disclaimer: I own nothing

Author's Note: I have no idea if anyone even likes this anymore. Whatever. It's out there.

If you're reading this, enjoy.


They saw Queenie and Jacob again the next day. Newt felt like he and Jacob were left out of a significant, silent, conversation between the sisters, if he was judging off the looks Queenie and Tina gave each other. Whatever it was, it seemed Tina didn't need to know exactly what Queenie was thinking and didn't seem to be angry with Queenie for being in her mind. Jacob had obviously picked up on the same thing and gave Newt a questioning look.

Newt shrugged.

He had no idea what it could have been, but he knew that it was none of their business if Tina and Queenie were choosing go about it in the way they were. Tina showed Queenie the blanket she was attempting. Queenie was not mean in any way to Tina about it, but showed her how to do it a little better. Despite this, Tina laughed a little.

"How about you do this one and I'll tackle sewing? It can't be harder than this." she said to Queenie.

Queenie laughed again.

Jacob volunteered the fact that he knew how to do both. They all looked at him and Jacob seemed almost flustered by this.

"My grandmother taught me when I growin' up." he said with a shrug.

"Newt knows how to knit too." Tina offered.

Jacob looked at Newt and Newt smiled a little.

"It's useful." he said.

"Great. Two men who can knit better than I can." Tina said with a mock sigh.

"You'll get the hang of it, Teen." Queenie said in an encouraging tone.

"I'm not sure I will in time. I should have started a long time ago." Tina said as Queenie handed her the blanket back.

Newt was tempted to point out she didn't have to finish it before the baby was born, then reflected she probably wouldn't have time after it was. And he felt that Tina probably wanted to use the blanket as soon as the baby was born. They talked for a while. During the conversation, Tina continued her endevour with her knitting.

"How long are planning to wait before getting back to work?" Jacob asked during a brief lull in the conversation.

Tina looked startled by the question.

"I...I don't know." She frowned and Newt had a feeling she hadn't truly thought about it.

Then he wondered if that was something they should have had a conversation about.

"Whenever it feels right, I guess." She looked slightly troubled, then shrugged, looking down at her knitting.

"What are you two doing for work?" Newt asked.

Both Queenie and Jacob looked startled by the question and from the look that Tina gave him, Newt realized that it was a question he shouldn't have asked.

"There are plenty a wizards willing to hire help." Queenie said, looking awkward.

Newt felt awkward as well and Tina kicked his leg gently but signifigantly. He wondered what she may have already talked about with her sister. The conversation lightened after this, though there was a sense that it was purposefuly being driven that way. They spent the day together, with each other and with Newt's creatures, until it was dinnertime.

This time it was Newt and Tina who made dinner, insisting on doing it instead of Queenie because of all the meals she'd made them. Neither of them had Queenie's skill, but the meal turned out decent.

Once Queenie and Jacob had departed for the night, Newt turned to Tina.

"I didn't intend to say anything wrong about Queenie and Jacob." he said, refering to earlier.

Tina sighed.

"I know, Newt. But I don't think they know what they're going to do next or in the future. They're doing what they can, where they can, and they've only stayed so long in London because of us. I want to talk to Queenie, but..." Tina trailed off.

"But what?" Newt asked, moving closer to her.

"What am I supposed to say Newt?" Tina seemed exasperated, but Newt was picking up on the fact that her feelings weren't directed at him. "That I think that what they're doing is a bad idea? That they're going to get arrested? That they can't keep this up forever? That her heart is going to be broken?" Tina was pacing, seeming agitated.

"Surely Queenie can pick up on all those things without you saying them." Newt said.

Tina shook her head a little. "I know how to shield those things from her, if I try very hard."

Newt was surprised like this.

Tina shrugged.

"I grew up with her, Newt. I learned. But I can't say those things to her."

"Why?" Newt approached her as she kept pacing.

"What if I drive her away again? Trying to talk to her about it once didn't work." Tina sighed, running her hands over her face, looking stressed. "I don't want to hurt her, Newt. But I want her to understand reality."

Her words circled back to when she had told Newt she wanted to protect Queenie.

"This is something they have to work out for themselves, Tina."

"I know."

Newt thought for a moment.

"Do you think it would be better if Jacob were Obliviated? Properly, this time?"

