Four and Twenty: Chapter 8
Nope…Pretty Little Liars still isn't mine.
March 2017: Powerful Stuff by Sean Hayes
Love isn't finding a perfect person. It's seeing an imperfect person perfectly. Ezra Fitz had always scoffed at the idea that there wasn't a perfect person somewhere out in the world for him. There had to be, he reasoned, for if there wasn't someone perfect for him then what hope was there in trusting the concept of soul mates? But as he watched Aria thumb through a tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice one early March morning he wondered if perhaps he'd been wrong all along. Aria Montgomery certainly wasn't perfect. She was headstrong beyond stubbornness, often completely irrational, way too emotional, and in her opinion, always right. Yet she was kind, and gentle, and brilliant, and funny, and loving, and beautiful. He saw her for what she was, the flaws and imperfections, the talents and the qualities. So no, Aria Montgomery wasn't a perfect person, but Ezra Fitz saw her perfectly as she was—and she was most certainly his soul mate.
"You're doing it again." Aria lowered her book and shifted on the window seat.
Ezra sat up a bit straighter in the armchair he'd claimed as his own at Abe's. It was well worn, the brown leather cracking at the seams, and the arm rests faded from years of constant touching, but it was by far the most comfortable seat in the entire book store. "Doing what?"
"Staring at me. I'm seriously beginning to wonder if there's something on my face that I can't see." She grinned and tossed the book down beside her. "What were you thinking about?"
"How beautiful you are."
She blushed and glanced away, her fingertips falling softly upon the cold glass of the windowpane and tracing the path of tiny rain droplets as they trickled down outside.
"How much I love you."
Aria smiled softly and shifted her gaze back towards him. "I'm glad we came back here."
He nodded. "Me too. There's not a bookstore better than this one in all of New York City."
"Of course the company isn't bad either." Aria leaned over and petted Abe's dog, who was curled up at her feet.
"No, the company's not bad either." He stood up and moved to sit beside her. She leaned against him, sighing softly as her back settled against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. "Thank you for this. We needed today."
Ezra smiled. They'd definitely needed the break. Wedding plans were in full swing back at the apartment, and their living room had been overrun by swatches Hanna had chosen for table clothes, napkins, and bridesmaid gowns. And he'd only just managed to gain her forgiveness for the horrible debacle of his birthday party. Ezra Fitz may have had a way with words, but only when they were on a written page. His mouth was an entirely different matter.
"I'm sorry."
Aria tilted her chin up the look at him, a small frown upon her lips. "For what?"
"Saying what I did the other night."
She groaned and brushed her lips across his knuckles. "Ezra, I've already told you that I forgive you. That must be the fiftieth time you've apologized to me."
"Well, I still feel terrible about it." The back of his hand brushed tenderly against her cheek, and she kissed his palm. "It was wholly uncalled for, and so stupid."
She laughed then and turned her face to look at him. He furrowed his brow and stared at her in confusion. "Why are you laughing?"
"Ezra, shut up." Aria arched her neck and kissed him swiftly.
He grinned and lowered his lips to hers again. "Gladly."
They drove back to the city late that afternoon. The heavy rain clouds that had loomed overhead all morning cleared away and revealed a bright blue spring sky and warm golden sun. Aria sang along quietly with the radio as they drove, and Ezra found that he had a new enjoyment for Sara Bareilles and The Script—provided he could hear Aria's voice.
"Let's get dinner. I'm starving."
He nodded and turned onto Sixth Avenue. "What do you want?"
She tilted her head thoughtfully to the side, and tapped her chin. "Well I don't know—how about burgers and shakes?"
Ezra laughed and shook his head. "I should've known. Do you ever not want a burger?"
"Nope."
"Burgers it is."
They stopped at a small hamburger joint a few blocks down from the apartment and ordered two cheeseburgers, two large fries, a vanilla shake for her, a root beer float for him, and two bottles of water to wash it all down with.
"So, I have good news."
"Oh?" She dipped a fry in ranch and then popped it in her mouth.
"Yeah, great news actually." He took a sip of his float and smirked at her.
"Well, what is it?"
"I take that back, it's better than great."
"Ezra, if you don't tell me, I'll…" She spluttered for a minute and finding no worthy threat settled on glaring at him over the rim of her shake glass.
"You'll what?" He laughed at the exasperated expression on her face and plucked the cherry off the top of her shake.
"Hey! That was mine."
He shrugged. "Should've eaten it faster." With a lazy grin, he shoved it into his mouth.
"I hate you."
Ezra chuckled, and reached across the table to take her hand. "Sure you do. You know, saying that would be a lot more believable if you weren't laughing while you did it."
Aria giggled. "Will you just tell me already?"
He sighed. "Fine, don't let me have my fun. HarperCollins called the other day."
"HarperCollins? As in the HarperCollins? As in most-famous-book-publisher-in-the-world HarperCollins?"
"The very same. They want to publish a collection of my short stories."
"You're kidding?"
He shook his head. "Nope. I nearly passed out when they called."
"That's amazing. Congratulations!" She leaned forehead and kissed him quickly. "I'm dating a soon-to-be-famous author."
"And I'm dating the most amazing girl in the entire world."
She rolled her eyes, but blushed nonetheless. "Come on, Romeo. We've got to get home. It's getting late."
They cleared away their trash and headed outside. Dusk had fallen, and rush hour had passed so the streets were fairly quiet, for New York anyway. Hand in hand they ambled along, with Aria pausing occasionally to point out something in a store window or, just because she felt like it, to kiss Ezra.
He wrapped his arm around her after a bit, both because it was getting chillier, and because he just wanted to have her near. She smiled, and pulled him into a small alcove beside a closed shop.
"Thank you again for today. It truly has been the best day." Arching up on her toes, she twined her arms behind his neck and kissed him slowly.
"You're welcome. I love you, Aria." His lips met hers again, and for a long moment they clung to one another.
When she finally broke away, she was breathless and her kiss swollen lips were curved in a grin. "I love you, too, Ezra."
A/N: Short and Cute and Fluffy and Harmless. Happy Monday!
