Inspired by a great song: Jukebox the Ghost – Somebody. I got to know the band a couple of months ago, when I went to a small but amazing music festival.
This is not strictly a SongFic, but there will be music! Let's go!
*****
I had some difficulties with the formation...hope that the text is legible now...
"Like I was someone that you cared for"
Molly was in the best mood she could imagine: happy and excited, she was so looking forward for the concert tonight! She and her best friend were going to go to a local Indie-music festival. Some of the bands she already knew, others not yet. But she had always liked this kind of music, and so she was positive that she would also enjoy the band unknown to her. But: work first! The day had started not too bad, it seemed to be a quiet day with only one autopsy, which was, in addition, not a difficult task. So, at the time around lunch, she had only paperwork left to fulfil. 'Looks as if I could leave early tonight. Excellent!'
The moment this thought popped through her head, the doors of the laboratory banged open, and the world's only consulting detective rushed in. Sherlock Holmes, most attractive man on earth. And, she feared, going to be the reason why her plans might not run as smoothly as she thought they would…
"Molly, good to see you. I need to run some tests and I might need your help."
She sight. "Um, okay. I still have some paperwork to do and I need to leave on time. But I can surely help you when I have finished those forms."
Sherlock looked at her for a short second. "Good." He then turned away from her and started to prepare his experiment at the lab table.
Molly rushed through her paperwork, keeping an eye on the clock and humming a tune from one of her favourite songs by the band she was going to see tonight. She could feel her excitement grow again; this was going to be so much fun! She really needed this: a night out with her best friend and some really good music!
Unfortunately, the sound of Sherlock clearing his throat brought her back to reality. Molly looked up. "Hm, yes?" "You were making annoying sounds that clearly sounded like some melody." Sherlock eyed her, obviously starting to get irritated.
"Oh. Sorry."
Sherlock kept staring at her, as if expecting an explanation.
"Well, I am going to a concert tonight with my best friend, and I was just humming along one of my favourite songs. I am sorry."
"Concert? This tune did not sound like any composition I know."
"Oh, it is not classical music. It's more….well, Indie."
"What?"
"Uhm, well, that's what it's called. Short for 'Independent', I guess."
"Ah."
Molly smirked and bent back over the sheet on her desk. But when she still felt Sherlock's eyes on her, she looked up again, questioningly raising both eyebrows.
"So more like bands? No classical instruments? What else?"
"Actually, it is even a small festival. There will be four bands tonight. I only know two of them, but I am quite positive that the other two will be worth listening to as well. They are all not that famous, which is sad, but then I have always preferred music less popular and mainstream, not that kind of music the radio stations play every day."
"I have never been to a music festival. I never understood what is so special about this. There are lots of people, either crowded inside a stuffy hall, or outside jumping around in the mud. I have seen some crazy fans on television, it was a documentation about this metal festival in Germany."
"Oh, no, this is a completely different kind of music. I haven't brought my mp3-player today, I am afraid; I could have given you an example."
Suddenly, a strange thought crossed her mind.
"Would you like to come?"
'Stupid. Stupid, stupid Molly', she fought the impulse to bang her head on the desk
Sherlock looked at her in surprise.
"Well, I could do some research on the field of this…kind of music. I might call John, guess he will be interested."
Molly stared at him and, out of shock, almost forgot that orders of politeness expected an answer. "Yes, great. We could meet there at eight?"
Sherlock slowly nodded and turned away from her.
'Oh. My. God. I am either dreaming or hallucinating.' Molly shook her head to wake herself up from this stupor, then turned back to her forms. She finished her paperwork as fast as she could and then assisted Sherlock with his experiment, working in complete silence. After that, she rushed home to get ready for the concert, still not believing who was coming, too.
Fancy some music festival tonight? Eight o'clock.
SH
John Watson asked himself if somebody had hacked his roommate's mobile phone. Then decided that it must have been something about a new case.
What kind of music? And where?
JW.
Meet me at the flat. We can take a cab from there.
SH
John nodded his head. 'Must be a case, then.'
During the cab ride to the small cultural centre, John learned that it was not about a case.
"What? Molly asked you to come and you said yes? Remember that you are a, what you called, sociopath, you don't do those things. Going out, having fun, you know."
"It's not about fun. It's research. But I'd rather not go alone, as I have, as you just observed, no experience in this. Anyway, it is a concert, and I like music."
"You like classical music."
"Yes. But I might also like other kinds of music. Especially, if it is performed life on stage."
