A/N: Yo, LilyTheNinjaGirl again. I wrote this oneshot in two hours, finishing at 12am. I also had to take the SAT the next day. Word of advice, don't stay up until 12am writing a oneshot when you have the SAT the next day….. But I think I did pretty well on it so that's okay. I clumsily proofread and edited this a few minutes ago. Generally I ask one of my good friends to read through and spot mistakes but I was like "Eh." Idk how I feel about this oneshot…..
Anyway, I feel like we have a big gap between Jacob's obliviation and Newt's departure from New York, and I kinda wanted to fill it. Also, seeing as Tina is an Auror, I feel like she is the kind of person who notices little details. I also feel like she has a natural curiosity and she can't stand when she doesn't understand things (like a difficult case, or perhaps a certain Magizoologist). And while people portray Tina as shy and maybe a little awkward, I feel like she's the kind of person who would question the things that she didn't understand and have no problem going out and getting answers.
That being said, I also love picturing Newt as our hurt little cinnamon roll who needs hugs and hot cocoa and kind words. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a sob story and pretty face, and HE'S JUST SO SWEET!.
I hope you enjoy!
Tina didn't know much about Newt's past. She didn't know what his family was like. She didn't know what his school years were like. She didn't know much about Leta Lestrange, whose picture Newt carried in his case. She honestly didn't know much about Newt other than his penchant for magical creatures. She didn't know what his favorite season was, she didn't know what his favorite book was, and she didn't know what his favorite food was. All things she thought friends should know about each other.
She didn't even know if he trusted her completely.
But she wanted to know. She wanted to know him so badly. Because maybe if she knew more about him and his past, she could help him. Because the one thing that she did know was that Newt was hurting.
It was easy to tell. There are a lot of people in the world that are shy and awkward. They don't have a knack for public speaking, they don't like being in the center of attention, and they can't really find the right words to say when having a conversation. But Newt... He was clearly more than just shy.
He hid from the people around him. Not like physically hiding his entire self in or behind something. But he hid his true personality. He used his bangs as a shield so that he wouldn't have to look people in the eye. When he did make eye contact he dropped it within seconds. He hunched his shoulders to make himself look smaller and less noticeable. He talked so quietly that sometimes she had to ask him to repeat things.
And that was when he actually talked. He didn't speak unless he had something important to say, and even then he looked hesitant.
At first she thought that's just who Newt was as a person. Until she saw him inside of his case, away from the prying eyes of humans and all alone with his creatures. Even when she, Queenie, and/or Jacob were there he was more open and expressive in his case. He talked more, and he talked with confidence. He had no problem moving around, standing tall and boldly facing creatures that could rip him to shreds. He performed mating dances and made bellowing noises. No simply shy person would do that with other people nearby. There had to be something deeper to it.
Her suspicions were confirmed a few days before he left for England. She had come down in his case to tell him that breakfast was ready. She had caught sight of him, sitting on the lush grass and playing with a few of his Occamies. She paused, knowing that he didn't know she was there yet, and allowed herself to observe him in what she had started to consider "his natural habitat".
He was talking loudly and cheerfully, explaining some story to a baby Occamy, who seemed to be captivated despite not understanding a word of English. He made gestures with his hands. Eventually he stopped talking and the Occamy nudged his hand fondly with her head before slithering away. Suddenly, a large lion-like creature bounded over to Newt and knocked him over onto his back, licking his face and purring. Newt started laughing. Tina had never heard Newt laugh before. He smiled very shy, awkward smiles outside of the case, and inside of the case when other people were present he gave truly sincere grins. But laughing?
And that's when Tina new. This was the real Newt Scamander. He was outgoing and expressive. He had no problem being bossy and giving orders. He was confident, and he was happy.
But the real Newt Scamander only appeared in front of his creatures.
Why?
Why was the Newt that she saw outside of the case and the Newt she saw inside of the case so different? It was clear that Newt didn't trust humans, in almost the same way an animal doesn't trust people after it has been beaten and chained up. After a certain amount of abuse, an animal will associate cruelty and hurt with any human. It seemed like Newt did too.
It was so obvious. After a full week of her and Queenie talking with him, joking with him, and trying to make him feel accepted in their home he was still uncomfortable. He could meet their eyes but only for so long. Once, Tina had gone to put her hand on Newt's shoulder and he actually flinched. Curious, Tina tried to make more physical contact with him and see if it was just that one time. But no, every time that her hand brushed his or she placed a hand on his shoulder, he would flinch and tense up, and then remain tense for a few more minutes before relaxing.
