The next three and a half weeks went by quickly. Between work and planning, the soon-to-be newlyweds were busy almost round the clock. There were cases to be solved and villains to be apprehended, but there were also dresses that needed picking up, food menus that needed looking over, bridesmaids dresses that needed fitting and cake samples that needed tasting.
For the latter, Sherlock and Natasha were unsurprised to find that Mycroft's baker was every bit as spectacular as promised. Natasha made a final decision to introduce Mycroft to a high-ranking CIA official she occasionally shared a glass of wine and information with, called Naomi, as a 'thank you'.
Sherlock took over planning their sex holiday, as he'd come to call it (to Natasha's amusement). She'd been given only vague hints about what to pack and no specifics about the location, which presented her with a bit of a problem. In an effort to solve it, she paid Mycroft Holmes a visit at one of his many offices.
Mycroft, unfortunately, had been as secretive about the location as his brother. Natasha finally had to confide that she had a wedding gift for Sherlock she'd like to send ahead of time, so she wouldn't have to pack it or carry it with her on the plane and risk damaging it. Mycroft promised he'd take care of it for her after some wheedling, but still didn't give up the location. Natasha eventually let it go.
The week before The Day Of was a busy one. Tony and Pepper flew in with Vision and Wanda first, followed shortly after by Thor and Jane. Steve flew in with Sharon, and Clint with Laura, trailed by their three kids. Sam was the last to fly in with Maria and Bruce. Tony had taken care of all flight arrangements and accommodations, and wouldn't hear of anyone paying for their own.
There was a wedding rehearsal and dinner once everybody was settled in, and before they knew it, the wedding day was upon them. In recent years, Natasha had allowed her hair to grow in long waves she'd sported for most her life. For her wedding, she arranged them in a 'half-up half-down' hairstyle that would show off the pearl earrings she'd gotten from Sherlock's mother, but still would cover an old scar behind her neck.
The earrings were her 'something old and her something borrowed'.
Pepper and Maria, along with Mrs. Holmes, helped her into her wedding dress once they were dressed and ready in black and shades of grey. Natasha had chosen a floor length silk-satin number in a mermaid silhouette, sporting a lace bodice with a deep-v in the front and an exposed back from behind. Cream in color, it had a bit of a train flaring out behind, and absolutely no room for weapons.
Natasha, for the first time in her life, didn't mind. She kept her makeup minimal and wore only a simple veil that wouldn't cover her face. She wanted him to see her when she walked down the aisle, and she wanted to see him in turn.
Once ready, all four women exited the hotel room they'd used to get ready so Sherlock wouldn't catch an inadvertent of Natasha's dress, and piled into the dark tinted limousine waiting for them out front. Natasha fidgeted with bouquet of red roses until Mrs. Holmes reached over and took one of her hands in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It'll be fine, dear," she told her quietly.
Natasha covered her hand with her free one, feeling a smile light up her features. "I know."
The venue had been carefully chosen for practicality, privacy, space, and availability. The Osterley Park and House had been available, despite their short notice. Sherlock and John were stationed there, helping make sure everything was ready to go before people, and more importantly, Natasha, got there.
Sherlock was dressed and nervous. A black tailored suit, with a silver colored tie and waist coat, and a red rose boutonniere. Hidden beneath where a pair of red polkadot suspenders, worn at John's wedding, who thought it'd be funny to wear and prompted it with a knowing grin.
Physically, Sherlock looked healthy. He'd gained the weight back that he'd lost whilst being injured. The bruises and abrasions were long gone. The only remnants of his time in Switzerland were a small bullet scar on his thigh, and the larger one on his shoulder where he'd been impaled with a thin pole. He was nearly at one hundred percent mobility, thanks to a consultation with Doctor Helen Cho and being forced into being a good patient.
Sherlock stood near the front of the Entrance Hall room where they'd decided on having the wedding. Hands clasped behind his back, expression impassive and thoughtful. People had started milling about, the wedding due to start in twenty minutes. Sherlock's head was zipping through everything, double checking to make sure they had everything ready.
Through the small gathering of people, John emerged, carrying his blonde three year old who was a beautiful red dress. His expression was knowing and fond, and he came to a stop in front of his best friend. "You alright?"
"Of course I'm alright, why wouldn't I be alright, everything's perfectly fine, should go off without any issues. Might even catch a murderer, wouldn't that be fun, probably not, we carefully screened everyone who'd be working this wedding for motives against the high profile individuals here. Plus we have the Avengers here, in addition to Mycroft's security team, no murders, which is-"
"Sherlock, stop." John said, holding out his free hand to prevent any more nervous rambling from the detective. "It'll be fine, just relax. You'll have a lot more fun if you just relax."