John looked at him. The expression on his face could have told even a person with less observation skills that he did not believe what he had just heard.
"Well, ok. I googled the bands, sounds promising. It's at least what I like to listen to." He made a short pause. "And Molly is coming with someone?"
"Yes, she said she is going with her best friend. No idea who that might be. Or that she even had friends…"
"I expected her to have a private life apart from the morgue. That's what people do, you know. Having friends and going out with them."
Sherlock shot him a glance, clearly ending the conversation. The rest of the cab ride was going by in silence.
"Hey, Molly!" The small woman with the brown curls and the glasses waved her hand, then embraced her friend.
"Emma, how are you?" Molly smiled at her.
"I am so excited! This is going to be just great! Jukebox the Ghost are going to be fantastic!"
Molly joined in her laugh. But then remembered that there might be one thing damping the fun.
"Uhm, you know, I also asked somebody from work to come. I did not expect him to agree, but he did. He is bringing his friend, too…"
"Oh, okay. Well, that is no problem to me. We will all enjoy this together."
Molly gave her the brightest smile. That was exactly what she liked her for. Emma was always in a perfect mood, never angry or upset about anything, and always able to pull others in her positive way of thinking.
"Molly." She turned around and saw Sherlock and John walking up them. He was really there! 'Please, don't let this be a dream and if it is, then please don't let me wake up!'
But it was no dream. This was real. And it made Molly feel excited in a double way.
After Molly had introduced Emma to John and Sherlock (he knew at once that John would start flirting with the small woman), they went inside. The room was not too big, but there was enough space for the audience. Sherlock was relieved to notice that there were not going to be too many people attending. He also noticed that those who were there greatly differed in their age and appearance, but somehow there was something positive about all of them. There were younger ones, maybe in their early twenties, but also some older listeners, probably already in their forties. Sherlock made some more deductions about the audience. There seemed to be many couples, but also small groups of friends, like their own. All talking to each other, laughing, clearly enjoying their time. Somehow, it made him feel strange, but he could not exactly name the feeling. He was interrupted in his thoughts when John asked him what he wanted to drink.
"I get the first round. So what do you all have?"
After John had left, Sherlock looked around in the hall. There was the stage in front of them. Not big, but big enough to allow the musicians enough space to freely move around. There were some benches next to the walls on the left and on the right, but the main space was left free so that people could stand in front of the stage or dance. Next to the entrance was the counter, and in the corner on the other side of the door, someone was selling merchandise articles of the bands.
"They are going to start soon. There won't be much more people coming, but that is not too bad." Molly looked up to him. Sherlock noticed that she was wearing her hair loose. She had also put on some make up, but not too much as to make her look 'painted'. Her cloths were similar to those she sometimes wore to work, but he noticed that she separated her wardrobe into 'cloths to wear for work', and 'cloths to wear when going out'. And she looked – nice.
Sherlock nodded at her, not sure if he was expected to say something in reply. He had never been good with small talk.
Luckily, John came back with their drinks and took over the conversation. And some short time later, the first musicians entered the stage.
The first band was good, Molly thought. She did not know them, but she liked their music. John and Emma seemed to have a perfect time. Molly smiled inwardly. It should have been obvious to her that John would like her friend. She then glanced at Sherlock. He did not seem to be bored, which was good. After the first band had finished their performance, she turned to him. "So, what do you think? I did not know them, but they were not bad." "Yes, that was alright." He paused. "The band you mentioned earlier, what are they called?" "Jukebox the Ghost. A band from America. They are going to play last." Sherlock nodded. 'Well, better a short conversation than no conversation', Molly thought.
The next musician was a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar. Again, he seemed to be not very famous, but, as Sherlock observed, he was a skilled musician. He knew how to handle his instrument and had a pleasant voice. He looked around and saw that the rest of the audience seemed to agree. He then turned back to watch the members of their small party. John stood close to Emma, glancing constantly back from the stage to her. Sherlock smirked. 'Typical!'
Molly was standing next to him, her eyes fixed on the singer in front of them, her body slightly moving to the music. Somehow he could not take her eyes of her. She looked so…peaceful, so completely relaxed, and thus so different from how he had known her from work. 'And nice', a voice in his head told him. He wiped it aside and concentrated on the music.
There was another break after the second performance, and John and Emma disappeared to get more drinks. Molly felt a slight, but pleasant lightness; she was not used to drink much alcohol and one drink already affected her perception. But by now, she was still feeling good and enjoyed the evening. Even though it was strange to have Sherlock standing next to her, listening to the music.
