Author's Note: Hello! Sorry this is a day late, I had a lot of work this week. I want to say thank you for the reviews last chapter and that you all seem to like inconsequential chapters. It means a lot! This chapter was written in bits of time I found over the week. Considering how jilted the writing process was I'm pretty happy with it. 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 Date Since Margot

"We have to go out again." Mycroft said. While they were out.

It was a day at the government office. Finishing off the meetings for the day meant a stop for lunch at one of Anthea's favourite local cafes and then back to the office for an hour or so before picking up Margot. A fork still in her hand, frozen mid-air, Anthea looked around with a confused expression. Mycroft rolled his eyes.

"Don't be smart." He scoffed. Anthea chuckled silently to herself and unfroze, allowing the piece of food on the fork to finally reach its destination. "I was using a colloquial term for your benefit and you choose to tease me about it." Mycroft sneered down at his plate. "Perhaps I don't want to go out with you after all." Anthea was still smiling, she couldn't help it. Pouty Myc was a very cute Myc to her. Especially now she'd seen that pout on a baby.

"What, like a date?" She asked. Mycroft gave a one shoulder shrug. Anthea knew that meant yes. She sniffed another laugh – this one was in disbelief – and put her fork down. "We don't need to. We're busy with a baby." She said. Anthea pursed her lips and her eyes narrowed on Mycroft. "I thought you'd be glad were done with the dating business for a little while." Mycroft sighed tiredly, no doubt lamenting once again that no one understood him.

"It's not that I want to, my dear." He said. Anthea rolled her eyes. How very romantic. "I believe it's a crucial experiment that needs to take place." Anthea would roll her eyes now had she not just done so. Instead she leaned forward and looked at Mycroft carefully.

"Experiment?" She asked. He gave something close to a nod. "You want to test our relationship? Now?" She asked quite seriously. After everything that happened with Margot's coming into existence she didn't think something like this would come up for a long time. She was starting to wonder why she put up with this when Mycroft caught up and a look of concern flashed through his eyes.

"Oh, not entirely." He added quickly as he too leaned forward. "We work well as a unit and a family, no doubt." He was holding her gaze very well with his steely eyes – doing his best to show his sincerity. "And the results of this experiment won't lead to a break up, my love." Anthea leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. "I merely want to see if we still know how to function as a couple without the child. I want to know if we've still got it. Whatever 'it' is." Anthea pouted. She took a careful breath.

"What would the results mean, then?" She asked.

"Nothing." Mycroft leaned back, too. His fingers tapped on the table. "I'm satiating a curiosity." He then almost smiled. "And attempting, and apparently failing, to be romantic." That got Anthea. She covered her face with her hand and laughed.

"Not your fault." She said, still laughing. She had to remember how their first apparent official date went to remember that he wasn't always good at this. She dropped her hand and smiled at Mycroft. "I forgot you need hand holding through romantic initiations." Mycroft glared at Anthea.

"You say that like I haven't improved." He hummed.

"You're out of practice." Anthea said with a coy smile and a crinkled nose.

"Then allow me a chance to relearn." Mycroft said. Later Anthea would reflect back and wonder why this sounded like such a business deal and why everything they did sounded like one. Not now. Now she hummed, nodded, and agreed.

"Alright." She said. "Though I'm not holding your hand through the date itself." She teased. "You need to remember some of the stuff it takes to do this otherwise it's not a very good experiment." Mycroft's mouth twitched into something close to a smile before he waved Anthea off with a flick of the wrist. She laughed once more and returned to eating her lunch.

It was Anthea's idea, and assertion, that she should get to pick dinner if Mycroft was picking the actual date activity. She said that if he really wanted to test the chemistry between them or how well they can 'date' then Anthea's planning skills should be tested too. Mycroft was suspicious but allowed for this to happen anyway. Mycroft had every right to be suspicious – really this was an excuse for Anthea to have some fun and pick some food she liked but never got to have.

This is how she and Mycroft Holmes ended up outside the door to a burger joint.

"Really, Anthea?" Mycroft bemoaned. His grip on the handle of his umbrella was tight and probably the only thing stopping him from pinching the bridge of his nose. Anthea was doing her best to only have a naughty smile and not break out into a grin.'

"I thought about your tastes, too." She teased – but was slightly serious. "This is a gourmet burger place." Because really, had she chosen what she really wanted most they would have ended up at that old diner near her old flat. They did nice home style burgers that made you feel greasy but happy. Mycroft's nose twitched. It seemed he was putting just as much effort into not scowling as Anthea was to not grinning.

