2 Aug: When Memories Fade: Kyra

[Fabian Prewett]

2 Aug 1974
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He needed to calm down. To take a breath, give it a moment.

But he couldn’t.

He’d apparated as close to the Thatcher’s apartment as possible, and from that point on he’d been running. Through the streets of London on a Friday night, buzz from the drinks he’d had with his brothers gone. Because Lord Voldemort, leader of the Death Eaters and the man he hated most in the world had approached them. In a muggle alleyway, of all places. Fabian still couldn’t believe it had actually happened, that that man would think he or his brothers would be willing to follow him. To be on the wrong side of history. Tonight was supposed to have been a celebration of them joining the Order, of going on to do some actual good in their world.

It wasn’t supposed to be the night he had to do this.

This being, running up the stairs two at a time, wand at the ready just in case he needed to fight. This being knocking loudly on his girlfriend’s apartment door, talking to her loudly through the door, “Kyra, it’s Fabian. Please say you’re here.” He thought he could hear her talking on the other side of the door, but his heart was beating so loudly he wasn’t sure he could hear anything properly. What he did hear was the click of the lock opening, and he had to hope that he looked calmer than he felt as she opened the door for him. “Thank merlin you’re here,” he whispered, taking a step into her flat and pulling her into a hug. He needed to put more wards up here, he needed to check every nook and cranny to make sure they were alone here. But right now, holding her to him seemed to be the most important.

[Kyra Thatcher]

"Love you too babes, hi to Eddie, chat in the morning," Kyra said into the phone, hanging it up and twisting the radio's volume up in the same beat. She bopped along to the ballad in hopes of a more up-beat next song as she headed to the kitchen for a late-night snack, curious as to what had Edgar home so early when the blokes had claimed tonight would be one for the ages. Would Fabs be going home now too? With Gideon? Here? Or was Edgar just bailing for no reason? Whatever the case, she had little time to think it over - before she'd grabbed all the makings of a sandwich, a thunderous knocking at the door had her dropping a jam jar to the floor, thanking anyone who was listening for it narrowly missing her toes.

"Fabian?" More than a bit befuddled as to what brought him here sounding like that - didn't seem the tone of wanting a shag after a fun night out, and if Fabian thought that's what he sounded like, she'd waste no time correcting him - Kyra abandoned the kitchen for the front door, knocking the refrigerator shut with her bum on her way. She opened the door to see her boyfriend - Take two. - out of breath and haggard as all get-out. He stepped inside and brought her to him, holding her to his chest tight enough for her to hear the frantic beating of his heart. Wary and confused, Kyra hugged her to him mutely for as long as she could before she had to speak. Because what in the blazes was going on? To show up in such a state - was this to do with the big ol' war she'd just only become wise of? For what else but something she'd never seen him experience could make him almost unrecognizable?

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look like hell," Kyra said, reaching up to cup his cheek in her hand, to bring his frenzied gaze to hers. "How trollied are you?"

[Fabian Prewett]

In the moments before she opened the door, his mind was reeling. What if she was being held captive and couldn’t scream for help? What if he was too late, and Voldemort or Bellatrix had done the worst to her. It was like a weight was lifted off of him after she opened the door and let him hold her to him. She was safe. She was here with him now, in his arms, and that meant he could protect her. He needed to check the wards, but he had to know that they were alone before he started casting magic. He didn’t say anything to her as she brought his gaze to her, instead he took her hand on his face and placed a kiss on the back of it, before he turned to close the door behind him.

“Are we alone?” he whispered out hoarsely, waiting for her confirmation before he took out his wand. He left her side, looking through the apartment to double check that the coast was clear before he returned to her, checking the wards around her place. Satisfied, he placed his wand down on a nearby table, taking her hands in his. “I’m not trollied, not anymore. Not after what happened,” he finally said to her, heart still racing as they stood there together. He wanted to tell her everything, he felt that she deserved to know everything. But he also knew what he had to do, and he couldn’t help but contemplate if it was better to leave her in the dark before he messed with her memories.

“We should, we should sit down,” he told her, giving her hands a squeeze before he let go of them. “I’ll grab us a drink, we should have a drink.” He went into her kitchen, easily finding an open bottle of wine and some glasses. He brought it back to where he had left her, setting the glasses and wine down on the table as he sat next to her, brushing some stray strands of hair from her face as he looked at her. “You’re the most perfect person in the world, Kyra Thatcher,” he whispered, feeling his heart finally start to calm.

[Kyra Thatcher]

Don't get her wrong - Kyra loved the attention and affection he so willingly gave her when they were together. It was what she'd hoped things would be like, when thinking them over with Liz or Phoebe and a bottle of something their livers detested them for. That they could simply be. That they could let their chemistry and their history collide and forge something new from the broken bits. Because there were broken bits between them, that was undeniable; that Fabs (and more of her closest and oldest friends) had kept the world of magic from her, that there was a whole secret battle being fought in the shadows, it had taken some time for her to come to terms with the lies. But the broken bits fit together in different and exciting and meaningful ways now, and while being with him wasn't as simple as simply being - it was worth it. 

