sherlockbbc_fic | Prompting Part XXXIV

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Prompting Part XXXIV

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I have no idea what this is. Typed up in about an hour, not beta'd or Brit-picked. I hope you like it, OP, and I hope you get a much better fill than this dumb little thing!

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1.

The last thing Mycroft would have expected to find upon returning home was a small fishbowl sitting on the corner of his lavish desk. The elder Holmes stood a bit dumbfounded in the doorway, staring at the glass bowl and the small, golden-orange creature within. It swam to and fro, in circles around its small living space, one eye always on Mycroft.

Sighing, Mycroft set aside his briefcase, coat, and umbrella and made his way over to his desk. He eased himself into his chair and continued to watch the fish as it did fish things. For such a dull, boring creature, Mycroft somehow found it fascinating enough.

He noticed a small post-it note near the fishbowl, a short message written hastily in an all-too-familiar scrawl in blue ink.

Don’t forget to feed it. –SH

Mycroft let out something between a laugh and a sigh, opening up a folder of files that needed perusing and signing. And if he stopped his work every now and then to watch the fish swim around in the water, well, no one needed to know.

.

2.

I really should take away your spare keys to my house, Mycroft texted Sherlock one morning.

The reply was almost instantaneous.

I take it you found my little gift? SH

Indeed. It should go nicely with the one you so kindly left in my office.

There was no reply after that, so Mycroft decided to get out of bed and start getting ready for the day. Before that, though, he pulled a small canister from the drawer of his bedside table. He dropped a pinch of fish food into the little fishbowl now taking up space on his nightstand, much like the one he found on his desk a few days prior. The little goldfish swam in excited circles, snapping at the multi-colored flakes and gobbling up the food as if it were starving.

Mycroft was just tying his tie when a text from Sherlock finally came.

Even if you take away my keys, I could just pick your locks. SH

3.

Over the next week, the number of fishbowls—and, consequently, goldfish—in Mycroft’s home steadily increased. Every morning he would wake to find a new fishbowl (or five) in some odd place in his house. At this point, there was a fish in every room in the house, and multiples in some rooms. It was annoying, to say the least; Mycroft briefly considered warning his security personnel about his brother sneaking onto the premises and to apprehend him if necessary. But that was too much work, and Mycroft couldn’t be arsed to do anything about it.

So he accepted Sherlock’s gifts, strange as they may be, and took the extra time to feed the fish and make sure none of them died.

Unfortunately, that first one in his office was floating belly-up when he arrived home one evening, and he was forced to flush the poor thing.

Surprisingly, Mycroft actually felt a little sad having to dispose of the dead creature.

Unsurprisingly, there was another fish on his desk the next morning to take the place of the dead one.

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4.

This was getting a bit ridiculous.

Apparently it wasn’t enough for Sherlock to invade Mycroft’s home with tens of goldfish. Now he had gone and left a small tank of them—six to be exact—in Mycroft’s office at the Diogenes Club.

Sherlock, this has to stop. Now.

I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, brother dear. SH

Sure. Like Mycroft would believe that.

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Mycroft opened the lid of the tank and shook some food into the water, which the fish ate greedily before the flakes could float down to the bottom.

At second glance, Mycroft noticed an algae eater near the bottom of the tank, suckling against the glass.

Well, okay then.

Foregoing his work for the time being, Mycroft just sat back in his plush chair and watched the fish swim back and forth. It was almost hypnotic, watching their shining bodies slither through the water with ease, twisting and turning and flapping their tiny fins. He watched their gills flap with rapt interest as they breathed, almost in wonder at the little creatures that did little more than swim and eat and leave a trail of excrement behind them as they swam.

Maybe goldfish weren’t so bad.

5.

A few days later, Mycroft invested in a sizeable tank for his home office, large enough to fit every singular goldfish living in his home. He did away with the fishbowls and transferred all the fish to the tank, setting up the filtering system and placing in numerous aquatic decorations he purchased to liven up the glass box a little bit. He even bought one of those fancy backgrounds to stick to the back of the tank, and different types of lighting for his little friends. He bought them specialty food and they all went nuts for it.

Mycroft was never the type for pets, but he was becoming more and more attached to these stupid little goldfish than he’d care to admit. Each time one died, he mourned for a good hour or so after flushing it. Then he’d go out and buy another two or three to replace the one, and his gathering of goldfish was steadily growing.

So much so that he even had to buy another tank. And another. And another.

A world of goldfish, indeed.

.

+1

Mycroft, why is there a tank of goldfish in my living room? SH

I ran out of room in my home. Enjoy your goldfish, little brother.

Edited 2014-03-17 05:45 (UTC)

Omg Brilliant! He actually got him a REAL Goldfish!! XDDDDDDDDDDD

This is brilliant! I love how Mycroft ends up being fond of his goldfish, to the point of having a 'world of goldfish' in his own house.
And the last two lines made me grin like an idiot - it serves Sherlock right, though I hope that he won't end up starving the poor creatures to death. (Maybe Mrs Hudson will take care of them though. I would love to see John's face when he finds out!)

Thank you so much for writing this for me! I definitely enjoyed it! :)

LOL what goes around comes around, even goldfish :p
Brilliant fic.

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