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“How’s your mum?” Newt was just in time for Anathema’s enormous sigh.
“Fine. She wants us to get married.”
“She does?” he said, ignoring the way his leaping heart strangled his voice.
“In Malibu,” Anathema continued.
“What?!”
“Of course I want to marry you, ‘Nathema.” Newt knew he was overexplaining again, but she’d given him that look and it did things to him that made his tongue run away before he could leash it.
She knew it, too. She was giving him that look now, but also a mug of tea. Maybe she’d gone a bit native after all.
He drank, to stifle the babble.
Nope, she hadn’t gone native. It wasn’t tea, not proper tea, it was one of her witchy brews.
He drank it anyway. Heaven help him, he was starting to like them, although sometimes he’d just about murder for a proper cuppa.
“We don’t have to. I know Mom wants it, but she’s not in charge of my destiny anymore. Neither is Agnes,” Anathema said, with that set to her chin. “We can make our own destiny.”
“We can. We will. I promise.” He took some more tea, held the flavor. This was… one of the calming ones, he thought. However much she tried, the chamomile won through.
She reached for her own, daintier teacup and took a long sip. Sighed. Relaxed.
Definitely a calming blend.
“I think…” she started, watching him closely.
He made an encouraging noise.
“I think my chosen destiny may be a lot easier if I give my mother what she wants,” Anathema said with quirked lips.
He was quite proud of himself for not cheering. He didn’t punch the air even a tiny bit. But he did realize very quickly that there was something bigger here.
“Don’t get married just because your family wants, though,” he said. “Only if you want to.”
She swirled her cup. “I keep telling you no, don’t I?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t add that he thought she was a little unfair to keep telling him no when he’d only asked once.
“I’ve been fighting Agnes.” Another sip of tea.
“You shouldn’t let her control everything,” Newt agreed, horribly afraid he was talking her out of everything he ever wanted.
“Maybe I’ve been looking at it wrong. Maybe Agnes didn’t push us, maybe she saw us.”
“She’d have seen us as married.” This had to go right, he determined. Her family had pushed her around enough. He couldn’t add more pressure.
“Newt…”
“Mmm?”
“...Ask me again.”
His thoughts fuzzed, but his hand reached for her. “Anathema Device, you are amazing and possibly insane, but will you marry me? anywhere but Malibu?”
“I--what?”
“Will you Marry me without making your mom happy?”
“I…” Anathema grinned so brilliantly he blinked away afterimages. “Yes, I believe I will.”
“Excellent,” he breathed. He wanted to go to her, but didn’t think his knees would let him stand.
“We still have to go, though.” She smiled at him. “And you’ll need all the sunscreen.”
Adam was, of course, overjoyed. Determined to be there, as well.
And when he heard that his friends had turned down a wedding in America, at the beach, Adam got a Look in his eye.
“Oh, look! Anathema and Newton are getting married! We’re invited!”
“Ha! Finally talked her around, did he?”
“It’s in... Malibu?”
“You’re not wearing your swimsuit from 1892, Angel. We’re going shopping.”