"Thank you, Molly Hooper."
With that, he kissed me on the cheek and vanished in the dark side of the street. I felt a pain in my chest, a pain that made its way into my eyes, tears flowing uncontrollably. I held on to a lamp post for support. I heard my own sobs grew louder. Oblivious to the people passing by, I carried on crying. Suppressing my cries won't bring him back anyway.
He needs to keep John, Mrs. Hudson and DI Lestrade safe. He decided that keeping a low profile will give him an advantage while he tracked down Moriarty's group. He told me earlier that day that he needs to get out of the country for a while. It won't be much of a problem since his brother is the government.
"When will you be back?" I asked, looking intently into his eyes, afraid that this will be the last time I'll see them.
"I do not know, I need to make sure they are safe." he answered, with the hint of sadness in his voice.
"Be safe, Sherlock." I told him with a smile of encouragement.
The sides of his mouth curled up into a smile. I looked at him, taking him all in, his face, his cheekbones, his lips and his dark locks hidden in a baseball cap. He was not wearing his signature long coat and blue scarf, instead he is in a blue denim jacket, after all, he did 'die' hours ago. But he still looked amazing to me.
There was a silence. I looked back at all the times Sherlock was in my lab, with his eyes focused on the microscope, keeping still for several minutes. He looked peaceful. I can't help but stare at him while he's focused on his work. Occasionally, he would say "You are staring at me again, Molly." without looking up. That's my cue to get back to work. I felt myself blush at the thought.
"Umm...Molly?" Sherlock's voice brought me back to reality.
"Yes?" I answered absent-mindedly, looking at him questioningly, wishing that he didn't see me blush, well, he is Sherlock Holmes after all, of course he would notice!
"You too." He said quietly. I just stared at him, trying to take in what he just said. I was immersed in my thoughts, I did not notice him lean closer and give me a peck on the cheek. He said thank you and then left.
That was when I started to break down. I let my emotions take over me. I ignore the glances, I have been keeping this inside, I need an outlet or my heart would explode. I cried for a good couple of minutes. After composing myself, I stood up straight, and held on tighter to my coat. I let the sharp, cold air of London dry my tears and started to walk to my flat.
I should have told him that I love him.