One year later
"Come on Sherlock, we are going to miss our reservation!" John shouted from the lounge.
It was the anniversary of when he and Sherlock had become an official couple, and he was planning to propose. He wasn't sure how Sherlock would react, but it just felt right. The last year had had its ups and downs, Victor yelling in Sherlock's head being a big down, but they had made it and John loved Sherlock just as much as he ever did.
He was feeling nervous; compulsively reaching into his pocket to make sure the ring box was still there, scared that he had forgotten it, or that it had fallen out of his jacket pocket.
"I don't know why you insist on eating out." Sherlock complained, walking into the lounge. He was dressed in a sharp suit that perfectly accentuated his hips, causing John's face to flush a lovely scarlet. "I mean if you insist on eating, just order take-away. You know being around that much useless information gives me a headache."
"It's our anniversary, Sherlock. Can't you just deal with it for one night?" John asked, voice stained with a slight begging tone.
Sherlock eyed him carefully, feeling that John was acting suspicious. His hand had a slight tremble, and he kept reaching for his side pocket. Ah, the pocket must be the key. Sherlock examined the exterior of the pocket, noticing a slight bulge the same shape and size as a ring box. He froze, slightly cursing his own deductive abilities. John was going to propose to him tonight, and he just ruined it. Well, he doesn't need to let John know that he knows, he can still makes this special for his partner.
"Yes, of course I can." Sherlock said, demeanor completely changing from his previous rigid tone. "Sorry for taking so long to get ready, but we can leave now if you want." Sherlock walked over to John, grabbing the stunned man's face gently in his hands, and kissed him sweetly.
John was completely shocked by Sherlock's sudden change of behavior. Maybe Sherlock could behave himself long enough to have an enjoyably evening. John's heart was bursting with love and admiration for the detective, and the nervousness melted slightly. John could not comprehend how a man like Sherlock could ever love a person like him, but he was grateful for it.
"Yeah, okay." John said with a blissful smile. He pressed his lips to Sherlock's for a brief minute before pulling away.
Hand-in-hand, Sherlock and John walked down the stairs, out of the flat and onto the street. Sherlock reached up with the hand that wasn't wrapped around John's to hail a cab, but John pushed it down. Sherlock looked at him quizzically.
"It's not that far." John explained. "I thought maybe it would be nice to walk." He smiled up at Sherlock, giving his hand an extra, comforting squeeze.
"Lovely" Sherlock said, flashing John a quick smile before walking briskly, dragging John alongside him.
"Sherlock, slow down, there's no rush." John said, quickening his steps to keep up with his long-legged partner.
"I thought we had a reservation to keep." Sherlock said, slowing his steps. "I don't want us to miss it because I was being a git."
John chuckled light heartedly. "It's okay, really. We will make fine time, just slow down. Relax."
Sherlock nodded his head, turning away from John to look out in front of him. His head swam with the thoughts of every possible outcome of tonight. What if he messed up making it so John changed his mind or what if he gave away the fact he knew so John changed his mind? Are you even sure that that is what he plans to do tonight? Why would anyone want to marry you? This way, he can escape if he wants to. If he marries you, he is stuck to you for good. Though, not necessarily. He left his last partner for someone else, who is to say he won't do it again? Shut up, John would never do that to me! If you say so...
"Sherlock, are you okay?" John asked worried, noticing the fear etched into Sherlock's face.
"What, yeah. I'm fine. Just Victor." Sherlock said, voice pulling out from his mind. He flinched slightly at Victor's name and his eyes fell downcast.
John frowned, flipping Sherlock around to draw him into a hug. He held him closely, cursing his luck. Victor had not spoken up in a week, and John had really hoped that he would have stayed quiet for tonight.
"Just try to ignore him. Whatever he is saying is complete shit." John said, pulling Sherlock's face down to make them at eye level. "We are going to have a pleasant evening, just the two of us. Okay?" John asked, words pressing.
"Okay." Sherlock said; face breaking into a small, strained smile. He was not going to ruin this for John or himself, he just wasn't. If he concentrated hard enough, he learned that he could block out the worst of Victor's noise. It gave him a splitting headache, but the end result would be worth the pain.
