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starfishstarHullo, hullo! Someone on AO3 (specifically, Jolie_Black) asked if I had recs of Sherlock-and-Mycroft genfic, after I posted my recent young-Sherlock-and-Mycroft story... And yup, I do, because well-written portrayals of their strange, fraught, dysfunctional, yet oddly moving brotherly relationship are one of my favorite things! Here are some that have stood out for me:
MYCROFT AND SHERLOCK RECS (gen stories focusing on the sibling relationship between the Holmes brothers; mostly canon-compliant, plus a few AUs)
...CHILDHOOD:
• Puh for Picasso by nauticus – slight AU, in which Sherlock is autistic and Mycroft is the only one who understands/looks out for him – http://archiveofourown.org/works/616797
• Telling by MisplacedLonelyHeartsAd – lovely series of vignettes, from childhood through canon, from Mycroft's POV – http://archiveofourown.org/works/1282744
• The Sign of Three by emungere – on a particularly terrible day of their childhood, Mycroft takes Sherlock on an outing to the park, where they meet a boy called John, and play pirates together and bury treasure – http://archiveofourown.org/works/323230
• Fragile, Like Frost by brighteyed-jill – Mummy and Daddy are arguing; Sherlock thinks it’s all his fault; Mycroft intervenes – http://brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com/120095.html
• The Seat of Reason by thesardine – Sherlock misbehaves at school, and Mycroft struggles to fulfill the role of both their absent parents – archiveofourown.org/works/224301
• Proxy by CherryBlossomTide – Sherlock is always sick, and Mycroft gradually figures out why (warning for child abuse) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/627349
• Ducks All in a Row by kirstenlouise – 8-year-old Sherlock proposes marriage to Mycroft, because he thinks no one else in the world will ever understand either of them (note: by an author who also writes Sherlock/Mycroft incest, but this doesn’t tip into that, it’s just sweet, brotherly affection, with Mycroft being a good big brother) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/342772
• Insular by stjude – Mycroft and Sherlock as teenagers, in the Caribbean with their mother as she's contemplating leaving their father, Mycroft’s POV, contemplative and descriptive look at a dysfunctional childhood (warning for implied emotional incest between a parent and a child) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/672955
• Action Man by thesardine – post-Reichenbach, Mycroft remembers a difficult young Sherlock, and how he always knew Sherlock would die young – http://archiveofourown.org/works/321990
also, here are my own young-Mycroft-and-Sherlock stories:
• Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Father Christmas – four-year-old Sherlock deduces that the adults have been lying: by the laws of physics, Father Christmas can’t really exist
• The Truth Will Break Your Heart – a pivotal moment in the childhood of Sherlock, Mycroft and Redbeard
• Shadow and Shade – 10-year-old Sherlock conducts experiments and Mycroft casts a long shadow
• Holly to the Ivy – It's Sherlock's first Christmas home from university, and neither Holmes brother needs anyone. Definitely not.
