Tea with the Wilsons

by arda_ancalima

Summary:

Mikotoba and Iris have a heart to heart.

Notes:

Written for TGAA Greatest Family Week 2022 - July 26th: Reunion

Spoilers ahead!

Poor Iris really gets a shock in the second game but keeps smiling through it. At some point I imagine she has to break down emotionally before coming to terms with things. In the midst of her processing, I wanted her to spend some time with Mikotoba while she still has the chance.

“This is an excellent blend,” Mikotoba said, setting his teacup back in its saucer. “Just how I like it.”

Iris grinned. “I know!”

“How did you—ah yes, those deduction skills,” he said with a smile.

She giggled, but quickly became quiet and stared into her own cup of tea.

Delighted as he was to be invited by Iris for tea and biscuits at 221B while the others were out, Mikotoba noticed that her disposition was unusually subdued. “Was there something you wanted to discuss perhaps?” he prompted gently.

“Well…” Iris swung her feet back and forth under her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face. “You’re the man in…in the notebooks.”

“Yes, I am.”

Her smile was sad as she looked away. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you, even though I know now you’re not my daddy. I always imagined having tea together while you told me about your old cases with Hurley.”

“I see. Well.” He put a hand to his chin. “What would you like to know?”

Iris started with a few trivial questions about case details she hadn’t found notes on. It was strange for Mikotoba to bring up memories of the person he had tried to stop being for so long. He answered her questions to the best of his recollection, but his own skills weren’t so rusty that he couldn’t deduce she was stalling.

“Though when I was writing that one, I thought it was Dr. Wilson on the case,” Iris said. “You know him, right?”

Mikotoba was still reevaluating his impression of Dr. Wilson after everything Naruhodo had brought to light in that trial. He considered his words. “I studied under him here in England. We became friends, and I invited him to teach at my university in Japan.” He took a sip of tea. “I had no idea your character was named for him. When the stories became popular, I teased him about sharing a name with the Great Detective’s partner. He would chuckle, saying an old man like him couldn’t keep up with Sholmes and me.”

Iris nodded, taking it all in. “And…what about you, Professor Mickey? What do you think of your portrayal?”

“Well, I like to think I’m not as stuffy as Wilson.” He winked. “But my students may disagree.”

Iris laughed, and Mikotoba felt a little more at ease. All these years and he was still learning how to be a good father to a child he loved. “But truly, I have very much enjoyed your stories. I’m impressed how much you were able to piece together from just my notes. You bring those old cases to life—it helps me remember and makes them even exciting for your readers than how I’d be able to tell them.”

She blushed in a way he found adorable. “Thank you! Hurley is hopeless at remembering old cases, so putting together the stories myself was the only way I could really imagine how he and my—” Her voice caught, startling Mikotoba.

“Iris?”

“Did…did you ever know me at all? I’ve thought about you every day. Did you think about me? I know you’re not actually my daddy but…” She wiped her eyes. “Sorry—I just—”

Mikotoba set down his cup and knelt in front of Iris’s chair as she sniffled.

“I did know you,” he said softly. “For the first month of your life, I looked after you. And your name, Iris?” He squeezed her hand. “I gave it to you.”

When she looked up at him, her eyes were glistening. “You did?”

He took a deep breath and went on. “When I had to leave…and be parted from you and Sholmes…my heart was torn in two. I have never forgotten you, and I care for you very much.”

The tears fell, and Iris threw herself into his arms. “I…care about you too.”

Mikotoba patted her back while she cried softly. “And I know that Sholmes loves you like a daughter. I have never seen him as happy and content as he is now. He was a good man when I left, but now he is a great one. Because of you.”

Iris nodded. “I am happy to have him as my daddy.”

“Good.” Mikotoba took her hands as she pulled back. “When I go back to Japan tomorrow, you’ll be sure to keep him out of trouble for me, won’t you?”

She giggled, rubbing away the damp on her cheeks. “Of course, Professor Mickey!”

“And keep writing down those stories so he doesn’t forget.”

“I will!”

“We will be anxiously awaiting each new edition of The Adventures of Herlock Sholmes. And maybe one day we will hear about the adventures of Iris Wilson.” He nudged her with a smile.

Her own smile grew and she pointed her finger so like Sholmes. “Yes! I’m almost through your notes, then in my new stories I think I’ll start adding in the Great Detective’s young friend!”

“You must tell me about the story you’re currently working on,” Mikotoba said, sitting back on the sofa and picking up his tea. “Now, how about some of those excellent biscuits?”