Work Text:
Molly was actually rather nervous for this date. It was one thing to have dinner or see a film with Sherlock. It was another to do something intimate like dancing. And while she knew she was a rather good dancer, it wasn’t something anyone she knew well other than Sally had seen her do. That and the fact she had no clue as to his own level of talent. She knew not everyone in her class came with their significant other, so not all of them would be as good, but she knew Sherlock had his pride and while he thought he would be good enough not to embarrass himself she wasn’t quite sure that would be the case.
She had discovered it was indeed a black tie event, so she knew he was going to look exquisite and she hoped she didn’t look drab and dull in comparison. She was sure she didn’t need to impress Sherlock, but she wanted to. She’d called Mary over for advice on how to do her hair and make-up and to help settle her nerves. The dress she had picked up with a group of people from the class who were going so she knew she looked good in it and it was appropriate for the occasion. Some of the advanced students had come along to give tips and it had been a rather fun day with shopping and dinner and drinks afterward. She knew she’d be seeing them all tonight and that was another thing that made her nervous. The fact she and Sherlock were dating wasn’t a well known fact, and this would be a public declaration if there ever was one.
“Do you really think I look all right?” Molly asked again as Mary nearly finished applying her make-up.
“You aren’t quite finished yet,” she said, studying Molly. “The lipstick needs to be a red, I think. A vivacious red. Then you’ll look absolutely smashing.”
“Maybe this one?” Molly asked, leaning forward to select a tube off her vanity.
Mary opened it and then nodded, satisfied. “I think this will work just fine,” she said. “Pucker up your lips.” Molly did and Mary put the lipstick on her. Then she pulled away and smiled. “Sherlock’s eyes are going to pop out of their sockets when he sees you.”
Molly turned back to the mirror and took a look. She was wearing her hair in a low, sleek knot at her neck decorated with a pearl and diamond comb to match her sleeveless dress, which was white and calf length, with a plunging neckline and back and a skirt that flared out when she did turns. She had a pair of diamond and pearl chandelier earrings on as well. Her make-up made her look sexy and alluring, with smoky eyes and the vibrant lip colour. Mary really was quite good at putting together a look like this. “I certainly hope so.”
“When is he supposed to get here?” Mary asked.
“Six o’clock,” she said.
Mary glanced at her watch. “Well, it’s five fifty-three now. Knowing him, he’ll be here any minute. Do you want me to stay and wait?”
“It’s all right,” she said with a smile. “I know you have better things to do this evening.”
“Yes, I suppose I should make sure my home is still standing,” she said with a chuckle. “But call me when you’re done and give me all the details. And I do mean all of them.” Mary blew her a kiss and then made her way out of the bedroom. “I’ll let myself out.”
Molly nodded, getting up out of the chair and looking around for her heels. She usually wore heels while she took her lessons and could dance quite well in the two and a half inch heels she had for this occasion. She found them after a moment and slipped them on, and then went and picked up a bottle of Chanel No. 5 and spritzed some on her pulse points. She was giving herself one final look in the mirror when she heard a knock at the door, signaling Sherlock’s arrival.
She made her way out of her bedroom to the front door of her flat and opened the door. Sherlock stood there in his tuxedo, a bouquet of lilies in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw her. “You look exquisite, Molly,” he said quietly.
“You look quite handsome yourself,” she said with a shy smile as he offered her the flowers. She took them and saw they were lilies. “You remembered.”
He nodded. “There are quite a few flower arrangements that can be made without roses,” he said. “I wondered why you don’t like them, though.”
“When my father died, there were so many roses,” she said, moving out of the way so he could come in. “And my mother kept all of the arrangements that weren’t left at the gravesite, and watching the roses wither and die and then watching my mother sob when I finally convinced her it was time to get rid of them…I haven’t liked them since.”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “It’s probably a memory you didn’t want to think about tonight.”
“It’s all right. At least you remembered that I didn’t want them,” she said. “I told Tom about that but he still got me roses any time he got me flowers, which admittedly wasn’t often, but…” She began looking for a vase. “There are so many beautiful flowers in the world that it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with arrangements without roses.”
He nodded. “I will do my best not to get you any, then. But the baby’s breath is fine?”
“Oh, that’s fine,” she said with a nod as she got a vase and took it to the sink to fill with water. “It adds a nice little balance.” She proceeded to put the bouquet in the vase and then fill it with water, and then she set it on the counter, giving him a smile when she turned to him again. “I’m going to enjoy looking at those for the next few days.”
He gave her a small smile in return. “Do we need to leave soon?”
