Chapter Text
Albus rolled over in his bed again. He was unaccustomed to having so much space to himself. Usually he had a certain redhead fighting to stick as close to his body as possible. Or, the flip side, trying to shove Albus out of the bed and taking up as much space as humanly possible while somehow still looking as small and young and vulnerable as ever.
Both were endearingly frustrating to Albus. Much like the man himself tended to be, just in general.
Speaking of Newt, the man in question had been moving about the bedroom attempting to stay quiet while undressing and redressing for bed. Albus watched his pale skin brighten the room where the moonlight struck him. Freckles gave the appearance of a slight tan, although Albus had seen them up close enough to know better. He considered himself very fortunate to have such knowledge of such a lovely man.
Such a gorgeous creature. As though the thought summoned his attention, Newt turned to face the bed. He was just finishing putting up his clothing from the day. Albus smiled at the gesture. He knew Newt wasn't the tidiest of people, preferring to live in a rather organized form of chaos. Albus, on the other hand, was strictly organized. Newt refused to leave any kind of mess in Albus's space.
The exception was the bedside table on what had become Newt's side of the bed. There were always arrays of gadgets, knickknacks, tools, feed pellets for some creature or another, vials of venom and anti-venoms, and most importantly, notes. Books and scrolls, parchments, loose pages of any kind of paper imaginable, all detailing various aspects of the creatures Newt was most currently studying. The writing was legible but plain, as though the writer had no time for perfection, but less time for deciphering untidy scrawl later when the notes were to be gone over.
Depositing a couple of things on said bedside table, Newt had a sheepish expression as he slid under the covers to lay on his side facing Albus.
"Last I heard from you was you would be home for supper." Albus was far from upset and Newt was well aware of that fact. It was just as often that it was Albus getting carried away with his own work, students, colleagues etc. Newt pulled the covers tighter around his chin and buried his head down towards his chest. The blanket did a good job attempting to cover his guilty expression. Albus just happened to know him well enough to know it was there anyway.
"It's alright, dearest." A light blush had started on Newt's cheeks as Albus reached a hand out to pull the blanket down a bit. "So tell me. What was it this time? A new creature? A sick one?" Unable to stop himself, his hand brushed against that faintly flushed cheek, feeling the added heat from Newt's embarrassment. Unnecessary for him to feel, but overwhelmingly charming in Albus' mind.
Newt nuzzled his cheek into the gentle touch. He launched into an explanation of a lead on a trader who was potentially involved in an illegal unicorn breeding outfit that had surfaced. Newt had found several specimens that needed tending to immediately. In the end he concluded they would survive, although he was uncertain how well they would thrive if released into the wild.
The sadness in Newt's voice nearly wounded Albus every time he heard it. There was genuine horror at the thought of any creature being kept long term inside his case or even his home menagerie. Artificial environments were a close second when rehabilitating the creatures but they were still second place to their natural habitats.
"Perhaps if they are from the area, they may be released into the Forbidden Forest?" Albus suggested. He was an intelligent man, an experienced wizard, and he listened intently any time his lover spoke of his beloved creatures. He was aware there were different breeds compatible with different areas in the world, but if he could offer even the simplest of solutions to ease a bit of Newt's troubled mind, he would do exactly that. "You know, we have encountered unicorns there before. It's not quite throwing them back into the wild. You could monitor them, intervene if necessary. A compromise between keeping them in captivity and releasing them to be truly on their own?"
Newt's eyes had narrowed in consideration while Albus explained, mind turning over the scenario being presented to him. Slowly coming to the conclusion that it just might be the answer he hadn't dared to hope for, a smile slowly appeared on his face. A hand came up from under the covers to grasp at Albus' hand, bringing it in to his lips to press a kiss to the open palm.
"That would be perfect." Came the muffled reply, lips still pressed to Albus' skin, moving up to his wrist.
Newt's breath against his pulse point sent a chill up Albus' spine. Theirs was not a relationship based on the physical, but they still managed to slip bits of it in here and there. Rarely, though, was Newt behind it. It made times like tonight that much more exciting for Albus.
Newt was hardly a tactile being. With Albus was the exception. There had been a time he didn't like being touched at all. It had taken a lot for him to get to the point where he welcomed the other man's touch. And Albus treasured both the sheer trust it had taken as well as every memory from the time they took getting there.
Being one of few that such an exquisite man was comfortable with was an exhilarating feeling. Watching, there was a glimmer in Newt's eye as he continued pressing small kisses to the hand he was still clutching: the palm, down each finger, and back up to the inside of the wrist. Albus took a shuddering breath in, trying not to allow himself to get carried away so quickly. But, Merlin, it just struck him right in the gut every time. The tenderness, the trust, the pureness of their desire.
"Dearest," Albus began, gentling his tone intentionally so as not to startle his lover with the arousal simmering just below the surface. "You know what you're doing to me now, yes?" He drew the young man closer, his eagerness pressing tightly between their bodies. He tucked his face into Newt's neck to stifle the groan as he felt his lover's arousal pressing back.
That was a good sign.
There were times Newt seemed to forget himself, his own innocent desires for touch coming across as possibly something more to Albus. Not usually when it was as overtly intimate as this, but Albus had learned the need to clarify his intent early on in their physical encounters. Feeling Newt grind against him, the feeling went straight to turn off the concerned part of his brain.
"If this-" Newt punctuated his words with a strong, slow roll of his hips into Albus's, cocks pressed flush together, "is what I'm doing to you, then-uh, yes. I'm doing- ah- exactly what I meant to do to you." Newt let small noises escape his lips, further inflaming Albus's suddenly desperate need for the younger man.
Albus ground his hips forward into Newt's, using the motion as a distraction to scoop his arm under Newt's back and pull him flat to his back. The older man used his body to press Newt to the mattress, leaning in to breathe against his ear, whispering in a low voice "Then, my love, I hope you're prepared for this to be a long night."