...CANON-ERA:
• Betwixt and Between by ivywatcher – gorgeous character study from Mycroft's POV, where he distracts himself from bad news by going to Baker St. and listening to John as he writes up a case, the telling of the case interspersed with Mycroft's memories – http://archiveofourown.org/works/817683
• An unlikely association in seven fish by Bold_as_Brass - lovely little story in which Mycroft and John meet for fish and chips over the months of Sherlock's hiatus – https://archiveofourown.org/works/1142815
• Korean Affairs by marysutherland – the real story of the bomb on the Underground in The Empty Hearse (in which Mycroft is the government, and Sherlock appreciates a puzzle) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/1125031
• Lost and Found by Anonymous Eli – “A badly injured Sherlock waits for help to arrive. Naturally, he's more concerned with the whereabouts of his scarf.” – the sibling relationship between Sherlock and Mycroft, as told via the backstory of why Sherlock’s so attached to his scarf – https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7703111/1/Lost-and-Found
• Damage by lifeonmars – this is a post-series 3 longfic that isn’t specifically about the brothers (rather, it’s all the things you’d expect of a good post-series 3 fic, dealing with the complex fallout of S3’s events), but I’m including it here because it had a portrayal of Mycroft I liked (in my notes for myself about this story, I see I described it as “Mycroft hovers and worries but isn't always omnipotent,” which seems just right to me) – and it’s simply a masterfully written story! – http://archiveofourown.org/works/1804192
• Translation and Rotation in the Euclidean Plane - sweetcupncakes – wonderful Sherlock/Victor in the first half and just as lovely Sherlock/John in the second half, and all the way through the portrayal of Mycroft, and his interactions with Sherlock, is just perfect – http://archiveofourown.org/works/2189295
• Gravitational Resonance by ivywatcher – Mycroft Holmes has only ever truly been three things: a brother, a patriot, and a lover of poetry. Set directly after TGG, with Sherlock and John – http://ivywatcher.livejournal.com/2083.html
...AUs (fantasy/fusions):
• Sickly Sweet by wiggleofjudas (now orphaned) – young Mycroft and Sherlock are lost in the woods; a fic with a very dark fairy tale/magical realism bent – http://archiveofourown.org/works/861767
• The Cleverness of Me by Solshine – lovely fusion with Peter Pan – http://archiveofourown.org/works/975759
• Like Spinning Plates – anon, on the Sherlock BBC Prompting Meme - Sherlock is the Little Prince, and Mycroft finds him and takes him in – http://sherlockbbc-fic.livejournal.com/2727.html?thread=5588903#t5588903
...AUs (real world):
•Saving Sherlock Holmes – “schoolboy AU” in which Sherlock and John meet as kids at Eton; Mycroft becomes Sherlock's guardian at age 18 and – naturally – worries about him constantly – http://archiveofourown.org/works/514787
• Seems So Easy for Everybody Else by etothepii (Stochastical) – story in which Sherlock is trans, growing up and figuring out his identity and transitioning, with a focus on Sherlock and Mycroft's sibling relationship and the ways Mycroft is and isn’t understanding – http://archiveofourown.org/works/198418
MYCROFT AND SHERLOCK RECS (gen stories focusing on the sibling relationship between the Holmes brothers; mostly canon-compliant, plus a few AUs)
...CHILDHOOD:
• Puh for Picasso by nauticus – slight AU, in which Sherlock is autistic and Mycroft is the only one who understands/looks out for him – http://archiveofourown.org/works/616797
• Telling by MisplacedLonelyHeartsAd – lovely series of vignettes, from childhood through canon, from Mycroft's POV – http://archiveofourown.org/works/1282744
• The Sign of Three by emungere – on a particularly terrible day of their childhood, Mycroft takes Sherlock on an outing to the park, where they meet a boy called John, and play pirates together and bury treasure – http://archiveofourown.org/works/323230
• Fragile, Like Frost by brighteyed-jill – Mummy and Daddy are arguing; Sherlock thinks it’s all his fault; Mycroft intervenes – http://brighteyed-jill.livejournal.com/120095.html
• The Seat of Reason by thesardine – Sherlock misbehaves at school, and Mycroft struggles to fulfill the role of both their absent parents – archiveofourown.org/works/224301
• Proxy by CherryBlossomTide – Sherlock is always sick, and Mycroft gradually figures out why (warning for child abuse) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/627349
• Ducks All in a Row by kirstenlouise – 8-year-old Sherlock proposes marriage to Mycroft, because he thinks no one else in the world will ever understand either of them (note: by an author who also writes Sherlock/Mycroft incest, but this doesn’t tip into that, it’s just sweet, brotherly affection, with Mycroft being a good big brother) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/342772
• Insular by stjude – Mycroft and Sherlock as teenagers, in the Caribbean with their mother as she's contemplating leaving their father, Mycroft’s POV, contemplative and descriptive look at a dysfunctional childhood (warning for implied emotional incest between a parent and a child) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/672955
• Action Man by thesardine – post-Reichenbach, Mycroft remembers a difficult young Sherlock, and how he always knew Sherlock would die young – http://archiveofourown.org/works/321990
also, here are my own young-Mycroft-and-Sherlock stories:
• Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Father Christmas – four-year-old Sherlock deduces that the adults have been lying: by the laws of physics, Father Christmas can’t really exist
• The Truth Will Break Your Heart – a pivotal moment in the childhood of Sherlock, Mycroft and Redbeard
• Shadow and Shade – 10-year-old Sherlock conducts experiments and Mycroft casts a long shadow
• Holly to the Ivy – It's Sherlock's first Christmas home from university, and neither Holmes brother needs anyone. Definitely not.
