I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 71 : Children !

"Come on Greg, come on ..." muttered Mycroft, his finger hooked  furiously into his tights. "Not on the left ... Yes there, come on, only  50 meters left ..."
The detective kicked the ball and the elder Holmes  hold his breath during what seems like a decade. The ball entered the  goal and a huge clamour raised from the rostrum were the auburn raised  to his feet, beaming. With only three minutes to go and two goal in  advances, his boyfriends team was nearly sure to make it to the final of  the annual British and Welsh Police Football Championship. It has been  nearly ten years since Scotland Yard's team hadn't won the tournament  and decided to make his team win, Greg, the new captain since a few  months, had made them train more than ever, a tactic that was apparently  to pay, to the greatest pleasure of the team supporters who were  gathered in a gallery of a Cardiff football pitch.
"Bravo Greg !"  shouted Molly who was standing beside the official, both of them wearing  the Yard football team's red and gold scarf despite the lack of  interest they usually show for the sport.
Still beaming, they sat  back down for the last few minutes of the game both happy of the great  result of the team and a bit annoyed that they would have to stay in the  outside gallery for 90 more minutes for the next game despite the truly  freezing weather. As he was complaining to himself bout the cold,  Mycroft finally remember that he wasn't the one suffering the most in  his long and precious cashmere coat and warm gloves while his partner  was in his shorts and T-Shirt on the pitch.
"Do you reckon they can win against Manchester ?" Molly asked him while they were leaving the gallery for a short break.
"Do I look like I know anything about the police football teams ?" retorted the auburn, giggling.
"I  don't know, you are the great Mycroft Holmes, you know everything about  everything, it was worth asking." laughed the young woman
"As much  as I am flattered by your opinion on me, I must admit I have no idea on  many things and especially on how to boil a damn egg." chuckled the  elder Holmes, leading his friend to the bar.
"Two coffee please." the  lady requested to the bartender before turning back to the official.  "You really don't know how to boil an egg ? Come on, even my 6 years old godson knows how to do this !"
"I  can do a perfect Pavlova cake with my eyes closed but I always under or  over cook a simple egg. Can't get that in my mind." replied the man,  taking a sip of his coffee.
"You Holmeses will always amaze me, you know that ?" sighed the post-mortem with a smile.
"That's,  broadly speaking, our main reason for living." laughed the auburn.  "That and possibly saving the world when we have a bit of spare time."

The  referee blew one last time in his whistle provoking another huge  clamour from the rostrum as well as joy yells from the Yard team on the  pitch. All players  congratulated their captain by slamming him on the back manly while the  detective was scanning the gallery, looking for his boyfriend who,  despite his tallness, was barely visible in the middle of the people  congratulating one another. After a few seconds of looking for him, absentmindly  thanking his teammates, Gregory finally localized him and blew him a  kiss to which the official responded by one of the brightest smile he  was able of giving out.
A podium had just been brought on the middle  of the pitch and the policeman's teammate forced him to climb on it to  receive the cup they just had won before each of them being awarded a  fake gold medal.
After five more minutes of noisy celebration, the  team parted and wandered back to the changing room to take a shower  while the gallery was emptying itself, the supporters heading up to  their car or to the bar, looking for a bit of warmth. Mycroft and Molly  joined Greg who was waiting for them near the changing room's door.
"What are you still doing here love ! You are going to be sick ! Chop chop, inside !'" the auburn scolded him with a gentle smile.
The  detective placed a soft kiss on his partner's cheek, spreading mud all  over the official's pale skin. "Now I can go." he chuckled, entering the  warm room while the post-mortem was laughing at the elder Holmes  reaction when he discovered he was covered in mud. He grabbed a  handkerchief in his pocket and tried to rub the dirt of his cheek, only  smearing it even more.
"Wait. Give it here." proposed the young woman, seizing the handkerchief.
"You can't even guess how humiliating this is." remarked the auburn, sighing.
"What ? To have a woman taking care of you ?" chuckled Molly.
"No,  to have anyone else than your nanny, or for most your mother, cleaning  your face for you." answered Mycroft with a small smile.
"I'm not sure I would like to have been yours and Sherlock nanny to be honest." laughed the post-mortem.
"I bet you would have actually. You couldn't find easier children to take care of then us. Always in books or experiments. Not much trouble s we were to afraid of our father to say it clearly." smiled the official.
"I wouldn't have guessed that. Not from Sherlock's adult behaviours." responded the woman, genuinely surprised.
"Well,  Sherlock changed when ... he changed when our father had no more power on  him. Drug didn't help too, but he was quite of a nice child, a long  time ago." explained the elder Holmes, not willing to give out too many  details.
"Still, I'm not sure I would have loved to be gainsaid by a  five or six years old every time I read them a bedtime story or tried to  sound clever. That would have been humiliating." retorted Molly making  both of them laugh.
"I have to admit you have a point on this one." nodded the man, pocketing his spoiled handkerchief.
"What  were you two talking about ?" wondered Gregory, exiting the changing  room, his hair wet of the shower he just had taken and himself wrapped  in a warm wool dufflecoat his husband had presented him a couple of weeks earlier.
"You've been very quick, what for ? " remarked Mycroft, wrapping his arm around his lover's waist.
"You haven't answered my question. I hope you weren't talking about me at least ?" chuckled the detective.
"And you haven't answered mine either ..." retorted his boyfriend with a boyish smile.
"Children ..." Molly scolded them. "What about moving from here to a warmer place before we all lose a couple of toes ?"

