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There was no delicate way to put this: Her husband was a workaholic.
Yor knew this from the start, from their first date, when he arrived at Camilla’s party―bloody and tired.
Later, during the first months of their marriage, when they didn’t even know each other that well, often Yor would hear him―roaming around, the chair of his desk moving against the floor, him using the bathroom at odd hours, and even cooking breakfast before the sun was up.
At some point, Yor even wondered if Loid ever slept. Back then, it wasn’t her place to ask him; they had an arrangement, and they were nothing but convenient roommates. However, as months passed by and they got to know each other, Yor also became concerned with Loid’s (lack of) sleeping schedule.
He was such a sweet man, a devoted father, a considered husband, and he worked so hard so they would have a comfortable life. Yor appreciated how well he took care of her and Anya; nevertheless, she would have happily given up many of those comforts just so her husband could rest. Often, Yor studied him; without a doubt, her husband was a handsome man. However, underneath that perfect face, she could see bags under his eyes, a pale and brittle skin, and the occasional cold he took too long to shake. Surely, he was pushing himself too hard. Surely, a good wife would try to find a way to help her husband. So, that’s what Yor intended to do.
Her first instinct was to ask her colleagues for some advice about what to do when a person struggled to go to sleep.
“I’m not sure I can help,” Sharon told her. “I’ve never suffered from insomnia.”
“Are you having problems sleeping?” Millie intervened.
“Well, no, not me,” she answered. “Loid is the one who…”
“Are you telling us your hot husband is keeping you up at night?” Camilla raised an eyebrow. “Way to flaunt your perfect love life in front of us!”
“N-no!” her face suddenly felt hot. “That’s not what I meant!”
Was that all they thought about? She had just asked them an innocent question.
After that misunderstanding, Yor figured she should find out information on her own. So, at the end of the day, she didn’t go straight home. Instead, she went to the bookstore to find something that could help her husband. It didn’t take her long to find a book called: “Fix Your Sleep, Fix Your Life.”
When she got home, a warm and delicious dinner awaited her, along with her smiling husband and their adorable daughter. She really was very happy here, happier than she had been in years. Realizing that only made her want to help Loid even more. So, that night, while she heard the small noises of her insomniac husband, she read the whole book and decided she would try some of the suggestions she had learned. Hopefully, one of them would work.
Tea
The point was to avoid caffeine. In the book it said that coffee could be replaced by herbal, caffeine-free tea.
This was a tall order; her husband loved coffee. Every morning, Loid would greet her with a cup in his hands while he cooked breakfast. And, even though she’d never been to his office, she was sure he drank a few cups there too. Then, in the evening, when he was home and helped Anya with her homework, he would drink some more. Now that she thought about it, no wonder he looked jittery at times.
Maybe he would be willing to try to switch if tea had an interesting flavor. So, Yor visited a teashop. There, she found exotic flavors from lands that she had never heard before. It was an expensive visit for sure, but she thought that if it helped her husband lay off the caffeine and sleep better, it was worth it.
Just like her husband cooked dinner most nights, Yor was in charge of brewing coffee and cocoa. So, that evening, instead of serving their usual beverage, she prepared an exotic turmeric, cinnamon, honey tea.
“That smells delicious,” Loid peeked into the kitchen.
“Anya wants to try that!” her daughter chirped from the living room.
“I went to a tea shop today,” she informed them while setting the cups on a tray. “I thought we could all try something new.”
They went back to the living room and set aside Anya’s notebooks so they could have a small break.
“Careful, it’s hot,” Loid warned Anya.
The little girl blew on the cup in such an adorable way, it made Yor giggle. They sat down and Yor observed Loid’s face carefully. When he took the first sip, he closed his eyes. His face, and his smile simply warmed up. It felt like big win for her, like she had done something right. That gave her the confidence to talk:
“Loid, I’d like to help you,” she said a bit shy but trying to be brave.
“To help me with what, Yor?”
“To help you sleep better,” she completed.
“Huh?”
“I hear you sometimes at night. I know you barely sleep,” she continued. “You work so hard for us, and I appreciate how well you take care of us, I really do, but you also need to rest.”
“Gosh, I didn’t think you would notice, I really need to be quieter,” he chuckled and scratched the back of his neck―a bit embarrassed by Yor’s bold statement.
“I wasn’t complaining!” she exclaimed. “I'm just…”
“I know,” he touched her hand. “You’re worried about me.”
