Chapter 5-
The men's signal ended up being notes tapped to their respective windows and a couple of knocks on the window sill to alert the other- if it was late, or in most cases early in the morning like 1-4 am. If it was during the day they would just talk freely across the way to each other. Or they would just text. It depended on the mood and the day.
Sometimes Greg had work, and they would text during his breaks, most times Mycroft joined him at the café, not even having to recite his order as Greg knew it off by heart by now.
The studying went on till finals were finished and for a few crushing days while Greg celebrated with his sporting buddies, Mycroft sat in his room glumly thinking that his easy and quick friendship with Greg was over.
Much to his delight though, Greg surprised Mycroft by climbing through his window late one evening with a bottle of wine to celebrate that finals were over and to thank him for helping him out with the study. That was the first time Mycroft got drunk.
Since Greg got Mycroft drunk, Mycroft thought that it was his duty to introduce Greg to something that he had never done before.
It was 1am when Mycroft tapped the note up to his window and knocked on the window sill. It took a few minuets but soon enough he heard the echo of Greg's sheets rustling and he saw Greg's silhouette come up to the window before the man turned on his bedroom light.
Mycroft felt bad for waking Greg up, but this was important, in a few minuets a meteor shower would be able to be seen without the need of a telescope and Mycroft wanted to show Greg.
Greg blinked against the sudden brightness of his bedroom light and he yawned into his elbow. With one eye scrunched up against the brightness he read Mycroft's note and he smiled.
'Greg, I know it's early but I was wondering if you could join me on my roof? I'll grab a blanket and something warm to drink -Mycroft'
Turning off his bedroom light, Greg adjusted his eyes to the darkness once more before he expertly climbed out his window and landed softly on his first story roof.
Shuddering slightly at the sudden coldness against the balls of his feet, Greg slowly made his way over to Mycroft's roof. Greg trod carefully over his roof and he avoided the places where he knew creaked because his father was sleeping.
Stepping over the gap that separated the roofs, Greg walked up to Mycroft's window, louder than he would on his own roof because he knew that Mycroft was the only one home. Mr and Mrs Holmes had taken Sherlock away for the weekend suddenly, not to say that wasn't unusual and Mycroft didn't mid one bit.
Waiting, Greg hoisted him self up and sat on Mycroft's window sill. When Mycroft walked back into his room with a thermos of hot chocolate and a blanket his breath got caught in his throat at the site of Greg. Clearing his throat he continued to walk over to his window where Greg was.
Hearing Mycroft clear his throat, Greg turned his head and smiled, "hello" he whispered.
Whispering back, Mycroft also smiled and replied with his own "hello."
"I hope you don't mind joining me this early," Mycroft said as he handed the thermos and the blanket to Greg before hoisting himself up on his desk and turning his body so his legs stuck out the window.
Greg took the thermos and the blanket from Mycroft, thankful for the heat that the thermos provided. "I don't mind," said Greg as he watched Mycroft expertly slide out of his window.
Greg laughed quietly, "I remember when you were too scared to even stick your feet out the window, now look at you."
Mycroft was standing on his roof, shuddering just like Greg had as the sudden coldness of the roof top assaulted' his bare feet.
Taking the blanket the thermos from Greg, Mycroft smiled, "practice makes perfect." It was true too, Mycroft was so frightened to stand on his roof and walk over to Greg's it took a few try's on lots of different occasions but he was finally able to crawl through Greg's window.
Greg's bedroom was so different compared to his, there were posters of half-naked men and women, some bands that Mycroft had never heard of and sport t-shirts in frames covering the walls. He had more shelves than Mycroft, with clothes overflowing from the half-shut drawers.
Greg's room was defiantly messier than Mycroft's but there seemed to be order to all the mess, and there was an impressive movie and CD collection which Greg educated Mycroft on when they decided to watch a movie together or simply just listen to music.
With that Greg slid himself from the window sill and helped Mycroft spread out the blanket.
Sitting down on the blanket, Mycroft lay back and patted the space beside him. Greg raised his eye brows but lay down next to Mycroft anyway. The sides of their bodies pressed together when Greg sat just a little too close but Mycroft didn't seem to mind and neither of them made any move to shift away from each other.
"So?" Greg asked in a whisper, "what are we doing out here?"
Turning his head so he could speak into Greg's ear Mycroft explained the meteor shower.
Staring up at the sky, the men content in the silence that followed Mycroft's explanation, they waited for the shower.
Not long after, a bright flash appeared over head and Mycroft's face lit up in a grin.
"Did you see?" He asked Greg.
Greg nodded and waited for more bright flashes. Although Greg wouldn't describe them as flashes, they were more like streaks of light.
