There's a stranger in my life
Greg Lestrade ran to catch up to his train. It was dark, and raining. His shoes were making loud splashing sound as they hit the small pools of water under his feet. "Oi! Wait!" he yelled. "I'm here don't go, don't close the doors" Lestrade panted as the train started moving and the door was slowly being closed. A hand came to the door of the train to stop it from closing and Greg jumped in just as the person holding the door let go.
"Phew," Greg chuckled. "Sorry." He looked up to see the man who helped him get on the train just in time. "Thank you, I owe you one" His brown eyes met light blue ones. The man didn't reply but only lifted an eyebrow and the look made Greg gulp, his heart was still beating fast from all the running."O-oh! Wait!" He looked around. "Stop the train and close all the doors! There is a murderer on this train!" Everyone gasped, mixed emotions taking over them.
"Ah yes, tall man, brown hair, brown eyes, late thirties, he ran to the back of the train" The man that helped Greg had said catching the Inspector's attention, the man leaned on his umbrella, his eyes locking with the stranger's before the man pointed to the back. "Off you go before he find another way out of the train, or possibly worse. He has a knife in his right shoe, be sure to discard that, don't alarm him, he will end up murdering someone else"
"How do you-?"
"It's not important Inspector, run along now"
Greg searched for any signs of lies in the man's face but he was amazed to see he couldn't read the man's facial expression so he just nodded and ran to the back of the train.
When he found the man he had to freeze in his spot because the criminal now had a hostage. "Okay, calm down, put the knife down… no one else has to die alright?"
The criminal smirked. "Actually… everyone has to die Inspector!" He pointed the knife at Lestrade for a second before putting it back near the hostage's throat. "And you know what? You're next"
Lestrade's eyes widened when he saw the blade almost cutting the skin of the hostage but the man dropped the knife when he was hit in the back of the head with… an Umbrella? The criminal fell to the floor with a loud thud and the woman who's been hostage was now crying tears of both fear and relief. "He's all yours Inspector" The same man with the brown eyes said and he moved around the body of the now unconscious murderer. Greg was quick to kicking the knife away from reach and he handcuffed the murderer's hand after violently pulling them to his back.
"I owe you two I guess" Greg laughed and looked up at the man. "What's your name"
The man gave him the same look he did earlier with the raised eyebrow and after a moment of silence he leaned to whisper in Greg's ear. "Perhaps another time" Before walking off as the doors to the train opened and the stranger walked out. Greg eyed the man with a smile, he managed to help and save someone's life and with that he walked like a superhero leaving his identity unrevealed.
Then it struck him 'Perhaps another time' what does that mean? He shook his head and decided to just go on with his day, after closing this case and doing all the paperwork of course, he needed sleep.
"Sir?" Sally Donovan called alarming the half awake gray haired Inspector. "You almost fell asleep, maybe you should head home. I'm sure you can finish the papers tomorrow. Everyone else went home and I was just about to leave so…."
"No… No I'm fine" Greg yawned, he was planning on freeing his time so he might just as well wrap up what's left of the papers and then he could rest.
"As you wish" She said before leaving, gently closing the door behind her.
It wasn't until one hour later did the inspector finish all the paper work after falling asleep several times, it was late and so dark outside, he only wished there were cabs outside at this time of night, he gathered his things and walked out of the building, frowning when he didn't hear a single sound in the empty street, no cars, no nothing and what made things even worse that it was still raining, he sighed as his clothes got wet for the second time today. He waited for a while waiting to see if a cab would pass by but with no luck.
"Guess I'm walking then" He said and before he could move the rain had stopped hitting his head, he blinked and looked up to see an umbrella now shielding his head from the drops of water, it must have been so dark that he didn't notice someone walking up to him.
"Thanks, I owe you" He smiled, he seems to owe a lot of people now.
"For the third time today Inspector" Greg blinked, he recognized the voice. "Would you like a ride?"
Greg nodded. "By the way, my name is Greg Lestrade; you don't have to call me Inspector every time"
"I'm well aware of that"
Greg shoved his hands in his jacket's pockets to keep them warm. "Have we met before? I mean before today?"
"No, but you'd be surprised to know how much I know about you"
Lestrade suddenly felt nervous, who exactly was this man? And before Greg could ask any more questions, a black car pulled upon the side of the road and the stranger seemed to be waiting for Greg to move first, and so the Inspector did, heading to the black car then ducked his head as he got in. "I guess that means I owe you four times in one day?"
"Dinner" Was the only word the man said in reply.
"Sorry?"
"Dinner," The stranger repeated. "Allow me to take you to dinner tomorrow night"
"Wha- Um…" Lestrade licked his lips, it was just dinner right? "Sure" He finally answered. "Yeah, okay, dinner sounds good"
The man smiled. "Good and… Gregory, I think it's about time I introduce myself. My name is Mycroft"
"Pleasure to meet you Mycroft, can I ask you… um…" Greg ran a hand through his salt and peppered hair. "You said I'd be surprised if I knew how much you knew about me… well how exactly do you know a lot about me? Are you a spy?" Greg chuckled. "Oh, even if you were you wouldn't tell me"
"I assure you it's nothing to worry about, I'm no enemy, actually I'm a friend. We can discuss that at dinner tomorrow, but be certain you don't have to fear me" Lestrade nodded. The car stopped and Greg opened the door to the car.
