I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 119 : Lombok

Mycroft looked up from his book to the dimly lighten first class cabin of the plane, gazing a fond look over his partner and his son, fast asleep, the little boy curled up in his father's arm, his head resting over the policeman's shoulder, a discreet snoring coming out from the man. They still had more than two hours to go before landing and having to change plane and despite the fact he could see the stewardess already starting to deliver the breakfast to the people behind him, he decided to let them sleep, the vision of the two of them so close and peaceful being too sweet to break it.
He closed his book and ran a hand through his air before accepting the diary and pastries the hostess was offering to him. He wasn't really hungry but he still eaten the content of his plate, knowing that if Greg was to notice he haven't he would, without any doubt, severely scold him for letting himself starve. As he was eating his scramble eggs, he selected an old Miles Davies record and let his mind wander.
A peck on the cheek surprised him, making him slightly panic, like everytime he was caught off guard, before he remembered where he was and who was kissing him. With a tender smile he turned to his boyfriend who had just awoken, still holding the fast asleep toddler against him.
"Do you want to have your breakfast ?" he whispered, taking his headset off.
"You've eaten yours ?" questioned the detective after nodding in approval
"I knew you would ask." the auburn chuckled lightly. "You can't even imagine how untasty those scramble eggs seems when you are 10.000 feet high in the sky."
Not even a minute after they had pressed the assistance button, a complete breakfast was delivered to the inspector. Careful not to wake him up, he transferred the still asleep Alden to the official's lap and started eating hungrily the content of the tray he just had been brought.

As he was leaving the taxi that had brought him to their hotel, the heat instantly hited the elder Holmes. It was more than 35 degree Celsius and a bright sun was shinning up in the sky but due to the air con everywhere in the airport, the boat and the taxi he hadn't been able to feel the real climate of the country. As soon as he stepped a foot outside a young local page came running to help him with the luggages and lead them inside the entrance hall of what seemed like the main building of the complex, despite the relative smallness of the simple one floor edifice. The decoration of the place was a subtile mix between local handcraft and contemporary pieces that was looking just great in the auburn's eyes.
The arriving formalities were quickly dealt with and soon they found themselves sat on the terrace of their villa, barefoot, an iced home-made tea in the hand and a beautiful view over the white sand beach and turquoise blue Indian ocean before them. Alden, who had been asleep for most of the travel time from London to Indonesia, was now fully awoken and playing with two of his favourite miniature cars, running them all around the villa while Mycroft who, as always, had been unable to catch a single minute of sleep in the plane, was slowly sinking into a blissful nap, the cool air brought by the fan and the comfort of the deck chair bringing him to relax fully.
After nearly half an hour of playing on his own, the little boy started to feel bored and forsook his miniature car in a corner of the terrace before going to his father and standing in front of the deck chairs, his fist on his hips.
"Play with me !" he requested, pouting.
"Shush ... Daddy is sleeping ..." Gregory warned him before sitting up. "What do you want to do ? Do you want to go to the pool ?"
"I want to go to the sea." asked the toddler.
"We can't sweetheart, look at the sun, we would burn like crisps." refused the detective. "We will go later alright ?"
"And if we put sun cream ?" the child tried.
"No Alden, the sun is really to high for that. We will go later when Daddy is awoken." the policeman refused once again. "For the moment we can go to the swimming pool if you want and we could have something to eat there if you are hungry."
"Is there some games at the swimming pool ?" wondered the boy, still not sure if he was going to accept his father's suggestion.
"Yes, someone told me there was some slides. And we can bring your red ball if you want." nodded Greg. "Let's go put our trunks then !"
They retreated inside the villa, letting the elder Holmes alone on the terrace, his boyfriend simply leaving a note under one of the empty glasses to inform him from where they were. The sound of the waves and the tiredness of the journey had put the official to sleep long ago but he still unconsciously smiled when the DI placed a light and chast kiss on his lips before departing for the pool, his son by his side.

