Ezra and Aria walked back into the Montgomery's home after the scene outside the Vanderwaal's cleared out. The pies were no longer on the table so Ezra assumed Ella had moved them into the other room to set up. Aria filled her in briefly of what happened but didn't go into too much detail for both their sakes as she didn't want to overwhelm her already-stressing mother, and Aria herself wanted to focus on the holiday instead and her family meeting Ezra.
No cars were outside the house yet and no one was in the living room meaning they had a few minutes to collect themselves before Aria's extended family arrived for Thanksgiving. Ezra's nerves about meeting Aria's family and making a good impression had been distracted as he had to be Aria's rock when finding Mona's blood, but now that they were back, they began to resurface, knowing that this was an important determinant in the relationship they are rebuilding.
Aria and Ezra were both sitting on the couch in the living room, they didn't want to disturb Ella who was setting up and she already had shooed them away when they came back and offered a hand.
"I, I just can't believe she's dead. I was just speaking to her on the phone. She was just there." Aria says to Ezra as she is trying to wrap her head around the situation that just unfolded before them.
"Hey, don't let this ruin today." Ezra says as he grabs Aria's hands. "So tell me again, your aunt Sarah is married to your uncle Danny, Granny Rose is Ella's mother and Fred is her father, Taylor is 10 and is Sarah and Danny's daughter, and Ryan is 6 and is their son." Ezra attempts to distract Aria as he brushes up on her family tree before everyone arrives.
Aria embraces Ezra's attempt for a distraction, "That's all of them." Ezra releases a nervous breathe. "Don't worry, they're pretty easy to gain approval of, they'll love you I promise." Aria reassures Ezra as she rubs her thumb over his hand that is still in hers. "Oh, and if Uncle Danny does happen to pressure you into an arm wrestle, just let him win and he'll be yours." Aria laughs as she brings up a previous joke she made when they were making the pies.
Ezra moves his hands to brush a piece of hair away from her delicate face, he is hesitant to kiss her given the unspoken definition of their relationship. Her eyes meet his though giving him the approval he desired. He smiles as he kisses her familiar lips. Just as the kiss begins to deepen, they both hear someone clear their throat. They look up at Ella who has entered the room in order to answer the doorbell they had both tuned out. They quickly stand up and Ezra offers Ella an embarrassed smile.
Aria opens the door to see the first guest enter. It's her granny and papa, they embrace her in hugs and kisses before they even enter the door. Ezra stands back and smiles as they share an unconditional love for the same girl. Ella soon interrupts the hugging to get her share and take the side dishes they had brought with them. Aria takes this opportunity to rejoin Ezra. She grabs his hand as her mother directs her parents into the living room.
Granny Rose turns to Ezra and sees his hand intertwined with Aria's, "I'm Rosemary, but you can call me Granny Rose and this is Fred." She extends a hand to Ezra with a warm smile and points to her husband who is chatting with Ella.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Ezra Fitz." Ezra takes his free hand to shake hers, but she holds it in hers for a minute. Something his grandmother does as well.
Before Granny Rose can begin interrogating Ezra, the doorbell rings once more and Ella's sister and her family come in. Another round of hugs ignites and the house is soon filled with laughter and catching up. Ezra strikes up conversation with her Uncle who is also an English teacher.
Everyone is sitting in the living room catching up when Aunt Sarah turns to Aria and Ezra who are sitting next to each other, "So are you guys….?" She asks as straight up as possible. The question Ezra didn't know how to answer.
"Yes, we've been seeing each other for over a year now." Aria says as she looks at Ezra and smiles, she failed to mention on and off but it was the first time she officially said they were back together. Ezra meets Aria's smile.
"How did you guys meet?" Granny Rose jumps in. Aria, Ezra, and Ella freeze momentarily, unsure how to answer this question without lying but also not telling the full truth.
Aria finally spoke up, not wanting to lie to her family, she opted for the truth. "Well, we met the labor day we got back from Iceland and then it turned out Ezra was my english teacher…." Aria's story was momentarily interrupted by a few shocked faces so she quickly proceeded with, "We immediately called it quits, not wanting to get anyone in danger. But…."
Ezra took over from here by saying, "No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't stay away from each other. I quit Rosewood and then began teaching at Hollis, we then ran into some complications with Byron and some other things, but now I'm taking over the local coffee shop and focusing on my own writing." Silence followed the summary of their story in the quickest way possible.
"As long as you don't break our little girls heart, than I don't see a problem. Love finds you in the craziest way possible." Granny Rose spoke up. Aria was right, Ezra was growing to love her already.
"I would never, she's everything to me" Ezra replied as Aria snuggled up into him. He wrapped his arm around her and placed a light kiss on her head.
"Welcome to the family Fitz!" Aunt Sarah replied joyfully. "Now lets eat!" With that everyone relocated to the kitchen for the meal.
Casual banter and stories were exchanged throughout the meal as Ezra felt welcomed and at home surrounded by Aria's family. He was captivated by the stories told about Aria as a little kid and the antics she did laughing at the little things he noticed in each family member that Aria contained as well.
As the night came to a close, a series of goodbyes and hugs were exchanged, including to Ezra as well. Just as Granny was about to leave she whispered to Aria, "You've got a good one." Aria smiled at Ezra, knowing as always, her grandma was right.
Soon, it was just Aria and Ezra left in the living room as Ella was cleaning up in the kitchen. They both were sitting on the couch tired. "So how'd I do?" Ezra asked with an anticipating grin, just as a small kid about to receive that grade for the test he really studied for.
"They loved you, I knew they would, and I love you too." Aria said with a smile as she leaned over to kiss Ezra's grin. Even through it all, they knew they belonged together, and the night just proved them right.
"I love you too" Ezra replied and returned the kiss.