#esp given what he wants: he's not looking for a fling--he wants somebody to be with for a long long time

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

Can you please tell us about the whole scenario where MC gets kidnapped and Comte rescues her? The one with the CG I mean.

Sure thing! I’ll do my best to relay the events accurately, as this is one of my favorite moments in his rt~

Sizable Comte rt spoilers below, pls don’t click if you’d like to wait for the ENG release!

Okay so some much needed context before I delve too deep. In the first few chapters of the route, MC debuts in French high society (introduced by Comte as a friend’s heiress from overseas). As such, the better part of the Parisian population knows MC as somebody of noble birth. This is important moving forward.

One day while she’s in town she goes out with a friend upon request (also of high rank, somebody she met and made friends with at her debut) and Sebas encourages her to have fun before meeting up again to return home. Problem is, there has apparently been a great deal of unrest among the people in the lower rungs of the social ladder. Joblessness has been a prominent issue, and so a group of men decide to target members of the elite in order to force them to give a damn about the problem. In their desperation, they choose to abduct MC and her friend and tie them up in separate locations.

The other young lady’s butler/servant is present when they’re taken, but is unable to do anything to stop them. Surprising no one, he races over to find Sebas and tell him what’s happened. Naturally, Sebas is beside himself and takes the man with him in order to alert Comte. And Comte.........well........let’s just say he does not take the news well to say the LEAST. He hears them out, goes silent and it shows his furious sprite, and he’s about to storm out when Leonardo appears out of nowhere after he says MC’s name raggedly. (Note: not that odd bc purebloods seem to be able to sense each other’s feelings easily, and it’s likely he was responding to Comte’s acute and sudden distress). Leonardo has to grab Comte’s shoulder and tell him to calm down before he collects himself again, and then he leaves with Napoleon and Jeanne to go find them asap. 

Iirc, Sebas/the other residents take up the task of alerting the police and trying to find more information while the search party is underway. There is a hilarious tidbit I’d like to share, only because it’s uproarious and makes me laugh every fucking time I translate it fdkhdgdjfsf. So basically they’re all trying to figure out what’s going on, until Sebastian mentions the whole coalition of impoverished people looking to get back at high society for the financial inequities of the historic moment. Now Mozart, in a moment of brilliant word association, says “Oh, well yeah under those circumstances that would make MC the ideal target.” And I fucking. Isaac just turns around and is like. “Could you not. Say it like that. When our dad is hAVING A FUCKING MELTDOWN AND A DISPLACED HUMAN WOMAN IS IN MORTAL DANGER. COULD YOU MAYBE NOT???? JUST THIS ONCE.” And I just fucking lose it every time????? Like are those not the most Mozart-core and Isaac-core responses imaginable????? Mozart being so focused on the logic of the situation he just doesn’t seem to be able to read the room/keep in mind how upset Comte might be. Isaac being HYPERSENSITIVE to the emotions in the room and being MORTIFIED that Mozart wouldn’t word things more carefully.

Also a short note since I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. One parallel between Comte and Isaac I find utterly fascinating is that the two seem to share a formidable understanding when it comes to anxiety especially. Despite how composed Comte appears in the game, we later see more and more evidence of how deeply anxious he is when it comes to his future and the prospect of sudden loss. As a result, I feel like their biggest difference lies in the fact that Comte is a great deal older--so he has an easier time concealing/stifling/de-escalating his anxious responses. Even so, they seem to share difficulty in maintaining emotional distance. If Comte doesn’t exercise control, he gets too close to people, and the inevitable fallout (since they usually die first) is devastating. I think Isaac operates similarly, but his anxiety was so overwhelming he didn’t manage to get that close to most of the people in his time (Essentially, he doesn’t have the same charisma Comte possesses and he hasn’t lost as many people consecutively as Comte has). 