"So, who is going to perform next?", the tall man in question asked. "A German band. They are called Torpus & The Art Directors. Again, not very famous, but I like their music."
"Hey, let's move a bit closer to the stage, shall we?" Emma handed Molly her glass, and the group moved on.
"You are enjoying it?", John asked. "Yes, it's not too bad." John looked at his friend. "Good. That's really good. I like the music; it was nice of Molly to ask you." Sherlock nodded in approval. Yes, indeed, it had been nice of her to ask… He looked at her again. She was talking to Emma, smiling, looking excited. Her happy smile made her face look so beautiful… 'What? Beautiful?' He shook his head. He clearly was not used to drinking alcohol anymore.
A strong male voice interrupted his reflections and turned his attention back to the stage. 'Impressive', he thought. Step by step, first the background vocals, and then the instruments joined in. 'Nice way to start a performance!' Sherlock looked around. The rest of the audience seemed to share his opinion. He watched Molly and Emma sing along, dancing slowly to the music. 'Yes, she does look nice! – Oh, shut up! – Hey, what's going on in my head? I want to listen to the music!' …sometimes it was no fun being blessed with an extraordinary mental capacity…
The songs that followed the great opening were all quite good. Sherlock enjoyed listening to the band's performance.
When he next looked into Molly's direction, he found her looking at him, smiling. He gave her a small smile in response, and she turned his eyes back to the stage. There was a warm feeling inside of his chest. 'What is going on here? No more alcohol!'
"Well, that was really nice so far! And I understood that the last act is your favourite band?", John asked Molly. "Yes, that's right. I am sure you will like them, too."
"Anyone another drink?", Emma asked. "Come on, the night is young! Molly, please come help me order more drinks."
After the two women had left, John turned to Sherlock.
"We should do this more often. I can't remember when I last had such a nice evening. The music is great, so is the atmosphere, everyone seems to be so happy; and Emma is just…perfect!" Sherlock smiled at his roommate's enthusiasm about Molly's friend. "No, don't say anything about her, I don't want to know your deductions right now." "Okay, fine." John looked at his friend. "You are not going to argue?" "No. And there isn't anything wrong with her anyway. So…" John smiled at him. "You are really enjoying this, too." Sherlock thought about this for a moment. "Yes", he then just answered.
"Here we go, drinks!" Emma swept in between them, taking back her place next to John and pulling him a bit closer to the stage. "I am so excited!" John smiled at her. Yes, she really was great!
Molly positioned herself next to Sherlock, a little bit behind the other two. She gave him a shy smile, which he returned. Molly's heart made a jump, which made her giggle. Luckily, this sound went unnoticed by Sherlock, as the first piano tones sounded from the stage.
Sherlock soon noticed that this was indeed going to be even better. The three young men on stage immediately captured everybody's attention. The singer played the piano very well, and also the other two were really good musicians. The mix of all this created a beautifully kind of music.
He noticed that Molly, too, had moved a bit closer to the stage, dancing and singing along, completely lost in the music. Sherlock watched her with positive wonder. And suddenly there was this warm feeling again…This time, he did not fight it back, but let himself get lost in the music, too. The atmosphere seemed to completely take over. And, yes, he really felt good and - happy.
After a couple of songs, Sherlock suddenly recognised the tune Molly had hummed along in the lab. He turned her eyes on her, finding her already looking at him for the second time this evening. She was singing along the lines of the song, but this time she was not breaking eye contact with him: "I don't want any more heartbreak; I'm tired of the sound it makes."
Sherlock swallowed.
…this feeling again…so strange…so unknown…
"I want it, I need it, I want somebody. I want it, I need it, I want your eyes to turn. I need it, I want it, I want somebody, baby . Now this is my turn."
Luckily, at this moment Emma took Molly's arm so that she had to turn her eyes away from Sherlock. He took a deep breath, his heart beading unusually fast. He felt almost as high as during his best drug moments; but this was somehow better…
The concert continued, and he again concentrated on the music. The songs were all nicely written and played; but no other song moved him as much as the one that Molly had sang along. 'Maybe because of her?' The annoying voice in his head was back. 'Shut up, not now, I want to listen to the music!" …that seemed to work.
When the concert was over, the four stepped outside on the street. It was a mild evening; one could almost smell that spring was not far away.
