After hanging up on Sherlock, Irene jumped up, demanded Molly stayed behind, and she stalked over to Baker Street to set Sherlock straight, as ironic as it was for her to say that. She pounded her fist on the door and was greeted a few moments later by the land lady.
"Oh, good afternoon, Molly. Sherlock's upstairs," she said and stepped aside.
"Thanks," she smiled before bounding up the stairs.
She slammed the door open and locked eyes with the detective who sat in his armchair with a cup of tea and a stop watch.
"Thirteen minutes and six seconds, Doctor Hooper. My, my. How sloppy. It also raises the question of 'why does it take you half an hour to get from your flat to mine?" Sherlock asked, smirking at the pathologist.
Irene stalked towards him and punched him in the jaw. "Fuck off," she snarled.
Sherlock looked back at her with a smirk and rolled his eyes. "So weak."
She rested her knee on his thigh and leaned towards him, cupping his chin in her hand. Irene squeezed his cheeks as she spoke. "Leave me alone. I'm not going to Bart's and I'm not going to be your assistant. My life is my life. You're not the focus of it. I am. Who I have as my company is none of your business and I don't want you to be involved. If I did, I would have asked you to be involved, but lo and behold, I have not. So leave me the fuck alone, Sherlock bloody Holmes. Alright?" Sherlock struggled against her grip but to no avail. Grumbling, Sherlock, nodded in agreement. "Say it."
The detective furrowed his eyebrows and locked eyes with Irene. "What's happened to you? What happened to the sweet Molly who'd come and help me at the morgue? What's wrong?"
Irene let go of Sherlock and slapped him before cupping his chin again. "That's none of your business. Now, agree to leave me alone or else," she snarled.
"I can't agree to that," he managed.
"Why not? You can't accept that you're not the most important thing?"
"I'm a detective," Sherlock grumbled, "and you're dealing with Irene Adler. I'd be stupid to not take this case."
Irene sighed. "You are stupid and there is no case." There was footsteps coming up the stairs and Irene glared at Sherlock. "Agree. Now."
"Never," he replied, glancing over her shoulder.
John Watson walked in and gaped at the scene before him. Irene looked over at him and stood up, letting go of Sherlock.
"Keep an eye on your pet. It's harassing innocent citizens," she said before glaring at Sherlock.
Molly paced around her flat, waiting for Irene to return. It had been over an hour since Irene had left, and she feared that when they switched back, Molly would regret it. The front door swung open, revealing a furious young woman.
"That Sherlock Holmes." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to kill him one day."
Molly gave her a weak smile and sat down on the couch. With another sigh, Irene sat beside her and they began to talk about each client Molly would face tomorrow and what she'd have to do. Irene was making notes for her while describing the likes and dislikes of each client and what to expect. Molly was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that she was now a dominatrix and could no longer use her manners with her clients.
As Molly got flustered and tried to remember everything, Irene was contemplating getting Kate to come over to get Molly to practice. She knew Molly was either going to have a great time and do fantastically, or Irene would lose some clients and have to hand out some freebies, two of her pet peeves. One of her rules is 'no freebies under any circumstances' but she'd have to break it once she got back to her usual self. Kate would be more than willing to be a guinea pig, as Irene was well aware of.
As the women talked, a figure snuck through the bedroom window and sat in the shadows, listening to the one-sided conversation occurring in the living room.
"I think we'll have to go get Kate over. You're going to need to practice for the clients. We should have some practice there, too, so you know how it'll be on the day. Thoughts?" the voice of Molly asked.
The detective frowned. Clients? What was Molly organising?
There was an awkward, meek reply from someone who sounded just like Irene Adler. "I-I don't know. This isn't my area… at all. I'm fine with whatever you think."
His mind raced as he tried to figure out what Molly and Irene would be talking about, especially to have a Molly who's so confident and to have an Irene who's so… not.
"Alright. Tell her to come over. We'll run through each of the clients. You know what to do, you know the rules, and you know the plan. We'll make sure you master it and you know what you're doing. It'd be terrible for us both to have you walk in very… you-ish and the clients aren't satisfied. I can't really afford to lose any," Molly told Irene. "Now, call Kate and use these words exactly…"
Sherlock Holmes sat down in his armchair and stared at the wall opposite him. As John walked into the room, Sherlock shuddered.
