A Scandal in the World Of Goldfish [A Mycroft Holmes Fanfiction]

Chapter 9- Fatherhood

At daytime, a formally dressed Meredith and Mycroft rode an elevator with their realtor. The elevator reached the top floor and the realtor struggled to open the door. Meredith and Mycroft exchanged weary looks and Mycroft stepped in to help the realtor, 'Let me'.

The realtor stopped him and continued to struggle, 'No, no, I got this' she said and yanked at the door with all her strength. As the door opened Mycroft and Meredith witnessed an old couple fighting with each other with their apartment door wide open. The couple looked at the realtor doubtfully, 'The apartment is great, I promise' the realtor assured and led them to the apartment. The couple nodded and hesitantly followed her into the empty apartment, 'It has everything. Air conditioning, laundry, dishwasher, refrigerator, gas stove. The works. It even has a skylight' she said and gave them a tour of the small, two-bedroom apartment.

Meredith looked around and smiled, 'It has a nice view' she said and looked out of the window.

Mycroft looked out of the window and scowled, 'Of what?! The Chinese restaurant downstairs?' he asked in rhetoric. 'Meredith, for Pete's sake. This place smells like leftover Chinese food. It's nauseating. You can't possibly want to live here' he said.

Meredith shrugged, 'An air freshener can solve that. For a two-bedroom apartment in London, this place is a steal. We can convert one of the bedrooms into a home office and the living room has enough space for your piano. And, look, it even has a skylight' she said and pointed to the roof.

Mycroft sighed and looked up at the roof and right at that moment, a bird flew in through the skylight. It flew right into a wall, making a hole in it, 'Jesus Christ! Did a bird just fly in through a hole in the ceiling and make a hole in the wall?' he asked the realtor.

The realtor shrivelled under Mycroft's icy glare, 'I'm sorry. It's really hard to find something good in your budget' she admitted fearfully.

Meredith placed a firm hand on Mycroft's arm before he could yell at the poor woman, 'We'll stay in touch. Call us if anything better comes along' she said and pulled Mycroft out of the apartment.

The couple stopped when they heard the bird whimpering inside the wall, and the realtor looked at them uncomfortably, 'I'll take care of it' she assured. Meredith nodded and left the apartment, with Mycroft following closely behind her.

Later, in the kitchen of their loft, Mycroft and Meredith heated up leftovers for dinner, 'I think we should press pause on the house hunting for a bit' she said and set the table.

Mycroft frowned, 'What are you saying?' he asked.

Meredith shrugged and served pasta on two plates, 'I'm saying we don't have to rush into anything. We have a place already, it's not great but it's comfortable. Let's take some time and save some more money until we find something better' she said and sat down at the table. Mycroft was clearly upset, but controlled himself and sat down to eat. Meredith noticed his unease, 'Mycroft, what is it?' she asked.

Mycroft scoffed, 'You'll roll your eyes' he said flatly and took a bite of his pasta.

Meredith huffed a small laugh, 'At you? Come on, Mycroft, out with it' she pressed.

Mycroft put his fork down and stood up, 'We used to go to the opera, watch the Russian marionettes. We don't anymore because we need every penny we have for the down payment. It bothers me that I can't give you a comfortable home. That I can't give you a good life. You used to live in a version of the Palace of Westminster and now you're sleeping on a mattress on the floor. On our first night in this house, we fought because there isn't enough space in our loft for my piano. This isn't the life I promised you' he ranted.