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fantasticbeasts_kinkmeme) wrote2016-11-23 07:27 am
fantasticbeasts_kinkmeme) wrote2016-11-23 07:27 am
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Prompt Post #1
ROUND 1
FUCK IT WE'LL FIGURE OUT SPECIFICS LATER
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2nd FILL - Credence/Newt/Percival: Percival feeling left out and insecure (3/4)
(Anonymous) 2016-12-05 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)Grindlewald's voice grew louder and Percival clamped his hands over his ears as he curled up inside the bath, trying to block the noise out. It did no good and soon Grindlewald's laughter filled the bathro-shed. It was Newt's shed. Credence and Newt would be back soon and everything would go back to normal. They would be happy to see Percival and maybe they would even touch him. Nobody touched him anymore apart from them.
The walls started to swirl and warp in front of Percival's eyes so he closed them, blocking the images out. But Grindlewald's voice was louder still with his eyes shut so he opened them again, only to recoil at the sight of the walls dripping blood. No, this wasn't Newt's shed, it was his bathroom. Newt's shed was safe, no one has gotten in and attacked his creatures. But if Percival was in his bathroom and not in Newt's shed, that meant he wasn't safe. Grindlewald could get him.
He stumbled out of the bath towards the door but it didn't open. His wand, he didn't have his wand. Defenceless, at Grindlewald's mercy. The walls were bleeding and when Percival pulled his hands back, they were covered in blood. Credence was dead, Grindlewald had killed him using Percival's face. Oh, he must have felt so betrayed when he saw Percival raise his wand against him. Newt was gone, fled with his animals, good. He hated Percival now and what he had done, but at least he was safe. Newt had always preferred Credence to Percival and now for Credence to be dead...
Percival bent in half, the pain driving him to his knees. Credence was dead, Percival would never see him again. It would be better if he and Newt were somewhere else, if they had run away together to be happy. They didn't need Percival for that, all he did was hurt.
The little Barebone girl was in front of him now, crying over how he had killed her brother. He reached out a hand and she slapped it away, hatred in her eyes. She screamed and Percival covered his ears. Everything went black and silent for a while.
Percival woke up on his bathroom floor. He didn't know the time and didn't particularly want to. Instead he used the toilet, ate and drank something before settling down into the bathtub. His hallucinations were not real, though there was a part of Percival urging him to go and make sure that Newt and Credence were okay, but they had been alarming. It was better for Percival to wait in his bathroom until he was sure he was no longer a danger to others.
He fell asleep, ignoring the pain in his hands.
**
The crash of the bathroom door woke him up and he pushed himself to his feet in time to see shards of his door fall gently to the ground. Tina came marching in, wand raised and Percival didn't know whether to laugh or to scold her for entering an unknown situation without backup.
"Hello, Miss Goldstein," he said. His voice was far more hoarse than he had expected, he might have been shouting before. He retrieved his hand from the top of the medicine cabinet and noticed his hands for the first time. Bruises and cuts along the knuckles and whenever he moved them, he could feel a sharp pain which suggested more than one broken bone.
"Mr Graves, are you alright?" Tina looked around at the bathroom. Percival dismissed the illusion before she could look too closely and was relieved to see that the bathroom was still intact. The mirror was cracked as if he had punched it, probably likely, but the cup of water rested on the sink and there were empty food packages stacked under the sink.
"I am fine." He climbed out of the bathtub and gave her a smile. He felt so tired, like he could sleep for a week, and his whole body felt stiff. Probably from sleeping in the bathtub. "What day is it?"
"Sunday afternoon." TIna's worry was now being overriden by anger. "Imagine my surprise when Newt and Credence turned up and said they hadn't seen you since Wednesday."
"Yes, I thought summoning them back from the Snidget Sanctuary was overkill when I could handle the potion's effects perfectly well." He was quite pleased with himself. He had neutralised his own weakness effectively, he seemed to have remained in the bathroom, no one had called to check up on him so the soundproofing spells had worked and all the people he cared about were able to have good weekends.
"When you knew Newt or Credence couldn't stay with you, you should have told me," Tina said, forced calm evident.
