A/N. Sherlolly Appreciation Week fic for 3/13 & 3/19: "It wasn't working for me" and "Please, don't do this".

The Dress

"Nothing dangerous for you Molly, I assure you" his low voice flooded her mind as she recalled the moment he showed up at Bart's morgue telling her that his brother Mycroft, Mr Government himself, had asked him, nay demanded, to take a case. It was a three day, undercover job in Paris and he needed her to help him.

In front of her hesitation and her pointing out he could ask John to accompany him, he had laughed heartily and looking at her amused had explained to her that his best friend did not fit the figure he needed to enter the environment in which he had to investigate.

But it wasn't fear or danger, as Sherlock had thought, that had kept her from accepting right away to go with him in the most romantic city in the world, the 'city of love', pretending to be nothing less than his fiancé… well, not quite his fiancé but that of Mark Rutledge, son of the Royal jeweller and himself a diamond dealer, to prevent a jewellery theft against a well-known member of English nobility visiting Paris for a charity event.

Given the circumstances in which they had to work, what had held back was the worry of not being able to hide she loved him, that she never stopped loving him to be precise. Not in the two years Sherlock had been away, not when she was engaged to Tom.

But then she had allowed herself to be persuaded. After all, Molly was supposed to share a couple of social events with him and show off some fabulous jewellery. Sherlock would do the rest by himself and she could enjoy Paris.

And so far everything had gone smoothly. Whoever had to be deceived, had been hooked, bewitched and the trap had been set. Everything was ready for the charity evening at the Plaza Athénée hotel.

Molly slipped on the peach-coloured dressing gown that lay at the foot of her king size bed and strolled towards the large window of her room in the luxurious hotel where Sherlock had booked a suite for both of them.

What a wonderful view she enjoyed! She laughed at herself as she remembered her reaction when she first entered the room two days before. Like a child seeing something new, Molly had stuck her hands and face to the spotless glass of the room's window and had let herself go to several squeals of joy and wonder as she admired the imposing silhouette of the Eiffel Tower.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed unable to contain her enthusiasm as she turned to Sherlock who was standing on the threshold. He grinned and said "You're welcome", with catlike footsteps he then came up beside her and handed her the suite key-card.

"Yes, I suppose I have to thank you" she admitted looking away for a moment from the city's skyline and turning towards him, "At night it's even more breath-taking!" Sherlock murmured with a wink and a relaxed smirk. Molly blinked pleasantly surprised "I thought you didn't care about things like that!", he took a deep breath and rolled his eyes "Doesn't mean I can't appreciate it".

He was absolutely right. At night the view of Paris was spectacular. Molly sighed briefly as she sipped some of the white wine Sherlock had poured her before they both retired to their room to get dressed for the 'grand finale'.

A light knock made her turn towards the door, "May I?" the very recognizable voice of Sherlock asked, "Yes, do come in" Molly replied placing the stem glass on her bedside table. He opened the door but didn't enter, "Oh, good! You haven't dressed yet!" he murmured with an enigmatic smile and ducked out to return after a few seconds with a black garment case in his hands.

"What is that?" she asked tying her dressing gown around her waist. Sherlock's smile grew wide enough to light up his face and eyes, "A surprise…for you" he explained placing the dress, because it was definitely a dress, on the bed next to the one she had already chosen to wear for that evening.

"There was no need to buy me a new dress, Sherlock. We had already agreed in London that this one was more than suitable for the occasion" she pointed out struggling to take her eyes off of him who was absolutely flawless and gorgeous in his tuxedo.

"It's not a new dress, Molly" he replied gesturing her to check with her own eyes. Molly walked past him and narrowed her eyes intrigued by the look of childish expectation on his face. With trembling hands she slowly slid the case's zipper and then very slowly pushed the case material away, revealing the contents.

She put a hand on her mouth in an attempt to contain her surprised "Ooooohhh!", "Where…how…this is not…" she stammered. "It is, actually" Sherlock said softly as he gently place his hands on her arms.

