“I will carry you with me like an essence, a rare perfume whose aroma invokes the most alluring memories: a smile upon my face as I re-live each one. I’d be a teller of untruths if I did not confess my ardent desire to see you again.”
Warmth blossoms in her chest as her eyes move over the words yet again. She’s read this letter a hundred times now. Though she practiced caution, little signs of wear were starting to show, the folded creases have deepened.
83 days have passed and tomorrow, on the 84th day, her lover will return.
“I will carry you with me like an essence, a rare perfume whose aroma invokes the most alluring memories: a smile upon my face as I re-live each one. I’d be a teller of untruths if I did not confess my ardent desire to see you again.”
Warmth blossoms in her chest as her eyes move over the words yet again. She’s read this letter a hundred times now. Though she practiced caution, little signs of wear were starting to show, the folded creases have deepened.
83 days have passed and tomorrow, on the 84th day, her lover will return.
Oh I love this. I love how Apollonia knows the exact day and hour that Ezra will come back to her. The carefully folded and re-folded letter. I love the idea of Ezra with a botanist lover. He would bring her strange plants and seeds from his travels. ugh, I YEARN. This is lovely.
Thank you
A botanist & Ezra is a dreamy combo I’ll never stop dreaming about. Oh my heart, imagining the strange plants & seeds he’d bring (you are so right). very Ezra move.
“I will carry you with me like an essence, a rare perfume whose aroma invokes the most alluring memories: a smile upon my face as I re-live each one. I’d be a teller of untruths if I did not confess my ardent desire to see you again.”
Warmth blossoms in her chest as her eyes move over the words yet again. She’s read this letter a hundred times now. Though she practiced caution, little signs of wear were starting to show, the folded creases have deepened.
83 days have passed and tomorrow, on the 84th day, her lover will return.
summary: You and Ezra finally meet outside the office, only to make your way back in a much less professional capacity.
Rating: E [SMUT, a dash of angst, some fluff, crossing of professional boundaries, very unprotected PIV, fingering, comeplay, Ezra being an absolute fucking menace, mentions of masturbation, mentions of somnophilia-adjacent fantasies, sex after alcohol consumption but everyone’s sober at this point, some body insecurity, mentions of spit]
Pairing: dentist!Ezra x f!reader
word count: ~3.9k
note:Okay, so, it turns out Ezra is feral and out of his mind no matter what universe I plop him in. Idk where we’re going with this, but I’m having a good time. I’m thinking it’s kind of a relaxed fit thing, you know? But this is the first time these two fuck, and I don’t imagine it’s a smooth road ahead, exactly. Always love my sweet beta @starlightmornings, and literally everyone who has listened to me talk about this man. I love the asks, I love all of it. I’m obsessed with him. Enjoy and thank u <3
Ezra leans back, pinching the bridge of his nose. He needs to get out of the office, and Cee has been poking him toward some hipster bar a few blocks over.
“You’ll like it,” she says as she’s locking the front door.
“Can I convince you to accompany me, little bird?”
“Gross,” she says, rolling her eyes, and he casts a fond smile in her direction. She’s never been one to sugarcoat her words.
“I wouldn’t want to get in your way is all,” she says, shrugging. “Besides, I’ve got plans with Raya. My girlfriend. Love of my life. The person I share ever—”
Warnings: Language, established relationship, praise talk, heavy teasing, oral m recieving, balls in mouth, cumplay, always a loquacious Ezra.
Summary: Going down on Ezra before bed is the only thought in your pretty little head. He deserves it and you need to taste him.
A/N: Apologies for being MIA for a little, deployments have really gotten in the way of my writing. I have so much more coming soon…BUT…I hope you enjoy this thot that I couldn’t get out of my head until I typed it out, the way I yearn to make this man feel good! I love our Ez.
You burn for him. Your eyes refuse to look away. Your mouth waters at the sight of him. Something has come over you, heating you completely in the coldness of the metal pod.
Standing in the doorway of the washroom space, you are staring…disrespectfully.
