Betrayal

by 221Addie

Summary:

Mycroft finds himself on the wrong end of an assassination attempt, while David deals with a much more personal betrayal.

Notes:

It's been ages since I've updated this series, so I thought I'd drop a story or two before I get started on my next big story!

Chapter 1

Mycroft’s name rarely reached the public. The idea that a 24 year old with nearly no oversight was the driving force behind the vast majority of the policy of a nation was quite simply not something the public could understand. 

 

Incidentally, it was not something several members of her majesty’s government could understand. 

 

When Mycroft had initially hired David and informed him that he may have to do some light bodyguard work, he honestly hadn’t thought it would come up. But as Mycroft’s power grew, so did the list of those who would stop at nothing to see him stopped.

 

~~~

 

“I don’t have much faith that I’ll be able to have dinner tonight,” Mycroft muttered, looking over his schedule. “I have all of three minutes and they’ll be spent in transit.” 

 

“I’ll make sure I have a sandwich in the car for you,” David promised. 

 

“Thank you, darling, I appreciate it.” Mycroft looked up at his partner, the ever present furrow between his eyebrows even deeper than usual. “The 6 o’clock should be secure, I’ll need you for the 7:30.” 

 

“I’ll keep you safe,” David assured him. 

 

~~~

 

David sat in the car that night waiting for Mycroft to finish up his first meeting, unable to ignore a gnawing feeling in his gut. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what.

 

That was, until Mycroft stumbled into the car, a knife protruding from his side and choked out the word drive.

Chapter 2

“St. Barts is closest,” David racked his brain as he pulled the car out of the alley and began weaving through London traffic. 

 

“Hospitals are too exposed,” Mycroft snapped back, pressing his handkerchief to the wound. “Take a left up here.” 

 

“Mycroft, this is no time to be stubborn.” 

 

“I’m not. Someone just tried to kill me, let’s not give them a second shot? Take this right.” Mycroft continued to guide David through the city, simultaneously typing out a message to Anthea to ensure that the threat was neutralized as quickly as possible. 

 

“Here, darling, right here.” Mycroft tapped David on the arm, gesturing to a terrace house which David threw the car into park in front of. David half carried Mycroft up to the front door. He gingerly reached into his pocket and pulled out his bloodstained keys, pressing one into David’s palm. 

 

Only once they were safely inside the house did David stop to look around and realize that this wasn’t a safehouse. Someone clearly lived here. No sooner had David formed that thought than the occupant of the house made their presence plainly known. 

 

“Would it kill you to bloody knock, I have a bloody life you know!” The thick Irish brogue  of Paddy O’Leary greeted his unexpected guests. O’Leary appeared at the top of the stairs, a towel wrapped haphazardly around his thin hips. “Oh and of course, bring whoever you bloody well please, no really, my hospitality knows no bounds, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, were you stabbed ?”

 

“Good evening, Paddy, I do apologize. Your home was regrettably much closer than mine. Might I trouble you for a first aid kit?”

 

“You bloody wanker,” Paddy muttered. “Come on then.”

Chapter 3

David helped Mycroft over to O’Leary’s couch, laying him down and carefully divesting him of his shirt and waistcoat. David held Mycroft gently, whispering comfortingly as Mycroft shook nearly imperceptibly, his eyes far away and unfocused. Meanwhile the Irishman grabbed a handful of flannels out of the bathroom and joined David and Mycroft in the sitting room, wrapping a dressing gown around his scarred body.

“Any sort of advance notice,” O’Leary muttered, tying the dressing gown tightly.

“I truly am sorry,” Mycroft grimaced as O’Leary pressed around the wound, trying to determine just how deep the knife was buried in his friend’s flesh. “And I did text you, you ignored it. Please do pass my apologies onto the young lady currently hovering at the top of your stairs.”

“Yeah, about that,” O’Leary muttered, then after a stabilizing breath called out, “might as well come down, Lou. He was bound to find out eventually.” With a small grunt of concentration he slid the knife out of Mycroft’s side, pressing a flannel against the fresh burst of blood. “And bring my stitching kit.”

“Lou?” David hissed.

“I’m holding your boyfriend’s guts together, big guy, is right now when you want to have this conversation?”

“So help me, O’Leary, if my mother walks down those stairs…”

“You’ll accept that your mother is a grown woman and focus on what’s important here,” Louise Roussimoff snapped as she swept into the room, handing O’Leary a small first aid kit. “Are you alright, Mycroft darling?”

“Fine, I’ll be fine,” he breathed, wincing as he curled in on himself and paling considerably. “I apologize, I didn’t expect anyone to see me today.” Without another word, David removed his shirt and wrapped it around Mycroft’s torso, covering the intricate network of scars painted across his skin.

“Stay with me, Myc,” O’Leary breathed, gently stitching the gash. “Focus on me. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Louise laid a hand on David’s shoulder, but he shook his head.

“Later, we’ll talk later.” Louise nodded, squeezing her son’s shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen.

Chapter 4

As soon as Anthea confirmed that Sadie and her team had neutralized the threat to Mycroft’s life, David bundled his partner up in compression dressings and a blanket and brought him to hospital where doctors confirmed that while he did ultimately stop the bleeding, O’Leary probably shouldn’t quit his day job.

 

 O’Leary stayed back at his flat with Louise, silently cleaning up. Louise kept her composure until O’Leary was scrubbing the blood off of his shaking hands. 

 

“Hey,” O’Leary said softly, turning as he heard the first sobs bubbling up from Louise’s throat, “hey, Lou, it's okay. I’m so sorry, that was terrifying.”

 

“How,” she muttered, “how can that happen just…just on a Tuesday?”

 

“Would it make you feel better if it had happened on a Saturday?” He stepped behind Louise, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “We can try to keep life or death emergencies to weekends from now on.” 

 

“Paddy, things like this, they don’t happen to people. How do you live like that?” Paddy hummed low in his chest, kissing her cheek. 

 

“My life hasn’t been normal in quite some time. I’ve gotten used to it.” Louise turned in his arms, her hand coming to rest on a particularly brutal scar across his heart. “If you’re worried that this kind of thing is going to happen all the time, I can assure you, if Mycroft knew you were here he never would have showed up. I can tell him when you’re staying over.” Louise dropped her head, laughing softly. 

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, just ‘ oh, sorry Mycroft, I’ve got a booty call tonight, don’t get assassinated.’” Paddy gazed down sadly at her for a long moment. “What’s that look for?” 

 

“You think you’re a booty call?” He asked, his thumb brushing against one cheekbone.

 

“Am I not?” Louise raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Christ no,” Paddy whispered against her lips. “You’re everything.” 

 

~~~

 

David was holding Mycroft’s hand as he drifted in and out of consciousness in the hospital that night. 

 

“They’ve been dating for six weeks,” Mycroft mumbled, his eyes still closed. 

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” David sighed. “I swear I wouldn’t have hit him.” 

 

“He just told me last week. He wanted to be sure it was going to go somewhere before we found out.” 

 

“So I suppose we’ll be attending their wedding soon,” David grumbled. Mycroft smiled, opening his eyes.

 

“He knew it was going to last because she refused to marry him.” David smiled softly, then lifted Mycroft’s hand and kissed his knuckles. 

 

“Get some sleep, darling,” he whispered, one hand gently massaging his partner’s scalp, “we’ll deal with my future step-father later.”  

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 4 of Myc and David