“Yes. It won’t take long to get to the soiree, and my instructor said he’d like us there at six thirty to go over a few things.”
Sherlock looked at her. “You’ll be part of the demonstrations?” he asked.
“We weren’t originally, but he said everyone in the class has at least one dance that they’re exceptionally good at. I’m better at the tango than the waltz but there are some people in my class who are just fantastic at the tango, even better than I am. But Christopher is the instructor’s brother and he’s been doing it for years and he says I have excellent form.”
“Should I be jealous?” Sherlock asked.
“Of Christopher?” she asked with a smile before shaking her head. “No, he’s only twenty-four. He’s far too young for me. And his wife completely captivates his attention.”
“Good,” he said.
She came up to him and reached up to touch his face. “I don’t have to dance all night, but I’d like to dance as often as I can, and I’d mostly like to dance with you, if you feel up to it.”
“If it will make you happy and keep you away from any men with designs on you I’ll dance with you the entire night,” he said, putting a hand to her waist.
“Don’t make any promises you aren’t prepared to keep,” she said with a smirk.
He leaned in and kissed her softly, a kiss that she eagerly returned seconds later. “I fully intend to keep that promise,” he said when he pulled away as she was catching her breath.
“All right,” she said. She pulled away from him more and then went to her bedroom to get her clutch for the evening. She slipped the tube of lipstick Mary had used in before going back out to Sherlock and picking up her wrap off the back of the sofa. She settled it on her shoulders and then gave him a grin. “I’m ready to go now.”
He nodded and went to her door to open it. She stepped out first and then he followed, and she locked up behind them before they headed outside. She had expected there to be a cab waiting for them. She had not been expecting the very nice car. He must have seen her eyes go wide because he spoke then. “From my brother for our date tonight,” he said. “To begin to make up for inconveniencing you these last few weeks.”
“He realizes this is a small start, right?” she asked as they made their way to the car and the driver opened the door for them.
“I think he’s aware of that,” Sherlock said with an amused grin. She got into the car first and he followed, and once he was settled the driver shut the door behind him. “If you find this impressive I may ask him to let me make use of it more often.”
“It would be nice for some more grown-up dates,” she said, running her hand along the leather seats. “If we go to a play or an opera or that sort of thing.”
“Provided he doesn’t need it he might be inclined,” he said. The car pulled away from the curb and she settled in for the trip. “You wouldn’t mind a trip to the opera?”
She shook her head. “I think it would be interesting. I’ve never gone before so I’d like to go at least once.”
“There is one that I’m a fan of in town next month,” he said. “I solved a case for the featured soprano and she said if I ever wanted to see her perform she would make sure I had excellent seats.”
“That would be lovely,” she said, her smile wide.
“Then we can plan for that. Then it will just be a matter of coming up with other dates in the meantime that will impress you.”
She moved her hand to cover his. “You really don’t need to impress me, Sherlock. I like having dates where you do, but really, simple dates are nice too. I mean, I’ve cooked for you but you haven’t cooked for me, so you could do that one night. And you did say you would watch ‘Strangers On A Train’ again. We could do that one evening, and maybe include another Hitchcock film.”
“I thought all women wanted to be impressed,” he said.
“Well, most do, but not all,” she said. “I like being impressed sometimes, but I’m also a kind of homebody. A date where we make a meal together and then curl up and watch the telly is just as pleasant for me as getting dressed in something fancy and going out on the town. It’s the company I’m keeping that matters, not how impressive what I’m doing is.” She leaned in towards him. “And you already do more than enough to make me happy, just by being close and wanting to do things with me.”
“So I do make you happy?” he asked quietly, leaning in as well.
“Yes, you do,” she said before pressing her lips against his again. It was a very lovely kiss that didn’t become too wild, as they were both trying to keep themselves looking impeccable, but it did end with him pulling her closer to him to deepen it slightly. She may not know what else to believe about his level of skill in intimate matters, but when it came to kissing he was quite skilled.
Too soon for her taste the car stopped and stayed stopped, and then the door opened. “I believe we’re here,” he murmured, reluctantly letting her go.
“I think so,” she said. She could tell there were photographers outside so she smoothed her dress a bit. “Do I look all right?”
“You look a little flushed, but not noticeably so,” he said. “You’ll be fine.” He made his way out of the car and then when she got to the door he offered her his hand. She took it and stepped out to what felt like dozens of flashbulbs. He leaned in towards her as people asked questions. “I believe this is a more publicized event than you thought it would be?”
She nodded slightly. “Yes.”
