𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 | 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨

"I'll go get him. I still think it's incredibly adorable that you chose him to give you away," Mrs Hudson grinned, heading towards the door, "I'll be back in a sec, don't you run away."

I laughed and turned back to the mirror. "I would never," I whispered to myself. I found it a little easier to breathe, but now that the calm aura of Mrs Hudson was no longer in the room, the nerves began to settle in once more. My breathing shallowed. In through the nose and out through the mouth. I repeated this several times until Mrs Hudson walked back in, Lestrade following behind with the grinning bridesmaids.

I turned slowly, my smile returning.

"Wow," Lestrade began, "you really do look stunning."

"So do you. But then again, I've never seen you in anything other than jeans." They laughed, as I took in Lestrade's outfit. Dark, slim trousers, white shirt, matching navy waistcoat and bow tie and a simple black blazer. "I did a really good job of picking those out."

"Yeah, but I don't know why you chose bow ties."

"Because bow ties are cool," I returned, grinning at him.

Lestrade jokingly rolled his eyes, grinning in return and walked over to me, elbow extended. I turned to see Mrs Hudson and Molly, dressed in simple deep blue dresses, with small white-rose bouquets and Rosie, grinning happily, holding a small basket of rose petals.

"Are we ready to go then?"

I nodded, nerves rising higher and grasped the white- and blue-rose bouquet.

We all made our way out of the dressing room, through the glossy corridor and towards the deep walnut doors, where the small crowd waited behind, sat on deep navy velvet chairs.

We had chosen a rustic little chapel as the setting for our ceremony, in the country near Musgrove Hall, Sherlock's childhood home. It was a rather small building, but contained everything for a perfect wedding: the cobblestoned room lined with flowers and candles, a shiny aisle and candle-lit alter; the largest room, complete with walnut tables and matching chairs with an open dance space where fairy lights were strung and the two tiny dressing rooms, fit for a bride and groom.

Mrs Hudson knocked gently on the glossy doors, and on cue, they swung open and the music began to play.

Well practiced, Rosie began to gracefully walk down in her little dress, to where her father would be waiting. Soon after, Molly and Mrs Hudson fluttered through the doors, but not before pecking me on the cheek and whispering in my ear, "count to five, and then walk in. Just remember who's waiting for you."

The music swelled, emphasising the bride's cue.

Lestrade pulled my hand through his arm, squeezing it gently as we began to walk for the doors. We spun lightly until we were stood at the threshold, where upon the small crowd stood up from their seats, faces turned towards me.

One step at a time, I replayed in my head, as we gracefully descended down the aisle. Small murmurs began to echo around the room, causing the blood to rush to my cheeks. Slowly, I lifted my eyes, gazing past Sherlock's parent's, Mycroft, the few close family members that I had stayed in contact with. Everyone was smiling, tears in their eyes; they had all been thinking the same thing, the same thought that later on they would share with me- never had there been a more beautiful bride.

We moved slowly, and I could feel the train of my dress and the long veil fall behind me, fluttering along the glossy floor. I gripped my bouquet tighter, feeling my hands start to shake. Lestrade gently squeezed my hand and a small smile began to emerge on my lips.

My wide eyes continued to gaze around the room, briefly landing on John, who was smiling proudly, dressed in his best man's blazer. After a quick wink from him, I then moved my eyes to the beautiful man stood next to him. The beautiful man who was waiting for me. The beautiful man who allowed a single tear to fall.

And all the nerves melted away.

As I walked closer, nearly reaching the end of the march, my face broke out into a dazzling smile, mirroring that of my groom's.

All my life, I had been waiting for this moment, and now we couldn't get there fast enough. But then, at last, we were at the end of the aisle, my eyes fixed on my soul mate's.

Gently, Sherlock held out his hand, Lestrade took mine and, in a tradition as old as time itself, placed it in Sherlock's. As our skin touched, I exhaled.

We had written our own vows, and I spoke mine first, talking about how I had been waiting my entire life for him, for his soul, for his love and how I was ready to spend every day of forever with him.

The tears had begun to slowly fall down my cheeks, and he brushed it away softly, then held my hands in his warm ones, and spoke.

"Y/n, all my life, I had been convinced that love was just an unnecessary problem. A tale of make believe, conceived from the human mind, just to appease them and make them shallowly happy. While I am known for my intelligence and ability, I am certainly not known for my kindness or my compassion or my love. I thought I benefited from that. But as time went on, I realised that actually, I was unlovable for it, that I was unwanted and a freak. I realised that I would most likely die alone, unloved and forgotten. But y/n, my love, you have given me a life worth living. You have taken my unruly, messed up, stupid heart in your hands and turned it into something worthy of life. You have completed me, and in that, you have made me something that I never thought I could be- human. And while that means I cannot live forever, it does mean that I can live a life worth something. A life full of joy and kindness and love- your love. And for that, I am eternally grateful. If there was someway of repaying you, know that I would, again and again. But all I can offer is my love for you, an endless, eternal love. And standing here with you, on this day, means that you accept my love. For that, y/n, I am truly the most privileged and the most honoured man to step foot on this world. This isn't just a marriage, my love- this is the promise of forever."

My voice was barely a whisper as I spoke, "I love you. So much."

We spoke those two words quietly, "I do," in unison, promising to love each other through every up and down, through this strange rollercoaster of life, promising to always be there for the other- the promise of forever.

The minister gently echoed, "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."

Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my lips to his, sealing our love and devotion.

I could hear the cheers behind us, the feel of the confetti, the sound of the camera flashing. But as my new husband interlocked his lips with mine, the world melted away, leaving us, two soul mates, two simple people, so in love, embracing, surrounded by candles and flowers and love.

Slowly, he pulled back grinning, "I love you, Mrs Holmes."