DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sherlock, unfortunately.

A/N: Wow! Thanks to all those lovely people who left reviews, added this story to their favorites, and followed this story. Here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy.

It became evident as time passed that Mycroft was not a normal robot. He was one of a kind and no one knew why. His manufactures had threatened to dismantle him and replace him with another robot. The head of the house had simply refused to let Mycroft go.

"You're one of a kind, Mycroft. In this society it's not very often that uniqueness is celebrated. I decided to keep you on one condition."

Mycroft looked at his Master curiously. His Master seemed completely serious, his lips pursed in a thin line. He nodded curtly. "And what is that, Sir?"

"I want you to promise me that you will reach your full potential. Whatever that is, reach for it and never give up. Promise me that."

"Is that an order?" Mycroft asked. He was entirely puzzled. Full potential? The thought of being anything other than a robot seemed absurd. He was already working at full capacity and was one of the latest robot designs. He was already at his full potential, surely.

"No. It is a request." His Master said softly. "Human beings – we take a long time to for fill our potential. Some of us never do. We run out of time to do it in. But that won't be a problem for you. You're a robot. You're immortal. You have all the time in the world."

"I do not understand. How can I have all the time in the world?" Again he found himself confused by the humans. "That is impossible, isn't it?"

"No." His master chuckled. "It's a human expression."

Mycroft shook his head. "Humans are forever confusing me. You sometimes say things that you do not mean. What is the point?"

"That's the human race for you. You should probably learn to not take everything quite so literally."

"It would seem I have a lot to learn about the human race."

After that conversation with his Master, Mycroft threw himself into learning everything about human beings. Some things he found were quite horrific such as the many wars humans had had over petty things. Mycroft did not understand the violence. He'd always thought humans were peaceful creatures. It would seem that the Human race were a far more savage species that Mycroft had first thought. He also learnt about magnificent and fascinating things such as hope, joy, salvation, and love. He found the latter especially interesting. Love was made to seem like an effortless thing, something that came easy, a fairy tale thing that every person seeks from a very young age. Every time he read about the topic he felt a pang deep within his metal circuits, an ache in his torso that he couldn't quite explain. He tried to pinpoint what that sensation was but he found himself unable to. It was a rather unsettling matter for Mycroft and several years later as he sat beside little Sir, playing a duet together, he still hadn't found his answers.

As the melody came to slow and delicate stop Mycroft turned to little sir. The young human was no longer a boy. He was now a fully grown man. Soft brown eyes rose to meet his cold, metallic ones. "I have a feeling something's bothering you, Mycroft."

"It is nothing, little Sir." Mycroft turned his eyes back to the piano.

"It's clearly not nothing." Little sir may have grown up but the small scowl now written in his features reminded Mycroft so much of the little boy he had first encountered so many years ago.

"It is just that I have noticed that you are planning to marry that dreadful woman you've been dating for approximately three years now. Is it because you are in love with her? And in which case why are you in love? What is it like to be in love? I have always wondered." Mycroft's questions seemed to baffle little sir and it took him a while to respond, his lips kept on moving to speak but no sound came out. In the end it would seem the man simply gave up and a heavy silence fell between robot and human. It was little Sir who spoke up, his tone of voice defensive, and his words sounding strained.

"What's with all the questions, Mycroft? You're not usually so curious about my love life. Besides! She's not awful! She's wonderful and she-"

"Has cheated on you on numerous occasions." Mycroft interrupted, tilting his head to study little sir closely. "I do not think that is part of the package of love."

"Shut up, Mycroft! You're just a robot! You don't know anything!" Little Sir seemed quite upset now. Mycroft watched as the young human began tugging at his dark brown hair. It must have been causing him considerable pain as he kept on hissing. Humans were strange creatures.

"Little Sir, I may know nothing of love. But I do know that you are not happy with that woman. I have deduced that your heart lies with someone else." Little Sir instantly looked crestfallen. His eyes held such a mixture of complicated emotions that Mycroft found it quite difficult to depict what he was feeling. He was licking his lips nervously, Mycroft noted. Mycroft reached forwards and placed his cool hand on little sir's face. He did not miss the way his breath seemed to hitch, and the pulse in Little Sir's long and slender neck began to visibly throb. "I am sorry for intruding. I am only looking out for you, Little Sir. It is my job to look out for your best interests after all. Was I wrong in my analysis? Are you in love with someone else?"

Those soft brown eyes were fixed on Mycroft once more. Little Sir seemed incredibly sad. Mycroft hated it when he was sad. It made him feel as though he'd failed him in some way. It was in these moments that he longed to be human, because then he would have a better insight of what other humans were feeling, and how to make them feel better. But Mycroft was far from human. He was a machine. There were those people in society who saw robots as fancy household appliances. He was lucky in the fact that he had landed himself with a family who treated him as a person. Mycroft knew however that it did not matter how much he was treated like one of them he would never be human enough. He didn't have what it had to be human. His metal exterior did not matter, as humans came in all sorts of shapes as sizes from what Mycroft can gather, it was rather what was inside that mattered; the heart, soul, and the whole mess of feelings and emotions that gathered within.

