Author's Note:

Hello, beautiful people! This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction in… awhile (okay, so it's been like six years), but I love PLL and Ezria and I've been dying since the show wrapped, so I just had to write something. This story will probably be a two- or three-shot, since I haven't done this in a while. Please please please let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your likes, dislikes, advice, if you think it's worth continuing, etc. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Love, thanks, and much appreciation. ~R

Boston, MA:

Aria stifled a yawn as she hurriedly typed away on her laptop, lifting a hand away from her keyboard just long enough to drain the last few drops of depressingly lukewarm coffee from her thermos. She glanced at the time displayed on the lower right corner of the screen.

4:27 PM.

She was cutting it close on this one – well, closer than she should be, at least. In Aria's defense, though, this predicament wasn't her fault. It was Friday, and that meant she had attended and taken the minutes for the weekly departmental meeting. And, just like every other Friday since she'd started at the firm three months ago, Jillian, her snappy giraffe of a boss, would be expecting the minutes report in her inbox before the end of business today. However, unlike every other Friday, this week's departmental meeting had been postponed until the afternoon and had only concluded about a half hour ago, leaving Aria with just under an hour to turn her jumbled handwritten notes into a crisp, clean, and coherent document that would meet Jillian's unusually high standards.

Aria exhaled in frustration, turning to the last page in her notes and resuming with her work. She was close to having all of her notes typed up, but she still had to organize and proof her work – which was usually the lengthiest part of the process – with only thirty minutes to get it all done. Transferring the last few words from her notebook to the document on her computer, she hastily began rearranging and rewording bits and pieces, formatting and editing for grammar in between, as the minutes quickly ticked away.

As frustrating as her boss could be, Aria was thankful to have her as a mentor. She was ruthless, but she was also the best, and Aria took pride in the fact that she had managed to become Jillian's favorite assistant. Her boss had a reputation for being impossible to please, and Aria considered it a victory that she had seemingly made the impossible possible. However, Jillian's approval was just as difficult to keep as it was to earn, and, if Aria didn't submit her report on time, she would almost certainly never be able to earn her approval again.

Her fingers sped up at this thought. Jillian was Aria's ticket into the publishing world. She wanted to be an editor, and, if she stayed in Jillian's good graces, her dream was all but guaranteed to come true. She wouldn't – she couldn't – let that dream, quite literally, slip through her fingers. No, Aria had never disappointed Jillian before, and she'd be damned if she started today.

Her eyes darted again to the time on her screen.

4:48 PM.

She was almost done. All that remained was proofing, but that, too, wasn't as simple as it might sound. Aria made a habit of proofing everything she sent her boss at least twice. She couldn't afford for any mistakes to cross paths with Jillian's discerning eye. For all her eccentricities, Jillian's editing philosophy was quite simple, and it revolved around what she called the 'editor's eye.' She believed the scrupulous eye required of any decent editor was an innate, unteachable quality, and, if Aria ever wished to become anything more than an assistant, she had to prove to Jillian that she possessed that inherent quality. That meant no mistakes; ever.

Scrolling to the top of her document, Aria began reading through it, meticulously going over every word, correcting any errors she'd previously missed as she did. And, once she reached the bottom of the last page, she scrolled to the top again to repeat the process, leaving no stone unturned.

Finding no mistakes the second time through, Aria wasted no time in pulling up the email template she used for sending her minutes reports to Jillian. Without sparing time to blink or breathe, Aria quickly attached the report, typed in Jillian's address, and pressed 'send.'

It was done.

Aria's eyes shifted to the side of her screen to check the time, unconsciously holding her breath, silently praying she hadn't just let her future slip through her fingers.

4:58 PM.

She exhaled in relief. Never before had she been so happy that it wasn't yet the end of the work day.

Aria leaned back in her chair, giving her tired, aching fingers a rest as relief continued to wash over her. She stayed like this for a while, taking a moment to do something she rarely had the time to do while at work. She looked around her.