"That was so great!" Emma beamed at them. "Yes. And they played my favourite song!," Molly said. Sherlock looked at her, and she shot him a quick glance. 'She has noticed it, too. How strange…'
"Really, girls, it was a good idea to come here. We should do this again." That was the prompt: John and Emma were changing telephone numbers.
"What about you? Did you like it, too?" Molly looked up at him. The soft breeze lightly blew her hair. '…beautiful… - oh, not again! Shut up!'
Sherlock, irritated by the voice inside of him, shook his head. "Yes, I had a good time. Thank you for introducing me to this kind of music." "You are welcome. I am glad that you enjoyed it." '…this smile…'
"Okay, let's go home. We all have work tomorrow morning." Emma took Molly's arm.
They all said their Good-byes and parted, each pair walking into an opposite direction.
While John and Sherlock drove home in complete silence, each man lost in his thoughts about 'his' respective woman, Emma and Molly walked through the streets, giggling and swinging slightly from left to right. "Oh, that was so wonderful! And John is such a nice man. I am really happy that you had asked them to come, Molly. But, tell me, what is it about you and Sherlock?" Molly blushed. "Oh, nothing, I guess. You know that I like him a lot, but he is only aware of his work." "That did not quite seem to be the case for tonight," Emma smiled knowingly.
Later at night, lying in her bed, Molly could not sleep. There had indeed been something special between them the moment she turned towards him during her favourite song. Sherlock's gaze had been so intense. She could almost still feel it! Her heart made a jump while she remembered this moment…
Back at Baker Street, John went to bed at once, but Sherlock sat down in his chair, laying his fingers against each other under his chin, thinking. 'Molly – warm feeling – music – Molly - alcohol – pretty good music – Molly – Molly looking so nice – Molly's smile –" and then it hit him. 'Oh my God, no!'
Molly tossed and turned in her bed. She just could not get to sleep. The song kept on spinning around in her head, together with the feeling she had had when Sherlock had looked at her. 'Why can't he just be a normal human being with normal emotions?', she asked herself for the hundredth time since she knew him. She stared at the ceiling, sighing.
Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring.
She sat up with a start.
Who could this be? In the middle of the night?
She waited for a couple of minutes, then heard a knock at her door. And then a familiar, deep voice.
"Molly, please open the door."
Sherlock!
She jumped out of her bed and rushed to the door, opening it for a slight gap. "What are you doing here?"
"Did I wake you up?"
"Well…no."
"Good."
Silence.
"May I come in?"
"Oh, of course, sorry." Molly stepped aside to let him in, not trusting her to meet his eyes. Surely, he could deduce every emotion with just one glance at her face right now.
Sherlock closed the door behind him, placing himself opposite to Molly, but not saying anything.
After a while, the silence became awkward, but Molly still feared to look up. He felt that there were still too many emotions to be openly seen on her face. The evening had been quite stirring, and mixed with the amount of alcohol she had, she did not want to risk any stupid action she might later regret.
Sherlock had no idea what to say. Again, his heart was beating unusually fast, but this time he knew why. He was indeed quite sure about it. But had no idea how to go from here. Maybe his previous deductions about her were wrong…
He finally cleared his throat.
"Molly, I…"
Startled by the sudden sound, she looked up and met his gaze.
And there is was. He had not been wrong. It was clearly written over her face.
Just at this very moment, he made his decision. Without any further word, he crossed the space between them, took her into his arms and softly placed his lips on hers.
Molly, out of shock, opened her eyes widely at first. But then she gave in and replied to the kiss. It felt as if a thousand lightnings were flashing through her body. She brought her hands up to his neck and let her fingers slip through his curls.
Sherlock felt even higher than he had felt during this special moment during the song a couple of hours ago. And then he just let himself fall into this feeling, shutting out every thought, shutting out the voice in his head which now seemed to celebrate a party on its own.
Molly felt like flying. Never ever had she expected anything like this when she had asked Sherlock to come to this concert. 'Had I known how he reacted to some good music, I might have done this before…'
In her head, her favourite song began to play: 'Now this is my turn." She smiled against his lips. 'Oh, yes, it is!'
- END -
Jukebox the Ghost: Somebody
Torpus & The Art Directors: Known, Seen, Judged
I have another Sherlolly/crossover –story in progress which might need some proofreading of a native speaker, as it will contain some more chapters and thus more possibilities for me to make mistakes ;-) There might also be a Sherlock/Irene-fic, but I haven't gotten very far with that one yet…
So, if anybody reading this feels interested in helping me, please send me a message :-)
