Newt kissed Tina, pouring everything he had into the kiss. His mind was reeling. This was the woman he loved . . . the woman who loved him. Her one hand was on the back of his head, gently tugging on his hair. The other was in the middle of his back, clutching the fabric of his shirt. His own hands were both on her back, pulling her closer and closer. Their lips fit together perfectly. They were moving in perfect sync.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash and the sound of a metal bucket hitting the concrete floor. Newt and Tina broke apart and looked up. Bunty was standing at the entrance to a nearby enclosure. Before Newt could react, she had sprinted to the nearest staircase and bolted up it.
Newt gave Tina an apologetic look as he detangled himself from her arms. He dashed after his assistant but she had had a decent head start and was nowhere to be found. He sighed and made his way back to the basement. Tina met him in the narrow hallway at the top of the stairs.
"Why did she run off like that?" he asked, frowning slightly.
"She saw us kissing," Tina replied.
Newt looked at her curiously. "I -- So?"
Tina looked at him a slightly amused expression on her face. "You really haven't noticed?"
"Noticed what?" he asked, confused.
"Bunty has a crush on you," Tina said. "A really big crush on you."
"What?" Newt exclaimed. "She does? She told you this?"
She shook her head. "No, but it's obvious." She laughed softly and ran a hand through Newt's hair. "Only you wouldn't notice."
Newt frowned again. He looked through the door in the direction of the living room. "Now she's upset with me and I didn't even realize."
"It will be fine," Tina said, taking his hands in hers.
"Do you think she'll come back?"
"Of course, she'll come back, Newt," Tina assured. "And when she does, we'll be able to explain everything."
"But what if she's mad at us?"
Tina pulled Newt's hands so they were behind her, circling her in a hug. She let go and wrapped her own arms around his shoulders. "I don't think she will be. I know she has a crush on you but I also suspect that, deep down, she knew you didn't notice her."
"Can you talk to her for me?"
Tina laughed. "Yes, but you will have to talk to her yourself as well."
Newt smiled and pressed another kiss to her lips. "As long as you do it first."
Tina and Newt made their way back into the basement. She helped him finish feeding his creatures. Then they curled up next to each other on a step and spent the rest of the morning talking. Every few minutes, they would punctuate a sentence with a brief kiss.
Eventually, they knew they had to go back up to prepare lunch. They got to their feet and made their way back up the stairs, hand in hand. After lunch, they retreated back into the basement and spent the rest of the afternoon there. They emerged again for supper and, after the meal, Tina decided she wanted to go to bed. She had only had a few hours of sleep the night before and was exhausted.
Newt escorted her to her room. Before she entered it, she leaned forward and gave him a goodnight kiss.
"I love you," she murmured.
He smiled against her lips. "I love you too."
Tina slipped into her room. Newt entered his own room and flopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. She loves me, he thought, a look of pure wonder and amazement on his face. She really loves me.
Jacob came in a few minutes later. He gave his friend a curious look.
"We didn't see too much of you and Tina today," he said, taking a seat on his bed.
Newt's grin widened.
Jacob chuckled. "Where were you?"
"In the basement."
"Where's Tolliver?"
"I don't know," Newt said. "But if he shows up he's gonna pay for what he did."
"What did he do?" Jacob asked suddenly.
"He hurt Tina. When she came home, her cheek was bruised and her jaw was broken."
"She looked fine this morning."
Newt looked at Jacob, he had a confused look on his face.
"Magic, Jacob. Magic," he said.
"Right," he said. "So, what's happening between the two of you?"
Newt shrugged. "I don't know yet but whatever it is is wonderful."
"Have you told her how you feel?" Jacob asked.
"Yes."
"And what did she say?"
"I told her how I felt after she told me how she felt," Newt said.
Jacob grinned. "Well, congratulations buddy."
"Thank you."
Newt woke up late the next morning. He was awoken by a tap on the door.
"Come in," he called sleepily, pushing himself upright and swinging his feet off the bed.
The door opened and Tina entered the room.
