A/N: Written based on a Sherlolly prompt:

Molly has been helping Sherlock on cases and he's been seeing her home each time as he thinks they're on dates. She innocently asks him in for coffee, but he takes it as a code for sex so he politely refuses until they've gone out a few more times. But the problem is she stops asking bec she really thinks he just won't come in for coffee :)

The C Word

"Would you like to come in for coffee?" asked Molly as she turned her key at her door.
"Er, no, it's…it's fine I'm glad you're home." said Sherlock, somewhat clumsily. "Mrs Hudson needs me within the hour."
"Okay. Thanks for seeing me home." she said, giving him a smile, "You really needn't bother you know, Sherlock, especially not when it's about three o'clock in the afternoon."
"I'm just glad we solved the case and…" he racked his brains for the right bluff, "Well, I just want you safe so we can solve some more."
"Right, okay," Molly replied with a little chuckle, "See you, Sherlock."

Another bullet dodged, thought Sherlock to himself in relief.

—

They had seen seventeen murders and attended to two missing persons cases. That made a grand total of nineteen dates in the span of one month. John had scoffed at him for calling them 'dates' only to guffaw heartily when he realised Sherlock was serious.

"Is Molly aware that you both are, as you say, 'courting'?" he asked, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Isn't it obvious that we are?" he asked back, baffled.
"Right. No, it's not obvious, Sherlock, not in the least." said John.
"But she invites me in for coffee after each case. Surely she's acutely aware of the romantic involvement. Nothing says intimacy to me then sharing a microscope studying the blood work of a poisoned factory worker who quite marvellously was found with a cleaver attached to…"
"Sherlock?" John interrupted, "Digressing.."
"Sorry."
"It's not obvious, Sherlock. It really isn't," said John a final time before leaving to pick Mary.

Coffee, we all know what that means… Sherlock thought as he contemplated the status of what he had assumed was obvious courtship. He calculated that after nineteen cases together, perhaps it was timely for him to step in for a little…coffee?

—

It was another rough week of chasing empty leads and lab results drawing blanks. But eventually, they nabbed this one too. Molly was endlessly cheerful about it on their way home. Sherlock simply smiled and enjoyed her review and re-enactment of the week's events. At her door, Sherlock was glad to see her safely back and as usual, waited for the request that he normally turned down.

But she never made it.

"Thanks Sherlock," she said with a quick wave, "Let me know if you need me for that case Greg told us about this morning."
"Oh, but…"
"Yes?"
"Hmm, nothing." he said, smiling politely. "Yes, I'll be certain to text you."

A week had gone by, then two weeks. Twelve more murders and three bank heists later, Sherlock had not been asked in for coffee. He was troubled and even contemplated consulting John. But it was already 2 AM in the morning and he remembered that it was not actually socially acceptable to wake people at that time of day.

—

When they had finished a day of intensive lab work, Sherlock, as usual, offered to send Molly home. As they walked, Sherlock decided it was time to ask her.

"Molly."
"Hmm?"
"Is there…" he paused, for a little too long.
"Yes? Is there what?" she asked, turning to look at him.
"Is there a reason…you don't ask me in for coffee anymore?" he asked, quietly.
"Well, you always say no when I do so…"
"Yes, but, why did you keep asking me before?" he asked again, stopping in his tracks turning to face her.

Molly was perplexed and did not understand the intensity nor the confusion in his face.

"It's what you do after a long, hard day with colleagues, maybe? Sit around and have a bit of coffee…" she said, "And I know you like coffee."
"Colleagues….colleagues?" he repeated, frowning even harder than before.
"Ye-s, we are working together? I believe people who work together are called colleagues…"
"You think I'm your colleague?" interrupted Sherlock.
"Should I be…calling you my boss instead?" Molly asked with a laugh.

Sherlock inhaled deeply and took in her words, processing them carefully. The wheels of his mind spun as he disconnected his obviously incorrect connections and made new ones with the information she had just provided.

I am her colleague. It was just coffee. It was not for sex.

He had reached his conclusion, running it over and over again in his head.

"Sherlock?" asked Molly, trying to snap him from his stupor.
"….not for sex…" he mumbled accidentally, startled from his thoughts.
"I'm sorry?"
"Not for… You just wanted to have coffee with me?" he asked, to confirm.
"Yeah. I thought it was obvious."
"But…I was courting you…"
"You were what?"
"The sharing of the microscope, letting you go first at examining the bodies, washing the test tubes for you…I even sent you home each time!"
"I just thought you were being nice!"
"Nice…" Sherlock said with a laugh, "You know me, I'm not nice."

Molly paused and now it was her turn to think. Now that she thought about it, he had been incredibly out of character but in the loveliest ways. They had an almost criminal amount of fun dealing with, well, criminals but she never suspected courtship.

"Courtship…" she said at last.
"Yes?"
"A little archaic, don't you think?" she said with a chuckle.
"Well…I…"
"I'm just teasing, Sherlock." she said.
"Right…"
"That's what people in courtship do…" she remarked, grinning.

Sherlock could not help but laugh at Molly's words. Not to mention, he was terribly relieved. He made a mental note to rethink his definition of 'obvious' in future.

"So, fancy some coffee then?" she asked as she subtly slipped her hand into his.
"Yes, but…" he began, a small frown forming once more.
"Is there something wrong about having coffee in my flat, Sherlock?" asked Molly, peering hard at him.
"No, it's just I…well, you know, first I'm in your home and then coffee and…"

He was interrupted by Molly's soft chuckling as she leaned against his arm and looked up at him.

"I don't know what your definition of coming in for coffee is, Sherlock, but I can assure you it's just coffee," she said, giving his hand an assuring squeeze.
"Just coffee?"
"Just coffee."
"But…we're not colleagues anymore, are we?" he asked, peering down back at her.

Molly smiled at the lovely man beside with her, with dark hair and a worried expression.

"No, Sherlock, definitely not colleagues."

End