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Calm jazz music wafted in the air around you, the ambient lighting masking the far corners of the room, one of them occupied by your group. Tina, Queenie, Jacob and yourself were all nestled at a table, eyes repeatedly returning to the door in anticipation. Today was a day for celebration, as Newt had returned to New York with copies of his published book and you all had arranged accordingly, coordinating with Newt on the return date and scouring the city for a place to meet.
The Parselmouth, a far less known joint than most of the other speakeasies around town, there was still a slight warmth to the tiny, cramped place that you decided made it better than The Blind Pig, and it was for these reasons the Goldstein sisters chose this speakeasy on the far eastern side of Manhattan. Being a good distance away from the Magical Congress was an additional bonus as – Newt aside – you were definitely breaking a few laws having Jacob with you.
It wasn't as if Newt was unwelcome in America per se, but his case of creatures was another matter entirely, and there was zero chance he would leave them anywhere else.
Adjusting your dress with one hand, you returned to fidget with the stem of your glass, swirling the last of your wine and highly aware of the others staring at you when they weren't watching for Newt or chatting among themselves. Months had passed since you last saw Newt, and you wondered how much of... well, whatever it was you had with him remained.
You had been with him since he arrived, bumping into him at the little gathering of that nasty Barebone woman, through the recapturing of his creatures and subsequent arrest following. The attraction on your end had been almost instantaneous, the first time he smiled at you had pulled you in so effectively there was no possibility of getting out. After that, you followed him where ever he went, running all round the city evading the MACUSA and dealing with the Obscurus following Credence's untimely demise.
And at the end of it all, you had seen him off before he left on the boat... where you had realized just how much you didn't want him to go. But he had a book to finish, and you... well, you had work that you could not leave.
So he got on that boat, taking his case with him, and you stayed behind, wishing that you had just gone with, or at least told him how you felt. You wrote letters to him every so often, updating him on the happenings around New York, or when Jacob got his bakery open, but hadn't received any back and you assumed that Newt's work was keeping him busy, up until about a week ago when you finally got a short reply, confirming one of your theories at least.
I apologize for not writing sooner, the finishing touches of my book has taken much of my spare time, but at last, it's complete and on to the publishers. I'm set to return to New York and my ferry will be arriving sometime around 7pm next Thursday.
~Newt Scamander
Safe to say that your mind hadn't been on much else for the past week, but now that giddiness had faltered and soured into dread; what if he had forgotten about you? A foolish thought, given you both had been exchanging letters all week in order to meet. He obviously valued your friendship if he was willing to come back to bring you a copy of his book in person... still, the thought remained.
Beyond friendship, did you even matter at all?
Queenie, whom was far more aware of your distress simply because she could hear it loudly broadcasting through your mind for the last half hour, sent you a soft smile.
“I'm sure he'll be here soon honey,” she said in a soothing voice, patting gently at your arm and you were thankful for her not speaking your fears aloud. Her smile grew and your gratitude dissipated at her next words.
“Then you can finally tell him how you feel,” She winked, the action more for Jacob than you, who grinned back at her and waved his fingers before adding to her statement.
“If anything so he knows.”
“I should think he already knows, and you're just making up excuses to put it off,” Tina chimed in before you could say anything, ignoring the sharp look you sent her with a subtle smirk on her lips. Rolling your eyes, you sat back in your seat, finishing off the last of your wine in quiet contemplation. What bothered you the most was the possibility Tina was right, that they were all right. Maybe it would be best to just go for it and get it over with.
As if summoned by your decision, the door swung open and Newt stepped in, suitcase in hand. The glass rolled a bit too far and slipped out of your fingers as you stared, threatening to tip over the edge before you snatched it up and set it flat on the table at arm's length away from you.
“Sorry I'm late, I got delayed at the docks,” he spoke as soon as he was close enough.
Everyone rose to greet Newt as he made his way over to the table as you swallowed your nerves and joined them. In the midst of all the commotion, he looked to you and smiled, and then everything was right back where it was before. You returned the smile shyly and everyone sat back down, noticing that the others had conveniently shifted and left the only empty seat beside you so Newt could claim it.
