One week later
"The laptop, Molly," Sherlock said, staring at the ceiling. He had sprawled out on the couch with no intentions of getting up, since Mycroft was coming over soon. She sighed and picked the laptop up, handing it to him. He's so bloody lazy he can't even stand up and walk five steps.
"It wouldn't kill you to say please."
"Please."
"I've already given it to you!" Molly rolled her eyes as he opened the laptop and typed in the password at a rapid fire pace. Walking behind Sherlock, she glanced at the screen and saw a blog that almost anyone would recognize. "Are you checking John's blog?"
The laptop slammed shut.
"No, it was the first page that showed up. Now I have to log in again," he wouldn't have shut it if that was the first thing that showed up. Liar. He does miss John, despite what he says.
The doorbell rang and Molly went to open the door quickly, knowing Mycroft didn't like waiting. There was more typing as Sherlock logged in and started visiting whatever websites he frequented.
"Good afternoon Miss Hooper," Mycroft said, walking in with his umbrella in hand, as always.
"I can take your umbrella if you'd like,"
"That's alright, I'll keep it. Sherlock, how long do you plan to keep this up? You can't stay hidden in this flat forever. Eventually someone will come to visit and see you. This isn't some kind of game," not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation, Molly walked into her bedroom and shut the door, picking up a nice blue dress from where it hung in the closet.
"I can go to Dublin, or maybe the United States. I've got contacts there." Mycroft pursed his lips, likely thinking about the deceased Irene Adler. He didn't want his brother believing a dead woman he loved was across the pond. "Have you heard about Moriarty?" Sherlock continued.
"What about him?" Mycroft fidgeted a bit.
"It seems that he has resumed his activities from before his death. I've been doing some research in my boredom and found out that he's back. There was even a picture," Sherlock turned the laptop around to show his brother the picture, which was pixelated, but definitely Moriarty. "Is he wearing my coat?"
"That does appear to be similar to your coat." Sherlock pressed a few keys and another pixelated picture, featuring Mycroft shaking Moriarty's hand, appeared on the screen.
"Care to explain?"
Luckily for Mycroft, Molly came out of her bedroom at that moment, wearing her blue dress and black high heels. Sherlock rolled his eyes as she picked up her purse, slipping a tube of lipstick and some money into it.
"Going out to somewhere fancy, I see. Is this one gay, too?"
"For your information, I'm going out with friends!" she clenched her jaw and turned to the older Holmes brother. "Stay as long as you please, Mycroft, there's some leftover Thai food in the fridge if you get hungry. I'll be back around eleven, maybe later," Molly glared at Sherlock as she pulled her coat on. Mycroft stood up and shook his head.
"I need to be leaving now anyways, I have business to do. Nice seeing both of you," he smiled and walked out the door, which Molly held open, his umbrella hitting the floor like a cane with each step.
"He's not going to be visiting any time soon," Sherlock said, looking through all the other photos on the website. The title was MORIARTY IS REAL.
"I can't imagine why!" she replied, the door slamming behind her.
"Did Molly Hooper just use sarcasm?"
"He's a cutie. If I wasn't engaged I'd be trying to go out with him!" Caroline said, making Rae laugh. She had pointed at their waiter, who was, in all fairness, very cute.
"Trust me, being married is so much better than you'd think," Rae replied. Molly smiled half-heartedly and took a sip of her wine. Her last boyfriend was Jim, and that wasn't really a real relationship- so technically she hadn't had a boyfriend since uni.
"Molly, having any luck with the men?" Caroline asked, noticing her friend's sudden silence. They were all in their early thirties, Rae even with children, and she believed that everyone should be with someone by the time they turned thirty.
"I had a boyfriend a few months ago, but it turned out he's gay,"
"Is he now your gay best friend?" Rae asked. Molly shook her head and started to laugh.
"No, he's a lot crazier than I thought he was. I think it's better that I broke up with him,"
"Then how did you find out he was gay?"
"You know-" she paused, remembering that Sherlock Holmes was now known as a fraud. "I just kind of sensed it, after a while. Then he told me he was trying to keep it secret because his parents don't know,"
"Using you as a beard, harsh!" Molly laughed at Caroline's remark, hiding her sudden uneasiness.
Did I really just lie to my best friends? It was more of a white lie, but a lie nonetheless. Moriarty is crazy, though. That's definitely true. I lied, but part of what I said was the truth, so it's justifiable. I think.
Glancing around the room, Molly froze when her eyes landed on him. Jim the gay ex-boyfriend, a.k.a. Moriarty. She quickly glanced away, but when she looked back he wasn't there. Smiling, Molly took another sip of wine and sighed. Just imagining things, silly lass.
