Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 26

       After an agonizingly long moment that felt like an eternity, she spoke. "Is that...is that me?"

       Newt cleared his throat and blinked rapidly. "Erm yes, I saw it in the paper a while back, and I– decided to..." his voice trailed off awkwardly, and he avoided her gaze.

       There was a pause. "I don't mind," Tina said quietly. 

       Newt's head jerked up and his green eyes widened with surprise. "What?"

       "I don't mind," the American witch repeated, still speaking under her breath. Her cheeks were red and blushing, and she was still staring intently at her picture.

       "Thats er– good to hear," Newt mumbled. "But if it does bother you I can take it down, I was being–"

       Tina cut off his rambling. "No, Newt, I really don't mind," she repeated, stronger this time.

       "O-oh. That's good. That's really good then," he stuttered. "Are you coming down?"

       His neck was starting to ache from him craning it to look up at her, and Newt felt desperately awkward from where he was standing on the ladder. Tina nodded, and he descended to the bottom and stepped aside to allow Tina to come down after him. After she had planted both her feet on the bottom, he saw her turn to face him, smiling slightly. 

       "Tell me," Tina began. "Do you really have to feed your beasts, or was it just an excuse to get away from those two?"

       Newt shuffled his feet guiltily. "Ah, well, it's not really feeding time, but the Occamies as you know are always hungry, so I figured that it would be a good chance to feed them and leave the conversation, too," he admitted.

       Tina chuckled. "I would have done the same," she replied. "Those two can drive anyone crazy at times."

       Newt grinned at her, feeling less awkward all of a sudden. "Agreed."

       He went over to the edge of his shed where sacks of feed were lined up side by side and pulled out the one labeled 'Occamy'. Newt straightened up and looked around for his bucket, which was no where in sight. 

        "Here," Tina said as she spotted it under his workbench, and bent down to pick it up. She held out the bucket as he poured the feed into it, the pellets making clinking sounds as the hit the metal bottom. 

       "Thanks," he said. "Would you like to feed them?"

       Tina hesitated for a moment, and he could tell that she was replaying the Mooncalf incident in her head. 

       "It's okay," Newt reassured. "That's the right feed, and I'll be there to supervise you."

      The brunette was still looking unsure, and Newt was just about to give her some more encouragement when she nodded determinedly. "Okay," she said.

       Newt swung open the rickety shed door and they stepped outside. They strolled casually through the enchanted  habitats which housed his creatures, and every so often, a Doxy or an underwater beast with a bubble of water surrounding it would float past them. The environment around them changed from rocky mountains and cliffed hillsides to a forest landscape. The twosome approached a bamboo nest of twittering purple and blue winged Occamies, and Tina knelt down, setting the bucket next to her while Newt watched from behind. 

       "Now you'll want to toss them in quick, because sometimes they can nip you," he advised her.

       "Got it," Tina replied as she threw in a bit of food and quickly withdrew her hand. However, none of the Occamies seemed to want to eat it, and Newt saw a look of fear and worry appear on Tina's features.