Newt stares a moment before averting his eyes with a blush. His brother and Graves are kissing each other with a ferocity he’s never seen the likes of and it feels intrusive to watch. He notices Tina gaping beside him and only shrugs when she turns a questioning look to him.
When they finally stop for breath, Theseus begins to fuss over Graves anxiously. “What did the bastard do to you? How badly are you hurt?”
“He used the Cruciatus Curse a couple of times,” Graves rasps, wincing as he stretches his arms. “And he knocked me round the head a bit, but other than that I’m mostly all right. He needed someone to gloat to, so he needed to keep me alive. He saw you in my head though and he told me all the things he was going to do to you…”
Graves’s voice breaks and Theseus draws him into his arms. “It’s all right, darling, I'm here,” he soothes, pressing gentle kisses to Graves’s hair. “He’s locked away now. Merlin, you’re wasting away! We need to get you out of here. Newt, can you help me?”
“Newt?” Graves looks at him curiously. “As in your little brother Newt?”
“That’s him,” Theseus puts on a reassuring smile, but Newt can see the tear tracks shining on his face in the dim lifht. “He and one of your aurors helped me find you.” Tina steps into the light and waves shakily.
"Hello, sir."
Graves has been tied up for the best part of three months and his limbs can barely move due to lack of use. Between the two of them, the Scamander brothers carry him up the stairs back into his library. Graves blinks at the harshness of then natural light and keeps hold of Theseus’s hand as he’s helped into one of his armchairs. He seems worried that if he lets Theseus go, he may vanish.
“Tina and I can fetch some food and water,” Newt volunteers quickly, seeing Theseus torn between holding his…lover? boyfriend? partner?...and fetching him what he needs. “You stay here with him.”
They find their way easily to the kitchen and set about preparing a simple meal that won’t overtax Graves’s stomach.
“So, you didn’t know?” Tina asks him softly, making Newt marvel as she takes out a pan and has a creamy soup flowing from the end of her wand to fill it with ease. “That your brother and Mr Graves were together?”
“No,” he confesses, chewing his lip a little, thinking of the conversations he’s had with Theseus over the last few years and starting to grow distressed. “We haven’t seen much of each other lately. I’ve been travelling and he’s been leading the Ministry effort against Grindelwald. Whenever we do catch up…he never talks much about himself. He asks about me, asks about the creatures and how they are, ticks me off for not being careful enough…but he’s never told me there was someone. Did he think I’d be awful about it? Surely he didn’t think I’d look down on him?” The very thought brings a lump to his throat.
“Newt, I’m sure he didn’t think that,” Tina reassures him kindly. “I only met him today and I can tell your brother thinks the world of you. None of us knew Mr Graves had someone either. Relationships like that are a bit frowned upon here. Maybe they just wanted to maintain their privacy.”
Newt remains thoughtful as they make their way back to the library, finding Theseus holding Graves in his arms as he explains his capture and imprisonment.
It’s Tina’s turn to get upset now. “I was put out of the department,” she tells him unhappily. “I swear, sir, if I’d known, I would have…”
“It’s all right, Goldstein,” Graves waves away her apology gently from where he’s ensconced in Theseus’s arms. “You’re not the first he’s fooled and I’m afraid it’s not likely you’ll be the last. How did you eventually find out it wasn’t me?”
Newt and Tina tell their tale all over again while Graves hungrily gulps down the food they’ve brought him with relish. He tells them that Grindelwald had given him enough food to stop him starving, but he’s been in prison for ten days now and so Graves has not eaten since then.
When he hears that Newt was the one who discovered the deception, he gives at the magizoologist with an exhausted but sincere smile. “Theece always said you were a smart one,” he tells him, his hand once again finding the elder Scamander’s. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, though I’d have preferred more comfortable circumstances.”
“Oh! We should inform Madam Picquery!” Tina says suddenly, before Newt can reply. “She doesn’t know you’re alive.” She'd evidently forgotten about MACUSA until now.
“You may inform the president if you choose, Miss Goldstein,” Theseus says, and the warmth is gone from his voice again. “Given her astounding incompetence, I feel no such obligation. She made little enough effort to find him, she can bloody well stew as far as I'm concerned!”
“Theece, baby, don’t frighten my aurors,” Graves teases weakly, wincing as he tries to stretch his limbs again. “You go ahead, Goldstein.”
“You stay with them, make sure they’re ok,” Tina whispers to Newt, who is still blinking owlishly after hearing his brother called 'baby', and disapparates with a crack.
Once Graves has eaten all he’s able for, Theseus helps him through to the bathroom and disappears inside with him to help him wash and shave. The man that emerges with Theseus some thirty minutes later is a thinner version of the auror Newt had met before; clean shaven with neat, slicked back hair. His limbs are slowly coming awake again; he’s waking hesitantly, slowly, with Theseus’s arm around his waist for support, but he’s managing. The two aurors exchange frequent, chaste kisses and share such looks of fierce devotion that Newt feels like a terrible intruder.
They move through to the living room and Theseus lights a fire; drawing the sofa and an armchair close to it so they can feel it’s warmth. Newt takes the armchair and leaves the sofa to the other two, noting they seem to have no intention of letting go of each other tonight.
Graves asks him a lot of questions, seemingly making a concentrated effort on getting to know his beloved’s little brother. Apparently, Theseus has talked about him non-stop since they met in the war. Newt shares a fond glance with Theseus and tries to overcome his own natural awkwardness and answer as fully as he can. He rather thinks he will grow to like this version of Graves.