He put a finger under her chin to make her look him in the face "Why did you get rid of it?", "Because…because…" Molly stammered again, "It wasn't working for me" she said quickly, glancing disconsolately at the form-fitting black dress she had worn for him years before during a Christmas toast, "And you should know that" she added, jabbing his chest with her finger.

Sherlock reached out to move a strand of hair, slipped out of her French pleat, behind her hear. His fingers lightly brushed her skin sending a warm shiver down her spine. And the sensation of warmth spread throughout her body as his gorgeous blue-green eyes lingered in hers. She held her breath as her heart seemed to explode in her rib cage.

"I totally disagree" he whispered, his lips quirked in a grin. She frowned "Whatever you're trying to do, Sherlock…please, don't do this" she warned him as she took a step back, "I haven't forgotten what you said about that dress…it compensated for the size of my breast".

Sherlock, with intentional slowness, as if to give her the opportunity to get away from him, occupied her personal space. His hands lightly rested on her waist, "I will never stop asking your forgiveness for what I told you that Christmas" he said softly as his eyes searched for the brown-honey ones of Molly with greed, "I was an utterly fool".

Molly bit her lower lip and lowered her head, staring at his chest. She could feel the warmth of his hands even through the fabric of her dressing gown, and having him practically touching her body, confused her mind.

"You have no idea how much that dress worked on me" Sherlock confessed to her with a small sigh and she jerked her head up to look at him. He was giving her a beautiful smile, his eyes were bright and slightly dilated "I wasn't expecting you to be so dressed up…well, I'd never seen you like that before since I mostly saw you at work", one of his hand went up to her face, rubbing the pad of his thumb on her cheekbone.

Molly's cheeks turned a light pink "Obviously I didn't deduce you wore it to impress me. I never thought anyone would want me, sexually I mean" he told her sincerely and at his confession Molly blushed even more, "I was sure you had a new boyfriend and I wanted to know who he was. I was annoyed with you and myself. You were guilty of stirring up visions in me where you let another man touch you, and I was guilty of letting you do so"

Sherlock took Molly's hand with his other one and brought it to his lips "And my jealousy got in the way of my deductions and caused me to hurt you", his intense gaze caused her goosebumps "Thanks to that dress I realized you didn't see me as an unfeeling genius or an overgrown child, but as a worthy man. Despite you saw me at my absolute worst, you still desired me and still loved me".

He gently kissed each finger of her hand while keeping eye contact "So, Molly Hooper, take that dress" Sherlock said nodding his head towards the bed, "And go get changed because I have to tell you something important, and I will not do it until you put it on".

She took the black dress and walked to the bathroom taking deep breaths to calm her whirling mind and heart. It took her a while to put it on. Molly's hands and legs trembled, her heart seemed to go mad, her stomach housed the flapping of the wings of a thousand crazed butterflies.

When she returned to the room, Sherlock was waiting for her at the exact spot where she had left him. He reached out for her and Molly held out her hand. When hers was safely enclosed in his, Molly dared to look up at his face.

"You are even more beautiful than that Christmas" his voice was shaky and she smiled, never before had she seen Sherlock being so shy. "I love you, Molly…forgive me for taking so long to tell you", "I love you too, Sherlock" she whispered cradling his head, "Never stop loving you". He stifled a chuckle and took a small blue velvet box from his jacket.

"Can I therefore hope for a yes as an answer to my question?", Molly raised an amused eyebrow and asked "What question?". Sherlock fell to his knees at Molly's feet and opened the lid of the box showing a delicate solitaire, "Molly Hooper, will you marry me?". She nodded her head several times before saying "Yes, I do. I want marry you, Sherlock Holmes".

He gingerly slipped the ring onto her finger. Giving him a happy look she ran her hand through his curly hair and bowed her head so to meet his halfway for a searing kiss full of promises for a bright future together.