Molly sat there, quietly admiring the way he eloquently worked on the bacterium sample. His fingers brushed over the dials on the microscope with an acute precision that demonstrated he knew exactly what he was doing. In truth Molly should have been filling out her paperwork, but that bordered on impossible when the man she had grown to love and lust after dominated their surroundings. It would make sense that when a sudden change occurred in his posture, Molly would instantly detect it.
Sherlock's figure stiffened, as Molly fidgeted in her chair. She examined him closer- if such a thing seemed possible. His gaze was narrowed on something to the side of the microscope. What he was staring at, Molly did not know, as his angled body blokes her view. Something about his position made him seem... Afraid?
"Sherlock?" She asked quietly. For a few minutes he did not respond, but as Molly stood up from her chair he whispered, "Molly, approach slowly." Instantly her guard flew up as she crept silently closer to the lab desk where Sherlock resided. As she neared him, she noticed what was bothering him. A dark brown spider, the size of her palm, sat absently on his case notes. She froze; not at the view of the spider, as they really didn't bother her at all, but at the prospect Sherlock was afraid of spiders. She fought the urge to laugh, but a small snigger slipped through her lips. Without taking his eyes off of the creature he scolded her.
"Rude. I am not scared of spiders. I am adverse to them."
Molly chuckled as she moved to the other lab bench to retrieve tissue from the industrial roll every lab stocked in case of spillages. "You're frozen stiff! Why are you 'adverse' to them?" She scoffed. Sherlock grumbled low in his throat. "When I was a child, one of the less friendly acquaintances I had displeasure to meet, forced me to eat a spider alive. I will never forget the feeling of it squirming in my oesophagus." The smirk was wiped off of Molly's face. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know." She apologised, imagining the horror of a live insect in her throat.
"It's fine. But just please get rid of it." He replied. She quickly gathered up a wad of tissue and walked cautiously over to the desk. Efficiently she squished the spider and disposed of the body in the paper waste bin. "All better?" She asked. He nodded. "Good. I shouldn't have laughed, lots of people are afraid of things, or should I say adverse. Like- I'm 'adverse' to the dark." She said, placing one hand in her hip. He didn't respond, as he had assumed his previous engagement with his beloved microscope. She sighed and walked back over to her seat. A few minutes passes before Sherlock said, "You helped me with my spider problem. Maybe I can return the favour, and help with your aversion to the dark sometime." For Molly it simply didn't register in her head. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well I could turn all the morgue lights off and watch you stumble afraid in the dark. Or I could come over to your place and show you that the dark can be fun..." He proposed. It took Molly a moment or two but eventually her mouth dropped open at his seemingly innocent remark. He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. He laughed at her fly catching jaw. She quickly composed herself. "Sure that sounds good."
"But on one condition will I 'spend the night' with you, to help you get over your fear. You have to get rid off all spiders I ever come into contact with in the future. Deal?" He outstretched his hands. Rolling her eyes she leant forward to grasp his hand. "Deal." She said.
FIN.-Jess