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pennywaltzy · 4 years

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Of Floral Arrangements, Tattoos and Brotherly Reconciliation (1/?)

This was the fic I started for Holmestice that I just let get away from me, so I’m posting it now. It’s Johnlock, Mystrade and Hoopervan, and it’s an AU involving tattoo parlors and flower shops, so let’s hope it gets more cohesive as I go on because there’s a background case too!

Of Floral Arrangements, Tattoos and Brotherly Reconciliation - For years, the Holmes brothers have owned shops next door to each other, and for years, there's been a rift between them. No one except their sister knows why but now, after Mycroft agrees to marry his long-time love Gregory, their employees and friends conspire to mend that breach between them...for better or for worse.

Read Chapter 1 @ AO3

Very few people realized that the flower shop and the tattoo parlour that were next to each other in the Regents Park area on Marleybourne Road were owned by a set of brothers who barely spoke to each other. Mycroft Holmes, who it was said spoke the language of the flowers from both the Victorian Era and the modern era with such fluency that even Her Majesty wanted the Palace covered in his creations, had had a falling out with his brother Sherlock, also known as Sheeza, the most accomplished tattoo artist in the whole of England. Only their sister knew what it was about, and as she didn’t care for either of them herself, not many people knew what it was all about, nor why they avoided each other upon the opening and closing of their respective shops, not even giving a nod or a grunt of recognition.

Sheeza had an assistant, a woman named Molly who did some of the most amazing macabre art mixed in with flowers and bits of nature. She was quite popular with the goth crowd. His apprentice, John Watson, was something more than just an apprentice and was slowly inching into a romantic relationship of some sort, or at least as much of one as he could imagine himself in. John specialized in the geometric work that was beloved by the millennial and Generation Z crowd and could make almost any set of geometric shapes come off as works of art. And then there was Sally, the shop’s all-around woman and Molly’s wife, who had the sharp wit needed for the wankers who came in without reading the rules.

As much as Sherlock didn’t want to speak to his brother, his brother’s creations were always at the front, every day. Turned out Sally’s mate Greg was Mycroft’s lover (not that Sheeza cared about that, just as Mycroft didn’t care for John more than just a glance) and an assistant at the shop who spoiled the women with the lesser creations that weren’t up to the level of perfection that Mycroft had. Mycroft didn’t seem to mind what he would normally consider trash going to his brother’s shop; Sally and Molly took them home and pressed the flowers into the homemade paper that Sally turned into lovely cards and stationery sets.

And so for years, it was this way, until Greg proposed marriage to Mycroft. And then he made one demand: mend the breach with his brother. Mycroft refused to speak to Sheeza, and so Greg decided to do it himself.

He went next door with his newest bouquet later that day, when Sheeza had gone to take his lunch break with John. It was an extravagant bouquet, something with a dozen red roses at the heart of it, and a note for Sheeza. “Oh, this is lovely,” Molly said, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. She smiled up at Greg. “We don’t normally get roses, especially the red ones. What’s the occasion?”

“My engagement,” he said. “I asked Mycroft to marry me, and he said yes.”

“Congratulations!” Sally said, going out from behind her counter to give her friend a hug. “Oh, I’m so happy for you. Despite what Sheeza says, Mycroft seems like a wonderful bloke for you.”

“We get on well,” Greg said with a soft smile. “So today, you get a premium Lestrade creation. But it comes with a string attached.” He set the note on the counter. “I want Mycroft and Sherlock to mend their breach. Ever since I apprenticed with Mycroft ten years ago, before all of you came around, he’s been quarreling with his brother and I have no idea why, but I want it to stop.”

“Oh, thank God,” Sally said, shaking her head as she put a hand on her heart and let out a breath. “It looks as though Sherlock is holding John at arm’s length and we just want the two idiots to be happy. If he fixed whatever his issue with his brother is, maybe he’ll give John a true chance.”

“Good,” Lestrade said, breathing a sigh of relief. “So you’ll give Sheeza this note?”

“Absolutely,” Molly said. “I hope they start talking again. I think it would do them both a world of good.”

They all chatted a bit more, and then Greg excused himself and made his way back to the shop. Mycroft was in the back and Anthea, their counter clerk, was fixing up the showroom. “Has he left the workroom yet?”

“Not yet,” she said. “He’s in a Mood with a capital M. Someone is taking pictures of his creations before they’re given to his clients and copying them for social media.”

Greg sighed. “I told him we should have gotten our own accounts. I know he’s old fashioned, but how-to videos and an Instagram account would be helpful.”

“Well, now he’s doubled down on no sharing any of his creations whatsoever.” She moved a vase of fake flowers that showed what Mycroft could do with everlasting flowers towards the back of the display area and moved a new vase forward.

“One of yours?” Greg asked with a smile.

She nodded. “I thought we could have a splash of yellow for the spring.”

“I think you did a good job. And on that note, I’ll go whisk Mycroft away to the flowers market so he can pick some things for the Buckingham Palace job.”

Anthea brightened. “We got it?”

“Yeah,” Greg said. “Even if someone is trying to copy us unless they’re undercutting prices, we’re still in demand with Her Majesty.”

“Well that’s something,” she said. She paused. “You know, I heard his brother looked into things once upon a time, as a hobby. Maybe...”

“I’m one step ahead,” Gregory said. “But we have to get them on speaking terms before we can ask for a favor. But I think it will work out.” He smiled at Anthea, but inside, his stomach was roiled in knots. This theft of ideas was a big breach. There were the three of them in the shop but Mycroft had others who came in from time to time as he was trying to figure out a fourth person in the shop. It looked as though Phillip would get the apprenticeship, but if he was the one photographing the works before they were officially unveiled…

Well, then that would be very bad. Hopefully, they could figure out a way to stop it before the next exhibition, which was happening after the engagement at the Palace. And hopefully, in the end, the brothers would be on speaking terms again.

#sherlock #johnlock #mystrade #hoopervan #fanfic #fanfiction #sherlock x john #Mycroft x Lestrade #sally x molly #greg lestrade #sally donovan #molly hooper #anthea #gift #Multipart: Of Floral Arrangements Tattoos and Brotherly Reconciliation

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