There was no anger in Newt's voice, no challenge. It was a genuine question.

"No. But-" Tina broke off, shook her head.

She still seemed very agitated. Newt wasn't certain what he could do about this. Protecting her sister was so ingrained in Tina's very nature, he knew how being unable to do so was making her feel. And there wasn't much he could do about it, other than watch her work herself up about it, which he didn't think could be healthy for her or the baby. He didn't say anything about it.

"I don't know, Newt. But they can't live like this forever. I don't know what will happen to them when it ends."

She stared at him, looking almost helpless.

Newt wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't imagine a reversed situation where it would be him talking like this about Theseus. Perhaps it was their relationship, perhaps it was because Theseus was the older of the two of them. He didn't know. Tina didn't seem to expect him to say anything, to Newt's mild relief.

Tina kept pacing, but her words seemed to have run out. There wasn't much else she could say that she hadn't already said and Tina seemed to be very aware of that.

"You will make a good mum, Tina." Newt said after a minute or so.

Tina looked at him, as if she couldn't believe he was bringing this up now.

"What?"

"You will. You've taken care of Queenie her whole life and you're still trying to do that. What about being a mum do you think is different?" Newt gave her a small smile.

Tina laughed, shaking her head slightly.

"I suppose that's one less thing I have to worry about." she said.

It seemed to have taken her mind off of her agitation, which Newt felt was a good thing. They stood staring at each other for a moment, then Tina sighed deeply.

"And I'm not sure I'm ready for it." she added quietly.

"I don't think anyone is." Newt said.

Tina nodded and said nothing else on the matter. Neither did Newt.


XXXXXX


A few days later, Newt and Tina received an invitation to come to dinner from Theseus.

Newt was startled by this and simply stared at it as the owl that had delivered it hopped out the window he had opened for it.

"What is it?" Tina asked, walking in from the living room, where Minty had brought her litter out to play.

"Theseus would like us to come to dinner." Newt answered.

"Why?"

"My thoughts exactly." Newt said, tossing the note down on to the counter.

"What do you want to do?" Tina asked, leaning against the counter.

Newt scowled slightly at the fact she left the decision up to him.

"I don't know."

Newt didn't truly want to, but he still thought about what Queenie had said. And Theseus was trying. Newt supposed that sooner or later he was going to have meet his brother half way. At least for one evening.

"We don't have anything planned for the evening." he added a few moments later.

As he called the owl back, Newt could have sworn that Tina smiled.

That evening found Newt and Tina walking to Theseus's apartment. Newt was starting to think it was a bad idea and said as much to Tina.

"You already agreed. And it's one evening. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Maybe."

They walked up the steps when they got to Theseus's building and knocked on the door. Newt was still feeling uncertain when the door was opened. Not by Theseus, but by a small, pretty woman Newt's age. She smiled at him.

"Newt."

"Leta." Newt said.

He shouldn't have been surprised, considering Leta and his brother were engaged, but he hadn't known Leta would be here. Leta turned her gaze to Tina.

"You must be Tina." she said.

"I am." Tina said, not seeming as awkward as Newt.

"Come in." Leta said, moving aside. "Theseus got held up at work, but he shouldn't be long."

"Thank you."

Newt and Tina stepped inside and Leta took their coats. The apartment was neat and mostly unadorned. It was very much like Theseus, actually. They sat in the living room, making small talk with Leta.

Newt was slightly worried about how Tina and Leta might get along, but both women were being very polite to each other. And Tina was contributing more to the conversation than Newt was.

"We were very surprised that Newt came back from America with a wife." Leta said at nearly the start of the conversation.

It perhaps wasn't the best way to phrase it, but Newt knew Leta was often like that. Tina, on the other hand, did not seem to appreciate the statement.

"Why?" She asked.

"He didn't tell us anything about you. Or that he was even thinking of getting married."

There was an awkward moment at this. It seemed that Theseus hadn't told Leta the circumstances surrounding Newt and Tina's marriage. And it was also very clear how little contact Newt normally had with his family.

"We eloped." Was Tina's way of answering.

Newt didn't think Tina noticed, but he saw Leta's eyes flicker momentarily down to Tina's swollen belly. If Leta wanted to make assumptions about their marriage and the baby, Newt didn't mind. It was better that way. In Newt's opinion, unless Tina directly told them, no one had the right to know about the rape and the baby. The conversation continued after a moment.