Ezra is lounging in his favorite position, relaxed, head against a pillow on the bulkhead, as he reads his latest adventure novel. He’s on the bed sideways, with his feet planted on the deck, knees far apart. The damn tease only in his black briefs ready for sleep. You love those briefs. The fabric soft and snug. Outlining his beautiful cock resting heavy between his spread thighs. You absentmindedly lick your lips confirming your decision.
From this vantage point, you watch as his eyes dart across the page fully engrossed in what he is reading. As you pad slowly towards him, you bring your fingertips to your lips in anticipation. It’s instinctual at this point. Your mouth craves his touch, more so his skin, his taste. Ezra hasn’t taken notice of your approach and this excites you even more.
Once close enough, you lower yourself one knee at a time and shuffle silently to kneel between his wide spread knees. Now his whole face is blocked by his book. It must be a really good chapter because you are so close his body heat warms you but he hasn’t reacted to your advance…yet.
Placing both of your hands on either knee, you press your palms up the inside of Ezra’s thighs and he trembles, finally lowering the book to his bare chest to find you kneeling before him with a devious smile on your face.
“Mmm, my apologies little bird, it was not my intention to ignore your presence. I just entered a pivotal moment in my reading as I was awaiting your arrival to bed. To find you like this as I reenter reality is a delightful surprise.”
“No apologies necessary my love,” you answer sweetly as you continue to caress his thighs all the way up to his hips and back down to his knees, your touch obviously having the effect on him that you wanted as you watch him harden in front of you. Some of your passes lightly brush the tip of his cock or his balls. He lets out soft gasps each time. With his eyes closed he starts to roll his hips up as your hands get closer and closer to the crotch of his briefs. The sight of him reacting to your touch this way makes you squeeze your legs together for your own friction, but you want this just for him right now.
“Your hands are divine in touch little bird, this feels so good,” Ezra sighs as he reaches down to palm himself roughly over the thin fabric out of need, but you gently push his hand away and his eyes meet yours in apology.
“Let me take care of you handsome,” you press the heel of your palm over his thick tip and he whines grasping at the bedding as you begin to stroke him over his underwear. Now he is throbbing for you but you aren’t ready to free him just yet.
You lean forward, continuing to stroke him, and place wet open mouth kisses and suck small marks into his right thigh. Ezra looks down his body at you with so much want and you are going to drag out his pleasure because you love it when he looks at you this way. Completely surrendering himself and his body to your touch, your love. When your kisses reach his center you pause, looking up at him, then swiftly skip over to his left thigh to continue your path of sucking and kissing. Ezra exhales like he had been holding his breath.
“Don’t you worry baby,” you say between slow kisses with a smile and a squeeze of his inner thigh, “I’ve got you.”
Ezra soaks in your words with a deep breathy sigh because he knows you’ve got him, in every way, you are always there for him and take care of him as he does you. He closes his eyes and takes in your all encompassing presence.
Once your lips trail back up towards where your hand is still softly rubbing him, you don’t hesitate this time and nuzzle your nose and mouth into his clothed center. Ezra’s eyes shoot open as he thrusts ever so slightly when you all but bite him at the very top of his inner thigh. The small yelp he lets out makes you smile as you run your hot mouth over every part of his groin. You nibble the tops of his thighs. Nose his crevice. Kiss his balls. Lick his leaking tip savoring the taste of the damp spot your ministrations have earned you. And start to tug him a little firmer as you do.
Ezra is now a whimpering mess before you and you haven’t even removed his briefs yet.
“Please…please baby.” Ezra whispers quietly, pleading for you, begging for more, and you cannot deny him when he needs you so badly. Especially when his fingertips lightly stroke your cheek. What he doesn’t know, is you need this just as much as he does. This is what you wanted.
At his breathless request, your nimble fingers find the waistband on his briefs and begin to pull them up and over his length. His cock springs free to rest up on his tummy and your mouth waters in anticipation. You pat his hip and he lifts for you to pull his briefs completely off then down his long legs. Ezra pulls one foot free so that he is able to spread his thighs wide again for you to settle in between comfortably.
Ezra’s eyes roll back and his hand finds his face, rubbing his forehead with a shaky sigh, when your hands return to his bare inner thighs and up to his now exposed hips. You know he can never resist your soft touches, revels in them, his cock jumps in front of you. You take in the sight of him so turned on, trembling, panting…when his eyes return to you, you finally make your move.