"The potion's effects included hallucinogenic qualities. There was a high risk of you and other people getting injured if I had mistaken you for an enemy. Since the Healer had said non-fatal, I had thought I would be able to ride out the effects myself." He raised his wand and started to fix the broken bones of his hands. The bruises and cuts looked alarming but weren't anything more than sore now.
"Oh, Mr Graves, your hands." Tina sounded distressed. Percival could reassure her, after he was done.
"Are Newt and Credence at your apartment?" He asked as he started to fix up his other hand. He was looking forward to seeing them, despite everything.
"No, they're here in your living room," Tina said and Percival immediately felt the cold finger of fear up his spine. They couldn't be here, his apartment wasn't safe. Grindlewald was loose and knew where Percival's apartment was, knew how to get in. Especially if Credence was here.
"Can we go to your apartment?" It was an imposition but Tina did nothing except nod. She looked surprised when Percival asked her to get Newt and Credence back to her place, he needed to tidy up the bathroom, and he would meet them there. That earned him a narrow-eyed glare and a threat of breaking and entering if he didn't do so, but Tina trusted him enough still to do what he asked.
The bathroom was easy enough to tidy but Percival took his time as he showered and changed his clothes. Anything to put off the upcoming conversation. The knowledge that he was the one to initiate it was not comforting.
Tina did not try to engage him in conversation when he arrived at the sisters' apartment, simply pointed at the case lying in the bedroom. Queenie gave him a cheery wave which he returned before bracing himself and climbing into the case.
Newt's shed had the same welcoming aura that, no matter how many spells he cast, Percival would never be able to replicate. It was more than a little bittersweet, knowing he would probably never see it again. Newt welcomed his friends down here with abandon but Percival had no special talent with magical creatures and it was likely to be more than a little awkward even for Newt after the breakup.
He stepped into the creatures part of the case, feeling a sense of deja vu as he caught sight of Credence and Newt feeding the graphorns. He cleared his throat and they both turned around.
"Percival!" Credence said, hopping down to land in front of Percival. Credence looked him up and down, obviously searching for injury and Percival was glad he had thought to heal his hands completely before coming over. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm sorry Tina worried you." He kissed Credence on the cheek and wrapped Newt in his arms when he came bounding up. "Did you have a good weekend at the Snidget sanctuary?" Both Credence and Newt's faces brightened and they started talking, both too excited to let the other one finish before diving in. Percival smiled, his heart aching, as he put his hands up in a slow down gesture. "It sounds like a good weekend."
Credence's face clouded. "We would have come back though. If we had known you were hurt."
"I wasn't hurt, I just had to take a few days off work." Percival was careful to keep his voice light. "If I was really hurt, they would have kept me in MACAUS Infirmary but instead they sent me home. I was very bored and slept a lot but otherwise the potion had barely any effect on me." It was a lie but considering the upcoming conversation, Percival thought he could be forgiven for it. Credence and Newt both relaxed, neither of them realising his dishonesty. "Anyway, I want to talk you two."
"What about?" Credence blinked.
Percival hesitated and he saw Newt's eyes sharpen on his face, though his gaze skidded away when Percival tried to look at him dead on. "It's about the three of us and our relationship." Percival took a deep breath. This was more painful than he thought but he had to be brave. "And about how you two don't need me to be happy. Your relationship would be so much better and stronger if I wasn't a part of it."
"W-What?" Credence asked. He looked like he had been struck with a Body Bind curse and Percival glanced at him, worried he was going to faint.
"Wait," Newt said. For once, his whole attention was on Percival and he delighted in being the centre of Newt's focus even as he hated himself for the delight. "Walk us through how you came to this conclusion." Newt was angry and the anger was a sting at the same time as being a relief. Maybe Newt being angry would end this painful conversation a lot sooner and Percival could leave the case.
"The two of you have been perfectly happy this past week when I wasn't around." Percival kept his tone calm and even. If he was a different person, he could cry and scream and rage against how could they shut him out like they had and think he would be okay. "I'm not an important part of the relationship, you don't need me hanging around all the time."
"You've been around," Credence insisted. He looked like Percival had punched him in the gut and his stunned hurt just made Percival's own gut twist.