Moving right along. So! Comte and our swashbuckling friends (the Baguettes, as I like to call them) pinpoint the location/bunkers where MC and her friend are being kept against their will. (They find them after they receive a tip as to where the two ladies were last seen in town.) I’d like to note that in Comte’s POV of this chapter, he continuously blames himself for everything that’s happened. Saying that if he had been more careful, if he had done the right/smart thing and kept his distance, then she would have been out of harm’s way. (I disagree in that, when trouble seeks to find you it’s usually more a matter of entropy). In the midst of his agonizing, his mind goes to the worst case scenario and he forces the terror down--desperately wishing that he isn’t too late. 

So our bois split up into two groups, one being Comte and the other being Napoleon and Jeanne (yes this is Area 51 and Comte literally does Naruto run--but he doesn’t dodge the bullets bc they can’t kill him). Naturally our pureblood wonder manages to take out all the guards present and kicks down the door to where she’s tied up. The moment he sees her relief floods him and he rushes forward, untying her immediately. MC sees him covered in wounds--blood and torn clothing as far as the eye can see--and has a moment of genuine shock. She’s so used to the immaculate and ethereal appearance (not a hair out of place) that seeing him so disheveled and wild-eyed startles her. He asks her if she’s injured anywhere and she’s able to confirm she’s fine. He seems to be unable to register that she’s alright until she says those words, and he draws her close in his arms and starts shaking. She’s surprised again by his sudden proximity, but when she feels him trembling she hugs him back and strokes gently along his back, murmuring over and over again that’s she okay. She feels fine, she’s safe now.

In his POV, he speaks to the terror of her life lost that was weighing on him. He’s only able to verify that she’s alive when he feels her body heat, can feel her heart beat, can feel her arms moving--that’s why he hugs her; to have undeniable evidence that she’s still breathing. He hates himself for being so fragile, for being so needy, but melts under the gentleness of her touch.

Before the scene ends, MC hears his broken mumble at her shoulder: “Thank goodness...I don’t want to lose anyone anymore.”

And just to make it hurt even more! From Comte’s POV it reads (the brackets are his unspoken thoughts): 

"I......I don't want to lose anyone.......anymore" [I don't want to lose you... She hugs me back and her hands stroke gently along my back, as if cradling my heart. Her hands are so warm, proof that she's alive. You're so strong.....and so, so gentle. I know I should be prepared to say goodbye. I know I shouldn't be doing this. But I don't want to let you go...]

;-; I just. Every single time I read those lines I just start sobbing. He’s so tired of being alone, so exhausted. He loves her so much!!!!!!! He just wants one moment of PEACE GOD DAMN IT, LEAVE HIM ALONE CYBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANYWAY the story then skips to the aftermath, where Comte is back to his usual collected self. He’s at his desk doing his work (as usual) when MC comes in asking about how everything's going. He explains that he was able to find work for the people who attacked her, citing once again the concept of “Noblesse Oblige.” (For those unaware, it means “noble obligation” in French and alludes to this notion that the wealthy/privileged parties of society have nothing short of an obligation to use their resources in service to the less fortunate.) MC starts gushing about how both her and the police are really impressed by his ability to forgive them and help them anyway. This is where Comte drops that L E G E N D A R Y line where he says “Forgiven them? I never said I had forgiven them. On the contrary, the only reason I’m doing this is because they left you unharmed.” with that chilling smile.

So like. Get you a fucking mans that has the ability to pretend everything’s fine when you get abducted, beat the shit out of your assailants to free you, have a panic attack after you’ve been secured, and then still manages to have the grace to help the people that put him through his literal worst fear imaginable/re-traumatizing him even if they didn’t know it. This was essentially the scene that made me fall 100% in love with him. It was one of the first moments of profound, undeniable proof that not only does he care about people--he cares so deeply it shakes him to the very core. There’s just something....so moving about the fact that no matter how hard he tries to pretend that he’s distanced from something/someone, beneath that persona you just find a veritable avalanche of compassionate feeling/love. 

[the-part-time-escapist]

Adulting, Lovelife, Career, Just Life

Since my father passed away last September 12, 2018, me, my older sister and my mother were the only ones who have been living together since my other sisters have their own families already. I had to shoulder the responsibility of being the one who provides for the family because my sister has to pay for the mortgage of the new house that we decided to purchase. It is fulfilling to be the ones to fulfill that responsibility. But I got burnt out. 