Aria's workspace was in a large room surrounded by other identical workspaces, mostly occupied by other assistants. The firm liked to call these work areas 'cubicles,' but Aria thought this was a rather generous term. In reality, they were glorified desks, with only flimsy semi-translucent dividers separating Aria's workspace from her neighbors'. She didn't mind the setup though. It made getting to know her colleagues easier, and, as a newcomer to the city with no friends or family in the area, she liked that.

Her 'desk buddies,' as they sometimes called themselves, had helped her tremendously when she was still learning the ropes at the firm. Overall, they were a great bunch, and Aria looked forward to seeing them in the office every day. In fact, she'd even taken to going out for after work drinks with several of her fellow twenty-something colleagues on occasion, which certainly helped ease the sting of loneliness she sometimes felt. Chatting and gossiping with her office friends helped her feel like she hadn't completely forsaken her personal life for her career, but there was still no denying that work was king in Aria Montgomery's life.

She hadn't planned for her career to take over her life; it had just sort of... happened.

When Aria left Rosewood for college in Savannah, she wanted a clean break from her old life and all the misery she'd endured at the hands of 'A,' in all its various forms. She loved her friends dearly – they were like sisters – but they all agreed they needed time apart. Each girl needed to embark upon her own path to recovery from the abuses they'd endured together, and part of that process for Aria was proving to herself that she could be whole and happy on her own. That's not to say she completely cut ties with her friends or her family – she didn't – but she refused to cling to them either. She needed to heal on her own, and she had. After four years away from Rosewood, Aria had systematically faced and conquered every demon 'A' had stirred up in her, and she felt stronger and more empowered than ever.

But Boston was different than Savannah. When Aria made the move back up north, she found her mind more preoccupied with her past than it had been in years. However, it wasn't 'A' that filled her mind now; it was the people she'd left behind. And, of all the people from Aria's past that occupied her mind, he occupied it the most.

Ezra.

She'd loved Ezra with all her heart – and he'd loved her with all of his – but theirs had been a complicated love. They'd lied to one another almost as much as they'd loved each other, and together they'd lied to the world even more. He broke more of her heart than she'd ever known existed, and yet, somehow, by the end of it all, he'd righted every wrong he'd ever done and earned her forgiveness. And, for a fleeting moment, they were happy again; but it couldn't last. He loved her too much to keep her as his own.

Their relationship had been a whirlwind – and there was no doubt in either one's mind that theirs had been the rarest and truest kind of love – but it had come at a cost. It was a cost Aria was happy to have paid, but it was one Ezra could never repay. Aria had forfeited the last years of her childhood to be with him. She'd passed on school dances with her friends, and so much more, for secret movie dates hidden away in Ezra's apartment. Of course, Aria didn't regret giving up those things to be with Ezra, but they both knew she needed time away from him, just as she'd needed time away from her friends, so that she could experience and truly savor every new and exciting adventure that college and early adulthood had in store for her.

So they'd broken up – it had been Ezra's idea, but it was Aria who made the final decision – and they hadn't spoken since Aria left for college.

Maybe it was the fact that she was geographically closer to him now, or maybe it was because she'd finally gotten exactly what Ezra had so desperately wanted her to have – a perfectly unencumbered college experience – but it seemed Aria was constantly having to force Ezra out of her mind. It happened most when she was alone and that all too familiar twinge of loneliness tugged at her heart, or when she'd pulled off some spectacular feat for Jillian. Moments like this one.

Aria looked around the desk-littered room; every chair was empty. All of her work friends had gone home for the weekend, and not a soul lingered to share in her tiny victory.

It was in moments just like this that Aria's mind wandered to Ezra and what he might say if he was there with her.

But he wasn't there, and he wouldn't be there any time soon.

Aria let out a tired sigh as she leaned forward in her chair, shaking her head at her own foolishness, and busied herself with gathering her belongings. Now wasn't the time to linger on the past; it never was. Her eyes caught the time on her laptop before she closed it and stuffed it into her already very heavy bag.

5:26 PM.

The last thought on her tired mind as she parted ways with her desk, heading for the elevator, was of how much she was not looking forward to her evening commute today, or her weekend. The subway would be packed, and so would her mind.

