It's Not Real

Chapter Twenty Two

"Shall we begin?" The registrar opened her book, looking between them. They each gave a nod, smiles unable to fall from their faces. "Good afternoon to everyone present here today, and on behalf of ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­William and Evelyn, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the Chelsea Old Town Hall for this very special occasion: their marriage ceremony."

Behind them Eve could hear Greg muttering 'who the hell is William' and couldn't help the small noise of amusement that escaped her. Sherlock rolled his eyes.

"I know both Evelyn and William are delighted that you could all be here to witness as they make their marriage vows, in which they promise to take each other as partners for life. These vows are a formal and public pledge of their love and a promise of a lifelong commitment to each other."

Sherlock gave Evelyn a wink and somehow her smile got even wider.

"If there is any person here present who knows of any lawful impediment to this marriage, then they should declare it now."

Sherlock's head shot around to their friends and family, giving his best, most stern, don't even try glare, seeming to especially linger on Lestrade. There was a scattered laughter. Eve shook her head fondly.

"We have come to the part of the ceremony where you take each other as husband and wife. And so l ask you now: William, do you take Evelyn to be your lawful wife, do you promise to love, cherish and respect her, and to be loyal, faithful and kind to her for the rest of your lives together?"

Sherlock beamed brightly. "I do."

"And Evelyn, do you take William to be your lawful husband, do you promise to love, cherish and respect him, and to be loyal, faithful and kind to him for the rest of your lives together?"

She beamed right back at him. "I do."

"Please now repeat after me: I, William Sherlock Scott Holmes, take you Evelyn Margot Wilson, to be my wedded wife."

Sherlock cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a tad more emotional that he thought he would.

"I, William Sherlock Scott Holmes, take you Evelyn Margot Wilson, to be my wedded wife."

"And Evelyn, repeat after me: I, Evelyn Margot Wilson, take you William Sherlock Scott Holmes, to be my wedded husband."

"I, Evelyn Margot Wilson, take you William Sherlock Scott Holmes, to be my wedded husband."

Eve was biting into her lip, watching Sherlock rub his eye not as subtly as he might have hoped.

The registrar continued on after giving them a moment. "I do believe there were some personal vows you wished to exchange?"

Evelyn's eyes flew wide as saucers. "No, I–"

"I do."

She stared at him. "I didn't– I hardly had the time."

Sherlock chuckled, the rest of the room joining in and muttering similar sentiments. "I've always been ahead of you when it comes to our marriage."

She hiccuped a laugh. "As you continue to prove."

"Hm. It's not too long, don't worry," he cleared his throat. "From the moment we first met, you became the bane of my existence–"

John scoffed. "Great start, mate."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes, throwing a dirty look at his best man. Evelyn burst with a laugh, trying to cover it under her hand.

"Anyway," he shook his head. "The reason you had become such a distraction to me was because of how strongly I desired you–"