AN: Merry Christmas! Even though for most of you it was yesterday, it's still Christmas here today!
As we get into the final chapter of Evanescent, I would like to thank ALL of you. Those who vote, those who comment, or those who just read. Thank you all for joining me while I write this story, and thank you for seeing it through to it's conclusion. I have more to say, but I'll save it for another part.
I love all of you. Thank you.
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The next morning, Newt and ______ were awoken by Morrow jumping on the bed, barking for their attention. Newt was the first one to wake up, sitting up and looking at him. "What is it?" he asked in a sweet voice, despite just being woken up. No matter what time it was, no matter if Newt was just awakened or if he was cranky, he could never be upset with a creature, or ignore one trying to get his attention.
Morrow whined softly and ran over to Newt's case, placing his paws on top of it. Newt looked at him for a moment, trying to think about what he wanted when ______ spoke up sleepily from the bed.
"He wants to be fed," she said softly, sitting up softly and yawning. "He woke me up yesterday about the same thing."
"Oh, you're awake," Newt said, turning to her and sleeping. "Merry Christmas, love."
______'s eye widened, realizing what day it was. "That's right!" she exclaimed happily, standing up. "It's Christmas!" as she exclaimed this, she launched herself towards Newt, hugging him as they both fell back on the bed, laughing softly.
Newt looked up at ______'s eyes, still smiling. They seemed even prettier in the morning, to his surprise, and he could tell she was happy, because her eyes were smiling too. He could even see his own reflection in her eyes, smiling like an idiot.
"I love you," he whispered softly, still looking into her eyes.
______ looked back into his eyes, able to see her own reflection in his blue eyes, and she thought she could get lost staring into his eyes. "I love you too," she told him.
As they both leaned in to kiss, a dog whine pierced their ears. They both flinched slightly and turned to Morrow, who was now lying down by the case, his head resting on top of it. "I should feed them," Newt said, still looking at Morrow.
"I'll help you," ______ told him, getting up. "Then we can open presents."
"Oh yeah," Newt spoke. "I almost forgot about them." As he remembered presents, he also remembered the candy he left in his coat that night. I really hope the chocolate frog didn't melt, he thought, running a hand through his hair. "Well, let's get to feeding then!"
As they both got up and headed into Newt's case, Newt couldn't help but smile thinking how far they've gotten since the first time she went into his case.
She wasn't a random stranger whose house he broke into anymore, she was someone he loved.
She didn't stare at everything anymore, she became used to the magic around her.
She didn't get lost in his case anymore, she knew her way around every habitat and creature.
She didn't give off an unsure vibe anymore, she only brought happiness, and she always fed every creature with a smile on her face.
They had been through so much ever since she first came in, and just thinking about it seemed surreal. It didn't seem like that long ago, yet it had been nearly a month. More like three weeks, really, but even that seemed like a weird number. Maybe it was because when he was with _______, it was like the world stopped. Time moved differently with her, and if she was by his side, the world could be ending and he wouldn't even know it. Being with her was different than being with anyone else, and even though he understood it was because he loved her, he still didn't understand the full effect she had on his life.
He didn't know that loving her meant that he'd love every single little thing about her. Every little thing she did captivated him. Even if she wasn't saying a word, with just one look, he could tell so much. He could have a full conversation just looking into her eyes. He was getting better at keeping eye contact just for the fact that he wanted to look into her eyes and never look away.
He could almost compare her to the kind of dream that you never want to wake up from. The kind of dream you never want to end. Sadly, all the best dreams are evanescent, disappearing as soon as they came. That's why she couldn't be the best kind of dream, because no matter how good the dream, it always ends when you wake up. But she stayed, she was there. She was real. She was better than any dream he's ever had, or ever will have.
She was more than anyone could ever dream up.
So no, she was not a dream. She was not his "dream-girl," because eventually, those dreams fade. Dreams are evanescent. She was anything but.
The last creatures they fed were the Bowtruckles, and ______ noticed that Newt was lost in thought. "Newt," she called out. "Are you okay?"