Streak after streak, the sky seemed to get lighter as if the sun was rising, it was strange watching it, Greg felt as though he could reach up and catch a streak in the palm of his hand.
So he tried, reaching up the sky, Greg extended his fingers from the fist he had made and glided his hand through the cold, air above him.
Mycroft looked over to Greg startled as the arm that was pressed against the side of his body suddenly moved, watching Greg reach up and wave his hand around in the air above him made Mycroft smile and decided to do the same.
With the arm that was pressed against Greg, he reached up and stretched his fingers. Now his hand was above his head he started trailing his fingers along the tails of light the meteors left behind as they burned up in the atmosphere.
Bumping his raised hand into Mycroft's raised hand, Greg looked over and smiled at him, "this is bloody fantastic," he said whispering.
Mycroft bumped his hand back against Greg's and whispered, "I know, I read in the paper that there was going to be one and I wanted to show you."
Bumping his hand back against Mycroft's, Greg whispered back "thanks," and then continued to watch the remainder of the meteor shower.
"This was all because I got you drunk a while back isn't it?" Asked Greg a while later.
Mycroft nodded, "it was."
Greg laughed quietly into the thermos before he took a drink.
After the shower had finished Mycroft and Greg sat up and turned towards each other, both of their legs were crossed underneath them and their knees bumped together.
"It was defiantly worth getting out of my warm bed for," said Greg with a little bit of a grumble.
Mycroft laughed quietly and took the thermos from Greg and took a quick drink, letting the warmth of the canister soak into his hands.
"How do you think the universe was made?" Asked Greg suddenly.
Screwing the cap back onto the thermos he shifted his hands to the top and Greg reached forward and clasped his hands around the exposed space at the bottom of the thermos, "thanks" he whispered, thankful that Mycroft shared the warmth with him.
Mycroft shrugged, "the big bang seems like a plausible theory."
Nodding, Greg chewed his lower lip, "so you don't believe in God?"
"It seems pretty wild to me, why would someone create 'this?'" At the word 'this' Mycroft removed his hands from the thermos as gestured wildly around them.
Greg's own hands tightened around the thermos and then it was his turn to shrug, "maybe God's a sadist?"
Laughing quietly, Mycroft placed his hands back on the thermos but this time his pinkies rested over Greg's thumbs and he blushed.
"I understand why someone would create rain forests and flowers and beaches with clear waters," Greg continued quickly, ignoring Mycroft's pinkies- maybe if I don't bring attention to them, thought Greg, then maybe he will keep them there- over his thumbs. "But why would someone create something so ugly as the human race?"
It was quiet for a while as Mycroft thought, "do you think we have a purpose?" He asked Greg quietly.
"I think everyone has a purpose," Greg replied just as quietly, "you just have to find it."
"Have you found yours?" Asked Mycroft.
Greg opened his mouth to answer but he hesitated, "I- I don't know."
"What about sports?"
"That's just sports, a pass time, perhaps I can use it to get a scholarship or something," Greg tugged on the thermos until Mycroft let go so he could take a drink.
"What do you want to do?"
Greg unscrewed the lip of the thermos slowly, "I was thinking maybe something to do with the law, become a detective or something."
Mycroft nodded and watched Greg's Adams apple bob when he swallowed.
"What do you want to do?" Greg asked Mycroft when he finished screwing the lid back on and handing it to Mycroft.
"Government, or an area in politics." Mycroft said without hesitation before he took a drink. It was a simple question to answer. His father had been asking him that question since the day he started school.
"That's cool," Greg said simply with a bob of his head.
"Do you think any of those meteors would of landed on earth?"
Greg shrugged and handed the thermos to Mycroft, "why?"
"Wouldn't it be cool to hold a piece of space in your hand?"
Greg grinned, "yeah it would."
Handing the thermos back to Greg, "here you can finish it," Mycroft said with a smile.
"Thanks," and Greg drunk the rest. "Do you think Aliens exist?"
"Probably, the universe is so vast it would be a shame to believe that there aren't other life forms out there."
"You don't like fish fingers?"
"Imagine if the sky was green, and the grass was blue."
"Nothing rhymes with purple."
"Do you think dogs speak English?"
"If I was bitten, and turned into a zombie. What would you do?"
"If you were a vampire, would you tell me?"
"Where you even with me when we watched Star Wars?"
"Star Trek is cool too."
"How do you not get that reference?"
"But it's science, the chemicals react together to create something else."
"Popcorn? Seriously?"
"Why do we have daily routines?"
Greg shrugged, "that's just life."