Last December, I was struggling with adulting. I was stressing over my finances. I was hovering with Papa’s absence and how things would have been different if he is still alive. 

I was also stressing about relationships. There was one guy who have been eager to pursue me but never did because I did not allow it. I had few reasons on my sleeve. But the main reason was I had trust issues. Only few people knows that I have struggles healing from this issue in my life.

I felt so far away with God as well. I could not feel Him in my life. But my stress brought me back to God and helped me seek him once again.

So..

My family was not perfect. My father had his few mistakes. But he was never honest about them. He was a good father, no doubt. God has given him a lot of chances to change and to be truthful to us esp to my mama by saving him from his heart disease for a number of times. But he never did. We had to confront him and that’s when we lost him. That is when how our family fell apart. We had to move out from my ate’s house where we were staying at that time. I resented my father and had to stay away from them. My single sister was kind enough to go with me because she was worried of me. But my mother stayed with papa even with what had happened. 

I would really say that the Lord has his ways and has his own timeline. To forgive is not easy. But God made it sure that we were able to forgive and fix everything before papa passed away. He made sure that we had time to bid our goodbyes to him and say what we wanted to say.

But even though we had fixed it, my trust issues were still haunting me. That is why I could not accept anyone in my life. I was not ready and I was still healing.

My fears were always overwhelming. I never accepted any invites before. But since I wanted to heal and let go of my fears and resentment, I prayed to God to lend me some courage to be able to talk to the guy because I had a lot of things to say. He has been open to what he feels about me but he was inconsistent. He makes me second guess. He was not giving any effort. I felt like I was just a crush thing that he checks up once in a while. I wanted to talk to him because I wanted clarity. My close workmates has been saying that he has been trying to improve his life and career to be worthy of me. But I felt otherwise. He must have done it for himself and not for me. Moreover, I was stressed out by all the teasing. Everytime he is teased to somebody else people expects a reaction from me. But we weren't really in a dating/courting whatnot so I hated it everytime I get dragged into his name

And God was very generous and revealed a lot of things about him. God’s provision is also amazing. I was made aware with his flings which astonishingly showed his immaturity and his level of loyalty and honesty. And with what happened, I found the clarity I was looking for, clarity with what I want in a relationship and clarity with the boundaries I want to set to guard my heart. I also didn’t know God was working the healing of my workmate through me. The guy broke her heart btw. Now, we’re all in the process of healing. Trust issues are very hard. But I am pretty sure, all will be better next time. I am just thankful that I had handled this before I leave the company. 

I thank the Lord for saving me from the burn outs I was feeling and for blessing me with something to hustle. 

I am also leaving the company I am working now because God had given me an opportunity to work abroad. This was a dream and a goal of mine for quite so long that has just been buried in my heart. God has chosen this time to fulfill this goal.

I have big fears regarding this but I know God planted this desire in my heart and that he has called me to this. I know he will not abandon me in this journey. I know this is His plan because I can feel that this made me closer to him and seek him more. I hope I could glorify God through this. I really wanted to be able to help my relatives and family. I’ve always dreamed of giving them a comfortable life. I can feel in my heart that this is the thing that will be able to give me a sense of fulfillment. I have prayed this when I took the licensure exam in chemical engineering. I wanted to become an engineer so I can provide for them. This is still my anchor why I am taking the opportunity to go abroad. Plus the 8-4 schedule. No more shifting schedules Yey! 

All I can say is God is amazing. He works wonders. His plans are always greater and that His timing is always perfect. So trust and always be faithful to him. He never abandons. His love is deeper than the oceans. He moves mountains in our lives if you surrender your life to Him and continue to seek His love.

[funkzpiel]

what are your thoughts about Head of Department for Magical Beasts Newt Scamander and HOD for DMLE Percival Graves where they headbutt a lot on many issues esp. on Creatures Law & Newt always flinging his safety away just to rescue a creature when Graves explicitly tells him not to do it? Do you think there will be romance btwn them? Or theyre too busy huffing & puffing @ each other to notice the attraction?