"People throw that word around these days and it's beginning to lose any meaning." Mycroft lamented over the use of 'gourmet'. Anthea snickered. She elbowed Mycroft's arm.

"Come on, Myc." She said. The genius frowned for a moment at the nickname. "We always have fun when we do normal things together." Anthea took his hand in between both hers. It was an old flirting manipulation technique that didn't work on Mycroft but was a deep habit too hard to break. "Remember when we had pizza at the office? Or McDonalds in your house?" She tilted her head to the side. "At least I chose something for you where you know the food is edible." Mycroft rolled his eyes. That was actually a good sign. It was a chink in the armour. "They have really good sweet potato fries." Anthea hummed. "We could share some and I promise I won't throw them at you."

Their eyes connected. Anthea tried to smile sweetly. Mycroft shook his head.

"Fine, fine." He sneered the words. "But only to make you happy. I hope you understand that." He said adamantly. Anthea smiled. Still holding his hand she dragged him into the little restaurant.

They had a great time. And Anthea did throw a fry or two at Mycroft. She was rewarded by having the fries taken away from her and she had to try and steal them back. Turns out if you act childish and playful enough you can make anyone equally naughty. Despite this just being an excuse to eat what she wanted, Anthea could count her half of the date a success.

After dinner Mycroft took Anthea to the location for the rest of their date. It was a cinema, and much to Mycroft's aesthetics it was one of those small old cinemas that had two screens. The kind that probably dedicated one of its screens to showing art house films or recordings of plays while the other was used to for what would gain enough income to keep the place open.

"A movie?" Anthea asked. She pursed her lips and nodded in both approval and surprise. "A bit of a cheap date by some of your standards." She was currently looking around the outside for signs indicating a film festival which would make this make sense. Something French for her, something old for both of them, or something underappreciated and a little odd for him. She could see a poster for an upcoming screening of a ballet but that was it. No sign. Mycroft shrugged a shoulder.

"We've had fun with films plenty of times, Anthea, dear. Is this really a surprise?" He sounded cocky and sure. Like the iceman façade but where there would normally be a cold undertone there was warmth. Anthea smiled and breathed out an almost laugh.

"I guess not." She said while looking at Mycroft lovingly. He hummed as he looked at her the same way. Mycroft offered out his arm and the request for contact caught Anthea by surprise that at first she did not understand what it meant. As it clicked she realised that he must really be trying. Anthea wrapped her arm around his and let the genius guide her into the quaint cinema.

Immediately Anthea's shadow assistant senses were put on edge. When something was out of the ordinary she was trained to be alert and sharp and this cinema was certainly out of the ordinary. Asides from two staff members standing and talking to one another behind the candy bar it was absolutely deserted. It was cold and quiet. Abnormal even for a small cinema when it was located in the middle of the city.

"Why is this place dead?" Anthea asked Mycroft in a whisper. She was looking for one other person or something making a noise. There was nothing. Mycroft smirked but that only made Anthea more suspicious.

"Oh, I rented out the whole cinema for tonight." Mycroft said proudly. Suddenly his cockiness made sense. Of course the test date wouldn't be a cheap date. Anthea sighed and shook her head. She wasn't surprised by Mycroft's behaviour anymore but at least it still entertained her.

"Makes sense." She said flatly and sarcastically as she squeezed his hand. Mycroft laughed lightly. It made the hairs on the back of Anthea's neck stand up. "So what are we watching?" Anthea asked. "Better not be something we can watch on your set up at home." She held a finger up between them, pointing at Mycroft. "If it's your favourite movie and I have to spend the night listening to you say the lines at the same time as the actors I will slap you." She teased. Well, half teased. The smile on Mycroft's lips told her that this was not the case before he even spoke.

"Gone with the Wind. Hence needing the cinema for quite some time." He said. Anthea's breath hitched. Her eyebrows rose and her mouth parted. What a good choice for a romantic date. Couple for years and years had been using this for dates and it still worked a charm. Technically they could have watched this at home, they had a few times, but it would be a delight to see on a screen that size.

"Really?" Anthea said in a voice so soft it surprised her. Mycroft hummed and nodded once.

"I figured the perfect date for you and I would be for me to point out every deviation from the novel and for you to tell me to shut up so you can appreciate how suave Clarke Gabel was." Anthea laughed breathlessly. She untangled her arm from Mycroft's so then she could place her hands on his hips in a loose embrace.

"As if you don't appreciate Clarke Gabel too." She said. Mycroft looked to the side. He pouted, and shrugged a single shoulder as his eyebrows danced up and down. "Regardless of such, to ignore Vivien Leigh's performance would be an insult to the film." Anthea pulled the hug in tighter. She rested her head on Mycroft's chest. She was feeling warm and happy just in his company talking about the film. She'd be happy just doing this.