Rosewood, PA:

Ezra had never thought of himself as having a particularly entrepreneurial spirit, but, after being in the coffeeshop and bookstore business for almost five years, he liked to think he'd become pretty good at juggling the demands that came with owning, operating, and managing his little shop. He absentmindedly brushed one hand through his hair as the other typed yet another series of numbers into the calculator that sat on the desk in his office. It was Friday, and that meant paychecks needed to go out.

In his early days as a business owner, this had been a rather daunting aspect of the job. For, as intelligent as Ezra Fitz was when it came to words and literature, he was no mathematician. It had taken some time, practice, and a few mistakes for him to get the hang of number crunching, but eventually it became second nature to him. The thought of Friday mornings no longer made him cringe or curse himself for buying The Brew now that his fingers had learned to dance between the digits on his calculator with ease and precision.

Done with the numbers part of the equation, Ezra swiveled his chair around as he rolled over to the filing cabinet behind him where he kept the checks. Swiftly unlocking and opening the drawer he opened every Friday morning, he grabbed the checkbook and rolled back over to his desk to fill them out.

He'd just finished filling out the last check when he heard a light knock on the doorframe behind him. Ezra turned around at the sound.

"Hey, I hope I'm not interrupting you," Jess, one of his longtime employees, said apologetically.

"No, not at all," Ezra replied easily, waving a casual hand in her direction. "What's up?"

"I hate to do this to you, but my son's daycare just called to tell me he's sick. I'd normally ask someone else to pick him up, but I can't get ahold of anyone. Would it be okay if—" Ezra cut her off, anticipating the trajectory of her question.

"Go," he told her. "Take your son home. I'll cover the rest of your shift."

"Are you sure, Ezra?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes," he assured her, "but before you head out," Ezra rifled through the pile of checks on his desk, picking up one and handing it to Jess with a smile, "don't forget this."

"Thank you," she replied as she took the check from Ezra's hand, "really."

"Have a good weekend, Jess," he offered kindly. "I hope Kyle feels better soon."

Only Jess and Sabrina had been scheduled to work this morning, and, with Sabrina in the kitchen, that left Ezra at the counter. Ezra didn't mind it at all though. His social life was essentially non-existent, so he looked forward to the opportunity to chat with customers, although those seemed to be in short supply now that the morning rush had dwindled. He checked his watch out of habit.

9:42 AM.

Ezra counted himself lucky that his little coffeeshop-bookstore had a loyal patronage. That being said, during the work week, the bulk of its business was done in the early morning and evening, and, between the start of the business day and when school let out, The Brew rarely saw more than a few customers per hour. So Ezra was unsurprised that, in the half hour or so that he'd been out front, he'd only taken one order.

After another few minutes with no new activity, Ezra decided to take a seat in a nearby armchair. It was his favorite one. Not only was it the most comfortable seating option in the small shop; it was also handpicked and placed by her.

Aria.

Ezra knew he should've tossed the chair long ago – he was only torturing himself by keeping a constant reminder of Aria so close to him – but he couldn't help himself. In the month between Ezra's purchase of The Brew and their breakup, Aria had sat in that chair every day. She'd placed it by the counter so that, when Ezra had to man the register, they could still steal glances at each other, and every day after school for that one glorious month, she'd sit in that chair and do her homework or read or write, only parting from her work to watch him as he did his.

Yes, keeping the chair had been a bad idea, but Ezra didn't really care. He'd resigned himself to the fact that there was no one better than Aria – not for him or anyone else – long ago, and that was a fact he'd struggled with tremendously following their breakup. Because Ezra didn't want to 'move on,' as people so often encouraged him to do. He didn't want to forget her or fall in love with someone new, and he most certainly wasn't going to fall out of love with her.

This, however, didn't mean Ezra hadn't dated women in the past four years – he had – but none of his attempts had ended well because he honestly didn't give a damn if the women he dated knew he was in love with Aria. He'd learned time and time again, attempt after half-hearted attempt, that women don't particularly like dating men who have pictures of other women in their apartments, but he, quite frankly, couldn't care less.

Consequently, Ezra hadn't been on a real date in over a year, but then again, he simply didn't care.