She nodded.
“To be honest, I’ve had sleeping problems for years,” he told her. “It’s just part of who I am or maybe part of being an adult. I’m not quite sure.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way!” she argued and ran to her bedroom. She was back a few seconds later. “Let me show you something.”
She put the “Fix Your Sleep, Fix Your Life” book in his hands. Her husband flipped the book quickly.
“I figured we could try some of the things that I’ve read,” she showed him a list she had written.
“Interesting,” he said. “Honestly, I’ve never tried anything to address this problem.”
“Would you be willing to try now?”
“I don’t know,” he frowned and wrinkled his nose in a kind of cute way. “It won’t w…”
“Papa needs to sleep so he can be a better spy-chiatrist!” Anya chimed in. “He needs to sleep so he can help Anya with her homework and earn more stars.”
“And I’m sure a few more hours of sleep a night may help with those wrinkles in your brow,” Yor teased.
Loid touched his forehead and laughed.
“I guess I can’t argue with that,” he said. “All right let’s try it. What’s on your list?”
Physical Activity
According to that book, physical activity decreased insomnia by regulating circadian rhythm and increasing deep sleep, which helped the body rejuvenate.
“How much exercise do I need to do?” Loid asked.
“At least 30 minutes a day,” she replied. “We’ll do it together, as a family!”
So, they next day, as soon as they were all back home from school and work, they changed clothes and headed to the park. Yor intended for them to just walk; fresh air could do wonders for the mind and body. However, about 10 minutes in, Anya declared she felt tired and wanted to go home. Yor suspected she was bored.
“But we’re not done yet,” Yor argued. “Here, I’ll carry you.”
She didn’t mind but a few minutes later, Loid insisted on helping too, so they decided to take turns carrying their daughter. Anya was delighted, especially when her dad carried her; she cuddled and nuzzled her papa’s shirt, like a little koala. And, although Loid didn’t say anything about it, he occasionally patted her head.
Loid wasn’t very affectionate with Anya, at least not like Yor. Nevertheless, it was obvious he loved their daughter; Yor could tell by the way he always softened when he carried her, or the way he smiled when he tucked her in at night, or when he cooked her favorite dish. It was one of the things that made Yor…
“It’s about to rain,” Loid said looking at the thick grey clouds. “We better head back home.”
They did. But they also came back to the park the next day and the next. They tried different activities―tennis, basketball, swimming and during the weekend, they even rented bicycles. And after more than two weeks of regular physical activity, Loid…kept having problems sleeping. In fact, all the fun activities hadn’t made a difference at all in his sleeping schedule.
However, Yor didn’t think it was a waste. The wrinkles of his brow were softer, he was way more patient with Anya when they studied together, and he also reported he had less stomach problems. Even though they hadn’t tamed insomnia, this was still a win.
And the best part was all the time they were spending together.
A Consistent Bedtime Routine
Since physical activity and tea hadn’t given them the desired results, it was time to add another item in Yor’s list. This one was a little more aggressive, but Yor felt confident it was also a gamechanger.
“But we do have a bedtime routine,” Loid argued when she told him about it.
“No, we don’t,” she replied. “Anya has a bedtime routine, you don’t.”
Their daughter had an excellent bedtime routine―warm bath, brushing teeth, bedtime story, being tucked in, lights out and done!
Loid was a different story. His pseudo-bedtime routine consisted in watching the late news, drinking coffee (now tea!) and…working. Yes, Yor was very aware her husband used whatever free time he had at night to write reports, probably until he collapsed on his bed.
“Well, if I can’t sleep, I may as well work,” he explained.
“That’s exactly the problem!” Yor argued. “Your brain needs time to wind down and filling out reports signals the brain you need to stay awake.”
“These reports are not going to fill themselves,” he fought back.
It wasn’t a real fight; they were both smiling. However, it made Yor happy they could disagree sometimes. It felt as if they were real.
“Let’s try leaving those reports at work just for a few days,” she pushed back. “For the sake of our…”
“Mission!” Anya completed and giggled.
“All right,” Loid finally agreed, although Yor knew he wasn’t totally convinced about that. “For the sake of our experiment.”
Anya’s bedtime routine continued as usual. However, after Anya went to bed, now that Loid had no work, there was a chunk of time he needed to fill.
