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neighborhood-newtina-reblogger · 5 years

Text

Not a moment to spare

WC: 2.5k

Spoiler: They kiss!

The air was abuzz with the chatter of hundreds of witches and wizards. Orders shouted across corridors reverberated in many different tongues and dark-coated people weaved in and out of the crowd to find their assigned stations. Legions of aurors occupied the green tile hallways, the older ones all bearing the same inscrutable looks. Many of the younger ones also donned serious expressions, though their excitement invariably shined through. Some of their faces were also tinged with fear, but all present nurtured a cautious hope.

A bob of black hair broke free from the crowd and hurried away from the noisy throng. The corridor was endless, the repeating pattern of tiles making it seem as though she weren’t moving anywhere at all. Dark eyes scanning the crowd, she hardly saw a familiar face. But she knew where she could find one.

He would come striding down this hallway any minute now, all bravado and inspiring speeches to rally the masses. Then he would disappear.

It was something she admired about Theseus. Perhaps it was something she shared with him. His ability to steel himself, diving near-blind into the abyss of uncertainty with nothing but his research, his instincts, and his hard-earned skill backing him. His ability to endure great personal loss and yet to emerge with even stronger resolve. And most of all, his ability to remain hopeful. Never was he jaded, never did he doubt his cause, and never did he stoop to unkindness. She had to find him.

The first time Tina had come here, nearly six months ago, the Ministry building was overwhelming and seemingly impossible to navigate. Then, too, Theseus had been her guide. She hadn’t focused on cataloguing her surroundings as she usually did, the events of Paris only weeks prior still fresh in her mind. The pain and indignity of being forced to leave still a keenly-felt sting. She shuddered to remember how Newt’s green eyes were ringed with red and the way he had held onto her for a second too long when she stood in his doorway to say her goodbyes.

Now, after two months of liaising in person with the Ministry, she could weave through the chaos of this building with the same finesse that she could weave through the bustling streets of New York. Most of her daily responsibilities included meetings, paperwork, and bureaucracy, but she’d gone into the field enough times to know the floo network like the hilt of her own wand. This really was the only sensible spot to stage this operation, at least according to Tina, Theseus, and anybody else with a single shred of common sense. She had spent many a meeting in the last few weeks where the location of the offensive’s base was the sole topic of discussion. The building was on lockdown. Everyone involved had arrived at 3 o’clock that morning and passed through four security checkpoints; nobody else would be flooing in or out, leaving this entire floor practically unoccupied. They were therefore able to set up departure stations at every third fireplace and section off the adjacent hallways into mess halls, bunk areas, and secure meeting rooms.

Tina, Newt, and Jacob arrived at the Ministry early that morning. No sooner had she arrived than she was whisked away by Theseus. She hadn’t given it a second thought, already intensely focused on how the hell they were going to get this offensive off the ground in the next twenty-four hours with thousands of domestic and international aurors to coordinate. Now that everything seemed to be running fairly smoothly and the first team’s departure was drawing near, it was a waiting game. In the first moments she could spend alone with her head, she had become keenly aware of their place in history. This was a moment that would decide the fate of the wizarding world. There were guaranteed to be casualties. And she hadn’t even thought to throw Newt a reassuring glance that morning when she left. So now she had to find Theseus.

Her feet carried her at a brisk pace to the room from which she knew he and his lead strategist would emerge in just a few short moments. The same room where she would be sat just one hour later, when it would be her turn for a final debriefing before she led her own team out.

Sure enough, right on schedule, the two men appeared. Theseus’s expression was tight and focused, as it always was before he lighted off on a mission. His features softened as he noticed her jogging towards him. He offered her a courageous smile and a wave from across the way and turned his head to say something to the squat bearded man walking beside him. He made no effort to quicken his pace or divert his course to meet her. So she sped up into a near-run until she reached him and whipped back around to walk by his side.

“Tina.”

“Theseus.”

“Are you ready?”

