Nice new outfits, passing notes, and an expanded vocabulary

Chapter 20: Nice new outfits, passing notes, and an expanded vocabulary
==Meta==
Please read curiumKingyo's "Pink" before starting this chapter, as it covers the morning of this day and is important to understanding some of the interactions here..
==Text==
Hermann astonishes himself by going along with the Newt's suggestion to wear some of the new clothes his brother and friends purchased the day before, albeit with a shirt ('eggshell') under the jumper ('forest green') and a firm refusal to remove the new coat. Newt wears the trainers ('red') he'd inexplicably acquired the day before and claims it's for moral support of Hermann, not because he actually likes the shoes.
Hermann doesn't laugh at the protests and feels quite proud of himself for it.
"Dude, you're not buttoning the collar all the way before you go out there," Newt says as Hermann finishes dressing. "The whole idea of the outfit is to make you look and feel more relaxed. Nothing says 'uptight' like a closed top button," Newt declares. Hermann dons a dubious expression. "C'mon, Hermann. Take a chance here. Do it for me. Please?" he pleads, stretching his hands toward the offending closure. Eyes averted, Hermann stands stock still as Newt undoes his collar and pulls the points a little farther apart. When Hermann pries his eyes open, Newt is grinning up at him. He returns a crooked smile.
Packing goes quickly thanks to Hermann's skill at arranging and fitting items as efficiently possible into their suitcases. Even so, the hotel porters look at the pile of luggage with sad resignation. Hermann passes them a generous tip after they haul everything to the car sent to carry the scientists to the airport.
Hermann watches the city scenery slide past for a few minutes before Newt decides to fill the quiet with chatter.
"What did Bastien say to you yesterday? Right before he left," he begins.
"Not content to leave private conversations private are you?" Hermann asks with a resigned tone.
"Nope. That kind of curiosity is what makes me a great scientist," Newt answers.
"That's certainly debatable," Hermann mumbles, before raising his voice and saying, "He told me to take care and keep an eye on you."
"What does he have against me?" Newt whines. "First he interrogates me, then he talks about me with your other brother and sister behind my back, then they all judge me, and then he picks on me all day yesterday, and now he's implying I can't take care of myself."
"He's apparently constructed an accurate picture of you very quickly."
"Shut up," Newt barks. "Did he put a tracker in my shoe or something so he can keep an eye on me? He seems like the type."
"If he had, why would he ask me to mind you?" Hermann asks with a sly look.
"He probably only said it to throw me off and make me look in the wrong place. I'm going over everything with a fine-toothed comb when we get back to Hong Kong."
"Do you even know what a tracking device would look like?"
"That's what research is for. I didn't just download how to build a neural bridge directly into my brain. This isn't The Matrix, dude."
"The jury remains out on that issue, Newton."
Newt chuckles. "Oh yeah. Your physicist buddies still haven't finished that experiment to find out if we're all part of a computer simulation yet, huh?"
At the airport, Tendo goggles at Hermann's undone top button and gives him a thumbs-up. Marshal Hansen double-takes him and rubs his eyes before voicing a greeting.
Mako smiles widely and Raleigh offers a smaller, but still warm smile and a handful of lemon candies. "You like these better than I do, Doctor," he says as he hands over the small bag. Hermann accepts the sweets with a surprised look and quiet thanks.
"We will see you again in a few days. Raleigh and I are making a trip to London," Mako says.
"If you find yourself in need of a guide, my younger brother will return to the city tomorrow afternoon. I can give you his contact information," Hermann volunteers.
"Thank you, Gottlieb-hakase. It is good to have a knowledgeable friend when in a new place," Mako replies and Hermann nods in agreement. He and Mako bow in farewell and Raleigh steps away, following her, after exchanging polite nods.
Newt beams throughout these exchanges and Hermann almost feels the pride radiating from the other man at the reactions Hermann's outfit. His gaze is almost ... admiring.
"Maybe buying you these was a mistake," he says, a little mischievously. "Seems like everyone can see how good looking you are. I don't want to spend a lot of time chasing off the competition."
Hermann rolls his eyes as he says, "Flattery is unbecoming." Newt snorts in reply.
With a shake of his head Newt refuses Hermann's offer a piece of candy. "How do you do the lemon candy thing, anyway?" he asks. "Do they feel different? Can you smell them or something? Detect a different vibration? How?"
Hermann unwraps one, pops it in his mouth, and shrugs. "They're a very specific shade of gray," he answers.
Hermann catches himself watching Newt—and not always from the corner of his eye—on the flight back to Hong Kong. He forces his eyes back to the environmental modeling text on his tablet each time, but staying focused proves a challenge. The note Bastien left in the pocket of his new coat continually floats to the top of his mind.
Step lightly and take care, Manny. Someone thinks you and Newt have tread on their toes. My grapevine whispers several groups are investigating Newt and at least one of those is seeking information on you, too. I'll pass along anything I find. Keep your eyes and ears open. Moore may be only the beginning.
What are you thinking?" Newt enquires as he pops an earbud from his ear, snapping Hermann from his latest mental recitation. "You look like you're thinking."
Hermann rolls his eyes. "Of course I'm thinking. I rarely stop."
"Well, of course, but that's the look you get when you're chewing over something important or sad."
"There's only a week remaining before you must be packed and ready to ship out to New Zealand," Hermann says with a sigh.
"You don't think this is a bad idea, healthwise, do you? The nearest hospital is an hour away by air. If something happens to you, I'm the only thing like a doctor closer. At least until the shoreside town starts rebuilding."
