A/N: HEY! This is a cute one-shot i had a dream of and i just couldn't help but share it with you guys! Honestly, SHERLOLLY4EVER! IDK why, but i just love their pairing, how socially weird they are and how awkward they are around eachother (Hence the title) which is why i think they have a lot of "awkward flirting" moments which i find adorable! Excuse any possible errors and slight angst. Well i don't want to hold you back (AND YOU MUST READ AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM WHEN YOUR'E FINISHED) so...
Read. Review. Favor. Enjoy.
"...Get someone to drop it off at our flat were busy now goodbye," Sherlock flipped his collar up as he headed out the door of the lab not turning around to hear Molly say,
"Oh... alright Sherlock! B-bye!" She stammered nervously then sighed and looked to the ground. She'd send her new coworker to 221B to deliver those papers for their case later this afternoon, Sherlock probably wouldn't be too ecstatic to see her anyways.
"Thank you for your time Molly," John flashed a friendly smile at her and she flashed one back except hers was fake. John headed out the door anyways when she stopped him,
"J...John? Do you have a second?" She asked shyly and slightly unsure about how to confront him.
"Ya sure what's wrong?" He shrugged and closed the door behind him when Sherlock came back,
"John? Are you coming? I've got a cab and-"
"No you go ahead," he cut him off and closed the door on Sherlock as he saw Molly's expression and how sad it was, meaning it was serious, "so what were you saying?"
"Ummm I... I don't know, "she twisted the hair in her ponytail, "I was just wondering... does Sherlock ever... talk about me? Or say anything about me? At all?" She looked slightly hopeful.
John nodded sadly and simply said, "No... Sorry..."
"Oh no... It's not your fault..." her eyes swelled a bit, "I didn't think he did anyways... I was just wondering, or hoping maybe... you know just never mind," she tried to smile it away but couldn't mask it well, so she looked at the floor, "I mean I just like and admire him so much and he... sees right through me and..." she looked over at John and chuckled as a tear flew off her cheek, "oh sorry, I'm taking too much of your time. Sorry for my drabbling, you're a busy man. Goodbye John." She turned away to get back to her work. She didn't know what came over her, she was just emotional all of a sudden; and actually she'd been dying to spill this out to someone and accidentally told John. She pushed her feelings aside, Sherlock wouldn't share her feelings and she knew that... yet she liked him anyways...
John felt a pang of sadness for the girl; it was obvious she liked him but he was so blind to emotion he couldn't see how much Molly cared for him. He flashed another smile before he left but Molly had turned around and missed him.
Molly felt so embarrassed just bursting out into emotion like that! She didn't know why but she felt comfortable talking to John, like it was just so easy to speak her mind. John was a good friend, no doubt, but it was so awkward just spilling her feelings for Sherlock; she vowed to never do it again no matter how much she liked him or how much gloominess filled her life.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
John walked over to his laptop with his hands filled with papers (about the case.)
"Sherlock could you get that—"
"No." He responded immediately.
John rolled his eyes at Sherlock's arrogance, but Sherlock was attempting to figure out the murderer as he sat up straight on the couch thinking; so he was busy too.
John hustled to the door to see and light brown skinned and dark haired girl at their doorstep.
"Hello!" She chirped.
"Umm hello..." he asked wondering who this south Asian looking girl was.
"Oh sorry," she giggled and understood the look if question on the doctors face, "I'm one of Molly coworkers. She sent me here with papers on the body."
"Bring them here." Sherlock raised a hand and gestured her over without turning from his position on the couch to see who she was.
John let her in then left to his laptop once more, just close enough to eavesdrop, though there weren't walls and it was all a big room so it wasn't technically "eavesdropping."
"I'm Priya..." she looked at Sherlock mischievously, "and you must be Mr. Sherlock Holmes..." she sat herself far too close to the detective in a slightly seductive matter.
Sherlock raised one eyebrow and shifted to the other side of the couch and sat in a position where he could see her face and read her.
"Oh I get it now..." she thought out loud as her eyes ran up and down skimming Sherlock's body and face.
"Get what?" Sherlock snapped.
Before she could answer Sherlock had finished reading her:
Indian, born in America: skin tone, eyes, and hair made it obvious her parents were Indian and she was raised here all her life.
Early twenties judging by her smooth complexion, she was in fact a nurse in training judging by the slight dark circles under her eyes (nothing to dark but they meant that she was usually up late, probably studying for medical exams hoping to be working in a morgue on day herself.) Her crisp white lab coat made it obvious it was her first one and she hadn't been working for too long. She was slightly jittery meaning she had coffee this morning and that she was a type of person who wasn't good at keeping their mouth shut. Her fingernails were perfect and glossy with pink tips meaning she had a lot of free time. It also meant (judging by her flawless makeup) that she was trying to make an impression on someone. He hoped it wasn't him but by the way she plumped her light red lips, Sherlock could tell she liked him though (as usual) he wasn't interested.