"How will we meet tomorrow?"
"I will send someone to pick you up Mr. Lestrade"
"Oh, that's awfully nice of you, thank you"
With that the two went their separate ways, Greg smiled as he got ready to rest his head on the pillows and fall asleep, today was very different and maybe tomorrow would be different too.
And just as promised, the next day Greg returned from work to find a car waiting for him, a woman standing outside his doorway. "Gregory Lestrade?" She asked and he nodded. "Go ahead and get dressed, Mr. Holmes is waiting for you in the car" Her eyes never broke contact with the little phone in her hands but Greg wasn't bothered by that, what really caught his attention was what she said 'Mr. Holmes' it sounded so familiar. He shrugged and ran up to his apartment to get dressed.
In the car Greg smiled at Mycroft and the man smiled back politely, the doors were soon opened for them when they stopped next to a fancy looking restaurant. He hands noticed how fast they'd got here, maybe he was too consumed by the talk between him and Mycroft. "May I?" He heard the man say and he looked up to see Mycroft offering to take his hand. Lestrade froze; he felt a shiver run down his spine. This was something usually two people who were in love do, go out, hold hands. It was making the Inspector nervous but he didn't want to seem rude so he accepted Mycroft's offer and with one swift move Greg was out of the car and on his feet and he was being led inside the restaurant by Mycroft.
Greg's mouth hung open slightly, he's never been to such a fancy place before, but Mycroft seemed like a fancy man to begin with, he took a seat still eyeing the decorations and looked around taking in the environment around him. "I hoped I picked a place of your liking? But it seems to be your first time here?"
"It's nice, I mean… wow"
Mycroft smiled. "I'm happy you like it" A waiter came and gave the two men a menu the poured some water in their empty cups. While Greg was looking through the menu he noticed that Mycroft didn't even open his instead he was just staring at the Inspector which made it hard to breath.
"Are you okay?" He asked and dropped the menu in his hand to look at Mycroft.
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
"Just…. Asking," He looked at his reflection in the shining glass that was now filled with water just to check that he didn't look stupid or anything to make Mycroft stare at him like that.
"You look fine Gregory, don't worry"
"How did you-?"
"I deduct things easily; some people call it "A superior mind" It's like I can read minds but not really, I hope that doesn't bother you"
Greg smiled. "Oh hey, I know another fella like that! His name is…" He tried to remember the name, well he worked on a lot of cases and met with a lot of people, it was getting hard to remember names and faces. "Sherlock! Yes, that's his name" He nodded to himself and linked in surprise when he saw the look of irritation cross Mycroft's face but it disappeared as quick as it appeared.
"Ah yes… Sherlock, but let's not jump to the subject, please. Enjoy dinner first" Mycroft leaned back against the chair. "Order anything you want, don't worry about the price, I'll be paying and I assure you if I wanted to buy this place I could"
"Wow! Um, okay"
Greg ordered and they started a small talk, one subject leading to another and it was mostly Greg doing the talking but Mycroft enjoyed hearing the inspector go on and on about random topics, he was actually amused and that was something that rarely ever happened. Greg placed his plate aside as he finished eating. "So, Sherlock? You know him?"
"Yes, Indeed I do" He sighed. "I see he's been tip toeing his way around your crime scenes and I'm asking you to allow him to do as he wishes, listen to what he says, I hate to admit it but… He's right most of the time, and finally try not to punch him in the face"
"Um, okay?" He drank down the last bit of beer in before looking at Mycroft again. "So you do know him?"
Mycroft nodded. "He's my… little brother" and once again the look of irritation appeared on Mycroft's face. "And well… we have what people call a 'Sibling rivalry' He won't listen to me but Sherlock is all I have and so as his big brother it is my responsibility to take care of him"
"That's nice of you, so you need me to babysit him for you?" Greg laughed but he saw the serious look on Mycroft's face and it silenced him. "Wait, you really want me to let your brother in crime scenes? MY Crime scenes?"
"Trust me on this Gregory, I promise if he causes too much trouble I will deal with him myself you have my word"
Greg wasn't sure, but there was something that made him nod, something that made him trust every word coming out of the other man, he just had this air around him, so full of power that made Lestrade bow to every order with no questions. It was as if he was a king and Lestrade was his loyal knight. "Okay, I'll do it"
"Good, know that your hard work will be rewarded"
"No it's okay, really, after all I do owe you for catching a criminal, providing me an umbrella on a rainy night, taking me to this really nice restaurant and I'm sure I'll owe you much more in the future" Greg wasn't the man who would take money for doing something good, it was his pleasure to help people.
Mycroft smiled. "If you ever need anything Inspector, just give me a phone call" He slipped a card across the table and Greg inspected the card before putting it away. "So I assume I'll be seeing more of you in the future?"
