June 10 '74: I'm Gonna Give All My Secrets Away: Phoebe

[Edgar Bones]

Edgar walked away from the evening's meeting with Albus Dumbledore with pride and excitement battling for dominance over the guilt in his heart. Although he hadn't made joining the Order of the Phoenix official yet, today's meeting indicated that he would be allowed in if it was his choice to. And why wouldn't he? He'd just finished becoming a fully fledged Auror, and was really just looking to take his fight out of the Ministry and somewhere he could actually make a difference. Fabian and Gideon were en route to join up as well, and with the three of them adding to the fighting ranks? Hell, they'd be unstoppable.

But he couldn't in good conscience go any farther forward with this plan without telling Phoebe...everything.

He'd been tempted to tell her for years now, but things had always held him back. While they were in school, well, he'd've been put under severe punishments from the Ministry for breaking the secrecy that surrounded their kind (although the teenage Eddie had so wanted to show off to his pretty girlfriend). As a young man, he'd been able to cover up training to become an Auror with training to become the muggle equivalent, and his work mates had been cool with playing along, so it'd worked out. It had seemed safer to keep her in the dark since he was committing to fight against those who would be a danger to her - she'd be safer if she didn't know about his world, she'd be happier if she didn't know she was at risk just for being born as herself. But now...things were changing.

Phoebe had been his loyal partner and love since they were practically kids chasing each other around the neighborhood. They were going into their fourth year of living together, and they were obviously not simply a couple in the rose-colored puppy love phase of their relationship. She meant the world to him, and he meant to give her the wedding she deserved.

Which meant she needed to be fully in the know about not just his abilities, but also about his family, his friends, his occupation - his life. Ed couldn't ask her to marry him, ask her to support him when he began to fight, if she didn't know what she was signing up for. And he couldn't keep dragging her along without that commitment...

Knowing his Pheebs, this was going to be a long night.

She had every right to be pissed with him, and he had every intention of letting her rage, letting her storm, letting her get it all out. He would field every question, he was full of excuses and apologies. They'd be up the night fighting, but they'd get through this, just like they'd gotten through everything else that had come their way. She'd probably be upset with him for a while, and he'd deal with that, and then they could go back to normal. Well - normal with the addition of magic to their flat.

And so, on the way home he picked up a brightly colored bouquet, a small thing to help him start out on the right foot with her tonight. She wasn't going to be so easily coddled, wouldn't love her like he did if she was, but he'd kept this from her because he loved her and wanted to protect her, and he was telling her because he loved her and wanted to protect her more effectively. Hopefully by the end of the night she would see that. There couldn't be any sort of secret between them now that they were coming up on their marriage. They hadn't discussed that for a while, true, but that didn't mean he didn't have a ring hidden away...

And so, getting to their door, Ed took a steadying breath, shaking his fringe out of his eyes before stepping into their flat and starting to wander around to find her. "Pheebs? Where are you, babe - " He grinned upon seeing her, his beautiful partner, and presented the bouquet with a half-bow. "An apology for my lateness," he said with a wink, trying to cover up the nerves that were creeping up on him.

Merlin's beard, you're scared of this tiny woman?

    Oi, she's tiny and ferocious, don't let her size fool you.

This will be fine.

"Er - if you're not busy, I was hoping I could steal your ear for a while..."

[Phoebe Bones]

When she was just a kid, she never would have expected her life to end up this way. She had been the tom boy running around the neighborhood with her friends, doing her best to beat Edgar and Roderick Bones up trees and having tea parties with their little sister. And now? She had just graduated from University and secured a job as a paralegal. She was living with her amazing boyfriend of 6 years, and she was secretly hoping that he would propose any day now. She'd already talked to her parents about it, trying to reassure them that she wasn't simply going to live with Edgar and not be his wife for the rest of her life. They had been so worried when they had first moved into together, and now that it had been fours years her parents were only growing more concerned.

And with the addition of Sadie, they had expressed even more concerns to her. Sure, it was practice for the children that they both wanted to have, but it wasn't like she was pregnant. It had taken a lot of convincing, and even taking a pregnancy test, to convince them that they were just getting a dog, and that was it. And Sadie was the perfect addition to their flat, bringing a little more joy into their home. And Phoebe had to admit, the little dog following her around when Edgar was busy with his work and she was alone was nice.

