One Week Later...

Newt had an entire night planned for their final night in New York City. As soon as ______ woke up in the morning, she was already bombarded by hospitality from Newt. They had been staying in the Goldstein's extra bedroom, but Tina and Queenie were already at work today. Friday, unfortunately, was still a work day for them.

______ woke up to Newt's smiling face super close to hers, surprising her only because he was already dressed for the day and standing up with a tray in his hands. "Good morning, love," he told her, kissing her on the forehead and setting the tray next to the bed. "I made you breakfast."

______ looked to her side and saw the tray was filled with two eggs, a bagel with cream cheese, a glass of water and half a potato, sliced thinly. Newt cooked like this occasionally back home, but usually she was the one who insisted on cooking. She smiled, looking from the tray back to Newt. "Thank you so much, it looks really good. Aren't you having any?"

"Oh, I already ate," he told her, looking from her eyes to her lips. Just a week ago, she looked like she had been through the rounds with life, but you couldn't tell now. Her lips were perfectly moisturized, her face clear of dark circles and her eyes looked refreshed. Even though she just woke up and her hair was a little messy, he thought she looked perfect. Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked back into her eyes. "I'm going to go ahead and feed everyone else," he motioned to his case. "I know it's our last full day here, and I have the day planned, so I'm going to make the most of it."

"Sounds good to me," she told him, reaching for the tray. When she started eating, Newt disappeared into his case, and his nerves filled him.

He wanted to make tonight a very special night, and he was doing everything in his power to make sure it was a perfect day. As he was feeding his beasts, thoughts about how the night would go filled his mind, and he was hoping it would be evening already. He couldn't wait. It took him longer than usual to feed everyone since he was distracted, and by the time he was done, it had been almost two hours later. He climbed out of his case and closed it, hearing the faint sound of a shower going.

While she was in the shower, Newt leaned under the bed and pulled out the box he had hidden underneath it: a new self-ironing dress in her favorite color. It was fitted at the waist and the skirt flowed to the knees like a ball gown, magic keeping its shape intact. It was one of the newer styles, and he knew she'd love it. He was excited to give it to her tonight. He pulled it out just to look at it again before putting it away.

______ entered the room, her hair wet, but fully clothed. She was wearing a casual outfit today, a long black skirt paired with a blouse in her favorite shade. Newt smiled at her. "You look lovely," he told her.

"Wouldn't want to look any less for you," she went up to Newt and wrapped her arm around his. "What's the agenda for today?"

Newt smiled at her, standing a little straighter. "Well, I remember you saying that you wanted to spend some time in the shops around here a while ago, so I thought we'd spend some time on 5th street. Afterwards, Central Park for lunch, and I have some special plans for dinner at around 6. Does that sound good to you?"

______ nodded happily. "Going anywhere with you sounds perfect," she told him, moving her hand down and intertwining it with hers. He couldn't help but just stare at her eyes, they were mesmerizing, and he wished he could just stand there and look at them forever.

Alas, the rest of the day waited for them.

Newt pulled out his pocket watch and took note of the time: 10 o'clock. He planned on about three hours of going along fifth street with ______ before heading to Central Park for lunch. He had already packed something for them this morning while making breakfast, and he had it waiting in his case, out of reach of any hungry beasts.

They headed out, and he almost estimated the time they spent shopping perfectly. Two and a half hours later, their feet were aching with the amount of walking they did. ______ bought a few things for their house, including a beautiful clock, new satin bedsheets, and a few small decorations. She spent a lot of time at home when they were in Britain, her favorite place to go while they were back in Britain was Hogsmeade, and she knew there was no way she'd get a job there.

She didn't mind it though, Newt had a mostly stay-at-home job when he was writing. She didn't quite know what she wanted to do yet, but she had enough fun taking care of Newt's beasts at home, and she thought that was a big enough job that she could be satisfied doing that. After all, who wouldn't want to spend time with so many amazing creatures? She loved taking care of them.

They headed towards Central Park, and after lunch provided by Newt (which was just as amazing as breakfast), Newt suggested that they take a boat ride. "I'm sure it'll be fun!" he assured her.

"I haven't gone on one of the boat rides since I was a kid," she looked at some of the groups on the water. They looked so happy, with umbrellas giving them shade and wide smiles on their faces. "I'd love to."

Newt ended up paying the fee, and soon enough, they were out on the water. Newt rowed them out into the center before putting the paddles aside and letting the water take them where it wanted to. Newt looked around, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was very warm, he had decided to wear nothing but a short-sleeved button up and a pair of nice dark-brown dress pants with a black belt. "Central Park is so beautiful," he thought aloud to ______.

