Author's Note: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews last chapter. I really enjoyed finding out who was more annoyed with Mycroft or Anthea, and who felt sorry for them. It was great to see people empathising with different characters for different reasons. As a writer, it was a lot of fun. Now…. This chapter. I like this chapter. I enjoyed writing this chapter more than last chapter. I even finished it a few days early so I sent it to my best friend for her approval, and she liked it. Sorry I'm posting a tad early, I'm still in Sydney time… But I can't wait for you all to read this one. Read, review, and please 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 He Pulled Her In

What can you say? When you have a perfect date, you have a perfect date.

It was simple enough, meeting someone from work for dinner at a rather nice restaurant. It could have easily been boring, had they nothing to talk about, and Anthea honestly expected to be bored out of her mind. But David… David was smart, and funny. He was very funny, he made Anthea laugh, and she made him laugh. Not the same way her and Robbie could make each other's sides hurt, or the way she and Mycroft could blindside each other with a sarcastic comment, but in a real light, friendly way. He was very charming, and knew exactly what to say and do, he even pulled out her seat for her.

She'd learnt that he was a middle child of all brothers, and that he'd always been the quiet one. He'd learnt that she'd been an outspoken only child followed by a quiet orphan, allowing for the perfect blend for her job. They'd learnt that they both loved to read, and they'd both forgotten to sleep on multiple occasions due to spending all night reading. The restaurant he'd chosen was wonderful, and when she'd walked him to that little desert café she and Mycroft loved, he had fallen in love with it, too. He'd shared stories of pranks the older accountants had held on him when he was new, and Anthea told the best stories she had. She told David of the time she left the USB in her jacket and washed it, of the time she fell face first down the stairs and Mycroft had to carry her up, and that time Tim had walked in on James and Mycroft in a meeting.

It was fun, and light, and friendly, and just everything Anthea had forgotten about. She forgot what it was like to be on a date. Not on a non-date that followed all the conventions of a date but you dare not mutter the word, but an actual date where you could flirt lightly, and playfully touch hands or shoulders, and just… smile.

David. Well, he had almost everything going for him. David could be fun.

Anthea and David stood close to each other in the cold wind outside Anthea's flat building, their long black coats meshing into one being as they flapped in the frigid air. She was so close without touching, that Anthea could feel the heat radiating from David's chest. She smiled to herself, looking up bashfully to the wonderfully tall, dark, and handsome accountant. His nose was just above the top of her head.

"It's a shame we both have work tomorrow…" He lamented, stepping closer, placing his palms on the back of Anthea's elbows, and lightly tugging her into his chest. "Or I'd ask to come in."

"I have work almost every day." Anthea tilted her chin to the side, avoiding hitting the man in the chest as she looked up, smiling coyly, fluttering her eyelashes in that way so many guys liked. The accountant's smile turned into a grin as he continued to pull Anthea closer.

"I'd love you to work me into your schedule." He simpered, bending his knees and leaning forward, pushing him and Anthea into a kiss. It was quick, and warm, perfect for a first date. Not cold like Tim's had been, and not confusingly full of passion like another. It was just what you wanted on a first date. Anthea broke into a grin as the kiss broke apart. She traced circles on David's chest with her right index finger.

"I'll see what I can do." She raised her eyebrows cheekily before pulling away and sauntering over to the steps of her building.

"Good night." A chuckle was heard, and Anthea turned around to see David looking at her with a very proud smile on his face.

"See you." She hummed back.

Anthea couldn't help but reflect on what a good date that was as she made her way back to her flat. She'd had a few good kind of, sort of, non-dates with Mycroft that were fantastic, but it'd been a long time that she'd gone on a first date that left you feeling very good about yourself and very good about the future.

This was it, this was the start of a whole new chapter for Alice Clarke.

Anthea walked into her flat, a content feeling washing over her whole body, smiling lightly. She flickered on the lights near the door and dumped her purse on the dining room table. She went on her way through her house to make it to her bathroom when she was stopped in her tracks just passed the makeshift wall divider, barely into the living room. Sitting in the armchair of her living room, legs folded, hand pressed together and placed against his mouth was Mycroft Holmes, staring at the turn off television with his stony mask in place. Anthea was taken aback, her brow puckering, as she looked at the man in her seat. He was still wearing the suit he'd worn to work that day. The black pinstriped one that he wore with red details. The one that made him look tall, and powerful. The one that she really loved.