"It is not as though I could visit a hospital where I've lived in the past. Having a medic of any sort I trust nearby at all will be an improvement."
"That's not exactly reassuring, Hermann."
"I'll be very, very careful moving about, Newton, and you will be very, very careful about keeping paths clear and dry."
"Oh. Right. Of course." Newt chews his lip and disappears back into whatever 'music' he was listening to earlier.
Hermann turns back to his text and his worries. He continues to mull them over even after Newt falls asleep on his shoulder.
Darkness covers Hong Kong when they arrive, the huge, dark scars left by Gipsy Danger's battles with Leatherback and Otachi clearly visible from the air, revealed by their lack of lights.
After the long flight, Hermann's happiness at reaching his quarters is limited only by comparison with the four nights he'd spent in a luxury hotel. His home of the last five years seems positively tiny, dirty, and bare after the last few days in Europe. Still, it is home and one of the few places he can free his wings. Stiff from the travel, he accepts Newt's help with changing into pajamas and unfastening his binder. He even presses his wings against the other man's fingers as they caress his feathers.
"Before you get rid of those feathers we collected let's give your wings another once over. Sitting on the plane for so long probably squashed a few of them," Newt says as he digs into his suitcase looking for the brush. He freezes. "Ooo. That reminds me." He thumbs on his tablet and, fingers flying, types something. Hermann shoots him a questioning look from where he rests on the edge of the bed. "Have to update my shopping list. We're going to get some more grooming tools to try on you. I've been meaning to ask ... how did you do this before? Before I started helping?"
Hermann blushes and carefully studies his hands. "I've never really groomed them before. Aside from the occasional soak and shampoo, of course. I never figured out how and never cared to allow another to ... experiment on me. You're different," he says with a shy smile.
Newt's expression hovers at the intersection of surprised, horrified, and flattered, then darkens as Hermann's smile collapses into a sad line. "You're the first person I've met who loves monsters," he says with some bitterness.
"Way to ruin a beautiful and, frankly, romantic moment, Hermann. If this morning wasn't enough of a clue for you, or, you know, the past few weeks have gone straight over your head, you are a human being and I love you. And, for the record, I never loved the Kaiju. I studied them," Newt huffs.
Hermann gapes and his wings twitch nervously.
"What? What did I say? I didn't say anything you haven't heard from me before," Newt says with an exasperated edge in his voice.
"Yes, you did say something new," Hermann replies evenly.
"No, I'm pretty sure everything was a repeat. I've said all of that about a million times." Newt's annoyance broadcasts from every syllable.
"Newton, you said 'I love you'," Hermann says quietly.
"I did?" Newt squeaks and Hermann nods. "Uh ... well," Newt stammers. "Yeah. Well, I mean it. I-I figured it out this morning." He pauses to chew his lower lip for a moment. "This … here … you is where I belong. So, yeah, 'love' is a decent abbreviation for that."
Hermann's brain locks and he stares open-mouthed at Newt.
"Say something, Hermann. Don't just look at me like that. You're freaking me out." Newt sits beside the other man, carefully keeping physical contact at a minimum.
As though I'm going to fly away at the slightest excuse. Perceptive of him.
"You haven't heard that before. Except from family." Newt says softly.
Hermann shakes his head. "Once," he whispers and shifts a little farther away from his companion.
"Dude … you deserve so much better than that," Newt says and scootches close enough to Hermann to bestow a brief hug on him. Hermann flinches, only a tiny bit, and his wings jerk out of Newt's reach, but he doesn't otherwise move. His blank expression remains the same.
"Hokay, Hermann. I think your brain's fried. I'll get your meds while you reboot. Think you can handle that?" Hermann nods shakily.
"Thank you, Newt. I don't deserve this," he says when Newt returns with a glass of water and the proper handful of pills.
"Yes, you do. I just told you that. Is your memory starting to go?" Newt asks. Hermann emits an offended snort and starts to frame a snarky reply. "That's more like it. Now, shut up and go to sleep, dude. We'll check your feathers in the morning." He pushes Hermann, gently, toward his preferred side of the bed.
"One more thing," Newt says as they settle in for the night, "It's about time you started calling me 'Newt'. Eleven years, five months, and 27 days is a long time to wait." When Hermann gapes, he continues, smirking, "You're not the only one who can count, Manny."
"Don't call me that," Hermann growls and pulls his wing away from Newt, who squalls in response.
"Okay, dude, you win. No nicknames for now in exchange for not freezing to death," Newt says. Hermann sniffs in approval and re-extends his wing. Newt snuffles and shifts for a few minutes before Hermann hears his breathing slow to its normal sleeping rhythm.
Hermann, despite his fatigue, remains fully awake. So much of what happened in Geneva bothers him, from the politicians' attitudes toward the Jaeger program, to the American delegate's attacks, to his father's words, to his disarranged suitcase, to Bastien's note. It all swirls confusedly in his mind, repeating itself over and over.
Until what Bastien whispered on parting dances through his thoughts.
"He loves you. Don't forget."
Hermann gazes at the man sleeping beside him and reflects on the note Bastien left in the pocket of his new coat.
I'd hoped to be done fighting, Hermann thinks, but some things are worth fighting for. He wraps his wing more tightly around Newt.
With that, he puts on his glasses, connects his tablet to the internet, and begins his research, careful to keep the screen as dim as possible, mindful the light could disturb Newt's rest.
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