"I haven't been here in ages," ______ said. "Even when I lived here, I didn't come here much. I don't know why now, it's so lovely. I could soak in this view forever." ______ looked over at Newt and couldn't help but fall in love with the way he looked right now. He was staring up at the sky with his eyes full of wonder, and a subtle smile was placed onto his lips. His freckles decorated his face beautifully, and his blue-green eyes shined in the light. His curly hair fell on his face perfectly, and she so desperately wished she had a camera to capture this moment, instead of letting it slip into the past.

She wanted to keep this moment with her all of the time.

Newt's thoughts drifted back to what they had gone through on this trip. It didn't go as planned, as things for him never did. He wished things had gone differently, that he hadn't almost lost ______ to Maverick again. Dumbledore said he'd take care of it, and left with him to Britain as soon as possible, promising he'd explain what happened to the Ministry so Newt could extend his trip to make up for the lost time. He looked over at ______.

He didn't know what he would've done if anything had happened to her. If what he was told was true if she truly had been imaginary the entire time, he didn't know what his life would be like. However, that was impossible. Here she was now in front of him, smiling in the sunlight as they drifted in a boat in Central Park. Despite everything that happened, she seemed so genuinely happy. Of course, she was having nightmares. Newt was helping her through them, and she had told Newt everything that had happened, even the part about Maverick tricking her into thinking she was pregnant. That got him thinking: he really did want to have kids with ______. What Maverick said wasn't true. Magical or not, Newt would love any child that he and ______ created together.

______ looked around at the scenery as they drifted along. "There's so much green," she looked over at Newt. "I love Central Park. It's such a beautiful place. It's easy to forget sometimes that New York has beautiful, green places like this. When you're surrounded by buildings stories high and you see nothing buy grey because of it, it gets draining. But Central Park is wonderful."

Newt looked around and nodded. "I agree completely. I can understand why you missed New York so much."

She moved closer to him, their knees touching while facing each other. "My home is in Britain now, with you," she assured him, looking right in his eyes. "I get homesick sometimes, sure, but there's nowhere I'd rather be than in Britain with you. Every day I spend with you is like another adventure."

Newt smiled, reaching over and taking her hand. "Home is wherever I go with you," Newt told her. "I'm so incredibly lucky to have you in my life."

"I'm incredibly lucky that your Niffler decided to rob my apartment," ______ laughed a little. "I still will never find that silver bracelet, will I?"

"I still don't think you had one," Newt teased her slightly. "I can't believe it hasn't even been a year of us together. I can't remember what it was like before you were in my life."

"I can. I was lonely, all alone in a big city and broke. I was in debt trying to remain in my apartment, my job sucked the soul out of me, and I didn't have much to look forward to. Newt, you improved my life greatly. I truly don't know what I did to deserve you."

"All you had to do was be yourself," Newt smiled at her. "That's all I ask of you. You help me be myself more and more every day."

He leaned over, cupping her face in his hand, looking in her eyes. He couldn't help but be happy when she was around. It didn't matter what the situation was, it was better if she were around. He leaned in and kissed her, not caring if they were in public. He usually wasn't a huge fan of PDA, he got rather shy, but he didn't care right now.

Once they got back to shore, Newt looked at his watch. Their reservations were at 6 o'clock and right now it was approaching 5:15. He still wanted to go back and show her the dress he got her for tonight. "We should get going back," Newt told her. "There's something I want to give you before we go to dinner."

______ raised her eyebrows in curiosity. Newt usually wasn't this adamant about time, they went with the flow and went where the evening took them. However, it seemed like Newt had something very special in mind for tonight, he couldn't take his eyes off his watch today. "Alright, let's go," she wrapped an arm around his and they snuck off into a hidden corner of the park before Newt apparated them closer to the apartment.

Once they got back, Newt insisted that ______ stay out in the living room and close her eyes as he went and got her surprise. She closed her eyes. "You're being awfully mysterious today, Newt," she observed, hoping he could hear her from wherever he had gone to.

"Well, what's fun without a little mystery?" He asked, coming back into the room, carefully holding the dress in his hands. He carefully took one of Queenie's mannequins she had for clothes she sewed and put the dress on it. He carried it silently and put it right in front of her before saying, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes and covered her mouth as her jaw dropped from the dress she was looking at. It was stunning. It was her favorite color, cinched at the waist and had a beautiful skirt. Not only that, but there was a gorgeous design around the neckline that looked like it was shining in the light, made with golden thread to make it pop. She went up to the dress and felt it: it was unbelievably smooth and soft. She looked over at Newt. "I don't know what to say," ______ looked at him in wonder. "Newt, this dress is gorgeous. I... thank you," she pulled him into a hug, which he quickly returned and rested his head against her.

"Of course," he told her. "You deserve nice things, ______. I love you. You should put it on, we're going to dinner soon and I'd love to see this on you." He couldn't wait, to be honest. He knew she was going to look stunning, and it was going to be a lot more than his heart could handle.