"Mycroft?" Anthea spluttered in disbelief. Icy cold eyes flickered from the blank screen over to the confused brunette. "How did you-" She stopped herself, closing her eyes momentarily and swallowing. That was a stupid question she was about to mutter. It was Mycroft Holmes, he could get anywhere he wanted with enough fortitude. Try again. "What are you doing in my flat?" Jamie and James weren't here, and he hadn't tried to call her. He'd just let himself in and apparently sat there. Mycroft said nothing, mouth in a straight line, as those steel eyes looked Anthea over very carefully. It had been a long time since his neutral mask had been used in full force on Anthea.

"How was your date?" He asked, the finally word oozing with venom.

"Fine." She answered quickly. An eyebrow was quirked.

"Just… 'fine'?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, voice full of that weird detached curiosity. He was speaking as if he were interrogating a suspect. Anthea closed her eyes again and shook her head.

"No. It was more than fine." She defended herself, opening her eyes. "It was great, actually." Mycroft pursed his lips, looked Anthea up and down once more, and turned back to the blank television. Anthea pinched the bridge of her nose as her confusion threatened to make her mutter in a nonsensical manner. Her hand lowering, she shrugged. "Mycroft, why are you here?" She tried again, unsure that it would actually get her anywhere.

"I'm here for something of a social experiment." He hummed in that bored tone of his, still not turning to face her. Anthea's frown grew, her lip pulling up in confusion as she tried to unravel the Holmsian riddle.

"A what?" She asked. A quick glance over to Anthea first, with one swift movement Mycroft was on his feet and walking towards his assistant. The genius stopped just in front of her, so the tips of their shoes almost touched. Much like how the heat from David's chest had been hitting her before, now Mycroft's body heat was washing over her in waves, shutting her brain off slightly and confusing the girl even more. She looked to the side of the room and took a steadying breath. She turned back, all ready to question Mycroft on this social experiment of his.

As she turned back Mycroft placed his warm right hand on the side of Anthea's face, his palm cupping her cheek, thumb under her jawbone – a firm but gentle hold. A jolt of lightening went up Anthea's spine at the touch, causing her stand up straight, and lose her breath. She looked deep into those steely eyes, trying to find the words to question what the loner of a man was doing. Mycroft leant forward, pushing his lips against Anthea's. Nothing more, just his soft lips against her, but to say it was any less magical than the passionate kiss they'd shared would be a lie. It was full of deep meaning and emotion. It sent lights flashing in Anthea's mind's eye. They stayed like that, Mycroft's hand holding Anthea's face, as they kissed, Anthea going slowly weaker and weaker at the knees, for a long while, until she was just about putty in his warm hands.

Mycroft pulled away from the kiss first, then pulled his hand away. Face neutral and stony, he cleared his throat and straightened his tie.

"Thank you for participating." He nodded. And like that, the man left Anthea standing in the middle of her living room frozen as he headed into the dining room and out the door. Anthea barely heard the soft click of her own front door closing behind the genius.

Anthea stood there, still, unthinking. She stood there for a few minutes.

And then her brain began to work. Anthea touched her lips gently with her index and middle finger as a heavy frown of confusion encompassed her entire face…

"What?" She spluttered.

She was complete incapable of understanding what had just happened. She turned around on the spot to stare back through the dining room, her mind still racing to work out what happened.

"What?"

Mycroft Holmes had told her he had a social experiment. Then he kissed her. Mycroft Holmes had just kissed her, after she'd had a date with another man. Mycroft Holmes had been waiting for her in her flat while she was on a date, just waiting to do… that to her.

"WHAT?" Anthea ran her hands through her hair. She finally found the ability to walk again as she stomped off to her bedroom.

David was perfect. That date was the perfect first date.

But David was just another guy, and that was just another first date.

And first dates suck.

Anthea marched right into Mycroft's office the following morning, only stopping to drop her bag and briefcase at her desk. She didn't knock, just waltzed right in, stopping in front of his desk, arms folded tight against her chest. Steel eyes flickered up from the mobile in his hands.

"Good morning, Miss James." He hummed politely, like nothing had happened. The nerve of that guy. Mycroft pulled his head back, then tilted it as he looked over Anthea's face. "Did you not sleep last night?" He asked, despite clearly knowing the answer. Anthea scoffed, outstretching her arms in a large shrug.

"How could I sleep after that?" She asked in disbelief, talking louder than she intended to. Mycroft pouted his lips faintly as he lightly shrugged.