So when he kissed her hand and shut them inside, whispering not an answer to her question but a guarded one of his own, Kyra was frustrated. Patience - yeah, working on that. "Yeah, Liz is watching our brothers," she returned, matching his tone with concern beating its way through her body. Because as Fabian set off into the apartment she was assured once and for all that this wasn't a late night call for a shag, and oh how she wished it was as simple as that. She waited where he'd left her, patience waning quickly with the hour and the secrecy she just wanted to be in on, and was glad that at least he returned before long. Still looking a loss, but he was there, and something had knocked him out of his night of revelry and she knew she just had to wait and it would come out...

Kyra met his eyes with questions and trust in hers, steady. How much've we been through together already, hmm? I haven't told anyone about this world. Biggest secret I've ever kept, although we all know it's just a matter of time before you take me to this Minister of yours and we have a talk. You can tell me anything. Haven't I proven that? But instead of answers he left her for the mess of a kitchen, and Kyra hoped he'd find something there to help settle his nerves. Worse than any dance I dragged you to, Merlin's sake. She took a seat in the main room, itching for the phone. Phoebe was dealing with a situation of her own, she knew, if Fabs had shown up like this. Before she could form much of a plan, Fabian was back with glasses and a slightly calmer aura.

Kyra brought her legs up onto the couch, sitting cross-legged beside him as he came to her with gentle hands and words. She looked at him with a different sort of quizzical eye, for she was not perfect and he knew it, and it was romantic in a way for him to proclaim something no one had ever told her, even if it felt...odd. "Sweet of you, babes, but...you've not knocked your head, have you? Been - hexed or some sh*te? Come here in the dead of night like you...like you were scared to death I wouldn't be here?" Not simple. Worth it. Not simple. Worth it... She took a breath, holding in demands for answers, and rested her hands on his legs. While it would be grand fun if this was a game, and an elaborate one at that, it wasn't. The magical world she'd so longed for was just as flawed as the one she knew, and there was no doubt that something serious was afoot. But what would bring him here? "I understand I can't know it all, but what do I need to know? For me and Liz."

[Fabian Prewett]

He knew that she deserved answers, but he couldn’t give them to her right away. Not without knowing they were alone here, not without calming down. But she was patient with him, letting him know that Liz was gone watching their brothers, letting him pace the apartment without question. She had to know something bad had happened, and he hated that he would have to confirm it. And that, eventually tonight, he would have to alter her memories. He couldn’t simply erase them, he didn’t want her to forget about everything. He didn’t want her to forget that these last two months had been so good for them.

But he would have to end it, that much he knew.

Sitting down near her on the couch, his anxieties hadn’t lessened. What if dark witches and wizards were on their way here, what if he had simply beat them? Could he hold them off by himself - would he have enough time to even call for help? He knew he’d be up late tonight watching the apartment, even if it meant watching it from an alley outside. Fabian didn’t know if he’d be able to sleep after this. Quite honestly, he didn’t know if he’d be able to live with himself after tonight, even knowing that the decisions were the right ones to make. “No, haven’t been hexed,” he managed out, giving her hands on his leg a squeeze, holding them tight. To remember this moment, before it all got bad.

He cleared his throat at her next question, knowing that she deserved the truth. And the fact she knew that he couldn’t tell her everything, it was like she knew what was coming. And he hated it. Leaning forward, he poured them both a glass before he drained his whole thing, hoping that alcohol would numb him. “The three of us were out celebrating, you know that. We were getting ready to leave when we ran into…” he trailed off, unsure if giving her Bellatrix’s name would be risky. He wasn’t confident in his ability to modify her memories as it was, giving her too information could still prove dangerous. “...an old enemy from school. Not someone on our side of things. We ducked out the back alley.” He sat his glass back down, running a hand through his hair. “It was a trap, and he was waiting for us. Voldemort. Asked us to join his side of this war, brought up Phoebe, f*cking hell. He didn’t seem to know about you, but I can’t promise that he doesn’t.”

[Kyra Thatcher]

Her boyfriend was not here. His eyes, his mind, they were as wandering over the world as hers usually were over him. Whatever had shaken him up really had messed with him, that was for sure. But if he was drinking and sitting with her - no longer springing into action, checking her apartment for mysteries - that meant the danger was over and done.

Didn't it?

Is this how it's going to be? Kyra caught herself wondering. Never fully knowing what Fabian and Gid and Ed faced, but being expected to be patient and comforting and supportive? Contained calm over letting her honest emotions out? So he had the time to gather himself enough to come to her with the truth? Okay, that's not fair, that could happen in any relationship. Just because it doesn't come naturally to you doesn't make it his fault. It's good he's coming to you at all. Concern for him amplified with a raised brow as he rid her of half her wine stash, but that concern turned to fear for the lot of them when he did speak.

