Title: Making the Connection
Story Summary: A non-chronological collection of short chapters based on one word prompts, includes (pre-)slash for Johnlock & Mystrade
Chapter Summary: John gets Mycroft to tell him about Sherlock's drug abuse. Prompt: Pattern
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Moffat, Gatiss & SACD.
A/N: This prompt came from oneword(dot)com, if you'd like to prompt me you can do so in a review or a PM.
Mycroft Holmes had spent his morning preventing a piece of information blossoming into a scandal. Most of his afternoon was taken up by using yet another piece of information to convince a terrorist cell that proceeding with their plans might not be their smartest move at the moment. The evening, however, was reserved for a meeting of a more personal nature.
Two nights ago John Watson had called him, probably as close to hysteria as he could get, telling him that his little brother had taken drugs again. When Sherlock refused to explain himself to John the next day he had set up this meeting.
They met for dinner at a quiet, Italian restaurant that Mycroft knew could be trusted. Of course he was early and when John finally arrived they agreed to enjoy the food before doing what they came for.
When John had eaten up all of his pasta and Mycroft was done with his salad they both ordered an espresso. John leaned forward and looked straight at the older Holmes brother. "Why does Sherlock take drugs?", he asked quietly.
Mycroft added a tiny splash of Demerara sugar to his espresso and stirred. "There are two stressors that can make him relapse. One is boredom and the other one is emotional pain."
John looked at him wide eyed. "So he does have a pattern. Can you predict when it happens?"
The older man lowered his gaze to the tablecloth. "As you know, John, my little brother is not what you would call 'an idle mind'. I try to prevent him from being too bored by pointing the right people in his direction, people who give him cases."
"What about the-" John hesitated for a second. "-the other reason?"
"The emotional pain", Mycroft's face clearly showed his disdain "is of course one of the few things that are out of my control and thus much harder to manage. You see, it was what got Sherlock started on drugs to begin with."
"You mean Sherlock...?" He left the unfinished question hanging in the air between them.
"That is not my story to tell. What I am at liberty to discuss with you is my early warning system."
"Let me guess, you have one minion who especially watches Sherlock's every move in order to tell you when he might slide back into old habits." The snide tone was definitely something that John had picked up from Sherlock.
Mycroft smirked for the fraction of a second. "It is actually a lot simpler than that. You are aware that my little brother used to smoke. Whenever he is craving a cigarette he is bored. When I think he might be in emotional distress worth relapsing I offer him one. If he accepts it that means it is what I'd like to call a danger night, he needs to be monitored closely and if necessary prevented from harming himself."
"Right." John nodded. "What can I do to help?"