"I slept fine." He put his phone down by his keyboard. Anthea was certain she felt her eye twitch. Look at him, as cool and composed as ever. He doesn't have the right to be. Not now. She opened and closed her hands into fists by her side.

"What was that, last night?" Anthea asked, practically seething. Mycroft turned to his computer calmly.

"I told you, my dear, a social experiment." His fingers starting dancing on the keyboard as gracefully and smoothly as they'd been when one of them had taken hold of her face. Oh no, he was not getting rid of her just like that.

"What social experiment?" She stepped forward. "Kissing me and ruining my date? How's that an experiment?" Mycroft turned his head to look at his assistant once more, steel eyes sparkling with boyish mischief.

"Ruined your date, did I?" He enjoyed those words way too much, he might as well have been licking his lips. Anthea rubbed her eyes with her right hand as she fought to focus.

"Mycroft." She warned as she looked back at him. He shrugged with one shoulder.

"I was simply demonstrating the difference between kissing someone you have chemistry with and kissing a random man from work who happened to ask you out." Anthea cocked her head to the side, trying her best to comprehend the whole situation. She was not doing well. He hands ran through her messy curls she'd forgotten to style this morning in her anger and confusion, and probably lack of sleep.

"Why, Mycroft?" She probed, voice raising again. "You don't want to date anyone and I'm single. Are you trying to torment me?" Because it was certainly starting to feel like it. Her gaze bore right through his head as his steel eyes dropped to his desk. Mycroft folded his hands together, thumbs pressing each other.

"No, I'm not tormenting you." He sighed, eyes widening for a moment. The man paused, mind ticking away as he strung together a sentence. "I was merely under the impression that we were coming to… an understanding." Time slowed as this new term came out of nowhere. Anthea's mouth fell slightly agape as she tried to deal with this. A what now? She shook her head, curls fluttering around her face, as time moved at the usual speed once more.

"An understanding?" Anthea scoffed. "What is that?" The mixture of pain and confusion that fell onto Mycroft's face as he tried to explain it was almost sympathetic… almost.

"You don't see anyone, and in return, neither do I."

A pause.

"Mycroft, you don't see anyone anyway. Even Charlotte knows that." Anthea's tone was completely flat.

"I know…" Anthea turned her head to the side, looking over to the bookshelf, giving herself a moment to breath. She counted to three before turning back to look at her boss. It only helped to dissipate some of her anxiety.

"So you want me to sit around being single forever, is that it?" She asked. Mycroft cocked his head as he considered this, causing Anthea to bark a laugh in surprise and annoyance.

"I can't do that, Mycroft." She stepped forward, holding a hand against her chest where her heart would be. "This hurts me too much, already. I can't sit around because you don't want anyone else to have me." Another pause. "When did this become an issue, anyway?"

"I've been taking you places…" For once he sounded unsure as he spoke in an ever so slightly higher register. Anthea's eyes narrowed.

"You mean our non-dates?"

"Oh," Mycroft's mood seemed to lift as he perked up in his seat. "Is that what you've been calling them? Seems appropriate enough." Anthea rubbed her eyes with her hands, fighting the urge to groan.

"What do you want, Mycroft?" She pulled her hands away and placed them on her hips sharply. "Spell it out for me, okay?" Mycroft leaned back in his chair as he prepared a better explanation, clearing his throat.

"This understanding is that we do not see other people, under the agreement that we spend more time with each other outside of work hours."

What?

Anthea cocked her head.

"So that kiss. Is this kissing thing part of your understanding?" Mycroft scoffed, turning to look at his computer screen.

"Please, Miss James, we're not dating."

What?

WHAT?

Anthea took a deep breath, held it to a count of five, and released it.

"I can't do that, sir. I'm sorry." Steel eyes flickered back up to her face, narrowing, begging her to elaborate. One part of her mind found this just as absurd as Mycroft clearly was, but the part of her that had been convinced of moving on had to do this. For her own sanity. "I'm not going to be your pet. I told you that a long time ago, when you threw an NDA in my face for me kissing you unexpectedly."

"Well…" Mycroft's upper lip pulled up as he considered her words. "I could offer you other signs of affection, including…" He scowled. "Hugs." She almost laughed. Anthea folded her arms across her chest. He was trying. Pathetically, but he was trying. It still wasn't enough, though.

"I need more than that."

Another pause. For the first time ever, the mask Mycroft wore over his face seemed to completely melt away as Mycroft looked deep into Anthea's eyes with sincerity and what looked like fear. To see emotions so vividly expressed on his icy features was enough to make you stop and pay attention.

