Proposal

Chapter Two

There were several things Newt had to decide on when it came to proposing to Tina; at first he had thought about making arrangements to a high-class restaurant and asking her there, but then he had abandoned that idea as being too ostentatious – neither of them would have particularly liked having other dinner patrons staring at them getting engaged. He then thought about perhaps proposing inside of the case; it was a special place to both of them, he noted, as she had taken to helping him care for his creatures every evening – it was a ritual they had formed together – and it suddenly felt right to ask her to marry him whilst surrounded by the beasts that they both loved so dearly.

But how to bring the question about? Tina wasn't going to say yes if he asked whilst covered in dung or dirt, he thought anxiously, but bringing down a picnic would take far too much careful planning on his part – the beasts were bound to sniff it out and possibly eat it for themselves. In the end, he was going to have to be sure that all of the beasts were fed and cleaned before Tina came down to join him, and then he'd take her on a walk around the case – he'd pop the question then.

Tina was slightly later than usual that evening, having been to visit Queenie (Newt desperately hoped the blonde had kept the information to herself), and she grinned as she came over to him. "Jacob brought home some of his pastries," She explained, and Newt gave a nod – it was an acceptable reason to be late, he thought, seeing how delicious Jacob's baking was. "What needs doing? I could feed the mooncalves, and I've been wanting to visit Dougal again for a while now..."

"Actually," He said with tiny smile, one hand carefully gripping the ring box in his trouser pocket. "Everyone seems fairly settled tonight, so I thought we could go for a walk...shall we?"

Tina seemed slightly bemused by this but happily took his arm so that they could walk together.

The wonderful thing about Tina, Newt reflected, was that he sometimes didn't need to say anything to her – they could be quite content together, just walking silently or just looking at each other. There was never any awkwardness during those silent moments, instead a comfortable closeness that he greatly enjoyed. This was how it was now, the two of them strolling around the case arm-in-arm, just looking around at the creatures and occasionally commenting to each other.

"You know, I think we should find the Erumpent a mate," Tina mused, peering into the savannah enclosure. "She looks rather lonely by herself."

"I'm sure we'll find her one," Newt reflected, unable to keep himself from feeling nervous – he just had to find the right moment to ask. "I have been meaning to find another one to keep her company, but the males tend to explode during mating season when they fight. If we did find one we'd have to enlarge the enclosure – two of them with horns full of explosive fluid could be a bit risky."

"Even more so if they had a baby," Tina laughed, and he couldn't help but chuckle at that.

The charmed sky of the inside of the case had morphed into early evening, a warm golden glow spreading over the habitats of the various creatures. It was a wonderful feeling, as if the sun were setting, and Newt knew that this was as perfect a moment as he could get.

Palms sweating just a bit, Newt slowed down the walk so that they stopped completely; Tina turned to face him with a rather confused expression. "Is everything alright? Newt, you look kind of...worried..."

"Oh, no, I'm fine," He assured her, trying his best not to stutter over his words; he took her hands in his and for a moment just stared at her. "Tina...I...I'm making a mess of this already. I apologize..."

"No, you haven't made a mess of anything," Tina told him firmly, somewhat concerned. "What are you trying to say, Newt? You're not sick, are you?"

Newt shook his head. "No, no. Nothing like that. What I'm trying to say is that...that I love you. I love you very much."