Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's late. There were quite more people than usual in the clinic he works at, but he doesn't mind; he likes to help as much animals as possible.

Although Niffler and Pickett are desperate to get home; Newt always has food for them at the clinic in case something happens, but even with a full stomach both dogs are more than ready to lie on their beds.

"I think tomorrow we'll be less busy," Newt tells them with a smile. Sadly, it's too late now to pay Jacob and Queenie a visit. She's probably very much awake and full of energy since it's night time, but Newt doesn't want to bother them.

Besides, he's a little bit tired as well.

It's fascinating how the night changes everything in the city; there are less humans walking around the streets, but for the vampires the day just started.

When the three turn around the corner, his dogs tense a little bit, Pickett gets closer to Newt and Niffler starts looking around before moving.

"It's alright," Newt tries to reassure them, but that's when he notices the shadows behind them.

By the lack of sound, Newt knows they're probably vampires; he considers stopping for a moment so they can walk in front, but he also refuses to consider them a threat.

Instead, he decides to take another route to get home, but when the vampires walk in the same direction he starts worrying.

"I thought he'd choose something different," one of them says, walking right next to Newt; Pickett starts growling.

"I thought it was going to be a vampire, an old one, perhaps not as old as him, but certainly not a human," says the other with disgust.

Finally, they both stop in front of him and Niffler bares his teeth at them.

"Calm down," Newt mumbles to his dogs, glancing with concern at the irritation in the vampires' faces. They clearly don't like animals very much.

"We should help our lord and turn him already," the first one proposes.

"I think it's a great idea."

Someone steps in the middle, surprising Newt because he didn't see her coming.

It's another vampire.

"Don't look at us like that, Rosier... We just wanted to help."

"Go away," the vampire hisses and judging by the way the other two shiver, she must be the strongest of the three. "Now!"

When they're gone and the vampire turns around, Niffler begins to wag his tail and even though Pickett is still right next to Newt, he's not snarling anymore.

"Thank you," Newt smiles at her.

"You should be more careful, you're more vulnerable now that you've ever been," she says, confusing the human for a moment.

"My house is not far from here, you can come if you want. I can make cocoa," Newt offers; he knows there's no need for vampires to eat, but he also knows they enjoy the way the food tastes.

The vampire rolls her eyes.

"I told you to be careful. You can't invite any vampire to your home! That's your only protection!"

"You just saved me. I think I can trust you," Newt says, still smiling kindly.

When she realizes he's being sincere, something changes inside her; her frown disappears only to be replaced by a kind grin.

"Fine. My name's Vinda."

"I'm Newt."

She nods and starts walking next to him, looking at both dogs fondly when she notices the wagging tails.

"I prefer coffee, by the way."

"Then I'll make a cup of coffee for you and hot cocoa for me."

Fortunately, Theseus is addicted to coffee so Newt learned how to make it a while ago.

***

Vinda stops right in front of the entrance and that's when Newt remembers he has to actually say the words at that moment.

"You can come inside."

As soon as she sits on the couch, the dogs start sniffing her and wagging their tails when she leans to pet them.

While Newt is making the coffee and the cocoa, the vampire looks around with curiosity; Newt sees the moment her expression turns into a frown.

What she says next makes him chuckle, mostly because she seems almost outraged by it.

"Your house is small."

"It's enough for the three of us," Newt sits on a chair in front of her and hands her the cup of coffee.

"But you should have a better house," Vinda says before taking a sip of her coffee; she looks back at him with a grin. "This is really good."

"Thank you," Newt smiles. "My brother seems to love the coffee I make, but I wasn't sure if he just said it because he didn't want to hurt my feelings or because he really liked it."

"Does you brother live with you?"

"He works in England," Newt tells her. "But he comes often to see me; he always wants me to go to London with him."

"Don't. We can take care of you here," Vinda assures, confusing Newt.

"We?"

The vampire makes a dismissive gesture with her hand and keeps enjoying her coffee.

"Don't worry about it. Now... Tell me I'm the only vampire you have invited inside."

For a moment Vinda reminds him of his brother, Theseus always wants to make sure no vampire can later come in Newt's house and hurt him.

"Just my friend Queenie."

"Right. Well, please don't invite just anyone to your house. You have to trust the vampire completely," she tells him, worried. "This is the best protection you have."

"Not everyone has bad intentions," Newt mumbles.

"And not everyone has good ones."

She leaves soon after that; Newt watches her go with a grin, glad he just made a new friend.

***

There's only Newt and his dogs in the clinic; it's too early in the morning yet which is why Gellert startles him when he sees him walking inside.

"How... Aren't you supposed to be asleep right now?" He blurts out the question. Queenie has to make a huge effort to wake up in the afternoon to go see Jacob, but she cannot be awake in the mornings, no matter how much she tries. "I thought vampires couldn't stay awake..."

"Only the young ones," Gellert says with an amused grin on his face. "I'm old."

Newt blushes, realizing that his question wasn't very polite, but when he looks back at the vampire he notices Gellert is not mad.

The vampire leans to kiss Newt's cheek, which prompts his blush to spread down his neck.

Both dogs are next to him, observing the vampire intently. They're not snarling, but they still don't know if they can trust him.

"I wanted you to meet someone," Gellert says, moving away for Newt to see the white wolf behind him.

Perhaps that's the reason why his dogs were so tense, they could smell the wolf even if they couldn't see him.

He gets down, calms his dogs and waits for the creature to approach him. The wolf starts sniffing the human without taking his eyes off him and after a couple of seconds, nuzzles him on the neck.

That's when Newt decides it's safe for him to scratch him behind his ears.

The wolf loves it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Snow."

"He likes you," Gellert observes, absolutely pleased.

When Newt rises again, he finds the vampire staring at him in a way that makes him feel flustered.

"I have to take care of something, but I'll see you again soon," the vampire promises. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Newt tries not to look disappointed and instead nods; his heart is bumping weirdly fast inside his chest when Gellert leans one more time to kiss his forehead before walking away.

He finds Jacob in the bakery that evening, but there's no sign of Queenie around.

"She's still asleep in our house. I think the effort she's made to be awake during the afternoon exhausted her," by the way he speaks about it it seems like it's happened more than once. At least he doesn't look worried.

"Gellert has mentioned something about that. I think it's because she's still a young vampire," Newt comments and looks confused when Jacob's expression turns into concern.

"You're talking about the vampire who was here the other day, right?" Jacob mumbles, getting ready to go back home after the last customer goes. When Newt nods, the other human grimaces. "I don't know, Newt... Just be careful, alright? Queenie says he's not bad, but Tina doesn't seem to trust him."

"I've seen him a couple of times," Newt smiles while blushing; he's not sure why he feels excited and flustered when he talks about Gellert. He tells Jacob about Snow.

"I just don't want anyone to hurt you, Newt."

When the redhead realizes his friend is truly worried, Newt hugs him tight and assures him he'll be fine.

"Well... Let's go to my house so you can say 'Hello' to Queenie. I think Tina is going to pay us a visit as well."

Newt nods, reminding himself that his dogs are safe at home and thinking he'll be there just a couple of minutes.

It doesn't happen often, but Newt has seen those vampires on the streets that try to persuade humans into selling a little bit of their blood. It's not illegal, but not usual to buy blood like that, especially when everyone knows they can get some of it in a night club or perhaps a pub.

When a vampire approaches Jacob and Newt they both tell him they're not interested, however the vampire keeps insisting.

He walks next to them, looking at Newt's neck insistently.

"Please... I can pay you well. More than you'll ever get by working at night, doll. Come on... Just a taste."

Jacob is about to tell the vampire to go away, when Newt sees Vinda coming right at them. She glares at the vampire, who seems to recognize her and freezes on his spot after noticing the anger on her features.

"I would leave him alone if I were you," she warns him and the vampire looks from her to Newt with a surprised expression before mumbling something unintelligible.

"Him?" He adds then and when Vinda nods, he seems scared for a moment. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

"Be careful next time," she growls before he flees.

"What happened, Vinda?" Newt asks, confused.

"Nothing, it's alright... He won't bother you again," she assures and Newt notices Jacob frowning, suspicious. The other human gets even closer to the redhead and takes him by the arm.

"It's okay, Jacob. She's my friend!" Newt smiles. "Vinda, this is–"

"I'm sorry, Newt. I have to go," the vampire cuts him off, trying to return his smile. Although she looks worried. "Be careful. I'll see you later."

Newt doesn't even have time to say goodbye.

"Come on, let's go see the girls," Jacob mumbles and even though he tries to look relaxed, Newt has the feeling that he's desperate to get inside the house as quickly as possible.