"Good morning, sleepy head," she grinned.
Newt got to his feet.
"Morning," he responded. He took her in his arms and kissed her gently.
"What happened to you?" she asked when they broke apart. "You're usually up early."
Newt shrugged. "I slept in."
"Come on," she said. "Jacob's prepared breakfast."
"That's good," he replied. "Just let me change first."
Tina nodded and he kissed her again. She left the room and he changed quickly. Then he joined her in the hallway and they made their way down to breakfast.
"Good morning, Newt," Nagini said.
"Good morning, Nagini."
After breakfast, Tina and Newt offered to clean up. They pulled out their wands and cast spells to clear up. When they were done, they went down into the basement and fed Newt's creatures. After that, they returned to the living room. Jacob was sitting on the couch. Nagini was sitting on the floor, practicing Transfiguration.
Tina motioned for her to get to her feet and they began working on different spells. Newt got out a book and began flipping through it. Eventually, he joined Tina in teaching Nagini new spells.
They worked all morning. Nagini was learning a lot. Newt was teaching her different practical spells and household spells. He wasn't the best at them but he was okay. Tina was teaching her different defensive and offensive spells. She was the better of the two at dueling so it was only natural that she should teach it.
As they worked, Newt heard the front door opened. He turned, expecting to see Bunty, but it wasn't her.
It was Tolliver.
He strode confidently into the room. Newt glanced at Tina. There was a look of terror in her eyes that he had never seen before. He took a step in front of her, moving to defend her.
"Tina, baby," Tolliver started. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just lost my temper. You were being--"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because something inside Newt snapped. He tossed his wand into a corner and punched Tolliver directly in the face. The man staggered backward, blood pouring from his nose. Newt heard Tina gasp behind him.
"What, on earth, was that for?" Tolliver demanded.
Newt approached him threateningly. "I warned you. I told you what would happen if you hurt Tina."
"I didn't mean it."
"Maybe not, but you've proven yourself to be a violent person and I'm not going to risk Tina ever getting hurt again." Newt grabbed Tolliver by the front of his coat. "Now you listen here. You've got ten minutes to get you things and get out. Go back to New York and stay there because if I ever see you near my house again you'll be under arrest before you know it."
Tolliver snorted, getting blood all over Newt's shirt. He was trying to look brave but Newt could see he was terrified.
"You can't arrest me," he sneered.
Newt laughed. "I can't do it personally but my brother is an Auror. Now: ten minutes. Go."
He released Tolliver and the man sprinted up the stairs. He felt Tina's hands on his back, clutching his shirt. He turned to look at her. She looked scared.
"Tina, I'm so sorry. I--"
"He punched you, didn't he?"
"What?"
"Tolliver punched you," she repeated. "That's why you came home with blood on your clothes."
Newt looked down.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I couldn't. I -- I didn't want to hurt you." He looked up and gently touched her cheek. "I see how well that worked," he added dryly. He noticed his hand was covered in blood. Tina must have seen it as well because she took his hand and pointed her wand at it. The blood vanished. She also vanished the blood off his shirt.
"Thank you," Tina murmured. "Thank you for defending me."
"I'll always be there for you."
Tina smiled up at him then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. He smiled into the kiss. They broke apart, remembering they weren't alone in the room. They looked around, embarrassed. Jacob and Nagini both grinned at them.
A few minutes later, Tolliver came back down the stairs, his suitcase in his hand. He gave both Newt and Tina a dirty look as he passed but he left without saying anything.
Tina turned back to Newt.
"Newt, what are we?" she asked quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"What are we? We can't just be friends," she pointed out. "Friends don't kiss each other the way we do."
"I don't know what we are," Newt admitted. He studied her face. "Could-- Could we go out to dinner tomorrow? You know, together -- Just the two of us."
"Of course," she said. Kissing him again.
A/N: Yay! Another chapter. You're welcome. I hope you enjoyed. Please vote and comment.
It's nearly 11:30 and I haven't had breakfast. I should get lunch soon.
Have a good day!
Bye!