Brotherly Love

Reunions and Disclosures

I sat for a moment longer, contemplating his words and feeling a surge of fondness for the kind doctor. Although we had met just yesterday, I already considered him a friend. What a foreign concept for me, I hadn't made any friends since... Better not to think about it, I admonished myself. Steeling my resolve, I went about getting dressed in a pair of low waisted jeans and a long, comfy sweater. After washing my face, to erase the last remnants of my recent breakdown, I made my way into the kitchen once again. 

I stopped short, when I saw Sherlock sitting in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin, eyes closed. I hadn't heard him return and not opting for another confrontation, I joined John in the kitchen, accepting the mug of tea he gave me with a grateful smile. We sat down at the cluttered kitchen table, chatting amicably about nothing in particular, when we heard the doorbell ring, followed shortly by Mrs. Hudsons chattering. 

Sherlock sat up in his chair, an irritated look crossing his face. Someone was coming up the stairs with light footfalls, followed by a tapping sound. My eyes widened and I abruptly stood up, taking a few steps back towards the bedroom. The door to the flat opened and a tall man, dressed in an immaculate light-grey suit entered, umbrella in his right hand. He looked around the flat, his icy blue eyes landing on me.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your impromptu visit, brother dear? Surely you could have notified me beforehand, so that we might have been able to avoid your company?" Sherlock sneered, not noticing the look of recognition on his brothers face.

"So my sources were correct about your return. I didn't expect to find you in my brothers flat of all places. What are you doing here, Alice?" Mycroft addressed me directly, completely ignoring his brother and staring at me in irritation. I started to speak, to explain myself but got interrupted by Sherlock.

"You know her? Of course you do. And you are on a first name basis, no less. Let me guess, you're the one that helped her escape in the first place, aren't you brother dearest?" The sneer on his face grew even more prominent, irritating me to no end. Mycroft didn't seem to be perturbed by that, he didn't even look at his brother, instead his eyes remained on me.

"As usual, you are quite slow, brother mine. Do try to keep up. Yes, I was the one that helped Miss Moriarty escape. In exchange for information of course. Unfortunately we lost track of her a few months after she left the country. My men hadn't been able to locate her, until she re-entered English soil yesterday. Quite a feat to stay hidden from me for so long. I have to admit, I'm somewhat impressed by your skills, Alice. But why in the world did you think it would be a good idea to involve my little brother? Why not come to me instead?" 

Mycroft stepped closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine as he took one of my hands in his. His gaze softened as he stood before me, his thumb drawing slow circles on the back of my hand. I couldn't help myself and instead of answering his questions, I crushed my body against his, circling my arms around his waist and pressing myself as close as possible. After a moments hesitation, he wound one arm around my shoulder, reciprocating the hug, placing his chin atop of my head.

Sniffling against his chest, I listened to his heartbeat and inhaled his familiar scent. It was a relief to see him, I had missed him so much and at the moment I didn't care what Sherlock or John might be thinking about the fact that I was hugging him. 

"Don't cry, Alice my dear. You know what that does to me. And believe me when I tell you, that I have missed you too, my darling girl. Terribly so." Stroking some wayward strands of hair away from my face, he gave me a soft kiss on the forehead, before extracting himself from my hold. Sherlock and John just stared at us with matching expressions of disbelief. Seeing the Ice Man showing that amount of sentiment towards another human being must've been quite the shock, I imagined. Running my hands over the lapels of his blazer, straightening them out, I smiled softly at him.