So, after much internal debate, and finally reaching the plot point I wanted to get to, Newly Recruited only has one thing left. An Epilogue. I know some of you will be disappointed because I know there are some things that I did not cover, but I have lost most, if not all, interest in writing this.
I haven't played Apex for a while, and while the new season is out, I can't find myself playing. So, the next chapter is indeed the Epilogue, but it will be relatively short, no doubt the shortest chapter I write for this.
Still, on a more positive note, I got to have my Dark Sparks, and a character insert, people seemed happy. Even better, two chapters in two days despite the upload date. These were made pretty late at night. So I appreciate everyone who reads this, will read this, and then probably forget it existed.
This was fun, while it lasted. Enjoy.
...
"Why are you in here?" Ezra asked with genuine terror in his voice. "Why have you wanted to see my face?" He was peering over Eliza's shoulder, even though she was shorter than him.
Renee answered smoothly, "Because, in order to get to know someone, you gotta know who you're dealing with. Sure, we met Leadflare in the Games, and we've met Ezra with the mask, but we haven't met the Ezra without the mask."
"That, and we have a question for you, Ezra," Natalie beamed. They both stepped inside the room and Ezra tensed.
Eliza assured him, "They don't mean you harm, not like they did. They want to ask you something and it took an absurd amount of time to get you with a mask off, even though I admit, I may have gone a little too far."
"Understatement, Eli. Understatement," Ezra murmured. He felt vulnerable without a mask. He had carelessly tossed it across the room in his anger. He wanted to be upset for letting her words get under his skin, but now he must deal with the fallout.
Ezra raised his head—Eliza had stepped aside—and he finally looked at his two teammates, "What is it?"
Natalie was staring at him in wonder, and her hand reached out. Ezra flinched but didn't move. Her hand touched his face and her hand was warm. Her thumb brushed his cheek, her fingertips tickled his chin. Her soft gaze met his hesitant one, "Handsome."
Renee's hand landed on his chest and she stared him down, "I don't know why you were so hesitant to show us, but everyone has stories they would rather not share. We're never going to ask you to share-"
"I do have a burning curiosity, but I will withhold from asking."
"-but we want you to extend a branch to us. I actually have something to tell you. I have actually had a crush on you since you basically arrived, maybe a few days after," Renee admitted. She was usually not so transparent about it, so this was a rare opportunity.
"When exactly?" Ezra questioned. His face softened slightly, even as Natalie continued to trace his scars.
"Probably after you found out we were eavesdropping on you in the range, no one finds out that easily," Renee admitted.
"I always seem to find myself attracted to the mysterious ones, first Renee, then you, Ezra. When I first mentioned it, I thought Renee would be upset and jealous. However, she told me that she was starting to feel the same way. So, we have an offer for you." Those same words made Ezra tense, a shadow crawling into his eyes, his flight instincts were coming in, and he was mere moments from bolting. Natalie continued on without a worry, even though she knew this was affecting him. "We want to go out with you. Me, you, and Renee."
"You're… asking me out? Why?" His tone sounded so defeated. "Did you not hear me? I can't even face my own demons, much less think about being with you."
Renee was quick to say, "You know, I haven't recovered from my demons either, but I am coping with them because I had someone with me. We're offering to be those people for you. All we're asking for is a chance."
Ezra reached up and grabbed one of their hands gently, "Why? Why me? After everything? Why now?"
"Because we're falling," they replied in unison.
"The one good thing out of this is that I was falling too," Ezra said before he brought the two females close to him, tears brimming at the edges of his vision. Eliza slowly slipped out of the room, letting the natural events happen. Once she cleared the room, she jumped in excitement.
"What's got you in a good mood?" Ajay asked, having seen Eliza's excitement.
"If everything goes right, then I'll have two new sisters-in-law…" she whispered. "However, if you say anything, I'll kill you."
"Easy there, sista," Ajay said, her eyes going to the room where she left, and she smiled. "Bout time dey made their move."
Inside the room, "Does that mean?" Natalie asked, her heart beating faster and faster. Renee's heart was slowly climbing, but she could feel Ezra's pumping like he just ran a marathon. The conversation they had a while back came back to her. She smiled as her ear landed on his heart.
"I… I know I am going to mess up, but I want to do this. I want to be the third. Plus, Eliza already gathered that you were looking for someone," Ezra said softly, his hands went to the smalls of their backs, holding tight.
Both Renee and Natalie shared a look before nodding slightly. They both stood on their tiptoes and kissed each cheek on Ezra. It was a quick peck from the Dark Sparks, but it made Ezra's tears fall. Natalie wiped them away, "Don't cry, chéri. We're here."
