Safe in Your Arms

Chapter 13

"Shh, it's okay," Tina murmured.

Newt motioned for Bunty to reach forward. She did slowly and the Zouwu pulled away. Newt and Tina shushed it, gently running their hands through its mane. It moved forward hesitantly, slowly pushing its head into Bunty's hand.

When the Zouwu was finally comfortable with Bunty, they left the enclosure and she went back to her work. Newt started towards his office but he felt Tina's hand on his arm. He turned waited for her to speak. She seemed a little unsure of what to say.

"I -- uh -- Walk me back up to the living room," she said slowly.

Newt hesitated. "Alright," he said. They started up the stairs. He noticed that they were walking very slowly. Tina seemed to be dragging her feet.

"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly.

Tina looked up, a mildly surprised expression on her face. "No, why do you ask?"

"You're walking very slowly."

"Oh, no. Everything's fine," Tina said, smiling at him. "I just -- I don't see you anymore and I know that as soon as we get up to the living room you'll vanish again."

"I'm giving you time alone with your boyfriend," Newt said softly. "Isn't that what you want?"

Tina shrugged. "I don't need to be with him all the time."

They had stopped walking and were standing on a step in the narrow stairway.

"I thought you'd be tired of being around me by now. I'm not very good company," Newt said, avoiding her gaze.

"I could never get tired of being around you." 

Newt felt himself blush. He glanced at Tina. The staircase was very dimly lit so it was hard to tell if she was blushing too but he suspected she was.

"If anything, being around Achilles is tiring. He's a lot to handle. I start feeling exhausted after a few hours around hi--" 

Tina broke off and Newt was afraid that she was going to run away like the last time they had spoken about Tolliver. However, she stayed put. There was a moment of silence.

"I shouldn't be talking about Achilles like that."

Newt shook his head. "It's fine. I'm not surprised you find him tiring." He was speaking without thinking. "Jacob said that Queenie said that he's a taker and you're a giver and--" He broke off as well, suddenly realizing what he was saying.

"I know what Queenie says," Tina murmured. There was a pause. "What does she say you are?"

"A -- a giver." 

They slipped into an awkward silence. Eventually, Tina broke it.

"I wanted to talk to you . . ." she said slowly. ". . . about Queenie."

"Yes," Newt prompted.

"I -- Do you think she's alright?" she asked.

"I'm sure she's fine," Newt assured. "We'll be able to rescue her eventually."

"But when? How long am I expect to wait? This is my sister we're talking about, not just some random person who we need. And what about Credence?" Tina said. "I mean, we're just sitting here, wasting time that could be used to search for them. Why can't we just go? Why aren't we doing something?"

"I know how you feel, Tina," Newt said quietly. "I know this must be frustrating for you but we can only be patient. Dumbledore knows what he's doing."

"He's not doing anything!"

"Shhh . . ." he soothed. "I know it seems that way but he is working." He paused. "You need to trust him. He believes that if we tried to move against Grindelwald now he would kill us all, and Queenie and Credence would probably die too."