It had been five months since Sherlock was properly bored - he met John. John was distracting.
It had been four months since a time when Sherlock was growing irritable that his multiple trains-of-thought kept returning to John, when he was trying to focus on a case. He didn't realize why, until -
"You're too distracting," complained Sherlock. John chuckled.
"I'm distracting?" He queried.
"Yes!" barked the detective.
John didn't answer him. Instead, he brought his lips to Sherlock's, kissing them lightly. The detective could tell he was somewhat nervous, because he didn't linger there for long.
- John stole his first kiss.
It had been three months since the doctor and detective began to sleep in the same bed.
Sherlock was lying on his side facing away from John, scrolling through his phone, while John was leaning against him, about to fall asleep.
"Normal couples would be having sex," stated Sherlock experimentally. They were sharing a bed - which normal couples do - but he was worried he was doing something wrong.
"Mm."
"But we haven't."
"Hm."
"And you always said you weren't attracted to men."
"Nn."
"So you're.. Okay with this."
John immediately turned over to Sherlock, wrapped his arms around his slim waist and buried his face in the detective's shirt.
"I thought it was clear by now," he muffled through Sherlock's shirt, "that I didn't care that you're a man. If you want to have sex, I'm okay with it. If you never want sex, I'm okay with it. Either way, I love you and want to be with you."
It had been two months since Sherlock and John first mentioned engagement in a conversation. Ever.
"Lestrade called," began John. The detective's eyes narrowed.
"You?"
"Yes."
Sherlock immediately lost interest - if Lestrade had anything worth his time, he would have called him directly.
"He's engaged to-"
"Molly."
"Of course you'd know," exhaled John, seeing no reason to inform Sherlock on what he presumably already deducted from him.
"Obviously," smirked the detective.
It had been one month since Lestrade and Molly's wedding. Sherlock went along reluctantly, as he failed to understand the point of marriage - it just ends in divorce or death.
But since that day, marriage clouded his brilliant mind, just as John did four months before. Only unlike that time, now he knew why.
John woke up one morning to find Sherlock, deep in thought, sitting in his usual place, hugging his legs up to his chest.
"Get any sleep?" Sherlock glanced up at him.
"No." He drawled.
"As your doctor," John pressed a light kiss to Sherlock's forehead, "you should get some sleep now-"
"Sleeping's boring."
"Right," agreed John sarcastically as he made his way to the kitchen, "coffee?-"
"John?"
"Yes..?"
Sherlock suddenly sprung up and faced John from across the room.
"Let's get married."
"What?" John blinked. Was he dreaming-?
"Oh, is that not right?" Sherlock waved his hand dismissively, "I'm not the most practiced in- I mean I'm not entirely sure what to do when.. How do I marry you?"
There was a short silence as John tried to process it all.
"Marry me?" John managed to say.
"Yes." Sherlock said freely.
"Jesus." John collapsed in his chair and held his head in his hands. He finally looked up to see Sherlock had now kneeled beside him.
"John," his innocent eyes bore into John's.
"Yes, bloody hell."
"John," he repeated, "I love how you're different from everyone else. I love how you always wear jumpers a size to large. I love how you tolerate my snoring," John managed a smile.
"I love you and I want to keep you. I didn't believe in marriage until recently," his tone dropped to almost a whisper, "although it really just ends in either divorce or death, it's the only definite way to keep you-"
John dragged Sherlock down into a brief kiss by the collar of his shirt.
"Just shut up," John's hand found its way into his, and he held it tightly in return, "and let's get married."