Shuffling the papers on the dining room table, she rubbed her temples. She wanted to be a lawyer and continue school, but she hadn't decided where to go yet. She had thought working as a paralegal would satisfy her, and she did enjoy it so far. But she was frustrated with this current assignment, and really wanted nothing more than to curl up with her boyfriend and watch a movie instead of staring at this paperwork that needed to be completed. Scratching Sadie behind the ears, she sat the small dog on the floor and went to lay on the couch, smiling as she heard the front door open.

"In here," Phoebe called back to Edgar's question, the grin on her face growing as he entered the room with a bouquet of flowers. "Tell Fabian and Gideon that they are more than welcome to your time, but they do have to share you with me," she teased as she took a moment to smell the flowers. Usually it was his coworkers that were responsible for him being late, but she had to admit she had a soft spot for the twins. They looked after her Edgar, and she couldn't help be appreciate that. Walking towards the kitchen so she could put the flowers in a vase, she looked back towards Edgar. "I'm done with trying to get work done tonight, so my ears are all yours."

Fiddling about with a vase, she did her best to not let her mind race. Edgar didn't just bring her flowers for any reason, and he really didn't need to bring them for being late. So what exactly could he be wanting to talk to her about? It had been a while since they had discussed getting married...but with both of them finally done with school and training there really wasn't a better time.

[Edgar Bones]

Shite, but he'd never tire of coming home to this girl. He let out a laugh at her words, but the knot in his gut wasn't easing that easily. "I'll remind them," he assured her, enjoying the view as he followed Phoebe into the kitchen. Ed's mind was going - he'd planned this out so many times, why couldn't he remember one single plan he'd had now that he was in the moment? He was a trained field agent! He should be able to handle this!

It's not like you're going to lose her - just get on with it!

So as she turned to him, the flowers he'd brought now happily in a vase, Ed opened his mouth to speak. To tell her the truth. To get it all out.

"Actually - ah - " The usually confident man faltered, slipping his wand out of his back pocket and into his hand. His grip on the unyielding wood helped to steady him, and he looked back at her with more assurance. Ed wasn't sure why his instincts were telling him this was going to go horribly - his intuition was usually helpful, not pessimistic! "I think I'll show you first. So you don't think I've gone mad. Try not to freak out, okay?" With that encouraging statement, he smiled a tad and waved his hidden wand behind him, silently extinguishing the lights in the kitchen. This pulled some whines from the pup underfoot, but he took Phoebe's small hand in his, his wand moving in small circles over her open palm. "Glomero Inlumino," he incanted, and a warm ball of light the size of an apple and color of daffodils appeared over her palm, lighting her perfect face. "It's absolutely safe magic, it won't hurt you," Ed said gently, eyeing her to gauge her level of...anything, really. Wonder, astonishment, fear, disbelief - for as well as he knew her, he didn't quite know how she would react to something like this. In his youth he'd imagined this countless times, and it was always a much more dramatic reveal - maybe he'd come riding in on his broom, or set fire to something only to extinguish it and leave it unblemished, or turn their whole flat pink with a flick of his wand. But he wanted to ease her in, and hoped this approach would keep her calm...ish.

"Close your palm around it and the light will go out," he encouraged. He just - he wanted to show her that magic could be good. It wasn't something to be inherently feared, and he'd never let dark magic into their home. But they would have to talk about the divisions in his world...soon, you'll get there soon.

[Phoebe Bones]

The flowers looked beautiful in the vase, and she gave them a final touch before she turned around to face Edgar. Whatever he needed to talk about, she wanted to make sure that he had her undivided attention. It was how things worked between them, they balanced each other in such a perfect way. But there was something in his face, the way he was fumbling for words that made her concerned.