***

The moment Newt steps inside Jacob's house, Tina embraces him. He smiles before surrendering to the hug as he watches Queenie kissing her husband's cheek.

"I sorry I haven't been able to pay you a visit, Newt," she says, leading him to the kitchen as Queenie tells them the dinner is ready.

"It's alright, Tina. I know you're constantly busy," he assures her; he tries to tell Queenie he's not very hungry, but it seems the vampire won't take a 'No' for an answer.

"Queenie told me about Grindelwald," suddenly the expression on her faces changes, there's a shadow in her eyes...

"Teenie, stop being so harsh on him," Queenie puts a hand over her shoulder. "I've told you, he's not bad. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd never hurt our Newt."

"I don't trust him," Tina narrows her eyes before looking back at Newt. "And you shouldn't either."

"He's been kind to me," the redhead protests, feeling the sudden need to defend Gellert. "You should give him a chance."

Something changes in the woman's eyes, Newt has known her for a while now to recognize when she has an idea in mind. However, instead of telling him what's that about, she shakes her head and changes the conversation abruptly.

Newt tries not to worry about her, it gets easier when Queenie asks him about his day in the clinic and the redhead beams as he remembers the little kitten a woman brought to the place.

She was a very cute cat.

Then, as time passes, Newt becomes aware of the tension of Tina's shoulder and the way she's constantly glancing at him and biting her bottom lip.

"I know I said you shouldn't go back to that place, but would you come with me to the night club again?" Even though she blurts that out in a hurry, Newt is able to understand everything.

"Of course, you know I like to help you... However, we'll have to go to my house first because I want to check on Niffler and Pickett. Just to see if they're okay."

Tina takes Newt's hand and looks at him in the eye, the worry hasn't vanished from her face and the redhead wonders if there's something else going on.

"Actually... I want you to talk with Grindelwald. I want you to find out if he's heard about a vampire that's been killing humans lately."

Everyone goes quiet. Jacob and Queenie look at each other before staring at Tina.

"Are you sure it's a vampire?" Newt dares to ask.

"Yes... We are sure," Tina nods, still tense. Everyone is suddenly relieved she doesn't give them too many details about the situation.

"I think it's not a good idea," Jacob decides to intervene. "You'd be putting Newt at risk."

"I'm going to be there," Tina assures them. "I'll be close and ready to protect him if he needs me."

"You want me to ask Grindelwald?" Newt, as usual, doesn't seem to mind the risk he could put himself in. Theseus would be furious, but he's not there so...

"No, I want you to try to find out about it."

"You want me to get information from him," Newt narrows his eyes, concerned. "You don't really think he's somehow involved–"

"Anything is possible."

Newt feels as his heart has been hit by something; it hurts and he furiously refuses to believe it.

"I'm not going to lie to him," he mumbles. "If you want me to find out, I'll ask him directly, but I don't want to hide anything from him. That's not–I don't think he'd protect someone like that."

Tina stays quiet for a while, Newt knows she's thinking about different scenarios and considering her strategy.

Finally, she sighs and tries to smile, even though she's clearly not completely pleased with the situation.

"Fine, we'll do it your way."

***

By the time they get to the place, Newt is already nervous, but at least he doesn't have to worry about his dogs; Pickett didn't like the idea of Newt leaving again, but he has Niffler to keep him company.

"It's alright," Tina assures him. "I'll be close. Just push a little bit of your hair behind your ear if you need me, I'll come to you immediately."

Newt nods and the moment she disappears among the people he decides to look around to find Gellert; he's not even sure the vampire is there, but it's the only place he knows he could be.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Vinda takes him by the arm while she hisses at another vampire looking in their direction. "This is not a safe place for you."

"I want to see... a friend. Gellert Grindelwald. Do you know him?"

She chuckles like that's the funniest thing she's ever heard.

"I thought you knew... He told me to keep an eye on you, that's why I've been following you. You could say that he's like my boss. I'm loyal to him," she says quickly, before she glares at another vampire. She doesn't even notice the shock on Newt's face. "Stay near the counter, I'll be right back. I'll tell Abernathy to look for my lord. He'll be here as soon as he knows you want to see him."

Newt can't even move; there's so little time to actually process everything Vinda said. He thought she was his friend... And Gellert... Why does he need someone to keep an eye on him?

His heart hurts a little, but Newt tries not to look so sad. Gellert must want something from him, although Newt is not sure what. He thought he just wanted to be his friend.

Perhaps he doesn't trust Newt or maybe it's because of his connection with Tina.

Suddenly he feels lonely... Although he knows he shouldn't care about it that much, he just met Gellert... And yet sometimes it feels like he's always known him.

Maybe Tina is right. He shouldn't trust him.

Newt doesn't know how distracted he is until he gets startled by Gellert Grindelwald himself. The vampire puts a hand on his shoulder and the redhead almost jumps away from him.

"I'm sorry, Liebling."

The human blinks a couple of times before finally deciding to move away; he tries to ignore the grimace on Gellert's face or the way his eyes look at him; it's almost like the vampire is in pain.

Newt also ignores the word and thinks he'll ask someone else later about its meaning.

"What is it, Newton? Are you hurt? Rosier told me you wanted to see me... You shouldn't–this place is dangerous for you–"

"Why are you making Vinda follow me?" Newt cuts him off; he knows he should be asking what Tina told him to, but he needs to know that first.

"Let's take a seat and I promise I'll explain it to you," Gellert offers his hand and despite that Newt doesn't take it, he nods and follows him to sit on one of the couches.

There are already a couple of vampires there, but they move away as soon as they see Gellert, after bowing to him.

Newt sits next to the vampire, but not so close, even though Gellert starts looking at him with a sad expression.

"I told Rosier to follow you and make sure you're safe," Gellert begins. "I care about you, Newton, but I think it's precisely my feelings for you what put you in danger."

Newt tries to focus, but the way Gellert is staring at him is making him feel flustered.

"Why would that be a problem? Why would they want to... hurt me?"

The vampire gets closer, he takes Newt's hand and the human lets him mostly because he doesn't like to see the pained expression on his face. Besides, now that Newt is looking at him up close, he notices something else... Gellert looks tired.

"To hurt me of course," he mumbles like it's the most obvious thing. "I can't–I don't want anything happen to you. I'll protect you no matter what."

His mismatched eyes are vulnerable, Newt thinks... No, he's sure Gellert is not lying to him about that. So he sighs and intertwines their fingers together.

The smile on the vampire's face is hopeful.

"I still don't understand why would someone want to hurt you through me..."

"I'm a vampire lord, Newton. This is my territory... Unfortunately, there are other vampire lords that would like to expand theirs by getting rid of other vampires," Gellert explains. "That's why Rosier is taking care of you... At least when I can't do it myself."

"They want to... g-get rid of you?" Newt can't stop himself from stammering. But the truth is that he doesn't want anything to happen to Gellert either.

"You're worried about me," it's not a question, although Newt would never try to deny it. Gellert's eyes start glimmering with hope. "Liebling, I–"

"You should've told me at least," Newt blurts out, cheeks turning slightly pink. "You should've asked me if I was okay with this. If you want to be my friend–"

Gellert takes Newt by the waist and easily lifts him to sit him on his lap. Newt's blush spreads down his neck immediately.

"I know I should've told you about Rosier and I'm really sorry about it, Newton. Would you allow her to keep you company when I'm not around? Please, I don't want anything happen to you..."

"Alright," Newt concedes, still not sure if he should move away. Actually... He realizes... He kind of likes having Gellert so close.

The vampire nuzzles his neck happily and for a moment, Newt freezes, thinking he's going to be bitten, but when Gellert looks up at him with a huge smile on his face, Newt is suddenly sure that he'd never bite him without asking first.

"You look tired," Newt observes, putting a hand on Gellert's cheek and watching as the vampire sighs and closes his eyes. He leans into the touch.

"Don't worry about it."

That more than anything, tells Newt that there is, in fact, something to worry about but he also knows that Gellert won't tell him just now.

He decides not to insist... for now. Instead he explains to him the problem Tina has had trying to find the vampire who's killing humans.

"They're not one of my vampires, Newton," Gellert assures him, running his fingers through his hair. "But I promise I'll find them for you and I'll take them to your friend myself."

"You don't have to–"

"You should move in with me, at least until this is over."

Newt knows the vampire is concerned and somehow he feels safe around him, but that doesn't change the fact that they met a couple of days ago. He can imagine what Theseus would have to say about that.

"I'll be fine."

"Alright, but Rosier will be with you."