At first, Yor noticed he looked restless. He really wasn’t kidding when he told her it was hard for him to sit still. In fact, her husband did anything and everything to avoid sitting still―baking, cooking meals in advance, reading Anya’s textbooks and creating a study guide for her, organizing the pantry, doing laundry.
Yor observed him but didn’t dare to say anything. After all, he was not really doing office work…although, he was doing housework. She felt torn; she didn’t want to overstep but he was still overworking. It wasn’t until one night, after Anya had gone to bed, that she saw her husband getting ready to wax the floors of the apartment when she finally decided to speak up.
“Loid, what are you doing?”
“Oh, I was getting ready to do some cleaning,” he answered already on his hands and knees.
“Yes, I can see that,” she said. “But how is that helping you sleep better?”
Loid stopped and let go of the rag he was holding to sit on the floor. “Well, it isn’t really helping.”
She sat on the floor next to him.
“Ever since you stopped doing paperwork, you’ve just been filling the time with other stuff,” she pointed out. “What’s going on?”
Loid sighed defeated.
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I tried it the first couple of nights, but it only made things worse. I need to keep my mind busy, otherwise…”
He couldn’t finish that sentence, but she could guess. In fact, the book mentioned people who were prone to anxiety tend to have problems sleeping.
“I understand,” she said. “Habits are hard to break.”
She got up. She wasn’t sure if she could help her husband, maybe it was better to let things be. This thought made her feel defeated.
“Would you drink some tea with me?” he asked her, still sitting on the floor.
“I would love to.”
They went into the kitchen and found a blend called “Sleepy Time,” which had an herb called Ashwagandha, apparently, it was meant to induce sleep. While drinking a cup each in the living room, Yor remained quiet, unsure about what to say.
“Do you have a bedtime routine, Yor? Loid asked her and she had to think for a minute.
“I guess I do,” she responded. “I take a warm bath, brush my teeth, talk to you for a while, then before going to bed, I check on Anya.”
His eyes softened when he heard that and Yor blushed.
“She kicks her blanket in her sleep, so I always cover her before I go to bed,” she explained. “I don’t want her to feel cold or get sick.”
She didn’t mention that while doing that, she also kissed her daughter goodnight.
“That’s very kind of you,” he said. “Thank you for caring so much for Anya.”
“I love her,” she admitted. “She’s my little girl. And I know you love her too.”
A soft smile appeared on his face. “I do,” he whispered, almost as if he was afraid of someone listening.
The air somehow felt sweeter after that. Anya had that effect on them.
“Maybe I should try your bedtime routine,” he suggested.
“Sounds like a great idea!”
Prepare Your Body for Sleep
The next night, once Anya was in bed again, they decided to use Yor’s bedtime routine to prepare Loid’s mind and body to sleep.
“All right, a soothing warm bath it is!” she announced. “I’ll draw the bath for you.”
“You don’t have to, you already do so much,” Loid said as they were heading to the bathroom.
“I don’t mind at all,” she answered smiling. In truth, she loved helping Loid, even if it was with small things like this one.
They stayed in the bathroom talking and laughing like an old couple who had been married for decades. Loid was funny and when they were relaxed like this, Yor felt like she could be herself.
“I think it’s ready, so I’ll step out,” she announced. “Take your time and try to relax those muscles.”
“You’re the boss!” he joked.
As she stepped out and closed the door, Yor wished she could stay and talk some more while her husband took a bath, like a real couple would do. Then she realized that in order for that to happen, she would have to see him without any clothes.
What am I thinking?!!
Lucky for her, no one saw her face turn extra red that evening.
After Loid was done with his bath, they sat on the living room, both wearing their pajamas, for their nightly tea and talk. This was, of course, part of their bedtime routine.
It had been a beautiful day. They had ridden a bicycle in downtown Berlint, eaten an ice cream, and even seen a rainbow on the way back home. This was the life Yor always wanted for others; she couldn’t believe she had it herself now.
“I love peaceful days like this,” she said before sipping on her tea.
“Me too,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m living this way.”
She could relate, although they weren’t talking about the same thing. Yor’s secret life was full of violence, Loid’s life was hectic but very normal.
Yor sighed. “I wish it could go on forever.”
When she said those words, Loid looked at her a certain way. His eyes looked different―a mix between pain, longing, and…she wasn’t sure. For the life of her she couldn’t figured him out, but it took her breath away.
“It’s getting late and I’m starting to get a bit sleepy,” Loid cleared his throat and broke eye contact with her.
