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[Lacing their fingers together, Hermann attempts a reassuring squeeze]

I don't think selecting witnesses is terribly complex. And of course, I can't say when Qubit may return..

But first let's find a jewelry store then, and see about setting all that in motion. I can modify the rings later if we decide we'd like some sort of specific design.

[Newt nods and exhales softly, sadly, and gently bumps his arm into Hermann's as they walk.]

Sometimes I wish you could lie to me and I could accept that insult to my intelligence, you know? Just kiss me, tell me everything will be find, that Qubit will be back in a week and you won't disappear, that you KNOW that, and I just...believe. Like kids believe in Santa or believe that the dog didn't die, he just went on vacation. You know?

[His heart breaks a little, unable to promise Newton any of those things. Doesn't even have data enough to give the likelihood of either. Really, what has he been doing all this time? He should have started this sort of projects ages ago because he has nothing to show for it now.

Hermann stops them in their walk and turns, leaning in to press the softest kiss to Newton's lips]

I love you, Newton. That's all I can promise you in this moment. I'll do everything within my power to remain here with you.

[Newt closes his eyes and a tear runs down his cheek, catches on the rim of his glasses and...damnit, Hermann.

He buries his face against Hermann's chest and wraps him up in a hug, disguising his tears in the snuffling and a nod against the fabric. Is their ignorance bliss this time? Are they better off not knowing the writing on the wall? It had been so stressful to know WHEN the termination date for humanity could potentially be, but he at least KNEW. And he and Hermann had worked to prevent that from becoming the reality and COULD do it--for all the hell it was--because they knew their timeframe. They had known when it was getting desperate and Newt had known he had to make his hail-Mary pass. But now. They know nothing. Are they better off leaving well-enough alone? (Never!) But could they accidentally increase their timeline, put themselves earlier in the disappearance queue and ruin their happiness. Was there a pattern or was it all just random and could they ever know??

But he has Hermann. He has Hermann's love and friendship and affection and he has Hermann's brains to help him puzzle things out. As much as it has distracted him from the task at hand--discovering everything about this world without apology--this is pretty much everything Newt has ever wanted.

~~Well, and a baby Kaiju, but he kind of has that, even if HE IS the baby Kaiju. Oh, and to be a world-reknowned rockstar and scientist and on the cover of Rolling Stone but...~~.

I love you.]

Maybe you should file some complaints about me, huh? [A soggy hiccup muffled by Hermann's chest and the layers of clothing. He squeezes Hermann tight.] Surest way to never get transferred, Hermann. Make enemies in HR. You'll never be rid of me.

[He soothes a hand up and down Newton's back, doing his best to impart comfort. It's distressing, to think their time together could end at any moment. But that was part of why he'd set their date into the new year, to test time. Now it seems like it may be chasing them instead. Much as he'd rather not give into the pressure, they'd regret it if they let the opportunity pass them by on a dare.

Hermann swallows and attempts to keep his own tears at bay. They'll both be useless then. Maybe if they were at home, curled up on the couch or in bed, safe.. As it is, he has no idea how to cheer Newton up.]

Perhaps I'll mention it to a government official. After an hour of detailing every way in which you're a nuisance, I'm sure they'll be tired of me.

Edited 2016-11-23 05:46 (UTC)

[Newt is all for sticking it to the man...Porter, whatever. But he didn't want to risk this on his hubris. He had already waited a long time just to consider them friends. There is no way he is screwing it up now.]

I think you'll need a day--talk yourself hoarse, man, or you'll never detail my nuisancy ways. Where's your sense of thoroughness?

[He inhales-exhales deeply into Hermann's jacket a few times before he feels brave enough to let him go. While straightening Hermann's rumpled clothes, he feels the need to make the truth of this matter absolutely clear, fighting down the warble of emotions and tightening in his throat:]

You ditch me, and I'll come find you. Understand? I don't care if I have to...to portal hop across dimensions or tear open a Breach of my own--I WILL harass the heck out of the space-time continuum until I figure it out. D-don't think I won't. And I'll totally do it without your fancy equations, dude. I'll rock it. Okay?

[A shaky breath and a brave, lopsided smile.]

I feel better. You feel better?

Yes, of course.

[Poor Newton looks such a mess. Hermann retrieves his handkerchief and tenderly works at cleaning up his nose and tears. While he can't help but doubt Newton's ability to puzzle out space and time himself, he's sure the man will harass other physicists and the porter itself until something is achieved.]

Naturally, I feel a bit better.

[It's the way their drift operates; a constant and intensive emotional exchange that influences their moods. And that little island of determination is enough to keep despair at bay for now.

Hermann tucks his handkerchief away]

Now do you want to look at rings or go home and relax a bit?

[Newt leans up and presses a simple kiss to Hermann's lips. Brave, steady Hermann. Hermann, always taking such good care of him, looking out for him, cleaning up his messes. What would he do if he ever had to do this without Hermann by his side?

That was a life not worth considering--though he knows he's more than capable of such a life.]

Come on. Do I really look that bad? I'm game for ring shopping if you are. Or we could go park somewhere and make out in the backseat like a couple of teenagers. I'm game for that, too. But if I go home, it's going to be just more quiet thinking and that's... Not really good.

[Well he can understand that. Hermann turns them around to start back toward the car.]

We'll go look at rings then. I need to get my ring size sorted out anyway. Perhaps afterward I'll take you up on your other suggestion.

[He laughs and waggles his brows at Hermann.]

Hey. Speaking of ring size, how DID you know mine? Are there some kind of "Newt's ring size" calculations sitting in a drawer back home somewhere?

Well, do you recall losing your pinky ring for a day?

