Sherlolly Celeb AU - More Than Acquaintances
Sherlock enjoyed a cigarette and a well shaken cocktail the Hudson Hall as he mentally directed a crime drama in his mind palace. Wiggins had prepared his refreshments, and Sherlock paid no attention to what theatre room he had picked, let alone the ongoing movie. Sherlock was sure had at least 40 minutes until John found him and dragged him back to the awards ceremony across the street. It should be enough time to miss most of the tedious small talk and rework some scenes in his screenplay.
He was engrossed in re-writing an episode when a scream managed to break through his thoughts. It was rare for something other than a physical intervention to pull him out of his mnemonic archive, and Sherlock couldn't help but look up at the film he had pointedly ignored thus far. To his surprise, the voice belonged to an acquaintance. Had he not already been in the process of release a puff of smoke, Sherlock may have choked on it from the shock of seeing her in such an unexpected way.
They had met at one of Magnussen's hotel parties. She had an interesting opinion over a consulting criminal he was writing for a movie, but their amicable conversation turned callous when he discovered she was Mycroft's plus one. A provoking series of deductions on regarding love life was counteracted by her pointed observation on his lackluster romantic performances. Their verbal spar turned into a heated argument, one that spilled over into a suite room several floors above the event. She left behind her initials on a parting note, and he was both relieved and irked by the lack of a scandal in the months that followed.
Sherlock's eyes lingered on her familiar side profile, his cigarette forgotten at the tips of his fingers. He hadn't realised she was an actress, and it had him reassessing their interactions. Perhaps spurred on by this oversight, Sherlock analysed her performance much more closely than was normally necessary. She had a curious blend of Meisner and Chekhov acting techniques. The former served to match her co-star's acting level, while the latter emphasized her personal interpretation of the role she was playing. Sherlock had only meant to stop after a few scenes, but he found himself watching her for the rest of the independent film.
"Molly Hooper,” he murmured thoughtfully as her name rose up the rolling credits.
Her methodology had him interested to know how she would portray a particular character he has had some trouble casting. To be honest, she had partially inspired the character design, but Sherlock doubted she would notice her apparent influence. He would have to confirm her filmography, but the role might align with her interests. If not, he supposes he could adjust it to conform with them.
Years later he would learn how naïve he was to think he knew what she liked. It took five re-written screenplays to get her professional attention, and she only chose the fifth one after Mary convinced him to let Anderson co-write it and have himself personally star in it. What Sherlock thought would be his worst work turned out to become one of the most sensationalized shows of his career. At first he was mildly frightened by the cultic level of enthusiasm the public had about pairing Molly and himself following that tv show, but was later gratified by how well it worked to encourage her into becoming more than acquaintances with him.
