Stories of Our Life [Volume 1]

41: Overworking Wives and How to Seduce Them (Into Healthy Sleeping Patterns)

Newt closed the book he was reading. He placed it on his nightstand and took a glance at the clock.

A quarter past midnight.

He sighed and looked at the other side of the bed. It was empty for quite some time now. Newt turned his gaze towards the open door to their bedroom and saw that the light from the kitchen was still on.

She's still up, he thought.

Newt got up from bed with another sigh and exited the room.

Upon entering the kitchen, there he saw his wife, Tina Scamander, sitting at the dining table, pouring over several parchments and notebooks. Her brown-haired head bent over them as she wrote something on one parchment with a very beautiful Thunderbird tail feather quill--a gift from him a few years ago.

Newt crossed his arms and leaned against the wooden archway. He remained silent, opting not to make his presence known to see if she'll notice him standing there.

A minute or three passed and Tina still didn't look up from her work. Newt sighed and finally decided to make himself known.

"Tina."

The woman in question jumped slightly at her name. The quill in her hand dropped and she looked at him, eyes slightly wide in surprise and shoulders stiff. Once both of them met eyes, she relaxed.

"Newt? " Tina asked. "What are you doing up?" She glanced at the nearby clock hanging on the wall before returning to him. "It's past midnight already."

"I think the question is," Newt began, pushing himself from the archway. He approached the table, placed his hands on the surface, and leaned forward a little. Staring blankly at Tina, he asked, "What are you doing up at this hour?"

Tina's cheeks turned pink and looked away. "I'm just finishing up on a report," she replied. She looked at the parchments and notebooks scattered on the table. "I'm almost done."

Newt shook his head."But still, darling, you need to go to bed now," he told her worriedly. "You can finish that some other time."

"It's alright, sweetheart," Tina refused, waving a hand. "And, really, I'm nearly finished with this."

"Are you sure?"

Tina nodded. "Yes," she said, giving him a beautiful smile. But that smile wasn't like the other smiles she had given him. This one looked a bit forced, tired. With that, she returned to writing her report.

Newt pressed his lips together. He watched her again, silently observing. He didn't miss her yawns, or her rubbing her eye every once in a while. And then, he remembered that she had a very busy day yesterday which involved a few arrests and a raid, as she had told him over dinner. She was most definitely tired.

Newt let out a pronounced sigh and tried to convince her to go to bed again. "Tina, please go to bed," he pleaded. "You're obviously tired and not getting enough rest is bad for your health."

Tina stopped writing and looked at him. She shook her head, frowning. "I don't need to go to bed," she stated firmly, "I'm not tired, I'll be fine."

Not tired, she says, laughed Newt. Her appearance literally said otherwise. She had dark circles under her eyes, her hair a tad mussed, and her eyes were red. Merlin, this stubborn woman.

Newt chewed on his lip, thinking of some way to convince her to go to sleep. After a while, he finally thought of something. He walked over to Tina and grabbed her wrist as she was about to write again. He took the quill from her fingers, placed it into the inkwell, and pulled her to her feet.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Newt murmured sweetly to her ear, "But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again."

When he leaned back, his wife's cheeks had gone into a light shade of pink. Her mouth formed a small 'o'.

"O-oh," she stammered, cheeks growing redder, "Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns?"

Newt gave her question a bit of consideration. He gave her a lopsided grin. "Is it working?"

Tina hummed, tilting her head a bit to the right. She was quiet for a while before a coy smirk graced her lips. "Almost," she said, her hands slowly running up his chest and draped her arms on his shoulders. She then leaned in and uttered in his ear, "But, I think you have to work harder to actually convince me, Mr. Scamander."

Newt returned her smirk when she leaned back. "Oh, I'll make it very much worth your while, Mrs. Scamander," he whispered seductively, one hand gripping her hip, the other slowly gliding lower.

"Really?" teased Tina, one eyebrow up and playing with the hairs behind his neck. "And what is it that you're offering?"

Instead of answering, Newt surged forward and pressed his lips against hers hard. Tina ran a hand through his ginger hair while the other went to grab his collar to pull him closer, deepening the kiss. He felt her giggled against him when he nipped her bottom lip.

They pulled away a few seconds later, panting, and pressed their foreheads together.

"You must come to bed and see," Newt said, smirking.

"Take me then, Mr. Scamander." Tina let out a squeal as Newt swept her off her feet to a bridal carry.

"As you wish, my darling," Newt chuckled, pecking her forehead before carrying her to their bedroom, her report forgotten on the table.

[Edited and Re-uploaded: August 7, 2020]