“Oh!” he gasps when you lick and suck one of his balls into your mouth, he bucks his hips at the sensation. Your hands press him back into the bedding to keep him steady as you move to his other one. The noises coming from Ezra are intoxicating. You close your eyes to feel every gasp, whine, whimper, and cry as you lap your tongue over his most sensitive skin. You sense he is close by his flexing and heavy breaths, so you ease your aggressive want.
His cock is leaking onto his skin and you think to yourself what a waste as you release his right ball with a pop. Looking up his body, his chest heaving with arousal and restraint, you find his gaze as you lean forward, hands planted still on his hips. Ezra watches intently, lips parted as if he wants to say something, anything, but cannot. You give him a small smirk then stick your tongue all the way out flat and start to lick the underside of his cock from base to tip. Ezra growls deep in his chest watching your filthy action.
When you reach his tip you run your right hand up his side to caress his stomach and chest as you clean him of his precome. Then, with no hands, you tilt your head forward to catch the head of his length between your lips, forehead dragging down his abdomen as you finally take him into your mouth. You lean back to rest back on your hunches with his cock heavy on your tongue and you hum, tasting him at last. Everything you were wanting when staring at him before, the saltiness of his come, the slight spice of his soap, his unique scent that draws you in…Him.
“Blessed Kevva this beguiling mouth,” Ezra grunts out as you begin your steady pace building him to where he was when you were just touching him. His hand rests on the back of your head as you move all the way up and down his length, not to push you or take control, but to feel more of you. His hips start to roll up to meet your motions and you welcome it.
It’s messy. Your saliva mixed with his precome covering your lips, dribbling down your chin, down his shaft, to his curls and balls, and you fucking love it. You push yourself wanting more so you inhale deep to take his whole length, hitting the back of your throat with a gag. The moan you pull from Ezra spurs you on to do it again and again until he is practically shaking below you. Labored panting and high pitched cries as he nears his climax.
That’s when you hollow your cheeks, suck his cock as hard as you can, and you grasp his spit covered balls, massaging them together in your small hand in time with your bobbing up and down.
“Fuckin’ stars above!” Ezra basically screams, throwing his head back hard against the pillow propped up on the wall as his orgasm rips through him filling the back of your throat. You try to keep up and drink down everything he gives you. It’s almost too much as always and some slips past your lips onto your chin. After swallowing him fully you twirl your tongue around his overly sensitive tip, cleaning every inch of him, and he shudders.
Ezra’s hand is still in your hair and falls to his thigh when you finally pull off of his softening cock. Retracting your hands from him, you sit back with an accomplished look. He sees you reaching to wipe your face clean but stops you by sitting up and grabbing your wrist softly.
“Let me oblige you,” he says as his thumb swipes the come on your chin. He drags it to your lips, which you separate willingly as you look up at him from your kneeling position, “so captivating you are.”
Ezra presses his thumb onto your tongue and you hum with satisfaction. He watches you with so much adoration as you grin after the slow pull of his thumb out between your plush lips. Then he lifts your lips to his for a deep kiss, tongues swirling and tastes shared. The soreness of your jaw setting in and oh so worth it.
The kiss breaks and he brushes his nose with yours, moving it up the center of your face to gently kiss your forehead. You begin to pull his briefs back up his calves and he humphs gratefully, assisting the rest of the way. Then he easily lifts you up to him, into the bed and twists to turn off the pod’s soft lighting.
“Let us rest now little bird, what a wondrous treat that was before bedtime,” Ezra breathes into your neck in his raspy voice, tired from the day and sated by your actions.
“What a treat indeed my love,” you retort, tangling your limbs with his for sleep.
Ezra huffs a small laugh and pulls you tighter to him. You lay content surrounded by him, your taste for him fulfilled.
I have about 15 different subjects waiting in my art queue, but then I saw this image from the Talk Easy podcast and couldn’t help myself. What a breathtaking smile!
Painted on procreate in mixed media.
Immediate smile on my face looking at this, you captured that cheery and beaming vibe so well. The pastels! The color accents of that messy hair! The hair peeking out under the ears! So lovely.
