I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 106 : A day at the beach

Mycroft was sat in a deck chair, his bare feet resting on the cool Ostend's sand, a Dostoyevsky novel in his hand, sunglasses and hat protecting him from the spring sun. He looked up over his book and glanced a look at his son building a sand castle a few meters away, apparently very concentrated over its design.
The beach was still empty on this bright but quite chill morning as it was too early for anyone to fancy a visit on the sand. The elder Holmes himself wouldn't have been there if he hadn't been awoken by the little boy, two hours earlier. Despite his father's protestation, Alden had been absolutely unable to go back to sleep and after half an hour of trying to put him back to bed, the auburn had acknowledged his defeat and, to preserve his husband who was still fast asleep, he had proposed to the kid to spend some time on the beach before taking his breakfast.
The child was still wearing his pyjama top, something that would make Greg upset without any doubts, but the official had been genuinely unable to find the boy's suitcase in the pitch dark room. He himself was wearing the same outfit than the night before, unable to find something else than the clothes he had laid down on a chair the night before and he thought that he was lucky not having gone by a complete three-pieces suit that would have looked rather odd. Instead, his was wearing light beige jeans and a white with little navy dots short sleeved shirt and the detective's light blue trainers were carefully laid down on the sand beside him.

Greg awoken, blissfully ignorant of the time it was, but awfully comfortable and relaxed, enjoying the warmth and heaviness of the duvet over him. He rolled on his side to nestled himself against his husband's body and steel a little more warmth but he encountered only a vacant and rather cold part of the bed. Grunting of being disappointed first thing in the morning, the policeman stretched his arm to switch on the light, revealing indeed the absence of the auburn and a note carefully displayed on his own bedside table, a little rosebud, coming from the bouquet displayed on the desk, laid over the piece of paper. Smiling at the cheesiness his boyfriend could sometime show, the inspector sat down against the bedhead and grabbed the note covered in the elder Holmes trim handwriting.
'Alden couldn't resist the call of the sea. You looked too peaceful to be awoken so I've brought him outside before breakfast. I hope you had a good end of night and aren't too grumpy of finding no one in your bed at your revival. I love you. M-'
Grinning even more after having read the note and amused by the fact the auburn knew him well enough to be aware that he would grunt not having anyone against whom he could nestle to awake fully, the inspector rejected the duvet and made his way to the windows of the room, opening the curtains and taking a minute to appreciate the feeling of the sun on his skin. He then joined the nearby bathroom and slipped into the shower cabin thinking that he was quite lucky to have a partner who didn't care being up early and who was ready to sacrifice his own lazy morning to let him sleep peacefully.
As the warm water was cascading on his skin, finishing awaking him, Gregory was humming one of Les Miserable title song, surprising himself by the fact that he actually knew the lyrics to such a song. He never really had been one for musical but he had seen Les Mis WestEnd production a couple of time and had always spent a nice evening doing so and apparently he had picked up more than he had been aware of.
"There was a time we killed the king / We tried to change the world too fast / Now we have got another king / He is no better than the last / This is the land that fought for liberty / Now when we fight, we fight for bread / Here is the thing about equality / Everyone's equal when they're dead / Take your place, take your chance / Vive la France, vive la France!" he sang while wrapping a towel around his hips and turning back to his room, searching his suitcase for an appropriate outfit.
As he was doing so, he remarked that neither his partner's neither his son's clothes had been moved from the case and he deduced that both of them must still be wearing their evening outfit. Looking around he quickly had the confirmation of what he was thinking and noticed that if Alden's trousers were indeed missing from the place they had been laid down the previous night, his shirt was still hanged on the door handle, meaning that the little boy was probably out in his pyjamas top as the policeman was pretty sure Mycroft would never had allowed his son to go out bare chest at this time in the year.
Hissing a little at this idea, Gregory dressed himself up in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow. He grabbed a white and navy-blue stripped T-shirt for his son and was to put his shoes when he noticed that his trainers were missing, unlike the auburn's brown moccasins, and cursing the man in mid-voice and at the same time finding it rather cute, he resolved to slip his feet in the soft leather shoes and exited the room, a little smile plastered on his face.