Fill Part 4 - Percival/Theseus
When they finally stop for breath, Theseus begins to fuss over Graves anxiously. “What did the bastard do to you? How badly are you hurt?”
“He used the Cruciatus Curse a couple of times,” Graves rasps, wincing as he stretches his arms. “And he knocked me round the head a bit, but other than that I’m mostly all right. He needed someone to gloat to, so he needed to keep me alive. He saw you in my head though and he told me all the things he was going to do to you…”
Graves’s voice breaks and Theseus draws him into his arms. “It’s all right, darling, I'm here,” he soothes, pressing gentle kisses to Graves’s hair. “He’s locked away now. Merlin, you’re wasting away! We need to get you out of here. Newt, can you help me?”
“Newt?” Graves looks at him curiously. “As in your little brother Newt?”
“That’s him,” Theseus puts on a reassuring smile, but Newt can see the tear tracks shining on his face in the dim lifht. “He and one of your aurors helped me find you.” Tina steps into the light and waves shakily.
"Hello, sir."
Graves has been tied up for the best part of three months and his limbs can barely move due to lack of use. Between the two of them, the Scamander brothers carry him up the stairs back into his library. Graves blinks at the harshness of then natural light and keeps hold of Theseus’s hand as he’s helped into one of his armchairs. He seems worried that if he lets Theseus go, he may vanish.
“Tina and I can fetch some food and water,” Newt volunteers quickly, seeing Theseus torn between holding his…lover? boyfriend? partner?...and fetching him what he needs. “You stay here with him.”
They find their way easily to the kitchen and set about preparing a simple meal that won’t overtax Graves’s stomach.
“So, you didn’t know?” Tina asks him softly, making Newt marvel as she takes out a pan and has a creamy soup flowing from the end of her wand to fill it with ease. “That your brother and Mr Graves were together?”
“No,” he confesses, chewing his lip a little, thinking of the conversations he’s had with Theseus over the last few years and starting to grow distressed. “We haven’t seen much of each other lately. I’ve been travelling and he’s been leading the Ministry effort against Grindelwald. Whenever we do catch up…he never talks much about himself. He asks about me, asks about the creatures and how they are, ticks me off for not being careful enough…but he’s never told me there was someone. Did he think I’d be awful about it? Surely he didn’t think I’d look down on him?” The very thought brings a lump to his throat.
“Newt, I’m sure he didn’t think that,” Tina reassures him kindly. “I only met him today and I can tell your brother thinks the world of you. None of us knew Mr Graves had someone either. Relationships like that are a bit frowned upon here. Maybe they just wanted to maintain their privacy.”
Newt remains thoughtful as they make their way back to the library, finding Theseus holding Graves in his arms as he explains his capture and imprisonment.
It’s Tina’s turn to get upset now. “I was put out of the department,” she tells him unhappily. “I swear, sir, if I’d known, I would have…”
“It’s all right, Goldstein,” Graves waves away her apology gently from where he’s ensconced in Theseus’s arms. “You’re not the first he’s fooled and I’m afraid it’s not likely you’ll be the last. How did you eventually find out it wasn’t me?”
Newt and Tina tell their tale all over again while Graves hungrily gulps down the food they’ve brought him with relish. He tells them that Grindelwald had given him enough food to stop him starving, but he’s been in prison for ten days now and so Graves has not eaten since then.
When he hears that Newt was the one who discovered the deception, he gives at the magizoologist with an exhausted but sincere smile. “Theece always said you were a smart one,” he tells him, his hand once again finding the elder Scamander’s. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, though I’d have preferred more comfortable circumstances.”
“Oh! We should inform Madam Picquery!” Tina says suddenly, before Newt can reply. “She doesn’t know you’re alive.” She'd evidently forgotten about MACUSA until now.
“You may inform the president if you choose, Miss Goldstein,” Theseus says, and the warmth is gone from his voice again. “Given her astounding incompetence, I feel no such obligation. She made little enough effort to find him, she can bloody well stew as far as I'm concerned!”
“Theece, baby, don’t frighten my aurors,” Graves teases weakly, wincing as he tries to stretch his limbs again. “You go ahead, Goldstein.”
“You stay with them, make sure they’re ok,” Tina whispers to Newt, who is still blinking owlishly after hearing his brother called 'baby', and disapparates with a crack.
Once Graves has eaten all he’s able for, Theseus helps him through to the bathroom and disappears inside with him to help him wash and shave. The man that emerges with Theseus some thirty minutes later is a thinner version of the auror Newt had met before; clean shaven with neat, slicked back hair. His limbs are slowly coming awake again; he’s waking hesitantly, slowly, with Theseus’s arm around his waist for support, but he’s managing. The two aurors exchange frequent, chaste kisses and share such looks of fierce devotion that Newt feels like a terrible intruder.
They move through to the living room and Theseus lights a fire; drawing the sofa and an armchair close to it so they can feel it’s warmth. Newt takes the armchair and leaves the sofa to the other two, noting they seem to have no intention of letting go of each other tonight.
Graves asks him a lot of questions, seemingly making a concentrated effort on getting to know his beloved’s little brother. Apparently, Theseus has talked about him non-stop since they met in the war. Newt shares a fond glance with Theseus and tries to overcome his own natural awkwardness and answer as fully as he can. He rather thinks he will grow to like this version of Graves.