It was Queenie’s idea, originally. Which made sense, really. She spent time with all of them, read the curiosities that flickered through their minds, and was probably the most focused of all of them, her job doing little to preoccupy her unlike the rest. She spoke to each of them individually, offered reassurances in some cases and shared excitement in others. At first, there was an air of tension, something uncomfortable about this truth they all knew but no one had yet acknowledged to anyone but Queenie.
Luckily Queenie was an excellent hostess and soon enough the awkwardness was lost to some well deserved relaxation, helped along by warm firelight and chilled champagne. The very first sip of alcohol had Credence blushing prettily and bowing his head as though he might hide behind hair that was only just beginning to brush his ears. As lovely as he was with his hair growing longer Queenie made a mental note to curb that habit soon.
She wasn’t the only one to notice and she smiled when Newt made mention of the developing habit, long fingers tucking the strands back and making Credence flush even darker. There was a flicker of something darker and less joyous at her peripheral and Queenie turned, expression softening. She laid a hand over Percival’s arm, soothing and gentle. Dark eyes flickered down to the flute in his hand and she only smiled sympathetically as he wished for the champagne to turn to brandy.
“Nothing that hard, tonight. We agreed.” And if she worried that the Director was, perhaps, relying too heavily on brandy to cope with the last year he didn’t need to know that. Percival sighed heavily, casting her a look that was both exasperation and fondness.
They snacked and drank champagne, talking and flirting in equal measures. At some point Jacob got the radio working and it wasn’t long before he was twirling Queenie through the middle of the living room. Tina was quick to levitate the coffee table out of the way, dark eyes flicking a chiding glare at her sister. If the swirling fan of the beaded hem of Queenie’s dress had caught on the tray of shot glasses in the center of the table Tina would have been furious.
They’d spent all of Queenie’s christmas bonus on the supplies and Tina had to do most of the prep for the potion that glimmered alluring and rosy gold in those glasses. She’d insisted it was worth it for tonight, for this strangely unprofessional but so very necessary thing they were doing. Some might say it wasn’t necessary by any means but if that was the case then they’d never seen the haunted look on Percival’s face when she brought him coffee and interrupted a memory that she knew by the sheer force of the walls he slammed into place when she opened the door would’ve left lesser men in tears... or mad. And make no mistake it was nothing short of a miracle that they hadn’t lost the Director to the coping mechanisms of his own mind long before they’d found him.
Anyone that said this wasn’t necessary had never heard the broken sound of Credence crying for all that he’d lost in the night, when he didn’t dare disturb the kind ladies that had taken him in when he deserved to die. How anyone could blame the boy for being anything but terrified, of himself, of the world, of the unforgiving and cruel God his “mother” had taught him to fear, was beyond her but there it was. Newt and his anxious glances, like he was quite certain that any moment they’d laugh at him and insist that he had no place among them. Jacob with his fierce determination to take what was offered and count himself lucky for it though he knew damned well it wouldn’t last, that Queenie would come to her senses and leave him.
No. This was absolutely necessary. All of their boys were so broken in their own ways, so fearful, and Queenie silently fumed at the world that had left them all so uncertain of themselves. If a small part of her was eager to replace the happy memories of her sister’s childhood that had been stolen from her and drowned in that execution chamber with something new and joyful she hardly felt any guilt for it.
But this was all about a new start for them all, a new life, a new family and Queenie was determined that it would be exactly that. They were all here for the others now, no matter how far Newt might travel or how lost in the past Credence or Percival might get. What better time to celebrate this new beginning they were forging than New Year’s Eve?
In the end Percival was the first one to pluck one of those shot glasses off the coffee table and knock it back, face immediately flushing darkly though he only offered Newt a sheepish half-shrug when the redhead cocked a brow at him. It was only just after 11 when Percival took that shot glass and Queenie couldn’t help giggling at his impatience. Well, less impatience and more the man was always very straight-forward, dancing around their goals for the end of the night and letting the anticipation build was not his style. Not that it really mattered so much, the potion would do very little. It wasn’t designed to do much more than the No-Maj liquor, lowering inhibitions a little, leaving a flush of warmth settling in the drinker’s belly. And, of course, a little bit of a bump for the boys’ stamina.
