Tina pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. Smoothing it out on her desk she read it for the seventh time that afternoon. A shiver went down her spine.
He's coming today, she thought. He's actually coming today!
Tina folded the note and shoved it back in her pocket. She knew she had work to do. She would be getting the next week and a half off, except for the 29th, so she knew she needed to get at least some of her work done. She wanted to leave early so she could be at the dock at 5:00 to meet Newt but, looking at the stack of papers on her desk, she knew she couldn't. She would have to wait until 5:00 before she could leave.
Reaching for her quill, she slowly began trying to get some work done. She managed to finish a few papers before 5:00 but not nearly as many as she normally would have done because her mind kept wandering to the note in her pocket and the man she would soon be seeing.
When the clock in her office finally struck 5:00, Tina scrambled to her feet and waved her wand, the papers on her desk organizing themselves slightly. Then she bolted from her office, quickly making her way to the elevator. One of her fellow Aurors, a man named Alton Harper, was already in the elevator.
"Hello, Goldstein," he said.
"Hello, Harper," she replied breathlessly.
Harper gave her a curious glance. "Where are you going?"
"To - uh - to meet a friend of mine."
"A friend?" Harper raised his eyebrows.
Tina swatted at him playfully.
"It's just someone I haven't seen in a few weeks and I didn't expect to see for quite some time," she explained.
"But it is a man."
Tina gave him a sideways look. "I never said that."
"Well, you clearly knew what I was implying and, if it wasn't a man, you would have said so instead of defending yourself," he pointed out.
Tina laughed. "Harper, you're impossible."
"But I'm right, aren't I?"
"Yes, you're right."
The elevator came to a halt and the door slid open.
"This is my stop," Harper said. "See you next year, Goldstein. Have a Happy New Year!"
"You too," Tina called as Harper left the elevator. The doors closed and they began moving again. When they stopped, Tina made her way out of MACUSA and found a hidden corner where she Disapparated.
Newt slowly made his way down the gangplank. He was one of the last people off the ship and the wharf was almost clear. Having made his way through customs, he looked around, searching for Tina. There were a few people still waiting, but none of them were her.
What if she doesn't come? I know she invited me so maybe she just expects me to go straight to her apartment since I do know where she lives. . . . I had hoped she'd come meet me. Newt shook himself slightly. She's probably busy. She did say she always has quite a lot of paperwork to deal with.
Newt started forward, keeping his head down and gripping the handle of his case tightly. He bumped into a few people, murmuring apologies to each one of them. Eventually, he glanced up.
A figure appeared from around a corner at the end of the dock. Her dark hair framed her familiar face. A look of recognition formed on her features. She ran forward, flinging her arms around Newt. He started, then quickly set down his case and returned the hug.
Tina pulled away, blushing slightly. She didn't know why she had hugged Newt.
"I'm so sorry, Newt. I-" she started.
"It's okay, Tina," he interrupted, picking up his case. "It's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you too," she grinned.
"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," Newt admitted.
"I'm sorry I was late, Newt. I couldn't get off work until five but I don't have work tomorrow so we'll be able to spend time together." She glanced around. "Come on, let's go back to my apartment. We can't exactly talk freely here."
Queenie wasn't there when they reached the apartment. Tina had checked to make sure Mrs. Esposito wasn't going to see them. Then she had motioned for Newt to follow her up the stairs. The apartment had been quiet when they entered.
Newt glanced around the room. It was familiar to him now, though he had only stayed there a few days. The only difference was the small Christmas tree in the corner and a few other Christmas decorations around the room.
"Queenie and I made an extra room for you that way you won't have to sleep on the couch like you did last time," Tina said.
"I didn't mind that." Newt made his way over to the door Tina had just pushed open. It hadn't been there the last time and was in a rather awkward position. "The couch is quite comfortable."
Tina laughed and let Newt enter the room. There was a single bed in the room as well as a dresser and a closet. There was a window in the wall, though Newt suspected the view through it, as well as the window itself, was fake. It wouldn't have been physically possible to have a window there and, even if it was, it wouldn't have looked out onto the street. The wallpaper and the curtains were identical to the ones in the sisters' room. The cover on the bed was a deep blue with a simple pattern of a lighter blue, similar to the coat Newt was currently wearing.
"This is a lovely room," Newt said.
"Queenie decorated it," Tina said. "I just made the room and the furniture."
Newt set his case down at the end of the bed. Then he joined Tina in the living room. She had pulled off her coat and hung it up. It wasn't the grey coat she had been wearing when they had first met but Newt still recognized it. It was the coat she had worn the last time he had seen her; a clean black coat with thin, white, vertical lines.
Pulling off his own coat and scarf, Newt hung them up next to Tina's. She motioned for him to take a seat on the couch then moved over to the stove.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked. "I can't promise that it will be any good. I never make tea. Queenie's the one who's good at that sort of thing. Besides, it wouldn't be anything like anything you get in England."
"I'm sure anything you make will be lovely," Newt interrupted. Then he blushed, realizing what exactly he had said.
Tina blushed as well, quickly turning so Newt couldn't see. She nervously began preparing a cup of tea for Newt and a cup of coffee for herself. When she was finished, she carried both mugs over to where Newt sat on the couch. He took the mug of tea from her and she carefully sat down beside him. They sipped on their drinks in silence.
"This isn't bad," Newt said, offering Tina a smile. "I quite like it."
"Don't lie, Newt," Tina said, trying not to blush.
"I'm not. It's really quite good. Of course, I've had better, but this is really good."
Tina blushed again, sipping her coffee to hide her face.
Mercy Lewis, Tina, what's gotten into you? she thought. Why on earth do you keep blushing? Why does Newt make me blush so much?
"Is that coffee?" Newt asked, presently.
"Yes."
"Could I try some?"
"What?" Tina looked up at him suddenly. "Have you never had coffee before?"
Newt looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I have. I haven't tried American coffee though."
Tina shrugged and handed Newt her mug. "You probably won't like this much. It's quite bitter since there's no sugar or cream in it but I like it like this."
Newt took a sip and made a face. Then he shrugged. "It isn't horrible," he said, handing the mug back to Tina. "It's not exactly something I'd choose to drink but I'm not surprised you like it."
Tina laughed. Then they sat back and began talking quietly. Newt asked her about her job and she told him what little there was to say about it. When she was done, she asked him about his creatures and he began telling her different stories about things that his different creatures had done.
They had been speaking for over an hour and Newt was halfway through a story about his Kelpie when the door opened and Queenie came in.
"Newt! It's so good to see you again!" she exclaimed.
Newt got to his feet and Queenie pulled him into a hug.
"It's good to see you too," he replied.
Queenie grinned, but there was a sadness behind her smile that both Newt and Tina noticed. "I'll leave you two to talk," she said, making her way to the bedroom she shared with her sister. "We'll have supper soon." She entered the room, sliding the door shut behind her.
Newt turned to Tina. "She's still upset?" he said gently, a hint of a question in his tone.
Tina nodded. "Very. She hides it well enough but she really misses Jacob. That's where she's been. She's trying to see if she can find him. Of course, she knows the address where he used to live, where we met him, she got that out of my head, but it seems he doesn't live there anymore. He's moved and Queenie's desperate to find where he is."
"I wish there was something I could do to help," Newt said, glancing in the direction of the bedroom.
"It's okay," Tina assured him. "I think that just your being here is enough."
