InsaneJournal

Who: Hermione Granger, John Watson and Sherlock Holmes.
What: Someone asks someone else to marry them. Another someone else is surprised. The cat is unimpressed.
Where: Their flat.
When: Morning after everything goes back to normal.
Rating: A for Adorable. And also awkward.
Status: Complete.

Some people might have been disappointed at losing the abilities the city had given them, but John was honestly relieved. It was tiring, understanding so much, and the occasional accidental power absorption had been disconcerting at best. So, while it could have been worse, he was glad it was over. It was nice to have back the normality of being the dull, boring one of the group. Whatever some might think, he didn’t envy Hermione’s cleverness or Sherlock’s genius. He was content to observe and be a part, in some small way, of their brilliance. And honestly, he wasn’t sure he could handle living every day with that much understanding. It was a bit exhausting.

But that was over and things were back to how they should be. Right down to Sherlock making a nuisance of himself while they tried to have breakfast before work. The toast and tea finished up at the same time, so he handled the former and left the latter to Hermione’s expert care. He buttered one piece and put jam on another, passing the plate with both to his girlfriend and taking his cup of tea from her in return. Then he fixed his own toast and came over to the table to sit down. He sipped his tea as he flipped idly through the Arts and Entertainment section of the paper, smiling as he noted it was perfect. As always.

"There’s a concert playing next weekend," he noted for Hermione’s benefit. "What are your feelings on Rimsky-Korsakov?" He looked at a few more articles before swapping it for the Local News section she had been reading. This was how it went most mornings and he couldn’t help but appreciate how nothing strange or out of the ordinary was happening today.

"Depends on the performers, but I think that would be a very nice evening out," Hermione replied before biting off a corner of her toast and licking some jam off her fingers. Their routine was well-practised by now, even down to dodging Sherlock and his intrusions while they made breakfast and letting him steal the classifieds to search for anything unusual. Crookshanks gave the throaty rumbling noise that passed for a purr with him as he settled down in a sunny spot on the floor. It was nice to have everything back to normal. And normal was more or less perfect, Hermione thought, and something she'd be more than happy to keep on with for as long as she possibly could. Which gave her an idea, and being both full of ideas and usually quite good at putting them into practice, she didn't hesitate to act on it.

"John, what would you think about getting married?" She laid down the paper and sipped her tea, waiting for an answer. Strange, she wasn't even that nervous.

It was so normal, so very domestic, that John would have been sure before it became his norm that it would drive him mental. Life with the army and then with Sherlock had showed him that he wasn’t cut out for normal. He craved danger and the battlefield too much to ever fit in anything resembling a normal life. But with Hermione it came so easily. There was no awkwardness or uneasiness. He never felt like he was pushing himself to fit in a mould that was entirely wrong. Yes, they had these wonderful moments of domesticity that confused him as much as they left him with a warm feeling of contentment, but it was more than that. In Hermione there was someone who understood him and who shared the things that made him a bit off. She was no more normal than he was and that, somehow, made it so they could be normal - or near enough to it - together.

Her question didn’t shock him or send him flailing. He took a sip of tea as he considered it and then shrugged. "In general," he asked, "or in the specific? You know my feelings on it in a general sense. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the institution but I do feel a lot of people go into it who aren’t well suited to that sort of thing. In the specific...in regards to us? Well...it could certainly be nice."

"Specifically and with regards to us, yes," she answered, taking another bite of toast and washing it down with more tea. Hermione hadn't ever pictured this. She hadn't been the sort of girl who daydreamed about her own wedding, being instead the sort of child who would go off and research arranged marriages and religious rituals of ancient cultures. And then she'd been helping Harry thwart Voldemort and not entirely believing that she would live past her own graduation. And while she'd maybe expected to wind up with Ron permanently, being thrust into Colligo and finding John had completely upended those plans. They fit perfectly in ways she hadn't even thought to look for. Spending her life with him, or whatever time the city would allow, seemed more or less perfect to her.

