Author's Note: Hi guys! Thanks for the feedback last chapter! But let's get to the point, today. Chapter 100. Wow. How did that happen? That is utterly absurd. I really need to thank you guys for that. This if my fanfic, yes, but it's ours. I wouldn't have gotten to this point without you guys, no way. Together we've created something fun. This fic helped me rediscover my deep love of writing and I really have to thank you all for that. For the 100th Chapter you've all been asking me if I have anything planned. I did. The James Squared wedding. Just because that's the event, there is still a lot of Mythea around the place. I tried to make this a real thank you love letter to the fic, its characters, and you guys. Please 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 She Told Him

Today was it.

Today was the day that Anthea's best friend was marrying the goofiest secret agent in the world. Today James and Jamie's friends and family would watch them get married in a beautiful ceremony. It would be an emotional day, and probably a fun one. Right now, it wasn't.

Right now, Anthea was at Jamie's house waiting for her to put on her wedding dress while she sat in the living room with Jamie's mum Ellen, the youngest of James' elder sisters Poppy, and Jamie's friend from uni Nicole. Ellen was lovely, Poppy was a sweet thing but a little too excitable. Anthea hated Nicole. Nicole was what Jamie could have turned into had she hung out with different people in school. She was relatively pretty, quite smart, but a self-loving, over the top, man chasing skank. That might have even been what Anthea had called her to her face that time they got into a fight at Jamie's 20th birthday party. Anthea would have won that fight if Robbie hadn't broken it up.

"I am so glad Jamie is marrying your brother." Nicole held her glass of champagne close to her chest. Anthea hoped she'd trip and spill it down the front of her bridesmaid dress. Ruin the pretty soft yellow fabric. "James is so cute and so sophisticated." Anthea sniffed and rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her own champagne. Nicole sneered as her attention was drawn from little Poppy to Anthea.

"You have something to say, Alice?" Anthea was barely phased by the daggers she was receiving. She gave Nicole a wry smile.

"If you think James is sophisticated then you've never had him throw food at you because he thinks it's funny." Anthea scoffed, rolling her eyes at Poppy. Poppy laughed, and nodded in agreement. Nicole looked like she'd sucked on a lemon as she looked over Anthea's face.

"Maybe he doesn't like you."

"Or maybe he's one of my best friends and I was the one who gave him Jamie's number."

"Girls." Ellen stood up from the couch to walk in between the two arguing women. She looked between them like a teacher telling off two students for talking in class. "Play nice today, okay?" Anthea would play nice if Nicole stopped pretending like she knew everything. Someone needed to be introduced to a Holmes, and that could be arranged today. Ellen turned to Anthea and gave her the same smile she'd given her for years when she was about to ask her to do something. "Alice, why don't you go upstairs? I thought you have something you want to lend Jamie." Anthea nodded. She handed Ellen her glass of champagne before standing up.

"You're right." She spoke as she picked up her handbag, the precious item laying carefully in one of the pockets. "As someone she sees as a sister, I do want to give her something very important to the family." Just one more reminder of the pecking order to Nicole as Anthea moved to go upstairs to Jamie's bedroom.

Anthea knocked on the bedroom door, waited for the reply – training from work – and entered. Jamie looked stunning in her wedding dress. It was an organza mermaid styled stark white dress. With her blonde hair done up in an intricate up style and her makeup understated but on point, she looked like an absolute princess. Anthea was stunned, bringing the back of her hand up to her mouth, and almost started tearing up.

"Who are you and what have you done to my friend?" She tried to joke, her voice very quiet and breathy as she tried not to cry. Jamie's eyes were on the verge or watering as she stepped forward, laughing softly, and pulled Anthea into a hug.

The bridesmaid dresses were yellow, and Mycroft had asked Anthea if they looked like the sun. No, they were quite soft in shade and looked wonderful against Anthea's colouring. The bridesmaids hair were half up, their makeup as soft as Jamie's.

Jamie let go of Anthea. The pair took one look into each other's eyes and had to hug again. This time when she let go, Jamie rubbed Anthea's arm.

"I take it you like it then?"

