It had been a few days after Greg had moved into his new flat that he found out who his next door neighbour was. He was running late, trying to lock his front door with his coffee in one hand, keys in the other and a pastry dangling precariously out of his mouth when he was startled by a voice behind him.
"Greg? Is that you?"
He turned quickly to see who seemed to know him and came face to face with Molly Hooper.
"Moll.." was all he managed to get out while trying to keep his pastry in his mouth before it slipped from his lips onto the hallway floor. He eyed the dropped food quickly before looking back at Molly. "Well, that didn't work as planned" he said smiling.
"Uh, no, I guess it didn't did it? I didn't know you lived here"
"Only been here about a week, finally got my half of the money from the ex after she sold the old house so managed to afford something a bit nicer than my old place."
"Ahh, I see. I did wonder if someone new had moved in recently. So how are you finding it?"
"It's good thanks, not too far from work, much nicer than my old place, 2 bedrooms and everything! Are you on your way in or out?"
"Out, am on the day shift this week. I was going to grab something to eat at the shop down the road, do you want to join me? I kind of feel I owe you after making you drop your breakfast."
"You don't owe me anything, should have actually just put something down but um, yeah, that would be nice."
They walked down the stairs and out into the early morning air in companionable silence with Greg letting her lead the way.
"So where is this place then?" he asked "I've not really worked out where anything is in the area yet, just the closest tube station!"
"It's off a little side street near the station, one of those places that you'd never know it was there unless you already knew it was there."
"Any good?"
"Oh yeah, they're food is amazing, all freshly made every morning."
"Already sounds 10 times better than anything I could pull out of the back of my cupboard."
"Oh it really is. It's just down here"
The smell of the little pastry shop hit him as soon as they opened the door, the odour of freshly baked food and fresh coffee filling his nose.
"Wow! This place smells amazing! How did you find it?"
They joined the back of the short queue while she told him how she wasn't really paying attention to where she was going one morning on the way to work and found herself outside the shop.
"Right, what can I get you?" the man behind the counter asked as they reached the front. They both placed their orders and waited at the other end for them to come through.
"That'll be £6.40 please"
Greg reached for his wallet, but Molly stopped him, putting her hand on his arm.
"I've got this Greg, my treat for making you drop your original plans on the floor"
"Wasn't exactly your fault Molly"
"Well, let's call it to a welcome to the area treat then"
"Hmmm, OK, but only if the next one's on me"
"You've got a deal."
They smiled at each other as they picked up their food and headed for the station. It was only a couple of stops to St Barts so they didn't have long to chat and after a quick goodbye, Greg was left alone on the train for the few more stops through to his Scotland Yard office.
His office was only a short walk from the station but in that short distance, his found his mind slipping back to Molly. They'd been friends for a few years now and he'd always found the young pathologist easy to talk to and if he allowed himself to admit it, he'd always had a bit of a thing for her but her 'interest' in Sherlock and then her relationship with Tom had stopped him from thinking about taking it further. Both of those issues were out of the way now, she'd moved on from Sherlock and Tom was long gone but still he'd never thought about doing anything about it. They were friends, and he could never imagine that she would have any such interest in him.
He made his way up to his office, ignoring the daily humdrum noise coming from the outer offices of the more junior officers. He reached his office and slipped inside without anyone noticing him. He'd recently closed two open cases and had a day of paperwork ahead of him, making sure that the chain of evidence and all the corresponding documents were in order before they went to trial. The hours slipped past and the piles of paper on his desk became more organised until he reached one that was not like the others. It was a memo from the Chief Superintendent inviting, and invite was a very loose term, more like ordering him to attend a black tie ball for some charity or other that the department supported. He was never a fan of these sorts of things, but what made it worse was that he would be expected to bring someone with him and he didn't have anyone to bring. He had no desire to find some half hearted acquaintance to bring, but even less so to turn up on his own and, it was tomorrow night. He pushed the memo to one side and carried on with his work until the end of the day.
The day came and went and he found himself back on the tube home. The train was packed with commuters and he didn't see her until they both hit the exit at the same time.
"Hi there" she said smiling "fancy seeing you here"
"Hey Molly. Good day?"
"Not too bad, pretty quiet, only a couple of natural causes to work through. You?"
"Similarly quiet, lots of paperwork"
"So no gruesome murders in London today, a nice rarity"
"Indeed. You on your way straight home?"
"Yeah, an evening collapsed on the sofa I think catching up with some reading"
"Sounds lovely"
"How about you? Any plans?"