OH. MY. GOD.

My thoughts are that I love this idea so fucking much. 

More under the cut, ‘cause it ended up hella long.

The moment Picquery revealsto Graves that this new department is not only going to be created but led by Newt motherfucking Scamander,he nearly has a stroke. He literally has to sit down. 

“You’re messing with me.”

“I don’t play games, Percival,”Picquery says cooly, but he can see her amusement in the tiniest uptick of onecorner of her mouth - her eyes absolutely mirthful.

“Then you’re punishing me,” he says instead, one hand over his face,trying to knead away to growing headache pushing behind his eyes.

“Newt Scamander will be joiningthis government, Percival,” she says and by her tone he knows its set instone. “And I am tasking you to co-lead his first few field missions,whatever they might be, to judge his mettle as a leader.”

“I don’t need to go into thefield with him to tell you he’s reckless and inconsiderate of any lives aroundhim that aren’t magical creatures, Sera. I read the reports. Everyone seems toconveniently forget the man brought an unstable contraption to hold them into acity of No-Majs, then failed to keep that case secure,” Graves says, a veinslowly rising in his temple, pulsing madly. “He even lost that case to a No-Maj - a pudgy No-Maj no less - andwhen said man was attacked by a creature of his whose venom could have resultedin ‘fire from one’s anus’, he nearly left him. Everyonecoos at him because he’s lanky and awkward and has these ridiculouslyadorable doe eyes but I know better, Sera. You give him a task force andhe’s going to get somebody killed.”

Picquery raises a brow at him.

“You’re going to make me do itanyway,” Percival sighs.

“Indeed. We are legally obligatedto give the man a three mission trial period, barring any significant signs of inadequacy. He’s the most knowledgeable wizardof our kind in this matter, Percival. It would be foolish not to consider him –even if his ‘doe eyes’ are so misleading, as you say,” and Graves can tell fromher tone that not only had she not missed that turn of phrase, she found itmore than a little amusing.

Graves scowled and crossed hisarms, legs splayed and altogether looking more a child than a Director of a prestigiousoffice of power.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t havejust made the man a consultant,” he mutters crossly.

“Would you have listened to whathe had to say if he was just a consultant?”

Graves purses his lips.

“The first operation is a stingon a black market ring, Director,” she says. “I do suggest you prepareyourself.”

Graves and Newt bicker about everything, ranging anywhere from when to have their meetings -  

“Six in the morning isridiculous, Percival—“

“—Director,” Gravescorrects him, “And it is not ‘ridiculous’ Mr. Scamander. If you can’t be available at the drop of a hat you’llhardly be of any use in an emergency.”

“DirectorScamander, if we’re playing that game,”Newt says simply, “And I have toattend to my creatures in the early morning, you know that. It’s technicallypart of my job, regardless. Seeing as I’m the Head of Magical Creature Control,which by the by, that’s a horrible name!”

To what to have for lunch –

“Perhaps we couldorder food in? I recently found this lovely little—“ Newt starts.

“—No.” Graves says,not even coldly. Just simply, as though answering an innocuous question ratherthan shutting someone down completely for no reason.

“But you don’t evenknow what the place is yet,” Newt says.

To the importance of safety; specifically, Newt’s safety.

“I can decide for myselfwhether or not to risk my own safety, Percival. I don’t need someone telling memy own worth!”

“Director,” Gravescorrects, “And you are infuriating. Isaved your hide and instead of thanking me as you should or even feeling aninkling of remorse for abandoning your team to chase the leader yourself, you yellat me for saving you.”

“I told you I had it.I told you to stay with the other Aurors and keep the creatures safe!”

“The creatures are notmy priority, Newt!” Graves bellows. “You are.”

“Picquery told you tolisten to my orders,” Newt seethes, cold and scowling, his bandaged handtrembling in a fist at his side.

“And your orders wouldhave gotten you killed, Scamander,”Graves growls, stepping forward and into Newt’s space. “She told me to listento you, yes, but she also told me to evaluate you as a leader. Andleaders don’t abandon their team to coral panicked creatures they don’tunderstand just because you thinkthis one escaping man might have information on a creature they may or may nothave in their possession. Your life and the lives of my men – people, Newt, who have families – are worth more than the less than credibleword of some low life thug.”

