In Her Darkest Hour ✞ Theseus Scamander

vii

It was quiet, almost in an eerie way, the fire had burnt out long ago and the only noise to be heard was the faint but heavy breathing from Theseus who had fallen asleep a little over 10 minutes ago. Orla had to be sure that Theseus was in a deep and heavy sleep before she could move, even if Orla moved to grab a drink off of the side table Theseus' head would shoot up in seconds and it would disturb his sleeping pattern for the rest of the night. It tickled Orla, Theseus was much like a baby and here she was babying him when she said she wouldn't.

Orla's eyes hung heavy, she was tired and she knew if she fell asleep here on the sofa with Theseus both Newt and her fiance Andrew would go ballistic. She could see Newt's reaction as he came downstairs for his morning cuppa and his bowl of cereal. Orla knew what she had to do and she looked to her watch on her wrist, it was almost four in the morning. Orla knew Andrew probably waited up for her and no doubt he'll be five short minutes from sending the cavalry to Newt's door and request for Orla to return home that very second.

Orla gently began to move, supporting Theseus' head with her hands so the sudden loss of her lap as a pillow wouldn't startle him awake. Once her lap was completely free, she continued to support Theseus' head with her right hand whilst her left grabbed the cushion from behind her which had been supporting her back. Theseus' head sunk straight into the pillow and Orla stood up gently, she grabbed the blanket throw off of the back of the sofa and placed it over Theseus so he wouldn't get cold from when the heat of the burnt-out fire disappears.

Orla walked out of the living room, gently closing the door behind her. She walked the short walk to the coat rack and wrapped herself up to keep herself warm from the cool autumn air, it was a weird time of year - boiling hot in the day, but freezing cold in the night. Next, Orla put her bag over her shoulder and began digging about to see if everything was in there. Orla felt the rugged edges of the diamond from her engagement ring, she pulled it out of her bag, admiring it for a second before she slipped it back on to her left ring finger.

Orla double-checked her surroundings in the dark hallway and fiddled around in the bowl for the front door key. Once she was sure she had the right set of keys, Orla opened the front door, the cool air hitting her instantly. She walked out of the door and prayed that the keys were the right ones as she closed the door. Thankfully they were and the door locked with the turn of the key, to make sure Orla tried to open the door but it didn't budge. Happy with what she had done, she posted the keys back through the letterbox so whoever the key's belonged to, whether it be Newt or Theseus, would still have them for tomorrow. Orla hurried down the steps and when she reached the bottom she disapparated into thin air.

Andrew was watching the quiet street below him, every now and then a car would pass and his eyes would dart to see if it was stopping outside of their apartment building, but they all carried on down the road and out of sight. He had been worrying ever since he woke up after an hour of sleep, Andrew had turned over expecting Orla to be there so he could cuddle up to her and he awoke in a state of panic when he realised she wasn't there. Since then he had been drinking strong coffee to keep him awake as he watched the empty street.

Suddenly a figure appeared in the middle of the street and Andrew could just about make out Orla's low bun, it wasn't her perfect, neat bun - it was messy with static hairs hanging loose around it. Orla had walked into the main door and Andrew anxiously awaited her arrival as she descended up the stairs to their third-floor apartment. The key turned in the door and Orla walked through, placing her bag on the floor, she closed the door with her back as she sighed heavily. Andrew rushed over with open arms, slightly startling Orla when his warm lips came in contact with her forehead.

"How come your back so late?" Andrew asked Orla could see the worry in his eyes, "is everything okay with Newt?"

Orla shook her head, her lip began to tremble and soon the tears came flooding out. Andrew pulled her back into his embrace as he comforted her, "hey, hey, what's wrong?"

Orla pulled out the hug slightly as she wiped her tears and let out another sigh, "I have never seen Newt like this, he's so distraught and Theseus, well Leta's death is clearly playing tricks with him because he's even worse," Orla shook her head, "I don't why I didn't expect it, after all, they were engaged. But Theseus can't even stay at his own house, but what makes things worse the two boys can't even look at each other, it's heartbreaking."

Andrew sighed heavily and took a few steps back from Orla, his jaw had clenched and his brows and had furrowed. Orla knew straight away that something wasn't right as the vein in the side of his neck stuck out. Orla reached for him but he swatted her hand away with force.

"Andrew!" Orla gasped, she couldn't believe what he had just done, "what on earth has gotten into you?"

"You come back at 4 in the morning," Andrew said, "I asked you not to be late as I didn't want you to see or speak to Theseus," Andrew looked Orla in the eye, "did you stay up this late speaking to just him, or Newt too?"

"Andrew, this is ridiculous," Orla protested, "you have no right to tell me who I can and cannot speak to!" Orla crossed her arms in a fit of anger, "Theseus is your friend, Andrew, just like he was once mine, just because we split up ages ago doesn't mean I'm not going to be there for him!" Orla threw her hands up as Andrew's face didn't budge, "so what if I was up this late speaking with Theseus? You are my fiance, not him, and he has just lost his and if he can't even speak to his own brother about it, who else is he going to speak to, because he certainly isn't speaking to you or Vaughan!"

Andrew's face slowly begins to relax, Orla rolls her eyes, she had never seen Andrew like this, so why the sudden change?

"Seriously Andrew, what has gotten into you?" Orla pressed for an answer, "why are you so angry about this?"

"Because Orla!" Andrew raised his voice, "can't you see, you two haven't seen each other since two months before you broke up, he hasn't had the chance to get over you after he jumped straight into a relationship with Lestrange!" Andrew turned his back to her and began to pick at his nail, once he was sure what he wanted to say was right he turned back around to face, "so please forgive me if you think its wrong of me to worry about my future wife's ex-boyfriend trying something with her, he is lost and lonely without Lestrange," he took in a breath, "and Theseus never got closure from you, where you learned to accept that you'll never get closure, this is the time where he'll be looking for it, or worse, he'll want you back!"

Orla sighed as she moved closer to Andrew, she reached her hands out for his face and gently planted a kiss on his lips. "You don't have to worry about me," she admitted, "I agreed to marry you for a reason, it's only ever going to be you."

Orla knew that if Andrew ever found out the things Theseus had been saying to her just hours ago, he would lose his shit and probably kill Theseus with his bare hands. But telling him now would only make things worse, and if she told him in a few months of years the problem would be even worse again.

Orla felt Andrew's cheeks move into a smile, his eyes had softened and it was like he had melted under her touch. "I know," he whispered softly, "I just wish I told him about our engagement, I meant to do it before the mission in Paris, by the time I went to tell him he had already gone." Andrew scrunched his nose, "and then Leta died, so telling him now would make his reaction so much worse, especially when I didn't know how he's going to react in the first place."

A faint smile appeared on Orla's face, "we'll tell him when we think he's ready to hear it," Orla whispered softly, "in the meantime, we'll go to sleep as it's late and we both have early starts."

"You're right," Andrew yawned, "let's go to bed."

Orla and Andrew walked through the living room towards the hallway which leads to their bedroom, Orla stopped off in the bathroom where she brushed her teeth and hair. She stripped herself off into her underwear and placed her dirty clothes in the laundry basket outside of the bathroom.

Once she reached her shared bedroom with Andrew, she saw him already fast asleep on their bed. Orla removed her bra and placed it on the ottoman, she walked over to her side of the bed and picked up the top pillow, taking out her pyjamas from underneath. Orla quickly dressed herself and jumped straight into bed, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.