Sherlock: His Lover Called A [Sherlaide II]

Ceremony Colloquy [A]

Late The Next Evening   

I walk in with a sigh, relieved to be home after a very long day of playing catch up at work. Given that Sherlock and John took out the Network's leaders yesterday he gave me the all clear to get back to work. Rather Sherlock insisted I return to work, assuring me that he was fine after I tended his injuries early this morning. It makes me happy to know that he respects  and supports me when it comes to my career. He always has.  I smile and put away my shoes, "Sherlock?"

"In the kitchen, Lovey," My fiancé calls from that direction. I walk into the kitchen and approach from behind, hugging him, "Busy but good day at work, I hope?" He reaches and clasps his hands behind my back in a somewhat backwards hug.

"Mmm, it was a super  long day but yes, it went well. How about yours, Sweetie?"

"Tedious in the best way. Tying up the loose ends of the Network and taking care of all that paperwork and such. Good news, though, is that I can return to Baker Street tomorrow."

"That is great news, Darl, but you sound just a bit upset..." I turn him around to face me. He sighs and we share a kiss before he replies.

"I must confess that I am not overly enthused about it. I am glad to return to my own flat, however I will... miss not having you with me all the time."

I smile and kiss his cheek, "I admit that I will miss having you here too. But it won't be too long before we're married, right?"

"Indeed. And I suppose that I haven't been a terrible houseguest then?"

"Oh, heavens, no! You've been great!"

"Even though I made you miss a full week of work and kept you up every night..?" He asks timidly.

"Sherlock, those don't constitute you being a bad houseguest," I cup his face and press a kiss to his lips, standing on my tiptoe to reach, "You needed me and I wanted to help you, so I did what I needed to so that you could recuperate. If you were a bad houseguest I would have kicked you to the curb long before now. Okay?"

Sherlock smiles gently and returns the kiss, "Very well. Now, I deduce you've already gotten dinner?" I nod and he nods, "Then perhaps we could talk about our wedding over dessert?"

I smile and giggle, "Wedding plans with dessert? I don't see why not."

"Good, because I have spent several hours today researching things like you did yesterday."

I blush, "You saw?!"

"Yes, you left your browser open and I observed that you were viewing wedding dresses before I turned off your laptop for you."

"U-Um, I... W-Well, Sherlock-"

"There is no need for you to be embarrassed, Angel. I know you were just looking at the different styles. I did the same when I purchased your bridal set," He soothes and then turns to grab two bowls of chocolate fudge swirl ice cream from the counter, "Shall we, Lovey?" I nod and take one of the bowls, then we head into the living room. We get comfortable on the futon and I boot up my laptop.

"Okay then, Darl, what were you researching today?" I ask and take a bite of my ice cream. He hums and finishes his own.

"I was looking mostly at the legal procedures and paperwork required. If you wouldn't mind, I think we should discuss them?"

I nod, "No I don't mind. We want to make sure we do everything correctly, after all. Wouldn't do to get married and not be legally recognized, right?" We pause and work at our bowls of ice cream for a bit. Sherlock borrows my laptop and pulls up a few sites as well.

"I'm sure you're aware that we will have to complete a packet for the registrar and give them notice of our wedding. Standard legal process so that we can get married and acquire a valid marriage certificate."

"Mmm. We'll need to get down to the Register’s Office to take care of that once we decide where we want to hold the wedding."

"Yes. I was thinking that we might fare better to take care of the paperwork as soon as possible so that we aren't held up."

"I agree. That would be wise." After about half an hour talking about the legal stuff, we move on and decide to look at venues.

He pulls up a UK wedding planner site and opens up a search index for venues by county, "So..."

This is where I take back the laptop, "So, do we want to get married in London or somewhere else? I wouldn't mind staying so close, but I don't know if a city wedding would be my cup of tea..."

"It would not be mine either. It's our wedding and I'd prefer to have as private of a ceremony as possible. Word gets out about our wedding here and we might get swamped with media."

"When we're not going local..?" He nods, "Okay. Then where would we like to be married?"

He sets his now finished bowl of ice cream down and then looks at me, "Would it be unreasonable to have a summer wedding and have the ceremony outdoors?"

"I certainly wouldn't mind..," I dare to ask so I do, "Maybe... A beachside wedding?"

He looks at me, catching on, "I deduce that you know of a beach venue? Given that you are from Dorset, particularly the coastal strip?"

I blush, "I know a few. The area is lovely and the beaches are gorgeous this time of year," I look from him to the laptop and input Dorset into the search engine. It comes up with a few pages of results for suggested wedding venues. I know a few of them from weddings over the years, so I point out the ones I didn't like and then we go from there, looking at the venues with beach access. At some point I look over at him and ask, "Would you mind telling me why you want a beach wedding, Darling? I didn't expect that answer."

"Well, I want to avoid mimicking John's wedding as much as possible. And when I was younger my parents would take us to the beach every once in a while. I always loved going and playing pirates." I grin and kiss his now pink cheek.

"Well then the beach is significant to both of us. Now let's just see if we can find the perfect spot."

Thank you for reading!! Love y'all!!