hey, please check out the note at the end! thanks!!
The Merriloft Hotel was right across from your work, as you found out. It was annoyingly convenient, and robbed you of an excuse not to see the one person you were so desperately trying to avoid.
"Floor 5, please," you said to Gavin, the house elf running the elevator.
"Have a nice weekend?" Gavin asked, punching the button.
You thought of your encounter with Newt and grimaced. It had left you sore and feeling terribly guilty. "Sort of." You replied.
"Just sort of?"
You gave Gavin a sad smile. "Yeah, just sort of," The elevator pinged as you reached the fifth floor. "Thanks, Gavin. See you later."
"See you, (Y/N)."
You stepped out of the elevator and into the busy hallway. "Hi (Y/N)!" The receptionist, Pam, called, waving her hand in your direction. You weaved through the traffic in her direction, giving her a weary smile.
"Hi, Pam. How was your weekend?"
"Oh, it was great," she beamed. "Jim and I went out to dinner!"
You gasped. "Finally! Tell me everything."
"Well, on Friday after work he just came over and asked and I said yes! I think we really hit it off!"
"Of course you did. He's been pining after you for like, three years." You laughed.
Her face went red. "What about you? What'd you do this weekend?"
That damned question again. "Eh, it was... alright. Have I ever told you about Newt Scamander?"
"That guy from Hogwarts?" Pam nodded. "Yeah, I remember."
"Well, I bumped into him on the street. And it was... well, it wasn't fun to say the least." You told her of your interaction with Newt.
"Oh, (Y/N)," she gasped. "That's bad."
You looked at your hands and sighed. "Yeah, I know. I mean, I'd just seen him for the first time in how many years? And on Valentine's Day, no less!" You threw your hands up in the air. "It was weird that he wanted to have that conversation right then, you know?"
Pam paused. "Yeah, but I can see where he's coming from..."
"Pam, you can't be serious!"
"He wanted some closure! Can you blame him for wanting to sort things out?"
"Yes. Yes, I most definitely can."
"He missed you, and to me it sounds like you were both really hurt after you moved. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he never stopped caring about you." Pam said matter-of-factly.
You sighed, trying to fight down your risking blush. "I don't know, Pam. It's a really complicated situation."
"His hotel is right across the street. I think you should go talk to him. I mean, you were friends once, right? Maybe it's not too late..."
"For what?" You asked. "He's going back to England in two days."
Pam smiled sadly. "(Y/N), we both know this job isn't for you. You've been talking about quitting for weeks! Maybe this is a sign! Isn't he writing a book?"
You sighed and looked away, out the window towards the big city and the Merriloft Hotel. "Yes."
"You could go with him!"
You snapped your head back to Pam, your mouth dropping open. "Are you crazy?!"
She laughed. "I'm not, but you definitely are if you stay. He wants to be your friend, that's all. And even if he does want something more..."
Your face reddened. "That's definitely not what he wants. He probably hates me after what happened yesterday."
Pam gave you a sympathetic look. "From what you've told me about him, he's not a hateful guy. I think you should at least think about it, (Y/N). It's a good opportunity, if it works out."
You looked down at the ground and rested against the desk. "I'll think about it. Maybe," you cleared your throat and brushed a stray piece of hair away from your face. "In the meantime, I have a lot of work to do. Can you punch me in, please?"
Pam smiled at you forlornly, turning away to punch in your time card. "Just give it some thought. It would be good for you."
You nodded slightly, avoiding her eyes. "Thanks, Pam. See you later."
You left her desk and walked into your office, running a tired hand through your hair. The inside was fabulously cluttered, just the same as it was on Friday, with piles of parchment stacked on your desk, disposable quills scattered across every open surface, and the one tin cup with your nice Phoenix-feather quill and sugar quill for when you got bored. Dust billowed in the space, illuminated by the light filtering in through the window.
The window. You looked through, and again your eyes fell upon the Merriloft Hotel. He was there; you could feel it. With his case of magical creatures and his enchanting eyes and the possibility of a life away from this desk job you thought would be fun but turned out to be excruciatingly boring. You eyed your hard, wooden chair, pulled back from your desk expectantly. It seemed to laugh at you, like it knew you were too scared to make a concrete decision.
Some tiny part of you had always hoped you'd see Newt again. You'd always talked about life after Hogwarts together. It was always together, you realized; traveling, the two of you together, working, the two of you together. The two of you, together. During those perfect years with him there had never been even the shadow of a doubt that it wouldn't be the two of you, together. Always. He'd always loved you, you realized. You'd just been too blind to see it.
You only hoped he still cared. You wanted it all, and you wanted it with him.
Determination flared through you. You wouldn't be stuck here another day.
You ripped a piece of parchment from a pad in your drawer and grabbed a quill from your desk. Dipping it in bright red ink, you scribbled a letter of resignation. You were done. Done with the depressing desk job, done with your self-destructiveness, done.
You grabbed your Phoenix-feather quill, your sugar quill, every bottle of ink you could find, and ran from the office towards the Merriloft Hotel as fast as you could.
~~~
The lobby was brightly lit, with garish leopard-print wallpaper and mismatched chairs. Clearly it was a hotel exclusively for wizards. Witches and wizards lounged around the lobby playing chess, exhaling bubbles from pipes, and eating Cauldron Cakes, which were all the new craze. Some were dressed in long, brightly colored robes and others dressed to fit in with the No-Maj's. It was a waystation, the perfect place for Newt.
You rushed to the front desk, which was painted a disgusting shade of maroon, and slammed your hands on the table. The employee, a stout woman with red cat-eyeglasses, blinked up at you lazily like this was an everyday occurrence. "Can I help you?" She asked with a southern drawl, picking up a lit cigarette.
