Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
January 06, 2020 3:16 PM
You seem tense. [Tag Tabitha.] by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Usually, Mary and Tabitha saved their time together for when they were in their shared quarters, or else at dinner where socializing was perfectly reasonable. It wasn't that they were necessarily secretive about their relationship - Mary had even told her students they could call her Professor Brooding or Professor Brooding-Hawthorne - but there were days when that simply wasn't enough. Some of those days were when Tabitha had more grading to do than usual, more research to do than usual, or was simply less social than usual. Mary knew her wife was prone to spurts of productive energy, but they were rarely without cause. With this in mind, she brought Tabitha orange juice."I thought you could do with a little cup of sunshine," she said, putting the juice down on Tabitha's desk and gesturing out the window to where a late October sky promised very little sunshine itself. She leaned over Tabitha's desk and kissed her on the cheek before taking a seat opposite her. This was where students sat when they had questions, and Mary felt a little giddy taking that spot. The look in Tabitha's eyes, however, dismissed the idea for her. "Are you doing alright, my love? You seem a bit more stressed than usual."
Mary poured herself and Tabitha each a glass of orange juice and set the latter's pointedly on the stack of paper she was working with. Normally, she wouldn't both interrupt Tabitha and demand attention, but it was clear the woman needed an enforced break and what else was a spouse for but to provide one? "You're such a hard worker, but I do worry about you."
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
You seem tense. [Tag Tabitha.]
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Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
January 06, 2020 3:42 PM
I may be. A little... by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
The mountain of papers on Tabitha's desk seemed never to diminish, no matter how many she pulled from the top and moved to the completed pile which she swore was much smaller than it should be. It was one of the more difficult days today. One of the days where Tabitha could lose hours upon hours at her desk, grading papers, writing lessons, reading books, scribbling notes and all the other things that needed to be done in order to create lessons and prepare students for exams and, in the long run, their future.Tabitha didn't like being stuck in one place for extended periods of time. Her legs felt stiff from being in the same position for hours and her hand was starting to cramp up from the constant usage of her quill. She sighed and ran a hand through her short hair and rolled her shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension that she could feel.
A minute break was all she allowed herself before she returned to the paper she had been reading and grading, pushing up her left shirt sleeve which had been slowly crawling down the length of her arm from her elbow. She scribbled another note, correcting the spelling of 'Expelliarmus' in a student's essay when she heard her classroom door open and her beautiful, lovely wife walked in.
"Mary," she said, her lips twitching upwards slightly before she turned her eyes back to her work. "Let me just finish going over this essay."
The kiss on the cheek was a welcome one, Mary's lips were warm and soft but it did nothing to distract the Defence professor from her grading. "Hm, do I?" she asked absent-mindedly after Mary's question and it wasn't until the glass of orange juice blocked the paragraph she was reading that Tabitha stopped, looked up and met the eyes of her wife and heard the declaration of worry.
"You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine," Tabitha dismissed, though she did have a sip of orange juice. The drink was a welcome one. "I just seem to have set a lot of essays recently..."
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Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
I may be. A little...
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
January 06, 2020 3:49 PM
Recognition is the first step towards rehabilitation. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Mary smirked a little at Tabitha's turn of phrase. "Seem to?" she asked, teasing. "I do believe you're the one who sets the essays, Tabs. Go easy on yourself. Give homework to your students that you both can handle." Mary knew that she had an advantage of sorts in her class. While she did have to deal with some pretty horrific smells, sights, and even effects of poorly brewed potions, it was much easier to grade students' work based on whether their Shrinking Potion actually shrank anything than whether their analysis of the ethics of offensive magic for defensive purposes was well written. Or something. It had been a while since Mary had taken Defense Against the Dark Arts."Have you thought about maybe just . . . being a person? You're super cute and smart and pretty but also you're super worn out. Take care of my wife for me? I've only got the one."
She had had to stand up to put Tabitha's orange juice in front of her and she took advantage of her position to rest her palm against Tabitha's cheek. The woman was one of the strongest and bravest people she'd ever known, but she wasn't without weaknesses. Unfortunately for Tabitha, her weakness seemed to be herself. "What would you tell me if you saw me like this?" Mary asked, using her eyes to gesture to the very crowded desk. "You'd tell me to take a break. You'd tell me to take it easy. You'd tell me how much you loved me and I'd laugh and you'd laugh and it would be great. That's all I'm trying to tell you." Her voice grew softer as she went on, aware that as much as Tabitha needed Mary to be blunt sometimes, she was already so hard on herself that Mary didn't want to add to that. She tried to be an example of forgiveness and self-love. "Ailuros would be so disappointed," she added sarcastically, her eyes twinkling with humor.
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Recognition is the first step towards rehabilitation.
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Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
January 08, 2020 1:54 PM
Rehabilitation may be a step too far by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
In her own head, Tabitha was somewhat at war with herself. She was maybe working a little too hard, perhaps creating too much work for herself and she may have potentially lost track of which classes had which essay and when it was due. However, the more stubborn side of herself argued that as a teacher, the setting of essays was a necessary evil and how else was she to make sure that her students understood the theory behind the magic. Unfortunately, as practical and fun as Defence Against the Dark Arts might seem on the outside with its extensive list of spells to teach, there was an equal amount of theory work to go along side that list. Tabitha wanted to continue to prove that she was a responsible, good teacher and that her students were well-prepared for the future."Your wife is fine," Tabitha responded, trying to dismiss Mary's worries. "It's just a bit of extra work, that's all."