One evening, when Newt was in his case feeding his creatures, she approached Queenie about it. Queenie thought for a second before she answered. "Teenie, Newt has gone through a lot of things. I can't tell you exactly what, because that's his private business and also because he's been trying harder to shut me out with Occlumency. It's not that he doesn't trust you, honey. He does. At least, he wants to. See, all the people Newt has ever trusted have turned on him in way way or another."
"Like Leta Lestrange?"
"Exactly. Newt, he's a giver. He has one of the kindest hearts imaginable and he'd do anything to help someone else. People took advantage of that. Like Leta. Other people saw his kindness as weakness and tried to stamp it out of him. But a majority of people in this world are takers. And people like Newt are just so easy for them to use to their advantage. I don't know the full story behind Leta, but that's exactly what happened. It hurt Newt so badly, honey. He doesn't trust humans anymore."
"I wish I could help," Tina whispered. "I just don't know what to do. This isn't like an Auror test. This isn't like paperwork or a case file. I know how to do those things. They're easy to understand and to work with. People are harder. But you can learn read them. They're all pretty much the same. Newt is just so... different."
"That's kind of how Newt feels, Teenie. He doesn't understand humans. He doesn't understand why they can put an innocent boy like Credence to death. He doesn't understand how they can lie and cheat and steal so easily. He doesn't understand why things like social class matter so much. He tried to learn. He tried to make people understand his point of view on magical creatures. But after being rejected and pushed down and bullied he gave up trying to get along with people. His beasts are the only things he tries to understand now."
As much as Tina would like to deny it, that made a lot of sense. Her heart ached for Newt. He had just been a young kid, trying to understand the world around him and trying to understand why everyone couldn't respect each other and get along. He tried to get people to understand that creatures weren't dangerous. But they just continued to ignore him, and to destroy his creatures and his hope for humanity.
"I'm gonna go talk to him," Tina told Queenie. She stood and walked towards the guest bedroom, where she knew the suitcase was perched.
"He leaves tomorrow," Queenie reminded her.
Tina scowled at her sister. "I know." She shouldn't be getting so attached to him. She didn't understand why she felt so drawn to him. She didn't know why she wanted to give him a bear hug and run her fingers through his hair and tell him everything was alright. She didn't know why she wanted to count the freckles on his face, and for each one she counted give him a reason why he was amazing. She didn't know why she was desperate to make him feel loved and appreciated.
He was just so kind, and caring, and special. He loved his creatures with a passion that amazed her. He was so selfless and charitable and she loved it. She loved his beautiful heart and his intelligent brain and his adorable, Newt-like habits. She didn't know how anyone could not like him.
She tried to push these thoughts away. He was leaving tomorrow, heading back to England. Who knows if she'd ever see him again? She took in a deep breath and let it out as she descended into the case, purposely invading his privacy. She found him with the Graphorns, and he turned and gave her a beaming smile.
"The mother is pregnant again!" he announced happily. "That's the third baby in four years! If she has another two or three by the time she gets too old to mate, then I might be able to save the species!"
"That's wonderful, Newt!" she congratulated him sincerely. The happiness was rolling off of him in waves. He rubbed the mother Graphorn's belly. A small Graphorn trotted over and curiously watched.
"You're gonna have a little brother or sister soon," Newt promised the little fellow, who bellowed with excitement. Tina smiled.
"How long does it take for a Graphorn to be born?" she asked, taking a seat on the dirt floor. Newt looked a little surprised that she seemed so interested.
"Well, they are typically pregnant for five or six months. But their young are inseparable for them for another five or six months. After that, they can mate again. So they can have up to one baby a year," he explained. He turned and flashed her a smile. She smiled back warmly. He came over and sat next to her, a few feet away. She placed her hand on his, and was not shocked when he tensed a bit. He seemed to relax a lot more quickly than usual, however.
"They really are amazing creatures, Newt," she acknowledged quietly, watching the two little ones play.
"Aren't they?" Newt breathed in response. She turned to glance at him. He was staring off into the distance, almost lost in thought. A hint of a smile graced his lips and his eyes were bright with joy. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality. "Oh, I have to check on the mooncalves!" he remembered. He bounced to his feet, nodded his head at her in almost an unnoticeable way to tell her to follow him, and took off, disappearing around the corner. Tina followed him slowly. By the time she got there, he was checking a bandaged foot of one of the mooncalves.
