While Sherlock may officially help the police, he still manages to keep himself out of the papers and off the tellie for a while, not wanting the publicity and Scotland Yard is more than happy to take it for themselves, with Lestrade being the one getting the credit for the rise of cases closed within the department.

The fact that he has been able to close such a high percentage of his cases, and close quite a few cold cases as well, means that a year after he meets one Sherlock Holmes, he is promoted to Detective Inspector. During that same year, John graduates and gets his doctorate, officially becoming Dr. John Watson. And even though he doesn't plan to use it in any sort of practice this time around. At least not when he has a crazy detective to chase after. It's not as if he could hold a job down that way anyway, and since they have Sherlock's trust fund and the money from consulting with Scotland Yard, they don't really need the extra money from him working anyway.

Their relationship gets stronger, and they get through injuries and hard cases together, finally giving up any sort of pretense and John moves into Sherlock's bedroom, though he keeps his own still in case he wants some alone time, which eventually happens. There are still his nightmares to work through sometimes but it's easier when Sherlock is there when he wakes up. Of course, that also doubles to get Sherlock on steady sleeping cycle most of the time, when he's not on a case at least.

Perhaps because they've been at the department longer, or because they are officially employed as consultants of Scotland Yard, when they are finally introduced to Anderson and Donovan, they are treated with much more respect, even if the two might not like Sherlock personally, they are at least able to be professional.

This time, when Sherlock goes to Florida to help a certain lady's husband get the death penalty, John is by his side, helping to cement the case even more, and a year after that, they move into 221B Baker Street. For John, this is like finally arriving home.

After they are finally settled in and unpacked, one day John grabs Sherlock as he tries to go by in his dressing gown and pajama pants, pulling him close and giving him a passionate kiss. "Now everything is perfect." he says as he slides his hands under the dressing gown and looks over the toned, fit body of his lover. "Go lock the door, I don't want to give Mrs. Hudson a heart attack if she sees what I'm about to do to you." He says with a slightly feral grin on his face.

Needless to say that night they thoroughly break in 221B, and Mrs. Hudson listens to her TV with the volume up.

Many, many things are different for John and Sherlock, and over the years John stops comparing the two, he stops even thinking about the other Sherlock, though sometimes he has moments where he worries about the other version of his lover, wondering what happened to him and if he's ok. But those times become few and far between as he forgets that other life and focuses on the one he's living.

Mycroft stays true to his word and doesn't watch Sherlock's every move. And in return they go to family Christmas', the brother repairing their relationship to the point they can be in each other's company for a good hour before the snarking begins. But some things can't be fixed, even if Mycroft starts working on a small present for the two of them.

And when the day arrives for that present to be given, John is in Baker Street with Sherlock when they hear the news that same-sex marriages have finally been legalized. A small smile crosses John's face as his mind follows that to the inevitable conclusion. But what happens next is not the way John imagines it going.

"Finally!" The exclamation comes from the younger man in the kitchen who is wearing one of his sharp suits, the purple shirt that John loves so much. He strides out with a sly grin toward John, being more open even with strangers and a bit less acerbic at this time in his life because of John's influence from a younger age and the lack of the more painful memories.

"John." Sherlock says as he looks down at the older man. "When we met, you were a mystery to me, a puzzle to be worked out. You had the upper hand, knowing so much about me, and it was frustrating. Despite all of that, I was fascinated with you from the start, for so many reasons, and I was smitten soon after that. It didn't take long for me to be able to say you had my heart. The past ten years have been full of so many memories, I couldn't imagine my life without you anymore. I wouldn't want to live a life without you. And I want to prove my commitment, to anyone and everyone." He says, smirking as he watches the confusion on his doctor's face, before he slowly gets down on one knee and holds out a box toward John. "John Hamish Watson.. I am normally rubbish with these things, you know that. But.. you know me better than anyone. Will you marry me?" he asks as he opens the plain black ring box, showing a plain gold band on the inside, not having thought either of them would want anything fancy.

Shocked beyond words since he did not in a million years see this coming, John just stares at Sherlock for a few moments, before he lets out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He laughs out of shock, before he nods.

"Yes, you brilliant, crazy man.. Of course I will. I love you. I will follow you anywhere you lead."

The End.

That's it! Just a little chapter to wrap up where these boys are going to go, and the few differences there end up being. And that they of course, end up back at Baker Street. Because that's required.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this story through your follows, favorites, and reviews. You guys are awesome, and it made me smile to know so many of you were getting enjoyment out of what I originally intended to be a one-shot, and even then thought it was kind of a crackpot idea. I have a few other stories in the works, and I hope that if you enjoyed this, you'll go check out some of my other stories and one-shots.

I hope no one is too disappointed by the somewhat abrupt ending, but this stopped being as fun for me to write, and as much as I love writing for the fans I have on here, I ultimately write and post because I enjoy it. I'm just glad I was at a place that I could wrap it up and give you guys some closure on it.

Thank you all again!