"Like it?" Anthea's brows knitted together. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." Jamie's eyebrows raised as she gained a suspicious smile.

"Prettier than your Charlotte?" Anthea glowered and held her index finger right up to her nose.

"You say that name to me again and I won't let you have your something borrowed." She was joking… Half joking. In all seriousness though, yes. Charlotte Cunningham was stunning in a very intimidating way, Jamie looked like an angel to Anthea right now. Jamie giggled. She linked arms with Anthea and walked her over to the bed. The pair, careful not to mess up their dresses, sat down carefully – perched at the end of the bed.

"You've had me worried about this one, Ali." Jamie smiled. "James told me not to get something blue." Had he? Anthea hadn't told James what her something borrowed to lend Jamie was. She'd only told two people. She'd told Ellen because it was Jamie's mother, and she'd asked Mycroft if he'd be okay with it. Anthea shook her head to clear her thoughts, that was not a pressing mystery. She threw Jamie a naughty smile before she opened her handbag and took over – very gently – a jewellery box. She held it out in front of Jamie, one hand underneath it, one hand on top of it protectively. She looked Jamie carefully in the eyes.

"When I say this is something borrowed, Jay, I mean it." Anthea spoke seriously. She felt her heart flutter as she looked at the box. "This is expensive, I don't know how old, and very important to me. I asked if I could do this because it's not only mine to lend. I love this so much and if I don't get it back I'll miss it around my neck." Jamie's face fell from a soft smile into a serious look of concern. Her hazel eyes fell onto the box in Anthea's hands. Carefully Anthea handed it over. Jamie pursed her lips, pausing, before she opened the box. The bride gasped to find Anthea's sapphire droplet necklace.

"Ali!" Her eyes were wide in shock as she looked over to her maid of honour. "You love this!" Anthea shrugged.

"And I love you." She hummed quietly. Jamie clicked her tongue and awed. Her fingers ran lovingly over the sliver chain.

"Now I get why you said no Cunningham jokes. You're lending me your ultimate victory." Anthea rolled her eyes as she laughed. "Is Einstein okay with this?" Anthea nodded.

"Though if you lose it, he's taking it from James' salary." He had indeed said that. Jamie made a noise somewhere in between a laugh and a sob. She pulled Anthea into the tightest hug she'd ever been in. Anthea rubbed her back.

Anthea cherished that necklace more than most things in her life.

Not more than Mycroft, not more than James, and certainly not more than Jamie.

The ceremony was as beautiful to be expected with someone with Jamie's sensibilities running the show. It was also reasonably lengthen and not longwinded with someone with James' attention span having to stand up the front the whole time.

Pink, white, and yellow flowers decorated the ends of each row of chairs, with a minimal white walkway and white chairs. James' youngest niece through petals of the same flowers as she was the first to walk down to where James and the groomsmen waited. James looked ever the same, dressed to the nines, his big excited grin on his face.

Anthea wasn't surprised to see Mycroft sitting in the backrow by himself. He could have sat with Carol and her family, but no, the genius wanted to cherish his alone time today. As always the man was far more interested in his phone than any of the trivial celebrations happening around him. Of course, as soon as the first flash of yellow passed him, he locked his phone and looked up. He managed to find Anthea quickly enough for her to wink at him as she passed. She saw him quirk an eyebrow and look her up and down. Coupled with the small wry smile on his face, Anthea could have sworn he was looking at her the way a normal boyfriend would, and not in a Holmsian deduction making way.

James and Jamie were adorable. Smiles all the way through the ceremony, and a minister who wasn't afraid to make the event more tolerable for his audience by making them laugh. James' vows made Poppy cry and Carol roll her eyes. Jamie's vows made everyone fall silent as they listened to the girl be as serious as she'd ever been. Even Mycroft tried his best not to look too annoyed by the noise as the crowd applauded the newly married couple.

