often cook up a late night meal when Mycroft and I have been working late."
Gavin stands, swaying slightly.
"Why…"
"I'm being nice. You're dead on your feet." She smiles before continuing. "For the record, this isn't a date."
Gavin chuckles quietly.
"Of course it isn't. Thank you."
February 2011
Anthea knocks before entering Mycroft's office, balancing two cups of tea in one hand, her laptop in the other.
"Anthea, my dear, you are a saviour."
"I should tell everyone the way to your heart is a well made cup of tea."
"Do that and you're demoted."
Anthea smiles and places the cups down pulls over one of the chairs and opens her laptop. There's a knock at the door and Gavin sticks his head in.
"Call for you sir, line two."
Mycroft replies. "Take a message and schedule a meeting."
"Yes, sir."
Gavin smiles before closing the door behind him. Mycroft sips his tea, eyeing Anthea carefully before speaking.
"He was looking particularly dashing just then."
Anthea glances up, before continuing to type. "Sorry, what?"
"Gavin."
"Can't say I noticed."
"Oh come on, dear. You would have to be blind not to notice."
"What? That his hair was more ruffled than normal?"
"Ah. You did notice."
Anthea pauses in her typing and glares up at Mycroft. "No I didn't."
"It's quite lovely hair. As hair goes."
"Why are we discussing Gavin's hair?"
"No reason."
"Okay then, moving on. Staff rosters for the next week are done, emailed them through this morning. There is also two applications for time off which need your approval."
"It's just nice to see you two getting along."
Anthea sighs. "Not sure what you're trying to achieve here, sir."
"Nothing. Just an observation."
"He's okay when he isn't being an insufferable prat all the time."
"Somehow I feel that insult has less conviction behind it than it used to."
"Maybe so. Can we get these done now, please?"
"As you wish."
October 2011
"When was the last time you consumed something that was not coffee?"
Anthea glances up from her computer to see Gavin standing in front of her desk, a stack of paper in his hand.
"Hmm?" Anthea reaches out and takes the paper from Gavin, searching through the pile until she finds the one she wants and hands the rest back. "What time is it?"
"Just after 11. Pm that is."
"Breakfast then. Before this all started." Anthea waves her hand vaguely to encompass the office and the extra staff currently contained within it.
"You need to eat. Come on, up."
"Gavin, I'm fine. I'll eat later."
"No you won't. Knowing you, you've been at this since before anyone else was aware of the situation. I am taking you to get dinner."
Anthea protested weakly, before standing and taking her coat which Gavin is holding out for her. He places his hands on her shoulders steering her in the direction of the lift.
"I need my bag."
"No need. I know your blackberry is in your pocket. And it's my shout."
He presses the button for the lift, grinning as he waits for it to arrive.
"And for the record, this is a date."
Anthea smiles softly before stepping into the lift, and reaches for Gavin's hand when he steps in next to her.
To: .
From: .
CC: .; .
Re: To answer the numerous I have receive today;
Yes, I am on two days off, not originally planned. (Mycroft, please note I am not complaining). Yes, Gavin is also on two days off. Yes, we are together. (So you can call off the bets you all had going, because as secret as you tried to be, I do actually known about that).
Can we all get back to work now? Thank you.
-A.