nothing else will suffice
Sherlock BBC; Mycroft
G; 261 words
He finds comfort in routine.
For
wrabbit, in response to the
fic_promptly prompt
Sherlock Holmes (any iteration), Mycroft Holmes, he finds comfort in routine.
Mycroft is strict about his work hours.
He refuses to book formal appointments before half past seven or after half past five, except in cases of absolute national emergency. (None have so far occurred.) He was able to keep work strictly at work once, before the age of computers and smartphones, but even now, when the work comes at all hours of the day, Mycroft still refuses to meet any of his colleagues outside of work hours. They are long enough already (seven in the morning until nine in the evening, because sometimes work is best done with breakfast or dinner), and Mycroft sees no benefit to extending them.
He structures his free time as well. He confirms social engagements in advance, enters them into his diary and sets them into certainty, though Mycroft always puts aside time on Wednesday evenings to go to the shop, when it's the least busy. The stretches of time when he has nothing explicitly planned, meanwhile, is understood as time at the Diogenes.
Sherlock is the only thing that throws his days into disarray. His brilliant brother, who seeks out chaos and revels in it, with Mycroft always just behind, in case he needs him (though Sherlock would never admit it). The comfortable order he's established in the rest of his life balances out the wild spontaneity of Sherlock; he may not be able to control Sherlock, but Mycroft can at least control every other aspect of his life.
Everything has its price, after all, and this is the cost of being an older brother.
11.05.28