Chapter Text
Mycroft sighed, crossing his legs and stared without interest out of the plane window. Outside, the expanse of endless white cloud was doing little to alleviate the boredom. The rustling of pages caught his attention and he turned in his seat to see Anthea flicking through a shiny magazine. He sniffed disapprovingly, but examined the cover all the same.
7 Signs He’s Good in Bed… he read silently, raising his eyebrows. The other articles seemed equally dull… 50 High Street Fashion Finds… Lose 7lbs in 7 days… Get Long Hair Fast. He rolled his eyes as Anthea turned another page, apparently entirely absorbed, and tilted his head for a better look at the cover. How to Spice Up Your Sex Life was emblazoned in hot pink letters across the bottom of the page. Tutting, he turned back to look out of the window. Ridiculous.
Although… things with Gregory had been a little stale recently. They’d been married for five years and, whilst things had started off heatedly enough, all of a sudden they were having predictably vanilla sex only once a week. Which wasn’t at all enough, as far as Mycroft was concerned. Just the sight of his husband dripping wet and half naked after his morning shower was still enough to make him want to remain in bed for the rest of the day.
He chewed on his lip, and tugged at his trousers a little, subtly trying to give himself some more space. For another five minutes he stared blandly at the window, the rustling of pages preying mercilessly on his peace of mind. He tapped his foot restlessly. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to seek a little advice. With a heavy sigh he eventually turned to his assistant and decided to sacrifice his pride. He cleared his throat.
Anthea looked up at him immediately, but didn’t put aside the magazine, ‘yes, Sir?’ she asked.
Mycroft could feel his ears turning pink. ‘May I… borrow that?’ he asked carefully.
If Anthea wasn’t so entirely indispensable to his work, the smirk on her face would have left her unemployed in a matter of minutes. As it was he smiled calmly and reached out a hand, wiggling his fingers in a beckoning gesture.
Still grinning, Anthea closed the magazine, glancing curiously at the cover, before putting it into his outstretched hand. ‘If you’re looking for the Ryan Gosling photoshoot,’ she said, clearly trying not to laugh, ‘it’s on page 43’
Mycroft shot her a dangerous look, smoothing the cover and pretending to examine it with casual nonchalance. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. Opening the magazine to the contents page, he scanned through, heart beating a little quickly. He settled on the ‘sex and love’ section, feeling his blush deepen. But, aha, there it was- page… 69. He frowned, wondering if they’d done that on purpose, specifically to make this whole affair even more embarrassing for him. He flicked through at speed, ignoring the titillating glimpse of a shirtless actor before reaching the page he’d been searching for.
Glancing up guiltily, he saw Anthea straining in her seat to try and get a glimpse of what he was looking at.
‘Stop that,’ he snapped, with a scowl.
She smiled, ‘Of course, Sir,’ she said, but raised a suggestive eyebrow before turning in her seat and beginning to file her nails.
Ignoring his assistant’s impudence, Mycroft turned back to the article and began to read.
Anthea watched from the corner of her eye, smirking as her boss’s eyebrows seemed to stretch ever higher the more he read.
Mycroft didn’t think he’d ever read anything quite so engaging… which was something of a concern given the fact documents marked top secret landed on his desk nearly every day. By the time he’d finished he wasn’t sure whether to feel aroused, amused or baffled. But either way, he was determined to give this thing a go. It would certainly make things more interesting, and anything that got Gregory into bed with him was more than worth a little embarrassment.
He smiled, contentedly, filing the most interesting tips away for future reference. They all seemed quite promising, although he had never really understood the fascination for using food in the bedroom. Still… he could imagine his husband would look rather ravishing, stretched out naked and covered in whipped cream. Looking up to check Anthea was still otherwise engaged, he casually flicked back through the glossy magazine in search of page 43.
‘Can I have that back yet?’ Anthea asked him eventually.
Mycroft jumped slightly, realising he had been staring at the same photo for the past five minutes. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘Yes, of course.’ Snapping the pages closed, he handed back the magazine.
They sat in silence as Anthea returned to her browsing.
‘Would you like me to read your horoscope?’ she asked a while later, evidently still amused.
‘No, thank you,’ Mycroft lied. This was a business trip, not a girls’ night in.
‘Your loss. It’s very promising.’
‘Hm…’ he feigned reluctance, ‘go on then.’
‘Expect a memorably romantic weekend as the stars align.’ She raised her eyebrows suggestively. ‘Muse aloud with your love about what might be as fate fuels those fantasies about the future. From sailing around the world to choosing the names of your someday children, no topic is off limits. It’s time to cross boundaries and try new things’ Anthea giggled as she finished, ‘…looks like Gregory is in for quite a week.’
‘Yes,’ Mycroft smirked, ‘he certainly is.’