A/N Thank you thank you thank you for the feedback and the favorites and follows. Kiarcheo and Imagine69: you two made me smile; I am so happy that you enjoyed it!

Life is rough for me right now and writing this has been a source of light in an otherwise dark time. I hadn't originally planned to continue, but writing is keeping me going right now. Imagine69: I'm working up to a Goldstein debrief to patch it all up :)

Reading aloud

Tina's (and now Queenie's) room was simply furnished in a manner befitting emergency Ministry housing. A pair of single beds stood against the far wall opposite the door. There was a tall wardrobe and a wash basin against the left wall and a dressing table beside a window to the right. Beneath the window stood a simple love-seat sofa and Tina led Newt over to it. A book with a well-worn spine was propped open over one of the arm rests and Newt was pleased to find that it was his own.

Following his gaze, Tina blushed and rushed to shut the book. "Sorry, I normally take better care of it–I mean, of books. You just caught me in a sloppy moment," she explained with an embarrassed shrug, self-consciously smoothing the slightly bent cover. The fraying of the binding looked like she'd read the book many times and Newt noted that the corners of a few pages had been folded down.

"What more can an author ask than for his book to be read?" Newt said, offering her a small smile as he sat down.

Tina placed the book on the dressing table and stood awkwardly, clutching her cocoa. She was suddenly acutely aware of how small the sofa was and how close she'd be to Newt if she sat beside him. Oh, grow up Tina! she thought to herself. You're an Auror for Morrigan's sake! Have a little nerve!

She made a snap decision and sat down next to Newt, folding her legs up underneath her on the seat. Social propriety be damned. She was tired and brittle and so, so sore.

"It is delightful to have Queenie back," Newt said, taking a sip of his cocoa. "I had no idea she was capable of that, of attacking someone's mind so fiercely."

Tina stared into her cocoa. "It happened once before when we were little...when our parents died," she said softly. "She lashed out at the nurse who came to take us away from the ward and the consequences were...bad. After that, she had to learn to manage her emotions so it wouldn't happen again."

Newt was silent for a moment, unsure of how to react. He'd caught a glimpse of a young Tina in the silver execution chamber fluid, so young and innocent, and felt a stab of pity at the thought of how early the Goldstein sisters' childhood had ended. He fumbled for something to say, but Tina continued.

"But that's my sister. She's always been so much more than the pretty face and sweet heart that people see," she said, taking a slow sip of her cocoa. Tina sighed and her shoulders slumped, "I didn't realise things were this bad again. I knew she was upset about Jacob. We fought about it just before I left for Paris...but for her to have chosen Grindelwald… I just…I didn't know she was that desperate."

"It's not your fault Tina," Newt said. "She'd tried everything she could think of to be with Jacob," he recalled Jacob's drunken enchantment-laden state of the past fortnight. "She was vulnerable and probably not completely herself. And it's all worked out. There are some things that people have to discover for themselves...and Queenie knows where her heart is now. That doubt is gone from her mind and she'll be a force to be reckoned with if Grindelwald approaches her again."

"I guess so," she gave him a small smile over to top of her mug and pointed to it, "This is delicious."

"Oh, I'm glad. I wasn't sure that you'd still be awake; thought you might be sleeping," Newt said, eyes scanning her form. Tina's face was the palest he'd ever seen it, her eyes distant and her body humming with nervous energy. She'd changed out of her bloody shirt into a fresh one but was clearly not intending to go to bed any time soon.

"Like Theseus said, we don't know if we were followed," she explained with a small shrug. "They could be waiting for us to go to sleep."

"Is that why you're still awake?" Newt glanced past her at the clock ticking on the dresser. It was nearing midnight. "Because Tina, you don't look like you should be."

Embarrassment flashed across her face and Newt kicked himself internally. "No, I didn't mean...that is, you look...well...Tina, you are beautiful, but the fire in your eyes. It's not there...not since we escaped the gardens. You say you're fine," he took her injured hand and gently rubbed his thumb over the new ridges and pink skin, "but Tina, I don't think that you are."

He looked up and found her eyes brimming with tears. She bit her lip, fighting for control.

"Tina. Tina, please. Talk to me. I want to help," Newt touched her cheek tenderly.