Wouldn’t do for them to exhaust themselves too early, after all.
Percival settled back on the couch, legs stretched out as much as he dared, flute of champagne held lazily between fingers that were clearly more used to cradling a scotch glass. His gaze lingered a little longer than strictly necessary on Queenie’s hips as she swayed with Jacob through the living room and when dark eyes flicked up when she giggled. Percival did not look away, did not apologize or make excuses, just let her see the subtle heat in his gaze. Queenie gripped Jacob’s shoulder a little tighter, a breath coming out a little unsteady.
“Alright, Doll?” Jacob murmured, his hand on her waist drifting slightly, pulling her a little closer. Across the room Tina was considering gently extracting herself from reassuring Credence, who had very abruptly stopped paying attention, eyes fixated on the lazy play of Percival’s fingers around the rim of his glass. Queenie flashed Jacob a blinding smile, eyes glittering with mischief.
“Perfect, honey.” She practically purred the words, pressing in closer to Jacob for a fleeting moment, letting him feel the warmth of her body, the supple curve of her. Then she was stepping away, aware of the eyes that followed her and giddy with all the attention. She made a point of bending low as she reached for two of those shot glasses, gaze flickering up to Percival as his followed the plunging neckline of her dress, letting her hips sway a little as Jacob watched her ass… and she let a wicked smirk flick over to Newt when she caught his appreciative thoughts as well.
She spun back around to face Jacob, holding one of the glasses out to him and giggling again when he took it from her fingers with a smile. Her would be toast was interrupted before she could even begin, Tina rolling her eyes and feigning exasperation as she crossed the room to the coffee table as well. “Here, Newt. Credence.” She floated glasses carefully over to the two men before picking up her own. “Before Queenie knocks half the batch off the table.” Muttered annoyance though Queenie, and she honestly suspected everyone in the room, knew it was just to cover her own eagerness.
Or maybe as an excuse to drop onto the couch beside Percival, very determinedly staring at her glass for a moment before downing it in one hard swallow.
“We should move this before we all lose our heads.” Tina gestured to the living room as a whole, directing her words to Queenie because the girls had made plans on what they planned to change in the room.
“Lose our heads? Thought you said this weren’t nothing like that, Queen.” Jacob asked softly, a fine thread of worry creeping into his thoughts. She shook her head, fingers laying over his lips, quickly shushing him.
“No, no… it isn’t. Teenie just can’t handle her liquor so these things tend to hit her awful hard.” She giggled again, gaze flicking back to Tina even as Newt finally sighed softly, almost resigned to this fate he had brought upon himself, and swallowed down his dose.
“Are you always so damned responsible, Goldstein?” Percival rumbled at Tina, shaking his head a little, lifting his champagne glass to take another long drink but when Tina flushed and made to stand his other hand gripped her knee tightly, urging her back onto the couch. “Isn’t the point of this to relax?” And there’s something of a challenge in his gaze when he finally looks at her, enough to make Tina gasp softly and something hot and jealous burn in the corner of Queenie’s mind.
Credence was still standing uncertainly against the wall between the dining room and living room, head bowed, lip clenched between his teeth but there was an intensity to those dark eyes as he looked up through his hair at Tina and Percival on the couch that left Queenie breathless. She wasn’t sure which of them he was jealous of, which one of them he wanted to possess so fully but then she didn’t think he knew, exactly, himself. Her hand caught Jacob’s as she moved across the room, trailing him behind her as she approached Credence for no reason other than the fact that even without the potion yet she didn’t want to stop touching Jacob.