“Are you?”

A quick chuckle was his only answer. This was how most of their exchanges went. A short volley of words that left so much unspoken yet entirely understood. They were compatible, as partners. And after a few life-and-death experiences, they had even come to trust each other.

“Newt, where is he?”

Theseus stopped, and the older gentleman who had dropped behind to make way for Tina nearly crashed into his back. He scrutinized her for a moment, and a sorrowful look passed across his face. It was a flicker, gone in an instant, but Tina still saw it. She saw how he quickly replaced it with a charming smile. Steeling himself, as always.

“He’ll be across the way. He departs with the sixth group. Right now he’s meant to be securing that case of his and leaving instructions with Ministry officials,” he paused to give another chuckle, and his smile felt more genuine, “both for their care and for their recapture.”

Tina gave him a quick nod and peeled off in the other direction and Theseus resumed his march towards the excited crowd of aurors. After taking a few steps, she paused and called out again to him. He turned around expectantly, his gait never faltering as he continued to walk backwards.

“See you out there,” was all she offered, losing the nerve to say what she really felt. They didn’t need to think about good luck and goodbyes. There was only the present, reality, and a plan. Then it was he who gave her a nod and turned away.

Once again tile after tile was slipping away under her feet. Many things were slipping away.

This wouldn’t be one of them.

Her pace quickened with every minute that passed until she was again jogging down the hallways and around corners. Finally Newt’s blue coat, which suited him so much more than the grey he’d worn in Paris, entered her field of view. Thank Merlin for Theseus.

“Newt!” She called out. He hadn’t heard. She stepped up her pace again. A little closer and she tried once more to catch his attention. This time, he turned from where he was hunched over on the ground, and upon realizing that Tina was practically running towards him, he stood and took a few steps in her direction.

“Tina? Has something happened?”

She nearly skidded to a stop in front of him and took a moment to catch her breath. He regarded her with concern as he waited for her to speak. Concern morphed into shock when she locked eyes with him and said:

“Newt, you have to kiss me.”

He blinked at her, mouth slightly ajar, not quite knowing what to say.

“Newt, we don’t have time for this. If you love me, then kiss me.” The words spilled out of her more quickly than she wanted them to, but as long as they did the trick, she didn’t much care how she came across.

His mouth opened and closed a few more times and he shifted his weight between his feet. There was panic growing in his eyes.

Tina let her head fall backwards for a moment in exasperation. This poor, awkward man. She knew she was putting him on the spot, but with the outbreak of war on the horizon in the next few hours, the time had come whether he was ready for it or not. Whether he wanted it or not. With news of the Ministry’s decision to move on Grindelwald and her hectic days of strategizing and training and coffee and paperwork and arguing with idiot bureaucrats, the two had hardly had time to exchange two words in the hallway over the last few weeks. The scarce moments that they were able to steal had been her saving grace.

And now in less than an hour she would be leaving again, this time to Austria with a team of aurors in tow and straight into the face of danger.

With renewed resolve and a forced calmness, she straightened her back, took a step forward, and held his gaze in what she hoped was a commanding stare.

“Mercy Lewis, Newt! We’re about to start a war, and I came to tell you that I love you, so please, please if you love me just give me this one thing and kiss me before I go!” She said, her steely expression fading with each passing word into something that could only be called desperation. On the final syllable she reached out and grabbed his lapels, holding him barely at arm’s length. She waited for him, watched as her words sunk in, and her breath hitched when he drew his gaze up from where her knuckles were nearly turning white to meet her own eyes. There was desperation in them, too. And to Tina’s delight, in one second the desperation hardened into determination.

“Tina, I—“ He struggled to find the words, and the beginnings of a tear glittered in his right eye. She gave him a sympathetic look. His resolve returned.

“Right,” was all that he said as he took a step forward and pulled her the rest of the way into him, one arm ensnaring her waist and the other crossing her back almost to her opposing shoulder. When he moved, Tina’s emotions bubbled to the surface. He’s actually going to do it! She was beaming as he took one last hungry glance at her eyes, then trained his stare on her smiling lips.