Newt knows Tina is around somewhere, but doesn't feel the need to call her, besides, it's probably better if she stays undercover.

That night Gellert walks him home; he takes him by the hand and keeps staring at him like he's the most precious thing.

Like he'd do anything for Newt.

Although he prefers not to think about it, at least not at the moment.

Newt invites him in, but the vampire just stays a couple of minutes; the dogs welcome him because they have seen him already and Gellert just walks around because he wants to make sure Newt's house is secure.

"I'll see you soon, Liebling," Gellert takes one of his hands and kisses it, prompting Newt to turn red. He walks towards the entrance but stops before getting out. A smirk has quirked his lips up. "You're wrong about something though."

"About what?" Newt looks at him, confused.

"I don't want to be your friend," Gellert says and before Newt's face can be covered by shock and sadness he adds: "I want more. Goodnight, Newton."

Gellert winks and Newt's blush deepens.

More than a friend? Newt can be oblivious but he understands what that means.

The problem is that he can't believe it.

***

"He brought someone in," Tina says as soon as Newt walks in the bakery. Queenie asks her not to talk too much about her job in front of the clients and Tina takes the other human by the arm and they get inside a backroom.

"Who?"

"Grindelwald," Tina mumbles, looking irritated and concerned at the same time. "It seems like he is the vampire we were looking for after all."

Newt can't help but smile; knowing Gellert kept his promise to him and that he's doing something good makes him feel warm inside.

"Still. I don't think you should trust him," Tina says, like she's reading his mind. "You shouldn't have invited him to your house the other night."

"You were there?"

"I had to make sure you were alright," His friend insists, looking a little bit embarrassed. "So I followed you."

"He was kind. He just wanted to walk me home," Newt mumbles, blushing when he remembers the last words Gellert said to him before walking away.

"Just be careful, alright?"

Feeling Tina's hand over his shoulder and looking at her worried expression, Newt realizes that all her mistrust and suspicion is just because she cares about him.

"I'll be careful, I promise."

Theseus would be so happy to know he has a friend like her.

When they get out of the room and Jacob and Queenie have the time to sit with them and talk about their day in the bakery, Tina and Newt forget for a moment about all their problems and concerns.

***

He feeds his dogs before making a sandwich for himself; it's raining, but the sound is soft and makes him relax. Sitting on the couch, with the dogs right next to him, Newt decides to see if there's something interesting on the TV when he hears someone knocking.

Wondering if it's Tina again or perhaps Gellert, Newt jumps from the couch and opens the door quickly.

Vinda is at the other side, looking a little bit pissed.

"He's an idiot," she blurts out before Newt can even say a word.

"He? But–"

"My boss," she continues, walking inside. She's pacing around, leaving wet footprints on the floor. "He needs your help."

"What is it? I'll do it, whatever it is," Newt says without hesitation; he doesn't want anything happen to Gellert.

Vinda smiles at him; she glances in his direction in a way that makes her look almost like she approves of him.

"He's starving."

Newt knows immediately what that means and what he'll need to do. He doesn't mind.

"Why he hasn't... The club is the best place to–"

"He can't drink anyone else's blood. Not now," she cuts him off before adding. "I'll explain it to you later."

"Where's he?"

"Don't worry. He'll come to you. I'm going to tell him that you need him," Vinda says. "But listen, you'll have to offer your blood to him... He won't ask you even though he needs it."

Newt nods; there are too many questions in his mind but he knows that's not the time to get answers.

"He'll be here soon," she says, before getting out.

Newt sits on the couch again, feeling a little bit nervous; it's the first time he's going to let a vampire bite him.

Although he's not afraid, he trusts Gellert.

By the time Newt closes the clinic the next day, Gellert is already there with a huge smile on his face, it's so sincere the human can't help but grin shyly in return.

"You brought Snow!" Newt beams as the wolf happily gets closer to him and allows the redhead to pet him. "Hello, boy!"

"I was thinking about... going to the park so we can spend time with them," Gellert says, looking down at Newt's dogs as well. Both Pickett and Niffler recognize the word 'park' so they both start wagging their tails enthusiastically.

"I think it's an excellent idea," the human says sincerely, actually, he realizes he can't stop grinning at Grindelwald.

The vampire takes his hand and kisses it before they both start walking away from the clinic; some humans look in their direction with curiosity, but Newt doesn't actually care about anything else at the moment.

***

As the dogs and the wolf start running away, playing with each other, Gellert and Newt sit on a bench.

The human looks around, enjoying the evening, as he sees his dogs jumping and moving happily in the distance; he turns to tell something to Grindelwald and he notices the vampire has been looking at him the whole time with such a glimmer in his eyes it makes Newt's face turn red just in seconds.

Although it's not a bad feeling, especially after Gellert takes a beautiful necklace out of his coat pocket and Newt gasps, fascinated at the silver wolf with emerald eyes.

"This is the first courting gift," the vampire mumbles, looking a little bit nervous. "I'd be honored if you accepted it."

"Of course I do!" He says, beaming. Newt knows this is a huge step and that he's also accepting everything that comes with the courtship, but he has the feeling that Gellert will be a good partner for him.

He turns a little so Gellert can put it around Newt's neck; after he finishes his fingers stroke the curve of his shoulder and run up to his neck before kissing the spot where he bit him.

Newt shivers, although his reaction has nothing to do with fear at all. He smiles and turns again only to kiss the vampire on the lips, the kiss is gentle, mostly because Newt knows they're not the only ones in the park.

"What should I give you?" He asks suddenly, not sure what he's supposed to do. He's never dated a vampire before.

"Actually," Gellert smirks, before pressing their foreheads together. "You offered me your blood the other day."

"But... Many humans offer blood to–"

"That's an exchange," the vampire corrects him. "We usually pay them for that. But you offered me your blood only because you were worried about me; I'll never forget that, Liebling."

Even though he's never asked him, Newt finally realizes that Liebling is an endearment.

"So... Is that–Was that my courting gift?"

"By our rules, yes... It was."

Newt gets closer to him and smiles when he feels his arms around him.

"What's next?"

"That's a surprise, Newton."

Even though he feels happy being with Grindelwald, Newt wonders, for a brief moment, if he's making the right choice.

***

At night, after Newt finishes his dinner, he starts glancing every now and then at his phone, waiting for him on the table.

It's fine. Theseus is overprotective, but he has to understand that Newt can take care of himself.

Newt sighs, already thinking about how much Theseus won't like the idea of him dating a vampire, but even though he'd prefer not to tell him anything about it, his brother needs to know.

He'll find out anyway, Newt is sure Theseus will soon ask a couple of days off to pay him a visit, just like he always does.

After taking a deep breath, he picks up the phone and calls his brother; when Theseus doesn't answer right away, Newt is almost sure he's probably working on a case.

Not wanting to admit he's relieved, Newt decides to go to bed early, when he hears a strange noise coming from outside; he looks through the window while Pickett and Niffler start growling.

When he doesn't see anything, he thinks that is probably a little squirrel, calms his dogs and goes to bed.

It doesn't surprise him when, a few hours later, he gets startled awake by the sound of his phone.

"I'm alright, Theseus. I just wanted to talk," he tells him immediately, after listening to the panic in his brother's voice.

When his brother relaxes and starts complaining about how long it's been since Newt last called him, the redhead can't help but chuckle.

But his laughter dies as soon as he remembers what he wanted to say in the first place.

"I'm dating someone."

There's silence at the other side and then a sigh.

Is it Tina? Theseus asks, almost hopeful.

"It's a man," he mumbles, purposely avoiding telling him he's a vampire and his name is Gellert Grindelwald.

Theseus won't like it.

Right. Okay... I'm happy for you. But I think I should meet him first and have a talk with him.

"I don't think that's nece–"

I'll see you in a couple of days, little one.

Newt sighs as his head falls back on the pillow and makes a mental note to tell Gellert about it.

It's not going to be easy, but perhaps he can convince Theseus that Gellert is actually a good vampire.

***

It's really late; he doesn't even have the time to pay a visit to Jacob and Queenie. Instead, he takes the dogs home, feeds them and goes to the closest grocery store.

He's on his way back, still trying to think about how to tell Gellert his brother is coming, he almost bumps into a vampire.

"Sorry! I was distracted!" He mumbles, trying to move away, but the vampire is still blocking his way.

"You're human," she grimaces, eyes roaming all over his body and finding absolutely nothing she likes.

"Uhh... Yes?" Newt is getting nervous; the streets are empty and he's not sure if Vinda is around keeping an eye on him. Surely she needs to take a break every now and then, she must have better things to do with her time...