“I came here to betterthe lives of creatures,” Newt says, voice soft but no less angry or remorseful.

“That’s what I toldPicquery,” Graves sneers, nose wrinkled. “But no one ever listens to me.”

When they go their separate ways after the mission is doneand all the paperwork is filled, Graves half expects Picquery to storm in hisoffice at any moment and scold him because no doubt the Magizoologist quitafter that.

A knock at the door and Graves just stares into his fireplace and takes another sip of Fire Whiskey before letting out a soft “come in”.

The steps are too quiet, too hesitant and too uncoordinatedto be Seraphina’s. He turns and feels the muscles of his shoulder instantlytense at the sight of one very inebriated Newt Scamander.

“You’re drunk,” Graves says blandly, unimpressed when Newtmerely scowls at him with petulant adorable anger and jabs a shakyfinger in his direction.

“You’re drinking,” he says, accusatory.

“I’m always drinking,” Graves says. “It hardly matters anymore.”

Newt doesn’t seem to know what to do with that information.Graves enjoys knocking him off balance.

“You, however, don’tdrink,” Graves says, turning to face the man completely. “So why start now?”

“I was t-thinking about quitting,” Newt grumbles. “This job, that is. Not drinking.”

“And so drinking was supposed to help that along?”

“I didn’t go drinking to help make my decision,” Newt slurs,staggering right to rest his hip inelegantly against Graves’ desk – accidentally knockingone or two immaculately placed items over. Graves sighs even as Newt mutters asoft, surprised “sorry” to his desk as though it were a stranger he had bumpedinto on the streets. “I went drinking to cope with my decision.”

“And what decision was that?”

“The decision to continue working with you, you wanking arse.”

“Lovely,” Graves says into his own glass and drains it toits bottom.

“And the decision to apologize,” Newt finally says, voicesofter, drawing Graves’ gaze. “You’re right. I t-tend to put creatures first.No one else will, so…”

Despite himself, Graves feels a pang of sympathy – understandingthe plight of a man just trying to do the right thing, only to fuck everythingup. He crosses the room to his personal stock of whiskey and pours himselfanother finger of liquid comfort. He’d offer one to Scamander if the man weren’t already sloshed.

He has no wish to wipe vomit from his floor tonight, even with magic.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but an apology isn’tenough,” he says and catches the way the man bristles like a cat automatically,stung by his rejection. Graves holds up a hand to stop him when Newt opens hismouth to retort. “You have to act onthat apology, Newt. You have to be better. Because what you’re apologizing forisn’t accidentally offending me in some way. It’s for endangering the lives of myteam, including yourself – and ‘sorry’ doesn’t cut it. You want to show me you’resorry? Start taking this position you’ve been given seriously.”

“I am taking itseriously,” Newt growls through his teeth.

“For your creatures, yes, I have no doubt. But you can’tonly be here for your creatures. You need to be here for people too. Just as much to educate them on how creatures arewonderful and how to integrate them into the secrets of our society as to teachthem how to protect themselves and others. I’d have figured you knew that,considering that’s the whole point of your book.”

“You read my book?”

“Of course I read your book,” Graves says and gestures boredly to something behind the other man,drawing Newt’s attention to his copy sitting on his shelf. “It’s an invaluableresource to my work and the safety of my team, just as you are an invaluableresource to this government.”

“Invaluable… You don’t hate me?”

Graves snorts into his glass.

“You personally? No. But you make my job decidedly harder,Scamander. I do hate that.”

Newt purses his lips, at a loss.

“Well, you,” he says suddenly, pointing his finger at Graves. “Need to learn that creatures also need to be protected on these missions. They’re important too! They’re the whole reason why we’re out there!”

“You’re right,” Graves concedes simply, silently relishing the surprised look he gets from Newt. “I have some adapting to do, too. We’ll figure it out. If you’re sticking around, that is.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Percival.”

