Author's Note: Hello, hello! Thanks for the wonderful feedback last chapter. It was nice to have the entire family together. Secondly, and most importantly to me, thank you for being so patient and understanding in a very difficult time for me. I'm slowly getting the handle on everything but I really did need to take my time to be able to do this to a quality I would be fine with posting. This turned out okay in my opinion, so I hope you like it. It's a tad short but given my circumstances I didn't expect it to be as long as it is. Thanks for being awesome guys, I love you all. Please read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.

The First Time She Cleared Some Space For Him

A habit was beginning to form, as plain to see as the noses on the faces. It wasn't a bad habit, nor was it particularly troublesome. It was just… a habit. That habit was that Anthea and her boss turned boyfriend were beginning to find themselves spending much more time together. This time together, whenever at Anthea's and not at Mycroft's was always cut off earlier than intended for one reason or another.

Thanks to work, Anthea already had a rather large stash of clothes and personal items at Mycroft's house. Most of them were still in the spare bedroom though some items – suck as shampoo and a hairbrush – had snuck upstairs into the bedroom and ensuite. The original purpose for this was so that if they spent a late night working Anthea could simply stay the night without driving late and tired. Now it was more likely whenever she ended up staying for one reason or another she could go to work looking as fresh as she would had she gotten ready at home. This turned out to be quite handy indeed.

Anthea's place, however, was just that. Anthea's place. One night here or there on a whim, or staying over instead of dropping Anthea off home was very achievable. It was also achievable if planned out and items were brought along. Coming over, the way Anthea always did to Mycroft's house, and not leaving was not achievable at this point.

The most common reason for leaving before bed was a lack of clothes. Mycroft Holmes was not going to wear a wrinkled suit again when he had lovely dry-cleaned ones at home. Given his reputation Anthea completely understood. Plus, she loved his dashing looks all prim and proper.

Then there were simple supply issues. He'd not have cologne and had a meeting the next day, or his phone needed charging. He kept the good painkillers for his migraines at home and the office. The shoes he had didn't match the suit he'd left at her house last time was a common one and Anthea always rolled her eyes. They were simple things that could be fixed by a trip to the store or by borrowing something of Anthea's.

"You can always use my hair gel or spay, you know?" Anthea rested her head on her hand as she watched Mycroft putting his suit jacket back on. Mycroft scoffed.

"My dear, my brother can already smell your perfume on me. Think of the reaction if I began to smell more like you. Surely others will begin to notice." Anthea rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Not everyone is you too, but I see your point."

Of course, then there were the absolutely silly and totally Mycroftian excuses. Such as he was bored and had read all her books, and he simply really needed some alone time. The only one Anthea never laughed at was the needing alone time one, she knew how he got. She knew that he needed time to decompress and be alone with his thoughts, but it didn't change how she felt a little sad when he left. Sure, she saw him all the time at work – but that was her boss the Ice Man, not Mycroft Holmes the awkward little genius.

Funny how two such intelligent people didn't even try to come up with a solution to this problem that they didn't even see as a problem. They just accepted as something that kept happening and would be.

Until Anthea was looking for her blue converse and realised she'd left them in Mycroft's room. No doubt the genius saw them next to the end of his bed and had a minor hissy fit about them. He probably picked them up between two fingers and tossed them into the wardrobe in the cream and white bedroom. Oh well, at least Anthea knew where they were. A good quarter of her clothes were probably at his house by now anyway…

Hey.

Well, there's an idea.

A very obvious idea.

They were idiots.

Anthea liked to approach personal propositions as if they were business ones. She and Mycroft knew business, and both were extremely comfortable talking over terms like such. The only thing that would make it better was if she printed out a document with all the pros and cons listed clearly and concisely. So, Anthea waited until her lunch break at work, and walked into Mycroft's office.

"Sir," She interrupted his work with a light and polite smile. Mycroft, with the ever neutral face, put his pen down and gave his assistant his full attention. She walked up to the desk, stopping just by the chair facing his desk. "I'd like to discuss something personal if you have a moment." He did, she knew his timetable, it was just a formality to keep the aura calm. Mycroft glanced at the time on the bottom corner of his computer screen. He pursed his lips before he gestured to the chair. Anthea sat down, folding one leg over the other and placing her hands on her knee.

A moment of quiet passed. Mycroft smiled, somewhat forcibly, at Anthea. She cocked her head to the side and smiled back. Mycroft took a deep breath as he folded his hands together on the desk.

"Would you care to begin?" He asked carefully. Anthea's mouth twitched upwards. She tucked a loose curl behind her ear.

"Yes," She cleared her throat. "Right." She subconsciously adjusted her sitting position. "As you know, your visits to my house are always cut short due to one reason or another." Mycroft faintly tilted his head, a gesture on subtle enough for someone who knew him as well as Anthea or his family to notice.

"Mmm." A light raise of the eyebrows.

"And this issue doesn't occur at yours due to the accumulation of my possessions at your house due to work." Mycroft tapped his nails on his wooden desk.

"Go on."

"Well." Anthea straightened her posture and gained her signature wry smile. "I have come up with a very simple solution."

A pause.

No sign from Mycroft whether she should continue or not.

"Keep stuff in my place."

The air chilled. Mycroft exhaled as he glanced down at his hands. That wasn't a good sign but it wasn't necessarily bad. This was nothing that couldn't be turned around.

"Anthea." Steel blue eyes connected to hers. They weren't shut off or cold, they were trying to connect emotionally or intellectually. Another sign that it could still be turned around. She let him talk without interruption – that was important. "I can't simply leave items in other places." He widened his eyes, feigning exhaustion. "Everything I have and everything I do is so confidential."