"A vampire lord must not be seen with a human," she narrows her eyes, taking a step closer. Newt takes a step back immediately.

So this is about Gellert again. It's the second time something like that happens.

Vampires don't seem to like Newt very much, or at least some of them.

"He must turn you if he wants to keep you," she insists fiercely. She reaches out to him, but Vinda appears in the shadows just in time.

Newt feels relieved when he sees her.

"You know I'm right, Rosier!" The vampire snarls, Vinda growls as well and the other vampire shivers before running away.

"Are you alright?"

Instead of answering, Newt looks at the spot where he saw the vampire for the first time and thinks about what she said.

He can't believe he hasn't even thought about it; he can't actually be with a vampire without accepting to be turned, right? He'll grow old soon... But he doesn't know if he really wants to become a vampire.

He likes being human.

"Does he have to turn me?"

Vinda presses her lips together.

"I don't think Grindelwald will do that if you don't want to, but you should talk to him about this."

She's right, he needs to talk to him as soon as possible.

He feels like he should talk to someone about what's going on, about everything that's worrying him. Although Newt knows Theseus is not an option since he's probably busy at the moment and he still has no idea that Newt's boyfriend is a vampire.

Pickett whines which prompts Newt to stop for a moment and realize he's been pacing around the room for a while.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry," he strokes him behind his ears and pets Niffler lightly. He sighs and looks at the coat he just put on before glancing at the window.

He was thinking about going to see Queenie and ask her about his problem, but it's late, too late to bother her or Jacob.

Have they talked about that? He wonders as he takes off the coat and puts something more comfortable to sleep with.

Jacob is still a human and Queenie is a young vampire, Newt can't imagine how–But that's not actually his problem, is it?

Has Grindelwald thought about it? Or did he just assume Newt would want to be turned as soon as the courtship ended?

Does he even know what he really wants? He certainly likes Gellert and wants to start a relationship with him... But he's not sure about not being a human anymore.

Everything would be completely different if he agrees to be turned.

Newt sighs, feeling confused and lost.

Calling Queenie is not an option either, because they probably want to spend time together. He wishes he had asked Gellert's number as soon as he agreed to be courted; he doesn't even know where the vampire lives exactly.

Relaxing a little bit under the covers, Newt chuckles imagining what his brother's would say about all of that.

Definitely nothing kind.

He just hopes he can make him understand.

***

Niffler is the one that hears the noise first; Newt wakes up when the dog starts pushing him with his muzzle and Pickett barks.

The noise becomes louder; Newt quickly gets to his closet, knowing there's a hidden access door to the attic. He gets his dogs to climb up and he goes after them with the phone in his hand; he's calling Queenie.

He closes it behind himself while he keeps hearing loud noises, almost like someone is tearing Newt's house apart.

As soon as she answers, Newt blurts out that someone is in his house and he's hiding with his dogs before she can say anything.

"It's alright, we'll be there soon, sweetie."

He hopes Queenie tells Tina and she brings some backup with her because he doesn't want any of his friends to get hurt.

"I know you're there. Come on, doll."

Newt doesn't recognize the voice, but sounds like a man; he moves closer to his dogs and tries to calm both of them down so they don't start barking.

He shivers, wondering if the person has a weapon with him.

The man curses and Newt sighs when the footsteps sound like they're getting farther away; there's another noise and a louder curse after a window breaks.

"Sweetie? It's me! I brought Tina as well! And also–"

"Liebling..."

Newt almost sobs after hearing Gellert's voice and quickly opens the door, helps the dogs get out and runs into his vampire's arms.

***

Vinda is looking around the house while Tina is trying to figure out if the intruder took something, but Newt is sure nothing is missing.

He's shaking a little bit but tries not to look scared, although he allows Gellert to sit him on his lap while Tina keeps pacing around and asking him questions.

He knows Gellert is furious, but at least it has nothing to do with him. The vampire growls when he sees the mess, but keeps running his fingers through Newt's hair gently.

"Are you sure they didn't–"

"No. Even the money I left over the counter is still there," Newt cuts her off as Gellert leans forward to kiss him on the forehead.

Tina doesn't like the answer and Newt understands how she feels at the moment; he's even more worried about it because it means–

"They came for you," she finally says, prompting Grindelwald to narrow his eyes and pull Newt closer to his chest.

"You haven't invited another vampire here, right sweetie?" Queenie mumbles gently.

Even though Gellert doesn't say anything about that, he visibly relaxes as soon as Newt shakes his head.

"They're using humans," Vinda walks inside; the door is still open so she rushes in easily. By the way she's approaching them Newt can tell she's frustrated and angry. "That was a human."

"Did you kill him?" Gellert asks, like he's talking about the weather.

"I lost him," she almost growls, angry with herself.

Newt takes her hand, which prompts her to blink in surprise at him.

"It's alright, Vinda. I'm glad you came. Thanks for protecting me."

"You're too kind for your own good," she observes, but smiles at him anyway.

"You know why they're after Newt?" Tina demands, crossing her arms over her chest.

"They want to turn him," Vinda says bluntly.

After Grindelwald explains exactly what's going on to Newt's friend, Tina frowns. She's obviously not pleased with the situation.

"They think because Newt is a human he shouldn't be seen with you?" She glares at the vampire lord. "Because they think vampires are better than us?"

"They do think so," Vinda concedes, looking as tense as Tina is.

"Perhaps you are the one that doesn't deserve Ne–"

"I think the most important thing now is to keep Newt safe," Queenie puts a hand over Tina's shoulder to calm her down a bit.

"Queenie is right," Gellert mumbles, nuzzling Newt's neck. "I think you should stay with me, Liebling."

"But I have to wait for Theseus... He's coming in a couple of days."

"Theseus?" The jealousy in Gellert's tone is so evident even Newt himself can't miss it.

"He's my brother."

When Gellert relaxes, Newt finds himself trying not to chuckle. He had never thought the vampire was the jealous type.

"Then let me stay here with you, love. I want to protect you."

"Alright," he mumbles, realizing that he doesn't want to be alone, at least not until they find the person who broke into his house.

***

Before she finally leaves, Vinda brings Snow; Newt is so happy to see the wolf he forgets for a moment what happened and lets him explore the house so he feels comfortable there.

He gives him and his dogs a few treats as Gellert gets closer to him and hugs him from behind.

"You should go back to sleep, love," the vampire mumbles over his shoulder before kissing it, Newt is glad they're just the two of them; his face has turned completely red.

"Actually... I wanted to talk to you about something," he says, turning around; he's been thinking about that for so long and he still has no idea how to start the conversation.

"I'm listening."

Biting his bottom lip, he sighs, deciding it's better not to think about it too much.

"What if I don't want to... become a vampire?"

To his surprise, Gellert relaxes; it's obvious he was expecting something else, although Newt has no idea what.

"I'm not going to turn you if you don't want to," the vampire assures. He presses his lips to Newt's quickly before adding: "And you don't have to worry about those vampires who threatened you. I'll take care of them."

He's going to kill them. Newt takes a deep breath, choosing to talk about Grindelwald killing vampires for him later (if they don't try anything again, Newt doesn't see the point in killing anyone) and puts a hand on Gellert's cheek. The vampire closes his eyes and leans into the touch.

"I'll die... eventually," Newt whispers, trying to make him see the problem.

The fear and the pain in Gellert's eyes is almost unbearable to stare at, but Newt can't look away.

"Newton... You don't have to worry about that right now," he tells him, pressing their foreheads together and getting even closer. It's like Gellert wants to never let him go. "We can think about it later, alright? Together. We can make this work."

Worrying means you suffer twice, Newt thinks as he nods and rubs his nose against Gellert's.

The truth is... He doesn't want to let him go either.

Newt gets startled awake when he feels hands around him; he's being carried to his own bedroom. His eyes finally blink completely open as he realizes he fell asleep on the couch next to Gellert.

"Go back to sleep, Liebling. I'll keep an eye on the house," the vampire smiles fondly as he puts him on the bed. "I'll protect you."

Even though Gellert is courting him, Newt's cheeks turn slightly pink when he leans to press a soft kiss on the human's forehead.

"I..." It's ridiculous what he's about to ask. Newt doesn't want to be a bother, but he wants to feel the vampire close. "I know you don't... sleep, but could you please lie next to me until I fall asleep?"

There's a gentle emotion not so well hidden in those mismatched eyes, in fact it spreads all over his features until it quirks up his lips.

Gellert caresses Newt's forehead before joining him in bed and putting his arms around the human.

"Anything you want, my love."

