A/N: Hey everyone! My second Kid! Lock fic. There isn't a really story to this one I suppose, just some brotherly interaction :) I hope you enjoy, and I apologise for anything too out of character! Please let me know what you think! Xx

Occupations

Mycroft swiftly wiped his shoes on the doormat after he entered the house. As always, his little brother Sherlock was sat squirming on the bottom step of the staircase waiting for him. As soon as Sherlock got home from school himself he would wait there for Mycroft, excited to tell his older brother all the new things he had learnt to add to his mind palace, which Mycroft was helping him to begin constructing.

"Hello, Sherlock" Mycroft said to his brother as he walked passed and up the stairs to his bedroom; Sherlock followed him. "What did you do at school today?" he asked.

"We talked about what jobs we want to do when we grow up!" the six year old replied enthusiastically. "It was really fun"

"Really?" Mycroft frowned as he went to his desk and began to unpack his things; Sherlock had made himself comfortable on his brother's bed. "It doesn't sound very educational; I thought you would have found it dull"

Sherlock shrugged "It's nice to do something different every once in a while" he replied.

Mycroft stuck his bottom lip out thoughtfully. "True I suppose" he mused "What did you say you wanted to be, anyway?"

"A pirate of course!" Sherlock said with a roll of his eyes; it was the most obvious choice in the world to him. "I'm going to have my own ship and crew and everything!"

Mycroft sighed a little disapprovingly. "How many times do I have to tell you, Sherlock, a pirate is not a real job. You don't earn money, you steal it!"

Sherlock pouted. "Well, I'll be a good pirate then!" he claimed "I shall take back the stolen treasure and return it to the owners" he said with a confident nod.

Mycroft smiled at his brother's innocent. "It's a nice thought, I'll give you that" the older Holmes settled "it's just, you being a pirate seems such a waste" he stated.

Sherlock frowned, a little confused. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, because of your intellect!" Mycroft said "You're so incredibly smart, Sherlock, far too smart to be something so menial as a pirate. You could be a scientist, experiment and invent things"

Sherlock frowned again. "Now I'm even more confused" he mumbled.

"How so?" Mycroft asked.

"Well…I don't like the fact you don't want me to be pirate…but I do like the fact you think I'm too smart to be one" Sherlock explained. "How can I feel happy and sad about something at the same time!?" he asked incredulously.

"It's called a paradox, and they happen sometimes, but it's okay to feel more than one thing at once" Mycroft stated "It means, a contradictory statement or proposition" he recited as if out of a dictionary.

"Right, a paradox" Sherlock said with a nod, and muttered it to himself once more to make sure it had truly gone into his memory. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you didn't like the idea anyway" the younger Holmes continued "nobody else did" he mumbled sadly.

Mycroft stopped what he was doing at this point to turn to his little brother. "What do you mean by that?" he asked calmly, although his undertone was laced with concern.

"Well it's just…when I said I wanted to be a pirate, all the other children laughed at me" Sherlock said as he looked down at his hands and twiddled with his thumbs. "I don't understand why it's more absurd than wanting to be an astronaut or a spy" he added sounding a little more frustrated.

Mycroft sighed and furrowed his brow worriedly. It was known to him that Sherlock didn't have any friends at school - Mycroft didn't either – and so with their parents paying them little to no attention, all the Holmes brothers had was each other. It made Mycroft sad to think of his little brother being teased, even bullied, just because he had ambitions and was a bit different.

"Sherlock, if being a pirate is truly what you want to do, then you should do it" Mycroft said as he sat cross-legged on the bed in front of his brother. "It doesn't really matter what I think, or whatever the other children at school think. It's your dream, and you should do what you want to do, be who you want to be, don't let anyone stand in your way."

"Even you?" Sherlock asked quietly.

Mycroft smirked lightly "Even me" he said.

Sherlock smiled at his older brother. "Thanks, Mycroft. If I ever do become a pirate, then I want you to be my first mate!" he said enthusiastically "because, you're the only person who I love and trust enough, and I know you'd look out for me if we got attacked by an enemy crew"

Mycroft beamed at his brother; he didn't really want Sherlock to ever grow up. "In that case, I would be honoured, Captain Holmes" he said with a small salute which Sherlock returned.

"So, what do you want to be when you're older?" Sherlock asked his brother curiously.

"I want to be a politician" Mycroft said proudly but Sherlock frowned.

"That sounds boring" the younger Holmes declared "Politics are boring."

"You would say that, you're six" Mycroft reminded him.

"Yes, and you're only thirteen" Sherlock retorted "How can you find that stuff interesting? You're not boring, Mycroft, you teach me fun things all the time, so why would you want to be…" the younger boy trailed off when his brother raised an eyebrow at him "because it's your dream" Sherlock repeated, proud at his memory.

"Exactly" Mycroft said "I think I'd be a good leader"

"Well, you're very good at bossing me around" Sherlock teased.

"Not bossing, Sherlock, encouraging" Mycroft tried to defend himself.

"Whatever" Sherlock smirked. His eyes widened as a sudden thought hit him. "Mycroft, are you going to be the Prime Minister?" he asked with great admiration in his voice.

"Oh, I don't know about that" Mycroft said dismissively.

"I think you could be" Sherlock stated. "You're the smartest person I know, you could easily run a country"

Mycroft chuckled "Again, Sherlock, you are only six, I don't think you quite understand the dynamics of running a country" he said "but I am flattered you think I could do it"

"Can I be your deputy Prime Minster?" Sherlock asked hopefully "I did say you could be my first mate" he reminded his brother as means of persuasion.

Mycroft smiled "England run by the Holmes brothers, now that I would like to see" he said "of course you can be my deputy" he said ruffling the little boy's hair, and Sherlock giggled. "So, what do you want to do until dinner?" Mycroft asked.

"Mmm…can we play pirates?" Sherlock asked a little nervously.

Mycroft concluded the likelihood of Sherlock actually becoming a pirate was next to none and he would probably grow out of it in a year or two, but it would be nice to keep his childhood fantasies alive for as long as possible. Mycroft somehow knew Sherlock was not going to have an easy life, so he didn't see the harm in giving Sherlock a fairly cheerful and innocent youth.

"Yes, sure we can"