"Get why she can never stop talking about you!" Priya stopped acting flirty and relaxed on the couch with the papers inside a folder one of her hands.
"Who..." Sherlock asked curiously.
"Molly! Ms. Molly Hooper! She never stops talking about you!" Sherlock raised an eyebrow and stood up after she said this.
"Really..." he asked slowly trying comprehend.
"Oh Jesus Sherlock don't play coy!" John said from his chair, "have you never noticed this? Every time you're around haven't you noticed how she blushes?"
"Yes I've noticed..." he said slowly as he recalled all the times at the lab.
"We've been working together for a while now and we're really close so she tells me all this stuff about you but she still seems so lonely. She always tells me how incredibly smart and clever you are... and how messy and cute your hair is..." she looked at the ceiling trying to remember more things.
"Messy...?" Sherlock muttered under his breath and touched his hair.
"... and how you're the greatest detective and how you have the prettiest eyes and smile, even though you don't smile often oh she loves it when you do. She loves it how you just walk into her lab and know what you want. And how you are always just a step ahead of everyone else. Oh but she just hates how you-" she covered her mouth realizing how much she had said.
"Hates when I do what?" Sherlock questioned, eager to know what had made Molly cross.
"Eh I dunno... I've already said more than I should..." she shrugged awkwardly and handed him the folder.
"No tell me now," he took the folder and threw it to the couch as he waited for an answer.
John couldn't type during this discussion, he was too intrigued.
"Well..." she rubbed her neck, "she hates how you always treat her like dust. Like she's not there... those were her exact words and..." she looked at a clock on the wall nervously thinking of the mistake she just made, "I should shut up and go now..." Priya walked past the bewildered detective to the door.
"Goodbye Mr. Holmes and Mr. Watson. Nice meeting you and do me a favor... don't tell Molly I said this..." and she rushed out the door.
Sherlock continued standing there, bewildered and John stared at him. He was grateful that someone had finally slapped the truth into his face, even if they did it by accident.
John didn't know why, but he smirked at the confused man. He liked seeing Sherlock in deep thought with something he didn't understand (which in this case was) Human Chemistry. Sherlock didn't know what the feeling was; sadness? No nothing had happened to trigger sadness. Affection? He couldn't clearly identify that one. Sorrow? No there was no one to sympathize. Frustration? There was no one to be mad at! Maybe... maybe it was... affection? No… no more like... realization...
Sherlock told John he would be a while and he sent the cab back to 221B. He jumped out the cab and headed for the hospital, smelling his collar to make sure the light cologne he had put on earlier had lasted.
He had his long coat on (with the collar flipped up of course) and his dark blue scarf too, he kept one hand in his pocket (the other holding the folder) and walked into the hospital at 21:48pm (9:48pm) on that cold, cloudy night. He was up the stairs and standing in front of the lab Molly worked in, wondering how to enter. He put on a smile, which would strike normal people as friendly, but for people who knew Sherlock, a smile this genuinely happy was unusual.
"Hello Molly," he said politely as he let himself in, startling her a little at his unexpected arrival.
"Oh! Hey Sherlock!" she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and smiled widely, "is everything alright...?" she said slowly observing the smile on his face as hers faded in wonder.
"What? I'm fine... "He shrugged and continued smiling. Not in a creepy way, it was still a sweet smile, one that he didn't wear often.
"What? Solved the case? You seem unusually happy... Or have you got some girlfriend now?" she said the last part a little softer though she managed a fake chuckle.
"Well... yes... maybe..." he sat the folder down on a counter as Molly turned around and put away a few chemicals, "you're right about the case. I came to return the folder. Of course I solved it."
"Hah, of course you did," she smiled over her shoulder as she opened cabinets, "So you've got a girlfriend too?"
"Ah well..." Sherlock rubbed his neck awkwardly and didn't reply. They stood in silence for a long time, well, silence minus the glass bottles tapping eachother in the shelf as she put them away. She was reaching for a top cabinet but wasn't tall enough, before either could say a word Sherlock took the bottles from her hands and put them up himself. Molly appreciated his help, but wasn't quite sure whether to say thank you or not. Ah at last, the lab was clean; though silence stayed.
"Thanks..." she said softly as she looked up at him, they were standing less than half a meter away as he closed the cabinet and looked into her eyes.