The reception was held in the ballroom of the same building. It was similarly decorated with mostly white and splashes of yellow in ribbons, napkins, and the flowers. Of course, the flowers also had to occasional pink rose. On each table were a couple of photos of Jamie and/or James throughout their lives. Multiple pictures of Anthea and Jamie in school productions were on display, and Anthea had seen a very sweet one of them with their mothers at a school award ceremony. The only one of Mycroft was the time James had taken a selfie of himself and purposefully got a very annoyed looking Mycroft in the background. James was really young in that photo, and given that there were no others he probably got torn to shreds for that. Anthea's favourite had to be the one where James' sisters had dressed him as a girl. He was about four and looked very pleased with himself.

Anthea was still walking around the room – before it filled up with all the guests – admiring the photos when she felt a very familiar and very wanted presence by her side. She smirked inwardly as she turned to her side to meet the surprisingly warm smile of Mycroft Holmes.

"You were at the ceremony." Anthea hummed as she leaned in closer, touching arms with him. "I didn't expect you to come until the reception." Mycroft pursed his lips and hummed.

"That was the plan." He nodded, his voice soft and melodic. "But how could I miss seeing you in matching bright colours with far more excitable women." He gave her that look, that smug look, and she had to nudge him light with her elbow. Done standing side by side, Anthea turned to face Mycroft, looking up at the genius. She cocked her head at him and quirked an eyebrow.

"And did you enjoy it." Mycroft closed his eyes briefly as he shrugged indifferently.

"Unfortunately the dress was less like the sun as you claimed it to be." He sighed. "It actually looks quite lovely on you." And there it was again, that feeling that filled her chest with warmth, the feeling that had filled her when she was talking to Molly. This is one of the reasons Anthea knew she loved Mycroft Holmes – he accidentally complimented her all the time. Anthea laughed under her breath. She leaned up for a kiss and, thankfully, received it.

"Let's try to get you through the day." She smirked as she pulled away from the kiss. Mycroft rolled his eyes. "You're sitting between me and James' sister Poppy. She's quite shy so if you stay put you won't have to talk to too many people." Mycroft's eyes sparkled as he searched Anthea's face.

"You know me too well, my dear."

"Well I should. It's my job."

Not soon after Mycroft and Anthea had reunited – with the intention to mostly stay together for the remainder of the day – did the people start rolling in. Talk was had, hugs were given, and Mycroft avoided most people. James and Jamie made their first entrance as a married couple and both looked like they couldn't be happier.

Dinner was to come but before they could get to that there had to be speeches, of course. James' dad went first, then Jamie's mum. Both parents gave moving heartfelt speeches that most of the guests listened to carefully. James' best man, his friend from university, made quite a funny speech. He managed not only to fit in old stories but he fitted in stories he'd heard second hand from Carol.

Anthea went next. She wasn't nervous, per se, but she'd spent a long time wondering what to speak about. She'd spent hours trying to think about it. One evening before going to sleep she'd asked Mycroft why he kept James around to begin with. Mycroft had answered that it was James' absolute loyalty that had made the boy an asset. That had got Anthea thinking about the loyalty Jamie had always shown, and that in turn lead to thinking about where this loyalty came from. Eventually she had her idea.

And so it began. Anthea walked up to the microphone, customary champagne in hand. Anthea smiled politely at the crowd of vaguely familiar people like she would at a group of work colleagues, tucking some of her loose hair behind her ear before she began. It had been a long time since Anthea had been encouraged to speak from the heart in front of a group of people, having lived in the realm of shadows for such a long time, it might be nice for a change.

"Hi, I don't know too many of you but I'm sure most of you have met me when I was younger or have heard stories involving me. To Jamie's guests you'd probably remember me as the girl Jamie was attached to the hip with in school. To James' friends and family you've probably heard as me only as 'A'." She paused as the guests seemed to utter a little chuckle in unison. Excellent. That meant this was off to a good start. "Yes, I go a single letter, and yes, just like James I can't talk about work. There are at least six of us here that can't. Jamie was getting so annoyed she decided she was either going to ban all work related talk or we had to tell people we were accountants. So you see anyone acting weird, they're probably an 'accountant'." A real laugh erupted this time as James and Carol nodded to each other from across the room.

