This was originally published on June 16th, 2018 on Ao3 and is being included here for the sake of thoroughness.
Warnings: semi-explicit smut, and lots of dialogue.
It's a few hours past sunset when Tina sets her tea down, scrubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "I think I'm going to turn in," she tells Newt, yawning around a stretch. "I'm beat and starting to get sore from everything that happened yesterday."
Newt marks his place in the book he's reading — The Scars of Salem, on her recommendation — before laying it aside. "I'll join you," he says, glancing at the bed quickly before looking away. "Providing, uh, that you're still willing to share with me, that is."
Tina stands and takes his hand to help him upright, sweeping a gentle thumb over the dark crescents beneath his eyes. "Please come to bed with me," she murmurs and uses her wand to bank the fire and douse the candles before leading him across the room.
They strip down to their underwear in the dark, eschewing night clothing in favor of added blankets. A quick spell warms the sheets, and they press together in the middle of the bed, fingers clasped, staring at the ceiling as Tina listens to his light, quick respiration. She can almost hearNewt thinking from this proximity, and she counts to 59 before he rolls onto his side, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her close.
"Please just let me—" he begins, only to chuckle when she eagerly spoons against him, settling into the lines of his body with a sigh when he presses a kiss to the nape of her neck.
"Is that better?" Tina asks lightly. Newt hums in answer, his lips lingering on her skin before pressing his face into her hair. He inhales deeply, his fingers tracing nonsense patterns over her hip, and Tina smirks while squeezing his hand. "Are you — are you sniffing me?"
Newt shrugs. "You smell good," he offers simply, and slants his nose along her neck, snuffling lightly and making her giggle. "Like snow and smoke and soap and just... Tina. " He shrugs and squeezes her, exhaling slowly. "Forgive me if that makes you uncomfortable but scent is a primary component of attraction so I thought you'd, er — like to know."
Tina turns in his arms, tucking her face into his throat and inhaling deeply. "I see what you mean," she tells him when his woodsy, masculine scent fills her nose. "You smell like parchment and trees and sweat." She nuzzles the ledge of his jaw, feeling him swallow before kissing just behind his ear. "Cologne too, or is that aftershave?"
He smiles, his hand drawing long lines over her back. "Cologne, I think. I haven't shaved since yesterday morning, and I've washed since then." Tina shivers a little, reminded that neither of them had been able to tolerate an actual bath, resigning themselves to a washcloth and soap due to the lingering memories of their near-fatal plunge. Newt kisses her forehead.
"You don't shave every day," she remarks, scraping her fingertips up his cheek and grinning at the loud rasp of his stubble. "Is that because you're usually working? Or do you just not care when you are out in the field?"
"Oh, it's both," Newt says easily. "Well, that, and up until the war, I visited a barber regularly so I never had to think about it. After the war, and especially when I traveled, I found that I didn't care so much about appearances and started attending to it irregularly." He turns his head to look down at her, and she can see his brow furrowing even in the dark. "Does it bother you?"
Tina kisses his chin and the corner of his mouth before smiling. "Not at all. It's...manly. I like it!"
"I could grow a beard," he offers, laughing when she pulls a face. "No? Alright, that's fine with me. The mustache I was forced to wear during the war was quite enough facial hair for my liking."
"I can't picture you with a mustache," Tina says and laughs before falling silent. She drapes her arm around his waist while kissing the notch in his chest, inhaling his scent as he steadily strokes her back. A few minutes pass in comfortable silence until she sighs, nibbling her lower lip. "I'm sorry, I'm tired but I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a while. Am I keeping you awake?"
Newt slips further down in the sheets, pressing his forehead against hers and twining their fingers together. "Not at all," he murmurs, and warmth fills her chest when he kisses the tip of her nose. "In fact, I doubt I'll be able to sleep for a bit myself. I'm...I miss my creatures and I'm not used to having a day off. I'm still rather wound up, I'm afraid."
Tina tuts while smoothing down his ridiculous hair. "I'm sure Jacob and Queenie are taking very good care of them," she reassures him while squeezing his hand. "What do you usually do when you can't sleep? How do you unwind?"
He goes still against her, carefully holding his breath until Tina lifts her head to look at him in confusion. Newt raises his eyebrows and moistens his lips before looking away, his face flushing guiltily.
"Oh, for Dorcas' sake," Tina sighs when she realizes the reason for his reaction, kissing his throat to take the sting out of her words. "Are we or are we not both adults here?"
