AN: Thank you to an anonymous ask from Tumblr or the prompt :) and might I add, I discovered about an hour ago that this is perfectly timed with the release of a certain Ezria line from 7B – so extra thumbs up there.
It was taking them a long time to decide if they should have a formal wedding or if they should just grab Spencer and Hardy as witnesses and make a run for it. A quick trip to the courthouse seemed awfully appealing at this point.
They were once again seated on the couch with the binder and a whole assortment of option spread out before them. Ezra was doing a much better job at breathing this time. In fact, this time, he was more confident than Aria. Not about getting married - she was still very sure of that - just of how it should be done. The thought of having a public ceremony while A was still on the prowl made her sick and she'd spent the past two days trying to convince Ezra of this reasoning. Finally, after some tears, and enough dragging-of-the-feet that Aria surely had holes in her socks, he'd convinced her to sit down and talk things through.
It was a new day and she had gotten out of bed with the intention of making some plans.
Now, as she sat cross-legged on the couch, a hot mug of coffee in her hands, her messy, sleep-mussed hair piled and pinned on top of her head, and her weirdly excited fiance beside her, she was feeling a little better. What was the point of making it through years of cyberbullying, days of being locked in a bunker that looked like an exact replica of your childhood bedroom, and the first of your most memorable adult years harassed by the first letter of the alphabet if you didn't grow a backbone after all of it?
That would be called defeat and she wasn't going to have any of it. Not anymore.
Aria Fitz would be a new kind of Aria and she was determined to get started on the right foot.
She took in a deep breath as she looked at the meley of papers covering the table and pursed her lips.
"Look," Ezra said, sticking his hand out and resting it on her knee, messing with the fold in her pajamas, "if we don't look at all our options, we might regret something later. All I want to do is talk about it. I don't know about you, but I only plan on getting married once."
That calmed her down for about two seconds before she started growing concerned that he doubted her commitment to him. He angled his head and brushed off her concerns with a wave of his hand.
"Forget I said that. Let's just think about how exciting this is going to be."
"Okay, I can do that," she said, bringing her mug up to her lips. She took a sip and then left it there, feeling the warmth of the ceramic against her skin. She took another deep breath and tried her best to mentally transport herself to another dimension. Preferably one where Aria and Ezra existed and A did not. "Say we have an actual wedding," she offered. "Where would you want to have it?"
A shy smile crept across Ezra's face. They'd had this conversation before, but he was going to try to pretend like he didn't remember it.
"We could have it wherever you want. I would normally suggest the church, but I feel like you probably don't have fond memories of that building. What about a park, or a museum, or...I don't know, someone's backyard?"
"I married my parents in our backyard, and while it was very sweet, I think I'd feel weird. I uh...Liam was there, and A messed with some of the seating arrangements...Let's go with something a little more...secure."
"Are you thinking of something in particular?"
"I like the idea of the museum..." she said, the statement coming out like more of a question. "That would be sort of sweet. We could have it at the museum where we had our first real date… Oh, we could give them a very specific guest list, with pictures and everything, and have people stand at the doors." She absently raised a hand to her face and sat her fingers at the edge of her lips. She was looking past his shoulder, deep in thought. "That's actually the perfect trap. If A gets in, there's at least a ninety percent chance they're on our list…"
"Aria," Ezra said, warning her. "A is not going to be at the wedding, nothing is going to go wrong, and even if by some sliver of a chance something does happen, it's going to be fine, because I'll be there the whole time, and no one is going to hurt you."
"You won't be there the whole time," she said, her hands dropping to her lap and her coffee sloshing dangerously close to the edge. "There will be hours and hours before the ceremony where we won't even be in the same room."
"Are you really worried about something bad happening, or are you more worried about the fact that this is real...that we're really about to get married. Are you sure you want this? Because I would understand if you don't, if you're having reservations, or if you changed your mind. A lot has happened and we've gone from zero to a hundred in under a second."
"No, Ezra," she said, cutting him off. She reached forward and sat her mug down on the table. "I didn't mean to be like that. I'm not having any second thoughts. I promise."
