Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and the follows! You guys are amazing... Here's Chapter 2, there will probably be one more. I hope you enjoy, I was a little unsure about this one! :)
"MOLLY HOOPER WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
The weight of those words made the soldier in John want to attack! He started to climb the stairs when he heard a quiet, meek voice begin to talk.
"I [sniffle]… I am [sob]… I'm sorry," Molly said breathlessly.
From the bottom of the stairs, John could hear Sherlock scoff. "No you are not sorry! You know how I know that? Hmm?" His voice was booming now. "I know because YOU ALWAYS DO THIS! DO YOU ENJOY SEEING ME GET MAD?"
The declaration was followed by a series of gasps for air and a loud THUMP, sounding akin to something heavy falling. Perhaps a person? More specifically, a tiny pathologist?
John bounded up the stairs to interrupt whatever was going on in the consulting detective's flat. Sherlock did many questionable things, but never did he think that he was capable physically hurting a woman. Well a woman who didn't have it coming…
Ramming the front door open, John was confused by the scene in front of him. Sherlock was standing in the kitchen sipping his tea, while Molly was writhing on the living room floor… laughing hysterically.
Both occupants of the flat turned to look at the intruder (John); one looked confused (Sherlock) while the other began to laugh harder, rolling around like a lunatic (Molly).
"Hello John, what are you doing here?" Sherlock asked calmly.
Still a bit baffled, John proceeded cautiously. "Um Mrs. Hudson called. She was concerned…"
Sherlock turned to look at Molly who was still unable to compose herself. "This is your fault you know. I told you that you were being too loud!"
"Actually," John interrupted, "the complaint was that you were stomping around and yelling."
With his tea in hand, Sherlock stepped over Molly who was still on the floor and made his way to sit down on the sofa. "I always stomp and yell. Nothing new there. So what's with the dramatic entrance?"
John followed his friend's example and joined him on the sofa. "Well Mrs. Hudson said that you were yelling at Molly, and given your past history, I thought it was a good idea to come and stop you!"
Molly rolled over on her side to face the two men on the couch. "You came to check on me?" she asked quietly. John nodded his head. She released a few residual giggles and continued, "That's very sweet John, but I told you last night that I was fine."
John shifted in his seat, beginning to feel a bit silly. "When you said you were fine, I thought you were being wilful and protecting Sherlock. And just now, I heard him shout at you and then you fell. I thought you might be hurt! I was concerned!"
Molly wide eyes stared at John for a moment before she turned to look at Sherlock. Gigantic grins spread their faces before the two collapsed in a fit of laughter.
Feeling a little left out, John's annoyance began to grow. Not only was he not feeling well, but he was dragged out of bed early in the morning! All this, only to be mocked?
Furiously John stood up, and with his most authoritative glare motioned Molly to join Sherlock on the couch. Once she sat down, he moved his chair so that he was seated right in front of them.
"Now," he began with clenched teeth, "I demand to know what the hell is going on!"
Three months earlier…
"Um Sherlock," Molly said as she put a hand on his chest, "can we stop for a moment?"
"What? What's wrong?" he asked nervously. Molly took a second to appreciate his appearance. Swollen lips, flushed cheeks, dilated pupils, and messy hair; it was a treat to see him looking so disheveled. Especially since she was the cause of it.
"It's not that I don't like snogging you, because believe me I do! But I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding what's going on…"
Sherlock eased himself off of her and took his seat on the couch. "What do you mean you don't understand what's going on? We were kissing, quite passionately I might add, and then you asked me to stop. So if that's all, we can continue-" He repositioned himself above Molly, however she was quicker and rolled herself off the couch to avoid his advances.
"Yes I know that! But what does it mean? For us-" she bit her lower lip and looked up at him.
With one large sigh, Sherlock sat back down. No more kissing tonight, he frowned. "Molly, I told you that I have feelings for you, which you reciprocate. Right?" Molly nodded. "Okay, good. As you know, I am not well-versed in these things, but I think that means that we are together. A couple. Does that sound like a feasible conclusion to you?"
Molly had to fight the urge to squeal. 'Play it cool, Hooper!'