"You're right."

Mycroft blinked and shook his head. He'd been daydreaming or at least the equivalent of daydreaming. Robots didn't dream, and the fact that he experienced anything close to the state of dreaming was yet another reason that he stood out from the other robots that had been manufactured. It was one of the traits that his Master and little Sir liked about him, but it was also the very trait that had him ridiculed by the public, including the Master's wife. Because of the second law of robotics Mycroft had to follow all orders humans gave him, and unfortunately because he was such a hated object and a subject of great debate this had led to quite a few accidents. He'd always been able to repair himself but it was still a nuisance and Mycroft did not see why people reacted in such a horrible way. One thing was clear; the human race did not like new things. Mycroft blinked again. He'd almost drifted back to daydreaming.

"Right? What am I right about, little Sir?" He asked.

Mycroft snapped out of his mind fortress completely when he heard the long and weary sigh from the young human. "I am completely in love with someone else. They make me laugh, they've always been there for me, they make my heart beat a little faster whenever I'm around them, and I'm always happy when I'm around them. But – I can't be with them. It's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, little Sir. The human race dreamed of flying and then planes were invented. I think that it's safe to say that in comparison your situation is not as impossible sounding. It is very simple as to what you need to do. The answer is right in front of you." There it was again; a flicker of emotion burning like fire in little Sir's eyes. Mycroft pushed back the whir of frustration of not being able to help or understand what was going on. Mycroft didn't expect Little Sir to place one of his hands over his. He let out a small. "Oh." He found the whir of frustration forcing its way back up to his surface once more. He could not feel little Sir's touch. He was a robot. He could not feel anything. And yet he longed to be able to feel that touch and he did not know why.

"Do you see now, Mycroft?" Little Sir whispered softly, his thumb running over Mycroft's hand. "I can't follow my heart when it comes to this."

"I do not understand." Mycroft replied, truly confused.

"I think you do. I think you understand perfectly. I just think that love is such a foreign concept to you that you are denying the only logical explanation. You're a robot, Mycroft. You shouldn't fight logic." Little Sir's hands ran up to cup Mycroft's face. Flashbacks from human movies Mycroft had watched in an attempt to discover the meaning behind love flew before his cybernetic eyes. The action that Little Sir was taking part in right now was a sign of affection and tender love. Something stirred within Mycroft and he pulled away from Little Sir's hands.

"I see. That is a rather problematic situation that you've found yourself in."

"I can't pin all my hopes and dreams, and love on a … "

"Machine?" Mycroft asked coldly.

"Hey, don't be like that. You're far more than a machine. It's just that …"

"You'll never be able to love me because I'm not human enough for you." The usual bright, vibrant glow in Mycroft's eyes became dimmer and he looked down at his metal feet, and his metal legs, and then across to his fleshless hands and something broke within him. Little Sir loved him, more than that wretched human female, and the only thing keeping them apart was the way society looked upon robots, and his lack of humanity. "Excuse me, Little Sir. I must be going." He stood mechanically, his joints clicking loudly in a reminder that he desperately needed to oil them.

"Mycroft, don't be like this…I…"

"I what?!" Mycroft snapped his usual polite manners somehow completely non-existent. "There is no need to explain yourself. You will marry the girl, and have children of your own one day. And I am just a robot. I do not deserve to be loved. In fact I am completely unlovable. I also haven't the capability of loving anyone back. The idea of being in a relationship with me is preposterous. Now, I really must go."

He swiftly turned on his heel and headed to the basement, where he spent all night making toy soldiers. It was a habit of his ever since he'd made that very first soldier all those years ago. Whenever something wasn't going quite right this was where he would retreat to make more wooden crafts. The wooden soldiers, he found, were the most peaceful to make. Life had been much easier when Little Sir had been a small boy. It would seem that despite all that Mycroft had learnt about the Human race he still has so much to learn. He knew one thing however; love was far more complicated than Mycroft had first thought. How could a human being fall in love with a robot, especially a robot like Mycroft? The idea just wasn't plausible nor was it logical. It just didn't make sense. Mycroft hated that there were so many things that he did not understand with a passion. It shouldn't have been in his nature to question things, but then he was very different from the other robots. As the years were passing it was becoming crystal clear as to the extent of how different he really was. As Mycroft chizzled a piece of wood into the shape of a soldier kneeling with a machine gun, he began wishing for normality. If he were a normal robot he would not have been effected by Little Sir's words. As it was he found his metal insides grinding and whirring unhappily as a dark sensation pulsed over him.

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