Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 51

       "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have tried to make a cake – you probably don't even like cake anyway. I just thought that...I don't know what I was thinking."

       "No, I didn't mean it that way," Newt said hastily. "I just wasn't expecting anything, that's all."

       He went over and gazed thoughtfully at the cake, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the detail and realized what the scenes were depicting. A soft, wistful smile spread across his face as he spotted Tina on the Thestral, and he laughed when he saw Pickett.

       "It's brilliant," he said, looking thoughtfully at it.

       "I should have just gotten you a present or something like that, but I had no idea what to buy – so I just..." she gestured feebly at the cake.

       "I wasn't even expecting anything. It's great to have this, really," Newt assured.

       Tina cracked an uncertain smile at him, and he returned it. "Well, happy birthday then," she repeated awkwardly.

       Newt leaned over the cake again to observe the scene, and she thought that his eyes lingered on the ones of the Thestral and the shed, and he smiled more when his gaze landed on Tina.

       "Thank you," he murmured appreciatively. 

       "It was no problem," Tina said. This was somewhat of a lie, it certainly wasn't a hassle, but she'd had to get up quite early and had made a rather undignified mess, too.

       "Beats what my mum got me," Newt said, shaking his head.

       "What did your mom get you?" Tina asked curiously.

       Newt looked away for a moment, and blushed, apparently embarrassed. "Nothing," he mumbled quickly. "It's stupid."

       "Tell me," she urged, now even more curious.

       Newt hesitated, then said, "I'd best just show you."

       He left the room, and returned seconds later with a very bedraggled teddy bear dangling from his hands. It looked limp, and its head nodded permanently. It'd been stitched and patched multiple times, and stuffing burst out from a leg. The fur looked old and worn, but the overall teddy bear was still rather adorable.

       "This," Newt said with a note of embarrassment in his voice, and he held his teddy bear up. "Is Mr. Nibbles."

       Tina couldn't help but giggle, and shook her head. "Mr. Nibbles?" she echoed through her laughter. 

       "I was four when I named him," Newt said defensively. "Anyway, my mum sent this by owl today. She said she dug it out of the attic, but knowing her, she probably kept it on a shelf and dusted it everyday."

       "Can I hold him?" she requested.

       Newt handed her the teddy bear, or Mr. Nibbles, as he was called, and Tina carefully took it in her arms. It felt surprisingly soft and fluffy, and its eyes shone with a bright and playful light. The classic smile was on its muzzle, below a triangular brown nose. 

       "He's cute," Tina said, smilingly down at the bear. 

       "If you say so," Newt shrugged, seemingly careless.

       "Oh come on," the brunette insisted, rolling her eyes. "You know he is. You just don't want to admit it because you're an adult."

       "I do not!" he protested indignantly.