"This speech was hard for me to write." Anthea winced for effect. "I thought about telling funny stories about Jamie and James, but James' best man had that by law. I thought about talking about how important Jamie is to me, but I'm in almost all of the photos from that really boring slideshow. So I came up with this idea." She paused to take a sip of champagne and a deep breath. Her dark eyes flickered over to Jamie, knowing that what she was about to say was somewhat personal between them and needing a little edging on. Her best friend was all open body language, listening carefully, it was very heart-warming but not the motivation to keep going strong. A quick look over to Mycroft was what she needed. He caught the hesitation in her body language, as he caught anything in anyone's body language, and simply nodded. Go on. Yes, sir.

"There was a time in high school where Jamie and I were having trouble with families and boys, and we'd come to a discovery. We had discovered that love was a lie, and we were lucky to find each other because that's all we'd have. Like I said, Jamie had just been dumped, and her biological father had up and moved countries without telling her, and I was an angst riddled orphan getting sick of everyone showering me with sympathy. We were stupid. Jamie wised up pretty quickly, the next month she was invited out by a boy and she was over the moon in love." Jamie took the opportunity to poke her tongue out at Anthea. "It took me a lot longer. I was adamant that I could do everything alone."

"Over the years I have seen so much love that I can't be a pessimist. Not just love like the friendship between Jamie and me, but so many different times. I've seen that you don't need to be blood to love a child by how amazing Jamie's stepfather is with her and her brother, I've seen that you don't have to like someone to love them through Carol's absolute contempt for James at times." Carol groaned, causing James to wave at her lovingly. "I have seen what it's like to love someone so much it actually hurts you through the most dysfunctional pair of brothers the world has ever seen." Mycroft rolled his eyes. "I've seen what it's like to keep love and compassion in your heart no matter how dark it can get through James, but mostly I've seen what it's like to love someone so freely you're not ashamed of looking like complete idiots. Because that's what they are, together they're the biggest pair of idiots because they're always laugh, and always smiling, and so willing to make friends with people for the sake of each other. I could be mad at James for taking my best friend, and I could be mad at Jamie for taking my back up plan, but I love them so much together." Anthea took another break. She looked over the couple and smiled. Anthea looked down to her feet and cleared her throat, before looking up at the ceiling and continuing.

"A very great man that you've never heard of, and if he plays his cards right you never will hear of him, lives by a mantra. He says 'All lives end, all hearts are broken. Caring is not an advantage', and there are times that you might think he's right. He's not. That is the only completely stupid thing I've ever heard come out of his mouth." She heard Jamie scoff. "The truth of the matter is there will be heart break. We'll lose family, friends, love ones, and we'll fall out of love at times, but that doesn't make us weak. The love we gain, the people we love and the people who love us, are what makes us strong. James and Jamie have always been the epitome of that for me, and seeing them together, no one can doubt it."

"All lives end, all hearts are broken, but in the end it's worth it." Anthea held up her glass at eye height, giving one last long look at the couple she was toasting. "Congratulation to my two favourite goldfish."

It was nearing the end of the night. The crowds were dwindling, the flowers were wilting, and the bride and groom had left hours ago. Still, happy guests remained as old friends chatted away, and new faces made connections, and the music kept playing.

Anthea and Mycroft in a tipsy state, one slightly further gone than the other, sat at a decorated table that was not originally their own. According to Mycroft, who had investigated the name card left behind, they were currently sitting at James' aunt's seat. Anthea had found that far more amusing than she normally would. Anthea leaned against Mycroft's arm, eyes shut, feeling content as she hummed along to the now soft music. Whether it was the alcohol, the event, the music, the company, or just her, but Anthea felt honestly content right now.

The music shifted and Anthea opened her eyes as she listened. It was "The End of The World" by Skeeter Davis. Anthea closed her eyes and moaned.

"Oh, I love this song." She sighed longingly, turning to look at Mycroft. The man's face was rather neutral as he looked her over, but there was that softness that not many people saw. His mouth cracked into a small smile. Anthea cocked her head to the side and battered her eyelashes.

"You should dance with me." She nudged him. Mycroft scoffed, his smile growing at the edges.

"Should I?" He asked, amusement seeping through his voice. Anthea nodded.