"What I mean is...would you like to get married? To me? As an actual plan, not a hypothetical." Hermione set her cup down and met his eyes. It wasn't particularly standard as proposals went, but it felt right.

Specifically. And with regards to them. Strangely, he didn’t choke on his tea. He would have expected to do something like choke on his tea or something equally ridiculous at a topic like marriage with Hermione. But it felt like a perfectly natural progression of things and he couldn’t bring himself to be anything but happy at the direction of the conversation. Hermione, from the sound of things, wanted to marry him. She wanted to continue having mornings like this, and evenings reading and discussing their days and bickering over what to do for dinner or what to watch on the telly. She wanted all of that for the long term. For the rest of their lives or as long as they were here. It made him feel oddly giddy, though he hid it behind the British stoicism that they had both long perfected.

"Well," he said after a moment, his tone deadpan as he set his own cup down and met her eyes before looking back down at the newspaper, "I have to say that was a terribly unromantic proposal but, as I can’t seem to think of any decent reasons to say no, I suppose I’ll just have to accept."

Sherlock had been indulging in his own routine of attempting to ignore John and Hermione’s bland banter by thrusting his attention into other matters, but the comment on marriage had forcefully dragged his attention back to their discussion. He had crinkled his paper ever so often during it in an attempt to break up the direction that things seemed to be taking, but it hadn’t been to much avail, and as they seemed to reach a final decision, he dropped his section of the paper entirely to stare at him, the classifies balled and practically ruined in his clenched fists.

"Are you both quite mad?" A simple enough question that Sherlock was sure he already knew the answer to.

Hermione had been beaming at John's answer, and had started leaning towards him with the intent of some display of affection, when Sherlock broke in. One eyebrow went up as she peered at their flatmate over her tea and toast.

"I don't think so," she said brightly, "and John seems quite sound of mind to me, though I admit I'm somewhat biased on the manner. Are you disappointed that I didn't get down on one knee and present him with a ring?" Not that that was what Sherlock was really objecting to, but perhaps she could distract him out of whatever fit of temper or sulk he might be headed towards.

"That might have been a bit much, in all honesty," John said mildly, taking a bite of toast and glancing over in Hermione’s direction, "so I’m rather glad you didn’t, if it’s all the same. Not that I wouldn’t have appreciated the gesture, of course, but it was nice just how it was." Nice and understated. It had suited them, really.

"Now, Sherlock," he said, addressing his friend, "would you like to clarify your question? I assume you mean in regards to this particular topic and not just as a general thing. I’d like to think if it were the latter, you’d have commented by now...but I really never can tell with you."

“Of course I mean on this issue,” Sherlock said, sounding affronted. What in the world were they thinking, that things would stay exactly the same even though marriage was put on the table? Because that was hardly likely. Marriage changed things, set people against each other and more than anything else, made others capable of things that they certainly wouldn’t have been before. Sherlock hardly had the desire to stumble across either of them dead by the other’s hand some time in the near future. “What in the world are you thinking? What’s wrong with the way things are now?”

"Nothing's wrong with it," Hermione said carefully. "Perhaps I'm just a traditionalist in some ways. I love John, and he loves me, and I don't see why we shouldn't make things official." It had seemed like a good suggestion at the time. It still did, really, and despite Sherlock's blunt questioning she had a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Not much will change other than the addition of a pair of rings and some legal rights. And I may change my name, I haven't given it much thought. Unless you want to become Doctor Granger," she finished, glancing at John.

John couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Sherlock’s reaction. The sad thing was he knew this wasn’t the same sort of bratty, possessive codependence Sherlock had showed when he had first started dating Hermione and when she had moved in. "If you don’t want to change your name, you certainly don’t have to," he assured his...fiancée, he supposed. He liked the sound of that. "And I think I’ll stick with Doctor Watson, if it’s all the same. Else Mrs. Carraway will be asking when I ended things with Sherlock and took up with another bloke. She’s a bit senile, that one. Anyway, we can think about that more later."

