Two Worlds Connected by Love: A Prequel Owl House "Fanfiction"

Chapter 16: Surname

A/n: I had noticed that the views are only during the night, I know most of y'all are reading at night. Stop, you need your sleep! SLEEP! Also, when editing chapters and needing to delete certain things it deletes view count :(

Caleb's POV

Something important had weighed on my mind. Well actually two things, but one was much more important.  Who's surname would we take after we marry?

While in bed I thought about it most nights. I know it's human tradition for the woman to take the man's last name, but the Wittebane name holds too much history. Too much pain. From my abusive father, to the pain of losing my mother from a young age.

And Philip? He held most of the pain in memories. From the unlawful witch hunting, to Philip's superiority thing, his need for control, his boasting nature, his closed-mindedness... just everything about him left a mark. After him leaving I had never felt so free, yet so alone.

Catherine brought up her taking the Wittebane name while we went for a walk through Bonesborough. "Catherine Wittebane has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Of course..." I started.

"Okay, I sense a 'but.'" Catherine rose an eyebrow.

"But I'm not sure it's what I want," I replied.

"What do you mean? Do you not want us to marry anymore?" Catherine gasped.

I raised my hands in panic, frantically shaking no. "No! Absolutely not Kitty! I'm just saying, I'm not certain I wish to keep my last name. I think the Wittebane name holds too much agony for me to keep and I'm not sure if you'd like that to be passed to you once we marry."

Catherine nodded, "Sorry for assuming. That's understandable, here on the Isles it's not required that the person take the male's surname. If you truly want to, you could take the Clawthorne name. Plus I'm sure Papa would enjoy that as he wants to turn over the carving business to you."

Catherine and I laughed. Indeed her father would like that very much, surely.

A few evenings later, Catherine's father was upbeat as always. "I couldn't be more joyful to have you as son-in-law, Caleb!" Mr. Clawthorne reassured me. A big arm around me in a tight hug.

"We!" Mrs. Clawthorne corrected.

"That's what I said, Dearest!" Mr. Clawthorne grinned a toothy smile.

"I'm glad and unbelievably thankful you're accepting me into your family Mr. Clawthorne. Especially despite everything in my past and my lie," I thanked in gratitude.

"Your past doesn't define you, your present self does! And someone who shows remorse and likes you very dearly-" Mrs. Clawthorne said.

"I'm especially glad you are to take over the Business once I can no longer," Mr. Clawthorne exclaimed.

"It will be my greatest honor to be your successor, Mr. Clawthorne-"

"-Right after being Catherine's husband, that is," I added looking at Catherine.

She looks at me bashfully, blushing brushing back her hair behind her ear.

"No more 'Miss Clawthorne' after that, huh? 'Catherine Wittebane' doesn't sound too bad either, though. The Clawthorne Carving will be replaced by the Wittebane Carving," Mr. Clawthorne said, jokingly hurt.

"Oh, uhm... Actually," I started.

I went over to Catherine and grabbed her hands, pulling her close to my side. "Catherine and I already talked about this and... Well, the name 'Wittebane' to me, is a link back to Earth and to all its cruelties. It reminds me too much of my past, my terrible childhood I had and especially reminds me of... Philip. So we decided that instead of Catherine accepting my last name, I would rather accept hers and yours."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Clawthorne asked.

Catherine and I intertwined our fingers together and she rested her head on my shoulder. I looked at her confidently, "I am. Besides, I like the ring of 'Caleb Clawthorne' better."

Mr. and Mrs. Clawthorne looked at us, cheery. "Then so be it," Mr. Clawthorne remarked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So... against Catherine's wishes, her mother had officially blabbered to the whole ass Boiling Isles that we were engaged to be married. I had heard noises outside the door, so I went to the window to find a multitude of crowded people outside the front door.

I looked out from the wall in which Catherine was on the other side of. "Uh, Kitty? Seems your Mother invited someone to help us celebrate the engagement belatedly..."

"Really, who?" Catherine made a scrunched or disgusted face.

We went over to the front door and opened it wide, "The Boiling Isles..."

We heard the cheers from two streets over, screaming 'Congratulations!'

"I'm going to now kill my Mother. I'll see you later," Catherine sarcastically groaned, kissing my cheek before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~ Time Skip ~~~~~~~~~~~

I was feeling a little extra giddy knowing the wedding was about a month or two away at this point. I was so excited and I was going out to get Kitty a grand surprise for the wedding.

Catherine and I went into Bonesborough to look at a few things like decorations and drinks to supply for Family and Friends at the Party. We had passed by one of the fashion boutique stores when Catherine had stopped to stare at a dress.

"Oh my goodness. That is the most perfect dress I've ever seen!" Catherine exclaimed.

"Is that one it, Sweetheart?" I asked.

"Absolutely, but it's way too expensive. Plus, Ahana isn't in to make another one like it, especially in a smaller size," Catherine frowned.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something," I said. As we walked away, I kept looking back at that dress and I got a great idea.

Feeling more cheery than usual, I snuck up behind Catherine to give her a back hug and I nuzzled my face into her neck.

"Control yourself," Catherine turned back.

"It was just a kiss," I remarked.

"A kiss, on my neck," Catherine reminded.

"A kiss, nonetheless," I smirked.

"Not your usual one... Hm, You are going to shave and cut your hair before the wedding, right?" Catherine asked.

"Why? Have I lost my appeal to you?" I joked.

"I consider you the most handsome and appealing man, regardless. I just prefer to not be poked in my face when kissing my spouse, if you understand," Catherine explained with a laugh.

"Just admit you like me better without," I say, unoffended. "Don't worry, I will shave it off, and the hair will be shortened again too."

"Okay," Catherine turned around to give me a real hug.

"Well, I'm heading out for a bit, I'll be back soon," I said, kissing her forehead.