Their Life

Apology Accepted

Newt sat on the couch in the Goldsteins' apartment, his notebook lying open in his lap. His boat ticket was tucked safely between the pages, ready for the next day. He was happy to be going home, he hadn't been in England for more than half a year, but something was gnawing at him, as if there was something he hadn't done. 

Of course, Newt knew there was nothing he needed to do. He had caught all his creatures (he had counted them three times to be sure) and the Obscurus had been dealt with, even though MACUSA had killed the Obscurial. The Muggles had all been Obliviated and Frank had been released. He had even managed to give Jacob a case full of Occamy eggshells to help him start his bakery and speak to President Picquery about how Tina had helped him, earning her her job back. There wasn't any reason for Newt to stay in New York, the President wanted him out, but he wanted to stay. For reasons he didn't know, he wasn't ready to leave.

The sound of the bedroom door sliding open pulled Newt's attention away from his thoughts. Tina came out of the room and made her way over to the couch, carefully taking a seat beside him. A moment of awkward silence passed before she spoke.

"So you're leaving tomorrow," she said. Somehow, the thought upset her.

Newt nodded slightly. "I'd have stayed a bit longer but Picquery wants me out."

Tina smiled despite herself as she studied his face. He avoided her gaze, shifting his focus from his lap to the table to a point on the wall behind her before staring at his hands again. She found herself counting the freckles that covered his face. Realizing what she was doing, she blushed slightly and lowered her own gaze to her lap. She began nervously fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist.

"You're always wearing that bracelet," Newt said matter-of-factly. "It doesn't look very comfortable."

Tina shrugged. "I've gotten used to it. I can't take it off."

"You can't?" Newt asked, surprised.

Tina shook her head. "MACUSA put it on my wrist when I was demoted. They used it to track me."

Newt looked up suddenly, meeting Tina's eyes in a rare moment of confidence. "You knew they could track you and you still kept spying on the Second Salemers?"

Tina grinned. "I used to be an Auror, I know how those things work. They track you for the first few weeks but then they get careless. I knew there was always the chance they would catch me but it was unlikely. That's why I was so upset when you didn't Obliviate Jacob. If there was an inquiry, they would know I was involved and would check everywhere I'd been. It wouldn't take them two minutes to find out I'd been at a Second Salemers' meeting. I'd have been kicked out of MACUSA for good." She paused. "It's nearly impossible to find a magical job outside of MACUSA."

They lapsed into a slightly uncomfortable silence. Newt stared at the notebook in his lap, running his finger along the edge of the pages. Tina stared at a corner of the couch, her fingers fidgeting with the cuff of her blouse.

Newt frowned slightly before breaking the silence. "In England, it's difficult to get a magical job outside the Ministry but it's not impossible. There are places to work in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, or any other mostly magical community."

"There are no magical communities in America," Tina replied. "It would be too conspicuous. There are a few magical shops but they almost never hire people and, when they do, they usually hire people straight out of Ilvermorny."

Newt nodded slightly. His gaze traveled up to the door of the bedroom that the Goldstein sisters shared.

"How's Queenie?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure. She acts like everything is okay but I know it's not. She won't admit it but she's really upset about losing Jacob."

"Where is she now?"

"She's taking a walk," Tina said, glancing towards the window. "I hope she doesn't go looking for him. That might cause problems."

They fell silent again, neither one knowing what to say. There was something Tina had wanted to say, but she had no idea how to say it. Everything she had planned to say was lost in a sea of words and thoughts that, when put together, didn't make any sense.

Tina shook her head slightly to clear her mind. She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts then willed herself to speak.

"I -- I wanted to apologize . . . for the way I treated you. I was being really selfish. I was so focused on trying to get my job back that I didn't stop to think how it was affecting you. I didn't care that you had things you needed to do or that you didn't actually release your creatures on purpose."

Newt hadn't reacted as she spoke until the very end. When Tina mentioned his creatures, he blushed slightly and cast a glance at his case. It sat in a corner of the room, tied shut with a length of rope.

"And I'm really sorry for not thinking of your creatures and not caring that they could have been killed," she added.

"It's okay, Tina," he said, offering her a small smile. "I understand why you did what you did. There's no need to explain."

Tina returned his smile, glad that he wasn't upset with her. "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

Newt looked up to meet her eyes. A strand of hair fell across her face. He found himself fighting the urge to tuck it behind her ear. Instead, his smile grew and he murmured, "Apology accepted."

A/N: I've finished another one! I know I said it would be longer but this is where it decided to end itself. Anyway, I'm going to be working on a new chapter of When We Were Young. Hopefully, I'll get that done soon.

I'm posting a new Star Wars story on my other account, LarissaR1138, called Spreading the Light. It takes place right after Return of the Jedi and has nothing to do with the new movies. If you like Star Wars then please go check it out!

Anyway, if you liked the story, please vote and comment. Have a good day.

Bye!