The detective made his way to the beach, approaching quietly from his husband who was deep into his reading and surprising him with a soft kiss in the neck. The elder Holmes turned around, a little grin lightening his face, his eyes showing nothing else than love. He let his book down and wrapped an arm around his lover's legs, bring him closer and forcing him to sat down on his laps.
"How was your morning ?" the auburn wondered in mid-voice.
"Lonely but blissfully relaxing." replied the yarder before placing another kiss on the man's nose this time. "Thank you honey."
The official was to add something when their son came running toward us and threw himself into his father's arms, trying to hug them both with his little arms. After a few minutes of cuddling and tickling, the three of them decided it was more than time to have their breakfast and made their way back to the hotel, Alden having changed his pyjama top for the shirt Greg had brought with him.

"What are you doing ?" wondered the detective, entering the bathroom to find his husband, a towel wrapped around his hips, in front of the basin.
"Having a shave, like every morning ?" replied Mycroft in a chuckle.
"Hmm ... I kinda like you like this ..." whispered the policeman, placing himself right behind his boyfriend and running a soft finger on his fuzzy cheeks.
"Really ?" asked the elder Holmes, surprised.
"Yes. It's a little ... wild." the yarder smiled. "Quite hot if you ask me."
"I didn't knew you liked beard." grinned the auburn, putting his razor down and turning on his heels to face his partner.
"I usually don't." confirmed the DI. "But everything is looking good on you."
"Flatterer." the official tutted him before placing a chast kiss on his lips.
"Isn't that what boyfriends are for ?" winked the detective.
"No, that's what mother are for. Don't mistake the two, it could end up in a pretty bad way." chuckled Mycroft, exiting the bathroom.
"Always so poetic ... Mycroft Holmes you will be the end of me I swear." the other man laughed.
"Just speaking the truth !" retorted the official from the nearby room. "You wouldn't want to mistake me with my mother, would you ?"
"Does she sport a sexy beard, a hot body and an even hotter cock ?" wondered the inspector.
"I don't see anyone matching this description in my family." denied the elder Holmes.
"Than I'm pretty sure it's you I have in my bed every night." winked the policeman, biting his lower lips.
"You are over-estimating me." denied the official.
"It's not what you were saying last night." chuckled Greg as his husband was placing a soft kiss in his neck.
"Can we go back to the beach ?" suddenly intervene Alden, emerging from his room.
"The beach isn't going to disappear, so first, time to take a bath little stinking shrimp." retorted the policeman, seizing his son by the waist and lifting him up in the air.

"Daddy, is it true that there is some place in the world were you can see fishes when you are on the beach ?" the little boy asked his father as they were walking along the beach, water to their ankles.
"Yes. There are such places in the world. The water is so pure that you can go swimming and see a lot of fishes." nodded the auburn.
"Have you already been there ?" wondered Alden.
"No. But I would love to." denied the elder Holmes with a sad smile.
"And Papa, have you been there ?" questioned the child, curious that such place could exist and that his father could have missed it for their entire life.
"No, never." answered Greg. "But I think it must be beautiful."
"When I'll grow up I'll travel all around the world to see beautiful things." stated the young boy.
"That's a good lifestyle choice." smiled Mycroft.
"Really ? It could be my work ?" enquired the ginger, astonished.
"Of course it could, if you want to." confirmed the official. "But you know, everything is not about job. What is important is to be happy and if travel makes you happy than you should travel."
"Whoo." exclaimed the child. "And is there crabs in those beautiful places ?"
"I don't know. It's to you to find out, no ?" chuckled the policeman.
"One day I'll find out !" stated the little boy.
"Maybe sooner than you think." muttered the elder Holmes, more for himself than for anyone else.
"What ?" wondered Gregory who was quite sure to have understood what his partner had said.
"Well, who knows, I may have a few days of over-due holidays ..." the younger man replied in mid-voice, not to be heard by his son, before winking to the detective.
"Now we make the race !" requested Alden.
"Alright, the last own to the hotel door is a chicken !" laughed the yarder, letting the little boy take a few meters of advance and starting jogging behind him.