"Theseus tells me you're an Auror." Leta said to Tina.

"I am. Was. I'll be applying to the Ministry in a few months." Tina said.

They continued to talk and Leta mentioned some things about their school days that made Newt feel awkward and Tina laugh a little. It wasn't much longer before Theseus arrived home, looking a little tired. He brightened when he saw Newt and Tina.

"Sorry I'm late. Some reports got scrambled and needed to be sorted out." Theseus said to the room in general.

"There's no need to apologize." Leta said.

She had gotten up to greet Theseus and Newt averted his eyes when she kissed him. Leta announced dinner was done not much later. The meal actually went quite smooth. Tina was interested in the things that Theseus and the Auror department were currently dealing with and it was clear she missed it. Newt briefly wondered if Tina's feeling about it would have been different if they had been married and the rape had never happened. If they had planned on having the baby. There was no point in dwelling on it or bringing the subject up with Tina later.

He noticed Leta looking at him and she gave him a small, amused smile tilting her head very slightly at Tina and Theseus. Newt looked away. After dinner, they moved back into the living room. Leta made coffee and set it on a tray on the coffee table. Tina didn't take any and Newt wasn't truly interested in the cup he was holding. Things were going better than Newt had anticipated. For some reason, though Newt had no idea why, he'd thought that Tina and Leta would not get along very well, should they ever meet. Things weren't as hard with Theseus either. It was as if they had come to silent agreement to be civil and polite to each other for the evening.

Except Newt broke that when Leta made a comment about the baby, refering to it as Tina's baby. It could have been a simple comment, not meaning anything, but he saw the look on Leta's face as soon as she said it, as if she hadn't meant to do so.

Newt, who had been slumped slightly in his seat, straightened, gaze turning to Theseus.

"You told her." he said to his brother.

Theseus shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"You told her, didn't you?"

"Newt." Tina said, reaching for his hand.

"Answer me, Theseus."

"He didn't mean anything by it, Newt. He told me you'd gotten married and what had happened." Leta said gently.

She was sitting on the arm of Theseus's chair. Perhaps Newt was out of line, getting angry with his brother, but he didn't care.

"You had no right to tell anyone, Theseus. Anyone."

Theseus looked a little uncomfortable, but spoke.

"Would you have kept something like that from Tina, if our postions were reversed?" he asked.

"I wouldn't have kept it from her, because if would have been none of my business in the first place." Newt said.

He was thinking back to what Theseus had said when he had first met Tina. The Auror that was raped. Was there no way for Tina to just leave this behind her? Tina was being uncharacteristically quiet. She seemed annoyed with Newt, not angry with Theseus.

"I wasn't trying to hurt Tina or spread rumors, Newt. But I wasn't going to keep anything from Leta."

"Newt." Tina touched his hand.

Newt forced down the anger. It wasn't hard. He truly wasn't prone to anger, but when it came to this... Newt looked at Tina. She didn't seem angry. Theseus and Leta were both tense.

"I'm sorry, Theseus. Leta. I was out of line." Newt said quietly.

Leta shook her head.

"You shouldn't apologize, Newt. Tina." Leta turned turned her attention to Tina. "Theseus and I wouldn't tell anyone about what happened to you. Or about the baby. I hope you can trust us when it comes to that." Leta leaned forward towards Tina slightly.

Tina nodded.

"I think I can." she said.

This made Newt feel even more uncomfortable with his anger. But when it came to Tina and her rape and the baby, he found himself protective. This was his family, after all. But Theseus was his family too, as much as they didn't get along. And Leta would be soon enough. Leta and Tina attempted to smooth things over going forward with the conversation. Newt looked at Theseus. His brother didn't seem angry with him, but there was a certain tension between them now. Not that that was anything new. Perhaps it was a ironic that Tina and Leta seemed to be getting along so well.

"When are you planning on getting married?" Tina asked eventually.

Leta laughed a little.

"We don't know yet, actually. Whenever we get around to planning some things out."

"You could elope." Newt suggested.

It had worked well enough for him and Tina, though their situation had been radically different than Theseus and Leta's. For the first time, Newt wondered if the baby was the reason he and Tina had married so quickly. He hadn't given much thought to it at the time. But they had both agreed that the small, private ceremony had been best for them.

