a/n: This is going to be weird. Sorry. I blame the hiatus.
o-o-o
a/n: This is going to be weird. Sorry. I blame the hiatus, and Louise's upcoming film, Delicious.
o-o-o
Sherlock woke up to a cold and empty bed. Highly unusual, really, because Molly usually lingered until Sherlock was awake before she left, because since Moriarty's second coming, Sherlock had grown to hate not having Molly in his line of sight at every moment possible. His mind was reassured though when his sharp ears picked up light footfalls on the creaky floorboards in the kitchen, as well as the sounds of various cookware, utensils, implements and ingredients being readied on the countertop.
Since Molly moved in, all human body parts have been placed in a second refrigerator in the lab which used to be John Watson's room. Sherlock had been unhappy about not having his food and his experiments all within his reach in his kitchen, but since Sherlock's awakening to the pleasures of womanly company, he'd become much more malleable, especially whenever Molly threatens to give him the Clytemnestra treatment.
Sherlock shuddered at that particularly unpleasant idea and made his way over to the kitchen to find his Molly elbows-deep in a big pot full of clams and mussels. "Molly?"
His girlfriend of two months beamed at him. "Sherlock!" she chirped. "Did you sleep well?"
Sherlock nodded dumbly before considering the spread before him. Chicken wings. A bottle of soya sauce. The salt and pepper shakers. Onions. Cloves of garlic. Chorizo... de Bilbao? What?! Tomato sauce. Frozen peas. Red bell peppers. Was that a rice cooker?! When did I even get one of those?! He asked himself. "Is the army passing by and are we feeding them?" he inquired.
Molly giggled at her boyfriend's puzzled expression and crooked a finger at him playfully, beckoning him closer. Sherlock obeyed (wha-psh!) and the couple kissed over Sherlock's kitchen table. Molly broke the kiss first as her upper arms were starting to sink into the pot but Sherlock followed so they kissed a bit more, wet arms notwithstanding. The two smiled at each other and rubbed their noses together before Sherlock pecked Molly's lips sweetly to finally conclude their snog. His eyes never left her face even as he rounded the table to survey what she was doing. When he got to Molly's side, he slipped an arm about her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "What's the occasion?"
Molly turned her head and kissed Sherlock on the cheek before answering him. "Mycroft called me this morning. Said that your parents are coming over."
Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that all?"
Molly kissed his cheek before lightly elbowing him in the stomach. "Don't be like that. I want to give a good first impression! Luckily for us, I was roomies with a kitchen wiz when I was at uni."
Her boyfriend scanned the ingredients and made a deduction. "Spanish girl?"
Molly pulled Sherlock's face down to hers and kissed his nose. "Nope! Gay Filipino,"
Sherlock sighed. "There's always something," he complained. He leaned in to get a kiss but Molly had lifted the potful of shellfish and gently pushed it onto Sherlock's chest. "Do you know how to cook?"
Sherlock scoffed. "Please. Cooking is just chemistry and-"
"Master chemist. I know," Molly said laughingly. "Okay, then. I'll just take care of the chicken. Put the pot on the stove to boil, please,"
"How long?"
Molly smiled. "Ten minutes. There's one and a quarter kilos of mussels and clams in there."
Sherlock turned curious eyes at her. "Ratio?"
"One is to two," Molly replied without missing a beat.
Sherlock pouted. "... Can we add more clams?"
Molly paused for a second to think, and then shrugged. "I suppose. Why not? Add a couple more handfuls in there, but don't blame me if the sauce doesn't cover everything!"
Sherlock pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! And don't worry. I'm sure we'll can just add more water."
As Sherlock watched the pot, Molly seasoned a half dozen chicken wings with soy sauce and pepper. Once she was done, she put the lot aside to chop six cloves of garlic and two medium onions.
Sherlock was going to tell Molly to use the food processor but he saw that Molly was genuinely enjoying handling the food so he kept his mouth shut. When the tenth minute of the seafood boiling rolled around, Sherlock dutifully took the pot off the stovetop and was going to drain the water but Molly called, "Wait! Save me a couple cups of that!" and almost gave him a coronary. He decided to stand aside thereafter to await instructions.
Molly, having secured the broth for her paella, moved on to the big wok she'd borrowed from Mrs. Hudson downstairs ("Oh, keep it Molly-dear. I hardly think my ex-boyfriend from the Triad will need them again. He's dead, you know,").
Sherlock watched in awe as Molly worked her magic on the cooktop. Into the pan she sauted the chicken, the garlic, the onions, and the chorizo. A beautiful aroma filled 221B and Sherlock was half-drunk in it by the time Molly neutralized the scent with tomato sauce and seafood broth. When she covered the dish to let it simmer, Sherlock deemed it safe to approach. "So, what next?" he said into her skin as he wrapped his long arms around her slender middle.
Molly turned in his arms and took him in her arms as well. "The best part. Can you time a kiss for 15 minutes?"
Sherlock smiled into the kiss. "You know I can,"
Things were starting to seriously heat up when Sherlock suddenly broke the kiss, leaving Molly breathless and momentarily dazed as Sherlock picked up a wooden spoon to give her a taste.
"Delicious," Molly said. Sherlock was about to taste the sauce from the spoon but Molly held his gaze with hers as she took the spoon from his hand and got him to taste it off her lips instead. She deepened the kiss for a few seconds, leaving him dazed this time. She then kissed his cheek to snap him out of it. She handed him the spoon again. "Now, my big strong man, mix the cooked rice into the sauce for a few minutes while I take care of plating. I want every grain of rice coated,"
"Yes, love."
o-o-o
By the door, Mycroft, Mummy Violet, and Daddy Siger Holmes watched approvingly.
Violet turned to her husband. "Looks like we have nothing to worry about, Siggie,"
Daddy Holmes smiled and nodded at his wife in his affable way as Mycroft Holmes rolled his eyes at his parental figures. Whipped. It's good he has his Gregory under his control. Honestly.
o-o-o
a/n 2: Yes, the recipe will work. Prep time is 15 minutes for everything if you multi-task. I wrote a cooking fic. I wrote an actual cooking fic. -shakes head-