"Only if you want to"
"… I do"
Greg couldn't stop himself from smiling like an idiot as he looked down. "Okay" This couldn't look more like a date, wait there is one thing that-
"Would you like a ride home Gregory?" Nope, there it was.
"Um, yeah that would be great, I mean if you could"
Mycroft stood up and like earlier he offered Greg a hand and this time without hesitation Greg accepted Mycroft's hand and they walked out, this was actually one of the best nights Greg had, he didn't have to worry about work or anything. He felt free and it was amazing.
And so it begun, the Inspector met Sherlock and he finally knew what Mycroft meant when he said 'try your best not to punch him in the face' but thankfully Greg was a very patient person.
Suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to see the words '1 new message' on the screen, he opened it and he didn't recognize the number but smiled when he read the text.
'Might I interest you in a cup of coffee after you're done wrapping up the case? – M.H'
'Coffee is just what I needed – G.L'
'Perfect, I'll send a car – M.H'
Greg could get use to this; it was nice of Mycroft to take him out every now and then, it helped him relax. And then the car was there, waiting for him to finish his work and Sally had seen it. "Could it be? You're going out on a date?" She laughed.
"It's not a date! I'm just meeting a friend" He grinned before grabbing his jacket and heading out. "Good night Donovan"
"Good night sir"
Greg was sure he would, he enjoyed Mycroft's company, it was something different, after all the blood and gore he sees on the crime scene he could finally relax with Mycroft.
"How was your day Gregory?" Asked Mycroft and the Inspector took a sip of his coffee before locking eyes with the older Holmes.
"Fine I-"
"It's not nice to lie, you say its fine but you Inspector don't look fine, you've seen terrible things today" Greg smiled, he was still so amazed with how Mycroft does that, it was like having a super power and Mycroft wasn't using his to annoy people like Sherlock.
They've been walking for a while now, Mycroft had taken Greg to a park for some fresh air and even though it was sunny and there was no need for an umbrella Mycroft still had one in his hand, twirling it as they walked, actually now that he thought of it he rarely ever saw Mycroft without the umbrella. He opened the umbrella and placed it on top of his and Greg's heads. "You never really get use to it…" He said. "No matter what, murder is still an unpleasant sight"
"Yeah… I just wonder… why do people do that? Why do they kill each other?"
"I don't know Inspector…"
"I guess that's something we'll never understand" And then the two suddenly stopped.
"All lives end, sooner or later Inspector" The turned to face each other and to Greg's surprise the man was leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead. God damn it he hated being shorter than the Holmes right now. "Don't let it bother you, you should focus on keeping your own life safe, it's a dangerous world"
"Yeah, no kidding"
"So, has my brother been annoying you?"
Lestrade shrugged. "Not too much, he is a genius just as you said, we're happy to have him on the team" The two sat down on a wooden bench and Greg finished his coffee. "You two are so amazing; I mean Sherlock could have easily become a detective"
"Actually he wanted to be a pirate but not everyone's dreams work out the way they wanted, what about you Inspector? Was this where you wanted to be in your life?"
"Kind of, I did want to be a detective Inspector, not a divorced one though, it's kind of hard to explain"
"I understand, no need to explain"
And Greg was smiling again; it seemed that he couldn't stop smiling ever since he met Mycroft. He was sure Mycroft used his 'mind reading powers' on him and that's why there was no need for an explication.
"Gregory I might not be anything but a simple government official, but I think you're a great man, a one I'd love to share my life with"
Lestrade's eyes widened. "Just a government official?! Mycroft are you bloody kidding me? From what I heard from Sherlock you ARE the British Government!"
"That's not the point now… What I'm trying to say is that…" Mycroft cleared his throat. "I'm fond of you and I actually never bothered to let someone in but I found you to be unique, I'm…. what I want to say is…."
Greg chuckled. "Mycroft? Are you trying to ask me out?"
"Let me do it, please, this is very hard for us Holmes!" Mycroft seemed determined and so Greg let him, the older Holmes took a deep breath. "Gregory would you like to… to be my date for every work occasion, be my date for every time we go out, allow me to be able to call you 'mine' let me know that you smile because I have done something that I don't find funny but somehow you do"
"Yes" Lestrade replied. "And I feel so honored too I mean-" Greg had no time to complete his sentence, his words were forgotten as he felt Mycroft press their lips together and it was the most wonderful feeling, it made Lestrade melt in his spot, he thank the lord that they weren't standing up or else he feared that his legs would fail him, his brain shut down as Mycroft pressed against him even more before pulling away for air.
"I think this would be more appropriate in my home then out here on the public streets"
"I… what? Oh, oh yeah"
"Are you busy tomorrow?"
"As far as I know I'm free and all yours"
Mycroft smirked. "Perfect! Tomorrow then? As usual I'll send a car"
"Yeah, sounds great! It's a date then"
"Indeed" Mycroft gave Greg one last quick kiss before they stood up, getting ready to call this a day and head back home, both of them excited to see what tomorrow has in stores for them.
END