I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 112 : Spring Rolls.

"Sir, I have your Uncle Rudolf on line 3, do you want to take him or shall I ask him to call back later ?" Anthea's stand-in informed the auburn by the intercom.
"I'll take the call thank you, Victor." replied the official, a little smile breaking on his face.
"Good morning Mycroft." a voice greeted him. "It's harder and harder every time to reach you."
"Good morning Uncle." the elder Holmes chuckled. "Anthea is on maternal leave. This new PA is a little too effective I suppose."
"Anthea is on maternal leave ?" repeated Rudolf, surprised.
"Yes, she just had a superb little girl." Mycroft confirmed enthusiastically.
"Oh. Well, that's unexpected ..." retorted the older man. "Well, I wasn't calling for that actually. I'm in London today, would you fancy having lunch with your old uncle."
"Today ? I'm not sure I can take much time for a lunch ..." moaned the auburn, checking his timetable.
"It's rather important Mycroft." Rudy added quietly.
"Alright, I'll manage some time. See you at one at the Grand imperial." the official proposed, sensing something rather unusual in his uncle's voice.
"I'll be there. Thank you Myc." agreed the older man before hanging up the call.
The elder Holmes let go the phone wondering what could be so important for the other man to practically beg him and use the nickname nobody else than Gregory had used in nearly 35 years. He turned back to his work, some rather pressing issues concerning the next general election having to be sorted out, but the question kept tickling a little part of his brain.

When the official entered the Chinese restaurant, Rudolf was already sat at one of the small table in the corner of the room, a bottle of Sauvignon already placed in an ice bucket near the table. Mycroft took a seat in front of his uncle a smiled, genuinely happy to see him and a little impatient to finally understand what was happening. The older man smiled in return but the official could easily see that the man wasn't at his ease and that his grin was just a facade.
"Are you ready to order sirs ?" a waiter suddenly popped by their side.
"Hmm ? Yes. I'll have the Lunch menu with the Deep fried baby squid with garlic, the Sautéed chicken and pepper in Szechuan chilli sauce with broccoli and egg fried rice please." nodded Rudolf, carelessly.
"Perfect, what about you sir ?" noted the waiter.
"The Taste menu with Vegetarian spring roll, Stir fried sugar snap peas, celery, water chestnut and cashew nuts and egg fried rice please." the auburn picked up from the menu, trying to respect the balance diet he was trying to follow. Greg had refused him to do a proper diet, saying that he didn't needed to lose any weight, but had agreed with him following a vegetarian and low fat diet at lunch, if only he promised not to skip any lunches.
"All right sirs." the waiter nodded before pouring each of them a glass of wine and disappearing.
Mycroft was waiting for his uncle to start the conversation as it was him who had asked for the lunch to take place but after a couple of minutes of silence he understood that the older man was too uncomfortable, for whatever reason, to engage the conversation.
"So, what have you been up to since I've last seen you ?" the official finally asked, the silence becoming too heavy, even for him.
"Oh, things and others." replied the old man, gesturing negligently with his right hand. "I've spoken at the imperial college last week to some young bright things. I'm not sure they've understood a lot but I have great hope for a couple of those students to achieve something one day."
"Is that what you are doing now ? Recruiting for the cabinets ?" the auburn chuckled lightly.
"That's all I can do now ..." smiled Rudolf, taking a sip of his wine. "I've heard that your brother had nearly caused a scandal with the Royals last week ?"
"That's classified information." retorted the younger man, not offended whatsoever.
"Come one Mycroft, I've played this game long enough." winked his uncle. "So, is it true ?"
"Indeed. I guess the Prince consort didn't really appreciate being accused of blackmailing his own nephew." nodded the elder Holmes.
"Sherlock ..." sighed the other man. "Was he ? I mean blackmailing."
"Of course not." snorted the auburn. "But you know Sherlock's methods to have answers. It usually involves getting people pissed off. Only usually it's a school teacher or a poor widow, not a Royal."
"He will never change, will he ?" replied Rudolf, half-amused, half-exasperated. "And what about you ? Anything new ?"
"Hmm ... Well, as you can see I've sprung my fingers a while back." he said, showing up his right hand. "Bit annoying to work but that's why I have assistants. Otherwise, we've brought Alden to Osteend a few weeks ago, I think he liked it. And we've finally got a family portrait. I'll send you a copy when we will have the prints."
"Busy weeks." nodded the older man just as the waiter was coming back and displaying their appetizer in front of them.
"Yes, we could say that." agreed the official in a grin. "What about you ? What have you got so important to say that you've summoned me to this lunch ?"
"Ah ..." replied Rudolf, swallowing hard, seeming more uneasy than ever. "Well I suppose that if I say you that I just wanted to spend some time with my overbooked favourite nephew you won't believe me and you would be right."
"Could you please go straight to the point Uncle ?" the elder Holmes requested. "All that talk is frightening me a little."
"Okay." accepted the other man, biting the inside of his cheek. " I'm sick."
"Alright." nodded the official, not really realizing what happened.
"No, Myc'. A proper one." Rudolf softly added, placing his hand on his nephew's forearm.
"Yes, I've understood." retorted the auburn, stiffly. "What can be done ?"
"Nothing. It's the end Myc'." the older man explained, his voice still low and gentle.
"Okay." replied Mycroft after a couple of minutes of silence. "And apart from that, any other news ?"
"Have you decided to pretend it does not exist and just not deal with it ?" retorted Rudy, his voice a little steadier. "It's not going to disappear just because you refuse to see it."
"I'm not pretending it does not exist, I just don't see the point of talking about something I can't change." simply explained the elder Holmes, putting up a mask of braveness and biting in his spring roll. "So, what else ?"
"Are you already thinking about an excuse to run out before the ned of this meal ?" Rudolf sighed.
"No. I'm glad to see you, simply you should understand that I may have a different way of processing and cooping with the news than you have or you wish I have." denied the official. "So, any other news ?"