Ezra's head rested on both of their shoulders, his hands didn't move. Did he deserve them? After what he said, after what he has gone through? He just said that he doesn't want that hope, but his heart disagrees. His heart is yearning for that. The Outlands are a weird place. "We'll be here as long as you want us to be."
"Can-" he swallowed the knot in his throat, "Can you two stay with me tonight?"
Both women were experiencing whiplash at the moment, but quickly nodded and kissed his cheeks again, "Of course, if it will make you feel better." Natalie was the one who spoke, and when she did, her breath caught the shell of his ear and he shivered.
"Do you want us to lead, or do you want to?" Renee asked just as quietly.
"Funnily enough, I was going to ask if we could portal our way there?" Ezra sheepishly asked, head still on their shoulders.
"No, unfortunately, but it does seem to be late, so there is a chance that no one else is up except for Eliza," Renee said, gently raising Ezra's head. Her fingers traced his scars, as gently as Natalie did. She kissed his chin soon after.
"Thank you," Ezra said after they started leading him, the women in front of him. He retrieved his mask and put it back in place, just for now. On the bright side of all this, he could stare at their assets. But it was precisely that that brought you into your situation. He adverted his gaze soon after his door was opened and they entered.
Ezra plopped onto the bed unceremoniously with a sigh, "I don't bite, at least until the second date." The tease was only a front to his nervousness. The last time he shared a bed with anyone, even platonically, was two almost three years ago now. He didn't bother taking off his clothes, he was too tired, lazy, and nervous.
He must have been exhausted because he didn't feel or move when two other bodies laid down next to him. The two had gentle smiles on their faces. "Victory," Natalie giggled.
"A small victory, yes. Hopefully, there are many more to come."
Eliza crept into Ezra's room the next morning and she was surprised as fuck at the sight. Ezra laying in the middle, arms spread out, cradling two people. One blonde and one ravenette. The two people had their respective legs intertwined with one of his, their free hands clasped together on his chest, rising and falling softly. Eliza internally fangirled at the sight, knowing that he took a leap and they caught him.
It took a lot of willpower to not scream and jump for the goddamn moon. However, it appeared that one of them was waking up, "Who are you?" the person asked, voice slurred.
"Well, good morning to you too, Renee. Welcome back to the land of the living," Eliza giggled softly.
Renee finally rubbed her eyes, then paled, looking down to a still sleeping Ezra, the back to Eliza, "We didn't do anything, I swear."
"Trust me, I know you didn't, because I don't need to remind you what happens if you do something and he did not consent," Eliza's eye twinkled in the light. Her smile was malicious, all teeth.
Natalie was the next to wake up, "Bon matin, chériée." Her accent thick with sleep. Looking down to Ezra, she smiled sleepily and mumbled something against his forehead and he let out a small murmur.
"Morning, Nat," Eliza called from the other side of the room. "You know, people will talk if you remain here, as much as I want to let you all sleep. You two need to go, as I don't think the advisors or whatever you call the head honchos allow Legends to fraternize with each other."
"I could get kicked out, and be alright," Renee said, which was a half-truth.
"Oh, you would be, because I'd put you under my protection. You forget the Steele Empire is vast and hidden amongst the crowd. You'd be fine. I'd make sure of it," Eliza proclaimed. The two women slowly got up, making Ezra roll over and bring his arms to himself, preserving the warmth he had.
"Thank you," she whispered to them both as they left the room, Eliza following them. "You'll thank me for this one day, Ezra. Right now, let's focus on taking baby steps."
Ezra woke up with a flutter in his chest and a smile on his face. When he opened his eyes though, it all changed. They weren't with him. Was he expecting too much? Was it all a joke? He checked the time and saw it was still pretty early, but a tad bit later than when he normally wakes up.
One detail caught him by surprise though. He didn't have a nightmare last night. It's the first time in almost a month and a half that he was able to sleep without waking up crying. All of his nightmares were heart-aching and terror-inducing, much like yesterday's fiasco. Still, Renee and Natalie now knew what his face looked like. Mismatched eyes, scars on his chin, and a paranoid personality. If Ajay knew, then she would be laughing at him. Hopefully, no one knows about what happened.
The door swung open and in entered Eliza wearing workout clothes. Surprisingly—a detail that Ezra missed—the Syndicate hasn't thrown her out yet. Not that he wants her to leave, well he does, but… know what, never mind.
"Good, you got up and to answer the question, no they did not abandon you in the middle of the night. Yes, it really happened and I'm proud of you," Eliza beamed at him.
