After an antagonising week locked away in the four walls of her hospital room, Aria was finally allowed to go home.
It was okay, she supposed. She had Ezra there all the time, keeping her occupied whilst she was there. But Aria hadn't slept since she had woken up three days ago, not properly anyway. Of course, Ezra was aware of his girlfriends lack of sleep and demanded that she slept the moment they arrived back at the apartment.
Neither had mentioned Aria's dad. Ezra left for an hour, whilst Aria was examined by the nurse to grab some clothes for her, Ella had already packed an entire case for her, and told Ezra to tell Aria that if she needed somewhere to stay, her place was always open. Obviously Byron wasn't in the room at the time. He refused to even say Aria's name. And to be honest, Ezra thought it was absurd. What man turns their back on his own daughter? But then, there was something that didn't add up. Ella had told Ezra that Byron was thinking of what was best for Aria, but what's worse than your family turning on you?
Nothing. It's the way you kill someone even more.
"Home, sweet home." Aria announced with a sigh of relief, dropping the single bag she was holding onto the floor and glancing around. "I've missed being here." Ezra placed all of the bags near the door, sneaking up behind his girlfriend to slip his arms around her waist from behind.
"I've missed having you here." He agreed, pressing a kiss to her cheek before resting his head on her shoulder. "It was strange, not having to put up with your snoring."
"I don't snore!" Aria retorted, leaning against his chest.
He couldn't help but grin widely, her words trailing off into a sleepy mumble. "And you wreak. Go take a shower." She demanded, causing Ezra to emit a small laugh and nod, liking the idea.
"I'll be back in a few, why don't you try and get some sleep?" Ezra asked quietly, brushing a kiss along her shoulder before unraveling his arms, and heading off into the bathroom.
"I'm not tired, Ezra."
"Sure, sure."
By the time Ezra had finished showering it must've been at least an hour. He'd managed to think everything through and decided on what was to happen. Ezra was tired of things being messed up for them, all of the stress needed to end. He finally stepped from the shower, and managed to slip out of the bathroom silently, a small smile spreading across his features at the sight in front of him.
Aria was curled up on his side of the bed wearing his Hollis hoodie, only his Hollis hoodie. It mustn't have taken her long to fall asleep, she was out like a light, snoring softly.
It was good, seeing her sleeping peacefully in their bed. It was like it was back to normal again.
Aria would always manage to sneak Ezra's Hollis hoodie from his drawers, she said it was her favourite. It would always smell like him. He would always tell her to keep it, but she felt guilty every time and snook it back into his drawer after she was finished.
After pulling on a loose pair of pyjama bottoms, Ezra made himself a cup of coffee, and slid up the bed to take a seat beside his sleeping girlfriend.
Aria stirred in her sleep, turning furiously from side to side as her breathing quickened, the nightmare becoming just too much.
Ezra knew something was wrong when she went completely silent, freezing in her sleep.
She shot up straight in the bed, running a hand along her sweaty forehead, trying to catch her breath as quickly as she could. She was panicking, her breathing only quickening.
"Aria?" Ezra whispered, trying to reach out for Aria, but she flinched away, making him freeze in his place. "Hey..." This time he moved forward, so she could see him. She only stayed silent, gasping for breath as she held a hand to her chest. It terrified Ezra, but he kept himself calm, moving closer to his girlfriend. It didn't phase her the slightest, her lungs feeling useless, they wouldn't work. She couldn't breathe. "Aria, come on." Ezra shuffled in front of Aria, taking her face in his hands to force her to lock eyes with his own. "Aria!"
This time Aria glanced up, finding her breath once again. She began to calm down now, taking deep breaths in and out until her breathing returned to normal. "What the hell was that?"
"I don't... I don't know." Aria muttered, tears welling in her eyes. "That was a nightmare right? Please, tell me it was."
Ezra could see the worry in her voice, the panic as she searched his eyes hopefully.
"What happened? Tell me, please." She shook her head, raising her hands to place over his.
"No, no I'm fine. Just... Sleep with me?" With a nod of his head, Ezra allowed Aria to drag him up the bed, and climb into his lap, dragging the blanket over her body. "I'll tell you, later."
-
This time Aria woke up to the sound of Ezra humming quietly to himself, the past few hours passing in a blur. The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, but she didn't let it get to her, it was just a silly dream.
She began to play with the small hairs on his chest.
"I know you're awake." Ezra murmured lowly, pausing his humming. It was times like this that Ezra would do the randomist things, singing being one of them.
"What time is it?"
"Just past seven, you slept about ten hours I should say." Those ten hours sure did make a difference. She felt better, like it was a new day. Her eyes glanced down at the bandage wrapped around her wrist tightly, and it all came rushing back. "The doctors said it should heal over time." He brought her wrist to his lips, pressing a kiss to the bandage. Ezra wasn't particularly happy with what Aria had done, but he wasn't disappointed in her either.
They had talked about this, after Mike had left the day she had woken up.
"I love you."
He smiled at her words, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "I love you more."
"I love you /most/."
"No way, you're hallucinating again I think." Aria shook her head, slapping his chest lightly. "Am I really going to have to torture you into saying I'm right?" Her eyes widened then, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"Ezra, no." She warned, trying to push at his chest. But it was too late, he was tickling Aria's sides recklessly, laughing at the squeals that emitting from her lips. "Stop it!"
"Admit I'm right!" Ezra chimed, grasping at her hips as she pulled away and tried to crawl off the bed, only to be dragged back up it and pulled underneath her boyfriends muscular frame.
"Stop it, Ezra! Stop!" She was now bursting into fits of giggles, shoving at his chest, punching him playfully in the arm.
"Do I win?"
"Yes, yes okay you win!" Ezra smiled smugly, a proud expression on his features. When his eyes locked with Aria's, he was locked for a moment, a sudden rush of realisation kicking in.
"I'm so lucky to have you. You're amazing, and smart, beautiful." Ezra ran a hand along her cheek, watching the familiar crimson colour overtake her usually pale skin. But then Instead of Aria shooting him back with some kind of disagreement, she pulled his face down to hers, and crashed her lips furiously against his.
Ezra pulled away a fraction, whispering against her lips. "Are you sure about this?"
"I'm deprived, now shut up and kiss me." Aria growled out, lacing her fingers in his hair to tug at it, and drag his lips back to hers. Of course, Ezra didn't argue and was soon pulling the Hollis hoodie over Aria's head, and throwing it in any direction he could before trailing a hand along her sides. She shuddered under his fingertips, the feeling sending electrical currents all through her body. His lips dragged away from hers, making their way towards her neck to bite down on the skin.
It was then that they knew neither of them would be getting any sleep that night.