...CANON-ERA:
• Betwixt and Between by ivywatcher – gorgeous character study from Mycroft's POV, where he distracts himself from bad news by going to Baker St. and listening to John as he writes up a case, the telling of the case interspersed with Mycroft's memories – http://archiveofourown.org/works/817683
• An unlikely association in seven fish by Bold_as_Brass - lovely little story in which Mycroft and John meet for fish and chips over the months of Sherlock's hiatus – https://archiveofourown.org/works/1142815
• Korean Affairs by marysutherland – the real story of the bomb on the Underground in The Empty Hearse (in which Mycroft is the government, and Sherlock appreciates a puzzle) – http://archiveofourown.org/works/1125031
• Lost and Found by Anonymous Eli – “A badly injured Sherlock waits for help to arrive. Naturally, he's more concerned with the whereabouts of his scarf.” – the sibling relationship between Sherlock and Mycroft, as told via the backstory of why Sherlock’s so attached to his scarf – https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7703111/1/Lost-and-Found
• Damage by lifeonmars – this is a post-series 3 longfic that isn’t specifically about the brothers (rather, it’s all the things you’d expect of a good post-series 3 fic, dealing with the complex fallout of S3’s events), but I’m including it here because it had a portrayal of Mycroft I liked (in my notes for myself about this story, I see I described it as “Mycroft hovers and worries but isn't always omnipotent,” which seems just right to me) – and it’s simply a masterfully written story! – http://archiveofourown.org/works/1804192
• Translation and Rotation in the Euclidean Plane - sweetcupncakes – wonderful Sherlock/Victor in the first half and just as lovely Sherlock/John in the second half, and all the way through the portrayal of Mycroft, and his interactions with Sherlock, is just perfect – http://archiveofourown.org/works/2189295
• Gravitational Resonance by ivywatcher – Mycroft Holmes has only ever truly been three things: a brother, a patriot, and a lover of poetry. Set directly after TGG, with Sherlock and John – http://ivywatcher.livejournal.com/2083.html
...AUs (fantasy/fusions):
• Sickly Sweet by wiggleofjudas (now orphaned) – young Mycroft and Sherlock are lost in the woods; a fic with a very dark fairy tale/magical realism bent – http://archiveofourown.org/works/861767
• The Cleverness of Me by Solshine – lovely fusion with Peter Pan – http://archiveofourown.org/works/975759
• Like Spinning Plates – anon, on the Sherlock BBC Prompting Meme - Sherlock is the Little Prince, and Mycroft finds him and takes him in – http://sherlockbbc-fic.livejournal.com/2727.html?thread=5588903#t5588903
...AUs (real world):
•Saving Sherlock Holmes – “schoolboy AU” in which Sherlock and John meet as kids at Eton; Mycroft becomes Sherlock's guardian at age 18 and – naturally – worries about him constantly – http://archiveofourown.org/works/514787
• Seems So Easy for Everybody Else by etothepii (Stochastical) – story in which Sherlock is trans, growing up and figuring out his identity and transitioning, with a focus on Sherlock and Mycroft's sibling relationship and the ways Mycroft is and isn’t understanding – http://archiveofourown.org/works/198418
