Newt and Tina Fan Events

Her part in the search the next morning, was quite small indeed: She had taken Newt to Jacob's street and they had managed to find the right building. It could have been easier for them to just apparate to the apartment in question, but they didn't want to cause another commotion nor give the baker the fright of his life again. Luckily for them, Tina knew the neighborhood and could apparate the both of them far enough to not raise any suspicions. They placed themselves across the street.

A little after six o'clock, they saw Jacob's figure cross the building door. He stopped to exchange a few words with two women that were passing by, and shake hands briefly with an old man who was sitting on the doorsteps before going his way. As he walked away, Tina saw how his affable smile disappeared, and his face fell. He looked tired and discouraged. She supposed a canning factory would crush people’s spirits as hard as the wand permit office, and couldn’t help but sympathize with him even more. 

Newt and Tina parted ways not long after, and she hurried to pick up something for breakfast on her way to work. It would be better to be early. 

The morning was relatively quiet, with more paperwork to be completed, informs to be delivered and files to be read. The head of the department had instructed her to find a connection between Grindelwald’s whereabouts in the past year, and his knowledge of an obscurus’ existence in America. The main concern was that he may try to do it again. The man had been gathering quite a lot of support in Europe, and it was urgent to know if there were more people involved in his infiltration of MACUSA, and how exactly did he plan to use the obscurus. 

Nobody seemed remotely suspicious of the possibility of Credence surviving, but Newt’s comment the day before kept running through Tina’s mind. It presented a dilemma for her. 

There was a high chance, if Credence was alive, that notifying the authorities would put the boy’s life in danger. But if she hid it from her superiors there was also a high chance of being kicked out of the department again. 

Tina knew that, despite her recent success, her job was still in thin air. One more reckless action and nobody would care if she had helped capture Grindelwald. 

It would be prudent to keep her mouth shut for the time being. Once she was cleared for field work again, which was bound to happen shortly if MACUSA wanted her to handle the case, it wouldn’t be difficult to do some discreet inquiries on the side. If she found proof of Credence's survival, she would see about talking to someone about it. 

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Tina skipped lunch to get home and feed the creatures. She had insisted upon it, and Newt had prepared her a list with instructions, that she intended to follow dutifully. 

The first one on the list was the erumpent, which was easy enough. The bowltruckles proved to be more of a challenge, not because they were particularly hard to feed, but because Pickett wanted to accompany her around and refused to go back to the tree. After a five-minute argument, Tina accepted her defeat and allowed the bowltruckle into her pocket until she had to go back to work. 

She sighed. As much as Queenie had teased her for the past week, she had never seriously stopped to consider what this closeness with Newt meant.  

It was the first time she was inside the case without Newt, and she could see why he enjoyed spending time there on his own: It was the most peaceful place.

It was going to be hard to get used to her apartment without the case again. It was going to be hard to adapt to Newt’s absence. 

She didn’t try to deny she had become fond of him. It was the extent of that fondness that was beginning to worry her.  

She had never felt so comfortable with a man, or any person for that matter. He had managed to earn her trust, to make her share many of her most personal experiences in record time. The only person she had ever been close to was Queenie, but this was a different thing.

Tina walked past the graphorns without stopping, as Newt had requested her not to go near them on her own, and went for the niffler’s burrow. She pet the little head, distractedly keeping her locket away from the paws, still deep in thought. 

She had brushed Queenie’s comments aside, thinking it was a part of her usual sense of humor. It seemed she was speaking from an honest observation. That, and whatever she could see inside of Newt’s head. For some reason, letting the legilimens tell her a thing or two on the subject had never been more tempting. 

If there was something that Tina had always wanted, was to have things under control. All her life she had struggled to keep her emotions in check and be the rational adult she needed to be to survive. The emotions that were taking hold of her lately, she did not understand them, and that was unnerving. It shouldn’t matter to her what Newt thought. Still, she couldn’t help but care. 

A movement of her wand summoned the bucket of pellets for the mooncalves.