Was he really about to propose? Because as much as she wanted that, she had expected something slightly more romantic from him. And with him keeping his hand behind his back, telling her he was just going to show her first? What else could he be talking about? Before she could respond however, the lights in the kitchen went out. "Wonderful..." she muttered, making a mental note to call the landlord as soon as the lights came back on. This flat was wonderful, really, but the odd things that seemed to happen really were starting to get on her nerves.

Edgar was taking his hand, and before she could ask him to wait - who wants to be proposed to in the dark? - he was talking in...latin? And suddenly a small ball of light was in her hand. The next sentence out of his mouth had the word magic in it, and she honestly didn't know what to say. Or what to do.

What kind of insane prank was Edgar trying to pull? Giving a small sigh, she did as she was told and closed her palm. And to her surprise, the light did go out. And there wasn't anything in her hand when she opened it back up. No gadget to produce a light, nothing. Just an empty palm. "I...what..." Phoebe took a step back, unsure of what to say. Because had he really just shown her magic? "What is going on Ed?"

[Edgar Bones]

He was getting plenty of confusion and disbelief from her, but Ed couldn't be anything but pleased with the faith she was showing she had in him by playing along. It wasn't every day your boyfriend conjured a ball of light and told you how to put it out, after all, but she'd followed through, and that was heartening in and of itself. Gaining his confidence back a bit, even as Phoebe moved away from him a tad, with a wave of his wand Ed restored the lights. Sadie was still whining, and he reached down to scratch her ears with his free hand as he spoke. "You know how much I love you, Pheebs," he started, because starting with their love was the best way to keep her on his side here, right? "But I haven't been able to be honest about some things with you. I just broke one of the biggest laws in the world with that little stunt," Ed said emphatically, as if it would help his cause, "because you deserve to know. I need you to know, before anything else happens with us. And now is the part where I start to sound mad, so remember the little ball of light?" Edgar gave a smile, hoping that she believed him. [/span]"I conjured that, using a magic spell, and my magic wand. Gentle with this, okay?" He held the smooth alder wand out to her, feeling like if he could provide her with enough evidence of this that she could believe him before long. Although he couldn't know exactly how this sounded to her, Ed could imagine he was coming off like a madman. In Phoebe's world, when someone started spewing "nonsense" like this, they were locked up. But she would come around, right?

"Magic isn't just the stuff of books and movies - you can be born with it, and I was." Along with my entire family and all of the friends of mine that you know. "I didn't go to school at Loretto," he further explained, naming the Scottish boarding school he and his siblings used as a cover during their Hogwarts years, "but to a school that taught me how to use my magic. I didn't want to keep this from you for so long, but it was for your safety, and I need you to understand that. You were safer not knowing since they wouldn't target you, but I can't - Merlin, I can't ask you to marry me when you don't know this." He was saying too much too fast, and as he looked to her he knew he should stop and let her process, let her question him, but it was as if everything he'd wanted to tell her for so long was demanding to come out now. Not being able to talk freely with the woman he loved had near driven him bonkers lately when he was facing these big decisions, but he needed to slow down for her sake.

What happened to easing her in?

    I will, I will - after this last -

"The Wizarding World has been torn up for years, since before we were kids. There's this man who's convincing people of his mission to rid the world of non-magical people, people like you. I've been learning how to fight so I can stop him. I'm going to stop him." Sadie nudged his leg to get him to pet her again but he sighed, grabbing a treat for her and tossing it into the other room. He leaned his long frame back against the counter, pushing his hair back as he made himself stop spewing information at the poor girl. "Tell me what you're thinking, love," Ed asked, looking over at her cautiously.

[Phoebe Bones]

She honestly wanted to just lay down with Ed on the couch and watch a movie, not play this little game. They both had long days, and more long days to come. But he wanted to talk to her, and she wanted answers. Because whatever prank he was pulling at least deserved some sort of explanation. And as the lights flickered back on, she kept her eyes on Edgar. The electrical problems could be dealt with later, right now she needed to know exactly what was going on. She nodded as he started talking, not breaking her gaze away from him even as he reached down to pet their dog. She had to admit he was right, he did sound mad. He sounded like he had lost his mind, and she had to wonder if perhaps he had been drinking with his friends.