“Credence?” Queenie murmured his name softly, releasing Jacob’s hand to ease her own up Credence’s arm, soothing and reassuring and he flushed a brilliant shade of red as he realized she’d heard his thoughts, dark and wrong and-
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting them.” She interrupted firmly, fingers curling around his wrist as though she could better make him understand if she just touched him enough. “That’s the whole point, remember?” He finally lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, concerned and fearful and she wondered again if they were rushing him too much with this. Credence had been the one she’d talked to the most about this, stressing and reiterating that this was okay, this was not wicked, this was natural. Trying to help him understand all of the things about his religion that his mother had perverted. The fact that he was also talking to a pastor at another church now, a gentler man that held services for wizarding folk on Sundays and Wednesdays helped a lot, gave him a way to reconcile his belief in God with something other than abuse and neglect.
And this was meant to be part of that healing process, for him and Percival both. They’d talked about it and she could feel him struggling to remember that, to swallow down the shame that immediately came with the rush of emotions seeing the others like this brought. Then his gaze dropped back down to his glass and suddenly Queenie understood some of his reservations. Lowered inhibitions could mean something more dangerous and frightening for Credence. The obscurus hadn’t surfaced in weeks, it hadn’t had a need to, but there was still a lingering fear there and Queenie gently took the glass from his fingers.
“You don’t have to drink this…” She flashed him a smile as she reached out to set it on the dining table. “You’re plenty young enough to keep up, I’m sure.” A teasing wink and he flushed impossibly darker but still he nodded and leaned into her when her fingers found their way into his hair.
She drew away just long enough to finally clink her glass against Jacob’s, slowly draining the glass, savoring the rich,luxurious heat of it on her tongue. By the time she set down the glass, two swallows at most, her breathing came faster and a pleasant warmth coursed through her, making her giggle softly. Jacob followed her lead, though much faster, and whistled as he stared at the empty glass. He laughed and the two of them leaned against each other savoring the warmth and contact of the other. Queenie ended up pressing herself to Credence’s side, resting her head lightly on his shoulder, fingers playing in the lengthening hair at the nape of his neck and simply enjoying the younger man’s height. Her eyes followed his gaze, lips quirking up in a smirk as she realized that Tina was now half in Percival’s lap, flushed and eager. “They are awful pretty…” She murmured dreamily and Jacob hummed his agreement from beside her, gaze nowhere near the pretty picture being painted on the couch.
Tina smiled, something bold and fierce in her eyes as she shifted from the couch to kneel on the floor in front of Percival. Her hands splayed on his thighs, his breath catching in his chest for a long moment.
Fill: Auld Lang Syne 1/?
Luckily Queenie was an excellent hostess and soon enough the awkwardness was lost to some well deserved relaxation, helped along by warm firelight and chilled champagne. The very first sip of alcohol had Credence blushing prettily and bowing his head as though he might hide behind hair that was only just beginning to brush his ears. As lovely as he was with his hair growing longer Queenie made a mental note to curb that habit soon.
She wasn’t the only one to notice and she smiled when Newt made mention of the developing habit, long fingers tucking the strands back and making Credence flush even darker. There was a flicker of something darker and less joyous at her peripheral and Queenie turned, expression softening. She laid a hand over Percival’s arm, soothing and gentle. Dark eyes flickered down to the flute in his hand and she only smiled sympathetically as he wished for the champagne to turn to brandy.
“Nothing that hard, tonight. We agreed.” And if she worried that the Director was, perhaps, relying too heavily on brandy to cope with the last year he didn’t need to know that. Percival sighed heavily, casting her a look that was both exasperation and fondness.
They snacked and drank champagne, talking and flirting in equal measures. At some point Jacob got the radio working and it wasn’t long before he was twirling Queenie through the middle of the living room. Tina was quick to levitate the coffee table out of the way, dark eyes flicking a chiding glare at her sister. If the swirling fan of the beaded hem of Queenie’s dress had caught on the tray of shot glasses in the center of the table Tina would have been furious.
They’d spent all of Queenie’s christmas bonus on the supplies and Tina had to do most of the prep for the potion that glimmered alluring and rosy gold in those glasses. She’d insisted it was worth it for tonight, for this strangely unprofessional but so very necessary thing they were doing. Some might say it wasn’t necessary by any means but if that was the case then they’d never seen the haunted look on Percival’s face when she brought him coffee and interrupted a memory that she knew by the sheer force of the walls he slammed into place when she opened the door would’ve left lesser men in tears... or mad. And make no mistake it was nothing short of a miracle that they hadn’t lost the Director to the coping mechanisms of his own mind long before they’d found him.