"We might end up doing that." Theseus shifted in his seat again. "Speaking of the wedding, we -I- was wondering, Newt, if you would be the best man."

Newt was startled by the request, especially considering how angry he had just gotten with Theseus.

"Oh." He shifted in his seat, still a little startled. "I suppose. Yes."

Theseus smiled.

"Good."

Tina's hand, still on Newt's, tightened briefly around it. The conversation lightened, though Newt still did not contribute much to it.

Finally, the evening seemed to be winding down, though Newt felt fidgety from the coffee he had ended up consuming.

"It's late. Tina and I should be getting home." he said.

"Of course. Thank you for coming."

They politely said goodbye to Theseus and Leta and departed.

"You didn't have to get mad at him, Newt." Tina said as they walked down the empty sidewalk.

"I know." Newt said, looking at the sidewalk instead of Tina. "But...Tina, did you want Leta to know about the rape and the baby?" he asked.

Tina frowned slightly.

"I don't know." she admitted.

"But Theseus and your mother already know. Why should she not?"

Newt could think of several reasons why, but chose not to state them. He supposed he truly should not have a problem with it if Tina didn't. "Did you like Leta?" he asked instead.

"She's not what I expected." Tina said after a moment. "I don't know if I like her yet."

A good enough answer, Newt supposed. Tina seemed to want to say more, but didn't. Newt had, of course, explained his what his relationship with Leta had been, but he did remember their exchange when he had been leaving New York. It made him wonder what Tina thought about Leta. But things were quite different now. He and Tina were married and Leta was marrying Theseus. There was nothing left to be complicated.

They continued walking, silence between them broken by the general sounds of the city at night -which wasn't much- their footsteps, and the sound of Tina's long skirt brushing on her coat.

"I know there's not a lot of love between you and Theseus, Newt, but you need to try." Tina said after a few moments.

"I am trying, Tina." Newt said wearily.

"I know. But how is the baby going to view Theseus if this-" Tina gestured back the way they came. "-is the example? I think it should have a chance to know its uncle."

"I haven't cut him out of my life, if you hadn't noticed, Tina."

"I know. But family is important. And it isn't just the baby that would benefit." Tina's hand found his.

She laced her fingers through his and squeezed his hand gently. Newt scowled slightly.

"Why is it wives seem to say things you can't argue with?" he said, looking at Tina.

Tina smiled.

"Because we know our husbands and are generally smarter than they are."

Newt laughed at this. Tina tipped her head to his shoulder briefly. Newt still felt a bit wound up from the not-quite-an-argument with Theseus and the coffee, so they simply wandered. A part of Newt wondered at the streetlights, when the streets were so empty. It was easy to imagine he and Tina were the only people awake in the city. So they just walked for a while, reminiscing about New York, when they had first met. Now that it was long past, it was easier to look back on with some humor attached.

It was very late when they finally got home. They had taken care of the creatures before they'd left, so they had no need to worry about that. Newt helped Tina with her coat and they went upstairs. When Newt came unto the bedroom after brushing his teeth, Tina was bent over, but she straightened and tossed her heeled boots unceremoniously into the corner of the room. She grimaced, a hand going to her belly.

"I shouldn't have done that."

"Taken off your shoes?" Newt asked, unhooking his watch from his vest.

"Bent over like that. Not worth it." Tina stood and walked out of the room.

Newt set his watch down, but yanked it back when a paw suddenly shot out to grab it.

"Destroy downstairs if you must." Newt told the niffler tiredly, scooping it up and setting it outside the door.

The niffler scampered off and headed down the stairs. Newt was leaning back on the bed, flipping through a notebook, when Tina came back. Still dressed, she crawled into bed beside him and curled up, head tucked beneath his arm. She let out a deep, tired sigh.

"Are you feeling all right?" Newt asked her, looking down at her.

"Just tired." Tina snuggled closer to him, eyes sliding closed. She was asleep within minutes and Newt smiled.

He stayed awake for a while longer, then used his wand to extinguish the lights, staying where he was so he wouldn't wake Tina. Eventually, he fell asleep listening to her breathing.


Author's Note: Did Newt overreact to Theseus?

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