"Yes, I'm looking for Newt Scamander? He should be staying here. I need to see him- It's urgent." You panted, trying to get the words out as fast as you could without having to breathe.
The woman placed her cigarette delicately between her lips and turned to a large book beneath her. She waved her hand lazily and the book's pages started fluttering back and forth, searching their records. You tapped your fingers against the desk, thinking that the stupid book couldn't move any slower.
Finally, the pages stopped turning. The woman put a finger down on a name and removed her cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Newt Scamander, Room 273. I can't let you up there without explicit permission, but I can call him down."
"Yes, yes please, do that. That would be wonderful." You blurted, bouncing on the balls of your feet.
"Just a moment," she drawled, pushing herself up from her chair and trudging over to a wall phone. She punched in a few numbers, consorting the book occasionally, and finally put her ear to the receiver.
"Hello, Mr. Scamander?" She asked in a monotone voice. "There's a guest for you downstairs." She listened for a moment, then turned to you. "What's your name again?"
You started. "Oh, (Y/N) (L/N)."
She repeated your name into the phone. She exchanged a few more words with Newt, then finally hung up. "He'll be down in a moment."
"Thank you," You exhaled. "I'll just go over there..." you pointed to the lounge area.
The lady scowled. "Does it look like I care?"
You grimaced. "Right. Thanks for your help."
You made your way over to the lounge area and settled into an overstuffed tiger-striped armchair. You tapped the armrest impatiently with your fingers, feeling like every second was an eternity to wait. You kept glancing back at the elevators, feeling a jump of excitement and then disappointment every time the doors opened and Newt didn't step out.
Finally, the last elevator on the right pinged, the one scuffed up and with the strange rattling noise, and out stepped Newt.
You stood up from the chair, feeling like the universe had given you a gift that he was here. Finally, he was here. He was wearing the same navy coat and yellow scarf, carrying the same tan case. He had the same face as the day before, bronzed and covered in freckles, with the same glittering green eyes. He seemed different, though. It was like you were seeing him in an entirely new light. It was the same feeling you had when you had loved him before.
He started to make his way over to you, peeking up at you from under his mop of sandy hair. A smile spread over your face, and unable to contain yourself, you started to run.
Newt was the only thing you saw. Not the horrible wallpaper, not the rude lady at the front desk, nothing. Just him, and his smile.
You launched yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck. He smelled like a barn, all hay and animal musk and earthy feed. You loved it. You smiled into his shoulder, feeling utterly and totally complete.
"(Y/N)!" Newt exclaimed, a smile in his voice. He placed his case on the ground carefully and wrapped his arms around you, squeezing you tightly against him. "It-its wonderful to see you!"
You squeezed him harder. "It's good to see you too," you laughed. To your dismay, he pulled back, putting you at arms length.
"W-what are you doing here?" He asked, a dusting of red covering his cheekbones.
You blushed to match his. "I was just thinking about some things and I wanted to stop by. I feel bad about our conversation yesterday."
Newt smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He shrank into himself slightly, fidgeting with the edge of his scarf. "Oh. It's fine, really. I'm just glad to hear the truth."
"It's not. I was rude. And I just want you to know that I'm not mad anymore. I want to have a relationship with you, friend or whatever else you want it to be. I don't want to push you away."
Newt smiled, a real smile this time that made his eyes crinkle around the edges. He dipped his head in that demure way of his, trying to hide the raging blush on his cheeks. "I-I'd really like that."
You beamed and rocked back onto your heels. "Good. Oh, I quit my job today, too."
Newt snapped his head up, his mouth dropping open to form a perfect o. You almost laughed at his expression, perfectly mirroring yours from earlier that day. "What?"
"Yeah. It was boring. So I quit," you paused. "And, I was hoping that I could take up a job with you. Help you with your book, and your creatures, you know. I want to travel with you, like we always talked about doing, yeah?"
Newt blinked. He looked utterly taken aback, his face agape in an adorable look of shock.
"Newt?" You asked, a grin playing on your lips.
He shook his head as if to shake himself out of his stupor. "Y-yes, yes! Absolutely! I'd love for you to come with me!" He beamed, his face gorgeous and glowing and by god how did you ever leave him in the first place? He laughed and wrapped his arms around you, lifting you slightly off the ground and spinning you happily. You squealed in surprise, feeling like you were finally where you were supposed to be.
"I'm glad you're excited!" You laughed as he put you back on the ground gently. "To be honest I was a little worried you'd say no." You gazed at him softly, taking in the curves and angles of the face you knew so well. "Thank you, Newt."
"Of course. For you, of course." He grinned.
You put a hand on his jaw and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek, delighting in the warm and fuzzy feeling you got from the touch. "I've got to go pack and cancel the lease on my apartment. Would you like to come?"
Newt's face turned a very attractive shade of red. "S-sure, yes, of course," he paused. "Actually, first, how about a coffee? I know a great place down the street." His eyes sparkled mischievously.
You grinned. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."
~~~
woooo some fluff! god I love him so much he's too pure
idk if I put this in my last chapter but should I change the cover to this? I kinda want to but idk
Also, we're approaching 100k VIEWS??? UM???? WHAT????
I'm honestly so so so SO grateful. Like I feel like crying every time I look. I started this never expecting it to go anywhere and I feel like I've got this family of people who support me and it's the best feeling in the world. I love y'all so so much, you have no idea.
So, what do you want me to do? Q&A? More prompts? Face reveal? A week of special requests? You tell me. You're the reason for my success, and I want to give back to you.
I've got some other chapters planned so keep your eyes out for some more fluff! I feel like I've been writing so much angst lately (whoops).
Anyways, I love y'all. Until next time ❤️
-Elise