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Newt's sitting on the couch reading when he hears the door unlock, open, and close with a heavy thud. He lowers his book as he listens to Hermann muttering and stomping up the stairs, cane hitting every second step with a loud thump. Hermann reaches the top of the stairs and throws his keys in the bowl on the hallstand and drops his bag beside it carelessly."How was your day?" Newt asks with a raised eyebrow as Hermann makes his way across the room.Hermann sits on the couch - flops would be a better term, if Hermann could ever be described as doing something so undignified - and turns to lift Newt's arm and wrap it around his shoulder so he can lean heavily - snuggle, he's totally snuggling - into Newt's side."That good, huh?" Newt says, setting aside his book and turning his full attention to Hermann."I got into a fight with Fowler," Hermann says into Newt's shoulder. "And I was wrong. I looked like a fool.""You can't be right all the time." Newt says, pressing a kiss to the side of Hermann's head as he rubs his shoulder consolingly. "Just most of it.""Fowler shouldn't be right any of the time. That ruddy Neanderthal wouldn't be able to tell the difference between his arse and a hole in the ground." Hermann wraps his arm around Newt's middle, turning on his side so he can burrow deeper into Newt's warmth. "I will never understand how he got hired in the first place. Probably spends all his time fawning over the Dean like the obsequious little twit he is. And his taste in tea is abominable. Atrocious. He's an incredibly vile little man.""You've described me as 'an incredibly vile little man'," Newt says, raising an eyebrow and nudging Hermann with his elbow."Yes, but that was when you tried to kiss me after, er, pleasuring me... anally. It was affectionate. There's nuance." Hermann pats Newt's stomach consolingly and returns to his silent fuming."Ah, nuance. Of course." Newt says with a smirk bussing the side of Hermann's head with his nose. "You're lucky I love you, man."Hermann toes his shoes off and raises his legs onto the couch, twisting around awkwardly until he's laying across Newt's lap with his head on the armrest. He takes Newt's hand in his own and plays with his fingers distractedly. "You don't think I'm losing my mind, do you?" Hermann asks quietly and Newt smiles softly and brushes his other hand through Hermann's hair."You're not losing your mind, Hermann. You've been wrong before.""Never quite so publicly," Hermann looks up at Newt and Newt feels his heart tighten a little at how lost Hermann looks. "I was so sure I was right, but then it turned out I'd made a mistake so- so stupid a remedial high school student would have caught it. How could I have missed something so stunningly simple?""If you were always perfect, we might not be here right now. You wouldn't have given me the time of day if you thought I was just some coffee-slinging schmuck," Newt reminds him gently, squeezing his fingers."I'd have given you the time," Hermann says, squeezing back. "I would have given you a place, too.""You are so good for my ego, you know that?" Newt says with a grin. "But enough about how awesome and hot you think I am, we're talking about you and how your brain's still as amazing as when I met you.""What if it's just taken me this long to realise how much is going?" Hermann's lips twist and Newt has to lean over and kiss that look off his face, squeezing him tightly around the middle."You're not losing your mind, Hermann. Or your math mojo," Newt says, bumping his forehead against Hermann's. "What's the square root of two-hundred and seven thousand, four hundred and thirty-six? To the ninth decimal place."Hermann is silent for a moment, brow furrowed in concentration. "Four hundred and fifty-five point... four five one... four two four... four... one three.""See? You still got it." Newt kisses Hermann's temple and Hermann pulls a face."That is a) a fairly useless thing to know, and b) nowhere near the level of my usual work. And it still took me far too long. Even Fowler could probably work it out faster," Hermann grumps and he's pouting and Newt is trying very hard not to find it adorable."Okay, one - Fowler would probably use a calculator. He's got nothing on that big old brain of yours. Two - You're not losing your mind. You just had a bad day." He kisses Hermann again and pulls back to regard him seriously. "But if you're really worried about it, make an appointment with your doctor so she can make this face at you-" he looks over his glasses at Hermann with a witheringly unimpressed stare, "-and tell you you're being silly. Because you are.""I'm not. I'm ahead of Fowler in publication rank by the skin of my teeth. If I lose that, working with him will be unbearable." Hermann sighs heavily. "I'll have to run away and live in a cave.""You can live out your days in my cave if you want," Newt says with a leer."Crude," Hermann says looking at Newt out of the corner of his eye. "But not unappealing."Newt smirks and nuzzles the underside of Hermann's jaw. "Would a blowjob help you feel better?""Probably. I know for a fact that Fowler isn't getting any blowjobs from anyone. Serves him right for having such a repulsive personality." Hermann tilts his head to the side to let Newt kiss up his throat."I will totally help you have a vindictively awesome orgasm. All in the name of academic rivalry, of course," Newt says and smooths his hand flat over Hermann's stomach, fingers poking into the top of Hermann's trousers, toying with the button. "I suppose I can allow that. But I shan't enjoy it," Hermann says with a sniff."Shan't you now?" Newt responds with a raised