A/N: Dedicated to the members of the sherlolly cord on discord (message if you want to join), especially to vermofftiss for giving me this extremely fluffy, K+ rated plot bunny. Enjoy!.

Molly admired the charm bracelet adorning her wrist. "Oooh, Sherlock, I love it!" She laid a gentle finger on the head of the swan. "So delicate! And I love silver!"

She beamed at him, but he didn't smile back. "Sherlock? What's wrong?"

"You do understand the significance of the animals, don't you?"

Her smile, already faltering, turned into a confused frown. "Um, you know I like animals?" she hazarded, knowing it wasn't the answer he was looking for before the words had finished leaving her mouth. "No, wait," she tried again, studing the tiny silver charms more closely. "No cats, so it's not my favorites; there's the swan, a monkey - "

"Gibbon," Sherlock corrected her tersely.

"Gibbon," she repeated, still not sure why he was being so testy about it. She did love the bracelet, unexpected though the gift had been. "So, swan, gibbon, eagle, that looks like…" She squinted and held it closer. "A puffin!" she announced triumphantly, and he nodded but continued to stare at her with an air of expectation. "And, um, a lobster?" She looked up at him. "Why a lobster?"

"You really don't know?"

Unhappy at disappointing him, she shook her head. "Sorry, no." She laid a placating hand on his arm. "Sherlock," she said softly, "please just tell me. We've talked about this; I'm not a proper genius-"

"Except when it comes to cutting up dead bodies," he recited along with her, a smile finally touching his lips.

"Exactly! So. Just tell me. Use your words," she added teasingly. "Just like we tell Rosie, yes?"

He let out a much-put-upon sigh and took her hand in his, one finger gently stroking her wrist above the bracelet. She looked up, giving him her full and undivided attention. Never mind that she was supposed to be doing her 'proper genius' routine and cutting up a dead body; clearly this was more than just a gift and Mr. Van Helsing could wait a few more minutes for his autopsy (although the axe that had been sticking out of his chest when he'd been found by Lestrade's men had been a clear indicator that he hadn't died of anything resembling natural causes).

"Molly Hooper," Sherlock intoned, his gaze set to 'bone meltingly intense'. "You and I have known each other for almost ten years. We've been romantically involved for two of those years now, and even though we didn't exactly start off in a traditional manner…" Understatement of the decade, that, but Molly refrained from saying anything about forced I love you's and psychotic secret sisters, electing to merely nod, smile, and squeeze his hand in understanding. "However," Sherlock continued, "despite our non-traditional relationship, I find myself wanting something more along those lines with you. Something like what my parents have, actually, which came as a bit of shock since I've always regarded marriage as an outmoded social construct - and incidentally," he added, while Molly gaped at him in shock, "I have no interest in any kind of traditional wedding, per se, nothing so overdone as John and Mary's wedding, for example, and certainly not one that includes attempted murder, but the simple fact of the matter is…I love you, Molly Hooper. And I would be more than honoured if you would consent to becoming my wife."

Molly's eyes had started to well up, and her "My God, yes!" was more than a bit watery as she flung her arms around him and gave him a heartfelt kiss, which he returned with enthusiasm.

After the kiss ended and they'd caught their breath, Molly lifted her wrist and jangled the bracelet. "So…this is an engagement bracelet? But I still don't understand the significance of the animals, sorry!" She smiled apologetically to underscore her sincerity.

"Gibbons, swans, eagles, puffins, lobsters…they all have one thing in common." His tender smile and the brush of his fingers against her cheek as he spoke nearly distracted her from his next words, but once she understood what he was saying, her heart swelled with love for this extraordinary, wonderful, eccentric man.

"They all mate for life."