Super early AND super long chapter! Guess I've been in a writing mood. ;)
Christmas Day was much different from the Montgomery Christmas party that Byron hosted a few days before. Instead of an extravagant party, Ella, Zack, Mike, Aria, and Ezra gathered around Ella's small living area, enjoying each other's company. Ella had spent the last 18 years hosting Christmas at her house, both sides of the family visiting to celebrate the holiday. With the big change in Ella's life, she decided to spend this year with only the people who mattered the most. And her daughter's boyfriend/former teacher.
Ezra had yet to spend this much time with Aria's family, but seemed to fit in rather well. The last few days were a significant adjustment from feeling nonexistent or invisible to the Montgomerys. He sat on the two-person loveseat with Zack, engrossed in a discussion about some new movie that neither Aria nor Ella had heard of. Mike tried to contribute, but was clearly the third wheel being much younger than the older men.
Aria and Ella looked on as their significant others laughed and shouted random facts with passion and excitement. "No, he wasn't the director, he was the producer!" Zack told Ezra, who just shook his head.
Aria cleared her throat. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She looked at her mother, waiting for her to respond.
"Hmm?" Ella was hardly paying attention to her daughter's words as she continued to stare at her boyfriend and her daughter's boyfriend.
"Ezra and Zack are only six years apart," she pointed out. "My mother's boyfriend is only a few years older than my boyfriend."
Ella let out a small laugh. "Well, that's because you obviously like older men."
"Ha!" Aria scoffed at her mother, playfully slapping her on the arm. "Says the cougar dating a man ten years younger than her."
Ella glared at her daughter, dismissing the 'cougar' comment. "Either way, looks like they're developing some kind of bromance."
Aria smiled. "I'm glad, since Zack might be Ezra's step father-in-law one day," she realized, then suddenly her jaw dropped as a thought hit her. "What if we have babies at the same time?"
"Aria," Ella scolded her daughter. She narrowed her eyes. "First, I am not having any more children, and second, you are not having them for a long, long time."
Aria leaned back against the couch and crossed her arms. "You never know what might happen," she smirked, then jumped back next to her mother, "But seriously just imagine it for a second Mom, both of us pregnant at the same—"
"Aria, not another word," Ella interrupted, shaking her head. "You're scaring me, and that is never going to happen."
Aria ignored her mother's pleas. "Or what if I have a baby before you do, and my baby is your baby's niece and older than its aunt or uncle!" Aria's eyebrows raised in awe of her discoveries.
Ella stood from the couch in clear attempt to change the subject. "Should we exchange gifts now?" She suggested to the small group, loud enough to interrupt the men's chatter.
Ezra and Zack abruptly stopped talking at the sound of Ella's voice and looked up. "Sure," their responses echoed.
"Damn." Aria jumped up from the couch, suddenly realizing she had left her bag of gifts outside in the car. "I need to go to the car for a minute."
Ezra instinctively stood up. "Don't worry about it, honey, I can grab the bag if you need me to." Ezra didn't give it a second thought and walked across the room to the door.
Aria beat him to door and put her coat on. "It's okay," she stood on her toes and lightly kissed him, lowering her voice so only Ezra could hear. "Continue your bromance with Zack." She winked and sank back onto her feet before exiting the apartment.
While Aria ran outside to the car, Ella grabbed Ezra's hand and started guiding him down the hallway. Albeit confused—and wondering if she somehow mistook him for Zack—he followed her to the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. Once they were both inside, she quietly closed the door behind her.
Ella stood in front of Ezra with her hands on her hips. She pursed her lips before she spoke. "Look, I'll never be thrilled with the way your relationship with Aria started," she told him, the tone in her voice stern and confident, "but I would be lying if I said I didn't believe in your relationship," she took a breath and hesitated before she continued, "and I would have to be blind and oblivious to say that you don't make her very happy."
Ezra nodded and nervously licked his lips, remembering what Aria told him a few weeks prior about her mother's view on their relationship. "Thank you, I definitely appreciate hearing this from you," he admitted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "like I told you months ago—it does matter what you think of me."
