Who: Fitz and Ezra What: Need to Talk When: August 13th, 2019 ; mid-evening [backdated] Where: Kyrie & Fitz’s house Rating: Low - some strong feelings Status: Complete
Ezra was orienting himself on the layout of the island. The lesser developed areas would have to wait. The amputee was still unsure about standing or walking on uneven surfaces. Aside from that, he had made a mental map of nearly every building.
Back at Kyrie’s, he used some of his government allowance to buy some more meal ingredients. His sister looked a little thin to him. Ezra had finished a shower, dressed in his pajama bottoms, t-shirt, and his ever present athletic shoes on his prosthetic right foot and his left foot. He ruffled his hair with a hand towel as he stepped into the living room.
Fitz had gotten back from his rounds and returned to the apartment. He’d been staying at Ben’s, but he knew he needed to actually talk to Ezra. He didn’t want the other man to feel like he was being avoided- even if part of him was. But he’d been struggling to come to terms with everything- they all were. So, he just made it seem like he was busy- which could be viewed as strange for someone who didn’t exist on the island.
He scratched at his facial hair, he really needed to shave. He also needed to cut his hair again. He sighed as he sat on the couch, backpack next to him as he made notes in a journal. Observations he’d made that were fresh in his mind. Changes in guard rotations, newcomers to the island, etc. When he heard steps coming down the hall, he quickly closed up the book and shoved it back in his bag.
His eyes caught Ezra, older, missing parts, yet still the man he knew. Fitz wondered how he’d changed. He was probably a bit thinner, but more tone as he didn’t eat as much as normal- seeing as he let Kyrie had more of their rations (they were hers after all), but he worked out a lot which kept him in shape. He was definitely less clean cut than he’d been, shaggy and his sense of style was just above hobochic.
“Hi.” He nodded to Erza as he entered the living room, his fingers zipping his backpack closed.
Ezra had noticed Fitz’s absences from the house. But he understood the need to be secret. But there was so much he wanted to tell him. Did they have that closeness in the past? Did it still exist? Sorting through memories, thoughts, feelings, and the dreams he had written in his own journal were things he had done beyond going for walks.
He slowed as he saw Fitz sitting there looking scruffy, but still handsome. Draping the towel over his left shoulder, Ezra stopped and nodded. “Hi.” Then he walked around the front of the couch and moved to sit in one of the armchairs. There was a flutter in his chest at seeing the man he had been so close to, but things were different - Fitz had undoubtedly moved on. Ezra expected it and hoped for it. Yet deep down there was sadness.
He hadn’t really moved on. Ezra has died, the torch could have burned forever. But he was with Ben. He cared for, loved Ben. But as he sit there, looking at his old crush, his best friend… he felt that tear of guilt again. “So, uh, how are you… settling in? Kyrie is so happy to have you back.” Fitz said, finding it alien to not know how to talk to the one person who had know almost all his deepest secrets. “I’ve never seen her smile so much.”
The more that Ezra remembered, the more emotional he felt. Anger, sadness, desperation were a maelstrom in his heart and mind. He had spent a few of the last few nights working to piece his memories of Fitz together. As he settled into the chair, Ezra sighed as he looked over at his best friend. “Yeah, she’s so happy. I hope she doesn’t guilty having to stifle it because of the complications.” He softly smiled. Then he shrugged, “Settling in? It’s sort of on auto-pilot. I feel...not quite here.” Ezra continued. He had been putting on a good face for his sister. There was so much he wanted to remember. And in the back of his mind, there were ‘what ifs’.
“I can understand that. Not only have you had your life upturned by finding out that most of your liberties are now null once you stepped into this island. But you find parts of your past you didn’t know to even think you’d never see them again.” Kyrie had explained the memory loss and stuff to him. His fingers brushed over the dog tags hiding behind the fabric of his shirt. “Kyrie is stronger than I like to admit sometimes. She’s come a long way from the teenager I came to the island with.” Not that he liked all the things that had caused her to grow and toughen up.
Fitz took in a little breath, realizing he’d been staring at Ezra a bit he looked way. “Sorry, it’s just still hard to believe… I saw you… they told us…” Yet another lie from the government.
“Yeah. And what new life you had for years is over now that I’m on this island. I’d always felt something, someone was missing, but,” Ezra spoke as he unconsciously reached up and over to touch where the tattoo on his left bicep had been. He had gotten it so he’d always have a part of Fitz with him. But the government took that away from him. Ezra’s gaze had developed into a momentary gaze until Fitz mentioned Kyrie. “Thank you for looking after her.” He smiled and looked over at Fitz, catching that his friend had been staring at him.
