Safe in Your Arms

Chapter 32

"And he always acted like this. He only started acting more outgoing when the three of you joined us."

Tina frowned slightly, staring thoughtfully at the door Newt had vanished through.

"Come on, Tina," Bunty said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Let's get this done."

They continued working, stopping only for a short lunch. When they were finally finished, they made their way back up to where Nagini was busy practicing Transfiguration. Jacob was in the kitchen, baking and filling the whole house with wonderful smells. Tina guessed that Newt was still down in the basement. 

Jacob joined them a few minutes later. He greeted them cheerfully as he took a seat. Bunty decided that it would be best if she went home while it wasn't snowing too heavily. Newt entered the room just as she made her way over to the door.

"You're off?" he asked her. 

She nodded as she pulled on her coat. "Yes. I'll see you in a couple of days. I hope you have a Happy Christmas."

"You too," Newt replied. Tina studied him as he watched his assistant leave the house. He turned and noticed her, immediately becoming the awkward person he had been the year before.

Before either of them could say anything, Nagini had jumped to her feet and rushed to the window. 

"It's stopped snowing! Can we go outside?" she exclaimed.

Tina laughed. "Well, Newt? Can we?"

Newt glanced up, meeting her gaze for a split second. He offered her a smile. "I don't see why not."

"Yes!" Nagini dashed to the door and began pulling on her coat. The other three followed suit. They left the house and Nagini dashed to the middle of the street. She threw her arms wide and spun in a circle, looking at the street around her.

Tina admired the sight. The snow had blanketed the street and the buildings on it. Everything was covered in a couple inches of the crisp, powdery snow. She looked down the street. A few children had come out of the houses along the row and had begun a snowball fight. 

A smile spread across her face, it had been years since she had had a snowball fight. The last time had been her last year at Ilvermorny. Queenie had dragged her away from her textbooks, forcing her to take her mind off her studies for one afternoon and they had had a marvelous snowball fight. It had started out when Queenie had thrown a snowball, hitting Tina right in the back. They had spent the next half hour throwing snowballs at each other. Then they had pulled out their wands and started using magic to dump huge piles of snow on each other. When the sun finally started to go down, they had made their way back inside to dry off and warm up. Somehow, Queenie had managed to get them cocoa and cookies and they had spent the rest of the evening sitting curled up by the fire, talking and laughing.

Tina was pulled out of her thoughts by a sudden impact in her shoulder, followed by several ice cold drops on her face. She spun around. Nagini stood a few feet away, laughing. She was already holding another handful of snow and forming it into a ball. Tina grinned and leaned down to grab her own handful of snow, expertly packing it into a ball. She jumped out of the way of Nagini next attack and threw her own snowball, catching the girl in the chest.

Nagini's next snowball was aimed at Jacob. Then Jacob threw one at Newt and the fight was properly on. They spent the next hour throwing snow at each other. 

Tina began packing a new handful of snow into a ball. She glanced at her next target: Newt. He stood with his back to her, staring at the half-formed ball of snow in his hands. He seemed to have drifted off. Deciding to wake him up, she threw her snowball at him. The well-aimed projectile hit him in the back of the head. He started and turned. Offering Tina a smile, he casually tossed his snowball in her direction. She jumped back, trying to avoid it, but it hit her right in the stomach. She grinned and darted towards Newt, tackling him to the ground. They fell together, landing in a snowbank.

The two of them began struggling to get to their feet but the quickly realized it was impossible. Nagini and Jacob had stopped throwing snowballs to laugh at the struggling couple. Tina tried to scowl as she motioned for them to help but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. Nagini hurried over and hauled her out of the snow. Jacob did the same to Newt.

They realized it was starting to get dark so they made their way back inside. When they had shut the door. Newt and Tina pulled out their wands, casting spells to dry everyone off. 

"That was fun," Nagini observed through chattering teeth.

"Yes, it was," Tina agreed. "Now why don't we go warm up by the fire."

The girl nodded and they quickly made their way to the living room. Tina got out a couple of blankets and handed one to Nagini. 

"Jacob and I are going to go make something to drink," Newt declared. He motioned for the other man to follow him and they disappeared into the kitchen. They reappeared a few minutes later, carrying a tray with four steaming mugs on it and a plate of Jacob's cookies.

The four of them sat by the fire, drinking their cocoa and eating the cookies. Newt had pulled out a book and begun reading it out loud. His soft, gentle voice filled the room and the other three sat in silence. 

When he had finished the story, Nagini and Jacob decided to go up to their rooms. Tina cleaned up the mugs and plate. When she returned to the living room, Newt was sitting in an armchair, a book open in his hands. She made her way over to him. He looked up and she took a seat on his lap. His arms slipped around her waist as she wrapped hers around his shoulders.

"Hello, Newt," Tina murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Hello," he said.

"You've been acting strange," she said.

"I have?" Newt asked. He seemed bewildered.

"Mhmm," she replied. "At least to me. And you seem to be ignoring me."

"Oh," Newt glanced down at the arm of the chair. "I didn't realize-- I wasn't trying to."

"I know you weren't," Tina replied softly.

Newt's gaze flickered up to meet hers. Before he could look away, she pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back. Tina was afraid he was going to pull away but instead, his arms shifted, one hand remaining flat on the small of her back, the other slipping up to her tangle in her hair, deepening the kiss. They were so close, closer than they had been in days.

But not as close as we've been before, Tina thought wistfully as Newt pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open and she found Newt staring at her, actually meeting her gaze.

"I love you, Tina," he murmured.

Tina smiled and pressed another kiss to his lips.

"I love you too, Newt."

A/N: This took longer than I expected it to take but it's also longer than I expected it to be. I hope you enjoyed. Please vote and comment.

I also realized I need a gift for Tina to give Newt. Any ideas?

Anyway, have a good day!

Bye!