Aria was the queen of his heart, and, when he'd said goodbye to her four years ago, she'd taken the most important part of him with her. It hadn't been a surprise – he knew exactly how her absence would affect him when he suggested she consider breaking up – but he'd done it anyway for one very simple reason. Aria's happiness was more important to Ezra than his own.

When he read the college letter Aria had sent to Jackie in an attempt to sway the Talmadge admissions board in her favor, he realized that they had to break up. Aria needed to go forward on her own, without him or anyone else holding her back, so that she could break free of Rosewood and experience every wonderful and terrible aspect of becoming an adult for herself. The realization that Aria wouldn't be in his life had been devastating, but, at the same time, Ezra knew he could never live with himself if he became the reason for Aria's unhappiness; not after everything he'd already put her through. His only option was to set her free. So he did – and he suffered for it – but he could handle the pain so long as Aria was happy.

So Ezra now found himself leading a strange, numb life. He didn't wallow in pain or self-pity, but, if ever he let his mind wander too far, he found a dull ache would quickly settle in the half of a heart he still had. He let himself keep his mementos and reminders of the woman who, quite literally, stole his heart, but he kept moving too, never letting himself dwell on the past for too long at a time.

Something had changed in the past few months though; something that made it difficult for Ezra to distract himself from the hold Aria had on his mind. It had started in May when he'd realized that Aria would be graduating from college soon, and ever since then questions about where she was and what she was doing had been nagging at him. Because, until then, even though he hadn't known any specifics about her life, he'd always known where she was and could imagine what she was doing; she'd been in Savannah working on her degree. But, now, all he knew was that she wasn't in Savannah, and she wasn't in college. And any time his mind started to wander off, guessing at where she might be or what she might be doing, he always came back to the same question: 'Did she find what she was looking for?'

It was the question that haunted him and kept him up at night, but every time it did he gave himself the same response: 'You might never know.' And he had to be okay with that.

The sound of ringing drew Ezra from his thoughts. It came from the bell above the front door, indicating a likely customer; a welcomed distraction. Ezra jumped up from his seat to greet whoever had just walked in, eager to lead his mind away from Aria, but, as he caught sight of the new patron, his hopes were dashed; it was Byron Montgomery.

Ezra didn't see Byron very often – it had been at least six months since the last time – but, when he did, they were always friendly. The bitterness and resentment that Byron had once held for Ezra had long since faded away, and, in its absence, the two had found perfectly suitable acquaintances in each other. There was, however, always a metaphoric elephant in the room when their paths crossed: Aria. It seemed the two had an unspoken agreement that they would never speak about their mutual relation to one another. Ezra suspected Byron avoided Aria as a topic of conversation not out of any ill will toward him but, instead, because Byron knew his daughter's former boyfriend had never been the same after their breakup and didn't want to rub salt the wound, so to speak. Ezra didn't mind Byron's avoidance though; he figured it was probably for the best.

"Good morning, Byron," Ezra greeted kindly as he stepped behind the counter.

"Morning, Ezra," Byron returned with a smile. "How are you?"

"Same as always," Ezra replied simply. "And you?"

"To be honest," Byron sighed as he approached the counter, "I could be better."

"Is everything okay?" Ezra asked, sincerely but not overly concerned.

"Yeah, I've just," Byron paused, letting out a tired sigh, "I've got a lot on my mind." He paused again, rubbing his fingers over his forehead in thought, "Well, it's actually just one thing that's been on my mind a lot. I can't seem to shake it though." He shook his head at himself before looking toward Ezra, "Does that ever happen to you?"

Ezra couldn't help the laugh that slipped from his mouth as the irony of Byron's question all but smacked him in the face. "All the time," he replied, shaking his head, his lips settling into a sad smile. He knew the frustration Byron felt not just because it was evident on his face, but because he'd been stuck in the very same quandary for over four years. Ezra only wished he had some advice to give him, but he didn't. "Let me get you something to drink," he offered, instead. "Maybe some caffeine will help you sort it out." It was the best he could seem to come up with at the moment.

