Dragon Slayer

Mycroft tells him that he did well. Sherlock demands more praise than that.

"You did very well, Sherlock."

"More!"

". . . Sherlock is a genius."

"Say it again!"

"Sherlock is a genius."

Years later, adult Sherlock has a particularly bad drug episode, and Mycroft takes him to his own home where he makes him go through rehab.

After some initial resistance, Sherlock starts working extremely hard to become clean and sober. Mycroft can tell the difference.

One night, Mycroft takes a shower right after Sherlock. (There are a number of bathrooms in Mycroft's house, but he keeps his brother very close during the rehab process.) He stops when he sees the words written on the shower wall. Sherlock is a genius.

Another person might mistake this as Sherlock being unbelievably arrogant, but Mycroft remembers saying these words to his little brother many years ago, and realises that he's using this phrase to cheer himself on as he fights a very difficult battle.

Thirty two seconds later, Sherlock's phone was ringing. He rolled his eyes and picked up.

"Where are you?" Mycroft asked, anxiety plain in his voice.

"I... Baker Street. I'm fine."

A very confused, heavy silence followed.

"You're... fine?"

"Yes. Old age must be taking your hearing."

Mycroft didn't pay the jab any mind.

"Why did you say that?" He asked instead, referring to the text message.

"I just wanted you to know," Sherlock replied simply, glad that at the moment Mycroft couldn't see the color rising in his face. "Don't make a big deal out of it, Mycroft."

Mycroft sighed deeply.

"You're going to be the death of me, little brother."

"Don't ever forget it," Sherlock answered, smirking as he ended the phone call.

“I know I was wrong and I'm sorry. But my feelings for you are really deep. If I want to clear things up between us, would you mind?"

🤣🤣🤣

Mummy, who was pregnant with Sherlock, got into a lift with Mycroft. But the lift stopped working because of the ongoing snow storm, and that's when labour started. Mycroft ended up being the one who delivered the baby (thankfully, he knew everything there was to know about delivering babies, at least in theory, thanks to the books he had read).

Mummy did not have much strength left in her after giving birth, so Mycroft held the baby in his arms while they waited for the lift to be repaired. "It's all right," he told his crying brother. "You're safe. I'm here. I'll protect you. I'll always be there for you, and I'll always protect you, Sherlock." The crying eased into whimpers. "He loves to be dramatic, Mummy. Choosing to be born in a snow storm like this." Mummy, who was very tired, squeezed her eldest son's shoulder and did her best to give him a confident, reassuring smile. "He does. From now on I'll have two dramatic boys to look after."

Sherlock is visiting Mycroft at work, and complains about this upcoming event. Mycroft replies that he won’t be able to come this year (he couldn’t possibly leave the office with. . . well, Sherlock doesn’t need to know the reason).

Later, one of Mycroft’s colleagues (Lady Smallwood?) remarks that Sherlock was clearly very disappointed. Mycroft tells her that she’s mistaken, but he can’t help but think back on his conversation with his brother and recall everything in detail. Could Sherlock actually want him to come?

Mycroft ends up sending one of his employees to Sherlock’s school on classroom visitation day. The employee has some videoconferencing system (whatever technology that was available in the 90s). Mycroft is very busy and cannot see much, but he manages to take some time off to watch his brother participate in chemistry class from his office (and unmute himself to make comments like "Sherlock Holmes, wear your tie properly", or to validate Sherlock's contributions to the class).

Well, that was tedious! - (2026)