“That’s great!” she beamed. “That means it’s working. Go to bed!”
He got up and headed to his room leaving the cup on the table, which was atypical. Yor didn’t mind. She picked up their cups and washed both. While drying them, she kept thinking about his eyes.
If only…
Melatonin
The good news was that Loid was getting almost an extra hour of sleep, but an extra hour was certainly not enough to restore his body and for him to rest well.
The book advised against sleeping pills, especially without medical supervision. Loid was a doctor, but Yor still thought that it wasn’t a good idea to use sleeping pills. Instead, the book recommended a more natural approach, along with a list of supplements, among them was melatonin.
“Do you think it’ll work?” he asked looking at the bottle.
“We could try,” she said. “If you’re willing, a small dosage should be okay.”
“I guess we have nothing to lose,” he took one pill.
Then, they follow Yor’s bedtime routine and while they were talking in the living room, Loid began to blink and yawn.
“I think it’s working,” Yor suggested.
Another yawn.
“Wow, I do feel like I could go to sleep right now,” he said. “Let me take these cups and I’ll head to bed.”
“No, I’ll take care of this, and you go ahead.”
Typically, Loid would argue, take the cups and wash them himself. The fact that he accepted Yor’s offer told her that he really wanted to go to sleep. Yor washed the cups, then headed to Anya’s bedroom like every night to check on her and kiss her good night. By the time she exited Anya’s room, she could hear light snoring coming from Loid’s room.
It worked!
She felt elated. It wasn’t ideal, since her husband still had to take that supplement, but she figured he could take it a few nights, just so he could rest. Then, they could keep trying different things.
Yor entered her room feeling triumphant, brushed her hair and got in bed. That triumph didn’t last. She tossed and turned for a long time. It was late and very quiet. She couldn’t sleep. Something was off.
Just to be safe, she went back to check on Anya. Sometimes her daughter had nightmares; on those nights she would call her parents screaming and Yor would run to her side to comfort her and cuddle her. Maybe tonight was one of those nights. But when she got to Anya’s room, her little girl was sleeping soundly―her blanket still covering her.
“My little angel,” Yor whispered before leaving the room.
Yor stood on the hallway, not sure what to do with herself. Even though Anya was safe and sound, something still bothered her. As an assassin, she had learned to always follow her instinct. It had saved her life many times.
The apartment wasn’t big, so she did a quick check up, just to make sure there were no intruders, that the door was locked and all the windows closed. Everything was in order, still that odd feeling wouldn’t stop.
The only place she hadn’t inspect was Loid’s room. She was now standing in front of his door. Oddly enough, that feeling intensified. She thought about knocking on the door, but he was asleep, and she didn’t want to wake him. The other choice was to quietly get in; she knew how to do that, and she only wanted to make sure he was okay. She put her hand on the doorknob and hesitated. A good wife wouldn’t hesitate, but she wasn’t really Loid’s wife…
Yor wasn’t the type of person who would ignore her intuition. So even if she wasn’t really Loid’s wife, she opened the door.
Loid was awake.
He was on the floor, shaking.
“Loid!!” she kneeled next to him. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Her husband answered in a different language. She’d heard it a few times during her training with the Garden―Westalian.
“Let me help you get up,” she picked him up effortlessly and put him on the bed.
His whole body was still shaking, drenched in cold sweat.
“I fell off the bed,” he explained in Ostanian. “I don’t remember what I was dreaming.”
Only then, Yor noticed he was also crying. She sat next to him on the bed, brushed some hair off his eyes and cleaned his face with her own fingers.
“Loid, I’m so sorry!” she apologized. “It must have been a reaction from the melatonin. Should I take you to the hospital?”
“No, please,” he said. “I just want to stay home.”
Yor nodded and caressed his face again. “We’ll stay here then.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“I’m so happy you’re my wife,” he whispered. “You take care of me so well.”
Without thinking, she leaned and kissed his lips.
“I don’t want to leave you alone tonight,” she said with her hand on his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat. “I’m scared something may happen to you.”
“Then stay here with me,” he said and moved to the side so Yor could lay next to him.
In other circumstances, Loid would have never asked her that. In other circumstances, Yor’s shyness would have landed him a good kick. Nevertheless, this was an extraordinary situation. Yor was too scared to lose him, so she stayed there to take care of her husband, like a real wife would do.
“Okay.”
She covered them both and kept caressing his face, so he would feel calm.