"I know." Anthea leaned forward. "And I'm not saying leave your laptop overnight or whatever. I'm not an idiot."

"I know…" Mycroft mumbled almost bitterly. Anthea scooted forward in her seat, eyes bright and eager.

"I'm talking a few easy supplies." She placed her hands on the edge of the wooden desk, as if that was just as good as leaning over and touching his hand. With them it might as well be, it was personable enough. "Some clothes in the spare bedroom, some socks and stuff in a drawer in my bedroom." She cocked her head to the side. "Maybe leave some migraine pills in my bathroom." Mycroft tapped a singled finger against the wood, making a soft rhythm. "And an extra phone charger." He looked to the side and let the words flow over him.

Anthea waited patiently.

"It's not that it's a horrible concept," Mycroft looked over to Anthea. "In fact, it's very simple." Anthea crinkled up her nose and earned herself a little smirk. "I've always been an extremely private person, I doubt either of us would feel entirely comfortable." Mycroft ran his tongue over his teeth. "Your flat is so very small in comparison to my house."

"Ah!" Anthea perked up. She held her index finger up in the air. "I know what you're getting at." She beamed. "You have needs for decompressing time and personal space and I have a spare bedroom." Mycroft rolled his eyes. "No, no! Trust me." Anthea pulled the chair closer to the desk yet as Mycroft's gaze settled back on her. "Since Jamie moved out I've been able to put a desk back into there with her old bed, and you can bring your little sign I made you." She flicked her hair. "That way, if that sign is on the door, you're alone and you're to be left alone. And if I shut my bedroom door the same rule can apply to me." She raised her eyebrows and looked at him openly and expectantly. Mycroft very carefully studied Anthea's face as if it was the first time he had seen it in a very long time, as if trying to memorise the details. That meant he was really thinking about it.

"You've thought this through." He hummed. A non-answer, of course. Anthea bit her bottom lip.

"I'm very good at my job, sir." Mycroft sniffed a laugh as his mouth pulled upwards.

"You are." He continued to smile as he studied her face silently.

A minute passed.

Mycroft waved Anthea off as he turned back to his computer.

"I promise to give it some thought." Anthea's eyes narrowed on the genius' face.

"Deep thought." She insisted.

"Very deep thought." He nodded, typing away. A flick of the hand in her direction. "Now go enjoy your lunch, my love."

My love.

Anthea felt the little hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge and her heart skip a beat. Such a simple set of words made her suddenly feel like she was frozen and floating at the same time.

And yet…

The timing.

Anthea cocked her head to the side.

"You said that to try and placate me." She accused light-heartedly. Mycroft shrugged.

"I'm very good at my job."

A few days later there was an unexpected knock at Anthea's door. She looked up from the magazine she was sort of reading over dinner and glanced at her door. She suspected she knew who it was but one could never be too careful. Placing down her fork she walked the small distance to the front door and pulled it open.

Mycroft was standing in the hallway, a small carry-on suitcase next to him, two dry cleaned suits held over his shoulder, and held out on his index finger the silly little Diogenes sign Anthe and made for him. Anthea rested her head against her door and smiled warmly at the genius. He looked annoy but playful at the same time. Anthea could help but continue to look him up and down. Look at the Ice Man, the most uncompromising man in the world making compromises just for her. It filled her with a special kind of warmth. Not heat, no. Just enough warm to feel comfort.

"I love you." She breathed.

Mycroft smiled.

"Are you going to let me in?" Anthea jumped out of the way and let Mycroft into her place. "Bedside table on your side is all yours." She told him as he walked passed her. "And there's some cabinet space cleared in the bathroom."

"Did you expect me to agree so easily?" Mycroft quirked an eyebrow at the brunette woman. Anthea bit her lip and shook her head.

"I was just hoping."

Another pause.

A very comfortable pause.

"Oh, but here's the best bit." Anthea took the sign out of Mycroft's hand and took hold of his hand. She led him down the hall to the spare bedroom that was once a storage room, turned Jamie's junk room.

Anthea had cleared out any boxes that were still visible in the room and placed them in the wardrobe. She'd changed the bedspread to soft blue rather than the greens or yellows Jamie had used, and she'd put up some nice curtains. She'd also gotten a cushion and placed it on top of the wooden chair that was once a kitchen table chair until she'd taken it from her Uncle's and began using it as a desk chair. She'd hung a poster of the Queen above the desk and had even moved one of her bottles of scotch and a glass and put them on a tray on the desk.

As Mycroft looked at the space Anthea beamed at him.

"This is the Mycroft space to go with my Anthea space at yours." She explained.

Mycroft looked around the space.

No twitch.

Not even a smile.

He simply looked.

Anthea gritted her teeth.

Steel eyes landed onto Anthea's soft face.

"Why do you make me love you?"

Anthea's sigh of relief turned into laughter.

Author's Note: There. Fine? Alright? Let me know! I had the hardest time finding time and motivation to write but it's not the worst thing I've ever done so I'm decently pleased and I hope you are too. Thanks to our guest reviewers; Guests x2, Tadaa, Yrla, Olivia, Louise Pond, Elaine, and Lll. Oh, and ovejalucifer can have a thanks, too ;). Thanks to all my readers, old and new, see you next update.

Regarding Next Chapter: I will be putting off the next update until next Thursday my time (same time as this one went up) due to the same reasons as before. All three of my assignments are due before Wednesday, and I have family obligations that for once I want to be at for support. Thanks for being super understanding guys. We should be able to get back to normal or a five day rotation after that.