Newt grins back, finally relaxing into the embrace. He moves closer and feels a kiss on the top of his hair before he falls asleep again.

***

When Newt wakes up it's late; he jumps off the bed puzzled because none of his dogs tried to wake him up to feed them. He's in the kitchen when the smell of butter and honey makes him remember what happened the other night.

He's not alone.

"I'm glad you're awake," Gellert turns around to place a plate full of pancakes on the table.

It's so odd to see him in the morning, in his home and looking so calm and happy, that Newt can't help but blink a couple of times at the vampire.

Then, something warm spreads inside his chest, prompting him to grin back at him.

"Wait, I have to–"

"I already fed your dogs and Snow," he says, looking down at the wolf placidly laying on the floor. Niffler and Pickett are already at Newt's feet, demanding attention, but they don't seem to be hungry.

"Thank you," he mumbles and can't help but smile again, however this time he's blushing.

The vampire notices, because he leans over to kiss Newt on both cheeks as soon as he's sitting on the chair.

"I'd like... something like this," Gellert says suddenly, after a while. Looking up at Newt, his expression slightly changes; there's a little bit of nervousness in those mismatched eyes. And yet he adds: "To live with you."

The vampire has been clear about his intentions to court him, but it still surprises and pleases Newt to hear Grindelwald truly wants to spend his life with him.

"I'd like that too," he blurts out. It's too soon the rational part of him tells him (curiously the voice sounds too much like his brother's) but the other part of him doesn't want to wait.

Looking hopeful, Gellert reaches out to take his hand.

"You mentioned your brother is coming soon... I think I should meet him."

Newt doesn't think it's a good idea, considering that Theseus probably thinks he's dating another human like him.

"Maybe–" he's suddenly interrupted by his own phone.

It's like he's been summoned, because Newt sees Theseus's name on the screen. He sighs, like he's trying to prepare himself for whatever he wants to tell him.

But it's worse than he'd thought.

"Surprise, little one!" Theseus says at the other side and adds, making Newt pale for a couple of seconds: "I'm outside!"

Outside.

"Are you alright, Liebling?"

There's a knock at the door; Newt jumps from his chair and looks at a very worried Gellert before rushing towards the entrance.

"It's my brother," he says breathlessly.

"Little one!" Theseus's arm are around him as soon as he opens the door and Newt doesn't have the opportunity to say anything before he's being pulled against a strong chest. "You have no idea how much I've missed you!"

"Me too! But, wait... 'Seus," Newt tries to say something about Gellert, but his brother sees him over his shoulder and freezes for a moment before pushing Newt behind himself.

"You! What is Grindelwald doing here?" He growls, but the vampire doesn't look at all worried.

"I'm taking care of Newton," he answers calmly, glancing at the redhead before looking back at Theseus.

"Taking care of him?" His brother snorts, but he still doesn't seem pleased with the situation. And it gets even worse when he notices what's left of the mark on Newt's neck. "By biting him? By drinking his blood?"

Theseus is furious then; Newt knows he always carries weapons with him and he's worried he could try to use them on Gellert. But before he can make an attempt to calm him down, he takes a step closer to the vampire and that's when Snow gets in the middle and starts snarling at Theseus.

"Theseus, please... Gellert is courting me; I offered him my blood..."

"Snow, I'm fine," the vampire starts stroking the wolf and even though the creature stops baring his teeth at Theseus, he keeps an eye on him.

"I think you should go," Theseus growls and Newt is about to protest when Gellert shakes his head.

"I'll do it if you promise you'll protect Newton. Someone got in the house yesterday and tried to hurt him."

Theseus is angry with Gellert, but his concern for Newt is stronger because he turns around to look at his brother.

"What happened?"

Before Newt can start talking, the vampire walks towards the door, followed by his wolf.

"I'll leave you alone, but I'll be back soon, Liebling," he promises; Theseus is too busy worrying over his little brother to pay attention to him.

"Let's sit on the couch, Newt," he mumbles, taking his hand. The dogs lay at their feet immediately. Pickett is a bit stressed, but Newt pats him lightly on his head. "Tell me what happened."

***

When Newt finishes, Theseus begins to secure all the house. He's fuming and worried at the same time.

Thinking is better to wait a little bit to talk about Gellert, Newt decides to make something to eat and feed his dogs.

"Perhaps you should move in with me," Theseus says after a while; he's sitting on the couch next to Newt, his hand on his while he uses the other to give another bite to his sandwich.

"I'll be fine. Besides, I want to stay with Gellert."

Theseus narrows his eyes and Newt braces himself for what his brother is about to say.

"You can't be serious about this, Newt. Why a vampire? Why Grindelwald?"

Blushing to the tip of his ears, Newt looks back at Theseus; he knows it'd be difficult for him to understand, but he wants to be honest with his brother.

"I like him," he mumbles, watching with a little bit of amusement how Theseus grimaces at his words. "I'd like to start a relationship with him."

"He thinks vampires are superior to humans," Theseus argues, irritated.

"Then why would he want to be with me in the first place?" Newt protests; it was one of his first concerns when he met him, but he's sure it's not like that. Perhaps it is for some of the vampires that believe in him, but not for Gellert himself.

"He'll turn you."

"No if I don't want to," Newt says, remembering his conversation with the vampire.

"Do you want to?" Theseus's irritated expression vanishes quickly to be replaced by worry.

"I... I need to think about it."

Placing both hands at each side of Newt's face, Theseus stares into his eyes for a moment before sighing.

"I worry about you."

"I know," Newt smiles at him. "But... Could you please give him a chance? Just talk to him..."

"I'll try."

***

At night, they decide to pay Jacob and Queenie a visit (Newt called her first to make sure it was okay for them to go and she mentioned something about dinner).

When they're about to get there, Newt feels a sharp pain on his back, Theseus screams his name and he inevitably falls to the ground (or almost, because his brother manages to catch him in his arms).

There's so much pain, he notices... He's feeling dizzy and weak, he doesn't think he can stay awake for long.

"Newt, please... Don't..." By the tone of his voice, Theseus is scared, he has a hand on his back and the other on his chest.

His hands are covered in blood.

"Call Queenie," suddenly Vinda is there as well, and Newt laments not introducing them... "I'll find the one who did this and I'll go for Grindelwald."

He's going to pass out.

"We don't have the time to take him to the hospital," someone says over Newt's head; it sounds far away and he can't be quite sure but he thinks it's Queenie's voice.

More footsteps; there's no pain anymore, only exhaustion and dizziness... Theseus is trying to wake him up... He'd like to tell him that he's actually awake, but he can't open his eyes.

"Liebling," it's Gellert, but he sounds devastated... Newt is not sure why.

He feels hands on his shoulders and starts hearing like there are a few people arguing.

"It's the only way, Mr. Scamander," Queenie says. "Let him do that."

Newt is so confused his eyes blink back open, but his vision is blurry... The only thing he can see is Gellert's worried expression... No, it's almost like fear and sorrow.

"I apologise for what I'm about to do," he says; he's shaking. "But I don't want to lose you, my love. I can't."

Newt wants to ask something... anything, but he's too weak to do it.

The vampire kisses him on the forehead.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles, leaning closer and Newt feels a sharp pain on the neck, before the sensation of weakness returns like a wave.

His eyes close again and Gellert tries to move his head up.

"No, Liebling... You have to stay awake... Just a little bit more," Gellert insists, gently. "Come on, drink this."

It tastes like liquid steel or that's the first thing Newt thinks before his tongue gets used to it. But the pain spreads down all his body and Newt whines...

"I know, I know," Gellert whispers over Newt's shoulder. "Everything will be ok soon..."

When the taste in his mouth starts turning into something more sweet, Newt can't handle the pain anymore and he finally passes out.

***

He's in a room he's never seen before, he realizes when he wakes up. The bed is huge and from the window he can see the silver light that's coming from the moon.

But something's different... He feels different. It takes a couple of seconds to notice how his eyes have adapted to the night; he can actually see every detail, even the man on the chair that has fallen asleep on it.

"Theseus?" Newt jumps off the bed and the movement is faster than he expected it to be. "Theseus, are you–"

"Little one!" When his brother wakes up, trying to blink back the tears from his eyes and his arms trap Newt in a tight hug, the redhead suddenly remembers everything that happened.

"I got shot," he mumbles, puzzled after realizing he doesn't feel pain anymore.

"Don't worry, you're alright. You'll be alright," Theseus says, putting both his hands on Newt's face. "I'm sure it'll take a while for you to get used to... this."

Theseus is warm, he's never felt like that before. And he smells so good.

