Title: Mycroft Holmes
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: G
Length: 386
Summary: Mycroft Holmes has a very clear idea of what his future will hold.
Also written for holmes_minor The Way They Were prompt

As a child Mycroft Holmes had never drawn attention to himself.  At prep school he had been brighter than his classmates, but he hadn’t made a point of it.  At public school he had worked hard, achieved high marks, pleased his teachers, and managed not to antagonise those who found learning more difficult.  At university he had, apparently effortlessly, gained a first class degree.  It had been inevitable he would enter government service.  His quick intelligence and a natural aptitude for assimilating facts made him the ideal candidate. 

As he was learning the ropes of his profession, at times he would find himself in the offices of those senior to him.  He would take the opportunity to look around, learning as much from the office itself as from the information he had been given regarding the occupant.

It was easy to see those who had piles of papers on their desks to give the impression of how busy they were.  Mycroft wasn’t surprised that in many of those piles only the top few pages had been touched; the rest having been ignored for days, or even weeks.

There were those whose offices were meticulously tidy, with everything scrupulously in order – designed to convey an owner who methodically dealt with matters at hand.  A glance at the neat blotting paper would soon tell Mycroft whether this was the case, or whether all affairs were merely passed to a subordinate.

A few offices, generally large ones on the first floor, displayed items of value, a clock perhaps, or a painting.  It was clear whoever worked in that office was of importance, and expected to be treated as such.  Those admitted for discussions into such offices were higher up in the ranks than the newcomers, who were permitted only the occasional peek inside, so they could marvel at what the future might hold for them.

Mycroft resolved that when he had his own office, and it was always ‘when’ not ‘if’, there would be no need for displays of any sort.  Anyone who came to his office would come because of the information he could provide, and the solution they needed.  He would not insist on a large office, or one situated in the most important corridors.  He had no desire to be noticed, merely to share his understanding.