"Oh no! What happened?" Tina asked, stroking the mooncalf's soft head.
"Playtime got a little too rough," Newt explained. "Leg looks good though. Her bandage can come off tomorrow, maybe." He brushed his hand together to dust them off. "Anyway, that's everything. Did you come down here for a reason?"
Tina sucked in a deep breath. She had kind of rushed down here, not really knowing what she was going to say or do. She regretted that now, especially since there was no Queenie to get rid of the awkward silence with a well-placed joke or conversation starter. "I...er, I wanted to talk...to you..." she said, tripping over her words. Newt cocked his head in confusion.
"About what?"
"Just... stuff..." Tina stammered. Newt shoved his hands in his pockets, not quite knowing what to do.
"Shall I make tea?" he offered. "Or coffee?"
"Coffee would be wonderful, actually," Tina agreed. She sighed in relief as he turned and walked back to the potting shed. He had unknowingly given her a little more time to work out what she wanted to say. She wanted to talk to him about his past. Not in a confronting way, but a friendly way. She wanted to get to know him better. She wanted to see if he trusted her, and she wanted to make sure that he knew that they were friends and that she wanted to stay in contact after he left.
Upon entering the shed, Newt started making some coffee. He also put a kettle on for tea, because he didn't seem to enjoy the bitter brown liquid that Tina thrived on. Tina sat down in an armchair as he comfortably moved around the little shack. When both beverages were finished, he handed Tina a chipped mug full of coffee and took a seat in his desk chair, facing her. "So, talk?" he asked nervously.
"I wanted to ask you something a bit personal," Tina confessed. Newt seemed to stiffen, and he became very interested in staring at his cup of tea. But he didn't stop her, so she continued. "I've noticed you don't seem comfortable talking about some things... and I'd hate to make you uncomfortable, so please feel free to tell me to stop. But I wanted to get to know you a bit. The real you."
Newt peeked up at her from beneath his bangs, curious but wary. "You wanted to... get to know me?"
Tina nodded. "Yes. Just a little bit. I mean, we are good friends. At least I consider us to be good friends. And seeing how you're leaving tomorrow I thought it would be nice for us to just talk a bit and maybe share some stories and things... I, er, Queenie and I used to do this every time one of us left the other for Hogwarts field trips or my work-related travel," she finished, kicking herself for sounding so lame. "I thought we might do it?"
"Um, okay," Newt agreed. His mind was reeling. She considered them good friends? I mean sure, he had felt a lot more comfortable around Jacob and the Goldstein sisters than he had around humans for a while. But he hadn't had friends in a long time. Actually, considering how Leta had been using him the whole time, he had never had friends. He took a sip of tea. "What do you and Queenie talk about?"
Tina took in a deep breath. She looked nervous. "I just wanted to ask... That is... are you comfortable around me Newt?"
"I suppose so," he replied honestly. "Why? Do I annoy you?" He looked so guilty and upset that Tina hurried to put his mind at ease.
"No no no, that's not it at all. I love having you around!" She cringed, hoping she didn't sound too desperate. Newt looked a tad bit relieved, and also a little confused as to why she would want him around. He clearly wasn't used to people wanting to be near him.
"You see, sometimes you make don't make eye contact with me. And you kinda tense up whenever I touch you. I don't mind it, honest, I was just worried that you didn't really like being here."
Newt looked shocked. He struggled to find words for a minute, and then he started stammering out his reply. "I'm sorry... I do like being here Tina, I really do. You and Queenie, well, you're really wonderful. I'm just not really used to being around people who, er, that is people generally don't like m- I mean-"
"Oh, well that's good. I thought we weren't being good hosts!" she cut him off for his own sake, knowing full well what he was about to say.
"You're fantastic hosts," he reassured her, taking another sip of tea. That reminded her of the coffee cup in her hand, and she took a swig of the now lukewarm liquid. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Tina tried to find her courage.
"Newt, I want to be really, really honest with you," she confessed. He looked up quickly. "You see, I'm a little scared to talk to you, because I don't want to freak you out or make you feel like you want to leave. Because I like you, and I want to be friends with you for a long time. I know we've only known each other for a week, but I really don't want to lose you."
He looked very astounded, and clearly didn't know what to say in response. So Tina continued.