eyebrow, hand stilling in the midst of undoing Hermann's pants. "Okay, I no doubt will. Very much." Hermann says, though he's still frowning. "But I can't exactly tell him that this is how I got back at him for being such an unremitting twat.""They say the best revenge is living well," Newt says with a smirk, undoes the zip, and slides his hand in to rub Hermann through his underpants. "You should walk in tomorrow and tell him that, when you got home, your awesome boyfriend dropped to his knees and blew you just 'cause he wanted to.""I don't think that would go down well, even if it were true," Hermann says giving up most of his dramatic indignance in favour of staring at Newt's hand rubbing up and down his steadily hardening cock through his briefs."I'd go down well," Newt says with a wink before stopping and looking up and down Hermann's body. "Except, uh, I'm kinda not that flexible. Handjob okay?""I'm not particularly fussed as long as you keep touching me." "That's the spirit." Newt grins and pulls his hand out of Hermann's trousers, patting him on the thigh in response to the narrowed eyes Hermann aims in his direction and he reaches between the couch cushions, pulling out the emergency fuck-pack. He pulls out the lube and drops it on Hermann's stomach, tossing the rest of the packet to the side and then focussing on pulling Hermann's briefs down. Hermann lifts his hips as Newt tugs everything down to mid-thigh and then he's sitting bare-assed on the couch with Newt's fingers trailing over his skin."Bet nobody wants to touch Fowler's dick as much as I want to touch yours," Newt says with a smirk, kissing under Hermann's chin as his hand slides between Hermann's legs to cup and roll his balls, middle finger pressing firmly into his perineum and making Hermann gasp."Don't- don't talk about F-Fowler," Hermann stutters as he turns his head to the side to rub against Newt's cheek. "Just... touch me." Newt rubs Hermann's perineum harder and smirks as his breath hitches, eyes fluttering closed. Letting go, he trails his fingers up the underside of Hermann's cock, waiting until he reaches the head before wrapping his hand around and slowly pumping. "Lube me. My hands are kind of full," Newt says, squeezing the arm around Hermann's torso and squeezing his dick a little more firmly.Hermann fumbles for the tube, flipping open the cap and holding it ready - unable to stop himself from letting out a small sound of disappointment as Newt lets go to hold his palm flat in front of him. He squeezes a dollop into Newt's palm and tosses the tube onto the table, pushing Newt's hand back down to his crotch."This is gonna be cold," Newt warns as he wraps his hand back around. It is, and Hermann lets out a hiss at the contact but then it's slick and it's warming up and Hermann shudders and presses his hand against Newt's chest, fingers curling into the gaps between buttons.. "Pull your shirt up. Lemme see them abs," Newt says and Hermann groans, hand coming up to cover his face in dismay. "Must you do that, Newton? You know what poor grammar does to my libido.""My deepest apologies," Newt says with a roll of his eyes, hand stilling on Hermann's cock. "Pray tell wouldst thou reveal thine abdominal musculature so that mine eyes might feast?" Hermann lifts his hand and peers out from under it, narrowing his eyes. Newt shrugs."Fine, don't lift up your shirt. You know I'm all for seeing you get messy and flustered but I was thinking of you and being all 'hey, Hermann's had a bad day, maybe make sure he doesn't get come all over his shirt when you jack him off, he'll appreciate that' but if you want to give me shit about grammar and get all spurty over your shirty, who am I to say no?" Hermann's eyes narrow further until he's squinting at Newt in disgust. "'Spurty over your shirty'?""I was on a roll," Newt shrugs. "You should totally recognise and appreciate all this personal growth stuff I'm doing right now. I know you don't like the messiness so much and I'm trying to give you the happy. So, pull it up? Just a little?" Hermann's still looking at Newt with suspicion as he pulls his shirt up but then Newt starts moving his hand again and his features relax, eyes drifting closed with a sigh. Newt watches him with a small smile as he pulls and squeezes Hermann's cock, running the fingers of his spare hand up and down the warm skin of Hermann's side."You're so smart," Newt says nuzzling into Hermann's cheek, pressing kisses to his jaw until Hermann cups his face and guides him into a kiss. Newt lets Hermann lead, reacting to every turn of his head and slide of his lips until he speeds his hand up and Hermann breaks away with a moan. Hermann presses his forehead against Newt's, staring into his eyes intently as he pants and his fingers slide to the side of Newt's head to hold him in place. "You're smart and hot and sexy and you're going to win a Nobel Prize one day. And a Fields Medal." Newt adjusts his grip on Hermann's torso so he can tighten his hand and work Hermann harder. "You're going to be the hottest physicist-slash-mathematician on the planet and I'm going to show you off to everybody. 