"No, I haven't. I work, come into the case, say hello and then go into the snowy habitat. Then I come out, say goodbye and go back to my apartment. Then I do it all over again." Percival would have been happy to continue doing that if he didn't think it would endanger Newt and Credence more than it protected them. They would be safer and stronger without him.
Newt ran his hands through his hair. "You can't just--" He cut himself off. "So, you decide whether or not this relationship is over and we should just go along with it?" His voice raised and Percival could see the animals behind Newt shift restlessly.
"No! Your relationship with Credence isn't over, but it would be better if I step back."
Newt made a disgusted noise and threw his hands up into the air. "Are you kidding me?"
Credence's indrawn breath was the only warning Percival had before he was thrown to the floor, his sleeve and arm slashed. The griffin reared up, ready to take another swipe since it appeared their prey wasn't dead yet but Newt had thrown himself in front of it.
"No, Bertie! Don't hurt him!"
Credence was trying to control the other animals who had objected to the man who made their Mum upset and Percival realised this was it. He couldn't come back into the case and the creatures were Newt's life. If they couldn't accept Percival, it was only a matter of time before Newt saw the reality of it. His presence there was just making the animals worse and more worked up, so Percival strode towards the shed, dodging the Fwooper's dive at his head and climbed the ladder to get out of the case.
"Do you want some hot cocoa, Mr Graves?" Queenie offered when he came out of the bedroom. Their eyes met and her smile drooped. "Oh," she said quietly. Percival was sure his composure and his shields must be in tatters but it hurt to have the realisation thrown in his face.
"No, thank you. I'll see you two on Monday." He did not look back at the case as he left.
2nd FILL - Credence/Newt/Percival: Percival feeling left out and insecure (4/4)
(Anonymous) 2016-12-05 06:45 pm (UTC)(link)If someone knocking on his office door was unusual, then it was even more so when it was his apartment door. He made up a timed message to go to Tina, early warning in case Grindelwald had come back, and then raised his wand before answering the door. Newt was standing there case in hand.
"What are you doing here?" Percival asked.
"The creatures are fine by the way," Newt said, obviously still irritated with Percival. He pushed his way in without a word and accidentally hit Percival with his case as he did so.
"They were getting worked up because I was there," Percival said. "You got them calm because I left. I still don't know why you're here, we finished our conversation." It was not an experience Percival wanted to have again, it had hurt enough the first time.
"No, you talked and expected us to go with it," Newt said quietly. He was still angry, that much was obvious, but Percival was right here. Credence and Newt would do better together than with him in the mix and it would be better for everyone if they just accepted it. Newt put the case down and knocked on the lid.
"He can't come out here," Percival said, one arm outstretched to keep the lid of the case down. "Grindlewald knows where I live, who knows what he has done to the apartment, and he's escaped."
Newt stared at him like he had lost his mind. "Grindlewald has been spotted in Europe. I don't think even he could apparate across the Atlantic. And if you're so worried about Grindlewald, why haven't you moved out of this flat?"
Percival set his jaw. Reasons chased themselves around his head, each one more ridiculous than the last, though all were true. "I won't have him chase me out of my home." Though it was less like his home everyday. "He already did his best to destroy my professional reputation, I wasn't going to let him have this as well." He already had Percival's peace of mind and his dreams, though he neglected to mention those to Newt.
"Look, we have to have this conversation and it's either in the flat or down in the case." Newt gestured sharply. Percival considered the pros and cons of each but eventually it was the thought of what Newt would say if his creatures got injured attacking Percival again that had him pulling his hand back and allowing the crate to open. Credence climbed out, slow and steady.
To see the two of them in Percival's flat was excruciating considering what was to come. To distract himself, Percival stood up and offered them a drink. Both Newt and Credence blinked in surprise but said nothing so Percival made up some coffee, without magic just to draw it out. Newt looked displeased, but took the coffee without a word, while Credence took one sip and proceeded to add cream and sugar by the spoonful into the cup.
"Percival," Credence said quietly after the three of them had sat and drank their coffee in an awkward silence for a long few minutes. "I'm sorry we've been ignoring you this past week." He kept his head down when Percival glanced at him, both hands curled around the coffee cup.