"I can only speak for myself," Newt says, looking down at her through his eyelashes. "But let me assure you that I am an adult." He cards his fingers through her hair, tipping his chin defiantly when she refuses to look away. "Besides, you did ask."
"That wasn't the answer I was expecting," Tina explains, feeling her cheeks heat in a blush before tracing circles over the hard plane of his chest as he watches her steadily. She hates herself for even wondering but her damnable curiosity won't let it go, and she fingers the textured skin at his throat before asking casually, "So...do you do that often?"
His hand lands lightly on her head when he closes his eyes before pressing out a sigh. "I find that I'm doing... that ...much more often of late," Newt admits, and nervously rolls a strand of her hair between his fingers as she grins at him. "Which isn't typical for me."
Tina takes his hand, kissing his palm before bringing it to her cheek. "I really don't mind, you know," she laughs, letting him feel her blush. "I'm doing that a lot more, too. I know part of it is work but that's not the only reason. Um." She kisses his chest when he shifts to tuck his other arm beneath his head, watching her curiously as the words stick in her throat until she spits them out, all in a rush. "It's really too bad we can't do that now, isn't it?"
Newt tenses beside her, lips parting in a silent, "Oh!" of surprise as he blinks wide eyes before jolting upright. His hand cups her jaw when he leans in, searching her eyes before kissing her, taking his time with it and gently exploring her mouth until they are both short of breath, his arms trembling.
"We could, you know," he murmurs against her lips, stroking her hair in a calming gesture when she gasps. "W-we've established that there's a precedent for it, and I have no shame in that regard, Tina, but I would never pressure you into doing something you don't want to do." He meets her eyes while tipping their foreheads together, his hand resting neutrally on her arms. "Sleep is important but not as important as making you comfortable. So tell me, love. Tell me what you want, and that's what we'll do."
Tina slides her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him when she pushes upright for a deeper kiss before breaking away to kiss a path over his neck and shoulder. "It's not just about me, you know," she murmurs into his skin, scraping his collarbone with her teeth and earning a gasp. "Whatever I do, you'll do too, right?"
"Yes," Newt says, clearing his throat hastily when his voice cracks. "Whatever you want. Just — just tell me."
"It seems like we can't do anything at a normal pace," Tina muses, using her grip on his shoulders to tug him over her when she lays back. "It's either too fast or too slow." She kisses him to show that she doesn't mean anything bad by it while taking his wrist and guiding his hand to her stomach, pressing it into the rayon of her camisole before meeting his eyes. "Now please touch me."
"Of course," Newt breathes, brushing his mouth over hers before sliding down her body to straddle her thighs, his warm weight lightly pinning her to the mattress. She hums in welcome when he cradles her jaw before lightly dragging his stubble the length of her neck to nibble the hollow of her throat. He rubs the goosebumps pimpling her arms before tangling their fingers together, squeezing gently and anchoring her when dry lips press to the shoulder strap of her camisole before moving lower, peppering the valley between her breasts.
"I feel I should warn you," he mumbles from somewhere in the vicinity of her ribs, causing her to sigh happily when he moves back up for a quick kiss, "that I can be incredibly handsy. And mouthy. And... everything, really. I've been told it's a bit much sometimes so please Tina, tell me to bugger off if anything I do doesn't — doesn't please you."
She shivers with the heated combination of his words and touch before burying her fingers in his hair. "If you do anything I don't like, believe me, I will tell you," Tina promises, and gasps when his knuckles brush her tingling nipple, taking a moment to get lost in the sensation before finding her breath. "How — how far are we taking this tonight, Newt? Because I'm not sure that I'm ready for, well…"
Newt nibbles her bottom lip until her toes curl, gasping his name when he kisses the upper swell of her breasts. "There are so many things to do with hands and lips and tongues," he muses around her curves, "that I don't think we need to worry about doing anything else right now. Do you?"
Tina shakes her head frantically, and he chuckles while pushing her camisole aside to press his tongue to her skin. "I do have something to ask you, though," he murmurs, "and I'm sorry if you don't think it appropriate, but…" He lifts his head to make eye contact, restless fingers falling still as she holds her breath. "Have you done anything like this before, Tina?"
She considers her answer carefully, comparing her few prior unsatisfactory and fumbling encounters with what he's making her feel now, and wilts a little. "I have," Tina admits in a small voice, looking away guiltily when he cocks his head. "I'm sorry, I know there's a word for women like me, but—"
He cuts her off with a searing kiss, his rough tongue massaging the roof of her mouth. She is breathless when they part, and his lips curl into a smirk when she digs her fingernails into his shoulders at the loss of contact.
