Re: [ER: Newt & Patrick]
"Do they now?" Newt didn't know if he'd a mane. He wagered he rather didn't. But, he smiled as he gave Patrick's veritable mane a once-over that pretended scrutiny. Newt toyed with a curl kinked in copper fringe, before dropping his hand. "You've certainly shown me the light." The teasing might've been seen as out of place, by some, but to Newt—well, he always rather did it, especially with Patrick. It brought a sense of normalcy, however brief, and he thought that helped. Smiling wasn't ever remiss, in his opinion. But, perhaps his opinions were skewed. As it was, he'd not've said it was shitty or selfish for Patrick to not indulge in talk of Adrian for five bloody minutes. It had been nonstop. Most facets of their relationship to each other, Newt and Patrick, had been viewed solely through Adrian's lens for the last month, and it was tiring, if nothing else. Newt grew just as weary of talking of Adrian as he grew of talking of himself, so, even if he ought've kept on, he didn't.
Ginger brows lifted. "Yes. What is it you imagine I do? Sit on a stool all day?" Newt had several black market contacts. He went in among traffickers regularly. And, even among Muggles, while traveling, he'd found himself in countless unsavory situations. Then, of course, there were the creatures. He wrestled with them quite often and he'd been attacked, bitten, and everything else. Newt's grin nearly managed rakish before it twitched to stardust, there and gone again. "You're in for a surprise, I think."
But, oh, yes, Patrick was confusing. He was confused, so it made sense. And Newt didn't want to trespass boundaries, so he was likely overly careful. But, he'd've understood why this was more intimate—this, being the holding of a hand. It was perhaps like the hug in the forest a few days ago, though it felt much longer than that. It belied something more than sex, and, ah, men of all sexualities struggled with that. But, Patrick seemed all right when Newt took his hand. He let fingers lace and he looked at the contrast of pale skin and freckles with unblemished gold. "They're skeletal and black, with wings much like a bat's. They're sweet creatures, really." He tore his gaze upward, like a coin pilfered from pocket, passing over palm to shine. "Merpeople found me. In the lake. And, I'd not known that somehow, playing witness to yourself could reveal the thestrals, but it seemed to. That's all. What I'm saying is—erm, it's very difficult, what you're dealing with. I know it is, at least somewhat. And with Adrian on top of that, well, I can't imagine."
Patrick didn't look childish. He looked afraid and out of his depth. Newt wondered if the poor man would have to tell the doctors. He felt terrible for Patrick, but he couldn't help. Not really. "I can make the obvious offer. To Obliviate. To pull you out of here. Anything like that. I can make them all forget you were here and fudge paperwork... but, I don't know that it'd help you, darling. What if you find yourself here again?" Change the subject, Newt. "I was going to ask you earlier how you felt about dragons." That might've been too great a leap, but Newt did it anyway, and without shame. "Knight-in-shining-armor that you are. Do you feel a terrible need to slay them? Because I could show you some, if you'd like to see them. Or is that rather too fantastical?"