“You’re so pretty and so sweet,” he said, and she could tell he still felt weak. “I want to sleep next to you every night, but I know I don’t deserve you.”
Another kiss.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“I‘ve done some horrible things,” he said. "I still do horrible things every day."
Yor thought about him speaking in Westalian a few minutes ago. She wasn’t dumb and she could put two and two together.
“I don’t care,” she said. “You’re still my husband.”
They hugged, clinging to each other desperately until they fell asleep in each other’s arms. They still had plenty of things to resolve and many lies between them; however, they knew that after that night, it was very unlikely they would separate.
Do not Force Sleep
“MAMA! PAPA!”
The next morning, they woke up late.
“I’m late for school!”
Unfortunately for everyone, it was Friday and Anya had school.
“Oh no, it’s after 9!” Loid sat up and rubbed his head. “I need to drive Anya to school.”
“Wait, don’t get up too fast,” his wife warned him. “I’ll help Anya get ready and take her to school.”
“Yor, I’m okay,” he kissed her hand. “I just have a headache; I can take Anya and go to work.”
“Work?! No, sir!” she got up and put her hands on her hips. “You’re staying home today. After last night’s episode, you need to rest.”
“But…”
“I’ll stay with you,” she informed him before he could say anything else.
“Well, maybe a day off won’t hurt,” he smiled.
“Stay here,” she advised. “I’ll take Anya to school, and I’ll be right back with breakfast.”
When Yor got out of the room, Anya was right there, waiting for her parents.
“Mama and papa were kissy-kissy?” she asked when she saw Yor leaving Loid’s room.
“NO!” Yor’s face turned red. “No, we weren’t!” she said even though they had kissed twice. “Papa got sick last night, so I stayed with him to watch over him.”
It was the truth, other than kissing twice and sleeping in each other’s arms, nothing else had happened.
Yor prepared Anya’s breakfast and took her to school. She told them that her husband was ill and that was the reason why Anya was late. Fortunately, they let her in so she wouldn’t miss any more classes. After that, she went to the bakery and got fresh bread for brunch. By the time she was back, Loid wasn’t wearing his pajamas anymore and looked much healthier. His headache was also gone.
They spent the rest of the day talking and telling each other absolutely everything.
When Anya came back home later that day, she looked a bit scared. With her little hands still clutching the straps of her backpack, she looked at both parents carefully, almost as if she was trying to figure out if everything was okay between them. Suddenly, a big smile appeared on her face, she dropped her backpack on the floor and ran to hug her papa.
“What is it, Anya?” he asked as he picked her up.
“Nothing,” she hugged him and snuggled with him.
“Were you worried because I was a bit sick this morning?” he asked.
She nodded shyly and hid her face. Loid hugged her and kissed her baby head.
“Don’t worry, kiddo,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
They didn’t go to the park that day, Yor declared her husband needed to rest. Lucky for Anya, that also meant they wouldn’t do any homework. Yor cooked her mom’s stew while Anya and Loid played in the living room with Bond. Anya didn’t separate from Loid and Yor thought that was just adorable. After their conversation, he felt free to love Anya at last. Good. Now that she knew Twilight’s whole story, she knew he needed his family, and his family needed him.
They had dinner and Yor felt relieved to see her husband eating well. They chatted for a long time, making plans to go on an outing this weekend. Then took turns taking showers. However, when it was time for Anya’s bedtime, she simply refused to separate from her papa.
“You have to go to sleep!” he argued when the little girl refused to get in bed. “Aren’t you tired?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll read you an extra story tonight,” he offered but Anya didn’t yield.
“Anya wants to stay up with mama and papa,” she said.
“Yor, help me out,” he pleaded.
“Well, since it’s the weekend, how about we let her stay up a little longer?” she suggested.
“YAAAAAY!” Anya cheered and ran outside the room even before Twilight could say yes.
Twilight and Yor walked to the living room hand in hand.
“To be honest, I don’t feel tired at all,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”
“When that happens, the book says it’s best not to force sleep and just get up and keep busy,” Yor remembered.
“In that case,” he put his hand in his chin. “Why don’t we have a family sleepover here in the living room?”
Anya looked like he had delivered the best news of her life.
“I’ll bring the pillows!” she ran back to her room.
“I’ve never had a sleepover,” Yor said.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “My mom and I used to do this in our home.”
Even though his mom’s memory was painful for him, Yor felt happy he was sharing this with them now. She kissed his cheek.
