Beneath The Skin [A Sherlolly Fanfiction]

Chapter One

Molly Hooper stared out at the navy blue sky, in awe of the stars, twinkling like little diamonds, scattered across the moon. She wondered how anyone could stare out that these wonders of the world and feel as depressed and inconsolable as she did right at that very moment.

" What do you need?"

" You."

She shivered and another tear rolled down her cheek, joining the others on the white-tiled-floor with a slight plopping noise. Sherlock's bouncy ball tapping off the wall made her knees shake until she couldn't take it anymore, and dried her tears, walking out of the morgue in small, shuddering steps.

Sherlock caught his ball one more time and turned his head to Molly. He let his head fall to the side in question, as he studied her carefully; her jacket was straight, but wrinkled at the knees, which suggested that she'd been pacing the room, but more importantly, her red and slightly damp face told him that Molly had been crying. He wasn't sure why, but it made him feel slightly sad too, like he wanted to cry. He got up, and walked over to her, tentatively reaching a hand up and sitting it lightly on her cheek.

" You've been crying," he observed, squinting at her. She watched his eyes turn from turquoise to sky blue, from sky blue to dark blue, and purple and black, all in a minute, while golden flecks swam, like fish in the tropical sea.

She started to shake like a tree blowing in the soft wind, and turned her back to face the man she loved, so he couldn't see her cry. Soon, and much to her surprise, she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder, and, half expecting it to be John or Mrs Hudson, she turned around to see Sherlock, shining in the new morning sun, light shadows cast under his high cheekbones, defining them even more.

Molly flew into him, wrapping her arms round his large frame and squeezing tightly, half expecting him to push her away. But no, he let her be, wondering why a girl this brilliant would ever help him. Why she would steal body parts for him illegally, or why she would let him examine her corpses in secret, but over all, why she would want to. She could have easily said no, refused his demands, but she always came through. She did more for him than even his own elder brother, Mycroft, did for the British Government.

So, in that moment, he wanted to do something for her. He wanted to make her feel happy, like she did for him, only he didn't let it show like he knew she would. Which wasn't a bad thing, because right then, he really wanted to see her smile. He slowly moved his arms up and sat them on the small of her back.

At that precise moment, Molly thought her mouth would drop. As far as she knew, Sherlock had never done anything like that for a human. He'd probably never touched a human there either. A soft pair of lips touched off her forehead for a millisecond, and she felt a small smile spread across her lips as Sherlock pulled away, staring into her deep, chocolate brown eyes.

Sherlock's inside warmed at Molly's gentle smile and he returned her with his own, his lips curving up only slightly, but enough for Molly to realise that she had just made Sherlock Holmes smile.

Sherlock's smile dropped. He pulled away and frowned, tears forming in his eyes. Oh god, he wasn't going to cry was he? He'd never shown that kind of vulnerability before, but somehow, it would be Molly he'd show before anyone else. That's when he realised what he was going to do that night, to make Molly happy one last time, incase he died on his solemn trip.

" Calm down, Sherlock, everything's going to be fine," Molly told him, trying to hide her own violent shaking. She took a step closer to him and that's when she saw it; a tear dripped down his cheek and hit the floor.

Sherlock turned his back. He'd never cried, not since that one night at his boarding school. But he convinced himself that he had to turn around. Molly could help, he knew that much. So, slowly, he turned his body around and let Molly see three more tears slide down his pale face, and whispered very quietly, " I'm scared, Molly."