But he pulled out a piece of wood from behind his back - (a nice piece of wood, beautifully crafted she had to admit ) - and held it out to her. She took it gently as he requested, looking it over in her hands. Had he honestly conjured the ball of light using this? He continued to explain, talking about the boarding school he had attended and how that had been a lie. About how he been learning magic and how she had been safer not knowing. And when he mentioned marriage, her heart fluttered in her chest and she looked up from the wand to meet his eyes.

There was so much information he was giving her, asking her to take in. And she honestly didn't know what to say. She watched as Sadie ran into the other room, before looking back to the man she had spent so much of her life with. What was she thinking?

He's gone mad, he really has.
    He conjured a ball of light in your hands.
It would explain some of the odd things about him you never understood.
    He has been lying to me for years...

"Edgar, you know I love you," she said slowly, gently placing his "wand" down on the counter. She didn't really know what to say, or where to start. "I don't know what you want from me here. You sound insane, like you're joking around or you've been drinking with the boys. I just..I don't know." She ran a hand through her hair, moving to pull out a chair at their kitchen table before she sat down in it.

"If what you are saying is true - and I'm not saying I believe you - you've been lying to me. For years, six years. I've built a life with you and you want me to..." What did he want her to do? If this was all true there was nothing she could do. "What do you mean non-magical people like me? I just, I don't understand."

[Edgar Bones]

As Phoebe spoke - like she was trying to calm down a wild animal, which with a pang he realized was how he was coming off - he stared at her, cursing himself for his loose tongue. Hanged for a dragon as an egg, though. For years he'd said nothing, and now he was overwhelming her - what had happened to all of his careful planning about how to do this? His euphoria about being able to speak was emptying out of him as she started to get it, leaving him deflated. Because what she said was true. He had lied to her for the six years they'd shared their lives. He had lied to her every day. And he knew that sounded bad - he knew that was bad. But it wasn't as if he hadn't had his reasons! He was endangering her even by telling her this much - if she was ever captured, not that he'd let that happen, now she'd know something instead of nothing about their world, which could make them think she knew more than she did, which could make them kill her faster and -

Merlin's pants, focus!

He reached out to take his wand and pocket it before easing himself into the seat next to her. Maybe his mouth had run off with him to try and avoid this bit - the part of admitting he'd been lying to her. He didn't want to see the hurt that was so clearly in her eyes, he didn't want to admit it was all his fault. Because it was. He had decided to pursue their relationship, even though he knew this day would have to come eventually if they stayed together. He had decided to keep it from her this long. Even with friends and family prompting that it was high time - they all knew the two would marry eventually - Ed had put it off, digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole that he was now trying to see his way out of.

And struggling to.

"I haven't been drinking," he said, wanting to take her hand but afraid she'd pull away. He clasped his hands between his legs, forcing himself to meet her eye. To take in the hurt reflected there. To accept it was his doing. No matter how much he could turn the blame on the world, ultimately - this was his doing. "I've lied to you, and I'll never be able to apologize enough for that - but I've never lied about how I feel, about the life I want with you. But there are laws against telling people without magic about magic, and I know this sounds insane, but all of this is true. I've been wanting to tell you, but I thought I was protecting you by not..." Edgar sighed, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of a hand. "I need you to believe me, Pheebs. What can I do to show you I'm telling this is real?"

[Phoebe Bones]

Sure, something had always been different about Edgar. There had always something different and mysterious about him. She hadn't thought much of it, always chalked to up to his charm. Because while neither of them were perfect, they had always been perfect together. No secrets between them, just a balanced relationship that she had always known would be around for the rest of her life. And now? Now she wasn't sure what to say, or do. Or what was going on. Because so much information had been thrown at her in just a span of a a few minutes.

But as he sat down with her and she turned to look at him, she had to admit it was becoming easier to believe. He wasn't cracking a grin, or doing his best to keep from giving away some silly joke. He was serious in a way she wasn't used to seeing. "You haven't even tried to apologize," she snapped. Shaking her head, she looked away. She knew she had a right to be angry, but when had that ever helped anything? Running a hand through her hair, she gave a sigh. There was no use in trying to calm herself down, not now.