"I'm hungry," Newt blurts out, but he can't imagine exactly what he wants to eat.

"Perhaps I could–"

"Liebling."

Newt turns his head around; Gellert is at the entrance with a smile on his face that doesn't quite reach his mismatched eyes.

He smells even better than his brother.

Newt is so... thirsty.

"I'm sorry," Gellert mumbles, taking him in his arms. "I had to turn you."

Newt freezes and looks down at his hands, they're paler than usual and that's... Oh, that's why he feels something weird in his mouth.

He has fangs now.

Some of his memories start making sense...

"I couldn't let you die," Gellert whispers, pain written all over his face. "But I didn't–I couldn't ask you if you really wanted... this."

Newt looks from him to his brother, thinking about how much it would have hurt him to lose him, to not have more time to be with him.

He'd have missed his vampire as well, he thinks as he smiles at Grindelwald.

"You saved my life," he mumbles. "Thank you."

Gellert leans to kiss him on the lips, but he stops as soon as they hear Theseus angrily clearing his throat.

Although his expression changes as soon as he looks back at Newt.

"I can feed you," he offers sincerely, right before Gellert moves between the two only to bare his teeth at him.

"He's my mate now," he explains, trying to calm himself down. "That's my job."

"I thought vampires couldn't feed from each other," Newt says, ignoring Theseus's frown. Part of him is genuinely curious, but he asked mostly to distract the two men.

"Only of they're mates," Gellert says, gently, caressing Newt's cheek. "So... Are you hungry?"

Newt can't help but glance at the vampire's neck and feels immediately bad for doing it. It's... embarrassing how much he wants to bite Gellert.

"You're not going to hurt me, Newton. I promise." He turns around again and looks at Theseus. "I think we'll need some privacy to do this."

His brother is ready to argue with Grindelwald, but changes his mind when he glances at Newt.

"I'll see what Queenie and Tina are doing. But I'll come back soon. I need to talk with my brother."

"Is this your house?" As soon as Theseus is gone, Newt starts feeling nervous for some reason. Everything is happening too quickly. He's not sure if he's ready to be something else.

"Yes, my love," Gellert mumbles with a smile, pressing his lips against Newt's cheeks. "I thought it'd be better for you to wake up here. There are so many things I need to teach you... But first, you need to drink."

Newt shivers in anticipation; he can't help but admire the curve of Gellert's neck now that the vampire is unbuttoning his own shirt.

"How... How w-will I know when to stop?" He stammers getting nervous despite of the need he's experiencing.

Grindelwald stares at him in the eye, smiles, making easier for Newt to see the fangs behind his lips.

"Trust me," he whispers before giving him another kiss, this time on the lips. "You'll know. You won't hurt me."

Nodding shyly, Newt steps closer, tilting his head so his lips reach Gellert's neck.

"That's it, my love. You're doing great," the older vampire encourages him, caressing his hair.

When Newt sinks his sharp teeth in the pale skin, he realizes the blood no longer tastes like liquid steel, no... It's sweet and warm and it's everything Newt's been craving.

The sound of Gellert gasping and the way he pulls Newt closer to him by grabbing his waist are the things that tell him he's not the only one enjoying this.

Newt unconsciously moves his hips against Grindelwald's and the vampire moans in response.

"Perhaps we should get closer to the bed," Gellert whispers urgently.

Newt stops though, watching fascinated as the bite starts healing quickly.

"Are you alright?" He asks, he has to... He's too concerned to think about anything else.

Gellert grins in response before taking Newt's face in his hands and kissing him on the lips with hunger...

"I've never been better, love," the vampire mumbles over his lips before pressing their mouths together.

Newt can't help but give as much as he gets; he starts feeling the connection between the two, it's addictive and warm and Newt knows he wants more of it.

He wants to feel even closer to him so when Gellert begins to unbutton Newt's shirt suddenly it seems like the right thing to do.

"Newton, you have no idea how much I lo–"

Someone knocks at the door then, prompting Grindelwald to growl and glare at the entrance.

"I'd like to see my brother now," Theseus demands at the other side.

Newt can't help but roll his eyes, but he moves towards the door. He knows Theseus won't go away anytime soon. Actually, he could even kick it open if he thinks Newt's in danger.

"I'm sorry, Liebling," Gellert says, following him behind. "But I don't think I like your brother that much."

Newt chuckles, turns to kiss Gellert's cheek and promises to make some time for them to be alone later.

Then he opens the door and allows his brother to take him downstairs to see the others.

***

For a second, Newt worries about his dogs; he doesn't want them to feel different around him because he's changed, but after he almost gets knocked down by Pickett and Niffler, he relaxes immediately.

"They've missed you," Jacob comments, helping Queenie with the dinner. "You've been unconscious since yesterday."

"What?" Newt looks at him with shock and slowly remembers that it was night when Theseus and he decided to pay Queenie and Jacob a visit.

"Not exactly unconscious, love," Gellert takes his hand and kisses it. "Remember that young vampires cannot stay awake during the day, so you were asleep most of the time. That's why you woke up a few hours ago."

"Oh," that's all he can say at the moment; he hadn't thought about it.

Still kneeling next to his dogs, Newt almost jumps when the front door opens suddenly and Vinda rushes in.

She doesn't have the time to be polite it seems, because she looks directly at the only vampire lord in the room.

"They didn't want you to turn him," she informs, glancing a Newt with a little bit of concern. "It wasn't one of your followers... I'm pretty sure it was someone working for another vampire lord; they wanted to kill him."

Gellert growls, making every single person in the room look back at him with a little bit of fear; he's furious.

His eyes are glowing red.

"I guess I have to take care of this myself, so they don't hurt Newton again."

"But you're still not sure who broke into my house, right?" Newt asks Vinda as he puts a hand on Gellert's shoulder to calm him down.

She grimaces, but doesn't say anything.

"Then we can't fight anyone yet," Newt mumbles. Actually, he just wants to keep Gellert and Vinda out of trouble, because even though he knows they're strong, they could get hurt if they try to go against another vampire lord.

"I think I have a few vampires in mind," Grindelwald says, looking at Vinda.

"I hate to say this, but maybe they're right, little one," Theseus intervenes, taking his brother's hand. "It's better to act quickly so they don't have the opportunity to hurt you again."

"What if they're wrong?" Newt presses; he's always thought he shouldn't worry about things because that means suffering twice, but this time he can't help it.

"Relax, my love," Gellert takes Newt's face with both hands and gives him a kiss on the tip of his nose. "I'll... Rosier and I will find out who did this before we do anything."

Newt nods, feeling better now. He looks at the two vampires and Vinda smiles at him gently.

"However, you'll be staying here with me so I can protect you," Gellert says and then looks at the dogs: "And both of them of course. They'll keep Snow company."

"Where's he?" Newt asks with curiosity that only grows when Grindelwald smirks.

"He's hunting." He mumbles. "But don't worry about him, I still have a few things to teach you."

Theseus doesn't seem too pleased with the idea of Newt living with Grindelwald, but it's obvious that he thinks that his brother will be safer if he stays there.

***

If he wants, Newt can go back to his own house without any problem; he can walk in Gellert's house too because he's a vampire, but he'll have to ask Theseus permission if he wants to pay him a visit.

He'll need an invitation.

These are the few things Newt has learned so far about being a vampire. He sighs, glad he can come back to his own house.

"But that means other vampires can get inside his home now," Theseus points out, worried. They're having dinner while Gellert is explaining Newt some of the things that are going to change now that he's been turned.

"That's why he should stay here, so I can protect him," Gellert insists, taking Newt's hand in his.

"He could also stay with a human, so other vampires can't get in," Theseus insists.

"They used humans the last time," Vinda cuts in. "That won't stop them if their objective is to hurt Newt."

His brother looks irritatedly at her, but doesn't say a word; Tina rolls her eyes and Queenie and Jacob bring the pastries to the table.

Newt's glad that even though he's not hungry, he can still enjoy food.

"I suppose you plan on going out to find out who tried to kill Newt?" Tina's words cut deep for everyone suddenly stops eating and stare directly at her.

Gellert looks like he's suddenly remembering how much he wants to kill the ones who tried to hurt his mate.

"That's correct," he nods, trying to calm himself down, but his eyes glow red for a couple of seconds.

"Then I think it'll be better for him to stay with his brother or with me. That way no vampire will be able to get inside and I'm sure Mr. Scamander and I can handle any human that wants to break in," she says.

"I can help too," Newt mumbles, trying not to feel offended. "I'm not defenseless."

"You will be as soon as the sun is back in the sky, little one," Theseus runs his fingers through his hair, just like he did when they were kids.

