DAY 7: FREE CHOICE

12 March 2016

Summary: Sherlock tells Molly that he loves her for the first time.

Prompt: Free Choice (Non-Canon/Headcanon)

Rating: T, for references to sexual situations

A/N: This fic is based on the following AU prompt from the otpprompts Tumblr:

'Imagine person A lightly tracing "I love you" over and over again on person B's back, assuming that person B is asleep. When person A is lying on their back, getting ready to sleep, person B moves closer and wraps their arms around person A, whispering softly, "I love you too." Bonus if that's the first time person A has ever declared their love for person B.'

I own nothing. Everything belongs to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, BBC, Steven Moffat, and Mark Gatiss. If I owned Sherlock and Molly Hooper, then there would be a lot more Sherlolly in the show. All mistakes are mine. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome.

Molly roused from her sleep when the mattress dipped. She shut her eyes as Sherlock's hand ran across her bare back. She fought the urge to smile when he planted a kiss on her shoulder.

His mobile buzzed, and she heard him unlock his phone. She raised her eyebrow when she heard him softly groan in annoyance. Listening to the keyboard clicks, she wondered why he was not getting up and getting dressed like she expected, especially if that was Greg telling him about a case.

To her surprise, she only heard a soft thud as he replaced his phone on the bedside table and the creak of the bed as he rolled over. She bit her lower lip to prevent her from moaning when the hand curling round her waist sent shivers down her spine and made her throb.

"Goodnight, my Molly," he whispered before he tenderly kissed her neck.

She was drifting off back to sleep when she felt his finger touch her back. She raised her eyebrow again when he began tracing patterns on her skin. At first, it felt like he was tracing her name, nearly making her break into a grin. Then he began tracing other letters, causing her to open her eyes and bite down on her lip to stop her from gasping.

I LOVE YOU.

She waited with bated breath as he traced more letters on her skin. Her full name made her smile for a moment. 'Sherlock Hooper' almost caused her to giggle. 'Molly Holmes' and 'Molly Hooper-Holmes' made her desire him again. But she was happiest when he traced those words.

And he always went back to tracing 'I love you'––which surprised her and warmed her heart, because he had never told her those words. She had said them many times, but he had smiled at her, thanked her, or kissed her in response. It had always been fine with her, because he showed his love in his eyes, his touch, his kisses, his concern, his compliments, and his protection. She knew that he loved her, even if he had never uttered those words.

Now she wondered if he had been tracing 'I love you' on her skin while she slept. Did he trace those words on her limbs, her back, her belly, or her breasts while she lay in slumber? Had he licked words and patterns on her body while she rested after he made her gasp with his tongue between her legs? Did he do it even when she was clothed?

She felt his finger slowly trace 'I love you' before he reached over to kiss her on the cheek. She heard the bed creak as he moved, perhaps to lie back, and ran his hand up and down her back. When he removed his hand, she rolled over to face him and wrapped her arm round his waist.

"I love you too," she whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Chuckling, he snaked his arm under her and pulled her close. "I knew you were awake," he whispered back.

"I knew that you knew. I was just waiting for you to lick 'I love you' on my back. I'm really disappointed that you didn't."

"I was going to, but I decided against it. Otherwise, it would've led to more licking and another round of lovemaking. And I need you completely rested for your double shift in the afternoon, since Lestrade might have a case for me later."

"And because you'll insist to send the body or samples to Barts?"

"Of course. I trust no one else to perform post-mortems and process samples. You're the only one that treats them with so much care and compassion." He smiled at her, making her giggle and blush.

"I'm probably not the only one. I do know that I'm the only one that talks to the cadavers."

"And sing! Don't forget that I caught you singing to Mr McGarrett," he teased.

"Well, he was really pretty, even at 84," she retorted.

"He was dead!"

She lifted her head and gave him an incredulous stare, his grumpy pout amusing her. "You can't possibly be jealous of a dead 84-year-old man."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not! It's just the woman I love would rather sing to a cadaver than to her significant other."

She laughed. "I'll sing to you when you call round at work. How's that?"

He nodded before kissing her. "Thank you."

She smirked as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Goodnight, Sherlock Hooper."

"Goodnight, Molly Holmes," he replied with a chuckle.

So what do you think? Hate it? Like it? Love it?