He held her so close he hardly had to move to connect their lips. Tina sighed into the contact and wantonly raised her arms to rest on his shoulders. It only took a moment before Newt deepened the kiss. He tightened his grip around her waist and leaned forward, making her bend backwards slightly to adjust their balance.

Something between a growl and a whimper escaped him, causing Tina to almost laugh into their kiss. She let one of her hands fall to his shoulder as the other moved upwards to catch in the back of his hair. Their lips moved in sync and they’d hardly parted for air. It was her turn, and she pushed her way upright and then some, almost putting Newt in the same compromising position she had just been in. Then, Tina felt Newt bend at the knees and tighten his grip on her again, if such a thing was possible, and in one deft motion he straightened and leant even further back so that her feet lost contact with the ground. She broke their kiss for a second while she laughed in delight. Newt gave her a breathtaking smile in return, and more than hunger in his eyes there was happiness. And it melted her. She dipped her head forward and caught him in a much calmer, slower kiss, though it was no less scorching. He returned it with a sigh and gently lowered her to the ground.

Newt took a full step back when he broke them apart, and put his hand in his pocket as he ran his eyes over Tina. Merlin’s Beard, what had come over him? Her hair looked mussed and her cheeks flushed and her lips indeed well-kissed. And they were in public! Oh, yes. Of course. She’d said the word love. That word that had been clattering around in his head for well more than a year. Breaking his concentration when he was trying to write, or when he was sketching in the field, or when he was preparing dinner. But especially when he would read her letters during the excruciating months of her absence. But even more so whenever he got the chance to look at her, a blessedly more frequent occurrence since she her arrival in England two months ago. But most of all when she looked at him with her big, beautiful eyes. Exactly as she was doing now. He cleared his throat.

“Yes, well, I’m glad there was time at least for that,” he teased. He resisted the urge to break their eye contact; the feeling her fiery eyes communicated was almost too much for him to bear.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Thank you, Newt.” Her eyes softened and so did her smile. The heat melted and so did Newt. He moved closer and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“No need to thank me, love. I’m afraid that my motivations were at least half selfish. Plus, I’m afraid it’ll be fairly awkward if you thank me every time we kiss.” She bit the corner of her bottom lip in embarrassment, his favorite habit of hers, and he laughed. “And I promise that from now on I will kiss you every chance I get, if you’ll allow it. No wasting time.”

There was that smile again, and her surprisingly delicate hands returned to tracing his lapels. He shivered as the gesture moved light pressure up and down his chest.

“Merlin’s beard, Tina. I bloody love you,”

“Do you bloody love me?” She laughed at the Briticism, drawing out of him that slightly mischievous look he always donned for their banter.

“I absolutely bloody do. And I bloody have for a bloody long time,”

She laughed in earnest now, and with both of her hands drew his face into her for a quick, chaste kiss. The sparkle in her dark eyes nearly took his breath away.

“Tina, when this is over—“ She raised a finger to his lips. An understanding passed between them. This was enough, for now. He gave her a nod and she bustled away, en route to the gaggle of dark-coated aurors. He watched her go for a moment, and she never looked back. His heart fluttered as he reflected on what they’d just done. And said. And he turned back to Jacob, who was still holding the niffler and was wearing the cheesiest grin Newt had ever laid eyes on. He winced and dared to look at the four young ministry employees. All of them seemed incredibly interested in their notepads and quills.

#Newtina #newtina fanfiction #fic #canon compliant #mine #this is the first fic im ever posting I just wrote it this morning and edited it tonight and then re-edited it bc it deleted the main text #when I posted It for the first time #and I couldn't remember the title I originally slapped on it so heres a new one ol #*LOL #newt/tina #newt x porpentina #Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander #post cog #all fluff or idk maybe its a little angsty too

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