"I don't...It can't...who else? Who else knows about you? About magic? Your family, your friends?" Phoebe asked, feeling a jealousy burning inside her. "Have I been the only one you've been lying to for years? And how do you expect me to believe that you can do magic with a stick of wood. If you want me to believe you, you're going to have to do more than create a ball of light in my hand."

Not that she was really sure she wanted to see any more magic, if it was real. Because the idea of magic, the concept that everything she knew about the world was absolutely nonsense? It was hard to wrap her mind around.

[Edgar Bones]

Good Merlin, but this was much more difficult than he'd anticipated. Shouldn't this have an element of fun to it? Magic could be wicked fun! But Edgar had gotten way carried away, what had happened to starting small? And now Phoebe was pissed, making him realize that as much as he'd apologized to her in his head, he hadn't yet even said the words. Could you be doing any worse of a job at this? This was the woman he wanted to spend his life with, and instead of making her feel valued and heard, he was only hurting her more with this information. But it wasn't as if he could take it back, play this off as a joke - and it needed to come out, one way or another.

Should've chosen "another," though, good grief.

Because even as Pheebs egged him on to do more magic, to show her that this was real, he wasn't so certain of that plan either. If he showed her more, then maybe she'd believe - but she was not taking the being-lied-to-bit well, and that would surely only get worse with belief. Which she needed to do if they were to keep going on their path together. Which they were going to, come hell or high water.

"My family's all like me, except Mum," Ed began guiltily, trying hard to be the calm one in the room, backtracking from his ramblings and reining himself in, "same with my work mates, my school friends...love, I am sorry. I'm going to make this up to you somehow, I swear I am. It's not all a bad thing." He smiled, taking his wand out again, and with a few flicks of his wrist and some muttered words, a seedling of a rose bush appeared at the kitchen door; with some prompting to speed things up, it stretched up the wall, tendrils clinging to to minute cracks as it grew, and as buds appeared and bloomed, he thanked his lucky stars for sticking with Herbology as long as he had. "I shouldn't have kept this from you, I know that," Ed said, getting up to pluck one of the new flowers, another wave of his wand ridding the stem of thorns before he tenderly tucked it behind her ear. He sat back down to face her, wanting them to just get it all out tonight. "Be cross with me, ask me anything and I'll answer - but this is real, Pheebs."

[Phoebe Bones]

She didn't really know if she wanted answers to her questions, if she wanted to see more of this magic that he claimed he had. Because if he could prove it, if others did know, it would be worse than she was feeling now. Because the people she loved besides Edgar would be different in her mind, they could even be like Edgar. But he started to answer her, and it felt like she was being stabbed in the heart. His family, their friends. How could he possibly expect to make this up to her? What magical plan was there to fix this situation.

She with with half amazement, half dissappointment as a rose bush appeared in their kitchen door, stretching up the walls in a way that she had to admit was quite beautiful. And the magic he used to clear the thorns from the rose before he tucked it behind her ear...it was enchanting really. Overwhelming, yes, but actually seeing the magic happen was enchanting. She shook her head as he spoke to her, not ready to talk. Standing up, she went to the rose bush, gently touching the flowers and the leaves as she thought. This was beautiful, it really was, but there had to be more than this. Especially if she was in danger like Edgar had claimed.

"Edgar...this is beautiful. It really is," she said slowly, turning to face him. "But I can't just accept this, not so easily. Magic is...insane. Maybe I'm losing my mind by actually seeing this stuff." Another thought that had crossed her mind in the few moments he had been using magic to make the rose bush grow. "Your siblings, your parents. I love them as well. And my entire world had been a lie not just for the past six years, but my whole life."

And hadn't it been? This world had been just down the street from her, contained in a family she had known since she was still. And people like her, "non-magical" people, they didn't know about it. Her parents would never even believe something like this was possible, not with how logical they were. "This war you talked about, I want to know more. I want to know everything. How much danger am I in? When were you planning on telling me about this - were you ever going to tell me before you decided you wanted to go off and become some sort of solider?"

Before she realized it she was pacing their kitchen, and listening to the whine of their dog who was stuck on the other side of the rose bush. "And about magic, I mean, you've made things suddenly appear, is that all it's good for?"

