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She knew Mycroft had planned for them to go out that evening, but he had taken one look at her when she had opened the door, half ready for their date, and within moments he was on his mobile, canceling the reservations and arranging for someone to bring him ingredients for a creamy shrimp and mushroom pasta and a bottle of 2010 Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey to her flat while he turned her around and told her to change into something more comfortable. She’d worn an amused smile as she’d gone to her room to slip into a T-shirt and her yoga pants. She didn’t mind him taking charge tonight, not really.
When she’d come back out he had taken off his coat and draped it over the back of her chair, and taken off his suit jacket as well, and rolled up his shirtsleeves to his elbows. He was going through her pots and pans, looking for something in particular. “Do you need something specific?” she asked, leaning against the worktop.
“A large skillet,” he said, pulling out a skillet and then setting it aside as a possibility. “I should upgrade your cookware. You deserve better than this. You’re an excellent cook and baker. You should have top of the line cookware.”
She gave him a warm smile. “What I’d really love is a whole new kitchen, but in a rented flat, that’s rather a pipe dream. But new cookware...I wouldn’t say no to that.” She moved away and went to her refrigerator, pulling out an open bottle of 2015 De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc. She moved back to him and put the bottle in his line of vision, silently asking if he wanted a glass, and he nodded, and so she went to get two glasses. “For a start, I could go to your home and cook more. If you want, I mean.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I suppose. I just prefer your home. It feels...warmer. More inviting.”
She smiled as she pulled the glasses down and set them on the worktop. “We can always make your home more inviting, Mycroft. I don’t mind helping, if you want me to. But...I like it the way it is.”
He stopped rummaging through her cabinets. “You do?” he asked, looking up at her.
She nodded. “I do,” she said. “It reflects you, and I like you. I mean, it could use a little softening here and there, but I rather like it there. But if you want to spend more time here, I have no problem with that, either. As long as we spend time together, that’s the most important thing to me. I just like being around you, that’s all.”
He stood up and moved away from the cupboard, coming over to her. He gently took the bottle of wine out of her hand and set it on the worktop before tipping her face up and caressing it gently. “I like being around you as well,” he said, giving her a warm smile. “Very much.”
“Well, I’m glad for that,” she said, giving him a wide smile in return. She reached forward to put her hands on his chest. “You know, I think expressing a sentiment like that calls for a kiss, don’t you?”
“Great minds,” he said before leaning in and kissing her softly. She let her hands grip his shirt lightly; she knew that it probably would not be a good idea to get lost in the kiss as they had food being delivered and that meant they were going to be interrupted, and as it was one of his subordinates bringing they food they were probably going to try and impress him and bringing it as quickly as possible. But he didn’t seem to care that they might be interrupted, and after a moment she stopped caring as well, losing herself in the moment until there was a knock at the door. He pulled away and she found herself having to catch her breath as she watched him walk away.
She wasn’t quite sure how serious they were, but she knew they weren’t at the point to fall into bed together. But...perhaps they were at the point for a good, proper snogging session, a proper passionate one. Like the kind teenagers did. She felt quite passionate when she kissed him, a fact which still managed to surprise her, but even though some of their kisses were quite breathtaking and achingly exquisite there seemed to be something almost reserved about them. Like Mycroft was trying to be a gentleman about the whole thing.
She didn’t want him to jump her bones but if he’d loosen up just a little, maybe things could get a bit interesting.
She went back to pouring the wine and then he brought over two sacks of groceries. He sat them on the worktop and began pulling things out: olive oil, fresh shrimp, garlic cloves, dried basil, red pepper flakes, fresh mushrooms, half and half, shredded Parmesan cheese, shredded Mozzarella cheese, fettuccine pasta, fresh broccoli and the bottle of wine. He asked her to help him cook and the two of them worked in the kitchen together with ease, sipping their first glass of wine while the new bottle chilled more and then having a second glass to finish off the first bottle. She enjoyed this quite a bit, cooking with him; they hadn’t done this before and it was much more enjoyable than it had been cooking with Tom. And she had to admit, the more wine they had the more fun it was, too.
By the time their supper was ready the first bottle was gone and the second was better chilled so they opened it up and had a third glass with their meals. They took their plates to the kitchen table and Molly took a bite, moaning in delight slightly as she swallowed. “This is magnificent, Mycroft,” she said.
He gave her a small grin. “I don’t normally indulge, but you looked as though you could use a treat tonight,” he said. “And one that did not involve leaving the flat.”
“Well, if you top it off with a film on the sofa, if may just be the perfect evening,” she said with a smile before taking another bite. “If you could stay that long?”
He was quiet for a moment, looking down at his food before he spoke. “I could stay as long as you want me to, I suppose,” he said. “Tonight, at least.”
“So...you mean you could stay over tonight?” she asked, surprised.
“I know it’s a bit for–” he began.
“Absolutely!” she said.
He looked up with wide eyes, blinking. “What?”
“Um, I mean, if you want to,” she said, blushing slightly.
“I...would like to,” he said. “Nothing has to happen, of course.”
“Of course,” she said, nodding emphatically. “Though...you could kiss me a bit more, maybe? Not be so...reserved?”
He turned back to his food. “So I can be a bit more passionate?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I mean, we’ve been dating a little while now. Not too long, I know, but...being more passionate is fine. I would like that.” She hesitated a moment, then reached over and placed her hand on his arm. “Quite a bit, actually.” He looked up at her, looked her in the eye, and she saw a more heated look. Nothing like full blown passion, nothing that made her think that they’d shag or anything like that tonight, but something that brought a smile to her face and made her think tonight that maybe she’d get a taste of what a more passionate Mycroft Holmes might be like. And when she saw the same smile on his face before she removed her hand and went back to her food, she had the feeling she was going to be in for quite the interesting evening.