Ella nodded, but didn't smile. She didn't smile once since she lead him down the hallway—her way of making sure he knew that she was serious, that if he even dared hurt her, or screwed up her life, that she's not up for second chances. Ella reached into her pocket and pulled something out, handing it to Ezra.
He creased his eyebrows and accepted it. When it dropped into his palm, he realized it was a key.
"What—what's this for?" He asked.
"It's a key to our family's cabin, which I highly doubt we'll make use of in the near future given our...situation."
"And why are you giving it to me?"
"Because Aria needs a break from the life you recently sprung on her," she blurted out. "I guess your relationship could use some time without Malcolm, and that cabin has always been an escape for us."
"I, I don't know what to say, Ella—"
For the first time, the creases of her mouth raised ever so slightly. "It also means that I trust you." She turned and put her hand on the doorknob. "Don't screw that up—or I promise that you will never regain my trust again." She smiled. "Merry Christmas, Ezra."
Ella left Ezra alone in the room. He smiled as an idea hit him. It would be risky, Aria might even be a little angry, but he hoped that it would have the opposite effect—a genuine smile. Some magic. A memory. A way to lighten the mood as he celebrated Christmas with his former student/girlfriend's family.
Ezra put the key in his pocket and returned to the living room where Aria was sitting alone on the loveseat. When she saw him, she patted the spot next to her and smiled, silently asking him to join her. Ezra complied and joined her on the couch, putting his arm around her. Aria leaned into his side and happily sighed to be in his arms once again.
The look of pure happiness on Aria's face forced Ella to smile from her spot on the couch. Zack followed Ella's gaze and lightly put his hand on his girlfriend's knee.
"So, Aria and Ezra," he began, looking at the young couple, "how are you enjoying your first Christmas together?"
"A few bumps, but I think it's been perfect," Ezra replied, turning to look at Aria who rested her head on his shoulder. "And I have another gift for you."
Aria lowered her eyebrows and sat up. "You already got me way too much, Ezra."
Ezra didn't respond. Instead, he slid off the couch and got on one knee, taking Aria's hand in his. He cleared his throat. "Aria, the last couple months have been a roller coaster—actually, our entire relationship has been a roller coaster—but every low was worth it, knowing there was another high around the corner." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
Aria didn't smile. The look on her face was nothing short of pure terror. She wasn't ready for this, especially not in front of her family, when they haven't even begun to discuss marriage yet. She was just too young, too unprepared for such an adult concept. The look on Ella, Zack, and Mike's faces mirrored hers. What was Ezra thinking?
He opened his hand, revealing the key Ella had given him minutes before. "Will you go to your cabin with me on New Year's Eve?" The serious expression on his face quickly transitioned to a goofy smile. He let out a short chuckle and winked.
Aria punched him in the arm with the full-force of her anger. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend before getting up from the couch and charging down the hallway. Everyone in the room cringed at the loud slam of the guest room door.
Ezra rubbed his shoulder where his girlfriend had punched him. He climbed back onto the couch. "That's so unlike her—I didn't think she'd take it like that, I was just trying to—" He shook his head. "Now that I think about it, maybe it was a stupid joke."
Ella smiled at him sympathetically. "I would tell you to go after her, but I think it would be better if I did it at this point."
Ezra nodded. "Go ahead. Get me when you think it's safe."
Ella opened the door to the guest room to find Aria sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed tightly against her chest, staring at the floor.
"Oh come on, Aria, he was just trying to make you laugh." The bed sunk when Ella sat next to her daughter.
"He embarrassed me, Mom," she whimpered as tears started to fall. "He should have known it would've upset me."
Ella put her fingers on Aria's chin and tilted her head up. "No, because he was right—that was very unlike you," she told her. "You shouldn't have to worry about being embarrassed in front of your immediate family."
"To be honest, as soon as I slammed the door, I wondered why I punched him." She sighed. "Now I'm just embarrassed because of my own stupidity."