I have about 15 different subjects waiting in my art queue, but then I saw this image from the Talk Easy podcast and couldn’t help myself. What a breathtaking smile!
Warnings:Adult… shenanigans (nothing too crazy, but ya know), Ezra deserves his own warning tbh that man is too fine, I wrote this in less than an hour so it’s probably terrible, uh…. I think that’s it, but if there are any that I missed, please inbox me to let me know and I will add them in
Word Count: 959
Summary!:You’ve had an awful day but also a great boyfriend.
Special Note: This is dedicated to @kayleezra my wife and fellow Ezra stan for no reason at all :)
******
The door of your apartment slams, harder than you intended it to, and you turn to face it, resting your forehead against the wood and closing your eyes. A sharp exhale escapes your lips and you sigh.
“Worst. Day. Ever.” You turn again, leaning against it, your eyes scanning for the only person you’ve wanted to see all day. You take a moment and listen as you hear the shower. Your feet move towards the sound of the faucet squeaking as it shuts off.
I WANT TO CRY!!!! I say your notif all day and thought “I can’t wait to get home and read it” ESPECIALLY because it was one of those days where you wake up exhausted and everything seems to take SO MUCH EFFOR
BUT to then see the lil dedication? MY HEART I CANT
It’s absolutely perfect and beautiful and AHHHDKDNSONAANDKW thank you thank you thank you I freaking love you @writer-darling
Summary: Modern AU. You’re insecure about your cheeks, not liking how chubby they are, and worst of all, that when you smile they take over your face and eyes.
A/N: Is this from my own insecurity? abso-fucking-lutely! Did I write this on campus between classes? Also yes. Also a huge thank you to @writer-darling for always hyping me up!
Buttercup is used once as a pet name, sorry if you don’t like Buttercup BUT it works with the flowery pet names!
Summary: Modern AU. You’re insecure about your cheeks, not liking how chubby they are, and worst of all, that when you smile they take over your face and eyes.
A/N: Is this from my own insecurity? abso-fucking-lutely! Did I write this on campus between classes? Also yes. Also a huge thank you to @writer-darling for always hyping me up!
Buttercup is used once as a pet name, sorry if you don’t like Buttercup BUT it works with the flowery pet names!
Summary: Modern AU. You’re insecure about your cheeks, not liking how chubby they are, and worst of all, that when you smile they take over your face and eyes.
A/N: Is this from my own insecurity? abso-fucking-lutely! Did I write this on campus between classes? Also yes. Also a huge thank you to @writer-darling for always hyping me up!
Buttercup is used once as a pet name, sorry if you don’t like Buttercup BUT it works with the flowery pet names!
….ok ok we’re ACTUALLY the same person. High key this is one of my biggest insecurities AS WELL because my family points out how chubby my cheeks are ALL THE TIME (they do it as an endearment bUT STILL)
And honey, I firmly believe Ezra would have a MILLION nicknames for you and Buttercup IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THEM (so feel free to use whichever ones you like! )
Final note: I LOVED THIS
Tehe thank you and your beautifully STUNNING babes! ☺️
Summary: Modern AU. You’re insecure about your cheeks, not liking how chubby they are, and worst of all, that when you smile they take over your face and eyes.
A/N: Is this from my own insecurity? abso-fucking-lutely! Did I write this on campus between classes? Also yes. Also a huge thank you to @writer-darling for always hyping me up!
Buttercup is used once as a pet name, sorry if you don’t like Buttercup BUT it works with the flowery pet names!
Summary: Modern AU. You’re insecure about your cheeks, not liking how chubby they are, and worst of all, that when you smile they take over your face and eyes.
A/N: Is this from my own insecurity? abso-fucking-lutely! Did I write this on campus between classes? Also yes. Also a huge thank you to @writer-darling for always hyping me up!
Buttercup is used once as a pet name, sorry if you don’t like Buttercup BUT it works with the flowery pet names!
You stand in the mirror, ready to go out with Ezra for the evening, staring at your face. Turning your face from side to side to get a full view of your cheeks. You give a small closed mouth smile, a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes because you hate how your cheeks overcrowd your face when you do so. You try a full smile, your eyes squinting as your cheeks rise and take over. You think it makes your face look like a balloon expanding. You allow your face to drop and say a quiet ‘no’ to yourself before repeating the small smile, confirming to yourself that that would be your smile from now on.