Sherlock spun on his heels and backed away as did Molly, neither knowing exactly how to feel.
The consulting detective flashed tips through his mind: ...tell he looks nice in the dress... say her lipstick suits her... say her high-heels compliment her legs... Molly was in a lab coat with no makeup on wearing tennis shoes. None of the compliments that John and Mrs. Hudson told him would qualify to her. He didn't know exactly why but the fact that Molly liked him so much made him feel all weird and good inside, so he asked for Johns help to return this feeling to her just this once. John and his dating experience wasn't much help so he also asked Mrs. Hudson what a girl would like to hear. She told him to dress nice and wear light Cologne and smile a lot; she also gave him a huge list of compliments. He couldn't find one that fit…except... except! Oh! He remembered one of them!
"Is... is that a new shirt?" He asked as he saw the pink behind her lab coat; they were just about 3 meters away, with a white counter separating them, not facing eachother, facing the door to avoid eye contact. Sherlock stood with his arms folded as he turned his head towards Molly again and she looked back.
"No," she said simply.
"Oh..." he replied awkwardly at his fail.
They folded their arms as they stood with the lab counter between them, Pin drop silence in the empty room. Small noises of custodians cleaning up could be heard down the hall as Sherlock realized how late it was. Molly's eyes wandered to the ticking clock as well, she opened her mouth to say something when he spoke first,
"So I bought you this..." he reached in his pocket and retrieved a thin square. It was a music CD of a band Molly was very fond of, she played them a lot in the lab and Sherlock was smart enough to observe. He handed her the CD and she read it and smiled.
"Invisible Emotions? I love them!" She looked really happy and as did Sherlock when he saw that he had made her smile. Though he was confused when her smile faded as she read the song titles on the back,
"Sherlock...?" She half smiled half questioned.
"Yes..." did I do something wrong? He thought.
"I love this band... and I love all of these songs... but..." she laughed at the CD, "I know all the songs on this CD!"
"I know you do and I know you like them. You play them often and I hear you humming them all the time... what's wrong with the disk?"
"No I mean I HAVE this same disk! This is the same CD I am always playing and humming!" Her laugh was so sweet and she glowed insanely when she smiled. Why doesn't she smile often? Sherlock wondered.
He couldn't help but smile at the ground as he felt her laughter rub off on him.
She set the CD aside on the counter and giggled at him and he smiled back charmingly.
Yet the laughter died down again and all was awkward once more.
Molly glanced at the clock and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear again,
"You know... it's getting kinda late... and you must be busy now..." she started as she started taking her lab coat off. Sherlock quickly ran to her side and aided her in taking the white coat off. She blushed wildly as he did so and he felt himself being a typical gentleman.
She folded the coat in her hand and grabbed her bag, putting the disk inside her purse; Sherlock simply followed her out the door.
"You know I actually don't have plans," he flipped his collar up and put his hands in his pockets as they headed down the stairs to the exit. She thought of how to respond to such an open gesture; she inhaled deeply as an amazing scent came from Sherlock's neck.
"Oh I was just being silly. I don't know… I didn't mean plans like THAT..." she rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Oh... alright..." Sherlock said softly; he was so confused how to feel about her and he could tell she didn't know how to feel about him either. They approached the glass doors at around 22:15pm (10:15 pm) and flinched at the bright light that exploded outside.
"Blimey..." Molly put her hand on her forehead, "I completely forgot about the storm tonight..." she stretched her neck to see the street around the corner of the building, filled with cars on the road.
Sherlock thought for a second as he stared at the pouring rain, pounding thunder, and flashing lighting,
"Wait right here..." he raced out into the wet weather.
"Sh- Sherlock!" She called after him to try to stop him.
She waited and waited and waited for him to show but he hadn't shown for 10 minutes. She had actually started to think he had left her when a yellow cab showed up in front of the door.
Sherlock stepped out, completely soaked from head-to-toe with a grin across his lips as he opened the door and gestured her in,
"Hurry up is raining like crazy!" He let the cold water drench his coat, and his soggy hair covered most of his eyes. She opened the glass door and smiled from ear to ear. She gave Sherlock an EXTREMELY tight hug then proceeded into the cab. He got in and shut the door then shook his head from side-to-side letting small droplets of water fly around.
"Molly tell him your address..." he wiped his face and rubbed his hands off on his already wet jacket. She told the cabbie where she lived and they set off. Sherlock ran his hands through his hair vigorously, his hair was 2 times darker and only half wet now, but he seemed so irritated by it.