When Mycroft awoken the sun was already going down and despite having a rather stiff neck he was feeling awfully relaxed and quite comfortable. Slowly opening his eyes, he rubbed a hand across his face, groaning of contentment after such a long and soothing nap. He sat up and turn around until his feet encounter the warm wood of the terrace. He instantly noticed his husband and son's absence but remarked the note left by the other man on the hotel's letterhead paper on the coffee table beside his deck chair.
"You were looking to happy and innocent to awoke you. I've brought Alden to the pool to play and eat a bit. Hope you had sweet dreams. I love you. G." he read, a large smiled quickly finding his way to his face
Feeling like taking a little more time for himself, he wandered to the inside of the villa before undressing himself from his journey's cloth and sliding inside the shower, the cool water finishing to relax him to a level he rarely had experienced. He let the water cascade over his body for a while, his mind for once empty, humming the tune of one of the song he had been listening to in the plane. As he was exiting the shower cabin, he encountered his reflection in the full length mirror displayed on the door and for once in a while he took a some time to have a look at himself.
He usually avoided these kinds of activities, always focusing only on his imperfections when doing so, but he was in a good mood and had been listening to Greg's constant compliment about how good-looking he was for the past months and he had to admit that his lover's self-loving technic was starting to work quite well.
He finally wrapped himself in a towel and exited the bathroom before looking through his suit case for an appropriated outfit. He chose light blue swimming shorts and a white shirt with his sleeves rolled to the elbow before picking up a straw hat and nicking the detective's aviator's Rayban. Quite pleased with how he looked he grabbed the villa's keys and his phone and strolled down to the pool a couple of hundred meters away.
He found his partner and his son joyfully splashing one another in the paddling and, still unnoticed for a second, he approached them from the back before grabbing Gregory's arm and pulling him closer to the side and pecking him on the cheek.
"Good afternoon honey." he purred in his ear before grabbing Alden, who had run to him across the water, and lifting him in the air.
"So, how is the pool ? You've tried the slides ?" he wondered.
"You come to play the ball with us ?" requested the child, ignoring his father's questions.
"Hmm ... Alright, I'm coming, just need to put away my stuff before." nodded the auburn. "Start, I'll join you in a second."
He didn't needed long to find the deck chair on which the detective had already put down his own belongings and after a last look at his phone to make sure he hadn't received any important text or calls, he got rid of his shirt and hat and entered the pool, the water being warmer than he had expected.
The auburn didn't recall every playing the ball in a pool, the rare time he had been to the pool as a child being with his school and consisting mainly in a painful session of two hours of non-stop swimming back and forth in the school's pool. Despite being an adult and being one of the usually heavily serious one, he was taking much more pleasure in the activity than he would care to admit and that to the greatest pleasure of his son who had never seen him as genuinely cheeky and playful.
Even Greg, who was usually the sporty one of the two and who would mainly be the one to play physical games with the little boy, was amazed by his husband behaviour and soon found himself out of the game. Discreetly he lifted himself out of the pool and grabbed his own phone, recording a short video of the two others playing joyfully in the water before sending it by email to his parents, informing them in the mean time that they had had a perfectly safe flight and that they were nicely settled down at their hotel.
It's only when Alden started showing signs of tiredness that the two of them exited the pool. Mycroft wrapped his son tightly in a large white towel, forbidding him from moving in any direction and put back his own shirt over his wet torso, having completely forgotten to take a towel for himself, his wet shorts dripping on the wood of the pool surrounding. Suddenly feeling hungry of the sport he had just done and the journey, the elder Holmes dragged Gregory and his son to one of the hotel's restaurant's table and ordered a couple of local dishes.
"Can someone explain me what happened to you while I was asleep in the plane ?" the detective chuckled while they were waiting for their order to be delivered.
"What ? I thought you wanted me to eat like a 'normal human being' I quote." retorted the official, unwrapping his son from the towel.
"You are sleeping like a baby, eating real food and playing in the water like a teenager. I'm delighted with it but you have to admit that it's pretty rare." smiled the policeman.
"Maybe that's happen when I'm away from the rain and the work." suggested the elder Holmes.
"Maybe. However, this smile and glow in your eyes is the most perfect thing I've ever witnessed in my entire life." remarked the inspector, slightly biting his lower lips.
"Toady ..." Mycroft tutted him before leaning over the table and placing a tender, even if still chast, kiss over his lover's lips.