Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock, the characters or Ed Sheeran's song 'Thinking Out Loud'.

On a cold winter's night in the quiet streets of London, everything was unusually at peace. No cars honked their horns, there were no loud voices of the crowds making their way through. Everything was silent, and just for a moment it felt as if the whole world could be empty.

That was of course until a moment later, when the silence was broken as two companions turned into the street and walked down the path. To someone who is barely looking these people would seem distant, as if they hardly knew each other. They made no move to talk, weren't holding hands and were more interested in watching their feet walk. To a complete stranger they might find no connection between the pair at all.

What they didn't see however, was the way the man made sure to keep no less than an inch between them, occasionally brushing her hand with his or bumping her arm, an action which simply screamed 'I'm here, and I'm not leaving'. Every few minutes or so he would look at her with such warmth in his eyes –though his face remained stoic –and she would meet his gaze and smile slyly, an unspoken secret just for them.

"You should've gone a bit easier on the gardener Sherlock." Molly Hooper finally spoke, "the poor man looked scared to death." Her tone was light; she had found it amusing really.

Sherlock stared down at her, his lip quirking slightly before filling the air with his deep baritone. "He was being unreasonable, you saw that. If the idiot is going to try and lie to me then he deserves everything that comes after that."

"Still, breaking his possessions was a bit rude, they might have been sentimental."

"You people and your sentiment." Sherlock looped his arm through hers, "you'd work a lot better without it."

Molly laughed, she knew he wasn't a hundred percent serious after all the time she spent with him, if the man wanted to be sentimental and let his feelings show then he would. Numerous bunches of flowers, songs that were specially composed for her and the perfect engagement ring on her finger proved that.

Thinking of her engagement made her heart flutter wildly. In a few months she would be officially tied to the mad, wonderful, frustrating man that was Sherlock Holmes, making her his and vice versa and after that they'd live the rest of their lives together. At times she still believed she was dreaming because no way could she be about to live something that had only ever been in her fantasies.

"You're frowning Molly." Sherlock whispered, "Is it about the wedding?"

There was no denying that they were a perfect match, they knew each thought and decision of the other that it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other one began, so perfect was the synchronicity.

"We're getting married in three months and John and Mary are expecting another baby. Everything just seems so perfect."

"And you wonder, how can this be real?" He smiled properly and pulled her close. Molly's thoughts were so endearing to him, so innocent they were. "We made it real Molly, that's how. Every decision we make is what builds our future."

"Our future…I like the sound of that." A huge grin matched his, "I just can't wait to have our first dance together. I don't think we've ever had a proper dance before."

"No?" Thinking back, he too realized that they'd never danced together. Sure they had attended parties together, but things cropped up and they were always whisked away before they could reach the dance floor.

"Perhaps we can change that." He wanted to dance with her before they were married, before their old lives as two separate people ended and they lost the chance forever. Stepping into the cobbled road, he bowed to her and reached out his hand whilst she just stood there, giggling at how perfect and ridiculous the whole situation was.

"Come on Molly, it's freezing! Don't leave me standing here!"

Molly walked over and began rubbing his arms to keep him warm, "What about the music? We can't really dance without any."

"Leave that to me. Now, milady, will you dance with me?" He took her hands in his and pulled her close, wrapping one arm around her waist. Molly simply melted into him, resting her head on his chest as they began to move slowly in a circle. It was only when he began to sing that she looked up at him in shock and began to fall in love all over again.

"So honey now, take me into your loving arms. Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars. Place your head on my beating heart. I'm thinking out loud that maybe we found love right where we are."

As he finished twirling her around, he took her face in both his hands and kissed her slowly, letting the thousand stars above them watch as they reveled in their love for each other. After they had broken apart Sherlock kissed the tears from Molly's cheeks before resting his forehead on hers.

"I love you forever Molly Hooper, and from now on I will never miss a chance to dance with you."

Fresh tears began to flow at his sweet words, so honest they were that they melted her heart. This was a side to Sherlock that others hardly saw, a side that he kept mainly for her. He had given himself to her completely and for that she was eternally grateful.

"I love you too Sherlock, forever and always."

They spent a moment together in the silence, holding each other close before resuming their walk. This time they kept their hands joined together and there was no mistaking the happiness on their faces. For the time they were there –before they disappeared around the corner –it was like a scene from the perfect love story with the stars shining brightly above them.

After they had gone the street became still and silent again, but the moment they had shared would be forever in their minds. On the day that they got married, the song Sherlock had sung played for their first dance and they sang the words back to each other as a promise that their hearts would forever belong to each other.

Forty years later, when they still truly loved each other at seventy and the stars were still shining above them, Sherlock made a point of asking her to dance, and kissing her again just like he had done all that time ago and she found herself falling in love with him all over again.