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

four

Newt shut his case over his own head with one swift movement, then climbed down several stairs before he dared breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

He lowered himself onto the steps as the prowling footsteps and the angry hisses of the matagots faded away. With his forearms on his thighs, he hung his head and closed his eyes, forced air back into his lungs with fast, heavy breaths.

Tina, meanwhile, had reached the bottom of the stairs and stood doubled over with both hands on her thighs, breathing heavily herself.

Leta had found herself a nearby cabinet and leaned against it, steadied herself with both hands on it as she hung her head and breathed heavily herself. She hadn't run like that in a long time.

Her lips quirked up into an involuntary smirk, and a quiet chuckle escaped her. Tina was the first to lift her head and look at her. "What's so funny?," she asked. Her tone was rough, maybe even bitter, but it was her small smile that revealed just how unbelievable this chase had been, even for her.

Leta acknowledged her with a small smile of her own and said as if it would answer any of the questions Tina felt swirling around in her head, "It's just like old times."

Newt moved then, lifted his head and looked at her. Leta, too, looked at him and smiled lightly. He smiled back, in that sheepish way only he could. Tina was watching both of them suspiciously.

It was not as if she disliked Leta Lestrange. She barely even knew the woman. It was just that he had told her he had let go of her just a few minutes ago, and now he was looking at her as if she was the only thing that mattered in this world.

She swallowed her own bitterness and forced herself to stand up straight, placed a hand on the side of the stairs and looked up at Newt. "We need a way out of here," she said, "And fast."

As one, Newt and Leta tore their eyes from each other then. Both hung their heads, and she swore she could see the gears turning in both of their heads.

She had a feeling they had done this before. Or something close enough, at least.

After a few moments of silence, Newt nodded. He lifted his head, and she could see the proud smile on his lips as he tried to look down at her through the steps. "I've got something," he said. It was when Leta looked up at him, watched him descend the stairs.

When he reached the bottom, merely three feet were between him and the woman he had told Tina he had long ago let go of. For Newt and Leta, however, it was just like old times.

She was watching him, waiting for his newest plan. He smirked back at her, that smirk she so rarely ever saw. And was that mischief dancing in his eyes? "Just like old times," he told her before he turned to leave.

She watched him walk several steps before her mind remembered several of the plans he had set into motion back at Hogwarts.

Each one had involved a magical creature, and each one had somehow gotten them out of whatever predicament they were in. And each one had managed to hurt either of them–mostly Newt.

So Leta turned to follow him and took a small step before she stopped herself. "Newt," she called after him instead. It made him stop and turn, look at her over his shoulder.

Her mouth hung open for a moment or two before she said, "Be careful."

He gave her one of those small, sheepish smiles she had once loved so much before he turned, and it were only Tina and Leta left behind.

The harsh reality hit him like a ton of bricks. It was as if a veil had lifted. He saw her again, Leta, standing against Grindelwald. He had retreated to the bottom of the stairs, had returned to the safety of his ring of blue fire.