[Edgar Bones]

Just stick with me here, Pheebs, Ed though very, very loudly, as his girlfriend went to inspect the rose bush. As she cautiously ran her hands over the delicate flowers and leaves, he tried to remember the last conversation they'd had that had ended in an argument. The last conversation they'd had that had been fully serious. He tried to bring back at least one funny story a day, which had been easy enough despite his line of training seeing as he'd been alongside the funniest blokes he knew. He tried to keep things light whenever possible, because, really, both of their worlds were dark. When they took turns arguing the cases she was involved in, it became easy for him to see how similar the struggles were between their worlds.

Blatant disrespect for human life was at the root of it all, wherever you were, whatever you knew.

And they were both going to fight against it - she with words and law, he with his Auror skillset.

It's not that much different than me being a copper. You and I still want the same things, love.

The little woman that he loved moved to face him, and he sat up to full attention. While he was glad Phoebe was starting to accept this, he knew it was a ridiculous amount of information to take in, and he - as became more obvious by the minute - didn't know how to properly dissect everything, explaining bits and pieces to form the whole picture of their intertwined worlds. There was just so much she needed to know! And as she went on, it became apparent how much this was starting to hurt her. That hadn't been his intention - that never would be his intention. But regardless, he was hurting her, and it killed him. So he kept his mouth shut and just nodded after she spoke of her world being a lie. Can I phrase that differently? Not so much a "lie" but..."lacking important elements of truth" isn't as bad, right? She became heated again, her habit of pacing revealing it, as she brought up one of his ramblings from earlier, her curiosity - rightly so - piqued at his joining a bleeding war. And then there was magic. The thing that tied all of this together in its mishapen package. At Sadie's whines, he lifted his wand, and the branches and vines condensed and rose until an open doggy-door of sorts had formed. The cautious pup lowered herself near to the ground before coming back to them, following Phoebe as she paced.

"First off, you're not going mad," Ed started. "And I can't say how grateful I am you're trying to understand. I know I'm burdening you - hurting you. And I'm sorry." He sighed, rubbing his sweaty palms on his thighs. "The world you knew, it was - it was just incomplete. I can take you places where magical folk can freely be, there's even some right in London. We'll go tomorrow, there's a great pub that leads into this hidden shopping area. We can get some ice cream and people-watch, explore everything." He shot her a smile before reminding himself that he was well into the metaphorical doghouse, and quickly sobered. "D'you want to sit down, love? It's a long history, all of this. Essentially - there's little that magic can't do, and we've got a Hitler-esque wizard on the loose, complete with his loyal band of Nazis." Thankfully, keeping up with her studies alongside his own while they were in school had paid off in some respects - he couldn't write to her about how things were going in Potions, or how the goblin rebellions were still the most interesting thing they'd learned in History, or about how he'd finally mastered his patronus. So he'd had to skim the headers of muggle texts and didn't ever think about how deceitful even that was?

"He's a psychopath, Pheebs," the young man said, firmly meeting her eye as he gave her this crash-course. "Their platform is based on the notion of 'purity' of blood, and how only those who are from purely wizarding lines should have access to magic. There are so many kinds of families, and sometimes kids are born with magic without there being recent family history...it's a mess to keep track of. But they see everyone else as lesser, from half-bloods to muggle-borns to muggles to magical creatures. They think - they've got this insane idea that anyone who's not pureblood isn't worth much at all. So my training's been in learning how to defeat them. Same stuff as a cop, but just - magic too. You're not in any immediate danger, you never have been," he quickly reassured her. "The moment we got this place I put up protective wards, and it's unplottable - they can't get in, and they can't look us up. But me and the twins, we learned about another organization, and it's a way to really hit the ground running with the war. And our Ministry, where we were trained, it's getting infiltrated...and I couldn't commit to joining without telling you. It'll be risky, but anything is - and I've got to have a chance to put an end to all of this."