The elder Holmes entered his home late that night after finally having dealt with all the work he had to do and let out a little sight of ease when the familiar smell of his house reached his nostril, a mix between wood, chocolate, baby shampoo and his partner aftershave. He took off his shoes and jacket and stored them carefully in their closets before leaning his infamous umbrella against the door, ready for the next morning.
He was walking to his office when he noticed Greg's head, pulling out through the living room door. They exchanged a look before the official kept walking along the corridor to his study. He directed himself directly to the liquor cabinet behind his desk and served himself a good amount of fine brandy. He lined against his desk's edge, absentmindly looking through the window and rubbed his palm against his face.
He was drinking the last sip of his glass when Gregory finally stepped in the room. He had let him alone for a while, knowing that it was what the auburn wanted but also knowing that there was apparently something wrong and willing to find out what it was. He leaned against the desk, beside his husband and gently seized the other man's hand, drawing little circles on the man's palm with his thumb.
"What is bothering you ?" the policeman asked in a whisper.
"I've seen Uncle Rudy today." Mycroft started, slowly turning his head until his eyes met the detective's. "We had lunch at his demand."
Greg understood that it was just the beginning of what his partner had to say and that he wasn't expecting him to say anything. He simply smiled to the auburn, encouraging him to continue his story.
"He has a cancer." the elder Holmes let out, this time unable to keep his composure. "He said there is nothing that can be done."
Slowly, the inspector wrapped his arms around the other man's body and brought him close, gently placing Mycroft's head on his shoulder and holding him tight. He directed him to the nearest arm chair and sat in it, the younger man now curled up on his laps.
They remained silent, no words being enough to express what was going on through their head, Greg tenderly rubbing his hand against the official's back, feeling his partner's tears dampening his shirt. The policeman had a pretty clear idea of what his boyfriend was feeling at this exact moment, having already lost a few loved one to illnesses but he knew that for the elder Holmes it would probably be much more difficult to coop with the imminent death of the only member of his family who understood him and accepted him as he was, and although he would never show it in public, his ability with masks being legendary, the yarder knew that some dark days were to come.
"Can we go to bed please ?" finally asked the auburn after a rather long time of sitting in the same position. "I'm exhausted."
He stood up and waited for Greg to do the same, the policeman arm wrapped around his waist and they made their way upstairs to their bedroom. Silently, they undressed and put up their pyjamas before lying down on the large four poster bed, Mycroft nestled against his partner's body, the yarder lips gently brushing against his scalp.