Hello again! It's so great to read your comments for this work... I can't tell you how much appreciate it! :)

Before this next chapter, I want to give a very short intro about Regency romances and Omegaverse to those readers who are new to either genre. If you already know about these you can skip ahead to the chapter.

Regency romances are basically romance novels set in early 19th century Britain. This was the time when the Prince of Wales ruled as the king's proxy or as Prince Regent. It was a time best depicted in Jane Austen's works though a lot of contemporary writers have chosen to set their stories in it too. These novels mainly have a romantic plot with a lot of emphasis on manners, fashions, the activities of the aristocrats and difference between the classes highlighted.

Omegaverse is a type of alternate universe that allows for three types of sub-genders besides male and female. There are Alphas who are dominant, Omegas who are more the submissive or receptive partner and Betas who are like normal humans. Alphas and Omegas are the key characters in omegaverse stories. While exact details may vary from story to story, the few constants in this fluid universe are the slightly animalistic mating rituals, heat cycles, the mention of scents, the Alphas possessive behaviour and the Omegas ability to give birth. There are a lot of omegaverse fics out there if you want to know more.

So yeah, this story is a mix of two completely clashing genres! :P

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Before it had quite sunk in that he was now betrothed, preparations for John's wedding were in full swing. Apparently both Lord Holmes and his father had agreed that it should take place as soon as possible. His father did not want to leave room for the Holmeses to change their mind and Lord Holmes presumably needed the money quite desperately, John thought cynically.

His mother was going into raptures over shopping for his trousseau and trying hard to interest John in the process. John had never been one to indulge in finery, choosing comfort over style, but even he had to admit that his wedding to an aristocrat did demand some greater care. He knew his fiancé could be considered an extremely attractive man and looking at himself in the mirror, he felt a sudden pang. He thought himself quite ordinary and had never let that bother him, but now he wondered how Sherlock felt about marrying him. He knew that when the Heat struck, his looks would hardly matter but… he blushed suddenly to catch himself thinking of spending a Heat with Sherlock.

Beyond that fateful weekend, he had not seen him again. Even during that weekend he had not spent a moment alone with Sherlock apart from that stroll in the rose garden. The rest of the time had gone by in a blur with his father throwing a small party to celebrate the engagement the next day. He always saw Sherlock in company and during meal times and they did not exchange more than basic pleasantries. Sherlock often sat in stony silence, with a haughty expression on his face until his brother gave him a pointed look. Mycroft carried on the burden of polite conversation and Sherlock's forbidding demeanour managed to quell even John's mother.

"I do hope you will be happy dear", she said. "Sherlock seems… well he's not very talkative is he? And he seemed quite…forbidding didn't he?"

"Well what do you expect Mother? It's not like he truly wants this marriage", John said sharply.

"No, no my love! He is lucky to have you. I am sure he's just shy. Remember what I told you John…as long as you bring him comfort and stay out of his way, am sure you will be very happy together."

"And that's the secret to a happy marriage – staying out of his way!" John muttered bitterly.

The day of the wedding dawned bright and sunny for which the Watsons thanked the gods. The wedding ceremony itself was a beautiful affair. Howard Watson had spared no expense and it showed. The church was decked out in purple orchids specially brought in for the occasion and expensive white lace and ribbons. Howard Watson had predictably invited all his acquaintances, friends and family to show what an eligible match he had made for his son. John thought that was probably the reason why Sherlock's relatives were not present but were to join them at a 'small gathering' at Sherrinford, the Holmes family seat. After the wedding, they were to move directly to Sherrinford and a couple of days after that they were to go to Paris for two weeks on their honeymoon.

John and Sherlock wore identical black tailcoats, cream coloured waistcoats and gray pantaloons. Their white dress shirt was offset by a grey cravat. Sherlock had a single large diamond pinned to his cravat while John had a sprig of orange blossoms in his buttonhole. Sherlock looked very dashing, John thought, when he caught sight of him standing stiffly at the altar. He would have been astonished to find that Sherlock thought the same about him, as Howard Watson handed his son over to his would be Alpha.

There were butterflies in John's stomach but he uttered his responses in a calm voice and heard Sherlock's baritone ring out confidently. When the ring was placed on his finger, John was glad to see that he had not betrayed his nervousness with a tremor. He looked into Sherlock's eyes as he placed the ring on his finger but could not read any emotion that cool face. To symbolically seal their union, their ring fingers were also pierced and Sherlock's Alpha blood allowed to mix with John's Omega one by the priest placing their hands together palm to palm. When finally, the priest concluded the ceremony and announced, "You may now kiss your Omega", Sherlock bent forward and lightly brushed his lips against John's. John's heart jumped but he wasn't sure that even qualified as a kiss. However as he wasn't eager for a display in front the assembled crowd, he was quite okay with it.