Aria was surprised at her own response to Ezra's gesture. Yes, it was a joke—a pretty stupid joke, but it was nonetheless sweet and romantic. She couldn't decide if it was her panic that reacted, or her pride, but she found herself going from intense anger, to confusion, to a crying mess in the bedroom. She always dreamt of marrying Ezra at a young age, way before her friends and classmates walked down the aisle. But when the moment came—or so she thought—she realized she didn't want that at all. Then why wasn't she relieved when she saw the key instead of a ring?
Ella laughed. "Blame me because I gave him the key."
Aria's eyes grew. "You—you trust him, Mom?"
Ella looked down as she nodded her head.
"You trust...us?"
"Yes," her mother confessed. "For now, I trust you—both of you."
Aria put her arms around her mother and tightly hugged her. "Mom, can you ask Ezra to come in here?"
"Of course," Ella smiled and left the room.
Aria got herself together as she waited for Ezra to open the door. She took a deep breath and tried to settle her emotions when the door began to creak and slowly open. Ezra poked his head in to make sure she wasn't enraged, before fully committing to entering the room. Aria stood and grabbed Ezra's face, bringing him in for a deep kiss.
She pulled away and grinned. "Yes."
The Montgomery's cabin wasn't anything special—definitely not like the Hastings' lake house. While Spencer's lake house was practically a small mansion on the water, the Montgomery's cabin was three rooms: a small bathroom, a bedroom, and a large open living area. As of late, the cabin was nothing more than a couple nearly empty rooms, nestled in the woods an hour and a half outside Rosewood. Aria and Ezra arrived in the early afternoon on New Year's Eve.
Ezra opened the door to the only bedroom where Aria had told him to put their things. He was surprised to find an empty floor with only a dresser standing against a wall.
"Aria," he called to his girlfriend who was in the other room, "where the hell is the bed?"
Aria walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist. "My family never slept on beds when we came here, just air mattresses and sleeping bags," she told him. "It's the closest we'd ever get to camping."
Ezra put his hand on the back of his neck. "We didn't bring anything to sleep on."
"That's because we keep everything here." Aria walked past him and opened a closet door, pulling out a few old quilts and a sleeping bag. "Oh no!" she gasped, putting the back of her hand against her forehead, pretending to be in shock. "There is only one sleeping bag. Where shall we sleep, Mr. Fitz?" She turned her head to face Ezra and smirked. "It would be so inappropriate for us to share a sleeping bag."
Ezra raised an eyebrow. "This is going to be an interesting couple of nights."
"Interesting?" she questioned, walking closer to him with the blankets draped over her arms. "It's perfect."
Ezra rolled a lump of snow on the ground until he had created a perfect sized snowball, perfect for the bottom of his snowman—or snow woman, as he was building an Aria snowman while Aria built her very own Ezra.
After settling in the cabin, the two contemplated how to spend their afternoon, and decided to make use of the outdoors. Several cabins lined the street near the Montgomery's place, but because it was December, no one was there, and they didn't expect anyone to come tomorrow either. It was the ideal escape for the two of them.
"This is hard work," Aria pouted, wiping the frozen snow stuck to her gloves onto her pants. "Two more snowballs down, one more to go."
"Thankfully, I only have to make two." Ezra picked up one snowball and carefully placed it on top of the one he completed ten minutes ago.
"Why are you only making two?"
"If we're making replicas of us, they need to be to scale, and I believe you are at least one snowball shorter than me," he told her. "I guess I do need to make two smaller snowballs, though, for your chest..."
Aria giggled. "That won't take you long." She playfully threw a handful of snow at his face.
Ezra blinked a few times and licked his lips, tasting the cold snow around his mouth. "Do you want me to tackle you into the ground again?"
"Hmm," Aria pretended to consider the suggestion. "No, let's save that for later tonight, because I'm going to kick your ass in this contest."
Thirty minutes later, the Aria and Ezra snow people stood side-by-side, the Aria snow woman much shorter than the Ezra snowman—with two noticeably large lumps of snow on its chest. Aria giggled as she noticed how much Ezra had exaggerated the size of her boobs.