"People never do anything spontaneous anymore, aren't you tired of waking up and doing the same thing everyday?"
"This was pretty spontaneous," said Greg, gesturing to Mycroft then himself then to the sky.
"This is different," huffed Mycroft.
An idea sparked in Greg's mind as he watched Mycroft pout, quickly leaning forward he pressed a kiss to Mycroft's cheek and then he pulled back slowly.
Surprised, Mycroft blushed and stuttered "w-what was that f-for?"
Greg smiled, "it was spontaneous."
"Why doesn't your dad like me?" Asked Mycroft after the two talked for hours about seemingly random things.
Greg blinked, "he does likes you."
Mycroft huffed in disbelief.
"What was that huff for?"
"Your dad doesn't like me," Mycroft held up a hand when Greg opened his mouth to say something but Mycroft continued in a whisper, "is it because I'm gay?" Mycroft was looking down at his hands, studying his fingers and how many ways they could twist together.
"Mycroft" Greg said sternly.
They had talked about their sexualities before, and Greg knew that Mycroft's parents were supportive of their son and Greg's mother was supportive of Greg's bisexuality, but they both knew that Greg's dad struggled with the homosexual side of Greg's life.
Mycroft's eyes flickered up to Greg's, "Greg."
He replied just as sternly and Greg had to fight a smile. "We've talked about this before, he does like you, he just doesn't get the whole 'gay' thing. He grew up in a time where homosexuality was frowned upon, but so long as you remain kind, smart, funny, polite and put up with me, he really won't give a shit. Why do you care so much anyway?"
Mycroft looked back down to his hands and shrugged.
Greg sighed, "I like you Mycroft, I like you for you and you shouldn't care about what other people think- especially my dad. I don't care if you're gay, none of that matters, it doesn't make you any less of a wonderful human being."
Mycroft felt the heat of a blush warm his neck and ears.
"Look at me Mycroft, please?"
Licking his lips, Mycroft looked up and his eyes met Greg's, Greg was smiling and Mycroft was soon smiling along with him.
"Thank you Greg."
Greg shrugged, "it was the truth."
After another pause of comfortable silence, Greg shifted so his feet were tucked under Mycroft's legs and his arms wrapped around his knees which he drew to his chest.
Mycroft was surprised at how cold Greg's feet were when they slid under his legs and he shivered and shifted closer to Greg, "I'm sorry," he muttered.
Confused, Greg asked "what for?"
"I should of brought another blanket, to drape over our shoulders."
"Well, now you will remember for next time." Greg grinned. "If your cold just scoot closer."
Shifting on the blanket, Mycroft spread his legs and placed one either side of Greg's body and scooted closer. Now Greg's feet were resting underneath Mycroft's bum and his shins were almost pressed against Mycroft's crotch.
Yawning straight into one of Greg's knees, Mycroft crossed his arms across his chest and turned his head so his cheek was pressed against Greg's knee and he shut his eyes.
"Make your self at home," Greg said through a quite laugh before yawing himself. His sigh outwards after the yawn was over ghosted over Mycroft's hair which made Mycroft shiver.
Mycroft lifted his head but he stayed close to Greg, they were now breathing in the same air that the other exhaled.
Greg grinned and Mycroft followed suit again, he couldn't help it, the mans smile was contagious.
While Mycroft was grinning back and an overwhelming urge to close the remaining space between them and kiss Greg washed over him. Not just a kiss on the cheek that Greg had given him earlier, but a proper kiss on the lips. Blinking, Mycroft leaned back a little and blamed his tiredness for that feeling.
Greg who was internally fighting himself against leaning forward and capturing Mycroft's lips in his, he noticed Mycroft's lips get further away from his, "what is it?" He asked confused.
Shaking his head, Mycroft made a show of yawing again. "I think it is time for us to retire to bed," he suggested. The sun would be rising in a couple of hours.
Hiding his disappointment, Greg nodded. "You're right."
Mycroft and Greg stood carefully and shook out their stiff legs full of pins and needles.
Greg helped Mycroft fold the blanket and their fingers brushed together and lingered when Greg handed the thermos over.
"Thanks for the meteor shower."
"Thank you for joining me."
"You still coming over later?"
Mycroft nodded, "will you be trying to get me to ride your motorcycle again?"
Greg grinned, "don't I do that everyday?"
Nodding again Mycroft hoisted himself up through his window and turned around so he could jump off his desk and land on the floor. The warmth of carpet greeted his feet.
By the time Mycroft turned back around, Greg had made his way back over to his window and he was just climbing through when Mycroft said goodnight.
"Technically it's morning," Greg whispered and he turned and his feet were also graced with the warmth of carpet.