"Good," he said slowly. He looked at her a little harder, then took both her hands in his and ran this thumbs gently over her knuckles. "Listen, I...I know you say you don't have reservations, but I also understand why you would. Regardless of whether or not it's related to any reservations you do or don't have, I also understand why the courthouse seems so appealing. It would be quick and painless, we wouldn't have to worry about my mom crashing, and we wouldn't have to worry about A...or your dad having a sudden change of heart and tossing a javelin through my chest as he's walking you down the aisle... "
"That would never happen," Aria said.
"Shh, I'm making a point."
He reached up and pushed back a strand of hair that was caught in her eye lashes, getting transfixed a moment longer than necessary as he gazed into the deep brown of her eyes. Her lips were plump and parted just slightly, anxiously awaiting to refute whatever he was about to say. He let his thumb smooth down her cheek and across her bottom lip before eventually letting it resume its place in her hand.
"You are too beautiful and the world should not be deprived of seeing you walk down the aisle in a delicate, lacey dress." His eyes crinkled at the edges, his crow's feet making themselves known as they shared in a silent acknowledgement that they'd been so close to making the best leap of faith just a few weeks ago.
His voice was growing thick and the mood had taken a turn. Suddenly the sun that was shining through the windows felt warmer. Aria's hands seemed to fit in his more perfectly than ever before.
"For some reason, these past few days, specifically these past few days, I have been hyper aware of the fact that you live with me. This is your home just as much as it is mine. What we have is not wrong and what we have is nothing to hide. Aria, it might have taken us years to get here, but we've beaten the odds. We've fought tirelessly to reach this point."
She could feel tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes as her heart started to beat a little faster, creeping up into her throat and sticking there. The corner of her mouth quivered as it slipped up into a lazy half-watery smile.
"We've had a hell of a time getting here, haven't we," she said, her voice nearly a whisper. Talking any louder than that seemed like it had the potential to shatter the world.
Ezra nodded, his eyes looking just as watery as hers. "Yeah we have," he said. "Maybe I'm being selfish, but I want to parade around town with you on my arm. I feel like I've hidden you away long enough, and dammit, I want everyone to know that I'm marrying Aria Montgomery. To hell with them if they have a problem with it. I don't care."
Aria let out a watery laugh and at the same moment, a few tears escaped. Her jaw was tingly with happiness - that same feeling you get when you bite into something too sweet. Your tongue starts to feel light and the back of your mouth locks up... that's what the thought of marrying Ezra Fitz did to her. Every time.
"Stop it," she said, throwing her head back slightly and bringing a hand up to wipe at her cheek. She blinked a few times and Ezra was staring at her like she alone carried the key to the universe. "Seriously. If you don't stop looking at me like that I'll never be able to say my vows without the ugly cry."
He let out a little laugh of his own. "No, I love your ugly cry. It's unique." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Besides, you have plenty of time to build up an immunity to my face," he offered.
"I don't want to," she whispered.
Ezra motioned her forward. "Come here," he said.
When her tiny body fell into his, he leaned them both back along the couch, his back sinking into the cushions and her body burrowing into his chest. He lazily trailed his hands over her arm, up from the elbow to the shoulder, then down again, creeping past until he was hovering over her wrist. He picked up her left hand and held her ring finger up so that the family heirloom caught the sun's light just right. "It's like it was made for you," he said. He sat her hand back where it had been before, snug across her waist, and he hugged her to him a little tighter. "Spencer's right, you know."
"Hmm?" she said, lazily.
"You're absurdly small," he answered. He leaned forward and kissed the crown of her head. "We shall protect you at all costs."
Aria just laughed and playfully swatted at him. All of a sudden, she couldn't remember what she had been so worried about. Everything was going to be fine. Even if the world fell apart beneath her feet, it would still be the happiest day of her life.
Nothing, and no one, could take that away from her.
AN: I realize that this line will most likely take place on the wedding day in the show, but every time I tried to write it like that it felt weird. This probably isn't anything like how it will happen in the show, but I like it. I like when they have heart-to-hearts, if you can't tell. And I'm all for good couch-snuggles. Let me know what you thought in a review! Ugh. I miss talking to people about PLL. 7B needs to start already!