Anyone that said this wasn’t necessary had never heard the broken sound of Credence crying for all that he’d lost in the night, when he didn’t dare disturb the kind ladies that had taken him in when he deserved to die. How anyone could blame the boy for being anything but terrified, of himself, of the world, of the unforgiving and cruel God his “mother” had taught him to fear, was beyond her but there it was. Newt and his anxious glances, like he was quite certain that any moment they’d laugh at him and insist that he had no place among them. Jacob with his fierce determination to take what was offered and count himself lucky for it though he knew damned well it wouldn’t last, that Queenie would come to her senses and leave him.
No. This was absolutely necessary. All of their boys were so broken in their own ways, so fearful, and Queenie silently fumed at the world that had left them all so uncertain of themselves. If a small part of her was eager to replace the happy memories of her sister’s childhood that had been stolen from her and drowned in that execution chamber with something new and joyful she hardly felt any guilt for it.
But this was all about a new start for them all, a new life, a new family and Queenie was determined that it would be exactly that. They were all here for the others now, no matter how far Newt might travel or how lost in the past Credence or Percival might get. What better time to celebrate this new beginning they were forging than New Year’s Eve?
In the end Percival was the first one to pluck one of those shot glasses off the coffee table and knock it back, face immediately flushing darkly though he only offered Newt a sheepish half-shrug when the redhead cocked a brow at him. It was only just after 11 when Percival took that shot glass and Queenie couldn’t help giggling at his impatience. Well, less impatience and more the man was always very straight-forward, dancing around their goals for the end of the night and letting the anticipation build was not his style. Not that it really mattered so much, the potion would do very little. It wasn’t designed to do much more than the No-Maj liquor, lowering inhibitions a little, leaving a flush of warmth settling in the drinker’s belly. And, of course, a little bit of a bump for the boys’ stamina.
Wouldn’t do for them to exhaust themselves too early, after all.
Percival settled back on the couch, legs stretched out as much as he dared, flute of champagne held lazily between fingers that were clearly more used to cradling a scotch glass. His gaze lingered a little longer than strictly necessary on Queenie’s hips as she swayed with Jacob through the living room and when dark eyes flicked up when she giggled. Percival did not look away, did not apologize or make excuses, just let her see the subtle heat in his gaze. Queenie gripped Jacob’s shoulder a little tighter, a breath coming out a little unsteady.
“Alright, Doll?” Jacob murmured, his hand on her waist drifting slightly, pulling her a little closer. Across the room Tina was considering gently extracting herself from reassuring Credence, who had very abruptly stopped paying attention, eyes fixated on the lazy play of Percival’s fingers around the rim of his glass. Queenie flashed Jacob a blinding smile, eyes glittering with mischief.
“Perfect, honey.” She practically purred the words, pressing in closer to Jacob for a fleeting moment, letting him feel the warmth of her body, the supple curve of her. Then she was stepping away, aware of the eyes that followed her and giddy with all the attention. She made a point of bending low as she reached for two of those shot glasses, gaze flickering up to Percival as his followed the plunging neckline of her dress, letting her hips sway a little as Jacob watched her ass… and she let a wicked smirk flick over to Newt when she caught his appreciative thoughts as well.
She spun back around to face Jacob, holding one of the glasses out to him and giggling again when he took it from her fingers with a smile. Her would be toast was interrupted before she could even begin, Tina rolling her eyes and feigning exasperation as she crossed the room to the coffee table as well. “Here, Newt. Credence.” She floated glasses carefully over to the two men before picking up her own. “Before Queenie knocks half the batch off the table.” Muttered annoyance though Queenie, and she honestly suspected everyone in the room, knew it was just to cover her own eagerness.
Or maybe as an excuse to drop onto the couch beside Percival, very determinedly staring at her glass for a moment before downing it in one hard swallow.
“We should move this before we all lose our heads.” Tina gestured to the living room as a whole, directing her words to Queenie because the girls had made plans on what they planned to change in the room.