“It’s okay. I’m used to stares, but not because of just being here.” Tears were building in his eyes as Fitz tried to explain and apologize for the staring. “I’m sorry, Fi,” Ezra frowned and reached out a hand to the other man.
“Of course. I promised you.” Just as Ez has promised to look after his folks if he’d been the one to die. “Besides, she’s always been like my little sister too.” Considering he’d been an only child.
Fitz took Ezra’s hand without hesitation. Despite all the conflicting feelings, the man was still his friend. “It’s not your fault. You had no way to-“ Fitz shook his head. He almost felt bad that he had no reason to feel bad. The explosion hadn’t been one of those ‘I was supposed to be there, it should have been me’ things. While he did feel like it should have been him out of the two of them, they’d both been where they had been assigned. They were doing their job just as they were supposed to. Everyone was on their game. There was no one to blame… it just happened. Fitz has spent years recounting the incident. Everything was ruled an accident- well the terrorists who planted the bomb were at fault. But there had been no errors on the soldiers end. They ruled that the I.E.D. had no feasible way to have been detected.
It all almost made it worse.
“Man, if the guys could see you now.” They’d befriended some of their fellow soldiers. Fitz has lost contact with them all since going to the island. “Some has some pretty sappy stuff to say at your wake.” Or the aftermath, sitting around a fire while everyone gets wasted on cheap beer ‘wake’.
Every bit Ezra remembered, he wrote down. But sometimes things just came back to him. He exhaled a soft breath as Fitz took his hand. It was real. And he wasn’t dreaming of his best friend, a beautiful man, someone he had fallen in love with. “It was our units’ first mission together.” The darker haired man spoke as he slowly curled his fingers around Fitz’s hand. He closed his eyes as he remembered the promises they had made - ‘take care of her if I die’, ‘take care of them if I..’ No wonder he avoided walking on uneven ground.
“Hmm?” Ezra hummed as he opened his eyes and look at his best friend. Flickerings of faces, laughter, and seeing the pictures of their loved ones. “Wow,” he smiled. At least he was remembered.
“Well, more guys from your unit. But yea.” He chuckled. “They may have been a bit wasted too- that probably helped.” Fitz rubbed his neck a little, nervously. “I think your parents have your flag. From the official funeral.” He pursed his lips slightly, debating his next action, even as he pulled the dog tags from under his shirt. His hung with a third tag. “Key and I kept these.” He shared, turning the tag that said Ezra’s name toward the man.
“So… how can I help?” He asked, wanting to help his friend however he could. He wasn’t sure how to help Ez heal, or if he could. Or if it was needed or wanted. He just didn’t know what else to do.
His hand squeezed slightly, a gesture of support. He felt like he was walking on eggshells around the other man. It was a far cry from them basically pouncing on each other in a form of saying hello, laying over each other with the young Kyrie on the couch as they watch a movie on a lazy Sunday. Or sharing secrets in their hideout in the ‘treehouse’ that existed at the home his parents had bought. It was more a fort than a treehouse and even after they’d each had growth spurts that meant there was less space, they still found themselves camping out there. His parents always said that they preferred if the boys were going to get in trouble they do so at home instead of on the streets. And the boys did- a little. Their first drink, first attempt at smoking, both happened in that fort.
They shared dreams, ambitions, desired. They saw their first naked body online in that fort and the night before they shipped out- their first real kiss. Up to that point Fitz hadn’t admitted to anyone but himself that he was gay. The one girl he’d dated and kissed in high school had been awkward and didn’t feel quite right. But that night with Ezra, the night they shared more than ever before and also were forced to make a pact to not talk about it again until they were out of the service.
“Spirits do that to a person,” Ezra smirked for a moment and then breathed. Then he grew silent as he watched Fitz pull out the dog tags and then saw one of his on the chain with Fitz’s. He was thankful they had kept him close - Fitz and Kyrie.
Fitz was that missing part of him, he was sure of it. Now he still felt out of place as pieces of his memories were slowly falling into place. There were bits of that fort in his mind, the good times and gradual build. He had been without equilibrium moving to a new country and new school. The other man had befriended him almost immediately and from there it just grew. Kyrie had told him that Fitz loved him.