"Queenie still can't stay awake for long during the day," Tina adds.

"It'll be more difficult for you, sweetie. You just got turned," Queenie says gently.

"Oh," Newt looks down at his plate, feeling like a burden out of the sudden, he certainly had forgotten about that.

"You're right," Gellert agrees with Tina. "I think Newton should stay with his brother, at least until I'm back to take care of him."

Newt nods, but still can't look up at them. He knows they worry about him but–

"There's nothing wrong with letting the people who love you take care of you, little one," Theseus says and even though Newt still wants to help, that makes him feel a little bit better.

***

Snow comes back later; he stays next to Newt most of the time even though Gellert hasn't said anything to the wolf yet. It's almost like he knows what the vampire wants already.

Vinda is gone and Newt suspects she has decided to start looking for the people who did this; Jacob and Queenie have returned home, but Tina and Theseus are still in Gellert's house, discussing about what they're going to do next.

"If it's really someone who's against you the one who planned this, it means they're actually after you," Newt mumbles, feeling suddenly nervous and worried.

"I'll be fine, love," Gellert leans forward, takes Newt's face in his hands, gently, slowly before kissing him on the lips; he doesn't move away until Theseus growls.

He knows there are a couple of things he should be thinking about now that he's a vampire, but he can't quite focus on anything else at the moment. Newt knows the other vampire lord will do anything to get what they want.

"Why didn't you go with Vinda?"

"I wanted to be with you during your first night, Liebling," he smiles and runs a couple of fingers through his hair.

Outside, the sky is turning blue and Newt is actually fighting for his eyes to stay open. It's really difficult. He didn't think it'd be like that.

He rises from his seat to go upstairs and find a bed, but he feels weak; his knees are not that strong after all.

"It's alright, love," Gellert puts a hand on his lower back before Newt's eyes close completely. "I got you."

And then everything turns dark.

***

He's in a flat now. There's no sun in the sky, however, this time, Newt knows he's been asleep for a couple of hours.

"Evening," Tina says from the doorway.

So he's in her flat now. The only thing he wonders is how he got there if he was in–

"Your brother carried you," the human says, as if somehow she could listen to his thoughts. "Of course, he wanted to take you to his house, but that's a long journey from here."

Newt rises from the bed; he's noticed he's faster now and stronger than he was as a human.

"You should go to sleep," he tells her and Tina chuckles.

"So... That bad, huh?" She smiles at him. "Do I really look–"

"You look tired," Newt cuts her off, before she can choose another adjective herself. "Please... I just... Don't want you to feel exhausted because of me. I'll be fine. I'm awake now."

Tina looks like she wants to protest, but after a while she sighs.

"Maybe you're right, I do need to rest. After all that wolf is still in the living room, as well as your stubborn brother and your dogs."

When Newt walks in the living room, Theseus is there trying to get Niffler to behave because he wants to steal a piece of bread from his plate.

"Your... vampire said he was going to come at night, to see you," Theseus grimaces as if that is the most unpleasant thing to say.

Newt knows he hasn't gotten used to the idea of Gellert being his boyfriend.

"You should try to sleep then," Newt says instead.

"I'm... taking care of you," he says stubbornly. Perhaps Tina was right after all. "I suppose Goldstein is resting in her bedroom, right?"

"Yes, but I'm awake now," Newt says. "I can take care of myself."

Theseus is about to protest, but Newt puts a hand on his shoulder and smiles gently at him.

"I promise to wake you up if something's wrong," he mumbles. "Just... sit on the couch for a while at least."

He must really be tired, because after a couple of seconds he nods, finishes his piece of bread and sits on the couch Tina has in the living room. It doesn't take too long for him to fall completely asleep.

At least the dogs and the wolf are distracted trying get Newt to play with them to pay attention to the human.

After a couple of hours, Newt starts worrying about Gellert. Although being late doesn't necessarily mean he's in trouble, he could be busy...

And that's when he hears the noise outside and so does Snow, because the wolf starts growling immediately.

Worried, he gets closer to the window to see what's going on outside and quickly realizes that there are three vampires out there, just standing in front of the building where Tina lives.

Next to him, Snow keeps baring his teeth at them. If Newt goes out, he'll be vulnerable; he knows the only thing that keeps them safe right now is the fact that they can't get inside the flat unless they're invited by Tina herself.

However, as Newt finds out a couple of seconds later, they can actually get inside the building.

In the blink of an eye they're at the other side of the door and Newt realizes it not because they decide to knock, they just start talking to him through it.

"We want to make a deal with you, Newton." Says one of them, even though he's not looking at him, Newt knows he's smirking.

"What kind of deal?"

"One in which your friends stay completely unharmed and you come with us willingly."

"You can't get inside," Newt argues, starting to get nervous. He's concerned about Tina and Theseus. It seems they're still asleep. They must've been really tired.

"But we can destroy the building."

They would get in trouble; Newt doesn't really think they have the stuff necessary to do something like that, they'd need explosives or guns. He needs to be careful and think about what he's going to do.

He can't trust any of them.

"Don't get out of there!"

Newt recognizes the voice: it's Vinda and even though he knows she's a really strong vampire, he doesn't want to leave alone after all she's done for him.

As soon as he hears her struggle, Newt opens the door and notices, too late, that Snow has stromed out of the flat as well.

"Why did I just tell you, Newt?" She almost growls, while she tries to fight two at the same time.

The third one is too busy trying to get rid of the wolf, but Snow is stronger and quicker than him.

Newt's never been like his brother, but he's learned a thing or two from him; he used to teach him how to fight and even though he's not as good as Theseus, he knows exactly how to knock someone out.

And, he quickly realizes, it's even easier now that he's a vampire.

In the blink of an eye he's taken one of the vampires by the neck and bends him enough to hit him with his knee in the face; to knock a vampire out as a human would be almost impossible, but now Newt surprises even himself.

He then asks Snow to stop (before the wolf breaks the vampire's arm with his teeth) and tells the few people that has dared to open their doors a little bit to see what's going on, to go back inside.

Vinda has the other vampire on the floor and puts her heel on top of his chest, she leans forward to take him by his throat, but Newt stops her in time for Tina and Theseus to get out of the flat as well.

"What do you think you're doing?" She looks at him with irritation. "They're our enemies! They would've killed you if they had the chance!"

"Tina and Theseus can arrest them. There's no need to kill them," Newt protests and despite of the way Vinda rolls her eyes at him, she doesn't make any attempts to stop the two humans from doing their job.

"Little one, get back inside!" Theseus narrows his eyes at him. Newt knows his brother is angry, but it's mostly because he's worried about him.

Tina invites Vinda inside and both vampires, as well as Snow and the two dogs that are currently barking at the doorstep, walk back in the flat.

"Where's Gellert?"

"The vampire lord who started this went into hiding," Vinda explains, as she starts making coffee for herself and tea for Newt. Outside, Tina's talking on the phone with a few of her colleagues while Theseus confirms that all the vampires are unconscious.

Newt can't see them, but he's sure Theseus has taken his gun out anyway, just in case.

"Grindelwald will find him and kill him."

The word startles Newt and she notices because she sits next to him and hands him a cup of tea.

"But–"

"He cannot take risks, besides... The vampire wants to kill you. You're Grindelwald's mate now, it's like he threatened Grindelwald himself."

"I'd like to see him," Newt mumbles, looking down at his cup. He hears Pickett and Niffler sitting at his feet. They have no idea what's going on, but they try to comfort Newt anyway.

"He'll be here soon. He can't help it," she rolls her eyes, but she smiles while she says it. "He's so in love with you to resist the temptation of seeing you again."

For the first time in a couple of hours, Newt smiles again.

***

As Vinda had said, Gellert arrives at Tina's flat a couple of hours later; both her and Theseus are still taking care of the vampires. Tina mentioned something about interrogating them in the Law Enforcement department.

Vinda is playing with the dogs when Gellert knocks at the door and Newt is surprised for a moment to see him walking inside without even blinking.

"Your friend invited me in when we brought you here," he explains, staring fondly at him before taking him in his arms. "So I could come to see you again."

The vampire kisses him on the lips and Newt quickly surrenders to it, giving back as much as he gets until Gellert moans approvingly... His hands slide down his waist to his hips, only to pull Newt closer.

Newt feels suddenly warm.

But just when Gellert is about to say something, Snow jumps at them, demanding attention.

The redhead chuckles while Gellert rolls his eyes.

"I'm glad... I was about to tell you to get a room," Vinda huffs, making Newt feel a little bit shy.

