Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 46

       Newt Apparated with a faint pop onto the end of a street, and he saw Tina spin into view beside him, too. They set off towards the white house at the end of the block; his parents' house. Tina had suggested that they give Queenie and Jacob a visit, since it would be less dangerous, and they were all feeling slightly lonely without their friends.

       Newt smiled to himself and laughed softly, thinking that he was nowhere as solitary as he would have been before, since Tina was with him. A warm, glowing feeling fluttered in his stomach, making him lighten up.

       Tina glanced at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly. "What are you so happy about?" she asked.

       "You," he blurted out without thinking.

       Then he immediately blushed, his face flushing with color. He swallowed nervously, and mentally searched for a way to amend his comment. Tina was looking surprised, and her cheeks were tinted a faint red, too.

       "I mean – erm, that is – you um, it's nice having you here, that's all," Newt stammered profusely, and avoiding eye contact at all costs. 

       Tina blushed, and bit her lip, also looking at the ground. "It's nice to be here," she said quietly.

       There was a pause, in which both of them stood awkwardly facing each other, and they seemed to be intensely interested in the gray sidewalk. Newt shifted uncomfortably, but for once, he didn't regret what he had said, which was strange and different. Though it wasn't a bad type of different.

       "Um – shall we get going, then?" he asked, finally removing his gaze from the ground. He still couldn't pluck up the nerve to actually look directly at Tina, so he hovered his green gaze on the area next to her ear instead.

       "Oh, yes, of course," Tina answered hastily, seemingly flustered.

       The pair walked down the sidewalk quietly, their footsteps barely sounding on the concrete. They were walking slightly closer together than usual, and Newt was unconscious of it until his hand accidentally brushed against hers.

       He immediately jerked his wrist back, but then on impulse, he reached out deliberately and hooked their fingers together. Newt was shocked by his own confidence, and Tina looked slightly surprised too, but a pleased smile darted across her face.

       "Where did you get this newfound boldness?" she teased.

       Their earlier awkwardness had evaporated into the sunny winter air around them, and the mood between them was light and comfortable. Newt felt at ease, and didn't hesitate with his reply.

       "To be honest, and I know this might sound quite cheesy, but I think it's you. It – it, erm, feels nice to have someone who really believes in me," he admitted, lifting his shoulders in a half-shrug.

       Tina smiled radiantly at him, her whole face lighting up. "I guess that we truly can see into each other," she said. "I like that."

       The earlier butterflies that had been flittering about in Newt's stomach tightened into a knot of swarming bats. "I like that, too," he replied, somewhat feebly.

       They'd reached his parents' house by now, and began walking down the winding, cobbled pathway. They stepped over the crack where Florence had experienced a first hand catastrophe, and Newt snuck a glance at Tina.

       She was grinning, her dark brown eyes sparkling with amusement, and he could tell she remembered his mother's eccentric introduction. They shared a chuckle, both shaking their head at the ridiculousness of the memory.