"Alice. For some unknown reason I don't like you not around me. I don't do people, this is very new to me. Grant me this and, although I can't promise you anything more will come of it, I will try." Anthea's face softened, her heart opening. "And I'm not used to people other than Mummy trying to touch me in a way that isn't to hurt me, so if I'm tired and caught off guard, I might just pull away, but that does not mean you can go out and accept dates from men in the finance department." A laugh involuntarily escaped Anthea's mouth and a small smile fell onto it. He'd been hurt by her accepting a date from David, and that was somewhat adorable, and very heartbreaking.

She found that she was having difficulty breathing, and her heart was racing a little. She was still mad. She was furious that Mycroft had played such a cruel trick on her… Manipulated her… Treated her like a fool… but he'd just opened himself up almost entirely. The mask was gone and she could see, just for a brief second, Mycroft Holmes.

That must have been hard for him. And he was so cute when he looked afraid. The frown fell back onto Anthea's face but she found herself nodding.

"Okay…" She muttered quietly, mostly to herself. "Okay." She spoke louder this time. "An understanding… I could give it a bit of a test run." Mycroft raised an eyebrow, listening carefully. "But if either of us work out that it's not going anywhere, then I'm out of it." She pointed at him. "Because I'm wasting so much time on you, Mycroft Holmes. Don't make me waste an extra minute if it can be helped." He didn't speak, he simply nodded. Anthea nodded lightly back. She shrugged hard, anger still present. "So how do we seal an 'understand'?" She'd accidentally spat the word harder than she'd meant to.

"I could offer you a handshake?" Mycroft opened his hands.

"Okay." Mycroft got out from his chair. He took a moment to stretch his back out and neat his vest and suit jacket. The tall brunette walked over and stopped in front of Anthea, holding out his hand. Looking at it wearily for a moment, trying to set her mind to rest. This was it. She took his hand and she was agreeing to whatever it was this understanding would be. It could be good or it could be bad. But she had an out, she needed to remember that. Anthea took hold of Mycroft's hand, and they shook hands. A fleeting look pasted over Mycroft's long features – so brief that Anthea almost missed it. As it disappeared Mycroft began tugging his hand that held Anthea's. He pulled the shorter woman closer into his space, and very awkwardly placed his free arm over her shoulder to rest his hand on her back. As he pulled in tighter did Anthea realise she was being brought into a hug. And just like that Anthea's anger drifted away and she melted into the hug. Anthea placed her free hand on the small of Mycroft's back and rested her forehead on his chest. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn she felt him rest his cheek against her head.

This understanding, whatever it was… If it came with moments like this… Warm, rare moments that no one else ever got to experience… She might be able to do it. Even for a little while.

With a soft rub on her back to finish it off, Mycroft pulled himself from Anthea's orbit. He once again took the moment to fix up his suit as Anthea blinked and tried to ground herself in the real world again. Mycroft walked back over to his desk and sat down, his mask firmly back in place.

"Now, Miss James." He sung. "There is a list of names I sent to you in an email." His attention was on the computer. "I need you and Walter to go collect some information from all of those people for me." Anthea cleared her throat and nodded.

"Yes, sir." She turned and began her way out of the office and back to business as usual. Just as she reached the door, Mycroft's voice stopped her.

"I like the smell of that new shampoo." He just added like it was nothing. Anthea turned around to face him. "Did you buy it for your date last night?" She held her finger up, point at him in a warning manner, a naughty smile on her face.

"Don't." Mycroft grinned, eyes sparkling.

What had Anthea just gotten herself into?

Author's Note: So? So? What did we think? What are our opinions? I can't wait for the feedback! Like how I went for a symbolic title so it would match nicely with last chapter, making it obvious that it's a two-parter? Yeah, I get proud of really little weird things. Anyway… Time to that the guest reviewers. Thanks to Leelah, Corrine, Britta, Guests x5, Bunnyrabbit100, Cumberkale, Tadaa, Wink, Wheezzy8, and ovejalucifer. Thank you all for being awesome guys, and trusting that I knew what I was doing last chapter. I hope you liked this one.

Myc POV: For those of you who didn't notice, I posted part two of the Kiss in Myc's POV yesterday – so the apology. Since I finished this chapter off early, I had time to do so. This means I'm ready to do another POV very shortly. Feel free to make suggestions here, or on my blog, or Anthea's blog. Thanks!