You’re so wrapped up in your own head that you don’t notice Ezra standing some ways away, watching you, observing your actions and reactions. He knows exactly what you’re doing, he can tell by the judgment and hate he sees in your eyes. Ezra wishes more than anything that you’d see yourself the way he sees you.
“What’s plaguing your thoughts, Flower?”
You snap away from the mirror, startled at his presence.
“Nothing. Let’s go,” you reply hurriedly.
When you go to pass him, he sets his hand on your midsection, not allowing you to pass.
“Now, I may not be the most educated man but I ain’t no fool. What’s wrong?”
He moves his hand to the side of your face, forcing you to look at him. His warm umber eyes make you feel safe in a way that you can’t hold anything back from him.
“It’s petty, really. Self-absorbed”
”Well it can’t be petty if it’s got my flower wilting.”
You take a deep breath, “I don’t like my cheeks. Especially when I smile.”
Ezra’s brows knit in confusion, “Your cheeks?”
“Yes. They’re fat, they make my face round. They take up my whole face when I smile and cover the only nice thing about my face: my eyes.” You blurt.
Now, Ezra standing closely in front of you takes your face in both hands.
“Oh Buttercup. You’re absolutely perfect, your beauty alone is that of which artists dream. How can you dislike the fact that joy takes over your face, your smile is contagious. When you smile the world shines a little brighter.”
“But when I smile you can barely see my eyes”
Ezra kisses your forehead, “I can’t argue that I don’t love your eyes because I do, well I absolutely adore everything about you. However, when your smile reaches your eyes, it is like two heavens colliding. You should never be ashamed of how happy you are and look, the world needs your smile. I need your smile.”
You take a deep breath, letting his words sink in. A small seed of insecurity still lays deep within but it seems silly now in comparison to the adoration you get from Ezra alone. You look up at Ezra and can’t help but let out a laugh of relief, which of course gets you to smile.
“There’s my ray of sunshine! Now, shall we?”
Ezra offers his arm to you, which you gladly take. And for the rest of the evening, you can’t seem to stop smiling.
Requested?: Yes from this ask - I loved Speak!!’ Ezra is such a dad. Maybe when your done with all your other requests can you do a part 2 where it’s set after the movie where they make it to the station and Ezra teaches her how to speak and maybe she tells him why she didn’t talk. You could come why she didn’t talk before
Author’s note: I slightly changed it to where she knows how to speak yet refuses.
I don’t give permission for my work to be posted on another site with the exception of tumblr and AO3 (where I post the stories myself). If you find it elsewhere then it has been stolen.
After finally getting off the Green by ambushing a group of people to obtain their vessel, you, Cee, and Ezra make it back to the station. Medical personnel were there to greet the three of you. You and Cee watched as Ezra was carted off to have his arm further examined while you and Cee sat in the medical bay, only for observation and to get the two of you fed and hydrated.
Cee consoled you, “It’s okay, Y/N. We are fine. We’ll make it; we’ll survive. We always do.”
You had simply nodded, taking in more food and water. You then sighed and signed, “I know.” It felt as though you haven’t eaten and drank in years when it had only been a couple of weeks since the last decent meal you shared with your father and Cee on the Green before your father died.
The captain had come by to inform you and Cee, Ezra was doing fine and would eventually be given a prosthetic arm since he was an essential digger. She also informed the two of you, you and your older sister could use some rest before you started work back on the station and Cee left for the next departure to another planet to find resources to keep the station afloat until it returned to Earth in three months.
Once you and Cee were cleared from the medical bay, you made your way back towards your living quarters, which was going to feel smaller yet bigger since it was just you and Cee now. The two of you didn’t do much for the first day back except sleep, which your body desperately needed since you had barely slept a wink since Ezra walked into you and your sister’s life down on the Green.
