Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 19

       Newt leaned against the railing of the boat as the Statue of Liberty slowly came into view, shrouded in a hazy fog. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, and made his peacock blue overcoat billow out behind him. His battered leather case sat at his feet, and the latch flicked open. Bending down swiftly to close it, he lifted the case up and murmured chidingly to it, "Settle down now, please. It won't be long."

       A foghorn blared through the cold, crisp air, and the boat cruised slowly towards the docks, where a mass of people could be seen lingering about. Newt, heart beating wildly, scanned the crowd from his place on the boat, searching for the familiar turned up collar or a dark, gum-drop shaped hat. 

       The boat came to a rest at the edge of the docks, and the gangway was lowered. People jostled around Newt, all hurrying to be the first off the boat. Case in hand, Newt joined the back of the crowd, still scanning his surroundings for traces of Tina. 

       As he stepped of the boat, a blast of cold wind greeted him, causing his case to sway, which resulted in a round of indignant chattering from it. Newt, who was all to used to his beasts, ignored this as he cut his way through the crowd. The only thing on his mind right now was Tina.

       Suddenly, Newt caught a flash of a familiar storm-gray coat whipping into view. He looked up, and found himself staring into a pale face, framed by dark hair. Tina caught sight of him at the same time. He watched as an infectious smile bloomed across her features, and his heart sped up uncontrollably.

       "Newt!" Tina called, her voice ringing through the air. 

       She was running at him, and Newt saw that she was not alone. Queenie and Jacob were hurrying after her, identical grins on their faces, too. Tina was coming at him all too fast now. He couldn't register anything, and the thoughts whirling inside his head seemed to add to his confusion even more. Should I go for a handshake? Or a–

       A brute force slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him. Newt found himself, once again, to be wrapped in Tina's embrace. Startled, he froze for a moment before returning it. He inhaled deeply. She smelled of fresh paper and lavender. The only thing he was conscious about right now was the feeling of Tina in his arms. She was surprisingly  warm despite the bitterly cold weather, and as they stood there, arms wrapped tightly around each other, Newt had a fleeting thought that he could have stayed like that forever. 

       It couldn't have only been a week or so, it had felt so like so much longer. Merlin, he had missed her so much,  he realized as he brought her closer. A smile played on his face, and he could tell that Tina's lips were curving upwards, too. 

       Finally, she pulled away. Realization dawned on her face, and she looked mortified as she comprehended what she had just done. "Newt– I'm sorry, I didn't mean to– I just saw you and I guess I–" she broke off, and she flushed red.

       "It's alright," Newt told her, and he truly meant it. "It wasn't– I mean– that is to say, I quite enjoyed that," he mumbled the last part, his voice trailing off. 

       He half-hoped that Tina hadn't heard what he said, but one look at her expression, which was rapidly switching from surprised to happy, told him that she had. Tina made a little noise that sounded like a cross between a muffled laugh and a muted sound of joy, and Newt found himself doing the same thing in return, perhaps laughing a bit more than he should have. But he couldn't help it. After all, he was here again, in New York, with the love of his life, Tina. 

       Newt became aware that Queenie and Jacob were standing behind Tina, and they'd watched the whole exchange with amused expressions. Queenie was now trying to hide her giggles by pretending to cough into her scarf.