"Credence, that's not why we're having this conversation," Percival replied. "A Golden Snidget is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I understand why you both wanted to focus on that." He glanced at Newt, who seemed to soften at this explanation. "But it may me realise that you two fit together in a way that works. I'm not really a part of that."
Newt and Credence exchanged glances, then Newt spoke. "Look, words aren't going to really do much here. We can say you're wrong and it's never going to actually sink in until we've proved it over and over again. Are you going to let us prove it?"
Percival hesitated and once again the realisation that Credence was dead at Percival's hand came back to him. He was weak though, he had managed to leave Newt and Credence once but he couldn't do it again. "Fine."
"A little more enthusiasm would be great," Newt commented dryly. "You have to promise that you will talk to us and let us show you. In return we will promise that we will make sure you aren't left out in the cold." He glanced at Percival sharply as if a thought occurred to him. "Why did you go into the snow habitat?"
"I needed to rebuild my Occlumency shields and that was a peaceful enough place to do so," Percival explained.
"Queenie said- " Credence paused and restarted hesitantly when Percival and Newt waited patiently for him to finish. "Queenie said you saw some things when you were infected by the potion. What did you see?"
That was not a subject Percival wanted to get into but if he ever wanted Newt and Credence to understand what Percival was saying, about how he didn't fit with the two of them and how he was worthless in the relationship, then he needed to expose everything. Every dark thing Grindelwald had sown into him, every cowardly impulse Percival had had, everything. "I got memories. Or things that hadn't happened yet. So I didn't see this happen but I felt like it had already happened." Percival took another sip of his coffee for strength. "You were dead, Credence, by someone wearing my face. You hated me, Newt, for killing Credence." It was strange how something which had haunted him for so long, the potion had to draw it up from somewhere after all, could sound so bland in so few words.
"But it wasn't you," Credence said, sounding confused. Newt fidgeted. "I don't understand why Newt would hate you for that."
"I wouldn't and I don't," Newt said strongly. Percival kept his head down. "Look, can we go into the case? Now we've had this conversation, I would prefer all three of us to sleep together and that bed is not big enough for all three of us."
"Newt, is that such a good idea?" Percival shifted from foot to foot. "You know what happened last time."
"That's only because the three of us decided to have a loud argument right by them. I'm not surprised they got annoyed." Newt was already going down into the case and after a brief mental struggle, Credence climbed down first and Percival next.
Newt had disappeared as soon as Pervical came to the bottom of the ladder and he tried not to let the stab of disappointment show on his face. Credence was still here, doing something with the bed. "Can you make the bed bigger with that spell you use?" Credence gave a wistful glance down where he kept his wand and Percival did what he asked without a word. The bed now resembled more like a king sized one than the narrow single of before.
Newt came back from feeding his animals and closed the door behind him. Credence had got Percival into bed, both of them dressed in their sleepwear, and Newt slid off his jacket and suit before climbing straight into bed. The lights dimmed.
"We aren't complete without you," Newt whispered. It sounded louder in the dark.
"Don't leave us," Credence added. Percival let their warmth sink into him and let himself believe, just for a moment, that he could have this.
Well, this was very fun to write even if Percival Graves angsting took up many more words than I expected. Also I can't count.
Re: 2nd FILL - Credence/Newt/Percival: Percival feeling left out and insecure (4/4)
(Anonymous) 2016-12-06 12:14 am (UTC)(link)Re: 2nd FILL - Credence/Newt/Percival: Percival feeling left out and insecure (4/4)
(Anonymous) 2016-12-06 11:27 pm (UTC)(link)Re: 2nd FILL - Credence/Newt/Percival: Percival feeling left out and insecure (4/4)
In other words, well done you and I hope to read more :)
Re: 2nd FILL - Credence/Newt/Percival: Percival feeling left out and insecure (4/4)
(Anonymous) 2016-12-07 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)Yes, I do hope to post it on AO3. Fantastic Beasts is kind of an obsession of mine at the moment so I'm writing all the fic!
This was a lovely comment, thank you!