"Obviously you're living in a fantasyland," she pointed to the snow woman. "She may have a bigger chest, but at least my boobs won't melt once it gets a little too warm." She then stood next to the Ezra snowman. "Ezra, take a picture of me and my boyfriend." She leaned forward and puckered her lips centimeters away from the side of its head.
Ezra chuckled. "Okay, as long as I get to take a picture with my girlfriend." He put his arm around the large-chested snow woman.
Once they had taken enough silly pictures with the snow people, Aria and Ezra determined it would be fun to try sledding on a nearby slope. When Aria and Mike were younger, they would spend hours sliding up and down the hill on top of cheap plastic sleds. They kept the sleds at the cabin over the years in case they wanted to use them again.
"Are you sure this is safe, Aria?" Ezra peered down the rather steep hill; it was mostly barren, except a few trees that spotted the land at the bottom of the slope. Then it was all woods.
"Of course it is, Mike and I did this all the time." She placed the dark blue plastic sled onto the top of the hill. "Get in."
Ezra hesitantly sat down at the back of the sled and put his legs on both sides, leaving room for Aria. Aria stepped in and pressed her back against Ezra's chest.
"Ready?" Ezra asked her, receiving a nod from Aria. He pressed the snow with his hand, consequently pushing them a few inches down the slope. He wrapped his arms around Aria and leaned forward.
The sled started moving and quickly picked up speed, cutting through the snow and sliding down the hill. Aria squealed in delight while Ezra held onto her tight. He cringed as the snow hit his face and eyes. As soon as they hit the bottom, Aria jumped up from the sled and grabbed Ezra's hand, pulling him up too.
"Let's do it again!" Her face lit up like a child, her cheeks red, her hair coated in snow.
Ezra didn't want to do it again, but he couldn't deny the pure innocent—and adorable—joy in Aria's eyes. That is one of the many reasons why he loved her. She was mature beyond her years the majority of the time, but he loved when she resorted to her inner-child; he saw a light behind her eyes he rarely got to see.
After several rides down the hill, the two of them were about to call it a day, until Aria insisted on going down one more time. Just one more time. But it seemed as if she said this the last three times.
This time, the snow had started to become smooth from their previous trips down the hill, providing less traction to slow them down. When they reached the bottom, the sled continued to glide across the snow rapidly
"Ezra, I don't think it's going to stop!" Aria shouted in panic. "It's not stopping!"
Ezra tried to slow them down by placing his legs and arms into the snow, but it made little difference. Ezra shielded Aria's face as they crashed into the edge of the woods and through some brush, causing them to finally stop.
Ezra released the breath he had been holding and unwrapped his arms from around Aria. "Aria, are you okay?"
"For the most part," she grimaced, squinting her eyes shut, "except a stick or something ripped open the skin on my thigh."
Ezra was afraid to look. He felt guilty for allowing Aria to get hurt; he should have made sure that didn't happen. Aria tried to stand but cringed in pain; her hand was pressed up against her wound.
"Stay there," Ezra demanded. "Let me look at your leg."
Small droplets of blood spotted the white snow around them. Aria removed her hand and allowed him to see the wound on her thigh. A stick had carved a five-inch long gash through her jeans and into her skin, but it didn't appear too deep, and it definitely wasn't very wide. He wouldn't be sure until they went back to the cabin and he could get a closer look at it. Aria began to whimper as the pain set in.
"It doesn't look too bad, but stay on the sled," he insisted. He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and gently moved a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll pull you up the hill and then carry you once we reach the top, okay?"
Aria nodded, biting her bottom lip to distract herself from the pain.
When they reached the top of the hill, Ezra carried Aria the rest of the way to the cabin with her cradled in his arms. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck and cringed every so often as a new wave of pain hit her.
"I should make you do this all the time," she joked. She playfully poked him in the cheek with her index finger and smiled. "I like this angle."
