can't let go [newt scamander x leta lestrange]

one

He looked at her then, and he smiled back, just like he always did, in that one way only he could. "Hello, Leta."

     There was nothing else said, not for a long while. They had chosen a quiet corner for themselves, just like they always did. It was their thing, really, to spend as much time away from the crowds, from most people as they could.

     He looked down again, and Leta folded her hands before her body, swallowed and looked down herself. He wouldn't talk much, he rarely did, and neither did she.

So she took a small step toward him instead, watched his suitcase for a moment and wondered what kinds of magical creatures he might have brought with him this time. And suddenly she remembered.

     Remembered the hippogriff calf she had found at the edge of the Forbidden Forest one evening when she had taken to a lone walk. She had offered it dead ferrets she had stolen, and it had taken a liking to her, had let her bow, had let her approach. And even after they had parted ways that day, when she kept coming back, so did the calf. She had made a friend, and she wanted to show him.

     So she looked up at him and smiled. When he looked back at her, he could see the mischief dance in her eyes, the happiness, the anticipation.

She slowly reached out and wrapped one hand around his suitcase. He let her take it from him, even when she had to hold it with both hands. She began to walk backwards slowly, never once looking away from him. When he remained where he was, she urged him along. "Come on," she said, "I want to show you something."

     She was a troublemaker, Newt knew, but she was his friend, too. And he had rarely seen her this happy. It could be something good. And even if it wasn't, they knew where to hide by now.

     So he began moving and followed her along, raced to her side as she turned and continued her way unbothered. He brought up one hand to scratch the back of his neck as he looked down, noted every little pebble on their way, let his mind relax.

The journey was ever so stressful for him. So many people cramped into one train, it made him feel uncomfortable. And, soon, a thousand thoughts began to run through his head, just like they always did. She knew, somehow, so she left them in quiet more often than not, let him think.

    He needed to tend to his creatures. Before he had left, he had asked her to look after them, and she had promised him that she would. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, it was just–he missed them.

Leta was smiling to herself as she, too, remembered a friend she had made. She hadn't dared name the calf, though. It was not her strong suit, really. One evening, she had even debated asking Newt for a name, but then she had decided what a glorious surprise it would be to just show him.

     She sighed and turned her head to look back up at him. His suitcase was a weight in her hands, noticeable, maybe even unpleasantly so, but now that she had taken it from him, she would refuse to give it back. Instead, she only smiled at him, and she told him, "I missed you Newt."

     It broke him out of his thoughts, she could see it by the way his eyes flickered, his breath hitched for only a moment before he looked back at her.

The smile on her lips was special, genuine. To him it was. He liked to see her smile, and it often made him smile. So it did this time, too, and he gave her what she had grown to call his signature smile. It was a sheepish smile. She liked it, and he knew that she did.

They had taken to their own little refuge. It was the place where he hid new creatures he found, where he found try to figure out what was wrong with them, how to help them. She had stumbled across him here once, and the more he had shown her of his world, the more often she had come back.