Several minutes of walking in strained silence later, they walked up to a fancy Italian restaurant. Once inside, they were seated in a private corner away from the rest of the patrons.
"I know it annoys you being around too much useless information, so I arraigned for a private table away from it all. Just the two of us." John smiled widely, clearly proud of his accomplishment.
Sherlock felt so happy, so loved, he wasn't quite sure as to what he should say, so he said nothing. He just smiled brightly at John, leaning over to plant a small kiss on the doctor's cheek.
The meal went flawlessly. John ate a plate of spaghetti, while Sherlock was perfectly content with nibbling on a breadstick. The two talked and laughed, reminiscing on the events of the last year and times before. Once the meal was done, John sat back with a glass of wine and Sherlock a scotch.
"This has been a really lovely evening." John remarked, taking a small sip from his glass. "But I want to do one more thing before I take you back to the flat and make it a perfect evening." John cleared his throat, feeling his hands tremble. He could feel Sherlock's intense gaze watching his every movement, and it did nothing to help his nerves.
"Everything was so messed up before I met you." John began, confidence slowly building. "My life was painfully dull, and thoroughly miserable. Meeting you was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. There have been some bad times like when I thought you died, and the whole situation with Mary." He flinched guilty when he spoke her name. "But even after all of that chaos we are here. Together. The last year has been the best of my life, and I never want anything to change." John stood up, walked over to Sherlock's side of the table, pulled out the ring box and got down on one knee. He opened the box, revealing a plain, shiny silver band.
"Sherlock Holmes, will you make me the luckiest man alive and marry me?"
Six Months Later
John walked in through the front door and heard the sounds of objects being smashed and destroyed. Panicked, he ran up the staircase, heart pounding loudly in his ears. He threw the door open, running inside, full prepared to defend his home. He froze when he saw the source of the noise. Sherlock was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking at different plates. When he saw one that he didn't like, he threw it at the wall. Bits and pieces of plates scattered the floor all around where Sherlock sat.
"What the hell are you doing?" John shouted out, unable to keep the fear turned anger out of his tone.
"The ceremony is in one week, and we still don't have decent plates." Sherlock said, as he picked up another plate, closely examined it, and then threw it against the wall.
John moved his hand down his face in aggravation, exhaling sharply with annoyance. He wasn't surprised at Sherlock's response. For the last couple months Sherlock had been going crazy trying to make everything perfect.
"You shouldn't be stressing so much about this, I am sure no one will care about the plates." John said, moving to sit down next to Sherlock, moving shattered plate pieces out of the way.
"I will care John." Sherlock said, looking over another plate. He took more time looking this one over, flipping it around and around again, examining it thoroughly.
"This is the one." Sherlock finally said after several minutes of deep thought. "We will need 10 of these. A few extras in case some break."
John just smiled, having felt the anger wash away. He wouldn't say it to his face, but Sherlock was utterly adorable, especially of late with all the wedding planning.
"Okay, I will pick them up tomorrow." John said lovingly, kissing Sherlock with a powerful tenderness that made Sherlock come away flushed.
"Perfect." He said, standing up and walking over to the kitchen table which was covered in different colored pieces of cloth. "Now on to the napkins."
The week passed quickly, days flying by like minutes, bringing them to the wedding day. Both Sherlock and John were dressed in fine black suits that were tailored perfectly for their frames.
The ceremony was small, beautiful. Lestrade stood as best man for both Sherlock and John, having been there in every step of their relationship. Mrs. Hudson cried when they read their vows, feeling as pleased as she ever had. Mycroft sat in the very back of the room, slight smile on his face.
"I hereby announce you wed. You may kiss your groom."
John looked up at Sherlock and the love that filled his eyes was like nothing John had even seen from him before. He dragged him down, pulling him into a strong kiss as everyone cheered them. Sherlock froze, feeling something strange inside his head. There was a lack of a certain presence. He pulled away from John's lips, smiling shinning like a beacon in the dark.
"Victor-" Sherlock said, unable to keep the happiness from his voice. "He's gone."
John laughed out loud, smiling widely as he dragged Sherlock down into another kiss.
Finally their life together could begin.