He just hoped that everything was going to go as planned tonight. It wasn't just dependent on him, he had enlisted the help of Tina and Queenie for just a few of the details.

"I will," she carefully took the dress off and went into the other room to change. A few minutes later, she came out, and she looked better than Newt could have ever imagined. Not only did the dress look perfect on her, she matched it with a pair of skin-colored leggings and a pair of black heels.

"You look perfect," he told her. "You are perfect."

______ could feel a blush creep onto her face. "Newt, you look good too."

While she was changing, Newt used just a touch of magic to change into his attire for the night: a black suit that was fitted just for him, along with a cream-colored button up and a blue-green tie to match it (Queenie had helped him pick out the tie – telling him that color really brought out his eyes).

Newt went up to her and took her hand in his. "Let's go, shall we?"

He led her outside quietly, where the second surprise was waiting: Tina had told him there were many places in New York where he could arrange a carriage ride. So, he gave her some money and trusted her to find one that was fitting. She did not disappoint, outside the door to the apartment was a carriage waiting for them. ______'s eyes went wide. "Is that for us?"

"Yes, it is," he told her. His original idea was to have a hippogriff take them to dinner, but he had to think twice about it, forgetting that New York was populated more by Muggles than by wizards. They would likely not take well to a hippogriff flying two citizens around. Newt helped her onto it, and they were on their way to their next location: a restaurant called Stardust.

______ was taken away by the ride around New York. The lights and the city bustling around them was stunning, and she wished that every night could be like this, but she was glad it wasn't. It was the ordinary nights that made nights like this truly special. She was glad that Newt was the one who introduced her to magic, she was proud to be a Muggle. Being a Muggle is what made magic so special to her, knowing that it's truly a gift.

Once they got to the restaurant, the carriage rode off. It was fine, what Newt had in mind after dinner wasn't too far away. In fact, he planned to apparate there. It was faster, and if he was right, the only person who was scheduled to go there on that night was the reservations he made for ______ and him.

They went inside, and the place was packed, Newt knew it would be. That's why he planned in advance. He went up to the greeter. "Two for Scamander," he said quietly.

"I got two for Salamander," the greeter replied back in a thick Brooklyn accent. "Follow me." Newt sighed, and behind him he could hear ______ giggle. This wasn't the first time this has happened to him. ______ sometimes like to take him to Muggle places in Britain, and it seemed that without a famous brother to compare him too, no one had ever heard of the last name 'Scamander.'

They followed the waiter to a lovely window seat in a warm section of the restaurant and gave them menus to look at. The second the waiter left, ______ started to lighten the mood. "This is lovely, Mr. Salamander. It's truly a pleasure to be here with you."

Newt sighed. "Is it the accent? Can people here just not understand my accent?" he asked, half-jokingly.

"If it were, then the same thing wouldn't happen at Muggle restaurants back home," she teased him. "I think it suits you. I mean, a salamander is an animal. You like animals."

"I quite like my last name," Newt told her, beginning to look at the menu. I'm hoping you like it too, he thought, but didn't voice it. No way was he going to give any hints as to what the final surprise of the evening was going to be.

Dinner lasted about an hour and a half, and Newt was beginning to take things slow again. His nerves, however, went into full effect. The time drew nearer and nearer to when he was going to ask her the question, and he was nervous to how she'd respond. He was really hoping that she didn't think he was taking things too fast, or if she needed more time to adjust after everything that had happened. It was always his plan to propose here, ever since they planned the trip, but after everything that happened, he hoped it was still a good time.

After Newt paid (______ wanted to ask where he was getting all of the Muggle money to pay for this, but figured there must be some way to transfer wizard money to Muggle money), he took her hand and led her outside. "Alright, I've got one last place in mind for tonight," he had a smile on his face, but ______ could tell he was nervous about something. A few times throughout the night, he was having more trouble than usual maintaining eye contact with her.

"Where is it?" she asked, the chill starting to get the best of her. She stepped towards Newt, body heat coming off of him.

He pulled out a small black blindfold from his pocket. "It's a surprise," he told her. "We're going to apparate there, and you're going to guess."

Newt pulled her into a hidden corner of a nearby alley before putting the blindfold on her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, getting ready to apparate. No matter how many times they did it, there was always the expectation of feeling like she'd fall into nothingness if she didn't hold onto Newt with everything she had. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

"As I'll ever be," she replied. Newt drew his wand, but before apparating, placed a kiss on top of ______'s head. Then, with the flick of his wrist, they were out of the alley.