Ezra rolled his eyes and carried her into the cabin, placing her on the edge of the small kitchen counter. "You said you had a first aid kit around here, somewhere?"
"Yeah, it's under the sink."
Ezra rummaged through the contents of the cabinet under the sink and placed the first aid kid next to Aria on the counter. He took off her boots and unzipped her jeans, slipping them off her legs as she grimaced in pain. He opened a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "This is going to hurt like a bitch, just to warn you."
Aria prepared herself as he poured the liquid onto her leg. She screamed through her teeth and held onto the edge of the counter, the liquid bubbling up from her skin.
"Now that's it's clean, let me just wrap it up, and it should be fine." Ezra grabbed a paper towel and wiped the excess blood off her leg. He squeezed some antibiotic cream onto the wound and put a couple large bandages over it.
"Feel better?" He asked.
Aria nodded. "Thanks for taking care of me."
"Of course." He kissed her forehead, trailing quick kisses from the bridge of her nose to the tip of her nose, and finally to her lips. "I love you."
"I think I would have rather spent the extra money and gotten a hotel room," Ezra muttered as he attempted to get warm in front of the fireplace. He rubbed his hands together in front of him.
"Stop being such a downer," Aria demanded, shooting her boyfriend a look. She grabbed one of his hands. "Look at me."
Ezra turned his head and looked at Aria. The two of them were wrapped in a thick quilt as they sat on the cold hardwood floor of the cabin, both of them dressed in Ezra's pajamas. Aria was leaned against Ezra's side with her head lying on his shoulder. She looked at him.
"We're here," she kissed him gently, "together," she kissed him again," and most importantly," she kissed him once more, "we're alone."
"Indeed." He returned her kisses and slipped his tongue into her mouth while pushing her down to the floor, kissing her deeply. After a few minutes, he moved to the side of her body and adjusted the blanket so it was tightly wrapped around the two of them. He put one arm around her waist and pulled her against his body.
Aria rested her head on Ezra's chest and gazed up at his face. The fire served as the only source of light in the room, illuminating their bodies in a soft orange glow. Ezra's dark blue irises danced as the fire reflected in his eyes.
"What should we do for the last two hours of 2011?" Aria smirked, moving her hand to back of his neck and placing it inside of his shirt.
"This is good," he told her. He took the hand that was holding her and started running it up and down her arm. "This is perfect."
"You're right," she agreed, feeling safe and loved in his arms.
"Looking forward to 2012?"
"It's going to be an interesting ride with a lot of changes and unknowns, but yeah, I'm looking forward to it," she answered, then frowned when she remembered something. "Except it's going to suck when you can't do things like go to prom with me, or attend the award ceremonies and graduation and everything that comes along with graduating from high school."
"Don't think like that." He lightly brushed his fingers against her jawline. "I'll try to go to whatever I can without creating a scene." He slowly sat up, pulling Aria with him. "Would you like to have our prom right now?"
Aria raised an eyebrow. They were in an empty, nearly-dark room, in the middle of nowhere, the only music being the quiet crackling of the fire. He stood up and offered her his hand. She accepted and he pulled her to her feet.
"Would you like to dance?" He asked her, in an exaggerated forced British accent.
Aria giggled and accepted his hand. He linked his fingers with hers with one hand and held her with the other. They swayed back and forth slowly on their feet, enjoying their time alone. Alone from judging eyes of classmates and family, alone from a child's sour face. She rested her head against his chest, with her hand that was not in Ezra's lovingly rubbing his shoulder.
"You wouldn't have wanted me to go to prom with you if we were in high school at the same time," he whispered into her hair. "Dedicated book club member, English nerd, late bloomer, I was on the track team...I could go on, but then you might break up with me."
She pulled away so she could look him in the eyes, but they continued to sway to the non-existent music. "I didn't know you were on the track team."
"Yeah, and in college I trained for marathons," he told her, in a quiet, husky voice.
Aria smiled, envisioning him running as a skinny high-school boy, and crossing the finish line when he was in college, his friends and family cheering him on. "Why did you stop training for marathons?"