She had to think. She had to break her feelings down into smaller pieces and understand them before anything. 

What was it that she liked about Newt? 

He was intelligent, observant, and cultured. Shy sometimes, though he was becoming less so in her presence. He had a sense of humor. 

Maybe what had left a permanent impression on her was his kindness. He had proven to be a loyal friend in the short time they’d known each other. 

Tina had learned to take care of herself and her sister quite young, used to not having another soul to rely on in times of trouble. Newt had come to her help, even when he didn’t have to, asking for nothing in return. 

He had saved her from death, and helped her get her career back, but it was more than that. He had offered his friendship, shared his space and his work, brought back some sort of equilibrium into her life. After all that, how could he not be special to her?

A young mooncalf slid closer to her, gently urging her to distribute the rest of the food. She rushed to comply.

Well, there was nothing out of normal with all that. People could be special to other people without moving into romantic territory. Admiring someone didn’t necessarily mean being attracted to them on any other level.

She did find him handsome though, but that couldn’t be held against her; he was. Though perhaps not the kind of "handsome" women in the office would be obsessed over. He had nice eyes, and his smile was sweet. The freckles smattered all over his face gave him a boyish appearance; she liked it. His hands were rough and full of callouses, a product of his work, but also extremely gentle. And there was also these particular feeling that took hold of her every time their eyes met or their hands touched. 

Tina bit her lip. That couldn’t be normal. 

What if Queenie was right? 

And if it was the case, what did it mean for her? What did it mean for Newt? What would Newt think of her if he knew? The idea alone made her squirm. She would probably die of shame. 

Queenie’s outbursts hinted that she believed Newt had a similar regard for her. A few times Tina herself had even thought… But it couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. 

Queenie may read minds, but she didn’t understand Newt the way Tina did. He was just too good, and his preference for her was merely the recognition of a kindred spirit. When he observed her, he was most probably moved by a purely scientific curiosity. 

She had to search for evidence. Be alert, mistrust herself, and examine her own feelings and thoughts when he was around. Pay attention to his behavior. That was the best way to come to a conclusion. 

She was an investigator, after all, she surely could handle that.

With that determination, Tina headed back to the shed, wishing she could stay some more. Only when she was climbing up the ladder did she remember Pickett was still in her coat.

“Pick, I have to go now,” she said, reaching for her pocket. “I’ll take you back to the tree, alright?”

The creature held to her fingers, emitting mournful chirps.

“We said until I was done with the feedings, that was the deal. Besides, Newt will be back soon. And I’ll come to see you later.” 

Those words were far from making Pickett come to his senses; the next chirp was even more dramatic.

“Fine, you can stay in the shed if you want, that’s all. I can’t take you.”

There were some more protests, but Tina finally managed to place the grumpy bowltruckle over one of the shelves.

The mysterious girl had some flowers placed over her dark hair. Her factions were proportioned and graceful, and her smile was attractive. 

It was then that her eyes fell on the picture. Of course she had seen it before, but she had never paid much mind to it.

The girl in the picture reminded her of Queenie a little bit. Not because they had some physical similarity; mostly because both of them irradiated confidence and grace. 

For the first time, she wondered about the beautiful stranger. Who was she? What was her picture doing there? What did she mean to Newt?

“What does it matter to me?”

She had a sense of her inferiority. It was not a new; she had grown up with Queenie. She had always been conscious she was not “the beauty” in any place she had ever been. It hadn’t bothered her that much until that moment.

She left for work feeling slightly dejected. 

Looking at the picture, she felt upset she wasn't as pretty as that girl, that her smile wasn't bolder, that her features were so imperfect, and her presence was so irrelevant.

And not for the first time, she wished for some of Queenie's confidence. 

Hi there! This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I wanted to post a little something for the NewtinaMoments event, and I don't have enough time to finish the whole thing. I'm already late for that!

I have my last exam next week, so hopefully, I'll have time to work on my two unfinished stories during the summer.