"You see, I've noticed that you seem really wary around people. Like, you talk quietly and you aren't confident and things." He started to visibly panic and she hurriedly continued. "Which isn't a bad thing at all! Some people are more shy than others, and that's okay. But I also noticed that inside your case, when you're with your creatures, you're not shy. You smile and you look me in the eye for longer and stuff like that. I was just wondering why."
Newt cleared his throat, eyes darting around before they came to rest on her face, and then fled again. He finally ended up staring at her knee. He looked like he was struggling to make himself speak. "I don't really like people," he blurted out. "Or rather, people don't really like me. You see, I've always been odd. My brother and father kept trying to change me, to make me more like them. They tried everything they could, and I guess they thought that if they treated me roughly, I might toughen up a smidge. They were never really cruel, but they never had anything nice to say to either."
He glanced up at her again before continuing. "My mother was always kind to me. She taught me about hippogriffs and all sorts of things. But she passed away the year before I was expelled. Father got more distant after that. When I was expelled, well, he kind of lost it. It was the only time he ever hit me." Newt looked scared as he confessed it. Scared that Tina would be shocked and disgusted and would leave immediately. She didn't. If anything, she looked more determined to make him spill the whole story.
"Anyway, I left and joined the war. I fought with dragons. You see lots of horrible things during war, Tina. Things that make you wonder why the world is so broken." He wiped away a few tears. That was another thing Tina loved about Newt, he was in touch with his emotional side. "When the war was over I worked in the ministry for a few years. Got commissioned to write a book, probably out of pity. Traveled around the world, came to New York. You know the rest."
"What about Leta Lestrange?"
Newt winced. "We were good friends in school, and now we're not. I haven't heard from her or about her in years, and I'd rather prefer for it to stay that way." Tina nodded. Newt suddenly clamped his jaw shut, clearly regretting that he had shared so much.
"Newt, I think you're an amazing person," Tina told him. She would normally never be so bold and say something like that to a man's face, but he needed to hear it. He wasn't like the silly crushes she had in the past, where she was scared to tell them how she felt. She was still scared, but Newt needed this. He needed to know he had someone who cared about him, and who wouldn't leave him like Leta did. She continued on. "And I know you think that's not true, because people have put you down your whole life."
Guilt flashed across Newt's face again. Why did he feel so bad about everything? "You are so kind to everyone, especially your creatures and people in need. Like Credence. You risked your life to save his."
"I failed," Newt reminded her sadly.
"We failed," Tina corrected him. "Not just you. We did the best we could. No one else was willing to help him like you were, Newt. And that's why I think you're amazing. Because you're caring, and you're brave, and you're smart."
"I'm really not all that, Tina," Newt tried to correct her. She grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look her in the eye, even though he flinched and obviously felt really scared and unsure of himself.
"You are all of that, and more," she said firmly. "I care about you, Newt. I'm your friend. I know you aren't use to having friends, but you're stuck with me now. And Queenie. We like you, and we want you to be happy. We don't think you're weird. We don't want to use you. And we'll always be here for you. We won't leave you like Le-I mean, like others have."
"Thank you," Newt said softly, finally meeting her eyes. "But I'm afraid I don't really know how to be a good friend. I don't want to disappoint you."
"You could never," Tina promised. "Now I'm going to give you a hug, and you are going to trust me and enjoy it. Because it shows that I care about you and it's supposed to make you feel better." She wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder. He relaxed into her embrace, burying his face in her hair. She felt his tears getting her shirt damp.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently, words slightly muffled by the fabric of his coat.
"It's been so long since I've gotten a hug," he murmured, holding her tighter. Tina felt her chest tighten. She never wanted to let go of him. She wanted to hug him forever and protect him from the big, scary world outside of the suitcase.
"I'll always be here if you want one," she told him gently. "You know where to find me. New York. Same old apartment. Feel free to visit anytime you want."
"That'd be nice," he whispered back. They finally broke apart. He smiled shyly at her, and she wondered if her face was as red as it felt. She wondered if he even noticed. Because right now he was staring at her like she was his whole world. She didn't feel invisible, she felt seen. It was a wonderful feeling.
"You're family," she promised. "And you're always welcome to come home."
A/N: Reviews would be lovely. I'd like to know what ya'll think about this and where I can strengthen my skills as a writer (particularly because I'm finding the Fantastic Beasts characters a little difficult for me to write for some reason). I'll be posting a Fantastic Beasts two-shot called "To Protect" sometime soon as well as another chapter of "100 Things Tina Notices About Newt".
Have a great day!