“Lose our heads? Thought you said this weren’t nothing like that, Queen.” Jacob asked softly, a fine thread of worry creeping into his thoughts. She shook her head, fingers laying over his lips, quickly shushing him.
“No, no… it isn’t. Teenie just can’t handle her liquor so these things tend to hit her awful hard.” She giggled again, gaze flicking back to Tina even as Newt finally sighed softly, almost resigned to this fate he had brought upon himself, and swallowed down his dose.
“Are you always so damned responsible, Goldstein?” Percival rumbled at Tina, shaking his head a little, lifting his champagne glass to take another long drink but when Tina flushed and made to stand his other hand gripped her knee tightly, urging her back onto the couch. “Isn’t the point of this to relax?” And there’s something of a challenge in his gaze when he finally looks at her, enough to make Tina gasp softly and something hot and jealous burn in the corner of Queenie’s mind.
Credence was still standing uncertainly against the wall between the dining room and living room, head bowed, lip clenched between his teeth but there was an intensity to those dark eyes as he looked up through his hair at Tina and Percival on the couch that left Queenie breathless. She wasn’t sure which of them he was jealous of, which one of them he wanted to possess so fully but then she didn’t think he knew, exactly, himself. Her hand caught Jacob’s as she moved across the room, trailing him behind her as she approached Credence for no reason other than the fact that even without the potion yet she didn’t want to stop touching Jacob.
“Credence?” Queenie murmured his name softly, releasing Jacob’s hand to ease her own up Credence’s arm, soothing and reassuring and he flushed a brilliant shade of red as he realized she’d heard his thoughts, dark and wrong and-
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting them.” She interrupted firmly, fingers curling around his wrist as though she could better make him understand if she just touched him enough. “That’s the whole point, remember?” He finally lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, concerned and fearful and she wondered again if they were rushing him too much with this. Credence had been the one she’d talked to the most about this, stressing and reiterating that this was okay, this was not wicked, this was natural. Trying to help him understand all of the things about his religion that his mother had perverted. The fact that he was also talking to a pastor at another church now, a gentler man that held services for wizarding folk on Sundays and Wednesdays helped a lot, gave him a way to reconcile his belief in God with something other than abuse and neglect.
And this was meant to be part of that healing process, for him and Percival both. They’d talked about it and she could feel him struggling to remember that, to swallow down the shame that immediately came with the rush of emotions seeing the others like this brought. Then his gaze dropped back down to his glass and suddenly Queenie understood some of his reservations. Lowered inhibitions could mean something more dangerous and frightening for Credence. The obscurus hadn’t surfaced in weeks, it hadn’t had a need to, but there was still a lingering fear there and Queenie gently took the glass from his fingers.
“You don’t have to drink this…” She flashed him a smile as she reached out to set it on the dining table. “You’re plenty young enough to keep up, I’m sure.” A teasing wink and he flushed impossibly darker but still he nodded and leaned into her when her fingers found their way into his hair.
She drew away just long enough to finally clink her glass against Jacob’s, slowly draining the glass, savoring the rich,luxurious heat of it on her tongue. By the time she set down the glass, two swallows at most, her breathing came faster and a pleasant warmth coursed through her, making her giggle softly. Jacob followed her lead, though much faster, and whistled as he stared at the empty glass. He laughed and the two of them leaned against each other savoring the warmth and contact of the other. Queenie ended up pressing herself to Credence’s side, resting her head lightly on his shoulder, fingers playing in the lengthening hair at the nape of his neck and simply enjoying the younger man’s height. Her eyes followed his gaze, lips quirking up in a smirk as she realized that Tina was now half in Percival’s lap, flushed and eager. “They are awful pretty…” She murmured dreamily and Jacob hummed his agreement from beside her, gaze nowhere near the pretty picture being painted on the couch.
Tina smiled, something bold and fierce in her eyes as she shifted from the couch to kneel on the floor in front of Percival. Her hands splayed on his thighs, his breath catching in his chest for a long moment.
And just like that, the atmosphere changed.