“Director,” Graves corrects playfully, and Newt smiles.

Newt doesn’t quit. In fact, he gets better – slowly. Helearns the significance of his actions. When to put the safety of creaturesfirst and when to step back and ensure the safety of his men. He and Gravesbegin to agree more – slowly. They don’t argue over lunch. They find a way tocomprise when creating mission plans. He trusts Newt more and more with hisAurors and their safety. And Newt trusts Graves more and more to keep thesafety of magical creatures in mind.

They make a good team. And as Newt grows, so does hisdepartment. He needs Graves and his Aurors less and less as his own task forceand leadership skills take shape. And although Graves is happy to return tosomething even remotely resembling normalcy, a part of him does miss the thrillof working with Newt more closely.

They catch breakfast together and collaborate in order totrain their staff – Graves training Newt’s men in combat and Newt trainingGraves’ men in how to approach and handle creatures. And time passes that way.Simply, fluidly.

And then Grindelwald returns – an army of dark creatures athis beck and call.

“Simmons, watch your six,” Newt calls, wand strikingviciously at an approaching enemy even as he keeps track of the progress of hismen. “Johnson, please do help Abernathy calm that Wampus, would you?”

The men and women of his team follow his orders withoutquestion. He feels strong, confident – a completely different man by comparisonto the one who led that first mission nearly a year ago. Once his enemy isdown, he evaluates Johnson, Abernathy and Simmon’s progress with the Wampus.Already they have the creature remarkably calmer – each using the subtle spellsand body language that Newt had taught them in order to ease the creature’smind. Newt grins.

“Good work!” He calls out. “Keep an eye on that Wampus andmake sure the next group takes it somewhere safe. I’m pushing ahead to AlphaTeam.”

“Yes, sir!”

He takes the steps three at a time. The hallways are oddlybarren all of a sudden. Silent. He blinks.

“That’s not right,” he mutters under his breath as he roundsa corner and unwittingly passes through a barrier he hadn’t seen. Immediatelyhe is blasted with a cacophony of sounds the barrier had been hiding. Screamsand the sizzling of spell work and the howling of mad men. He sees Tina on thefar side of the room, locked in heated combat with a wizard twice her size butobviously half her smarts. She has the advantage, it’s just a matter oftime. He sees Jenkins and O’Brien fighting in lockstep with another two goons –one of them is bleeding from a large gash in his bicep, but it doesn’t appearto be slowing him down.

Smith is lying on his back, glassy eyes staring at nothing.Newt swallows.

And at the center of the room, Graves is fighting withGrindelwald’s second in command. His footwork is uncanny, Newt always thoughtas much. Most wizards cast magic one of two ways – they plant their feet orthey run and hope for the best over their shoulder. But Graves casts magic whilehe moves; slowly, deliberately – the movement of his wand and his hand just asprecise and calculated as the stepping of his feet. He keeps his target offbalance with an ease that Newt can’t help but admire.

“Where is he?” He hears Graves snarl.

“Miss him?” Grindelwald’s second sneers, cruel. “I bet youdo. I bet you miss the way he beat you. The way he put you in your place. You’repractically trembling for it, aren’t you – so excited to return beneath hisshoe.”

And because he’s watching Graves, lost in this newinformation, he doesn’t notice Grindelwald approaching until the man alreadyhas him flying across the room and into a marble pillar. He shouts.

“Director Scamander,” Grindelwald purrs, eyes glinting. “Hasquite a ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“Grindelwald,” Newt snarls and scrambles to his feet, ribsaching.

“I expected better from the Director of Magical CreatureControl. You haven’t caught onto nearly as many trafficking rings as I expectedyou would, given your passion for creatures. Perhaps you don’t care as much asyou say.”

“Shut up!”

He flings several spells Grindelwald’s way, but the darkwizard simply deflects them.

“After tonight, the government will surely revoke any lawsyou managed to pass to allow these creatures in the states,” Grindelwaldcontinues, moving all the while – eerily reminiscent of Graves. Newt shudders. “Youcan’t obliviate an entire city again. Someone must be held accountable. Perhapsthis will finally be the last straw. Perhaps wizards will finally stand tall.”