She moved over to join Sherlock on the couch again. "Yes Mr. Holmes, that sounds very feasible!" He looked at her shyly and reached for her hand. As she interlaced them she asked, "A couple, huh? So when should we tell our friends?"
Gently kissing the hand that was entwined with his, he shrugged. "Actually, I think it would be fun to see how long it takes them to figure it out!"
"Sherlock Holmes! That is a cruel thing to do to your friends! Don't you think they'll get mad?"
"Hmm? Nah! They all love me too much to get mad at me. It's their weakness, to be perfectly honest." He replied confidently.
Molly shook her head in disbelief. "That's smart; telling the woman you've just entered into a relationship with that 'love is a weakness.' Nice… So you really think they won't get mad, do you?"
Sensing the challenge, Sherlock grinned. "Of course I do, and as you know, I am always right!"
She smiled at him mischievously, "Oh Sherlock, you shouldn't have said that!" He turned his head to look at her, feeling a little bit of- what was that?- dread in the pit of his stomach. "Why?"
"Let's just say that until you decide to share the news with our friends, I will be making your life difficult."
John pressed his lips together while he eyed his two friends. "Okay so ignoring the fact that you two have been lying to me for the past three months- which we will be discussing by the way!- how exactly did Molly make your life difficult?"
Sherlock rolled his eyes. "It's little things she does to annoy me!" Molly snorted making John turn and glare at her.
"Alright Sherlock, how does she annoy you?" he bit out sarcastically.
"Well like right before you came in, we were playing chess. But she wasn't playing correctly! I must have explained the rules to her a hundred times John!"
John took a deep breath in, "Really? You are mad because she doesn't play a game correctly? Don't you think that's just a little ridiculous?"
The detective crossed his arms and pouted. "No! She does this all the time. Every time she moves a piece she shouts "Chess" like she's winning. And it's not just chess. Last time we were playing dominoes, and every time she put down the domino she yelled "Domino." The same thing happened with 'Operation'…"
Perhaps if he had been in a better mood John would have found Molly's antics hilarious. He was the first to admit that pressing Sherlock's buttons was occasionally fun.
He rubbed his hands over his face. "I have to be honest with you, what you just described doesn't sound like she's being 'difficult'. You are being over-dramatic." John stood up and began to pace. Gradually all the events of the past few weeks came to mind.
"Wait!" He abruptly stopped his pacing. "You dick! You complain about Molly, but what about you? You are no saint! What do you have to say about that?"
Sherlock furrowed his brow. "Of course I'm not a saint. It is not a secret." He turned to look at Molly, who shrugged her shoulders in response.
"No, no don't do that Sherlock. Don't play innocent, it is not a good look on you. How do you explain the way you've been treating Molly?"
"Well John, I think she'd agree that I've been treating her pretty good. Wouldn't you say?" Sherlock smirked and turned to the blushing woman.
John grimaced, "I- I don't need to know any of that. I'm talking about the way you speak to her. The things you've said to her are 'not good' mate!"
It was Sherlock's turn to scowl. "What things?" He asked indignantly.
"I've heard from reliable sources that the things you say are extremely hurtful! I've also heard that on several instances you were the cause of her fleeing a room in tears!"
Sherlock was used to being accused of many things. But he had taken great strides in being kinder and gentler to Molly. He was proud of his transformation, and he was not going to let John Watson belittle his progress!
"What the hell John?! Who said all this?" Sherlock yelled as he rose to his feet.
John inched his way towards his friend until he came toe-to-toe with the man. "Let's see I've received word from Mike Stamford, Greg Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson. Now I suppose you'll tell me that they are all lying!"
Sherlock backed away at the harshness of his tone. He turned back to look at Molly, silently asking for her help in the matter. Molly stood up and walked over to Sherlock's side as a sign of solidarity. Slowly she wrapped her arms around herself and scrunched her face. "Actually, I think I can explain that…" she quietly admitted.
Molly soon realized that this was not a one-off. While he was never one to be affectionate in public, he was incredibly sweet in their private moments. Not to mention it was the best sex of her life! It was becoming more and more difficult to hide the truth from their friends. And all the love bites he liked to leave as reminders of their shared passion was not helping; it was almost like he was taunting them. If he could be devious, then so could she!