You thought about Ezra often. Wondering how he’s doing, wondering what he’s doing. You had spoken in front of him, something you hadn’t done in ages since you could remember. Yet you do remember…you and Cee had just lost your mother and you blamed yourself, even though Cee never blamed you for her death, she always blamed your greedy hungry father for her death. You were closer to your mother whereas Cee was close to your father, mainly because Cee enjoyed going on digs and you preferred to stay behind and work on what you do best - the station’s comms system.
It’s where Ezra finds you, one day, while he’s roaming the station, trying to get his bearings back along with using the prosthetic arm the station’s doctor got him. “Afternoon, Y/N,” he remarks, his brown eyes looking at you. “Though we never know what time of day it really is up here.”
You simply nod and continue working. Getting your hands in between wires, fingers feeling them, as you make sure they are plugged into the right component. You feel Ezra hovering over you, so you look at him and motioned him to go away but he stays.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” he informs you. “I ran into Cee in the mess hall.” He begins to ramble, “I guess I should watch out for the two of you. Seeing as I,” he lowered his voice to utter, “killed your father.” His voice returns to its deep timbre, “Yet he deserved it; he was tryin’ to swindle me, and I didn’t like that.”
You know he’s yammering on; most people do when they found out you don’t respond, don’t speak. It’s not like you were born with a disability, you choose not to speak because of your voice because it’s what caused…you shake your head pushing aside the thought before you truly think of it.
“What?” Ezra’s voice draws you out of your haze.
You look at him and sign, “Nothing. Please…let me work.”
“I’ve been learning more sign language since I’ve been held up.” He pauses. “Vids…even Cee. I might not know much now but eventually, I will, and we can have an actual conversation.” he chuckles, thinking the two of you will be like two peas in a pod.
“Great,” you sign with a bit of sarcasm in your motion. Of course, Cee would visit him. She and Ezra got along tremendously.
Ezra chuckles, “Even though you didn’t say it, I can feel the disdain you have.”
You roll your eyes and find the tablet needed. You begin to move your fingers against the touch screen, feeling at peace because this is what you do best. Your throat itches to speak, you had done it once before in his presence, but it was after he had helped you and he wasn’t being helpful this go around. You wish he’d just go away.
“I want to do what’s best for you, and Cee. Let me be your guys’ keeper. Gods, that sounded horrible. I mean, let me watch out for the two of you since you have no one.” Ezra declares.
Keeper? The word sticks out like a sore thumb. You’ve had enough of the man and want to return to your solitude. You place the tablet aside then stand. You sign, “You know nothing about me and Cee. As you mentioned you killed our father, yet…yet you did watch out for us afterward.” Your breath is heavy from signing furiously. “Just because you are an adult does not make you, our parent.”
Ezra swallows. He barely understood any of the signs since you moved your hands hurriedly. He knows you want to speak; you did speak to him though it was only once. “Look,” he licks his lips, knowing he’s never once done what he’s about to do, “I’m sorry. I…I didn’t mean to intrude. I was simply helping you and Cee. I’ll leave you alone.”
You watch him walk away with a hung head. Did you just watch and hear Ezra express feelings, other than greed? You shake off the thought then return to your work. You don’t need another parent. You had two and they were gone. All you have is Cee, no one else matters.
——-
Time passes by quickly as you continue with your work on the station. You don’t mind it though since Cee has accompanied Ezra on a couple of digs. Cee had been hesitant to leave you alone, but you informed and reassured her you would be fine. After all, working on the station’s comms made you feel at ease, it brought you back to yourself once again.
Ezra stayed away from you. Only doing simple greetings if he ever crossed your path. You had ignored him since the fleeting moment you had shared deep within the station when you yelled at him through your hasty hand movements. Cee could sense something was off when the three of you sat in the mess a couple of times eating dinner. She didn’t press either of you about what had happened, fearing it would evoke an argument. Though it didn’t stop her from divulging information to Ezra when he told her about the confrontation when they were on a dig together.
“She’s the youngest. So, I must watch out for her. But she is the smarter one,” Cee had chuckled. “She loved learning about everything, didn’t want to get her hands dirty,” Cee had informed him. “Y/N was close to our mom. I was close to our father, we always enjoyed going on digs. My sister stayed behind to work on the station cause our mom worked on the station. She followed in our mom’s footsteps, I followed in our father’s.”