"My next question," Newt purrs against her throat, "is whether or not you are okay with me touching you... everywhere ." He brushes the side of her breast with his knuckles before dusting his fingertips over her nipple, grinning when she chokes and arches into the contact. "You, of course, only have to say anyplace is off-limits, but I find it so much more fun to know my boundaries before starting, don't you?"
"Yes," Tina chokes, clamping her fingers around his wrist to keep it in place when he palms her breast. "Newt, you can put your hands wherever you want, just please touch me already !"
"I believe I am," he smirks, rolling her nipple between his index and middle finger while toying with the hem of her camisole. "Can I take it off?"
Her answering sigh is drowned out by his warm chuckle when he tugs her camisole over her head before sucking her nipple into his mouth. The curl of his tongue is a velvet-rough contrast to the gentle fingers swirling over her stomach and thighs. Tina tugs at his hair when he switches to the other side, leaving the tingling point to cool and harden as he nibbles lightly with his teeth, inspiring a moan.
"I like that sound," Newt mumbles into the fullest part of her breast before sliding down to tongue her navel while pressing her thighs apart. His thumb slips beneath the waistband of her bloomers to rub the thin material between his fingers before moving away, strong hands cupping and kneading her bottom. He leverages her pelvis off the mattress to kiss the expanse between her navel and her sex, marking her with his lips and stubble before lowering her to the bed and stretching over her body for a kiss.
"Which would you prefer," Newt asks between pecks, "my hands, my mouth...or both?"
Tina shivers at his sultry tone, hooking her calves over his thighs to hear his broken sigh before rocking her head back. "Hands for now," she manages, squeezing his arms when he nods and nibbles the shell of her ear. "Maybe — maybe more later."
Newt hums, the vibration making her skin tingle. "That sounds perfect," he agrees, leaning back far enough to meet her eyes before sliding his hand between her breasts and over her stomach, beneath the waistband of her drawers to cup her damp curls. She feels her face heat up when he touches her in light, exploratory brushes that gradually intensify until his fingers dip into where she is warmest and wettest, biting his lip when he lowers his head to watch.
Nimble fingers slide over her teasingly to finish with an extravagant swirl before starting again. Newt exhales through his nose while watching her face, kissing her with open eyes before moving lower. His fingers remain in constant contact, sometimes rubbing and tweaking, sometimes pushing in shallowly before resuming their gentle caress. He makes his slow way down her body, sucking, kissing and nibbling every bit of skin his mouth encounters before resting his cheek on her inner thigh, his other hand sliding beneath the leg band of her underwear to frame her core.
"You are lovely like this," Newt breathes and nips at the inside of her leg before inspecting the red mark he's left behind, his finger sunk in and stroking steadily as his thumb ghosts over her clit. "So, so lovely." He kisses her skin in apology before flicking his eyes up to her, and Tina shivers at the depth of his mossy gaze. "Is this good for you?"
She hisses in the affirmative before reaching down to tangle her fingers in his hair, her other hand touching his through the thin rayon of her drawers. "It would be better without these in the way," she admits breathlessly and lifts her hips as he eagerly tugs them off, watching his eyes widen in awe before turning half-lidded and dark.
His finger gleams when he withdraws it to stroke through the dark thatch of hair at her center, leaning in to tremblingly breathe of her scent before finding her clit again, stroking it languidly and sending electricity skittering across her nerves.
"Oh yes, right there !" Tina gasps when he hits upon just the right pressure, arching her back off the mattress on instinct as her hips sway forward. Newt murmurs encouragingly while kissing the crease of her thigh, settling more firmly against her to watch her face as he falls into a rhythm.
A roll takes her hips as she fists his hair, tugging his roots without heed as heat gathers, tiny tremors starting in her center and working outward as he patiently pleasures her, whispering words of encouragement and praise into her skin. She feels the beginning of the end deep within when he shifts to lick a broad swatch along her extreme inner thigh, his murmured, "Do you need more, love?" answered with a frantic nod until a slim but strong finger slides inside her, crooking deliciously and giving her necessary friction.
He adds another when she's on the verge of begging, stretching her until she trembles on the edge. Newt suckles the skin just to the left of her center and purrs, "Come on, Tina," just before she finds her release, moaning his name as she dissolves into molten pleasure. She shudders and gasps as he shifts to press kisses along her hip, his fingers slowing until she can catch her breath, sweat dotting her skin as she stares dazedly at the ceiling.
"Wow," Tina manages and swallows with a dry click when Newt chuckles and lathers her stomach with kisses. "Oh wow, wow. That was, um..."
