Stories of Our Life [Volume 1]

23: "There's Something on Your Face"

"Newt?" Tina called out as she placed her coat on the coat stand by the door. She looked around for the messy-haired Magizoologist but, unfortunately, couldn't find him.

Tina wandered over to the living room of Newt's apartment to see if he was there, reading a book or finishing up on his manuscript for another edition of his book. What she found, instead, was a white, long-haired creature with big, beady eyes staring up at her with child-like curiosity.

Tina smiled. "Hey, Dougal," she greeted the creature. The demiguise ambled over to her and gave her an expression that Tina just accepted as a smile. Tina stooped down to meet Dougal's eye-level. She patted him on the head affectionately, causing him to purr.

"Have you seen Newt anywhere?" Tina asked. Dougal looked like he was thinking for a moment before walking towards the kitchen. Tina stood up and followed the creature.

The pair arrived at the kitchen. Tina sighed. Newt wasn't there either. She looked at Dougal again and asked, "Do you think he's upstairs?" The demiguise just shook his head. Then, he ambled over towards one of the cupboards on the left side of the room. He then reached up and pulled himself up to reach the cupboard.

Tina laughed softly, realizing what he was about to do. "Oh, come now, don't tell me you just led me to the kitchen so you can eat," she chided playfully. The demiguise didn't give a response, opening the cupboard and began rummaging through the containers inside. Tina giggled and shook her head.

"Alright," she said, walking over to the creature. She picked him up from the countertop and placed him on the dining table. She then turned towards the cupboard and took out a small jar of leaves that was labeled 'Dougal'. Closing the cupboard, Tina placed the jar on the countertop and opened it. She took a handful of leaves and gave them to Dougal who happily accepted them and began eating.

Tina returned the jar into its place in the cupboard and watched as the demiguise ate its leaves with amusement. When he finished, Tina requested, "Now, can you tell me where Newt is?" Dougal nodded and hopped off the table. He took Tina's hand and pulled her towards the entrance to Newt's basement.

Tina smiled. Of course, he'd be here, she thought. She followed Dougal down the flight of stairs and towards one of the enclosures in Newt's humungous basement. There, she found the Zouwu, the creature Newt's caught back in Paris months ago. The zouwu seemed to be cuddling something and Tina didn't have to guess what it was. She thanked Dougal and approached the large, cat-like creature.

"Ahem," she coughed, causing the creature to look at her. It grinned at the sight of her and bounced over to her to cuddle. Tina laughed and hugged it. "Hello there," she whispered. Tina buried her face into its mane and sighed happily.

"Tina! You're here!" a voice exclaimed from behind the zouwu. Opening one eye, she saw the man she was looking for.

Newt Scamander stood in front of her and the zouwu, a wide grin on his face. Tina couldn't help but laugh at his appearance: his hair was tousled, his shirt was untucked from his pants, and he was covered in dirt all over. He looked like he just rolled around in the dirt all day. Maybe he did, Tina giggled.

"Welcome back, love," Newt greeted as he walked towards her. Tina untangled herself from the zouwu and approached Newt.

"Hmm," she hummed, "looks like someone had fun in the dirt today."

Newt blushed and looked down at himself. "Oh, you know...the zouwu liked rolling me into the dirt whenever I come to play with it," he admitted with a shy smile.

Tina giggled. "Of course, it did," she said, doing a quick glance towards the zouwu behind her. It was playing with the grass, now. It really looked like an oversized cat with a very long tail. Tina found it cute.

She then stared at Newt. He was dusting himself off of the dirt on his shirt. Tina walked closer to him and cupped his face gently. Newt's eyes widened and he stiffened as Tina turned his head from left to right, her eyes narrowed. She looked as if she was observing something.

"Uhm...Tina, what is it?" he asked.

"There's something on your face..." Tina replied softly.

"Oh, really? Wait, let me just-" Newt was cut off by Tina pressing her lips against his. Newt didn't even get a chance to react when she pulled away after a mere second. She was smirking, looking really self-satisfied. Newt was pretty sure that his face was burning at that moment.

"What..." he gasped, looking at Tina in surprise.

"It was me," Tina said. Newt felt his face heat up again, feeling really, really flustered.

Tina took his hand in hers and pulled him out of the enclosure. "C'mon, darling," she said, "let's get you cleaned up before dinner." Newt smiled and nodded. Oh, how I do love this woman so much, he thought.

[Edited and Re-uploaded: July 21, 2020]