"It still hurts," she said softly, meeting his gaze and offering a small shrug. "I know it's over. I've been trained to know that it's all in my head but Newt, I can still feel it. Grindelwald's curse rolling through me any time I'm not distracted. Every time I close my eyes or let my mind wander, I'm back there on the ground, wishing to die. I can still feel it flaying my skin. I can't think. I can't rest. And what if he comes back? We know he won't stop until he's got it back."

"Is that why you were reading my book? To distract yourself?" Newt asked gently.

Tina cast her eyes into her cocoa, embarrassed, and nodded. "I've read it so many times that I can hear your voice in my head. It's as if you're there next to me, telling me about your creatures," she explained. Her eyes sought his. "It's...comforting."

Newt's heart hummed with joy at her confession. Queenie had been right.

"Oh Tina, I'm so, so sorry about what happened in the gardens. There never was a snidget. Jacob and I...we just wanted to take your mind off Queenie. And then...to see you suffer so much because of something I did, well...I've never felt more hopeless. The thought of what might have happened to you if Queenie hadn't arrived when she did will haunt me forever. I'm so very sorry to have gotten you into this mess."

Tina shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, but Newt interrupted her to continue, "I could not live with myself if anything had happened to you."

There. He'd said it. There was a beat and Newt searched her face for a reaction. She shut her eyes and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

Oh no. "Tina, I'm sorry. I didn't intend-" Newt started.

"No one has ever said that to me before," she said softly, meeting his eyes. She sniffed and swatted at her tears.

"Well then let me say it again Tina. I care about you. Deeply," Newt said, his voice firmer now. He reached out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear and she caught his hand.

"I care for you too," she whispered, interlacing her fingers with his and squeezing his hand gently.

Their eyes locked then, a world of emotions flying between them. Downstairs on the sofa with Jacob, Queenie gasped and clutched her heart. A small smile spread across her face at the wave of feeling washing over her from above.

Upstairs, Tina's eyes darted to Newt's lips and she found herself acutely aware of how close they were to each other. She couldn't tell who moved first but in the next heartbeat, their lips met in a tentative kiss and the electricity that shot through her vaporised all thought of propriety from her mind. When they broke apart seconds later – could it only have been seconds?! – her heart was racing. Newt sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

"Tina, that was..." he started, breathless.

"Worth repeating?" she let out a small giggle, amazed at the power of the kiss.

"Exactly," Newt breathed before capturing her lips again.

His heart full for the first time since arriving in Paris, Jacob had suggested that he walk Queenie to her bedroom door before they both turned in for the night. They'd stayed up as late as they could bear, talking and giggling on the sofa, acutely aware that Queenie would be whisked away by Theseus in the morning for questioning at the Ministry. It had been a blissful evening, back in each other's company at last, and they'd spent a good deal of time discussing the possibility of migrating to England, where they could marry and live together without fear – especially after Queenie caught a few stray thoughts from Newt and Tina in the bedroom directly above them and suggested that her sister might not be rushing back to New York. Jacob was surprised that she'd managed to listen in from so far away and suspected that the range of her abilities had increased dramatically after the encounter with Grindelwald: a thought that Queenie immediately confirmed after hearing it cross his mind.

When their eyes had started to droop and Jacob found Queenie's voice getting softer as fatigue claimed her, he'd suggested they call it a night. Newt had not returned to his case, which stood before them on the sitting room floor, and so, it was with mischievous curiosity that they climbed the stairs to the bedroom that Queenie was sharing with her sister. The door was slightly ajar and they could hear Newt's voice through the gap. Jacob raised an eyebrow at Queenie and she gave a muffled giggle as they peeked into the room.

Newt and Tina were on the sofa under the window. Tina was fast asleep, curled up against him with her head on his shoulder. In his left hand, Newt held her copy of his book as he read aloud from it. He paused to look down at her, realising that she'd fallen asleep and reached up to slowly run his hand over her hair. Queenie caught a flush of affection from his mind. She turned towards Jacob and the the door gave a low creak. Newt's eyes snapped up to them but Tina didn't move, still deep asleep.

She couldn't sleep, Newt thought to Queenie with a small smile. Though having a distraction seems to have helped.

His heart was filled with warmth and Queenie winked at him, privately amazed that her sister had let her guard down so quickly. But then you know how feels she about him, Queenie thought to herself. Beside her, Jacob gave Newt a cheeky thumbs-up and together, they eased the door shut.