Crescendo: A Fantastic Beasts Newtina Fanfiction

Chapter 52

       "Let's go skating," Newt suggested to Tina.

       "What?" she asked blankly.

       "Ice skating," he clarified.

       "I can't skate."

       "I'll teach you."

       "I'm just going to embarrass the both of us."

       "Nobody will be watching."

       "I really can't skate."

       "Oh come on," Newt said. "The ice will be melting soon. This might be our last chance."

       Tina snorted. "You make it sound like it's a life and death matter."

       Newt ignored this remark. "It won't be horrible. I promise."

       "Why do you want to go skating anyway?" she inquired.

       "Because it's fun. And don't change the topic."

       "I can't skate. At all," she repeated.

       "Look, I'll teach you, Tina. You won't embarrass yourself."

       Tina eyed him with a mixture of suspicion and amusement. "Fine," she consented. "But I'm warning you, I'm no ice princess."

       "You don't have to be," Newt shrugged. "I don't mind whether you're clumsy or graceful on ice."

       Tina laughed, shaking her head helplessly. "I can never say no to you when you beg," she giggled.

       "Who said I'm begging?" Newt said indignantly. "I was merely inviting you to go skating with me. Multiple times."

       "You know," she began thoughtfully. "I never imagined you as the type to ice skate."

       "Well, when you have a career as a Magizoologist, you need to be quite skilled in all modes of transportation," he responded, grinning. "Now let's go already."

*****

       Newt and Tina arrived at a frozen pond, surrounded by a bank of snow. There were only a few other people skating, including a couple and two loners. The ice wasn't as thick as it usually was, but it was still safe to skate on. Bulrushes poked out at the edges of the pond, fringing the ice. 

       The weather was chilly, but there was no wind and the air was still. It wasn't snowing or raining, but the sun wasn't out either. 

       "This is perfect weather for skating," Newt observed. "I don't know why there aren't more people out."

       "Maybe because they all knew I was coming and didn't want to see me fall repeatedly?" Tina muttered.

       "Don't say that," he encouraged. "You'll be fine, you'll see."

       They walked over to a bench and strapped their ice skates on. Tina had some difficulty with them, and ended up tying the laces up into a thick knot. Newt unfortunately laughed, which earned him a hard slap to the head.

       "What was that for?" he winced, rubbing the side of his head.

       "For laughing at me!" Tina said indignantly. 

       "All right, all right, I'm sorry," Newt apologized hastily, fearing another sharp blow to the head. "But please do remember, my skull is susceptible to breakage under immense force."