After eating some delicious chicken paprikash, Molly thanked her friends for inviting her to dinner and left the restaurant. She checked her mobile: 2 texts from 'Unknown.'
You looked lovely at dinner tonight. M
Meet me at the pub to your right when you're done. M
I am not going to meet that madman, I am going to go home and tell Sherlock he's still out there. I should have told him last week when Moriarty showed up at the morgue.
Molly started walking towards the Underground station she had arrived at and her mobile bing-ed.
I would suggest going to the pub, Miss Hooper. M
She groaned audibly and turned around, taking her time walking to the pub. Molly had no idea what Moriarty had up his sleeve, and she didn't want to be on the receiving end when she found out. When she walked into the pub, a burly man approached her and smiled.
"I'll bring you to see the boss, Miss Hooper," he said, taking her arm and guiding her to a booth in the very back. Jerking her arm away from the man, Molly slid into the booth hesitantly, taking her coat off. As she glanced up her eyes instantly met Moriarty's, which lit up as he smiled.
His eyes do make him look very innocent and cute… But that doesn't make him any less of an evil criminal!
"You can go now, Jacobs. I doubt we'll be getting any trouble," Moriarty said. The burly man nodded and walked away to the bar, joining a friend who handed him a pint. Molly's phone bing-ed.
I'm hungry. SH
I said there was Thai food in the fridge! And stop switching mobiles, it's quite annoying.
I don't like Thai food. SH
Then ORDER something.
Order something for me. Something I'll like. SH
I'm sure you can do that yourself. The take-out numbers are on the fridge.
I'm not hungry anymore. SH
Molly rolled her eyes and sighed, shoving her mobile back into her purse. Moriarty had been watching as she texted Sherlock, deducing who it was by the frustration and annoyance evident on her face.
"Getting annoyed with someone?"
"Just a friend. What do you want from me?"
"Who's the friend?" Molly stiffened and glanced away at a telly that was showing a football game.
"I don't think you need to know that,"
"It was Sherlock, wasn't it?"
"No!"
"You're lying!" Moriarty sang, grinning. She shook her head and clenched her jaw.
"Listen, if you made me come here just to toy with me, I'm leaving,"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." he said ominously. Molly's attention left the TV screen and she stared at him.
"Tell me why you're so interested in me as of late. Last time the only reason you dated me was to meet Sherlock. Well, he's dead now! So it's not like you can do that again," How have I become such a liar tonight?
"I like you Molly, that's all. Can't a guy spend time with a girl he likes?" this comment caused Molly to blush uncontrollably, and she pressed her hands to her cheeks to cool them. Moriarty reached out and took her hands, pulling them halfway across the table. She froze, unsure of what he was about to do. "You're FREEZING!" he exclaimed, rubbing his thumbs along her knuckles. Molly shuddered with disgust and enjoyed the feeling at the same time. His somewhat calloused hands made hers feel even more delicate.
Moriarty studied the fear that was etched onto her face- mouth slightly agape, wide brown eyes staring at their hands, thin brows slightly furrowed. He relished in her fear- it kept her submissive to him, so that he could play with her like putty in his hands.
Realizing that she was holding hands with the consulting criminal, Molly yanked her hands from the grasp of his and pulled her coat on.
"I'm going to leave, I-" Moriarty grabbed her wrist.
"Tell me how you helped him survive."
"Or what?"
"I won't let you leave."
"You don't want to cause a scene in front of all these people, do you?" she tore her wrist away and stood up, hurrying out of the bar. As soon as Molly got outside, she pulled her heels off and ran to the Underground station, putting her Oyster card in the machine and barely making the train.
What the hell were you thinking, Molly Hooper? That man's insane! You have no idea what he's done and you let him hold your hands? Who even knows what he's going to try next…
The door unlocked and Molly walked in, but Sherlock didn't bother to look up from the website he had been on since she had left.
"Did you find something to eat?" she asked, hanging her coat up and setting her purse on the counter.
"I told you, Molly, I'm not hungry,"
"You're going to starve if you don't eat something!"
"It's half past eleven."
"And?"
"You said you'd be home around eleven. Also, your face is the slightest bit flushed, so I'd say you were running and it's cold outside. What made you-"
"My God, Sherlock, I took a later train!" Molly retreated to her bedroom, slamming the door behind herself. Inside, she threw herself onto the bed and laid there for a while before getting up to change and take off her makeup.
It's been a long night.
There was more feedback to chapter one than I thought there would be, so Time with the Madman continues!