[He smiles a bit] Of course that wasn't the right size, but I took it to a jeweler and we made a few estimates.

YOU SNEAKY SHIT.

[He fusses with that ring and the engagement ring, turning them on his fingers, straightening them.]

Ah, well, I GUESS I can forgive you. But I'm going to make you try on a million rings. I mean, if you're going to be limited to The One Ring by the end of this, I want to be SURE.

This may take awhile then.

[He's sure the jewelers won't appreciate Newton's insistence on trying on every ring in the store alongside their bickering, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Car in view, Hermann fishes out his keys and hits the remote start-up]

May as well look up local law process while we're on our way.

Did you ever think it WOULDN'T take a while? This is important. Plus, this is like hand porn, ok.

[Newt slides into the passenger seat when the car unlocks for them and keys up the Virginia marriage license information on his phone.]

It's so many levels of dumb that we need a lisence to get married. How antiquated is that?

[Ah yes, Newton's obsession with his hands. Well once he's wearing a wedding band, he imagines that particular fascination will only worsen to his benefit.

Hermann settles into the driver's side and tucks his cane away, then pulls them from the curb and into the street]

It's a legal process- of course there's paperwork. Now I believe we've agreed on hyphenating our names?

Gottlieb-Geiszler, with a line down the middle like always.

[He selects a link. Scrolls a bit.]

Huh. Virginia technically doesn't require witnesses.

Really?

[Everything he's looked at has insisted- but then that had been Alaska.]

Well that's a bit easier then. Don't have to worry about finding volunteers..

Well, Virginia IS for lovers, Hermann. Says so on all their signs.

[He pats Hermann's knee and tucks the phone away.]

They're just making it easy on us, saving us from playing faves. They also have no wait time. Once we've bought and paid for our right to marry--only a $30 fee!--I just have 60 days to put a ring on it in.

Then you're mine. FOREVER! [He laughs a comically evil muahaha and looks smugly satisfied at the thought]

...Do you want to tell anyone? Or just let them find out?

[That's all fairly surprising. Hermann smiles, though the nerves that flutter through his stomach at the thought of potentially being married today catch up to him. Inhaling a steadying breath, he switches on his turn signal and stops at the light]

Well, I don't think Sophie should be left out. Should likely ask if she wants to come along.

[She seems oddly set on staying with them, but he's not going to argue. It's pleasant to have her around]

[Stay with me, man. Don't panic and bail. We can do this. Just an simple I Do and they we do what we've been doing the past year...the past five years, but now with benefits. Right? You with me, here, Hermann?

He smiles, nervously at Hermann's fluttering emotions and tries to tease.]

Sooophie? Who is this Sophie? I thought you'd lent out our room to a Miss Foster, Hermann.

I'm not panicking.

[Because he's not. Just.. apprehensive of a major milestone in his life. But the more he thinks about it, the more the nerves tingle lower in his stomach until he's attempting to recall where the nearest public restroom is to the jeweler.

He makes the turn and clears his throat]

Well, we've been a bit closer now that she's moved in. I think it's safe to drop the formalities..

[Newt feels a dizzy sick feeling and curses Hermann's nerves. He ignores the bit about Sophie]

Right, sure, of course not. Not panicking at all. That's why you're about to barf, right? Don't get performance anxiety on me, man. Focus.

[Do you not want to do this now?]

[All he really needs to do is focus on driving. Just down the road a bit, and there's a gas station. Hermann pulls into it and parks, though his hands don't leave the steering wheel. He leans back against the headrest.]

I'm not going to vomit, I just need to use the restroom.

[He unbuckles, retrieves his cane, then glances at the gas gauge as he opens the door to get out]

I'll return in a few minutes.

Okay.

[Newt's voice is rather small and he doesn't really speak until Hermann's all but left him alone in the car. The nerves are now also his own, a bundle of swelling and growing worry that tangles in his stomach and buzzes around his head. He's pushed. He courted Hermann, insisted and instigated for their entire existence together, but this--marry me now--may be too much. What if it is? What if this is the moment Hermann decides he can't with Newt's rushing into things?

What if he's finally scared Hermann away? What if he doesn't come back and he just leaves Newt here like a kid whose dad stepped out for a pack of cigarettes and just...never came back? What if he panics and decides they have to wait for March and then can't in March and won't and they just never do and--

Newt unbuckles and pushes the seatbelt out of the way. He feels strangled. The car feels too small. Too hot. Too stagnant. Both too bright and too dark. The gas fumes are getting to his head. He opens the door and climbs out, trying to not feel like he's going to barf or keel over there in the gas station. HE'S the one panicking now. And it's so dumb, he knows, and it's not Hermann's fault--it's his own--but it just keeps spiraling in his head.

No. No, they can't be this disastrous. They keep DOING this! Triggering each other's moods, Newt flying off into abandonment issues. He just needs... Just.

Newt closes the car door and follows Hermann's path to the bathroom. They need to talk.]

[It's awful, and it's all he can do to sit in the bathroom and be thankful he's not at risk for falling far. His own somewhat manageable nerves have evolved into a flurried, panicked monstrosity thanks to Newton's amplification and now yes, he is starting to feel legitimately queasy.

It's all right, he tries telling himself and the Drift. We've planned to marry for months now. It's only pushing those plans up a bit.

Except he hadn't been ready for Newton to propose marriage immediately. It had been enough to think they'd be married in a week, but Virginia's laws won't even give him that. Does it have to be now??

Feeling Newton's proximity, Hermann finishes up in the bathroom, spending only a minute more to allow his stomach to decide whether it wants to settle or not, then steps out. His face is still drained of a bit of color though]

Newton I wasn't- I wasn't going to leave you here.

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