"Enjoy  your meal sirs and madam." the waiter wished them, placing their  appetizer plates in front of them. Greg was starving after the game he  just had disputed and he didn't wait until the other were served before  taking his first mouthful of salmon.
"And Bon appetit to you too love." remarked his husband, winking at him.
"Next  time you'll run around all day eating just a little sandwich for lunch  and I'll be sitting in the galleries and we will discuss my rudeness."  chuckled the detective.
"No way that ever happen. I'm not fool enough  to spend my day after a ball like you." snorted the official, taking a  mouthful of his own plate.
"Are you calling me a fool or am I  mistaking ?" retorted the policeman, faking to be offended, the face he  pulled making Molly laugh genuinely.
"I am indeed suggesting that you  must have loose all common sense to spend several hours a week running  after a ball yes." sniggered the auburn.
"You could at least pretend  to defend me Molly instead of laughing. Isn't that what friends are for ?  Defending your ass when you are being bullied ?" complained the yarder.
"And denying the truth? I'm sorry but my mum taught me I shouldn't tell lies." retorted the young woman, laughing even more.
"That's so unfair. I won the cup and I'm still bullied ..." pouted Greg.
"You  are a tiny bit sexy when you are cross ..." snorted the elder Holmes,  grabbing his partner's hand and placing a soft kiss on it.
"Don't try to redeem yourself ..." giggled the detective. "I'm not going to forgive you that easily ..."
"You two are just absolutely unable to behave for five minutes are you ..." tutted Molly, shaking her head slightly.
"Might I remember you that you joined me laughing ?" remarked Mycroft.
"Don't drag me into your domestic please, thank you very much." retorted the young woman, pulling out her tongue to him.
"What are you doing love ?" requested the elder Holmes, stepping outside from the bathroom, a towel around his hips and his hair soaking wet.
"I'm looking for a place to display this." answered Greg, absentmindly gesturing toward the cup he just had won.
"You are not going to have this in our bedroom, are you ?" wondered the auburn.
"Where  do you want me to put it if not here ? In the living room ?" replied  his partner, still looking around for the right spot.
"Why don't you bring it to your office to the Yard ?" suggested the official.
"You don't want it in your house, don't you ?" retorted the policeman, looking a little hurt.
"No,  darling ..." Mycroft tried to reassure his husband, placing a hand on  his shoulder. "I just thought the other guy on your team would like to  have it to. We can have your medal here, no ?"
"Really ? You have nothing about me ruining your decoration with a fake gold thingy ?" whispered the inspector, hooking his arm around his lover's waist.
"Why would I ? I've always loved a little kitch touch." chuckled the auburn, smiling genuinely.
"I'll remember to have you a disco ball for your next birthday." replied the other one, laughing.
"You  do that, I ask for the divorce." retorted the elder Holmes, deadpan.  "Now come on, time for bed. Interior decoration can wait until dawn  unlike me ..."