"And nothing’s wrong with the way things are now," he said, finally addressing Sherlock’s concerns, "and I honestly don’t anticipate all that much changing when Hermione and I make things legal." When, not if. "It’s hardly as if we’re going to suddenly despise one another because we’re husband and wife. I know your perception of things can be a bit skewed now and again, but not all marriages end in divorce or homicide. So stop thinking that way." It really ought to have worried him, the way he understood Sherlock, but he was used to it by now. “Anyway...if you’re done assuming we’re mental...you’ll be my best man, right?"

Sherlock leveled a long stare at John, the moment dragging out as he internally debated whether it was really worth the effort to convince John that things were going to change whether he thought they weren’t going to or not, before allowing a heavy sigh to pass his lips, "Of course," He said before shaking out his newspaper to get the crinkles out that he’d placed it in, raising it back up and turning his attention back to the ads. "And I’m hardly assuming. I think it’s rather obvious that you both are."

"Yes, assuming that we're not going to lose our minds simply because of speaking a few words in front of a functionary and witnesses. And I'm fairly sure wedding vows don't count as a spell. Not the ones we're likely to use, at least." Hermione finished her tea and glanced at John. "I don't think we'll want to have anything terribly elaborate, do you?" It wasn't really their style to hire out a hall or have a massive party with festivities for days. And a giant frothy white dress was right out.

"Lord no," John agreed. He wasn’t one for unnecessary frivolity any more than Hermione was. "I figured we could just do something simple. Rings. Vows. A few witnesses. But I figured you’d probably want Ginny to stand for you, and Sherlock’s my best friend, so it makes sense, don’t you think?" At least it seemed like they were on the same wavelength on this, which wasn’t too surprising considering they were of the same mind on most things. He considered his schedule and then looked over at Hermione. "How’s Saturday for you?"

"Yes, of course, and we'll have to have Harry there too." Never mind that Harry and Ginny might object on Ron's behalf. They were her closest friends and they'd be happy for her because she was happy. And she wanted them there. "And Sirius, probably, if he promises to behave." Hermione finished her tea and thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think that should be enough time to get the licence sorted. And we should have a cake, even if we don't bother with the rest of it, I think."

"Of course," John agreed. Now it got to the potentially contentious point. "And Jim too. And before you say anything, he is a friend and he’ll be quite cross if he’s not invited. So really, it’s much more practical to just invite him and avoid any awkward explosions on the day. Sound fair, doesn’t it?" He considered it. "So Harry and Ginny. Sirius and Remus. Sherlock and Jim. Peter, Rory and I suppose their significant others if they have them. That’s a perfectly manageable group." He took a sip of tea. "You’ll get no objections from me about wanting cake. We can just have dinner and cake after. Nice and simple. Did you want to invite Ron? I know it’s a bit awkward, all things considered...but he is your friend."

Hermione blew out a breath and thought for a moment. She didn't particularly want to invite a dangerous psychopath to her wedding, but John was most likely right that making Moriarty feel unwanted would only lead to explosions. Quite literally, in fact. "I suppose you're right, but he'll have to promise to behave as well. For whatever that's worth." She honestly didn't know Jim well enough to gauge whether he would actually do anything if he were invited; it didn't seem like his style, but she wanted to be sure. As John listed off the rest, she nodded - of course she'd want Remus there, and the clinic staff were all friends of John's and good people besides. In a perfect world she would have had her parents there, but this was Colligo and wishing for that sort of thing was pointless. His last suggestion, however, made her frown. "I don't know if he'd actually want to come. We should probably invite him, though, so he doesn't feel left out. I'm not sure, I'll have to think it over."