"Is that something else you're going to make a point of talking about during the film?" She teased instead of saying the unspoken 'I love you'.

"You won't hear anything if we don't start the film soon, my dear." Mycroft replied. He actually sounded reasonably comfortable with this hug. It was a shame to end it if that was the case, but Anthea sighed and let go.

"Okay." She smiled at her genius. "Lead the way." She took his hand.

The car pulled up out front of James' and Jamie's house. Upstairs where the girls would be sleeping was dark but there was a light coming from the front window – the living room. James and his still apprehensive but now at least also excited wife were still awake.

Mycroft and Anthea's date was over. It was lovely. It was fun and full of laughter. Anthea didn't think they needed it, she didn't think anything needed to be tested, but she was glad they did it. It was reminiscent of a time before they lived together. Of non-dates followed by actual dates except now there were less barriers and probably more love.

Speaking of love, the true greatest love of Anthea's life was upstairs sleeping and Anthea couldn't wait to see her again. A minute away from Margot was still a minute too long for Anthea and even though she could do well and enjoy herself away from her daughter the moment it was time to return she felt all this longing she had not been aware of all at once. She couldn't wait to hold her little girl and tuck her into her actual crib. There was just one more thing to do.

A click sounded as Mycroft opened his car door. Anthea's hand stretched out and touched Mycroft on the elbow.

"Wait!" She said. The genius stopped. His hand still on the door he looked at Anthea. Anthea leaned forward. "If you're testing our date chemistry then you need to test the goodnight kiss, too." She hid behind some hair bashfully – an act of course that Mycroft could see through but would appreciate nonetheless. In fact he quirked an eyebrow.

"Do I now?" He asked in that deep velvety voice.

"It's only thorough." Anthea replied as she leaned in as close as the car would allow her. Mycroft closed the gap.

His lips softly landed against hers. A sweet and polite kiss at first, Anthea took the initiative to deepen it and Mycroft gave her the go ahead. Twisting over the awkward pieces of the car, Anthea got one hand on the back of Mycroft's head and one squarely on his shoulder blade. Mycroft's own hands found Anthea's hips. The kiss lasted longer than Mycroft had intended but just what Anthea had wanted. After they broke free and Mycroft took a breath Anthea kissed Mycroft on the cheek and gave him his personal space back. Mycroft looked a little flustered. Bless him, it was a beautiful look on him. Anthea wished she could cause that look more often.

"Did I pass your test?" Anthea asked proudly. She leaned against her door facing Mycroft with her arms folded across her chest. Mycroft took a moment to gain his composure back. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie, then he ran his fingers through the remainder of his hair to push it back neatly.

"You weren't the only one being examined, my dear." Mycroft said. He sounded composed but there was that little bit of something still about him that showed how Anthea had ruffled his feathers. "I was too." Anthea bit her lip. She looked Mycroft up and down. His door was wide open and forgotten.

"I think we did well." She said.

"You think so?" Mycroft said breathlessly – perhaps in a laugh as he pulled on his jacket. He was still trying to preen himself to a good standard once more. "You'll hear no argument's on my part." He checked his face in the mirror for lipstick. Antea grinned.

"So what does that mean, then?" She purred. "Us passing your test?" Mycroft looked at her.

"Nothing." He hummed. "We simply satiated the curiosity." As he smirked like a Cheshire cat with a dirty secret Anthea didn't believe him for a second. She didn't care, though. She was happy. She was happy most of the time actually, but right now she was really happy. There was just one last thing to end the night the right way.

"Let's go get our daughter." Anthea said. The click that was heard this time was her door being opened. Mycroft sighed.

"Be prepared for questioning." Mycroft said. "James would have, without a doubt, heard the car pull up. He would have looked out the window. They'll want to know what took so long." Anthea turned to Mycroft and crinkled her nose playfully.

"We'll just tell them we were making out." She said. "They won't believe us." Mycroft pouted as he considered this and shrugged.

Author's Note: Did you like it? I feel like most of you will but I still get both nervous and excited about hearing from you all. I'm going to try and have next chapter done by Wednesday but I do have a lot going on right now, particularly a massive assignment due the day after my birthday that I've researched but not started writing. But you know me! I'm pretty good with schedules and working to deadlines so it should be fine. Thursday at the worst again probably. Thanks to our one anonymous guest reviewer. Thanks to all my readers! I hope to see you in six days or seven.