When Grindelwald strikes, it’s with a precision so dark andso fast, Newt doesn’t even realize the man had cast a spell until he wassinking to his knees – bound and exhausted, energy slipping away through themagic that held him.

“I did not forget the way you foiled all my intricately laidplans, Newton,” Grindelwald purrs, obviously enjoying Newt’s weak struggles. “Theway your creature held me down. The way you tore away my face. And so it iswith the creatures that you used against me that I will bring down MACUSA and thiscity. And you only have yourself to thank for that.”

Grindelwald raises his wand level with Newt’s face.

Newt closes his eyes.

“Not that you’ll get to see it,” Grindelwald mocks.

Everything feels oddly silent, oddly slow. Newt breathes.

“Diffindo.”

He’s being knocked aside, but not by any spell. He opens hiseyes when he hears a scream and it’s not his own. There’s red on the floor. Somuch red.

He looks with wide eyes, frozen by thesight of Percival Graves crouched above him – eyes furious and teeth bared anda snarl locked in his chest.

“Confringo,”Graves growls, one hand extended, and the blast is so powerful Newt hears thewet sound of Grindelwald’s head on the far pillar. The dark wizard slumps to the floor,unconscious, and is quickly bound by an Auror.

Something wet patters onto Newt’s lap – something red.

“P-Percival,” Newt says weakly.

“Director,” Graves corrects, teeth red when he smiles, eyes blurry and unfocused, andfinally falls to his side – blood blossoming wickedly across his chest.

“No!”

Newt is on his haunches and beside the man in seconds,healing spells already on his fingertips despite his exhaustion. The battle iswon. Aurors scramble around them – rushing to get the Medical Team they had onstandby. Newt stays with the man until they arrive and ignores the steadydraining of color from Graves’ skin. The man is barely conscious. 

Disoriented.He stares up at the ceiling with glassy eyes that remind Newt of Smith, so Newtshakes him.

“Stay with me,” Newt says.

“M’not going anywhere,” he slurs.

He doesn’t go anywhere. Newt’s at his bedside when he finally wakes - a wicked scar spanning the broad stretch of his chest. Pink and pearly and painful. 

Newt is furious.

“Don’t ever dothat again!” He growls, trying to hold back the burning growing in his eyes.Graves blinks at him fuzzily, not quite altogether there beneath theweight of the painkillers he’s on. Struggling to focus.

“I should have known you wouldn’t thank me,” Gravessays, a smile on his lips. “I save your hide again and you never thank me.”

Newt frowns, anger growing.

“How come you get to be reckless and I don’t?” Newtasks, trembling.

“I wasn’t being reckless, Newt,” Graves says.

“How is this not reckless?!” Newt retorts, fingers onGraves’ scar.

Graves’ hand covers his and Newt stills.

“You took this job to protect creatures. To build a worldof peace for creatures and humans alike,” Graves says softly. “I took this jobto protect the people who make that sort of change happen. Those people – you – are my priority. I knew what I wasdoing.”

“T-that,” Newt stammers, drawing Graves’ gaze. Thensuddenly, the lithe Magizoologist punches him in the bicep. Graves groans. “Thatmakes it worse!”

“What?” Graves yelps, at a loss.

“A year ago, you told me I was invaluable,” Newt says,trembling.

“I did,” Graves concedes. “That’s why I—“

“You are invaluabletoo,” Newt says. “You don’t get to decide the worth of your life. You don’t getto just throw it away. People are counting on you. I-I’m counting on you.”

“Newt—“

“No! You don’t get to make rules for others and notfollow them yourself,” he says.

The room falls silent.

“You’re right,” Graves says gently. “I’m sorry.”

For a long moment, Newt says nothing. But neither doeshe pull his hand away. Graves waits. He knows Newt can feel the nervous tempoof his heartbeat.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but an apology isn’t enough,”Newt says finally. Graves smiles weakly. “You have to act on that apology,Director.”

“Percival,” Graves corrects.

Newt smiles.