The first thing ______ noticed when the world steadied around them was how cold it was. If she thought it was cold before, the temperature must have dropped by about ten degrees. Not to mention, a light wind blew through her dress, raising the skirt just a little, and she put an arm down to keep it from going any higher. The noises of the city seemed far away, but she could hear water around her, as if they were surrounded by it. "Any guesses?" she heard Newt's voice.

"Um... some sort of island. Where it's cold, and quiet," she started. She was at a loss. "Where are we?"

Newt removed her blindfold to show her exactly where they were: on top of the Statue of Liberty's crown. A place where you had to reserve, and Newt had. However, it took a little bit of time to convince them that he did not need the tour, he wanted to be up there alone. However, he wasn't alone up here, and it wasn't just he and ______ up there either. Tina had promised to be up there with Newt's special wizard-camera to capture the special moment.

______ looked out on the city. "Newt, this is amazing..." she stared out into the city, and she couldn't believe they were up so high. She turned to him. "This entire night has been so special and surreal. I can't believe all of this."

Newt smiled at her. "You deserve it," his eyes wandered down to her chest and the object that was laying on it gently: the locket he had gotten her for Christmas. "You're wearing the locket," he smiled, remembering the picture they had taken that was inside it. He had the same one that was framed and on his desk at the Ministry.

She held it in her hands. "It's so lovely, when I saw this dress, I knew it would go with it. I wanted an excuse to pair it with something while we were on this trip," she opened it. "That was an amazing Christmas."

Newt looked behind her and saw Tina standing, trying her best to hide with the huge camera. He gave he a thumbs up, the time was now. He was going to do it.

"We need to take another picture, put a new picture in there," he started. "Don't you think?"

"I'd love that," she smiled and looked up at Newt. The look on his face had gone completely serious, and he looked like he was sweating. It was surprising: he was sweating in this kind of chill? "Are you alright, Newt?"

"______, there's something I need to tell you," he started. "I know it's going to be a lot, so I'm going to ask you to be patient with me. Is that alright?"

She nodded. "What's on your mind?"

Newt laughed slightly: a result of the nerves. "You are, always. ______, since you came into my life, so much has changed. I care about you more than I care about anything else in my life, you are the most important person in my life. You helped make me the person I am today. When I met you, I was still refusing to come out of my shell. I still stumble for words sometimes, I still get shy sometimes, and I still am at a loss for words whenever I look into your perfect eyes. However, you give me something that so rarely do other people: patience. You wait for me to explain, you help me with ideas and with taking care of my beasts, and you moved across the sea to live in a foreign country on a whim with me. There's nothing you haven't done for me, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Newt took a deep breath, reaching into a pocket subtly before continuing. "When you were gone, when I didn't see you, it was like I couldn't breathe. I missed you terribly, and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. Waking up and seeing your face every day, seeing you every night, every kiss, every second we spend together means everything to me. You mean everything to me. ______, I love you. I love you more than I could love anyone or anything else in this life. And I'd love..." Newt took a deep breath, getting down on one knee and pulling out the box he had been holding onto with sweaty hands, carefully opening it and revealing a gorgeous diamond ring. "If you'd become ______ Scamander and marry me."

______ was breathless and speechless. Tina set up the shot, ready for the moment Newt put the ring on her finger. "Yes, Newt. Yes, I will marry you. I'll be here for you, for everything. I love you."

Tina started the camera as Newt put the ring on her finger, stood up, took her in his arms and spun her, setting her down and kissing her after going 360 degrees. Tina got it all, and once the camera finished, it made a rather loud noise. ______ looked over and noticed her for the first time. "Tina!" ______ called out, and she couldn't help but smile. "Were you taking a picture of all that?"

"From the moment he put the ring on your finger to the moment he kissed you," Tina told her with a smile, a tear coming out of her left eye. She was happy for them, and she was so glad that everything worked out. She wanted nothing more than to see Newt happy, and ______ happy too. She deserved it, they both did. "I got it all. It'll make a lovely picture for your locket."

______ pulled her into a hug unexpectedly, and Tina was shocked before hugging her back. "Thank you," ______ told her. "For everything."

"I almost got you killed, it's the least I can do."

"I forgave you, Tina. Don't spend your life feeling guilty, I'm here, and I'm happy, and I'm safe as can be. I was just given the best night of my life with Newt, and I'm guessing you had a lot to do with it."

"Tina was a huge help," Newt came up behind ______, putting his jacket around her. He noticed she was shivering when he spun her. "Thank you, Tina," he smiled at her.

"I'll leave you two alone," Tina told them, taking out her wand. "Have a lovely night." With a flick of her wand, she was gone.

Newt turned to ______. "This was the end of my planning," he admitted. "What do you want to do?"

"The night is ours," ______ told him, going closer to him, pulling his tie so he was closer to him. "The night is young. We can do anything. We're free."

Just the two of them against the world. From this day, to the end.

Free.