I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 94 : Santa Klaus

"You know we will soon need a van to go anywhere ?" Mycroft chuckled,  admiring the four children, and their belongings, standing in front of  him.
"That's sure that it's not with your taste in cars and your  vital need for a driver that we are going to sort that problem out."  retorted his partner, half-amused, half-exasperated.
"I thought we  already had this conversation. I can't arrive in Downing Street with  anything less than my Jaguar, I'd be laughed at." remarked the auburn.  "Actually I'm already laughed at because of all Alden's toys and stuff  spread over the seats ... Not that I care about what people say, but  still."
"At the price of a Jaguar they could at least have a couple  more seats ..." grinned the detective before letting a sigh out as the  kids were filling the boot with their toys.
"I'll make sure to  threaten the designer to make them consider it on the next model, don't  worry." nodded the official before pecking his husband on the cheek.
"I  swear next time my parents invite all of us for an early Christmas  dinner I will say no." mumbled the policeman, shaking his head in  disbelief.
"Or you could just invite them over and then not be disowned ?" suggested the elder Holmes with a mocking smile.
"Come on Myc',  you know my mum. If she doesn't cook for those kinds of event she is  completely unable to enjoy it." chuckled the yarder. "Or maybe it's if  she doesn't have the occasion to roast my father because he is too slow  to peel the vegetables, who knows ..."
"Tell her I'll be really  grateful for us to use our kitchen and to exploit your father in our  house if she likes. And we can even leave the house for the day if she  wants it to be a surprise." winked the younger man. "Actually I can be a  very compliant man sometime."
"You know that's the best joke I've heard from you in nearly four years ?" replied his boyfriend.
"Oh ! That's rude." retorted Mycroft, faking to be profoundly offended. "I am accommodating !"
"Any example ?" laughed Greg, finding this little game rather amusing.
"Hum ... I let you choose what radio we listen to in the bathroom !" responded the auburn after a few seconds of thinking.
"Yes, unless it's pop music, or any kind of music actually. Or too much leftie. Or too rightie for all what I know." smirked the inspector. "But yes you let me chose between BBC news radio and BBC news radio London."
"You are being prejudice ! You can tune on BBC Radio 3 also.  Just not when it's the news on the other ones that's all ..." replied  the elder Holmes, understanding as he was saying it how ridiculous his  answer was.
"Point proved. But don't worry I'll make sure to pass the message to my mother." winked the yarder.

"Sarah ! Lucas ! Jack ! Alden !" Vera Lestrade exclaimed as soon as she saw her grandchildren stepping out of the car.
"If one day you ever forget the name of your kids, you know who to call." chuckled Mycroft in his partner's ear.
"Oh shut up. That's what normal people do with the ones they love you know ?" retorted Greg in mid-voice.
"What ? Make sure they don't forget their own names ?" continued the official, approaching from his mother-in-law.
"Greggy  ! My boy !" Mrs Lestrade exclaimed, before her son had been able to  respond to the other man. She hugged him tightly during a long couple of  seconds before releasing him and placing a kiss on both of his cheek.
"Happy to see you too Mummy." smiled the detective.
"Come  on, go in, go in, I think your father need a hand in the kitchen." She  nodded, pushing him gently inside before turning to her son-in-law.  "Mycroft ! Oh look at you all pale ... You really need to take some  holidays and a good meal !"
"I've never been really good with sun  bedding. For the second matter, I'll let it entirely to you." grinned  the elder Holmes before placing a peck on each of the older woman's  cheeks and presenting her with a flower bouquet.
"Oh, they are divine." remarked the lady. "You'll never stop to surprise me young man. But come in, you must be freezing !"
The  man followed her inside the heavily decorated room where the children  were already chasing each other, their mouth filled with cinnamon  biscuits someone, the auburn suspect Mr Lestrade Senior, had given them.  The latter was in the kitchen, trying his best to cut a turkey in  pieces with a long knife, his son leaned against the fridge, looking at  him, a glass of red wine already in his hand.
"Still haven't finished ?" Vera asked her husband, reprovingly.
"You  know it's quite of a coriaceous one and I am not as efficient as I used  to be darling." replied the old man, not taking the mickey at his wife  tone.