It wasn't the right way to go about it, but I'm doing this for us. Can't you see that? Even a little? As he was "turning his back on wizard-kind" by being with her, he and the family he and Phoebe were going to make together would be targets for their entire lives if Voldemort got to keep doing what he was doing. And Edgar wasn't going to let that happen. "I never knew how to tell you, when to tell you - but it's been gnawing at me for years, love. Our worlds are supposed to coexist without muggles knowing, that's how it's always been. It's forbidden to use magic in front of a muggle, it's forbidden to tell them about any of this. And I thought it'd keep you safer from any of them if you didn't know - you're always careful out-and-about anyway, no need to make you extra-paranoid. But if I'm getting more involved, just by being with me you're more at risk too." As he finally spoke the words, Edgar truly realized  - his stomach seeming to drop with sudden uncertainty as he did - what he was asking her to do. To give up a safe life with a muggle (although whoever he was, no way he could make her as happy as Ed had and planned to). To love him enough that accepting being a part of this fuller world and all its dangers and wonders was worth it.

And maybe he really was the mad one for expecting her to stay.

Ed swallowed, banishing the thought. Because they were Edgar and Phoebe - not one without the other since they were fifteen. They could do this. He looked up at her, brows raised as he silently asked her what questions she had, how he could make this easier for her...

[Phoebe Bones]

Pacing was her way of letting her energy out. Letting the frustrations of a case, or the worry about something escape her system. She just couldn't sit still, not when she had such fire in her soul. And this? This was certainly a conversation that deserved her pacing back and forth in the kitchen. Yes, it was fascinating to watch the rose bush create a small opening for Sadie, but fascination didn't make everything better.

She kept pacing at Edgar started answering her questions, watching her step every time she turned so that she didn't step on the pup that was following her around. At Edgar's smile to her, she was sure the look she shot back was similar to a death glare, especially as the look on his face changed back to a more neutral one. She had no desire to go to these magical places he mentioned, why would he think she would? She was trying to absorb this all, the last thing she needed was an over abundance of magic.

Sighing at his request for her to sit, she stopped and scooped up Sadie, crossing the kitchen to sit back down in the chair. She wanted to admit to him that she was thankful for his reference to her own history that she knew, it made what he was saying easier to follow. But she kept her mouth shut, her anger at the situation shutting down any praise she might have felt the need to speak.

And she was thankful she was sitting, because the information he was giving her was...a lot. And it was too much for her to process. She stayed silent for a while after he was done, knowing that he was waiting for her to ask questions. And she had about a million of them, boiling inside of her wanting to spill out. Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her temples before speaking, "I don't know where to even start Edgar."

She wanted to know everything, to take it all in and absorb it. But she was angry, and the hurt she was filling was spilling over. She was frustrated at herself for being this upset - because at least he was telling her now - but so many years they had been together. "So that's what I am then, a muggle? That's what your kind calls people like me?" A pointless question, a strange place to focus. But as the tears stung at her eyes, she didn't know what else to ask.

"I don't think I can do this."

[Edgar Bones]

After years of sharing only parts of his life with her, Ed was exuberant - although much of the subject matter was far from anything to celebrate - about speaking freely. Perhaps too exuberant. Because as he went on and tried to make this all make sense to Phoebe - not only his omissions of truth, but also the true state of the world she lived in - she was looking more and more...furious. Lost. Information-hungry. All at once, the dark eyes he loved, staring at him from behind the contented pup on her lap, grew more and more conflicted. While he wanted to break the silence, Ed had been doing the majority of the talking since he'd gotten home, and he bit back his prompts, he bit back more tidbits, knee jiggling under the table as he waited for her to speak.

He knew he was asking for too much, he was asking for more from her than he had any right to. But nothing, not even this, could make her change how she felt about him. Well - she'd be f*cking pissed for a while, that much was apparent, but she'd still love him. And as long as she did, he'd be trying to prove he was worthy of it. And that he hadn't been completely nutters for keeping this from her.