"Well, didn't entirely give them up, sometimes I still consider running in them, but—" He hesitated.
"Yes?"
"I guess I started chasing after other things," he admitted. He looked her in the eyes. "Or not things, but people."
She frowned and looked down at their moving feet. "I'm the reason you gave up running marathons."
"In a way, yes," he confessed. "But only because I stopped needing to focus on marathons to give myself a passion and purpose in life."
She smiled again. They continued to dance for a few quiet moments. "Do you want to go to the after party?"
Ezra raised an eyebrow and stopped moving his feet.
"You didn't watch enough cheesy 90s movies or TV shows where the teenagers rent out hotel rooms after prom, and..."
"I get it," he said, looking around him searching for something. "Well, we could rent out that sleeping bag." He pointed to the bright-red sleeping bag Aria had pulled out of the closet earlier in the day.
Aria smirked. "We could." She hungrily pressed her lips against his, immediately accepting his tongue. He fell back a few steps at the urgency of her move. She wasted no time and pulled his hoodie over his head. Ezra grabbed the bottom of her long-sleeved t-shirt and carefully pushed it up and over her body.
"Wait, how does your leg feel?"
Aria had already stepped out of her—or his—pajama pants, and they were gathered at the bottom of her feet. Ezra carefully examined the wound on her bare leg.
Aria ignored him and grabbed his face. "I won't feel anything if you'd just stop talking," she scolded him, quieting him with her lips as they continued to make out.
Aria was lying on top of Ezra in the sleeping bag, their naked bodies sharing and exchanging body heat in the chilly cabin. The neglected fire had begun to burn out; only a few embers lit up the room from the fireplace. She rested her head on her folded arms on top of Ezra's chest, not taking her eyes away from him. She mindlessly played with the hairs on his chest as they enjoyed the dead silence of the cabin.
Ezra reached outside of the sleeping bag and felt around until he found his phone lying on the floor a few feet away. He looked at the time; it was 12:30. "I don't know about you, but I think that was a good way to spend the first minutes of 2012."
"Mhmmm," was all Aria said, exhausted from their "after-prom party." "How do you feel about everything that happened in 2011?"
"Well, that's a big question, considering a lot happened." Ezra took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm happy about where we are, but this certainly is not the life I wished for or wanted."
"And by that, you mean Malcolm?" Aria asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I love Malcolm and I'm so grateful to be a part of my son's life, but—"
Aria stopped playing with his chest hair and listened intently. "But what?"
"I hate how much it has forced you to take on extra baggage and become an adult," he admitted. He put his arms around her, linking his fingers together on the small of her bare back.
Aria shook her head and put her hands through Ezra's hair. "It's worth it." She leaned her head forward, pressing her lips softly against his. She lay her head on Ezra's chest and closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of Ezra's warm skin against hers.
Minutes later, quiet snores filled the room. Ezra kissed the top of her head and shifted so they were lying on their sides. He pulled her sleeping body close to his, realizing how lucky he was.
How lucky they were—to only have one sleeping bag.
Here is a chapter of fluff, to prepare you for the next chapter that is definitely not fluff. (It's already written.) Even though I posted this chapter so early, I may still post the other one on Friday or Saturday. (But it's significantly shorter unless I get some amazing idea and add to it.)
Malcolm will be back soon for those of you who miss him.
Thanks to Lauren who gave me the idea for the fake proposal, and to Justine for the Zack/Ezra bromance and the Ella/Ezra suggestions. And to everyone on Twitter who gave me ideas for cabin activities! Also, I was totally inspired to injure Aria after reading Catie's one-shot where Aria sprained her ankle. So thanks for that too.
I once had hydrogen peroxide poured into my skin after I fell in a ditch and my knee split open, and I wasn't warned, and I'm pretty sure it's at the top of the list of most painful experiences in my life.
Thank you so much for the reviews and kind Twitter comments, as always, and PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'd rather you review than tweet me, but I like both. :) (The twitter comments disappear eventually.) Love you all!
P.S. I LOVE HANNAH.