"Eli, I-"
"I am also going to apologize for what I said yesterday. That was far out of line, and I shouldn't have said it. However, it was also the motivator for them to confront you on their feelings. You and I both know what you were going through with the two bombshells, so I just helped them along."
"Thanks," he said simply before getting up and passing by her. "I'm going to see if I can make something in the kitchen, you want anything?"
Eliza smiled kindly, "Just make what makes you feel good."
"Done."
Sure, last night, the dynamic changed between the three of them. However, it may have been for the best. There was a point in time that he seriously considered not accepting their advances to save himself. Would it have been selfish? Probably.
Ezra slipped on a mask, only because he wasn't ready to showcase them yet. He should've been upset that they saw him, but he lasted a lot longer than he thought he would've. All good things must come to an end to make way for greater things. Another detail that Ezra just remembered, is that the season is ending soon. Has it really been this long already? Has it really been two months? It honestly felt like it was a lot longer than that.
Upon entering the kitchen, Ezra noticed no one was there. He checked the time again. No, it was still early, guess no one is up yet. So, he started gathering ingredients for omelets. Thankfully, with an order that can be put in every week, Ezra stealthily put a few dozen eggs on the list, along with a list of spices and meats.
So, that's what he did for the next half hour, making breakfast for everyone who could eat and putting them in the oven on warm, just in case. He even labeled everyone's. Eliza got hers, because she followed him in to watch him cook. Even after all these years, he still spins the spatula like a circus leader twirls the baton. It keeps him distracted. "You still like mild stuff, don't you?"
"You know what I like, I'd order it from you every Sunday. Can't believe you forgot," Eliza teased, watching him cook like a master. "You know, if you ever leave the Games, you can open up a restaurant. You'd make a killing."
"Something tells me that means in both mannerisms," Ezra said as Anita came through the door. Of course, the soldier is up first. "Morning," he said gruffly.
Anita looked at the counter, the oven, then at Ezra, "Feeling better, shooter?"
A shrug, "We'll see."
Elliott came in, yawning, "What's good, all you beautiful people?" The Trickster was a little tired, having not even registered that Ezra was in the room.
"Breakfast, Elliott," Anita said, gesturing to the counter covered in the success of Ezra's cooking.
Never has Ezra seen Elliott's eyes go so wide, "Hey champ! How are you?"
"I'm…" his thoughts went to last night, "better than I was."
Ajay, Loba, and Makoa joined in moments later, and everyone got breakfast served. Even Caustic, the asshole. Others came and went, but Ezra found himself impatient. Renee and Natalie have not shown up, and some insecurities came back to him. Still, it feels like a distant memory when they were all here.
"So brotha, do you have plans to have your own restaurant?" Makoa asked. Eliza shot Ezra a smug look, told you so look.
"Nothing in my future is set in stone, but honestly, maybe. It is enticing, and I think the old man would be appreciative," Ezra mused.
"Seriously, how delicious are these? This should be illegal!" Elliott said with his mouth full. Everyone present laughed at him, but he took it in stride.
Secretly, Renee and Natalie entered the kitchen, just watching. They see the little sparks of mirth in his eyes, and when Ezra felt the hairs on his neck stand up, he searched and that mirth expanded. No one was looking at him at the moment, but his eyes twinkled with a softness that Eliza hasn't seen in years.
"Well, when breakfast is done, I need to get myself back into a routine. Lately, I haven't done that, so I feel like my performance is lacking," Ezra muttered just loud enough for Eliza to hear. He swiped his breakfast, and then passed the two women he has affections for, "I'll eat this, then I'll be in the training room."
"See you then," Renee said.
"S'amuser, Ezra."
Once he left the room, chatter immediately broke out from the medic, "Did ya finally admit it?"
"Fuck yeah they did," Eliza said without missing a beat.
She groaned, "Finally. Watchin' ya tree dance 'round each other was gettin' a bit stale."
Elliott, who was confused, asked, "What, something happened? Without the most beautiful one of them all?"
Makoa guffawed, "So, we finally got something new here? Ayy Natalie, Wraith, congrats."
"Thanks Gibby," Natalie beamed and flushed in embarrassment. Her smile was well worth it.
Anita sipped her coffee, "Now, we gotta deal with one more thing: Relationship drama."
Eliza grinned, "Oh, I have another plan to counter that, you'll see."
"It won't involve us, will it?" Anita inquired.
"Fifty-fifty."
"That's not reassuring," she retorted.
"Wasn't supposed to be."
