Angelo's was closed to public business in favour of a private celebration – a very special celebration. It was the culmination of a series of events that had started oh so long ago with an awkward conversation between an ex-army doctor and a seemingly-inaccessible consulting detective. The dining room had been cleared of tables and chairs had been arranged for the guests. Decorations were minimal. Well… where there had been a lone candle placed between the two men on that long ago night, there were now copious tapers in numerous candelabra placed around the restaurant, all at Angelo's insistence. The man was convinced of the romantic effect of candlelight. Neither John nor Sherlock had felt the need to argue with him.
They had toyed with the idea of other places as their wedding venue: the morgue (John had said no), the flat (it was too small), Regent's Park (Sherlock had said no), the registrar's office (too dull). The deciding factor had been both John's and Mycroft's insistence that the Holmeses be invited. Of course they were thrilled at the prospect of the impending wedding and planned to attend. All in all, Angelo's seemed to be the logical location. It had the added benefit of being unbearably sentimental. John took a perverse delight in that. Angelo was positively giddy. Sherlock would never admit it, but he had got choked up when John had suggested it.
Molly had tried to convince them to go all out and get matching tuxedos. Both John and Sherlock had nixed that idea instantly. Instead, Sherlock was wearing a black suit with purple shirt. It wasn't the same shirt that John had fallen in love with so long ago. John had managed to put some weight on his detective in the years since, so the shirt had been bought just for this occasion. John, for his part, was wearing a jewel-toned blue suit that he had allowed Sherlock to select for him. Sherlock said it brought out the colour in his eyes. Mycroft and Greg were both dressed in charcoal grey suits. It was admittedly a hodge-podge affair, but each man looked handsome in his own unique way.
Mycroft and Sherlock were stood off to the left of the dining room near the windows (the shades were lowered). John and Greg were stood off to the right. Anthea was stood guard by the main entrance to the door. The guests were arranged in an arch (Molly, Mummy, Dad, Mrs. Hudson, and Angelo) facing a podium that had been set up at the far end of the dining room. Molly and Mrs. Holmes were chatting. Mr. Holmes was lost in thought, reminiscing about his youngest son's childhood. Mrs. Hudson and Angelo were congratulating each other on a job well done.
The registrar, waiting by the podium, gave a nod to both John and Sherlock and they approached, flanked by their best men. With a smile, the registrar spoke, "Good afternoon everyone. I must say that I am honoured to be here today, this day that marks a new beginning in the lives of Sherlock and John. I know that it means a lot to both of them that you, their family and friends, are here to witness their wedding vows and celebrate their marriage."
It didn't matter that there were few guests in attendance. The individuals that were present were the ones that mattered.
The registrar continued, "Marriage is a desire by two people to share themselves and their experiences with each other, and a willingness to accept each other for who they are. It is making a commitment to friendship and mutual respect and calls for honesty, patience, courage and of course, humour. Marriage is where each partner is there to support each other in all that they do. Marriage requires closeness and distance – the closeness of a couple growing together and enough distance to allow each partner to be an individual. A good partner in such a marriage will be loving, caring and above all a best friend."
Those words described John and Sherlock precisely. They had begun as the best of friends, after all. Everything else had come later. They were close, incredibly close, but they allowed each other their distance. They had learned long since that it was absolutely necessary.
Again, the registrar continued, "You are here to witness the joining in marriage of William Sherlock Scott Holmes and John Hamish Watson. If any person present knows of any lawful impediment why these two people may not be joined in marriage he or she should declare it now."
At this, Mycroft glared around the room. It was completely unnecessary, however. Not a person there wanted anything more than to see John and Sherlock finally married.
"Could I ask you both to hold hands," the registrar directed. "Before you are joined in matrimony here today I have to remind you both of the solemn and binding character of the vows you are about to make. Marriage, according to the law of this country, is a union, voluntarily entered into for life, to the exclusion of all others. These vows which unite you constitute a formal and public pledge of your love for one another. I am now going to ask each of you in turn to declare that you do not know of any legal reason why you should not be joined in marriage to each other. Sherlock please repeat after me:"
The registrar and Sherlock spoke in lockstep. "I do solemnly declare/ that I know not/ of any lawful impediment/ why I William Sherlock Scott Holmes may not be joined in matrimony/ to John Hamish Watson."
The registrar turned to John. "John please repeat after me:"
Now the registrar and John spoke in lockstep. "I do solemnly declare/ that I know not/ of any lawful impediment/why I John Hamish Watson/ may not be joined in matrimony/ to William Sherlock Scott Holmes."
