Every day was new and exciting again. Greg didn't even have to see John, but he knew that the day would bring something unexpected. Things were good.

That is, until Sherlock violently ripped himself from everyone's lives. He smashed John into broken bits and pieces, leaving Greg to shakily try to pick up the mess. It was difficult because, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he'd been growing attached to Sherlock and regarded him as a very good (odd but good) friend. Now he had to be the steady one for his boyfriend who was falling apart at the seams, lost and confused. It was devastating to watch. And Greg supposed that that was when they started drifting. It wasn't a bit or obvious drift in the beginning. It was just John mourning and Greg mourning with him and trying to hold himself together for John. There was two months spent where nothing could convince the little blonde that Sherlock was truly dead and John spent a considerable amount of time moping around 221 B Baker Street. Greg had to keep working.

The drift became obvious at about seven months after Sherlock's drift. Greg had asked John to move in with him because he hoped that it would bring John back to the real world, help put him back together. But Greg was feeling that loneliness nagging at him again. It was as if a small creature had nestled down by his heart and was munching lazily at it when it was bored. John was inconsistent with work and Greg was too consistent. The creature got bored more often. After a year, Greg was exhausted. He had watched John fall apart and put up a mask and there was no healing because Greg wasn't there to help. He tried to justify it by saying he was coping in his own way. But coping wasn't facing and not facing wasn't healing. So he started taking shorter shifts and let some of the other DI's take his cases so he could be home with John.

There was little difference. John wasn't melting. He was still in "soldier" mode and Greg knew it. Finally, feeling very weary, Greg sat down with his boyfriend and sighed, "I can't take this anymore." John looked at him curiously, asked what he meant. "I didn't mind when this started, honestly. But I have been second best to a man that isn't even here anymore for a year now and I can't take it. It hurts a lot, John. You're not coming back. You're still hiding away, tucked from my view and it's so frustrating to me. Not just because you're not here but because I'm just a pathetic sort of man who can't hold onto those he loves…" That was the hardest part to admit. "I am just a sorry excuse of space who can't help you…"

John was silent for a long while before he closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were no longer empty. They were bright and longing and infinitely sad. "I'm so sorry, Greg. You're right. I haven't been here. I've been chasing a man who isn't ever coming back and that's not fair to you. I haven't been here for you. You deserve better…" That wasn't really what Greg had been expecting to hear and it caught him off guard. There was a brief pause while they adjusted to look at each other better. "If you give me the chance, I will come back. You've been my rock, my biggest support. I don't think I would still be here if you hadn't been here for me. I've been taking that for granted and I don't blame you for wanting to leave. But please let me come back and be with you again. I don't want to lose anyone else. Not you."

Greg leaned down and rested their foreheads together, intertwining their fingers. He felt a rush of guilt for being so selfish. He hadn't even thought about how he was helping John, he'd just been so focused on how he was losing him. Then there was just a wave of affection for the man he was holding so close and he whispered, "Of course I'll be here. I haven't left yet and I don't think anything in the world - even being second best to a now nonexistent man - could make me leave now." Which was very true. Even through the loneliness, he hadn't actually considered leaving because John was too important to him. He had simply been hoping for reason and a solution. This was a bit more than he had anticipated. "I will stay as long as I am welcome."

John smiled. It was broken and soft and beautiful but it was a smile. "You will always be welcome in my life, Greg." He pressed their lips together gently and then they just sat there, their foreheads pressed together with their eyes closed and their breath mingling in the most unassuming way.

It was then that Greg realized something. He realized that John was always teaching him. He was teaching him patience and new perspectives. While he had been focused on how he'd felt, he'd forgotten that the other side of the coin was how John felt. And that John could feel steady because Greg hadn't given up on him. It wasn't all about grief and pain and loss. It was about happiness and strength and life. They had struggled through a year together, fighting themselves and, sometimes, even each other. Just to get where they were right then. They were not whole and they were gleeful. But they were together and they could keep fighting. Put into perspective, Greg realized that they could build each other up again. They could lean on each other and rely on each other and trust each other again. And there would be a vacant spot in their hearts where they missed their dear friend but he would no longer be the center. Their love and care for each other would be the center and that was important.

"I love you." It was the first time Greg had said it and he meant it. His heart about leapt from his chest in anticipation and practically burst from affection. He did not want to lose this man. They wrapped their arms around each other and Greg sighed, content again. He knew that the moment was short and that things wouldn't magically get better instantly after this but they were going to try and that was all he could possibly ask for.

XX

Two weeks passed. Then another month. And soon six months had passed. Things had turned and it had been an uphill battle. But they were amazingly happy again. They visited Sherlock's grave once every two months (or every time they had a big fight, which was less and less frequent). And then Greg surprised even himself by popping into a local jewelry store. He took John out to what they both considered "their" restaurant. Once outside, they walked aimlessly around until Greg stopped him and proposed. It wasn't overly-sappy but it was just the right amount of sweet so that John practically burst into tears - and that was hard to do because he was such a strong soldier. Obviously, he said yes and Greg slipped the ring onto his finger.

The date was set. Everyone who mattered knew about it. Suits were bought. And then Sherlock, the bloody and oblivious and obnoxious and moronic man, decided to inform the world that he was, in fact, not dead. And the world seemed to tilt slightly, making Greg feel as if he was going to be turned upside down. There was an invisible thread binding them and it seemed to stretch so far after that, to the point where it should snap but was too tight to obviously do so. Sherlock was utterly lost about the idea that John was going to be married, that he had abandoned their home for "such an ignorant man", and that he had been trying to move on. For almost a month, Greg felt as if John had been yanked away from him and everything they had managed was gone. The loneliness was creeping back and he fought it as best he could.

