To Love an Obscurial (Newt Scamander x Credence Barebone)

Chapter 2

Newt sprinted to the boarding dock, taking care not to bump his magical suitcase, and the officer checked his passport.

"Newton Fido Artemis Scamander," the officer read aloud. "What a peculiar name..." Newt's ears burned. He had always been self-conscious about his odd name. He spotted Tina at the boarding dock, waving frantically at him. The revelation of his full name was forgotten as Newt hurried towards Tina.

"You managed to forget your ticket at Queenie's place!" Tina exclaimed, looking mildly annoyed.

"Ah! I forgot about that," Newt said with a rueful grin, taking the ticket.

"Silly klutz!" Tina said, as she playfully ruffled his red curls. "Stay out of trouble! I don't want to see an article about a red-haired wizard and his beasts wreaking havoc in London!"

"All right, I'll try my best." Newt laughed.

Sitting on a chair inside Newt's suitcase, Credence heard the conversation, and felt a twinge of jealousy at the bubbly exchange. He pushed it away, thinking: I have no right to feel this way.

After Newt boarded the ship, found his cabin, and had found a plate of sandwiches in the kitchens, he set the suitcase down on the floor and opened it. He climbed down the steps into his workspace with the sandwich plate balanced precariously in one hand.

"Hello, Credence! You looked hungry, so I brought you some lunch! How do you like sandwiches?" asked Newt. Credence sat silently in a chair and didn't respond. "Credence? Is everything all right?"

"I'm not hungry, Mr. Scamander, thank you." he said flatly.

"Uh, I'll just leave the sandwiches here then, if that's okay with you... Credence, would you please tell me-"

"Why are you doing all these nice things for me? Just tell me what you want of me, there's no need to draw this out." he snapped. His face drained of color the moment he realized how rude he had just been, and promptly apologized. "I'm so sorry for the outburst, Mr. Scamander, I won't do it again, I-"

"Credence, it's all right. You've had bad experiences with people, and I understand that you have your suspicions. And please, call me Newt."

"A-all right, Mr. Newt."

Newt smiled and passed the boy a sandwich, noting the ragged scars on Credence's hands.

"I'm nice to you because you deserve nothing but kindness. You're a good person who never deserved any of the pain you've received. I don't need anything from you, Credence. I just want to see you happy, and I want to help."

Credence bit into his sandwich and tried not to show how touched he was by Newt's words. Life with Ma had taught him to never reveal how he really felt, to always keep feelings tucked away. Newt saw through his first attempts to hide his feelings and hid a smile. He had known there was a more open and forthcoming Credence under the layer of wariness. Credence was such a reserved and gentle soul. Newt was overwhelmed by a wave of protectiveness for the boy as he watched him. He resolved to do whatever he could to help Credence heal the emotional wounds that had been inflicted on him.