The registrar smiled. "Now the solemn moment has come for Sherlock and John to contract their marriage before you their witnesses, families and friends – so can I ask you all to stand please and join together for the celebration of their marriage. Sherlock – You have prepared your own vows. You may recite them at this time."
Sherlock began speaking, "There was a time when I thought there was no room in my life for love. I thought that it was something of which I was incapable. I had been called freak, machine, cold-blooded. For all of these reasons, I never expected to share my life with anyone. Much to my amazement, you came along and turned my life upside down." Here Sherlock had to pause for a moment. There was a strange lump on his throat. He cleared it. "I will put you first, John, even before The Work because it is just that, work. You are my everything. My heart, my soul, my life. When times get difficult, I will turn to you for help, not my old habits. I will never hide from you. I will trust you to love me and I will love you with all that I am."
There were smiles all around and snuffling on the part of Molly, Mrs. Hudson and tender hearted Angelo.
With a smile, the registrar said, "John – You have prepared your own vows. You may recite them at this time."
John smiled at Sherlock, slightly misty-eyed. "There was a time when I thought that my life was over. I thought that nothing would ever happen to me again. I had been invalided home and had no prospects and no real desire to keep going. Then I was introduced to the most unique, amazing, brilliant, crime-solving genius. He dragged me across London on a madcap chase and showed me that I wasn't as broken as I thought I was. I will support you in everything you do. I will spend my life showing you that you are amazing, caring, and entirely and wonderfully human. You deserve to be loved and cherished. I will do that every moment of every day. I'll never stop caring for you, you amazing man."
Angelo stifled a happy sob and Mrs. Hudson hugged him. Molly beamed. The Holmeses exchanged pleased smiles, knowing that their son was truly loved.
"It is an ancient tradition for there to be an exchange of rings," the registrar began, "this giving and receiving of rings symbolises the continuity of their relationship and the sharing of their lives together. A wedding ring is an unbroken circle which symbolises an unending and everlasting love, and we would ask you to wear your wedding rings as an outward sign of lifelong vows and promises that you have both made to each other today."
Sherlock took John's ring and placed it on his finger and said, "I give you this ring as a symbol of our marriage and as a token of my love, trust and commitment. I promise to care for you above all others, to give you my love, friendship and support and to respect and cherish you throughout our lives together."
John took Sherlock's ring and placed it on his finger and repeated the same words.
"You may now kiss," the registrar announced.
The kiss that was exchanged was surprisingly chaste. Who would have thought that John of all people would get stage fright? It must have been the presence of the Holmeses.
The registrar spoke solemnly, "Sherlock and John you have both made the declarations prescribed by law and have made a solemn and binding contract with each other in the presence of the witnesses here assembled. It therefore gives me the greatest honour and privilege to announce that you are now wed. Please be seated while the register is signed."
Sherlock bent to sign with a large, bold flourish. John signed neatly. Mycroft, Lestrade and the registrar followed, making everything legal.
The registrar directed Sherlock and John to stand in front of everyone turn spoke, "Can I be the first to congratulate you both on your marriage. May I wish you both a wonderful day today, a very long and happy marriage and all the very best for your future lives together. Congratulations Misters Holmes-Watson."
The small group of guests rushed the newlyweds. There were handshakes and hugs aplenty. John returned them enthusiastically. Sherlock endured then stoically. Though he gave Mrs. Hudson a genuine hug as well as his mother.
Angelo called forth the waiting staff which had been hiding away on the back and they transformed the dining room back to its original purpose. Champagne was served while the transformation was occurring.
During the happy chaos, Sherlock found himself watching John smiling and laughing. It was a wonderful sight.
"Well, Sherlock. I never thought I'd see the day," Lestrade mused. "I'm glad I was wrong."
Sherlock didn't shift his gaze from his husband. "I'm glad we were both wrong, Lestrade. I always said that being alone protected me. That was possibly the most idiotic thing I ever said. Thankfully, I'm not alone anymore."
"No, you're not." Greg smiled. "Now get over there and kiss him properly."
"Lestrade," Sherlock remarked, "It's entirely possible that you're not completely stupid." With that, Sherlock glided over to Mr. John Hamish Holmes-Watson and bussed him thoroughly. No one present had the heart to complain. In fact Mrs. Hudson, Molly and even Lestrade took very detailed notes on technique.