"I am relaxed, I'm perfectly relaxed. Look at me." Sherlock insisted.
Josi beat John to a response, holding out her hand just like her father had done. "No, Uncle Sherlock." She said in all the professionalism that she could.
This made Sherlock release a breathy laugh.
"It'll be just fine." John assured him, quickly pulling him into a brotherly hug with his daughter in the middle.
Natasha arrived exactly ten minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start. Maria, Pepper and Mrs. Holmes climbed out of the car first, but the latter soon scuttled away to take her front row seat next to her husband, Mr. Holmes. Maria stayed with Pepper and Natasha to help smooth out their dresses but eventually disappeared as well, signaling the bride's arrival to the pertinent parties. Steve made a quick appearance to hand Natasha her 'something blue and something new': a sky blue lace handkerchief she tucked into one of her hands, insisting she wouldn't be crying. Steve gave her a peck on the cheek and whispered a quiet reassurance before he disappeared.
Five minutes to The Moment Of, Pepper took up her position behind the closed door that lead into the room where the ceremony would take place. Natasha did the same behind her and expelled a long, steadying breath. It came out shakier than she would've liked, but there was little she could do about her nerves. If nothing else, she wanted to be fully genuine on her wedding day. Nerves and all. Maria opened the door and peeked in when the music started.
"One minute," she announced. "Are you girls ready?"
Natasha looked up and Pepper peeked at her over her shoulder, flashing an encouraging smile. "Are we?"
"As we'll ever be," Natasha confirmed.
Maria smirked. "He's as nervous as you are," she assured her quietly, opening the door fully to let them by. Pepper turned her head forward and waited a beat before gliding gracefully down the aisle. Natasha was beckoned forward to do the same shortly after, and her eyes inevitably sought out and fixed on her husband-to-be.
"Breathe," she instructed herself under her breath.
As the music played Sherlock had his back to the door, standing next to John with fidgety hands. John snuck a peek over his shoulder and smiled as Natasha glided down the flower covered aisle. He nudged Sherlock with an elbow.
Sherlock inhaled deeply to calm himself down, and then turned around. Catching sight of Natasha for the first time pushed every little nerve away completely. His initial expression was shock, then he smiled. The smile grew from fond anticipation to adoring elation he was not going to hide. The music played softly in the background, the people seated around were smiling at her as well. But they didn't matter. The only one that did was his saving angel walking down the aisle. When she was close enough to touch, he extended his hand for hers. He didn't say anything, he wasn't sure words would be able to explain what was happening in his head at that point. So he just squeezed her hand gently.
Natasha laced her fingers with his, no longer nervous or anxious but completely calm. She was home and the thought made her smile. She handed off her bouquet to Pepper, and once everyone resumed their seats, the ceremony began. Sherlock and Natasha both requested that it be kept reasonably short, and so they were briefly lectured on love, commitment, hard work and communication. Concepts they were both intimately familiar with after so many years and experiences together, but intermittently listened to nevertheless.
They exchanged the traditional vows, having decided early on that whatever they needed to say to each other they would say in private. They were both private people to begin with when it came to sentiment, it was only fitting that the same would apply to their wedding day. Eventually they were asked to exchange rings and Natasha let go of Sherlock's hand so he could retrieve both from their ring bearer.
Sherlock crouched down to take the rings from Nathaniel Barton, who was sitting in the front row with his family. The three year old was very well behaved, surprising, and had taken his job very seriously. Sherlock winked once at Natasha's namesake, and then straightened again, turning to face his almost-wife.
He'd picked up the rings and they hadn't worn them during the engagement period, as may have been custom. The white gold bands were relatively thin, and matched perfectly. Natasha's had a series of diamonds around it. And on the inside he'd engraved something sentimental. A note that they could remember while they were apart. In Russian, the nicknames they'd accidentally used once upon a time: 'Princess' and 'Charming'.
She'd find the engraving later, and his eyes were only on her as they exchanged the rings. They knew was was happening next, so they didn't bother waiting for the officiator to declare. He pulled her in close, wrapping her up in his arms and kissed her fiercely as he dipped her down. For as private as they could be, Sherlock was not feeling shy when it came to kissing his new wife in front of everyone they cared about.
Natasha wrapped her arms around his neck to return the kiss with equal passion, vaguely aware of distant clapping and a couple of whistles she was sure Clint and Tony were responsible for. Sublimely happy as she was in her husband's arms, she couldn't bring herself to care about anything other than him. "I love you," she said against his lips when she paused for air. "And if you keep kissing me like that, I might find myself needing private quality time with my new husband."