"Thanks, but I think I'm just going to sit down for a bit," Byron replied, quickly adding, "if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Ezra assured him. "Make yourself at home."

Ezra watched as Byron sat himself at a table, clearly deep in thought and at odds with himself. He knew he probably should've let Byron be, but he couldn't help but feel concern for the father of the woman he loved. So he poured a cup of coffee and headed in Byron's direction, lifting a book from a shelf on the way.

"I know you said you'd pass, but," Ezra began as he gingerly set the cup of coffee in front of Byron, "I thought you might change your mind. And," he continued, placing the book on the table beside the coffee, "I think you'll find this book an effective distractor."

"Thank you, Ezra," Byron said, looking up at him. "I appreciate it, really," he hesitated before going on, "but, if I'm being honest, I didn't come here for books or coffee." Byron gestured to the seat across from him, indicating that Ezra should sit down.

"Would you mind if I asked why you did come here?" Ezra inquired across from him.

Byron appeared to ponder his response, uncertain about how exactly he should proceed. Several silent moments passed before he gave a defeated sigh, signaling he'd made up his mind. Reaching into his pants pocket, Byron retrieved his wallet and pulled a card out of it, which he then slowly slid across the table toward Ezra.

As he took the card, Ezra recognized it was a business card, and typed across the top of it were his two favorite words: 'Aria Montgomery.'

"She's in Boston," Byron supplied to an utterly dumbstruck Ezra. "She works at a publishing firm there."

Ezra was in awe. Printed on the card clutched in his hands was more information about Aria's life than he'd known in years, and, of all people, her father, who had threatened to have him arrested on more than one occasion, had given it to him. "Why are you giving this to me?" he asked slowly, unable to form any other words in his shocked state.

"I just thought you should know," was Byron's simple and honest reply.

"But, why?" Ezra asked again, still wildly confused.

Byron took a deep breath before responding. "I think she'd like to see you, Ezra."

Ezra felt his heart beat faster at the words, but he knew better than to believe them without question. "What makes you think that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Last time she was home, you came up, and she had the same look in her eyes that you have right now," Byron responded candidly, "hope."

Silence fell between the two. Ezra didn't know what to say, and Byron had said everything he had to say. They'd laid everything, quite literally, out on the table. Everything that needed to be said had been said, and they both knew it. So, with nothing left to do or say, Byron gathered his wallet and coffee cup, and got up to leave.

"Thanks again for the coffee," he offered as he started for the door, but he didn't get very far.

"Wait," Ezra quickly stood, placing himself between Byron and the door. He had just one more question, "Is she happy?" After all, Aria's happiness is all that had ever mattered to him. That was what it had all been for.

Byron paused to consider Ezra's question. He'd never thought Aria was particularly unhappy, but was she happy? Really happy? He realized, then, that he didn't know the answer to that question.

Somewhat uncertainly, he placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder, just as he did with Mike when he needed his son to really hear what he had to say. "I think she could be happier."

It was a simple statement said in a simple way, but it told Ezra everything he needed to know. Aria had gained and grown all she could from their separation, and it was time for their time apart to end. Ezra didn't expect their relationship to pick up where they'd left it so many years ago. He didn't expect that Aria had missed him in the same way or as much as he'd missed her, and he certainly didn't expect that she was just sitting at her desk in Boston waiting for him. But he knew that, at some level, she missed him too, and that was all he needed to know.

Ezra gave a nod in response, a gesture of reassurance that his message had been received, and Byron walked out of the shop without a word, back in the direction from which he came.

Ezra turned the business card over in his hand a few times, memorizing every detail emblazoned upon it. He might not know where she lived, but he knew where she worked, and that was enough. He carefully tucked the card into his wallet, heading toward the kitchen to ask his most trusted employee for a very big favor. As he walked, he checked the time on his wrist.

10:56 AM.

He could make it to Boston in time.

Endnote:

THANK YOU to ShanaLy for taking pity on my computer illiterate soul and telling me how to insert lines to separate the text!

Please please please leave a review! I'd love to know whatcha think of this chapter:) Thanks for reading, and stop by soon for updates!