One day, John bought him flowers as an apology. And Greg almost didn't accept. It had been a bad day to begin with and he had gotten really irritated with himself when contemplating the situation between John and Sherlock. But then the puppy-dog eyes were produced and his heart melted. "Greg, I know it's ridiculously hard…" John started as he handed the flowers over and sat on the edge of the desk. "And I don't mean to keep putting you off. I love you. I would do anything for you. Let's get married next week, yeah? Nothing big or fancy. Let's get our suits and we'll go to City Hall and get it all done. I want to."

It wasn't exactly as Greg had planned (and he hadn't been planning for him, mind you). But as he stared at the flowers and listened to the words, he found himself nodding. He just wanted John to be happy because if he was happy, Greg would be happy. "Alright… If you're sure you don't want all the hubbub…"

John grinned widely as Greg looked up at him. "All I care about is being with you, never forgetting why I love you. And for you to remember that I'm married to you. Sherlock is like a pesky child. He's our best mate but he's an attention-whore. I think we could both use a bit more of a reminder that we have someone besides him to go home to each night." He looked down at his ring and his smile turned soft. Tension was wiped from John entirely and Greg took his hand.

"I'll never forget," he whispered with a gentle smile. "But I would love to have a ring on my finger to remind me why I put up with your antics sometimes," he added jokingly and got a half-hearted protest in return. "Yeah, let's do it. We'll sneak off so no one can whine at us." John laughed because they had three people in mind and only one actually mattered. It was strange to think that even though they were their own little unit, one person outside their unit could affect them so much. It wasn't bad and neither of them thought it was unhealthy. It was just strange. Because, if there was one thing Greg had learned over the years, it was that Sherlock had that sort of affect on people. You couldn't just walk away from him. Even Donovan and Anderson had been lacking while Sherlock was "dead" and they hated him. He was like a drug and he had both the positive and negative effects on people and you couldn't escape. And John and Greg had decided to live with that. Sherlock was important but they were more important to each other. At least, Greg hoped that was the case.

John leaned down toward him with a conspiratorial smile. "So, we still haven't used this desk…" Greg turned about twenty shades of red before he set the flowers down.

XX

As the day crept closer and closer, Greg found himself more and more terrified. This was it. Their lives were about to be completely and legitimately bound. It wasn't that he wasn't excited for it because he was. But he was nervous because the last time he had tried this… Well, we all know that part of his story. Greg fiddled with his cuffs nervously, staring in the mirror. It was just an hour before they were going to step into the courtroom together and sign the document. He checked himself over again and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing out softly.

The door clicked shut behind him and opened his eyes to see his ex-wife standing there. Shock knocked all the air out of him and anger brought it all back. She stepped up to him and rested her hands on his shoulders, smoothing them out. "I'm happy for you," she said softly, staring into his eyes through the mirror. It was oddly intimate. "You deserve this." Greg scoffed and shrugged, effectively telling her not to touch him as she removed her hands. "I know you don't think so. I made it hard for you. But you do. If he can keep up with you and you can keep up with him, then you deserve each other."

Greg adjusted his bowtie carefully, keeping composed. "I find that things are working much better between us than they had with you and I," he admitted, feeling awkward. He was about to get married to his boyfriend of four years and now his ex-wife was coming in to give him a pep-talk. He was, at this point, doing his best not to panic. "You should probably go."

"I was just here to give you some encouragement," she said softly, in that meek way of hers. That way that would have previously made him melt and give her anything. He squared his shoulders. She reached into her purse and pulled out a paper. "For a prosperous life." She tucked in behind the handkerchief in his jacket pocket. Then she gave him a smile and left the room.

Curiously, he pulled the paper out and looked at it. His lips twitched into a small grin and he tucked it away again as he took a deep breath and headed for the courtroom. John arrived just moments after him and scurried to the front, not wanting to make a spectacle of himself - even if Greg was the only one watching (and smiling, mind you). He met him at the desk and elbowed him in the side. "Stop grinning, you," he whispered teasingly, blushing.

Greg touched his chest and struggled to keep a straight face. They turned their attention to the man in front of him but his brain was not all there. He was focused on something that had been in his head for awhile, something he had not been able to be name. But in his pocket were seven words that defined how he felt perfectly. "Look at it in a new light." He couldn't stop smiling because it also defined John perfectly. He was constantly reminding him to stop and look at things differently, and never saying a word. And that was what they were kind of about. They fit so perfectly together because they saw things differently than the rest of the world. If he could only hold onto that idea, then everything they talked about was put in perspective. There would always be two sides to one coin. Nothing could be more foolish than forgetting that. He squeezed John's hand briefly as he reached into his pocket for his ring. They exchanged the bands and signed the papers and grinned at each other. It was official and they now had reminders forever. Greg kissed John's forehead softly. For once, he was finally excited about the future.

Certificate of Marriage

This certifies that

Gregory Lestrade and John H Watson

were united in marriage on this day,

the 5th of May in the year 2014.

This ceremony was witnessed and celebrated by

Sherlock Holmes and Molly Hooper.

Katelynn Martiell

Name of Person Solemnizing Marriage

A/N: I wrote this for itachan because she really has helped me look at things differently. There is no ONE way to see something and there are always stories from every side. There is always something new to learn and not just one way to learn it. I sincerely appreciate her and what she teaches me.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Please review.