The comment Mary had made about Tabitha seeming worn out was somewhat unnerving. 'Worn out' were not words that Tabitha associated with herself. 'Worn out' could lead to the implication that she needed to 'slow down', something that the Defence teacher thought was absolutely preposterous. She was only thirty-one for heaven's sake. She could still go hike the Appalachian Trail on the hunt for a Wampus Cat or barter her way across India and the Far East in search of Occamy eggs. She was still as quick as a whip with her wand and could more than just hold her own in a duel. Why, it was still on the higher side of likely that she's win the vast majority of her duels.
Mary's words were very sweet and her hand was warm and it was true that if Tabitha saw her wife exhausted and worn out, she would say the very things that the Potions professor was declaring that she would say but this felt a little over the top. So, her workload was a little heavier than normal and perhaps she wasn't sleeping as well at night but that didn't mean she was worn out.
She tried to manage a smile, which came a little easier when Mary mentioned Ailuros. The kneazle was, oddly, not to be found in their company. "Where is that little rascal, anyway?" Tabitha asked, trying to change the subject to something other than her being worn out. Which she wasn't. She was fine.
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Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
Rehabilitation may be a step too far
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
January 08, 2020 9:52 PM
Not at this rate. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Tabitha had never been unkind to Mary, and that was true now as well. The problem was that she was sweet to Mary and unkind to herself. Mary had half a mind to remind Tabitha that 'just a little bit of extra work' was also just a little bit less time with Mary, just a little bit less time she could give her students her attention, just a little bit less time she could relax, and on and on. Guilt, however, was not the path Mary wanted to take, in part because she didn't want to give Tabitha any more reasons to be hard on herself. Tabitha actually opened herself up to a perfect response by drawing attention to Ailuros' absence, though, and Mary couldn't turn down that opportunity."You of all people should know," Mary began, raising an eyebrow and smirking at Tabitha. "That kneazles don't like dishonest people." She let that sink in a moment before continuing. "If nothing else, you're lying to yourself, my love. You are so much more than a professor and I can't help wondering if . . . well . . . " She looked down at her hands. She was beyond certain that Tabitha was in love with her, but that didn't mean she was happily in love with her and that hurt. "I can't help wondering if this isn't the place for you. You're an adventurer at heart. I'm the one who likes to spend hours at a desk, brewing, grading, chatting with students. You like to be outside. When was the last time you spent time outside? Or dueled? Or made a sketch of something you'd seen?"
Mary's lips pressed together into a flat line and she brushed the backs of her fingers across Tabitha's cheek. "If you're happy here, that's wonderful. Nothing in the world makes me happier than being with you, but . . . well, we have rooms now. We could even get a house. And you can apparate back home to me when you have things that have kept you more interested than student essays. My love, when was the last time you were excited about something?" Happy memories of just a few nights previously came to mind and she quickly amended the question, blushing. "Something other than me?"
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Not at this rate.
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Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
January 09, 2020 1:00 PM
There is no rate to be measured. by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
Tabitha didn't like it when she felt guilt creeping on her, especially when she wasn't really sure why she was feeling guilty in the first place. She hadn't actually done anything wrong or as far as she knew, she hadn't. This was ridiculous! All of this discussion because she had taken on some extra work. If anything, she'd have thought that Mary would've been somewhat pleased that the Defence professor was a bit more focused on her job and a bit more stable, instead of hopping all over the place. Now, her guilt was starting to shift to annoyance."I'm fine and there is nothing wrong with being here at Sonora!" she exclaimed, perhaps a little too loudly. "I am perfectly content here with you. I enjoy teaching."
The questions that followed were just as unwelcome because Tabitha was forced to admit that she hadn't been for a proper walk outside in a while, her work keeping her confined to her desk. Sometimes, in the little breaks she gave herself, she idly sketched beasts from memory but she hadn't been out in the wilderness, tracking a beast for hours before finding a suitable spot to settle and sketch. .
"I duelled with Darius during the summer," she tried lamely and knew that Mary wouldn't accept that. The duel during the summer had been simply fun, nothing more than a few childish hexes thrown around before Evangeline told them off for making too much noise and risking waking the twins. It had been amusing and fun but Tabitha knew that it didn't really count. Her last real duel had been with Mary in the Mirage Chamber and that had been such a long time ago.
Mary was now talking about houses and Tabitha wanted desperately to bring the conversation to an immediate stop. What was wrong with their chambers at Sonora? A house meant truly settling down, slowing down! A house meant stable roots which meant the possibility of children which meant that Tabitha would have to stop doing all the adventuring that Mary was pointing out that she loved and she was only thirty-one. This was too intense.
"I'm always excited when we go away during the holidays," she muttered and the comment sounded just as lame as the earlier one about the duel.
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Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
There is no rate to be measured.
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
January 10, 2020 7:34 PM
I guess I shouldn't have said anything. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
For a moment, Tabitha's snap back made Mary recoil in surprise. However, she knew that she must be hitting on something if it was getting to Tabitha and although she didn't want to actually upset her wife, she did want to get through to her. She frowned a little, her expression showing how worried she felt. Her eyes, she knew, were full of love and adoration and concern; she hoped Tabitha could see that."You don't usually talk to me like that," Mary said a little sadly. She kept her voice soft, as if she might disappear at a word. "I just worry about you, babe."
Tabitha tried to make excuses but Mary could tell that she knew they wouldn't work even before they came out. Mary didn't bother to argue with them; it wasn't worth the frustration it would cause Tabitha. Instead, she searched Tabitha's face for a moment before looking away. "Do you know that I'm proud of you? That I'm really really proud of you? You're an amazing teacher, a great wife, and positively the most brilliant woman I've ever met. I'm proud to be with you. I'm proud of you whether you're teaching, and settling into this life we've built here, or whether you're out doing what you love most. I love you more than anything, Tabs. I didn't mean to upset you . . . I'm just really worried. I couldn't not say anything."
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Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
I guess I shouldn't have said anything.
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