Phase one of "Operation: Make Sherlock's Life Difficult," as Molly had dubbed it, had been successful. When their mutual love for board games was revealed, she saw an opportunity; and what started as simple entertainment, evolved into a therapeutic pastime. During their game sessions, she would yell out random words, blatantly disregard the rules, and steal his game pieces. Knowing that he was extremely competitive, and not one to suffer fools quietly, she wanted to see how long it would take to break him. Surprisingly it took longer than expected.
Six weeks into their relationship to be exact.
At first when she would make a mistake, he would patiently explain the rules and let her try again. When he caught her taking his game pieces, he kindly reminded her that those belonged to him, and that her pieces were right next to her. It was the yelling that finally did him in.
"Molly stop that yelling!" He said raising his voice slightly. "Sherlock, if I don't yell, how will we know who is winning?" she asked innocently.
"What?! THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!"
It took the detective longer than he was proud to admit before he figured out what she was doing.
After Sherlock accosted her in the linen closet of the Watson's home for a 'quickie', she decided it was time to step up the game. Phase two of "Operation: M.S.L.D." was a little messier. But she figured that the faster Sherlock would break, the faster they could come clean to their friends. And… well if she was being honest, it was fun messing with him.
She thought back to the time before his 'suicide.' Those had not been happy times, but then again they wouldn't be where they were now if they hadn't survived that. He had used her and manipulated her, and his friends had always reprimanded him for it.
So if she was going to draw their attention to them, what better way than to pretend he was hurling insults at her again.
She started off small; doing little things to provoke him. One day while Sherlock was using the microscope, she began to swing her ponytail. With the bounce of each step, she allowed her ponytail to gain momentum until he had to say something.
Looking up from his work, he stared at her. "Molly, what are you doing?"
"Huh?" She murmured. Sherlock rolled his eyes, "Why are you walking like that?"
Molly opened her eyes widely in fake astonishment. "Oh that, well I like how my ponytail feels when it swings back and forth!" She added a big smile to really sell it.
Sherlock snickered. "Yeah well you should stop. You look like a horse." Molly had to leave the room to keep from laughing, passing Dr. Stamford in the hall.
A few days later she decided it was time to show off her latest purchase: a swirly, polka-dotted, rainbow colored monstrosity of a jumper. Sure she got a few looks from people in the store, but she was positive that Sherlock's face would be priceless. She arrived at her office, pleased to see that Sherlock was already there. She made a big show of removing her coat to reveal her brand new jumper; though she was facing the other way, she was pretty sure she heard him suck in some air. She walked over and gave him a quick kiss, which he happily accepted.
"So what do you think?" she asked cheerfully. Sherlock did everything in his power to avoid her gaze. "Hmm."
"Yeah it's brand new," she continued, even though he hadn't asked. "You know why I like it? Because when I move and twirl around, it's like the pattern comes to life. Look watch me!"
Molly then proceeded to twirl and squirm her way in the tiny office. It took a few minutes for Sherlock to understand that she was clearly trying to get a reaction out of him.
Coolly, he sat back in the chair and quirked his lips. "That's enough of that, go put on you lab coat. That jumper is truly atrocious Molly. In fact, I think I might just get seasick if I have to watch you prance around the lab in that the rest of the day!" He spit out the last words just as Mike walked in. Afraid that he had caught her dancing around her office instead of working, she blushed and made her excuses as she ran to the lab. It was only when she was alone that she allowed the giggles to spill.
It wasn't easy, and she wanted to give up many times. Especially when he was so sweet to her. Had someone told her all those years ago that Sherlock would call her every night to wish her goodnight, or that he liked to spend all day cuddling with her, she would have called that person a big fat liar!
As a matter of fact, she was prepared to call it quits when she overheard John and Mike Stamford talking.
With new founded determination, she decided it was all or nothing!
End Notes: Some of you guessed it, I hope the rest of you were surprised. I believe that Molly is really playful and likes to make Sherlock uncomfortable based on what we've seen in Series 3 (The snickering at Shilcott's flat, and the "we're having quite a lot of sex" comment"). And in case it wasn't clear, the sniffles and sobs are her laughing... Speaking from experience, my laugh sounds like I'm crying. It leads to a lot of misunderstandings!
Please review! They make my day! :)