"Well you should ask Greggy to help you then." stated the woman.
"I've  proposed my service but he rejected the offer." intervene the said  Greggy before offering a glass of wine to his own partner.
"You are  really one of a stubborn Hugh Lestrade !" Vera tutted him before pushing  her son from the fridge to take something in it. "Why don't you two  settle in the living room ? I'll be there in a minute with some drinks  for the kids."
It wasn't exactly a suggestion but more or less an  order and the two men didn't dare to argue with Mrs Lestrade and made  their way quickly to slightly over decorated living room in which the  four children were now playing Happy families, sat in a circle on the  floor.
"You know we have chairs and tables in this house, don't you, young Lestrades ?" their father smirked.
"Yes, but Alden and Jack's arms are too short to pass on the cards if we are sat around a table." explained Sarah before returning to the game.
The  auburn and Greg were still laughing when Vera entered the room carrying  a tray with glasses and home-made iced lemon tea. She glanced an  interrogative look at her son after having seen her grandchildren on the  floor but the detective simply raised his shoulder and smiled to her  not to ask.
It was actually the first time in four years they were  able to have a Christmas diner at Lestrade's parent place with all the  kids and surprisingly enough it was looking to Mycroft as if he finally  had found what he had been looking for all his life, a loving, caring  and a bit hazardous family, all the contrary of what he had known before  meeting Gregory.
He was still deep in his thought when Hugh finally  joined them all and poured himself a glass of wine, marking the real  beginning of the dinner.
"Alright, shall we open the present now maybe ?" suggested the old man.
"But Grandpa, Santa Klaus haven't already come ..." remarked Jack, eyebrows frowned.
"Pff  ... Santa Klaus is just a fictional character adults invent to make you  think that it's not them who are buying you some presents ..." Alden  scolded him. Despite him being only three years old, Greg and his  partner had never succeeded to convince the little boy of the existence  of either Santa Klaus or the elves or actually any fictional characters  or monsters.
"Aldy  dear, what have we said about Santa Klaus ?" the official remembered  him of the conversation they had had the night before about letting the  other kids believe even if he didn't personally.
"But Daddy ..." moaned the little boy.
"No  discussion young man." the auburn stopped him. "Actually Santa knew you  were coming here today so he came yesterday's night to deposit the  presents. You see Jack, he is a very clever man ..."
"Ok,  let's start then !" nodded the policeman to make sure neither of his  children were to add anything and Mrs Lestrade opened the door of one of  the closets in the corner of the room, revealing a mount of carefully  wrapped presents, some of them being presents from the auburn and his  partner that Greg had delivered the day before.
The four kids rushed  to the pile of presents and Sarah and Lucas parted the pile into smaller  piles, reading the names carefully calligraphied on the wrapping. Alden was the first to unwrap one of his present, revealing a new set of Disney-themed colouring book offered by his grandparents, closely followed by a new fencing kit and a tardis-shaped kite. The Lestrade kids unwrapped the present their father had brought them at Camden Market the precedent week, Lucas being absolutely delighted with the set of American horror films framed posters and not even remotely jealous of his sister's Dr Who T-shirt.
Once  the kid had been finished with their presents and a lot of pictures had  been taken by all the adults in the room, Sarah proceeded to handling  each of them their own packages. Mrs Lestrade unwrapped her first  present, revealing a brand new camera, gift of her son to replace the  very old, still mechanical one, she already owned. His parents, on the  other hand, had bought him the complete box-set of the classic Doctor  Who, the other man being granted with an elegantly leather bound collection of Jean-Paul Sartre's book.
The  two last were small, weird-shaped and strangely wrapped presents for  Mycroft and Greg. The official was quite sure of what was in his lover's  pack as he had still not seen the teddy bear that he had crafted with  his son but he was completely clueless with the content of his own, even  if, from the wrapping, he knew it was also a present from Alden.
Quite  exited, they both unwrapped the packages at the same time, revealing  two teddy bears, the auburn being granted with a little Greg bear and  vice versa. Truly delighted by the toddler's attention, the elder Holmes seized him by the waist and brought him close to his chest in a warm and loving embrace.
"Thank you little man. I love you so much ..." he whispered to his ear.
"I love you too Daddy !" replied the boy before kissing him on the cheek.