"Just a few little bits of DIY round the place, still got a couple of bits of furniture to put together and some unpacking to do"
"Well, don't hesitate to grab me for help if you need it. I'm pretty handy with a screwdriver!"
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."
They chatted about mundane things on their walk home, his decorating plans, her reading habits until they reached their building. They climbed the stairs in easy silence and as they reached the door he had an idea.
"Molly, I, umm, I was just wondering if you were doing anything tomorrow evening? It's just that I'm expected to go to this Scotland Yard charity ball thing and I really don't really want to go, but it would be even worse going on my own and.."
"Greg, your rambling"
"Sorry. I just thought it would be nice to have a friend to go with. You're probably busy anyway, don't worry about it"
"I'd love to" she said smiling
"OK, no worries. Wait, you want to?"
"Yeah, why not. It's not every day that I get asked to a posh do"
"Wow, OK, great. I'll come and get you about 7 if that's OK"
"I look forward to it"
"Molly.." he started
"Yes?"
"Thanks for this, it's really kind of you"
Although she didn't respond, she smiled at him kindly before letting herself in to her own flat.
They missed each other on the train the next morning and were both home by 6pm giving themselves an hour to get ready. He pulled out a tux that he had at the back of the wardrobe while she dressed herself in a pale blue knee length dress that she saved for special occasions. Bang on 7pm he found himself outside her door, knocking and waiting for her to answer. He was stunned when she opened it, she looked stunning.
"Wow, Molly, you look amazing"
She smiled at him, not in the shy way he expected, but a smile that was full of confidence "Why thank you, you scrub up pretty well yourself."
He laughed and offered her his arm, leading her down the stairs to the waiting taxi.
The evening flew past, both at ease with each other and enjoying the others company. They talked about everything and nothing while quietly poking fun at the more senior, more inebriated officers. As the evening came to end they made their way outside side by side and down the steps outside the hotel that the ball had been in. He turned to face her as they stood on the driveway.
"Thank you so much for this evening Molly, you managed to make a potentially unbearable night easily bearable."
He took one of her hands in kiss and brought it up to place a kiss on the back of it.
"You are very welcome, it's not often I get to go to a fancy dinner at a nice hotel with a handsome guy. Best non-date I've been on in ages."
"I know what you mean, so much so that I kind of wished it wasn't a non-date." Seeing her like this, still holding her hand in his was making him feel bold.
"I know what you mean" she looked up at him and smiled shyly, enjoying the feel of her hand in his. She was disappointed when he released it, but that disappointment soon disappeared when he ran his fingers down her cheek before leaning in to gently kiss her. This kiss was only brief, but one that was full of so much promise of what could come of it.
As they pulled away from each other, they smiled at each other before she looped her arm through his.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked casually.
"I don't want to put you out and take you out of your way" she replied jokingly.
"Oh it's fine, thats just the kind of guy I am."
They walked back to the building arm in arm, occasionally stopping for a quick kiss. As they reached their building, he opened the front door for her and allowed her inside and followed her up the stairs, enjoying the view in front of him. As they reached their adjoining, he leant it to kiss her once again, deeper this time, their lips sliding over each others, his hands on her hips while her snaked around his neck, pulling him in closer. As one of his hands slipped round onto her back, sliding up and down before coming to rest just above her ass a gentle moan escaped her lips, allowing his tongue to slip in-between them, running over her own. She tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him tighter to her, making him deepen the kiss further while his hand slid down to gently squeeze her ass. They pulled away from each other breathlessly, their foreheads resting against each other.
"Do you, um, wanna come in?" she asked her head still resting against his, her eyes closed.
"Yeah, I'd love to, if you're sure"
She ran her hand across his cheek before kissing him quickly then turning to unlock her door and take his hand in hers "I'm sure."
When they woke the next morning Molly was curled tight against Greg's chest, his arm draped over her waist with his hand resting on her stomach. As he felt her stir against him he gently stroked his thumb over her soft skin. An involuntary moan escaped her lips as he leant over and kissed the side of her neck
"Morning" he mumbled against her skin before kissing her again.
"Mmmm, morning. Sleep well?"
"Best in ages, but that may have been due to sheer exhaustion after some young girl kept me up all night" he grinned
"Oi! Cheeky bugger!" she turned over in his arms to face him giving him a gentle slap across the arm.
"Do you know what though? Definitely the best non-date I've ever been on" he smiled before running his hand down her cheek and giving her the best morning kiss she had ever felt.