Chapter 10: Relationships
Sherlock vaguely recognized it as Hayden left the room. He knew that she was going to meet Molly but he wasn't sure what other business the woman might have. Not that he really cared.
He focused on the screen in front of him, ignoring the door when it opened to let Molly in.
"Any luck?" Molly asked moving over to look at the screen.
"Oh, yes!" Sherlock said, glad to see that his speculation was correct. He heard the door open and barely glanced over to see a man in a white t-shirt pause there.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't …" The man apologized shifting uncomfortably.
"Jim! Hi!" Molly called, making Sherlock wince as she moved to the man, "Come in! Come in!"
Sherlock made his deductions of the man instantly and went back to looking at the screen, no longer interested.
"Jim, this is Sherlock Holmes," Molly introduced before looking over at John apologetically. Sherlock was briefly surprised that Molly didn't remember John's name before dismissing the information as irrelevant. "And, uh ... sorry."
"John Watson," John supplied, though the man was not paying attention to the soldier. "Hi."
"Hi," Jim greeted distractedly. "So you're Sherlock Holmes. Molly's told me all about you. You on one of your cases?"
"Jim works in I.T. upstairs," Molly explained as Jim stepped closer to Sherlock, "That's how we met. Office romance."
"Gay," Sherlock said quickly after another glance at Jim.
"Sorry, what?" Molly asked, her usual smile fading some.
"Nothing," Sherlock says, before throwing a fake smile at Jim, "Um, hey."
"Hey," Jim says breathily before accidentally knocking a dish of the edge of the table, he apologized as he scrambled to pick it up, "Sorry! Sorry!" After an awkward moment Jim turned to Molly, "Well, I'd better be off. I'll see you at The Fox, 'bout six-ish?"
"Yeah!" Molly agreed, wanting nothing more than for this interaction to be over.
"Bye," Jim smiled at Molly, placing a hand on her back before looking to Sherlock, "It was nice to meet you."
"You too," John offered after another awkward minute of silence. Sherlock could hear him give a sigh of relief when the door shut.
"What d'you mean, gay?" MOlly demanded once Jim was gone, "We're together."
"And domestic bliss must suit you, Molly," Sherlock offered after a moment, "You've put on three pounds since I last saw you."
"Two and a half."
"Nuh, three," Sherlock disagreed, looking Molly up and down again.
"Sherlock …" John warned with a shake of the head.
"He's not gay," Molly snapped, "Why d'you have to spoil ...? He's not."
"With that level of personal grooming?" Sherlock snorted.
"Because he puts a bit of product in his hair?" John defended, "I put product in my hair."
"You wash your hair. There's a difference," Sherlock explained before rolling his eyes, looked like he would have to explain his deduction, "No-no – tinted eyelashes; clear signs of taurine cream around the frown lines; those tired clubber's eyes. Then there's his underwear."
"His underwear?" Molly questioned.
"Visible above the waistline – very visible; very particular brand," Sherlock said before picking up the bowl Jim had knocked over and grabbing the number that Molly had left there, "That, plus the extremely suggestive fact that he just left his number under this dish here ,and I'd say you'd better break it off now and save yourself the pain."
Sherlock blinked when Molly ran out of the room before looking at John in confusion. He had not anticipated that reaction.
"Charming," John remarked sarcastically, "Well done."
"Just saving her time," Sherlock defended, "Isn't that kinder?"
"'Kinder'? No, no, Sherlock," John nodded at where Molly had run out, "That wasn't kind."
Sherlock paused when his phone buzzed three times next to John. It was the alert Hayden had set for her contact, wanting it to be different so he'd know that it was her he was ignoring. Those had been her words, not that he didn't agree with them, he did tend to ignore most people.
"She says she's gonna make you pay for making Molly cry," John said with a small smile, reading the text Hayden had sent, "She also says to let me examine the shoes."
Sherlock hummed before doing just that, handing the shoe to a startled John.
"What?" John questioned, gingerly taking the shoes, "why am I looking at them?"
"Because, John, it's good practice," Sherlock explained.
"Practice for what?"