Well, at least she hadn’t objected to Jim’s presence at the wedding. He did rather like the man when he was behaving and not murdering old ladies or blowing up orphanages. Whatever it was he did for fun these days. "I’m sure he’ll be fine," he said with a smile, covering her hand with his. There was something surreal about the fact that they were planning their wedding over tea and toast, but he couldn’t bring himself to be anything but happy. As the topic turned to Ron, he gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. "It is entirely up to you, dear," he assured her. "Whatever you decide on that is fine by me."

Sherlock had been paying attention to the conversation even if it seemed as though his mind were completely focused elsewhere. Saturday. Saturday. And this list of just a few people seemed to be growing rather steadily every time the conversation switched hands. Shaking his head, Sherlock knew that voicing any concerns to the pair of them would just be a waste of time so instead, Sherlock folded his paper, lowering it to his lap and turned his attention to the cat sitting at his feet. If anything, he’d be a much more receptive audience. And he would hardly argue back.

"Sometimes I truly wonder about why I tolerate the presence of others," Sherlock said, leaning forward, elbows propped on his knees. "I’m sure that’s something you understand perfectly."

Crookshanks regarded Sherlock with one yellow eye, then stretched luxuriantly and settled down again, tail flicking once. Apparently the cat didn't have much to add and found humans just as perplexing as Sherlock did. Hermione, meanwhile, rolled her eyes and refrained from remarking on the limits of Sherlock's tolerance, checking her watch instead. "We should probably get going, dear, but would you like to meet for lunch and talk about this a bit more? I suppose we should send invitations if we're doing it this quickly."

John checked his own watch and nodded. "Quite right," he said, finishing his tea, and leaning forward to kiss Hermione quickly. "I have to be on at the clinic soon, so I’d really best be going. Want me to walk you to work first? I have the time. As for lunch, it will need to be a late one. I have appointments until one. But if you’re free, I’d love to meet up." He wondered at people who stressed out over wedding planning. This seemed to be going remarkably well. Sparing a glance in Sherlock’s direction, he sighed in a mix of fondness and exasperation. "Enjoy your conversation, Sherlock," he said. "Crookshanks, I do hope he doesn’t bother you too much. Just swat at him if he goes on too long. It should shut him up without too much trouble."

Sherlock barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes at the pair of them. "I hardly think I will be bothering him," He said. "I happen to know when a conversation has come to a proper end. I shan’t need to be swatted at," He said, shaking his head with a sigh. "You do realize that you’ve barely left enough time for someone to make a proper cake, yes? Much less for anyone to find any suitable attire."

"That would be lovely," she answered John, returning his kiss lightly. "And I don't mind eating late, it'll give me a chance to tackle the art history section, which is a positive shambles. Just give me a text when you're ready and I'll apparate over." As she got up and started clearing the table, Hermione gave Sherlock a fond smile. "The cake shouldn't be too much trouble, I don't think we're looking for one of those five-tiered monstrosities. And everyone should have a nice suit or dress or something, but I don't really mind if they turn up in jeans so long as they're there." She might have to ask Ginny to go on a quick shopping trip, though. Getting married probably deserved a new dress, even if it wasn't a white one with a six-foot train.

"Wonderful," John said with a fond smile. "I’ll send you a message once I get everything sorted at work and we can finish up the details while we eat. It really shouldn’t take much. Neither of us are really planning on anything too involved.” Sherlock seemed to think they were planning some complicated affair, but that didn’t especially suit either of them. "There aren’t that many people, so a cake shouldn’t take much effort. And we’re hardly going to be that dressed up. You know my feelings on suits. And why should someone be uncomfortable simply because they’re getting married." He would dress nicely, but he was hardly going to force himself into an overly formal suit. "But never mind," he said, looking at his watch. "If we stand about much longer, we’ll be late. We can discuss this more later, Sherlock." Offering Hermione his arm, he led her out of the flat, chatting idly as they walked to the library where she worked. Yes, he had a good feeling about this.