"Satisfactory, I hope," Newt murmurs, and withdraws his hand to examine it in the low light. She watches as he eyes his glistening fingers before pushing them into his mouth, licking and sucking them clean with a hungry sound. The movement of his lips and tongue does something to her despite her very recent orgasm, and Tina looks away quickly, only to do a double take when he pushes himself to his knees.
Clad only in his underwear and still addressing the slickness on his hand, Tina can see where he is visibly affected by their recent activities. She swallows again, with hunger this time, and waits until he looks at her curiously before reaching out and dragging her knuckles over his stomach. "Do I get to touch you too?"
Newt's throat bobs but he doesn't hesitate when he nods. "Yes," he says, gesturing to the expanse of his body, "anything and any where you'd like, Tina."
"Good," she smirks and plants a hand in the center of his chest to push him back until he's leaning against the headboard with his legs stretched out, the front of his underwear straining toward her. She straddles his thighs with inexplicable confidence, tipping his jaw up for a lingering kiss while toying with his buttons until he shifts to wrap strong fingers around her wrist.
"I won't require much at all," he presses out, "and t-teasing makes it worse because I love it so. Tina, please— "
She cuts him off with a searing kiss, swallowing his sigh as she wraps her fingers around velvety steel that throbs in her hand. Newt breaks away with a groan to drag wet lips over her chin and jaw when she strokes him. They work together to tug his underwear off, flinging them aside before he frantically reels her back in, his stubble burning her upper lip as they kiss deeply, tongues sliding together.
Tina's center tingles when Newt slides his palms over her stomach to cup her breasts, squeezing and pinching gently as she runs her fingers along his length. Tina shifts closer while sliding a hand between them, rewarded with a ragged gasp when she strokes him in time with touching herself, her head falling back as he presses his lips down her throat.
His calloused hand covers her own, firming her grip and increasing the torque of her strokes until he shivers beneath her, his arm sliding around her waist. He rings her nipple with his teeth when she moans breathlessly, rolling her head forward to watch through bleary eyes as he thrusts shallowly into her hand, his lips thinning.
"I'm close," he promises her searching look, only to pinch her behind in censure when her hand on him falls still, the frequency of her own fingers increasing as she strains toward completion.
"Now, that's just cruel," Newt mumbles playfully, making her chuff out broken laughter when he takes himself in hand to mirror her movements, his lips attaching to her throat as she looks past his shoulder.
Newt catches her with one arm when she goes limp with release, moaning her name as he strokes himself faster. Tina comes back to herself in stages, pushing the hair out of his eyes to kiss him while reaching down to cup where he is fullest, squeezing gently and swallowing his moan.
"Your turn, now," she breathes against his ear, feeling him shiver when she sinks her teeth into the fleshy lobe. She moves her mouth to his neck to suck and nibble, waiting until his shudders transmit through her lips before breathing, "Maybe next time, we'll get to do this together ." Her words have their intended effect, and Newt groans her name loudly before tensing and going still, warm fluid pulsing over her hand as she mouths at his skin.
Newt trembles in her arms while catching his breath, ragged gasps giving way to satisfied sighs when he finally lifts his head from her shoulder. "Hello," he breathes and shows a heart-stopping smile before tugging her into an expansive hug. She strokes his messy hair with her clean hand and kisses his forehead until he releases her, his cheeks flaming pink when he looks down at the mess they've made in his lap.
"Terribly sorry about that," he says, vanishing the puddle with a wave of his hand. Newt steadies her by the elbow as she wipes her fingers and eases off of him, stretching with a languid moan and kissing the tip of his nose before burrowing beneath the covers, the chill in the air finally catching up to her. He laughs while joining her, shivering together when he tucks her into his chest before exhaling slowly.
"That was lovely," he whispers and fingers a loose strand of her hair before tucking it behind her ear. "Thank you, Tina."
Tina stretches her neck to kiss him before snuggling deeper into the blankets. "That was fun," she replies and closes her eyes. "We'll have to do that again. Tomorrow night, maybe. I might even let you use your mouth on me." She opens her eyes to reach out and manually close his gaping jaw before scratching behind his ear. "Now go to sleep."
"Yes ma'am," Newt breathes, pulling her close to press his face into her hair before going still. "Goodnight, Tina."
"Goodnight, Newt," she echoes and watches the flicker of the banked coals until he goes slack in her arms, his breathing long and slow as she tucks the moment away to cherish before following him into sleep.
Thanks, as always, to kemara for beta- and proof-reading. Come find me on Tumblr katiehavok, if that's your thing.