[ One life for the many. It hadn't been easy. Sherlock hadn't loved him for a very long time, if he ever did, and yet it still wasn't easy for Mycroft to give him up. Logically, he had always been aware that one day, something would occur and he'd no longer have a say in whether Sherlock lived or died. The man lived vicariously at best, and while Mycroft didn't necessarily approve, he'd sank into the background and let his younger brother run free. Logically, he knew that the man was a weakness, and yet it didn't bother Mycroft quite so much until Irene Adler stabbed him with it. The process had been good - he could see how Moriarty planned it now. Shake him up, make that little misnomer stand out, then give him the right story to make cutting it away seem to be the only choice. Beautiful.
What a terrible miscalculation that had been. It'd have been worse on him if Sherlock hadn't survived. Now it's just a mistake to be covered over, a debt to be paid. Weakness.
It's true that he has the phone, the recording, even the final goodbye, in his possession. Mycroft understands what he's meant to do with them and he's working it into something systematic. What he hears from Sherlock now is objectionable, but it's no longer his place to say. All he can do is correct. ]
Safe, Sherlock, it will make them safe.
It's not the same as peace.
[ And it wasn't what he was asking. Mycroft can't give a damn about Sherlock's friends, really, beyond what they've done for his brother. It's an ugly truth, but there it is. ]
no subject
What a terrible miscalculation that had been. It'd have been worse on him if Sherlock hadn't survived. Now it's just a mistake to be covered over, a debt to be paid. Weakness.
It's true that he has the phone, the recording, even the final goodbye, in his possession. Mycroft understands what he's meant to do with them and he's working it into something systematic. What he hears from Sherlock now is objectionable, but it's no longer his place to say. All he can do is correct. ]
Safe, Sherlock, it will make them safe.
It's not the same as peace.
[ And it wasn't what he was asking. Mycroft can't give a damn about Sherlock's friends, really, beyond what they've done for his brother. It's an ugly truth, but there it is. ]
Will you be settled?