Molly laughed uncontrollably, "It'll dry by itself. Stop messing with it!" Of course Sherlock didn't take her advice so she shoved his hands away and fixed his hair herself. Molly fingers ran through his hair, parting his hair, then setting some clumps in certain areas, then lightly ruffling it so it looked perfect and adorably messy; just the way she liked it.
Sherlock smiled yet squinted as she messed with his wet hair, he didn't usually like people touching his hair, or him, but he liked what she was doing.
She fixed his hair then relaxed in the cab and Sherlock stared out the window, why couldn't they ever avoid these awkward silences? About a minute passed before Molly said,
"You didn't have to get the cab for me..." she looked at him uncertainly.
"I know..." he shrugged still staring out of the window; "I wanted to... it's what a 'proper gentleman' would do..." he scoffed.
Molly was taken aback, why was he being so randomly nice?
Sherlock on the other hand, had his own reasons for kindness.
After Priya had left, John told him all about the things Molly had said, Sherlock had been observing for a while and confirmed: she had all the signs of early depression. It was getting worse and Sherlock could see it, day in and day out. He knew he wouldn't be able to help her with all the other things in her life that made her life dull and gloomy (dead bodies every day, not much family around) but he could help her with the one part he controlled: himself. John convinced him that he was a big part of her life and he needed to help her somehow with this sadness; her depression wasn't too bad but if Sherlock continued ignoring her, it would get worse. And actually, he didn't mind being sweet to Molly, he didn't know how to express it clearly but for some reason he liked seeing her smile, and he liked her laugh, and he liked just being... nice to her. He didn't figure out until today how easy it was to make her grin.
"So?" she asked, breaking the silence and reaching into her purse, "why'd you get me a CD I already have?"
"Because I knew you'd like it."
Silence and blushing.
Screeeech!
The cabbie hit the brakes as he stopped the car a bit ahead of Molly's apartment.
"Well, goodnight Sherlock," Molly opened the door and a surge of cold air and a bit of rain flew into the cab.
"You won't need me to walk you in? It's still raining and-"
"I'll be fine..." She looked down uncertainly as she hustled out the door.
"Molly..." he grabbed her hand before she left, "goodnight," he kissed her hand delicately and let it go. The two blushed insanely as nether knew what they had just done.
"So how'd you do?" John was typing on the couch as Sherlock walked into their flat drenched.
"Well, it was awkward, then we flirted, then it was awkward again. A lot of awkward flirting I would say..." he walked to his room, grabbed a towel then came back to the couch and started wiping his hair.
"Well it sounds like a typical date..." John shut his laptop.
"And how would you know?" Sherlock smirked.
"AY!" John punched him the arm, he stood up and set his laptop on his desk. Mrs. Hudson came racing in,
"How was it?! I saw you walk in!" She smiled widely, "did you make Molly happy?"
Sherlock sighed but couldn't help but smile too, "yes I hope I did..."
"Any... romantic action?" John said jokingly.
Sherlock rolled his eyes and smirked, "I kissed her hand. Does that count?" he said sarcastically.
"BRAVO!" John clapped, "Bravo Sherlock!"
Mrs. Hudson and John laughed; Sherlock took off his coat and rolled his eyes again, "oh please... it was a onetime deal! Molly is a friend and I am NOT doing that again!"
"Oh don't tell me you didn't enjoy it..." John pressed.
Sherlock refused to respond as he walked into his room and locked the door. He fell on his bed, not caring if the sheets would get slightly wet. Never, he would never admit it to anyone, but he had this weird feeling in his stomach. Like something was stuck inside, like a balloon waiting to burst. It was tingly and oh-so strange, how it swelled inside him and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop smiling. He slapped his face but the grin wouldn't vanish, his mind spun with a thousand emotions and questions,
"My first date?" he muttered to himself, "so awkward..." he closed his eyes, opened them, then jumped up and looked for a new pair of clothes, "I am never doing that again!"
He was lying; he didn't know it, but there were many more dates in the near future… and he would love those too.
A/N: HOW WAS IT? Feedback please! Oh and i think i'm going to continue this in a series of one-shots, awkward and (hopefully) cute like this one! I would really love a review and tell me what you think! OH OKAY WAIT! I have a poll for you! READ THIS: The next chapter will consist of a birthday, who's should it be? Molly's Birthday? Sherlock Birthday? or John's Birthday (Molly and Sherlock teamwork) OKAY? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW TELLING ME WHICH ONE YOU VOTE FOR AND I WILL WRITE IT ASAP! THANKS IF YOU EVEN READ THIS AND CLICKED ON THIS STORY!
Read. Review. Favor. Enjoy.