'That sexy guy over there? He's the smartest man you'll ever meet. He's got a Nobel and a fantastic ass and I love him and his enormous brain.'"The edges of Hermann's mouth are tugging up in a smile and his fingers are clenching on Newt's neck and he's obviously trying very hard to hold Newt's gaze but his eyes are drifting closed. He's breathing heavily and his nose is pressing against Newt's and then suddenly his eyes snap open and he stares into Newt's eyes, breathing out a ragged Newton as he tenses and he comes. Newt holds his gaze until Hermann relaxes, eyes sliding closed as he falls back to the couch; mouth slightly open and eyebrows raised. Newt's always loved watching this; seeing Hermann at his lightest - like the wonders of the universe are explaining themselves to him behind his eyelids and all he can do is stare in awe. He slows his pace, squeezing and pulling until Hermann pushes his hand away and lays there panting through an uncontrollably wide smile. Newt watches for a while, then sits up and grabs the Ziploc bag, pulling out a wet wipe before carefully wiping up the mess on Hermann's stomach before throwing it on the coffee table and turning to watch as Hermann's eyes slit open and he aims a lazy smile at Newt."Mmm, your hands are amazing. I love you," Hermann says dreamily and guides Newt's head down to kiss him softly. He draws back, resting his head on the armrest and smiling up at him as he stretches languorously and runs his hand up and down Newt's arm. "How can I thank you?""Don't worry about it," Newt replies and shrugs. "Are you sure? I might want to wax lyrical about my smart, sexy partner while working him into a lustful frenzy." Hermann raises a teasing eyebrow and runs his fingers down Newt's chest to his stomach and toys with the button of his jeans."No. It's okay. I'm sorry. It's just... There's nothing happening right now; it's like The Dead Zone down there - I've got part of Christopher Walken's brain in my pants." Newt says with an apologetic twist of his lips."I don't know what that means, and I don't think I want to," Hermann says, blinking slowly as he places his hand on Newt's chest and strokes gently. "Your medication?""Yeah, it's not great right now." Newt looks to the side and focuses on his fingers rubbing the material of Hermann's trousers between his fingers. "Are you okay?" Hermann asks, and there's genuine concern there, but Newt shakes his head."Nothing new. A little foggy. A lot floppy. Annoyed at how slow my brain is now. Frustrated. The usual. I'll talk to Dr. Silva about it on Tuesday.""Why didn't you tell me sooner? I wouldn't have-""Let me take care of you?" Newt cuts Hermann off with a raised eyebrow."Been so childish about a petty fight." Hermann counters with a pointed stare."Pfft." Newt rolls his eyes. "You can be as childish as you want. And I can take care of you. I like taking care of you." Newt brushes his lips against Hermann's, drawing him into a slow, comforting kiss before pulling back and smiling down at him softly. "I like it when you come to me for comfort. Doesn't happen very often." "Do you want me to do it... more?" Hermann asks hesitantly, tilting his head slightly to the side with a curious frown."If you need to. You don't have to. I just like it when you do." Newt shrugs and squeezes Hermann around the middle. "It feels... easy, y'know? Even when nothing's cooperating, if I can hug you and make you feel better it feels kind of like I've accomplished something. I know it's not much, but if you feel good, then I feel good. Or, at least not so bad. Is that- That's not what- I mean- I feel better. Not so useless. It's-""Sh, Newton. I understand," Hermann says and kisses him and Newt's kind of grateful for the distraction - grateful that, even when Hermann' doesn't get it, he accepts that it's something Newt's going through. "I certainly feel better now. Do you?""I do a little, yeah." Newt smiles and it's true; he would have felt better just hugging Hermann, instead he got to make Hermann feel good and it lets him feel like there are still some things he can do right."Good. I'm glad," Hermann says and then he's covering a yawn with the back of his hand and looking at Newt apologetically. "Sorry.""S'okay. You've had a rough day. You want to take a nap?""Yes... but I don't want to move." Hermann pouts and Newt feels his heart swell and he has to bite back the aw that wants to slip out."You don't have to. I'm just reading until dinner's ready." Hermann looks at Newt out of the corner of his eye, clearly trying work out how to say yes without seeming needy and Newt gives him an out. "You should totally stay."Hermann hesitates for a moment before letting out a sigh and looking at Newt with faux resignation. "You've twisted my arm," he says and Newt grins."You want help getting back in your pants?""No," Hermann says sleepily, rolling carefully onto his side to rest his head on Newt's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his middle and closing his eyes. "I know you have a strange fondness for me in various states of dishabille. Consider this your reward in lieu of reciprocation.""I don't need a reward. And it's not strange if I like the fact that you're comfortable enough around me to be this... vulnerable," Newt says, hand drifting down to stroke lightly over Hermann's hip, down his thigh to the top of his trousers bunched around his knees and back up to the hem of his shirt. "But I'm totally not saying no. Because ass." He splays his fingers over one cheek and squeezes, feeling Hermann snort against his neck and nuzzle in to get more comfortable. Taking pity on him, he kisses Hermann's forehead and watches his hand move slowly over Hermann's exposed skin. "Dinner'll be ready in about an hour. Want me to wake you then, or sooner?" "Whichever," Hermann murmurs quietly. "Read to me?" "Of course." Newt smiles and reaches for his book, passing it to the arm around Hermann's torso so he can keep touching as he reads. "Here, for whatever reason, is the world." Newt begins, resting his cheek against Hermann's head, mentally filing away the image of him, curled up, blissed out and partially pantsless wrapped around Newt and trusting completely that he will keep him safe. "And here it stays. With me on it."