But then, as Pheebs started speaking, he realized another point where his exuberance had gotten in the way of his explanations. And the woman he loved was crying because of him. And doubting that she could do "this." She doesn't mean us, does she? She can't mean us. Ed quickly got up from his seat, pushing down the foolish panic that was bubbling in his veins, and laid a soft kiss on her aching temple. "You can, Pheebs," he reassured, tugging his seat towards him to sit at her side, thumb rather clumsily - it wasn't a practiced act, all right? - trying to brush away her tears as quickly as they were falling. "I get too excited, being able to talk to you about this stuff - 'muggle' is the term for non-magical folk, so yeah, you are a muggle. But that's just one of the things that defines you, just like being a wizard is only one of the things that defines me. We're still us, babe - I'm going to do everything I can to make this up to you, even if it takes my whole life."

The young man smiled, earnest in his appeal, and tried to keep that annoying sense of panic at bay. Phoebe would see that this wasn't as bad as it seemed, and she'd get used to magic and all of its perks, and things would go on as per usual - with the benefits of open magic, of course.

[Phoebe Bones]

Edgar was eager to make this situation better. Eager to get her to stop crying, to make her happy. Just as he had always been. He was a good man - a great man. He was going to make a good husband and a great father one day. But with all of this information that he was simply throwing at her, she was beginning to have doubts if the life they had planned would actually be together. He was so optimistic, smiling at her as he waited for her to suddenly just accept what he was saying so they could go on with their evening.

But it wasn't going to happen, not like that.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly set Sadie down on the ground and scratched her behind the ears, avoiding looking up at Edgar. She didn't know what to think, or do. The only thought in her mind was that she couldn't stay here. Not tonight, and maybe not ever. Magic was simply not something she had ever accounted for in her life, and if there was such danger in the world how could she keep herself in the situation.

Standing up abruptly, the chair she was sitting in fell and startled Sadie, who took off running back into the other room under the vines. "How can you act like everything is just going to be fine?!" She hadn't expected the anger to bubble over, but suddenly her voice was raised as she looked down at her boyfriend. "You can't just waltz in here and tell me about this sort of thing and expect me to just accept it and continue on with my evening."

Moving away from the table, she had to resist the urge to grab the flowers he had brought home out of the vase. "You've lied to me, and you've lived this entire different life in a different world. And you want everything to just be okay now?"

[Edgar Bones]

Waiting patiently hadn't ever been Edgar Bones' greatest strength, and while he waited for Phoebe to say anything he found himself wishing for a lot of things. Mostly, just for her to look at him - this avoidance thing was unsettling, to say the least. But he was also wishing he'd listened to the advice of everyone in his life who'd told him to do this sooner. Friends, his siblings, even - no - especially his parents, they'd all warned him not to prolong what they all knew was inevitable. Mum had sat him down and told him about how his father had told her, had belabored the point of how important a moment that had been for them - Dad had done the same on his end, broken it down...

But the world hadn't been at war with someone trying to eradicate muggles back then!

Keeping her in the dark kept her with him without question.

Simple as that.

Selfishly as that.

Stupidly as that.

Bravado had covered up that truth for so long, and now...

His eyes whipped to her as she moved, gingerly setting Sadie down to the floor, his body tense with the effort of holding himself back. Could've used some of that earlier. For a few stretched moments of quiet, Phoebe scratched their dogter behind the ears, and Ed felt that maybe she'd accept his promise...

The chair clattered to the floor as she was suddenly on her feet, Sadie darting out of the kitchen; he looked up at the woman he loved - she so full of fury, of agony - and felt like an inexcusable excuse for a human being at her words, at the deserved venom in them. She was furious, and while he told himself that he'd expected her to put up a fight, it wasn't exactly a reassuring thought. We'll be fine, though - we're always fine.

"I mean - I didn't - " The young man cleared his throat and stood, resisting the urge to envelop her in his arms by shoving his hands deeply into his pockets. Bear hugs didn't work on her when she was upset, as he'd learned from experience. "I didn't think we'd sort everything out this instant. I'm sorry, Phoebe. More sorry about this than anything I've been sorry about in my life. Tell me what you need from me - please, just tell me what you need." He sought out her eyes again, willing her to stay and fight with him. To get this horribleness out and in the air so they could get on to the best parts of a fight - reconciliation and closure. We'll be fine, he promised silently, both to her and to himself. We'll be fine...