Greg threw himself onto Sherlock's couch in frustration. He only had an hour for lunch, and it was becoming clear that it was going to take a lot more time than that to help Sherlock write a best man's speech.

"No, Sherlock, I can't just do it for you. John chose you to be the best man, which means he expects you to write the speech." Greg grumbled, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"It's not like he'd know!" Sherlock whined, spinning on the spot in his dressing gown.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'd know, mate."
"But what am I supposed to say?"

Greg eyed Sherlock as he pouted, refusing to give in. After some silence, Greg sighed.
"Alright, well… why don't you just start with what John means to you?"
"Oh, yes, I'm sure that'll go down well." Sherlock muttered with a frown. He knew Greg knew about his affections. What was he supposed to say? 'I wish I were your groom instead of your best man'? He knew he didn't know a lot about social interactions, but he was fairly sure that wasn't appropriate for a wedding.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." Sherlock sighed, collapsing into his chair. Greg's heart ached seeing him look so upset.
"I know, mate."
"It's not that I don't like Mary… in fact, she's by far the best match for John I've encountered. I guess that's part of why it's so hard. I could ignore all of John's girlfriends because they were obviously incompatible with him. I didn't have to worry about losing him."
"You're not going to lose him. Mary likes you, she'll want to keep you around as well."
"Yeah but I'd never be able to have him to myself."

Greg felt like he should go give him a hug. He knew that someone else would hear his words as selfish, but to Greg, he was practically mourning.
"It'll be ok, Sherlock. Life likes to throw challenges at us, and sometimes it seems impossible to overcome them… but there's something better after you've gone through it all, trust me."

Sherlock was about to make a snide comment in return, but bit his tongue. Greg was right, and had been through enough himself recently to prove it. It wouldn't be kind to snap at him when he's only trying to help. It was just easier to push people away than deal with the emotions.
Much like John.

"Are you honestly still afraid that John won't be around any more?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"John will have his job, and then his home life, with Mary. He'll stop visiting me even, let alone want to join me on cases."
"Have you talked about any of this with him?"
"Of course not. John doesn't handle difficult emotional confrontations well, and I fear he sometimes misinterprets my intentions."

Greg reluctantly nodded. John did tend to do that, yeah. That damned temper of his often blinded him to the real issue at hand. Greg made a mental note to talk with both John and Mary later on about Sherlock's concerns, see where they were at, and hopefully orchestrate some kind of resolution. He felt a rush of glee and adrenaline surge through him, and wondered if this was how Mycroft felt while meddling in other's lives… it was certainly more understandable now why he did so.

"Ok, come on. Let's just start with some of the things you'll have to talk about. The Telegrams."
"Pointless messages…"
"No, an important tradition. You have to do them."
"Read all that soppy drama?"
"Yes, Sherlock."
"Why?"
"Because that's your job!" Greg shouted, and Sherlock shut his mouth instantly. Sometimes it took a bit of force to get Sherlock to comply.

"Very well. So, I read the Telegrams, and then what?"
"Well, just … use those anecdotes you wanted." Greg grumbled, still annoyed about last night.
"Yes, which you still haven't told me."
"You're supposed to use your own, Sherlock. Not mine."

Sherlock growled in frustration.
"I'm not good at this! I want to just … do something more comfortable. Can't I just solve a murder for my speech instead or something?"

Greg chuckled.
"Well, I doubt that, Sherlock. Look, why don't you try composing something for them? I know you like to do that, and I'm sure John and Mary would appreciate it."
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea, actually. But what does that have to do with the speech? I mean, I can't just say nothing and play…"
"Yeah, well, I was thinking more that if you cock it up, they'll enjoy your music and not be so upset." Greg laughed, and snorted even louder when he saw Sherlock's indignant face.

"Yes, well… I guess that's likely, isn't it? Doesn't even really matter what I say then! I'll just be my usual arrogant arsehole self, and then wait for John's forgiveness after hearing my waltz for them. John is, after all, the kindest man I know… well, after you of course. Look, I never expected to be John's best friend anymore and so I certainly didn't expect to be his best man, so I really don't know what I am supposed to say."
"Yeah… well… tweak that a little and you could include that in your speech."
"Serious?"
"Sure. I mean, take out the parts about it not mattering what you say and the mention of me and you'd be good to go. Now, why don't you talk a bit about when he asked you to be best man?" Greg chuckled. Sherlock raised his eyebrow.

"Alright… well, I guess I could…I mean, I didn't know what to say. Turns out that I didn't say anything. I was too overwhelmed from hearing him say he loved me."
"WHAT?" Greg shouted, spluttering.
"Oh, I didn't mention that?"
"No, you didn't." Greg uttered, eyes wide. No wonder Sherlock was conflicted about his feelings more so than usual. "What did he say?"
"He said… he wants to be up there with the two people he loves. Mary, and myself."
"Oh. Sorry, not what I thought you meant… I mean, yeah that's a lot for him to come out and say, but Sherlock… I'm…I'm sorry, that doesn't really mean what you hoped it would mean."
"Obviously," Sherlock grumbled in resentment, "As much as I would have loved for him to profess feelings for me, I know he doesn't think of me that way. He chose Mary, and I am not going to stand in the way of his happiness."
"I think he did, Sherlock, you know."

Sherlock frowned and looked at Lestrade. He wasn't lying, and he looked exasperated.
"Did he say something?"
"No, but Mycroft did. And there were signs. I mean we think he did love you but was too trapped in his own ideas of his sexuality to do anything about it or even realise…"
"I'm not interested in the gossiping you do with my brother."

Greg sighed and let his head fall into his hands. He knew Sherlock was pushing the idea away since it was easier than coping with the idea that John did return his affections once, but has moved on now. It was indeed rather complicated for Sherlock. He took a deep breath, and just tried to focus on the matter at hand. The speech.

"Back to the speech, Sherlock. Just… talk about your time together, some of the things you've done with him. That should be comfortable enough for you."
"So. Him asking me to be the best man minus the love feelings, Telegrams, our adventures together, me being an obnoxious arsehole and him being a wonderfully kind man to tolerate me minus any mentions of you." Sherlock surmised.
"Yeah, throw in a few insults and you're good to go." Greg joked.
"Insults?"
"Yeah, cause then no one would doubt that it was really you who wrote the speech." Greg laughed, with a vague sense that Sherlock couldn't tell he was joking. Greg cleared his throat.
"But, be sure to say some kind things and some praises in there." Greg added.

Sherlock slowly inclined his head. Greg could tell he was withdrawing into his mind, and it was likely he wasn't going to be all that talkative from now on. It was about time for him to leave anyway.
"Well, I've gotta get back to work, Sherlock. Text me if you need any more help, ok?"

Greg stood, and looked at Sherlock whom had assumed his 'thinking' pose. He grunted in his direction, and so Greg just nodded and left the man to think.