"Er, are you ok?" John asked, sitting opposite Sherlock.
The detective's eyes flickered over to his friend. "Something is happening between Irene Adler and Molly Hooper. I have no idea what is happening but I know that it's very sexual. It appears that Molly is teaching Irene something…"
John's eyes grew as Sherlock spoke. "W-what?! That doesn't make any sense!"
"I know. I heard Molly talking about clients, using Irene's assistant as a guineapig and rewarding the woman when she arrived at Molly's flat. Irene made a phone call in a seductive tone. None of this makes sense and I need answers," Sherlock said.
"And how do you know all of this?"
"Because, John," Sherlock started, "I snuck into Molly's bedroom and heard her talking in the lounge room. And that was the biggest mistake of my life!"
John rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just talk to Molly and see what's going on?"
"T-that's- John, no! What?!" Sherlock stumbled. "I can't just walk up to her and say 'hullo, Molly. I snuck into your flat yesterday and I wanna ask you something- what the hell are you doing with Irene Adler?' That's insane, John!"
"I kind of want to see what she'll do," John confessed with a smirk.
Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Get your head out of the gutter, John. Really."
After Kate left, Molly looked at Irene, feeling both embarrassed and uncomfortable.
"So… that was…"
Irene frowned. "Look, Molly, you know the theory and you put it to place well. Right now, it doesn't matter how you feel. Get it right, then have fun, okay?"
"Er, ok," Molly replied while ringing her fingers. "S-so, where are we sleeping tonight? I mean, only one of us can sleep in the bed."
"Take the bed. You're taller," Irene said before walking to the couch. She lay down and smiled at Molly.
It was only once Molly had retreated to her room that there was a knock on the door. With a groan, Irene stood up and made her way to the source of the noise. She opened the door to see Sherlock smiling at her.
"Evening, Molly," he said, glancing over her shoulder.
"What do you want, Holmes?"
He frowned at her clipped tone. "I wanted to have a conversation with you about Irene Adler."
It was Irene's turn to frown. "Excuse me?"
"I-I mean, I heard you talking to her when I called and-"
"Was I not clear enough?" Irene snarled. "I told you not to enquire or dig. Who I was with is none of your business. Got it, Holmes?"
"Actually," Sherlock started, "not at all. I was just going to warn you that she doesn't work for free. If you two have a one sided deal, she'll expect a favour eventually."
"I know how Miss Adler works. I'm not an idiot. Now, run along."
As she closed the door, Sherlock stuck is foot in the way and leaned down to her. His face was inches away from hers. "What are you doing with Irene Adler?" he asked in a low, dangerous tone.
"Sex. Now, unless you want to get involved, I highly recommend you piss off."
In Sherlock's shocked state, he didn't resist when Irene pushed him out the door and slammed it shut in his face. She locked the door and sighed before retreating to the couch. Bloody idiot.
John was typing up one of their latest cases when Sherlock arrived back from Molly's flat.
"How'd it go?" John asked.
The detective glared at John. "She confirmed she's with Her but she also kicked me out of the flat… well, slammed the door in my face."
John looked up at Sherlock. "What happened?"
"I turned up, I said hi, wanted to talk about Irene, she told me to sod off, I told her that Irene doesn't work for free under any circumstances, she got angry at me and tried to close the door, I asked what was going on, she said: 'sex. Now, unless you want to get involved, sod off." So here I am," he rambled before falling onto his armchair.
"I- what?!" John spluttered.
Sherlock shrugged. "That's what happened. So, we know they're there together. We know it is something sexual… but we don't know what's happening."
"Maybe, Sherlock," John started, "maybe you should drop it and leave Irene and Molly alone?"
The detective snorted. "Don't make me laugh, John. I want to get to the bottom of this investigation. I'm going to have to consult my mind palace…"
John sighed as he realised Sherlock had left the real world. He continued with his blog, forgetting all about Molly and Irene.