"Patience, love." Sherlock said quietly, smirking down at her. He pulled her back up so she was standing. The music started again, and the clapping and whistling had continued. So he grabbed her hand, and headed down the aisle, smiling like an idiot.
The reception was to be held outside in a tent on the greens surrounding the house. Pictures were next, with their photographer (who was not a murderer). They didn't take too many photos, keeping it relatively simple. Just enough to share with their family and friends, and one for 221B. Both of them were photogenic, so it didn't take very long to get a couple that would work. They'd forgone the tedious tradition of the reception line, preferring to make their way around the groups themselves.
It was a bit of a whirlwind after that, with dinner and toasts and well-wishers all around. By the time evening rolled around, a smattering of stars lit up the sky and the music changed to something slow on a violin for their very first dance as husband and wife. One of Sherlock's compositions, Natasha recognized immediately. Once the music changed and everyone joined in, they parted ways to share dances with a few of the guests.
Eventually, however, and always, they found their way to each other in the middle of the dance floor.
Natasha hadn't been able to stop smiling, practically glowing with happiness as her hands sought her husband's and dragged him closer. "I saw the engraving," she informed him quietly, once he'd pulled her into his arms for another dance. "Sneaky man."
"Yes, I am." Sherlock agreed, giving her a soft smile. "I'll let you see mine when you disrobe me later tonight."
"Mhm," she confirmed with a cheeky smile. "I hope you weren't planning on getting much sleep," she added. "I intend to take my time and we have an early flight tomorrow too."
"Hmm, just fine. We can sleep on the plane. It's a long flight." Sherlock assured her. "I take it from your smile that you're having fun. It seems everyone else is having a good time as well, plenty of smiles, and I think the clap on the back from Clint was an indicator of his approval."
"It is," Natasha replied while sneaking a peek at Clint, dancing with his wife towards the edge of the dance floor. "And I am having fun," she continued once she'd returned her focus to her new husband's face. "Aren't you? Because we could always leave a little early. I have no objections."
Sherlock smirked, as if he'd been given a major case. "You think we can escape here early? Out from under the eye of all your teammates, not mention my brother?"
"If anyone could it'd be you and me," she assured him with a sudden mischievous glint in her eye. "Are you up for the challenge?"
"I believe I am, wife of mine." He replied with a wink, glancing over at the other couples and groups dancing. Catching sight of Molly and Sam talking in a corner, John dancing around the edge with a giggling Josina. Mary and Mrs Hudson chatting with Jane and Thor. Lestrade laughing at one of Tony's stupid jokes. The list continued. "I think we can do it. Our car's out back, ready to go."
"Then let's sneak away now, while everyone's still distracted enough not to notice." Natasha did her own quick survey and let Sherlock go to snatch up the train of her dress so it wouldn't hinder their escape. "I'll pretend I'm heading for the bathroom and meet you at the car?"
"See you soon." Sherlock said, catching her in a quick kiss before he let her go completely. He made his way over to John and Josi, crouching down to pull the young girl into a quick hug. He kissed her once the head. "Thank you very much, Miss Watson, you did very well."
Josina giggled and wiggled in his arms, so he let her go and stood to talk to John. "Thank you as well, John."
John smiled softly, pulling Sherlock into another hug. "You're welcome, Sherlock."
There wasn't really need for more words. Everything that was their relationship went unspoken. Best friends that understood each other in many ways.
"Daddy, I want to dance with Thor again!" Josi said, pulling on John's trouser leg.
John laughed, giving Sherlock one more look before he surrendered to his daughter's whims. "Come on then, sweetie, I'm sure if you ask nicely he'll say yes."
Sherlock took that opportunity to slip away. Leaving a wedding early….to go celebrate alone with his new wife.
They snuck out of the party with very little trouble. They were a consulting detective and a master assassin after all. If anyone was upset about that fact, they didn't get any texts or calls about it.
Sherlock had booked them a hotel suite not far from the airport, where their luggage was already. It'd be an easy morning, which was good because the night was going to be long.
Once the hotel door room closed, Sherlock and Natasha were a whirl of hands and fervent kisses. All the pent up emotion of the day unleashing now that they were alone. After a moment of consideration and Sherlock's jacket being tossed away, they slowed things down. Preferring to take their time for this celebratory intimacy.
I love you, I need you, I never want to let you go.
They whispered their vows between tangled sheets and soft kisses, promising a future in their crazy busy lives, promising devotion and love when neither of them expected it, predicting years to come and memories created.
Eventually, after thoroughly celebrating, they curled up together and fell asleep. Both completely happy, both extremely satisfied, both entirely loved.