"Hm? He hummed, tuning back into the reality around him. "Oh yes, just thinking."
"Ah, just making sure. Well, everyone's fed."
Newt smiled at her. "Are you ready to open presents?"
______ smiled and nodded. "As I'll ever be." Taking each other's hands, they headed back to the first room, climbing up the suitcase-ladder.
______ ran over to the tree, and still holding Newt's hand, fell to the ground, bringing him down with her. "My present first," she said, picking up the unassuming bag filled with the gifts she had gotten him. "It's not much, but I tried the best with what I had..." she trailed off, handing him the bag. Newt took the bag, thinking for a moment before pulling out the tissue paper, reaching for what was inside.
The first thing he pulled out was a fair-sized book, the title reading "Animal Minds." Newt studied the book for a moment after pulling it out, and nervously, ______ started rambling on about it. "I don't know if it seems lame, but since you're a magizoologist, I thought maybe you could get to know about zoology of the Muggle world. We don't have as exciting animals as you do, I'm sure, but I thought maybe I can show you a little bit of what I know about Muggle animals. You've already told me so much about the wizarding world, and I remember you saying once that there are some things about Muggles you still don't understand, so I thought... maybe I could help you understand, just like you helped me. Does that make any sense?"
Newt smiled, watching her bant about the reason she chose the book for him. "It makes perfect sense," he told her. "And I'd love to know as much about Muggles as I can, and I'll continue to show you as much as I can about the wizarding world."
She smiled at him. "Well, that's not all I got you! There's still one more thing."
Newt looked into the bag, reaching his hand in and pulling out her other gift. It was a small, light bronze picture frame, a small engraving on the bottom reading: The First Noel. Newt looked back to ______, smiling and wanting her to explain her reasoning behind this one too. He didn't need it as much, but he still just wanted to hear her talk. "The First Noel?" he asked, a smile still on his face.
"Noel, you know, like Christmas," she told him. "This is a lot of firsts. It's your first Christmas for a long time, it's my first Christmas in Britain, and most importantly..." she trailed off, looking him right in the eyes. "It's the first Christmas I get to spend with you."
Newt smiled and looked down at the empty picture frame, running a finger over the engraving. "I think," he began. "I might have an old camera somewhere around here."
"Really?" ______ asked, a smile spreading across her face. "Well, let's take a picture!"
"Right now?" he asked. "I mean, both of us just got out of bed, we're not even out of our pajamas..."
"Yes!" she exclaimed happily. "I don't care what we look like, I just thought it would be cute to take a picture in front of the tree. Who cares if we're all dressed up or just in pajamas, it'll be my favorite picture."
Newt smiled, seeing her excitement. "Alright, it might be the attic." He stood up, simply walking over to their room and taking out his wand from his jacket. He went back into the living room, pointing the wand upwards. "Accio camera!"
After what sounded like crashing sounds and rusting, an old instant camera came whizzing towards him, landing in front of them. Newt grabbed the camera and went over to ______, who was standing in front of the tree now, a large smile on her face. He walked over to her. "Ready?" he asked her, pointing his wand at the camera.
"Of course," she told him.
Newt looked at the camera in his hands. "Wingardium leviosa," he whispered, and the camera floated up, going right in front of their faces, the perfect height for them.
Newt wrapped an arm around ______'s waist. "One more thing," he told her. "This is a wizard camera, and I don't think I've shown you what wizard photos are like."
"What are they like?" she asked, looking over at him.
"Like this," he told her, and as they both looked back at the camera, Newt only slightly moved his wand, and the camera went off. At the same moment, Newt leaned over and kissed ______ quickly, pulling away as soon as the flash on the camera went down. As ______ was stood there, completely surprised, Newt went over to the camera, taking out the photo taken. Before ______ could ask anything about what just happened, he showed her the photo.
It was moving. The photo first showed them both standing there, smiling happily at the camera, but it moved like a short clip to the moment where Newt was kissing her. The photo would then go dark before going back to the beginning.
"Woah," ______ whispered, enchanted by the photo.