"It's a wedding, you dance with your date." Mycroft's steely eyes scanned the remainder of the crowd. What he was looking for, Anthea couldn't say, but apparently either finding it or not finding it, Mycroft seemed satisfied. With an indignant sigh, Mycroft got to his feet. He turned and offered Anthea a hand. Anthea took it happily and practically jumped onto her feet.

The pair only moved a few steps away from the table before they started dancing. It was as slow and soft as the song. The movements were simple as Anthea happily continued to hum along to the music. No, she wasn't content before. This was content. The reminder that Mycroft Holmes was a human. Feeling the body heat and the heartbeat of the Ice Man and knowing he'll dance only for you. Yes, this must be what it feels like to really like where your life has taken you.

Something must have crossed Anthea's face, as a flash of something certainly crossed Mycroft's. As they kept dancing the oldest Holmes brother looked over his assistant's face as if trying to uncover a secret. Anthea let a laugh escape from between her teeth.

"What?" She giggled. She didn't mean to giggle. Mycroft pursed his lips.

"You're thinking very carefully about something." He paused as his eyes narrowed. "What is it?" Anthea looked to the side, practically burying the side of her face in his chest. She loved the smell of Mycroft's cologne.

"It's nothing." She shrugged.

A beat.

Yeah, that wasn't very convincing, not with the slightly raised voice. Anthea stopped dancing. She took her hands off Mycroft and waved them.

"Okay, okay." She shook her head, feeling as if she'd suddenly sobered up a lot in a very quick amount of space. She took a moment to herself, just a moment. She needed the moment to make sure she could get this out as she looked into those silvery blue eyes. So deep, so full of intelligence and hidden hopes and dreams. "I want to tell you something, but I don't expect to hear it back, and I don't need to hear it back." She went to pat the tall man on the arm, but hesitated. Lowering her hand back down, she clasped both hands together in front of her. Something crossed through Mycroft's eyes again. His face grew stony.

A pause.

He nodded.

"Mycroft, I realised something really important." Anthea cleared her throat and shook her head to clear it. She looked into his eyes and gave the genius a crooked smile. "I love you."

Anthea's own heart flipped in her chest as the words came out.

Mycroft's expression dropped.

A second passed in the space of a minute.

Mycroft took hold of Anthea's hand. He brought them up to his face, one hand in one of his own, and kissed them. He held her hands close to his chest as his eyes searched her own.

"Anthea." He began so quietly, her hands still held in his. "I can't say it." It sounded so mourning.

"I know." Anthea laughed breathlessly, as she took her hands back. "I know you can't and that's okay." She placed her freed hand against the genius' cheek. "You want to know why that's okay?" His eyes were locked to hers. "For you to say it, it needs to be more than true. For you to admit to something like that it needs to be all encompassing. You need to feel it so deeply that it hurts you to think about it. It needs to scare you. It needs to be something you can't ever imagine living without." She lowered her hand, her smile growing as his face stayed the same. "And I love you for that." She got a scoff for that, as Mycroft looked to the side of the room, his eyes sparkling. As he turned back that brief levity was gone.

"I can tell you one thing, my dear." It was almost his work voice. "I didn't know I was lonely until I had you." Anthea pulled Mycroft unwillingly into a hug, her arms wrapped around his waist, head on his chest. Eventually the man gave up, placing his arms in turn around the brunette woman. By the appearance an onlooker might think they were dancing like awkward preteens at school dance.

"See." Anthea hummed, ear against Mycroft's chest. "Caring isn't so bad."

"Only when it's you."

Ah.

Well that was a nice feeling.

Author's Note: Well? What did we think? This was a fun one to write. This was also the only one I didn't write in chronological order. I wrote bits and pieces here and there over three days, though the dance was written last. Man, I really hope you guys had fun with this chapter because this chapter and the few leading up to it were just me saying thanks for sticking it through 100 chapters. You're all so awesome. Time to thank the guest reviewers. Thanks to: Louise Pond, Guest, and EggsBenedict. Wow, all the rest were people with accounts this time? It's weird how that happens from time to time. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has ever stopped by this fic! I love you all so much! I look forward to more!