"All in all, a rather satisfactory outing, don't you think?"

"Was the getting squirted with squid ink by a murderous Italian part of the satisfaction?"

Sherlock hastily wiped the remaining black ink off his cheekbone. "Well, no, but calamari was never my favorite. I'd say catching a murderer was the satisfaction."

Molly suppressed a giggle, before letting herself and Sherlock into her flat. "Really? And I take it the chase around the buffet line was a rather bigger part of the satisfaction?"

Sherlock smirked as he pried Toby's claws from his trousers and picked the cat up. "Most definitely. I did like the part where you hit him with the gravy boat."

Molly wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, that was messy."

"No no, the part where the man nearly swallowed the black pearl and we had to make him vomit was messy."

Molly laughed. "I definitely need a shower before bed."

She looked expectantly at Sherlock, waiting for him to drop Toby and go home or something, but he kept smiling at her, a genuine, good-natured smile, all laugh lines and crinkles. She fiddled with the hem of her jumper for a bit waiting for him to say something.

He just kept smiling at her, as if drinking in her presence. Which, he seemed to be doing every so often ever since he came back. And now that there wasn't a heavy ring on her finger, these increasing warm, long looks made her heart go pitter-patter (he always made her go pitter-patter). Molly steadfastly refused to look into it more and resolved to ignore her heart, even if the thirteen year old inside her was squealing "oh god he likes you he likes you it definitely means something!"

She felt a flush rise from her chest to her neck and definitely showed on her cheeks. "Um…Sherlock…?"

Sherlock languidly bent his head a bit to let Toby continue the enthusiastic grooming the cat was lashing out on his curls. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy what? Chasing a murderer around a buffet line or making the man vomit up a pearl?"

Sherlock gave her a look, and even Toby stopped his grooming session to give her an eerily similar look.

"No Molly," Sherlock said slowly, as if speaking to a toddler. "I asked about the date. Did you enjoy our date?"

"Date? Wh-what do you mean date?" Oh look, that was Molly Hooper's heart and lungs going out of the window, for their vacation to the moon.

He sighed, and the cat meowed, evidently disappointed in its owner, jumping off Sherlock's arms and streaking under the sofa. "A date is when two people who like each other go out and have fun. We like each other; we went out and had fun."

He was speaking as if he was explaining to a child that two plus two did equal four.

Molly's throat was dry. "When were you going to tell me?"

"I assumed it was implied." Sherlock roved his eyes over her, and had the grace to look chagrined. "I would take that as a no?"

"Well mate," Molly could feel a disbelieving laugh bubbling up inside her, and she had an inkling that it was going to make her look like a lunatic should it got out. "You really know how to show a girl a good time."

Sherlock beamed at her. "Brilliant, I knew a woman as unconventional as you wouldn't enjoy the clichéd date a cretin would take you on. Now I was hoping to go poke around Lestrade's office tomorrow, maybe find some new cases that he refuses to give me, would you like to join me?"

"Nope."

His face fell in a heartbeat. "Wh…what? But I thought you enjoyed our date!" He all but stamped his foot.

Molly bit the inside of her cheek. Well, this was going to be fun. "Ask me tomorrow."

"What?"

"I said, ask me tomorrow."

"What difference would tomorrow make?"

"Tomorrow, I might say yes."

Sherlock furrowed his brow, as if not really understanding, but turned to leave anyway. Molly quickly latched onto his lapels. He stared at her in confusion.

"I said," Molly said slowly, "ask me again tomorrow."

His eyes fell on the clock behind her.

11: 59 pm.

Oh.

A smirk graced his face, and he waited just until the clock chimed in the new day. "Molly Hooper, you are the most fantastic, intelligent and talented woman I know, which actually is saying something because I know some very talented women; however you are, quite literally, my Mind Palace and I find myself willing to do anything for you. You don't know how much, but I would like to prove it to you. So-," he took a deep breath and stared into her eyes. They were warm and glowing. "Do you want to break into a DI's office and look for cold cases with me?"

Molly's lips on his were all the answer he needed.

A/N: I need more fluff in my life. And yes, that is a Doctor Who reference.

Leave a review!

Lots of love,

Adi x