"Do you think it'll be a good picture for the frame?" he asked, looking over at her.
"I think it's perfect," she replied, looking over at him. As soon as they made eye contact, they couldn't help but smile at each other.
Newt moved to the frame, carefully slipping the picture in. "Well then," he began. "Time for you to open your present."
They sat back on the floor, and Newt handed her a fair-sized box, wrapped in simple blue and silver wrapping paper. She carefully ripped it open, revealing a white box. As the opened the lid to it, she smiled upon seeing its contents.
She sat up taller as she pulled out what seemed at first like a simple dress robe before Newt began to talk. "That is the only magical invention whose effect hasn't been duplicated fully by Muggles," he started. "It's a self-ironing dress robe, and it's just like a regular dress, except it automatically smooths wrinkles of using magic."
"Really?" she asked, a smile on her face as she stood up and held it against her. It was a beautiful dress in her favorite color, and the skirt went all the way down to her feet. Even just holding it up, it was like she could see the dress move, already ironing the wrinkles it earned from being folded in the box for so long. "I love it," she whispered, unable to stop smiling.
"You can put it on now, if you'd like." He told her. "There's something else in the box for you, but it's something that you can put on with it."
"With it?" she asked, looking back down at the box. She didn't look in there for another thing, but before she could see it, Newt grabbed it from the box.
"It's a surprise." He told her, a smile on his face.
"Alright, alright," she said, looking away "I won't look, and I'll go put this on right now."
As she walked out of the room, Newt held the second gift in his hands, ready to put it on her when she came out. He got up and stood outside the bedroom door, waiting for her to open it. After a few minutes of waiting, the door swung open. "How do I look?"
Newt turned to see ______ standing at the doorway, and just looking at her, he felt his heart skip a beat. A large smile crept onto his face, and he was glad that he seemed to pick out just the right color. "Marvelous," he told her. "I just have one last touch."
Newt walked up to her, unhooking the chain of the pendant and wrapping his hands around her neck, hooking it again before removing his hands. ______ looked down at the new necklace hanging around her neck, holding the locket at the bottom of the chain. It had a pretty, intricate design, and she couldn't help but smile just looking at it. "Open it," he told her, still smiling.
She did so carefully, and as she got it open, she once again saw the picture they just took, placed softly in the locket. "it used to be empty, but I charmed it," he told her. "I just loved that picture. Maybe we can take another one later today, or tonight even."
"What's special about tonight?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Well," he began. "I thought maybe since I got you a new dress, and maybe I can get something nice on too, we could go out somewhere special. Maybe even go to a fancy meal, anywhere you'd like."
She smiled, listening to the plans. "That sounds perfect," she told him.
"Perfect," he told her, smiling back. "Then it's settled, and we've done all the presents."
"One last thing though..." she began, stepping towards him.
"What?" he asked, slightly confused.
"I have one last present for you," she told him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting them rest gently on his shoulders. "One small list. I want to say it again, since the last time I did I didn't get to say it in my right state of mind."
"One small list?" he asked.
"A list of ones," she told him. "A list of 'one' things you've given me. Not just material things, just a list of ones."
Newt's mind went back to the castle, when she was on amortentia. He only slightly remembered the things she said, but everything had happened so suddenly, most of them left him by now. "What's the list?"
"One forever. One stolen stare. One today. One tomorrow. One vision. One confession. One moment. One chance connection. One person to tell 'I love you,' and finally..." she trailed off, leaning towards him.
"One kiss."
She leaned forward, her lips clashing with his. She let her hands move to his face, his soft skin underneath her fingertips as he moved hands up to her face, supping it gently. This was their 'one kiss.' One kiss on one special day, with one special person, so start the beginning to one forever. A forever they'd get to spend with each other, a forever they hoped they'd get to see out together. This kiss felt different from every other, it was like there was another meaning without anything much happening at all. Not much had happened between the last time they kissed and now, but it was almost like everything happened too. Like Newt thought, time wasn't the same when he was with her.
And it felt just like magic.