John's parents were the first to offer the couple their congratulations, John's father looking like he would burst with pride and his mother hugging him while shedding tears, presumably of joy. Harriet clapped him on the shoulder and winked at Sherlock, causing John further embarrassment. Lord Holmes formally shook hands with both of them and John met Lady Holmes who turned out to be a beautiful, rather buxom lady who was as friendly as Mycroft was reserved. "Just call me Anthea. I can feel that we will get along splendidly!" she said warmly.

The wedding banquet was another demonstration of Howard Watson's largesse with all manner of delicacies laid out. Sherlock and John sat next to each other receiving congratulations from all the guests and Sherlock barely touched a morsel of the food served to him. John could see that his – husband – was having a tough time keeping a pleasant countenance as he answered platitude with platitude. He supposed he was quite an impatient man. Probably a short-tempered one too if the expression in those mutinous eyes was anything to go by. Dangerous, John thought, and wondered why that excited him.

Soon it was time for John to bid farewell to his parents. Harriet had drunk too much as usual and was sleeping it off somewhere. Howard Watson gave John a tight hug and his mother as expected, gave him a teary one. "Take good care of my John, Mr. Holmes", Howard said shaking hands firmly with Sherlock. "You can rest assured I will, sir", Sherlock said smoothly as he handed John into the carriage.

Sherlock got into the carriage after him and then they were off. Lord and Lady Holmes were to follow them in a separate carriage. John felt a strange mixture of emotions churning within him. He could scarcely believe that he was married. He was leaving his childhood home and all that was familiar to go away with a stranger. He was sad about leaving but at the same time excited to look forward to his new life. It would be a whole new way of living, new customs, new places and of course a new person to get used to. He peered beneath his lashes at the man sitting so stiffly next to him, his Alpha. He wondered how Sherlock had known those things about him at their first meeting.

After a while, Sherlock looked at him and sighed, "Okay, so you have questions."

"Well yes, how did you know all those things about me that day in the rose garden?"

"Hmm…so you like to solve mysteries too," Sherlock smiled. "When I met you I could see that you walked well except when you felt anxious. Then you began to favour your left leg very slightly. That seems to indicate some old injury that has healed but left you with a memory of the pain. You have had a sheltered upbringing so the only way would be a sport you played. Your father doesn't keep horses for riding and you would not be allowed to box as an Omega. You have the stance of a fencer and the indented index finger of a regular marksman, so clearly proficiency in both. Interesting because most Omegas are restricted to more artistic pursuits." Sherlock took a breath and looked at John's stunned face.

"We were shown your watercolours in the library but I also saw the books there which Howard Watson did not seem to know much about. They were medical journals and they had your initials on them. Interested in medicine then. There were also quite incongruously, several romance novels depicting Alpha Omega affairs. Not in keeping with your tastes possibly and likely to be your mother's. Could have been your sister's of course but she's an Alpha and once I saw your mother I just took a guess. Your sister was absent during our meeting and your Father's words suggested that she had gone somewhere nearby. At her age, and given the HW loves CD scratched into the apple tree in your garden, I presume she is courting some Omega whose initials are CD. The scratches are too recent to be your father's and Howard Watson doesn't strike me as that sort of man", Sherlock said mischievously.

"How could you possibly know about Harry's drinking?" John asked looking dazed.

"Shot in the dark. Good one though. The nature of your sister's writing on the tree suggesting she tried several times before being able to even carve out her initials. And the same pattern was elsewhere – there are several trees in your garden bearing the mark of Harry's drunken devotion to his Omega."

John drew a deep breath, "That… was amazing."

Sherlock spun around to look at him. "You think so?"

"Of course, it was. It was extraordinary… it was quite extraordinary!"

"That's not what people normally say."

"What do people normally say?" John asked.

"Damn you", Sherlock said as John began laughing.

And just like that Sherlock and John were engaged in the easiest conversation they had had so far. Sherlock told him about his Work - his interest in the criminal sciences and how he sometimes helped out Lestrade. He found a very willing and admiring audience in John and told him about some of his cases. They spoke like this intermittently through the duration of their journey and John began to feel more hopeful about their future as he fell into a light doze.

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