Ezra had glanced at Cee, acknowledging why Y/N was defensive with him all those many moons ago. “She’s protective of you, and herself.” Ezra had chuckled and shaken his head. “She’s in her element back on the station.”
“She is,” Cee had replied. “It’s her world, her comfort zone. And the digs are mine.”
Ezra had only nodded in response, realizing he had disrupted you in your element. He hadn’t pressed Cee for anything else after that.
Ezra now moseys about the station. The months have flown by and in a few days, they would be returning to Earth and as Cee informed him on their last dig, she and Y/N would be going to see their family and he was more than welcomed to accompany them. He liked the idea of a found family, especially since he had looked after Cee and Y/N, though it was mainly Cee. He never had much of a family growing up and now he had one.
But an eerily feeling plagued Ezra. He had to make amends with you; he had to make sure you and he were on good terms before going on another journey to who knows where to meet the people who’ve helped raise you and will continue to raise you since both of your parents are gone.
He finds you in the belly of the station as he had done all those days ago. “Y/N,” he utters as he approaches, keeping up his defenses, afraid you might attack with your quick signage.
You stop what you’re doing and look at the man. His hair is slightly shaggier now; the blond speck is still present. The beard covering his face seems to be thicker with hints of gray. “What?” you sign. You knew he was tagging along with you and Cee once the station touched down on Earth. You had been mad at Cee for days on end until you realized you couldn’t persuade her to uninvite Ezra.
“I…I,” Ezra stammers, unsure of what to say. He ponders, “Why can’t you use your voice to talk?”
You sign slowly, “Why…does…it…matter…to…you?”
He had learned enough sign language he could almost be fluent in it, especially since Cee helped him. They didn’t have much else to do on digs when they found gems. “Cee said you were close to your mother. She says you blamed yourself for the longest time.”
“If it wasn’t for me, she’d be alive,” you sign, not holding back since Cee and Ezra have spent an abundance of time together. “I feel responsible.”
“What happened?” Ezra inquires. He then signs, “Use your voice. Please.”
Tears sting your eyes. It was because of your voice she had died. You avert your eyes and begin moving your hands out of habit, “My father…” You stop yourself and lower your hands. “She,” your voice cracks; it’s hoarse and your throat grimaces at the sensation of speaking. You wipe away your tears. “My father asked her to come along on a dig, years ago. She didn’t want to go down; she loved the station yet he persuaded her, and I wasn’t old enough to remain on my own so I went as well.” You pause, remembering the details. “We ran into trouble. Dad told us to keep quiet, Cee and I. Mom was back at the campsite. It wasn’t far from where we ran into a group trying to hijack Dad’s cache of gems.” You pause again.
Ezra takes a step forward, “It’s okay, Y/N. You can tell me.”
You look at Ezra; your eyes glazed over with tears. “Because of my voice, she died. If I…if I hadn’t spoken she would still be alive.” You begin to sob, “I had to warn her! I couldn’t lose her. The three of us couldn’t lose her! But Dad…,” your voice becomes incoherent because your sobs are uncontrollable.
Ezra gathers you gently in his arms, hugging you as softly as Cee has always done. He pets your hair soothingly, “It’s not your fault. Never was your fault.” He knows it was her father’s. If it wasn’t for that bastard, Cee and Y/N’s mother would still be alive. He pulls you apart from him. “It was your father’s. And I am sorry you lost her. Sorry, you lost a true parental connection when she was taken away from you.”
You nod profusely, wiping at your tears with the long sleeve shirt you have on. You hated being emotional even for a person of your young age.
“I promise nothing will happen to you. I will protect you and Cee. You two are the only family I have,” Ezra lopsidedly smiles, pulls faintly back, and looks at you, “and I’ve never really had a family before. So, this is new for me. But I want to let you know, you and your sister will be protected, taken care of.” Ezra searches your eyes, “I am not replacing your parents. They will always be your parents.”
“I know,” you cry softly, finding reassurance in his words.
“Good.” He hugs you again. “The three of us will always have each other.”
And he was right. All three of you had one another, whether on Earth or back in the Great Beyond. The three of you are family and you had the one thing back you thought lost forever - your voice.