“I should have done this months ago,” he joked.
They moved the coffee table aside and put blankets and pillows on the carpet, it was kind of messy, but it was also perfect.
“Let’s all get in!” Anya yelled and crawled inside the covers.
“You guys get in,” Twilight said. “Let me get some cookies from the kitchen.”
“Did you and grandma ate cookies and had sleepovers?” Anya asked with shinning eyes.
“Yes,” Twilight responded patting her head. “We did this all the time. My mo…Grandma baked the best cookies.”
He got in and Bond licked his face.
They ate cookies and talked about Bondman and all the cartoons Anya liked. Her husband knew everything about Bondman, he had even made a homemade animation for Anya to study. Yor laughed a lot when she heard this.
Another hour passed by, and Anya got quiet. She was in between her parents. Twilight and Yor smiled at each other knowing it was a matter of minutes before their little girl would fall asleep. Yor caressed her forehead and hummed a lullaby, her husband caressed her head but before Anya closed her eyes, she grabbed his hand:
“I love you, papa.”
She had said it before; during the Eden interview. Back then, it had shocked both parents and neither of them had said it back. Since then, Yor had said it often and every single time her daughter had said to her. However, when it came to her papa that was a different story. She hadn’t said it to him since that day. Perhaps she wasn’t sure her papa loved her back.
“I love you too, Anya,” he kissed her forehead.
Yor could see relief in his face; the wrinkles in his brow were gone and he looked much younger.
“We didn’t do our bedtime routine,” he joked. “We didn’t drink tea or exercise.”
Yor giggled quietly. “But you feel sleepy anyways, don’t you?”
“A bit,” he responded laying his head on the pillow.
It wasn’t the most comfortable place to sleep, especially compared to their bed, but they were all together and their hearts were at peace. She saw him close his eyes shortly afterwards.
“Sweet dreams, my love.”
Not on the List…
Yor wasn’t going to give up so easily; she still had to help her husband fix his sleep schedule. They tried different items on the list, kept exercising every day and doing their bedtime routine. Twilight’s sleep improved a lot when he started sharing the room with his wife.
However, old habits die hard and, occasionally, her husband came home with a pile of documents.
“I promise it won’t take long, my love.”
He always said the same thing. Now that they knew each other well, Yor also knew when he was lying.
“Papa wants to work all night,” Anya warned her as Yor was tucking her in bed.
“Don’t worry, Sweetie, I won’t let him,” she smiled.
Yor walked into the living room where she found her husband buried in paperwork.
“I’m almost done for tonight!” he chirped even though Yor hadn’t asked anything. “Just one more report, I promise.”
“All right, if you say so,” she answered.
She let him work for another hour or so, but then, when it was time to sleep, she planted herself in front of him and told him it was time to stop.
“Please, Yor, just one more,” he begged with those beautiful eyes of his. “It’s the last one. I promise.”
“You said that the last time and look where we are,” she said looking at the big pile of documents.
“Well, someone has to do this. The reports won’t fill out themselves,” he argued.
“They also won’t go anywhere, you can finish in the morning,” she fought back.
“There won’t be enough time tomorrow,” he insisted. “It’s better if I just work a bit late tonight.”
Her husband was being stubborn and so she had to use all her tools available to make him yield.
“Pleaaaaase, my love, go to sleep for meeeee?” she requested with big shinning eyes he couldn’t resist.
“Not any time soon. Sorry, darling!” he answered with an apologetic smile.
They stared at each other for a long moment―neither of them willing to yield, until Yor made her decision:
“By force it is, then!”
Without any hesitation or difficulty, she carried her husband to their bedroom. She wouldn’t have had resorted to this if she didn’t know how tired he was. While he scratched the wall like a moody cat trying to resist so he could go back to work, Yor considered having a long talk with Sylvia Sherwood. Perhaps Thorn Princess could convince her to stop giving her husband so much work.
“Yor, I’m serious!” he fought. “I have to finish those reports.”
“I know, but it’s bedtime,” she placed him on the bed and held him down so he couldn’t go back to work.
At this point, he finally gave up and snuggled against her. As a reward, Yor began to hum and little by little his body relaxed. A while ago they had discovered music worked wonders and helped him go to sleep quickly. She gently rubbed his head and kept humming. Her husband sighed and yawned. By the time she kissed his forehead, he was already asleep.
Mission accomplished.