Marlin's Sword [A Mycroft Holmes Fanfiction]

The Six Thatchers

At night, Meredith and Mycroft were in the PMO sitting across from Henry. Meredith had her head buried in her hands, 'Okay, I need to hear this one more time' she asked.

Henry groaned in frustration, 'Moriarty is dead. Was I not clear enough the first time?' he asked in irritation.

Meredith scoffed at him, 'Well, you did lie to me for 20 years so, forgive me for having trust issues' she said sarcastically.

Henry rolled his eyes at his daughter, 'Aren't we over that yet?' he asked and Meredith glared at him. Henry shook his head and raised his hands in surrender, 'Okay, fine! Mycroft, tell me whatever this is, you're on it' he asked.

Mycroft nodded, 'Yes, and Sherlock is on it too' he said.

Henry sighed in relief, 'Mycroft, make it clean this time, this administration doesn't need another mess' he reminded. Mycroft and Meredith nodded and stood up to leave when Henry stopped them, 'There is one more thing we need to discuss' he said.

Meredith turned around, 'Oh, yeah, what?' she asked.

Henry cocked his head, 'If you are going to run for a public office, you might want to increase the number of public appearances you do as a couple. You know, the usual, tv interviews, radio, etc...' he suggested.

Meredith rolled her eyes, 'We get it, Daddy. We need to sell ourselves' she said.

Henry nodded in an obvious manner, 'Yes, and that renewal you two are doing will go a long way in optics' he added.

Meredith shook her head, firmly, 'We're not using our marriage for publicity' she told her father.

Henry raised an eyebrow and smirked, 'Really?! Mycroft didn't seem to mind' he said and Meredith turned to Mycroft.

Mycroft shrugged unapologetically, 'What?! I told you the optics of the renewal are very good' he stated the obvious.

Henry smiled at their little disagreement, 'Look, do whatever you want at home. But publicly, you two want to be on the same page. You have three years to work on it' he advised and went back to his work. Meredith didn't want to politicize their vow renewal, Mycroft understood that sentiment. But their marriage had been on the down-low for far too long. And Henry was right, now that Meredith had decided to run for a public office, they needed to appear more in the public eye. And they needed to appear like normal husbands and wives. Because they were in it together.

.............

In the morning of the day of the wedding, Mycroft entered a small antique shop near the university. He walked up to the old salesman, 'Do you have what I asked for?' he asked.

The old man nodded at Mycroft, 'Yes' he said and went around the counter to the cash register.

Mycroft looked at the small gift box the old man had slid to him, 'How much do I owe you?' he asked.

The old man cocked his head, 'You know there are far more romantic things you can have engraved?' he asked.

Mycroft shot him a tired look, 'I do' he said as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

The old man nodded, 'And you're sticking with this?' he asked.

Mycroft sighed, 'I think it's quite sufficient' he said not wanting to pull this conversation any further.

The old man shook his head in dismay, 'Oh, God! Where is this generation going? Last night, this girl had the craziest thing engraved for her fiancé. She actually asked me to engrave...' he rambled.