"Perhaps we'll do that later," Gellert mumbles, winking at Newt. The young vampire looks away, he knows he can't blush now, but he feels the same way.

He makes a cup of chocolate for himself and sits next to Gellert, although the vampire puts him on his lap as he asks Vinda to report to him.

He tenses a little bit when she gets to the part where Newt got out of the flat and Grindelwald can't help but to pull him closer to his body.

"That was risky, Liebling."

"I had to help her, she's my friend."

Vinda smiles at him for a moment before she continues with the story; Gellert doesn't like when she informs him Theseus and Tina took the vampires to the station.

"You should've killed them, Rosier."

"There was no need," Newt cuts in, before she can say anything else. He looks back at Gellert and takes his face in his hands; the older vampire stares with adoration back at Newt. "And you don't have to kill the other vampire lord..."

"I'll do anything to keep you safe, love," Grindelwald says in response and Newt knows he won't get a promise from him... At least not that night.

***

When he wakes up the next night, Jacob and Queenie are in Tina's flat as well. Theseus is helping Jacob make dinner while the girls are talking in the living room.

"Based on what they told us during the interrogation, we've started to look for the vampire lord who sent them," Tina informs Newt as soon as he sits on the couch next to them.

Both dogs lay down on the floor, getting as close as possible to Newt. For a moment, the redhead laments not being able to spend more time with them.

Newt looks around and frowns when he realizes Snow is missing; like she's been reading his mind, Queenie suddenly says.

"Grindelwald took his wolf. Said he was going to hunt," she explains, making Newt sigh.

"I really hope you find the vampire first, Tina," he mumbles, a little bit sad.

His friend nods and Newt is glad he doesn't have to say the rest for her to understand; he doesn't want Gellert to kill for him.

He knows he could get in trouble for that, although he's sure he'd find a way to hide it; no one would be able to prove he killed another vampire lord.

"Everything will be fine, Newt," Jacob takes his hand, surprising the redhead for a moment; he hadn't noticed when he came back from the kitchen.

Theseus wraps his arms around him and Newt can't help but chuckle. He's glad to have him as well as his friends, they make him feel a lot better.

He only wishes he could have Gellert at his side as well.

***

"Grindelwald has found him," Vinda says at the other side of the door, startling Jacob.

Newt quickly opens the door and looks at her with concern written all over his face and she notices immediately.

"He proposed a duel," the vampire tells him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Which means he's not going to kill the other vampire lord. The other vampire accepted because he has no other choice."

Newt's lips quirk up into a smile.

"You have changed him, you know?" She adds and even though she tries to pretend she's irritated, she can't help but look at the redhead fondly. "You have changed both of us."

"So... Is the fight over? Grindelwald won?" Jacob asks, confused.

"No. I'm here because Newt has to come with me and watch," Vinda says, before looking right at Newt. "You're his mate after all."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Theseus cuts in, clearly irritated.

"It's alright, 'Seus. I'll go."

It's a different place, it looks like the first nightclub he went with Tina, but this is smaller and a little bit less crowded than the other. Since not everyone is allowed in there, Tina and Theseus have to stay outside.

Even though he can't see him; Newt knows his brother is pacing around outside the place desperately because he can't be with Newt.

As soon as they walk in, the vampires around start whispering to each other and glancing in Newt's direction every now and then.

Vinda takes Newt's hand and pulls him closer to her.

"It's because they know you're Grindelwald's mate," she mumbles. "They're curious."

By the way some of them are glaring at him, Newt believes it's something else. He knows some of them are probably there to support the other vampire lord.

In the center of the room, the vampires are gathered in circle around Gellert and another vampire with long, black hair.

Gellert walks directly towards Newt as soon as he sees him and gives him a kiss on the lips. Snow sits right next to Newt, like he's determined to protect him.

"This will be quick, my love. I'll take you home as soon as I finish this," Gellert says with confidence, but Newt is still nervous and worried about him, especially after noticing how the other vampire is looking at him.

"When I win, can I keep your mate?" The other vampire smirks and even though Newt knows he's just doing it to provoke Gellert, the redhead frowns.

"I would never–"

"No fucking way," Gellert growls, quickly turning around to face the vampire.

The crowd is already excited.

"It'll be fine," Vinda assures Newt. "Grindelwald is stronger than him."

Newt almost jumps when the vampire runs towards Gellert, Vinda puts a hand on his shoulder as Gellert moves out of the way and the vampire crashes into the ones that are gathered around them.

He turns only to hiss at Grindelwald. He bares his teeth as his eyes start turning red.

The vampires on his side are getting angry.

Gellert takes him by the neck and slams him to the floor, making him groan in pain.

Then Newt feels someone taking his arm and pulling him away from Vinda. Snow starts growling.

"I'll break your face if you don't let him go now," Vinda snarls fiercely.

More vampires get closer to them and Newt quickly begins to think that maybe that was the plan all along. He moves away from the other vampire, but another tries to grab his shirt and the scene distracts Gellert for a second.

"Get away from him!" He growls, but the vampire on the floor takes Grindelwald's arm and throws him at the other side of the room.

"This is a trap," Vinda hisses before everything turns into chaos.

They're going after Newt; they want something to control Gellert with.

Newt desperately wants to get to his mate, but the vampires are starting to gather around him; Snow has jumped over one of them and the few that are on Gellert's side are trying to get as many as they can away from the redhead.

Gellert looks at him from the other side of the room, but can't move closer; the other vampire lord is determined to fight him.

Newt takes a deep breath and decides to defend himself just like he did last time; Vinda is already attacking a few and Newt wonders why the vampires around him haven't done anything to him.

Perhaps they don't actually want to hurt him, not too much. They obviously want him alive since it's the only way they can stop Gellert from hurting their vampire lord.

Newt tries to protect Snow, but one of them tries to grab him by the arm, but he uses the movement to flip him over and throw him at the floor.

One of them hisses at him, showing him her fangs.

"Screw this! I'm tired of him! Let's just get him!"

A few shots are heard and everyone stops for a moment; Newt grins as soon as he sees Tina, Theseus and a group of other humans with weapons storming in the place.

"I sent a message to the station," Tina says, running towards him to see if he's alright. A few agents are already arresting the vampires.

"Thank you, I–"

"Little one! I was worried about you!" Even in the chaos, Theseus manages to spare time to hug Newt.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. We need to help the others!" Newt says in a hurry as he calls Snow, when the wolf returns to his side and he makes sure he's alright, Newt sends him after Vinda as he starts looking for Gellert.

Another vampire grabs him by the arm, but Newt moves away on time and knocks her down by kicking her on the knees.

Then he sees Gellert and the other vampire lord fighting on the floor and watches as some of the vampires that remain are trying to hurt Grindelwald to give the other advantage.

Newt rushes to help his mate, but someone shoots again close to him and the vampires try to flee from the place, some of them kick chairs and tables out of their way so hard, Newt has to move fast to avoid being hit by one of those things.

When he gets closer though, Gellert is rising from the floor, looking with a smirk at the other vampire.

"Is he–"

"Unconscious, my love," Gellert turns around, only to grab Newt by the waist and pull him against his chest. "I won and I deserve a reward."

Newt notices that Tina's team has managed to arrest all the vampires and Vinda is making herself a drink next to the counter with a happy Snow at her side.

Only then Newt manages to relax and looks back at Gellert.

"What kind of reward?"

Instead of giving him an answer, Gellert kisses him. It's a very good kiss that prompts Newt to moan... Until Theseus interrupts them.

He doesn't look particularly happy.

***

Theseus is not entirely happy about Newt's relationship with Gellert, but at least he's getting used to the idea. The fact that Gellert is willing to do anything to protect Newt is definitely something he can understand perfectly and that's why he hasn't complained about him in days.

Newt is constantly learning how to be a vampire and his dogs are slowly trying to stay awake when Newt is so they can spend time with him.

Gellert is most of the time with his mate, teaching him different things about his new life, but mostly kissing him and taking him to their bedroom to make love to him.

However, Newt starts to miss his life as a veterinarian, but knows he can't spend his time in the clinic during the day.

Tina then suggests for him to open the place during the night and after they talk to the owner of the place Newt is back with a radiant smile on his face.

Turns out he not only can attend to emergencies, but the vampires that live in the city come to him with their animal companions.

And they have all kinds of them; Newt gets to see tigers, wolves, bears and he's absolutely happy about it.

"Come on, Liebling. Queenie is waiting for us," Gellert comes to visit by the end of his shift with Niffler, Pickett and Snow trotting after him.

Newt kisses him on the lips and sighs with a huge grin on his face.