"Right, well - brilliant," Kyra said with only slight traces of sarcasm to cover up the squirms of her gut. She took up her untouched glass and drank, thinking. You're keeping a name from me. Why? "You wouldn't be here if Ed hadn't gone home, not if he named Pheebs. So he's with her, and we would've heard by now if there was any trouble there. Right?" Kyra waited for confirmation before taking another drink, shifting closer to him, continuing to think aloud. "You weren't hexed, he just...wanted to intimidate you. Scare you into joining him. He didn't, but you're scared nonetheless. Because you thought they'd gotten to me first."

Scares you because that's what's kept you away from me this whole time. And now it's almost been validated.

Kyra swallowed and set down the glass, fingers trembling as she released it. She clenched both hands into fists and tucked them in her lap, not needing the distraction of further worry from him because from what she'd witnessed and heard about them, they were maniacal sadists who could end her with two Latin words and a stick. "Well - well they're not here, so there's that, and that's good. How do we keep it that way?"

[Fabian Prewett]

Fabian knew he was risking a lot with what he was telling her, especially using Voldemort’s name. But he had to tell her the whole truth before he did what he was here to do, that much he knew that he owed her. And yet he still hesitated when it came to Bellatrix, because he knew the reality. It was unlikely the Dark Lord himself would come and personally kill Kyra, it would be one of his pawns. And Fabian knew the kind of cruel Bellatrix could be from run-ins during school. She wouldn’t kill Kyra, she would torture her. Fabian didn’t know if he could live with himself if he let that happen. No, she didn’t need to know about that woman, not with how shaken up she clearly was with the news. He didn’t miss the sarcasm within her words, and he felt guilty for putting this on her.

He gave a jerky nod to confirm that Edgar had gone home, his heart aching as she scooted closer to him because he knew that they would be no more before morning. And they’d really been something this time, at least that was how he felt. They hadn’t even had time to go see Nessie, which he should have expected. It was his track record, it seemed, that when things were going fine like this, the war would get a little too close to her. And he’d panic, just like he was doing tonight. But he knew he couldn’t let her talk him out of this, because this time it was different. This time it was Voldemort, it was the head of this dark force sweeping across their country. And if he’d found out about Phoebe, he could find out about Kyra. “He didn’t bring you up, but how could I not think about what could have been happening here,” he said, clearing his throat as he realized how choked up he was. “I’ve put protections around this place, do everything I can besides making it unplottable, which I’m not sure I could legally do to a muggle residence. There’s always the Fidelius Charm, but that’s complicated magic and the Ministry would probably wouldn’t approve of that either.”

He was rambling, but he knew he couldn’t stall this forever. There was a part of him that wanted to wait until tomorrow, have one more night here with her. But he knew that would be worse, and he was positive that altering Kyra’s memories was going to be the worst thing he’d ever done. He wasn’t even sure he could do it properly, there was a chance that she would still remember something. Hopefully, if she did remember something, it wouldn’t be about the horrors of his world. “I know I’ve mentioned the Statue of Secrecy before, muggles not being allowed to know about magic. With exceptions for those that are married,” he paused, trying to prepare himself for how she was going to react. “Kyra, it’s safer if you don’t know about magic. And it’s safer for you if we aren’t together anymore.”

[Kyra Thatcher]

She'd eyed Fabian through his ramblings, understanding only about half of what he said, which only added to her frustration. And when he finally stopped? Saying that she shouldn't know about magic and they shouldn't be together? Kyra was done with hiding her feelings to respect his need to process his. Done with him, too. Gaia almighty, this boy. It didn't matter that he hadn't explicitly said they were breaking up - he'd made up his mind, that much was abundantly clear. "That's it, then. Seriously? You're not going to fight for us at all? Not going to even try this Fidelio-whatever-the-f*ck?" She couldn't bring herself to laugh in her bitterness, a disgusted exhale leaving her instead. "I'm not an idiot, Fabian, so don't treat me like one - I knew there was risk going into this with you, in a whole mess of ways. You did too."

She stood and crossed the room, staring him down from between failing hanging plants and rough brick. He could spew righteous reasons for ending them all he wanted, but the fact of the matter was that she was done giving him chances with her heart. Kyra had tried, really tried, to make something work between them. They'd been honest, she'd finally known his truths - and she wasn't enough to make him want to stay. That hurt pulled the broken bits of her wall back to her, protection assembling in her inner eye, and she wanted him gone. She wanted her sister, she wanted Phoebe, and the wizards could go fly off into the sunset for all she cared. "We're done, fine - you don't want this, I'm not going to beg you to be with me. I deserve better than that."

Their relationship ending was one thing. It was sure to cause an awkwardness within their group, the gulf between them that she had no desire in the moment to fill up again. But knowing about magic, the truth of her world, was another thing entirely. What was he suggesting, saying it was safer that she not know about magic? It was obviously safer for her to know the truth. How could she protect herself if she didn't know what was out there? How could she participate in her best friend's life without knowing her fiancé was a wizard? So Kyra swallowed and pressed on. "I'm not forgetting what I've learned. So just go, alright?"