“Then I suggest we get inside quickly,” he said, offering her his arm. She took it and they made their way into the soiree. She wasn’t used to having people want her attention quite this way, but she followed Sherlock’s lead in ignoring them and looking rather regal, or at least as regal as she could. At least judging from Sherlock’s reaction when he had seen her first thing she knew she looked very good this evening.
Once they got inside someone took her wrap from her and she went out in search of her instructor. She didn’t see him, but she did find her dance partner sitting at a table with his wife. There were a pair of crutches leaning against the table next to Christopher and her eyes went wide.”What happened?”
“I fell down a flight of stairs,” Christopher said sheepishly. “I slipped on one of the toys we have for our dog. I broke my ankle and twisted my knee.” Then he glanced at her date. “Well, if it isn’t Sherlock Holmes.”
“I didn’t imagine the Christopher Molly mentioned was you,” Sherlock said, a bit more warmly than Molly had expected. “That dog is going to be the death of you.”
“Oh, I know,” he said. “I didn’t realize Molly was bringing you as your date.”
“How do you two know each other?” Molly asked, looking from Christopher to Sherlock.
“When Christopher was in university he needed my help,” Sherlock said. “He couldn’t pay me, but I needed his expertise in ballroom dancing, so we arranged a trade. He’d just begun dating Carmina so she was my partner as he taught me what I needed to know. He’s one of the few clients I ever held fond feelings towards.”
“It turned out an ex-boyfriend of mine was trying to blackmail Christopher to get onto the professional ballroom circuit,” Carmina said. “Sherlock solved the case rather quickly. We would have invited him to the wedding but it was while he was pretending to be dead. So that means you owe me a dance, Sherlock.”
“If Molly doesn’t mind,” he said.
“Oh, I think I’d actually enjoy seeing what you two can do,” Molly said with a smile.
“You know, if you haven’t deleted it all from your mind palace, you could take my place with Molly for the exhibition part,” Christopher said to Sherlock. “You were excellent at the waltz. You said it had to do with being able to compose one in your head.”
“I could do that, I suppose,” he said thoughtfully, looking at Molly, who nodded.
“The waltzes are in the middle, so you have about forty minutes where you can practice,” Carmina said. “I can show you where, and I’ll tell the announcer about the switch in Molly’s partner.” She stood up and then left the table, and the three of them went to a small room off to the side of the ballroom area where the soiree was being held. “I’ll come get you before it starts.”
“Thank you, Carmina,” Sherlock said with a nod. Carmina left and he looked at Molly. “Well, at least I know we both have had good instructors.”
“Two of the best,” she said. She stepped closer to him.”Do you need to count?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“I don’t either,” she said, getting into position. He did the same. “I will count to start, though. It’s easier. One…two…three.”
At the count of three Sherlock led them into the waltz. Neither of them needed to count, but dancing to no music was strange, and after a moment Sherlock began to hum the waltz he had written for John and Mary. Molly shut her eyes and let herself be swept along the floor in the room, enjoying this dance with Sherlock. He’d gone through the song three times when he stopped and looked at her. “You really are quite good at this.”
“It helps when I have a partner who knows what he’s doing,” she said with a smile. “I think we’re going to be just fine for the demonstration part.”
“I think we will be as well,” he said with a nod. Then he pulled her closer and her smile grew wider. “I think my hard work deserves a reward.”
“Mmm, I think I could arrange that,” she said, leaning in to kiss him softly. He kept her close as he kissed her back, and after a moment she realized she would be absolutely fine with not staying the whole night and going home and snogging on the sofa for a nice long while. When they pulled apart she stayed close. “I would honestly like to do more of that sooner rather than later.”
“If not tonight then perhaps tomorrow,” he said quietly. “Unless that’s too soon.”
She shook her head. “I like spending time with you, Sherlock. And I’d like to spend a lot of time with you, if I’m able. Don’t think I’ll get tired of you.”
“Some people do, though,” he said quietly, looking down.
She lifted his chin up and kissed him again, this time much more softly. “Not me,” she said when she was done. “Never me. I may want to have some space sometimes, have a little time to myself, but I will never get tired of you. Once I’ve had my me time I’ll want to spend time with you again. All right?”
He nodded slowly. “All right.”
“Good.” She moved back just slightly. “I don’t know how much more time we have, but maybe one more time wouldn’t hurt.”
“As you wish,” he said. They got back into position and this time as they danced and he hummed the waltz Molly felt as though something significant had happened, that she had made a promise to him that was important and meant something vital to their relationship, and she was going to do everything she could to never ever tire of Sherlock Holmes.