Figures.
Not surprised in the least, you took to flagging down one of the house elves weaving through the throngs of people to order more drinks.
“A dozen Gigglewaters, two gins, a sherry...” you looked to your empty glass of wine then back at the house elf.
“And a rum for me. What about you Newt?” You turned toward the auburn haired wizard, whom shook his head and held up a hand, shifting his suitcase so it was beneath his chair and draping his peacock blue coat behind him.
“None for me, thanks.” Everyone at the table exchanged glances then looked back at Newt.
“You're not going to drink anything? It is a celebration for you after all!” Queenie said eagerly.
“A drink or two will be nothing since you said you already ate on the boat,” Tina added; the voice of reason suddenly playing devil's advocate, you thought in amusement. The house elf stood there expectantly, his mouth drawn in a thin line as there were other tables calling for him.
“But, my creatures...” Newt began, faltering when Jacob leaned over and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“Come now Newt, it's not like we don't have a book to help us take care of your creatures if needed,” Jacob said, a slight smirk on his face at his own clever comment and Newt couldn't help but smile at that. He looked around the table at everyone and chuckled softly to himself.
“Alright, I suppose a little drinking won't hurt... a firewiskey for me,” he resigned, sending the house elf off.
And drink he had.
While by no means a lightweight, Newt had ingested an astounding amount of liquor, not quite enough to render him completely wasted but more than enough to keep him from sitting still, and on more than one occasion, you had to right him in his seat so he wouldn't fall out of it.
You hadn't noticed, but your chairs was getting closer to each other with every instance you had to stop him from sliding onto the floor. By this point in the evening, you two were cozily lounging side by side as Newt rambled on.
An incredibly chatty drunk, he sat beside you swaying in his seat and describing the behavior of dragons and how humans have interfered with their habitats, gesturing dramatically enough that you all had come to the concurrence to keep him from ordering anything else for fear he would lose the ability to walk. As much as you were concerned about him being this drunk, you thought it was rather endearing to see him this way since he was normally so reserved, his excitement as intoxicating as the liquor you were drinking.
If only he had some volume control...
“And do you know about dragon eggs? Shameful really that there's such a high demand for them... and the people who want the dragons can't even care for them! It's completely disrespectful to such glorious creatures,” he started, this time as a normal speaking voice that rapidly built into a near shout, his face red from the alcohol.
“They may be illegal, but I know where to get dragon eggs. Not that any of the lot in here deserves them!” Newt announced a little too loudly, causing the other patrons to look over and everyone at the table to rush in to quiet him over their own giggling. Newt blinked, becoming aware of his behavior.
“Perhaps... I've had a little too much,” he said sheepishly, lowering his volume and sending laughter around the table once more.
“I would say so, but that's alright so long as you're enjoying yourself,” you told him, ignoring the looks the others were giving you as Newt turned his attention to you, his shoulder bumping against yours.
“And I am. Would you want to hear about Bowtruckles?” He asked, propping his head up on his arm, a sappy grin on his face. Cheeks flushing a shade of red at his proximity, you smiled at him and nodded.
“Of course I would,” you spoke, Newt's face lighting up in delight, all the more animated now that he had your attention. You caught yourself staring into his eyes as he spoke, picking out the flicks of green scattered within and shushing him whenever he got too loud. He was babbling on about his own Bowtruckles now, stroking at Pickett with one unsteady finger.
“I know I should give the others more attention, but I am rather fond of Pickett and they're constantly picking on him. That and... I’m not too keen on leaving those I'm attached to behind,” he said the last bit in a soft whisper, but it was just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. Queenie snorted into her drink, earning a puzzled look from you until the realization hit. You leaned over in front of Tina and whispered to Queenie in a hushed voice.
“What is he thinking? Queenie? What is he thinking?!” you hissed out the last bit, Queenie shrinking away with an amused expression.
