Brown Paper Bag

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/16958877.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Fandom: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Relationships: Theseus Scamander/Reader, Theseus Scamander/You
Characters: Theseus Scamander, Reader, Y/n - Character, You
Additional Tags: Oneshot
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2018-12-12 Words: 999 Chapters: 1/1
 Brown Paper Bag
by MinimumOverdrive

Summary

You finally found the love that you thought you’d never have - and you found it in a paper
bag.
You walked slowly down the street, battered by the wind and rain. "Oh bollocks," you cursed,
fighting against your umbrella to keep it from being crushed and and swept away by the
fierce gusts of autumn wind that almost bowled you over. Sometimes you really did wish that
magic didn't have to be hidden from Muggles--walking in bad weather would be much more
enjoyable!

With a sigh of relief, you finally slipped into the shelter that the visitor's entrance to the
Ministry of Magic provided. Double checking that the brown paper bag you had tucked
beneath your arm when you left your flat was still there, you smiled as the atrium of the
Ministry was revealed before your eyes. The sight never ceased to amaze you, although you
had visited often enough to see family and friends that worked here. You had even been
offered various positions, but you always refused. The idea of being tied down to such a large
organization didn't appeal to you, and besides, you were rather fond of the little used
bookshop you ran; which was open to anyone who wandered in (including Muggles).

"Can I help you, ma'am?" A stout, red-faced man asked you, a stack of papers almost
obscuring his face.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm just looking for Mr. Scamander. Is he in his office?" You couldn't help
the light blush that rose to your cheeks.

"Yes ma'am, he is. Have a nice day now!" The man bustled off before you could thank him,
muttering to himself.

You had to chuckle. 'The people you meet in this place!' Retreating back into your thoughts,
you let your feet lead you; they had been to Theseus' office enough times to know the way.

You had an... odd relationship with the older Scamander brother. The two of you had known
each other since you were both children, but had fallen out of touch until rather recently. You
had always liked him, perhaps more than was proper, but you had never seen any evidence of
your affections being returned. He viewed you merely as a good friend, you were sure.
Besides, Leta Lestrange seemed to have a liking for Theseus as well; and as a kind and
generally unselfish person (so you liked to think), you figured it would be best to leave him
to her. He did seem to fancy her... Still, that didn't stop you from going in to visit him. He was
a friend after all.

Snapping yourself out of your memories, you found yourself staring at the door of his office.
Raising your hand to knock, it swung open before your knuckles could make contact with
wood.

"Y/n, it's so good to see you. Please, come in!" Theseus welcomed you with a smile, hurrying
over to pull up a chair for you to sit down beside his desk. "How have you been?"

"Oh, not bad. The usual." You returned his smile, "Business at the bookshop has been rather
slow lately. I guess people don't want to brave the elements just to get something to read."
"I wouldn't be so sure! Remember when you almost got struck by lightning just trying to get
to the library?" He leaned towards you across his desk, a teasing twinkle in his eye.

"Well," you laughed, "I'm not exactly your average reader, am I?"

"Fair enough." He leaned back in his chair, looking at you with something in his eyes that
you couldn't quite place.

You caught yourself biting your lip as you stared across at him. Shaking yourself out of it,
you placed the paper bag you had been carrying onto his desk. "Here, I brought you some
lunch. You mentioned the other day that it would be getting busy around here, so I thought
you might not have time to pop out and grab anything..." You looked down at your lap, a
wave of shyness hitting you. This had seemed like a much better idea when you were at home
by yourself.

"Thank you, Y/n. I really appreciate that--I'm almost booked solid with meetings today. It's a
good thing you came in just now, this is about the only break I have."

The selfish part of you leaped at that - 'you should stay and talk with him' - but the other,
more sensible, part of you thought that it might be better if you just left and let him enjoy his
time alone. "I should probably be going then... You need a break." You smiled, voice a little
too shaky. "Good luck with all those meetings, and have a great day!" Rising to your feet,
you glanced down at him. 'Merlin, he's handsome.'

"Y/n, wait!" He rose to his feet, moving over to stand in front of you. "I just wanted to thank
you again for the lunch--and everything else that you've done for me. You've been so kind,
even when other people don't even seem to think of me. I felt like I should... Oh, here, let me
show you."

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he reached up and took your face gently in his hands. Your
eyes closed out of reflex, and your heart raced. This couldn't be real, it seemed so out of
character for the Theseus you thought you knew. Maybe it was some sort of a prank, or trick,
or - your thoughts were cut short when his lips touched yours.

They were slightly chapped, but soft. Suddenly you weren't aware of anything at all except
his lips on yours. It was a gentle, loving kiss, and you hoped it would never stop.

He pulled back, eyes meeting yours. "I hope that was welcome."

"Y-yes, it most certainly was," you laughed breathlessly. "I should've brought you lunch
sooner." A blush rested solidly on your cheeks as he reached up to caress your hair.

"Come and see me this evening? You know my address."

You kissed him again--and that was answer enough.

Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!