“Why don't you just ask him yourself? Now would be a good time.” Opening your mouth and shutting it again, you looked back to Newt, busy cooing at Pickett while the Bowtruckle ate up the attention. With the way Queenie reacted, it was clear that Newt was thinking something about you. And given what he had said–
You hadn't the opportunity to finish the thought as Newt had swung his suitcase out from underneath his chair, the case landing with a loud thud on the tabletop, rattling the empty glasses and making everyone start.
“I miss my babies... I think I'll go pop in for a bit...” Newt said, hands fumbling to untie the ropes on his briefcase.
“NO!” Everyone jumped to stop him, leaving Newt bewildered.
“Not here... ummm... maybe it's time to get you to bed. Where are you staying?” You asked, taking hold of the handle on his case and pulling it away from him. His hands slid off the case and he leveled his gaze on you, glassy-eyed and slightly out of focus.
“I... don't know. I don't have a room anywhere yet,” Newt shrugged, looking from you to Jacob.
“I'd say you could stay, but I've got to get up early and work. The goods won't bake themselves,” Jacob chuckled nervously and avoided your gaze as you turned to look at the Goldstein sisters. Queenie sent you a look that was a cross of sympathy and merriment, while Tina flat out shook her head.
“We've the room, but with Tina's new position...”
“And Newt's case of creatures,” Tina gestured to the case Newt had tried to open a moment ago.
“I know, I know, it's more practical for him to stay with me,” you said, though you had a good feeling that this was plotted from the get-go.
“Well, I for one don't have any complaints,” Newt announced cheerfully, making your cheeks tinge scarlet.
“You'll be glad to know that neither does she,” Queenie said, flinching slightly at that string of nasty thoughts you sent her.
“Not very polite...” She chimed, her grin never faltering. You merely scowled in response, your expression softening as you looked to Newt.
“Back to my place then,” you informed him, saying goodbye to everyone with the promise of meeting up again tomorrow. Stepping out into the night air, you held Newt's case firmly gripped in your hand, and his arm slung around your shoulder. His steps were unsteady, but he managed to keep pace with you.
“I'm sorry... for putting you out like this...” He apologized as you made your way up the street for a safe alley to Apparate home in, as the night crowds were still roaming the streets and walking that far was out of the question. You looked to Newt and sent him a quick smile, your brows furrowing as you tried to keep his coat from falling off of your arm.
“Nonsense, Newt. It's really not any trouble at all. I'll make up the pullout bed for you,” you informed him, his coat slipping out of your grip and you fumbled to catch it, grabbing it by the bottom. A loosely folded bundle of parchment slipped out of the pocket as you were pulling back over your arm and you cursed, grabbing for it but missing, the parchment hitting the sidewalk and scattering across the concrete. Newt immediately dropped to the ground and began gathering what looked to be some of his research notes back up in a messy pile.
“Sorry... I tried to catch it...” You bent down to help him, picking up the one nearest to you and paused, recognizing the scrawling handwriting on the parchment.
Your handwriting. Somewhere in the back of your mind it registered just how warn out the parchment was, as if it had been read and reread many times. You looked to Newt, passing back the letter with a stunned expression on your face. He was avoiding your gaze for the time being, embarrassed you had discovered his stash in the manner that you did.
“I saved them... every one. I'm... I'm sorry I couldn't write you back, but I was very pressed for time and...” He looked up at you, meticulously tucking the letters back into a neat stack and refolding them. A strange calm had came over him as he met your gaze, and you waited.
“The sooner I finished the book, the sooner I could come back... and see you in person.” Red bloomed across your face at his words, and you chuckled nervously, fiddling with the edge of his coat as you straightened. There was silence between you for a few seconds and you found yourself slowly reaching your hand out to him to help him to his feet, heart pounding in your chest.
“I'm glad you came back, I... I missed you,” you said in a quivering voice, your hand squeezing at his when you found he hadn't pulled away. Newt looked down at your clasped hands, a chuckle escaping his lips before he spoke again, sounding far more sober than he actually was.
“I missed you too.”