“I’ve felt for a long while, since I could think straight after all the painkillers and getting back to the States, that something, someone was missing in my life beyond family. A deep spot here,” Ezra explained and pointed to the center of his chest. “Finding and remembering Kyrie, remembering my parents - that helped. But I didn’t realize who it was until Kyrie talked about you and then I saw you.” Ezra frowned as his eyes lowered to their hands.
Fitz took in a breath, on the verge of crying at the words. He slid off the couch and to the floor next to Ezra, hugging his leg as he laid his head on his thigh. “I-“ Love him, missed him, felt so lonely- words just couldn’t describe the feeling he was feeling. “Ez, I’m here now.” And he was. Despite those feelings he’d had, that crush. He still loved Ezra. They’d been friends for years and nothing could change that. Despite everything, they were still family.
Ezra was on the verge of crying as well. Breathing aloud at Fitz moving to side on the floor, hug his leg and rest his head on his thigh, he was beginning to tremble. He felt like a ghost, fearful and remorseful for being gone. Gently he combed his fingers through Fitz’s hair. Ezra loved Fitz. “Am I?” He rasped as he leaned over and wrapped his other arm around his best friend. He carefully rested his forehead on Fitz’s as tears fell.
“God I hope so… otherwise I’m going crazy… and it’s not like I can get help for that here.” He laughed weakly as he blinked back tears.
Slowly Fitz looked up to Ezra and smiled. “You’ve missed so much.” He wanted to share it all, all he’d been up to, truths about himself that he’d finally accepted. “We have so much to catch up on. I don’t even know where to start.”
Ezra let a half-sob half-laugh out at Fitz’s joking. God he missed him.
Lifting his head, he looked into the other man’s eyes. “I know.” He whispered as he continued to run his fingers through Fitz’s hair. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. If I remembered sooner.” Ezra breathed, holding back another sob. “Start wherever you want.” He wanted to hear all of it, not knowing what would warm or break his heart.
His hand reached up and rested on the man’s arm, resisting the urge to touch his face. “You’re here now. That’s what matters.” Fitz leaned back, sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. His eyes glanced up at his bag. He’d been saving them for when he saw Ben later, but this was special- he could always get more. Fitz reaches up and pulled his bag off the couch and opened it up, reaching inside he pulled out two beers and offered one to Ezra. They weren’t cool- room temp, but Fitz had gotten used to that.
“I guess it’s best to start at the beginning, yea? After… I couldn’t re-up. I left the service and Dougie helped me get a job in private security. Actually put that electrical training to work.” He chuckled. He twisted the cap off the bottle as he continued. “Stayed with Kyrie when she moved to Washington. That was after my folks passed.” It had been a while since he’d thought of that. “Found out I can turn into cats- that was strange.”
Nodding, Ezra smiled and let his fingers fall through Fitz’s hair one more time before the other man sat down on the floor. “Oh, merci,” Ezra said as he took the offered beer. He hadn’t had anything alcoholic since he arrived on the island. Tiny flashes of their sitting around with a beer before they shipped off overseas came to mind.
Staying leaning over, he took the top off his bottle and took a sip before propping his chin in, an elbow on his left knee. Ezra grinned at Fitz’s chuckle as he listened to him. “Good for you. Thank you,” he breathed and nodded. “Ah, Fe.” He frowned at the passing of Fitz’s parents. “Wow….cats. Sounds like a fun thing, maybe.” Ezra couldn’t look away from Fitz, seeing the man in the army fatigues, equipment, all tanned with short hair. So handsome. But the promise to keep how they felt about each other secret in his mind, working hard to remember while in the service to keep his facial expressions even when their units joined up those fateful last days.
“Yea, it’s definitely interesting. When Key discovered her powers she told me. I was happy she felt comfortable enough-“ by that point he had pretty much become her brother. “When her- your mother wanted to send her to the island I said I would join her, we talked a lot and decided I’d go in as a cat, sneak on. That way if something went wrong I could get her off.” Fitz frowned. “We weren’t prepared for- well, prison level guards.” At least when it came to leaving.
“But before all that, I tried to help Key. It wasn’t until we arrived her she really had a sense of freedom and independence. I don’t think your mom ever really liked me.” Fitz felt he’d been blamed for Ezra’s loss.
He took a drink from his beer. “I did… come out.” Fritz’s eyes focused on the floor past the bottle he held. It was funny, feeling like he was coming out all over again. “My folks found out before… they were cool with it. After everything, I realized I just had to be true to myself.” His eyes flicked up to Ezra. “Who knew how long I’d have.”
If only Ezra remembered everything right now. But he knew the rest would take time. “I thought I was coming here to be treated.” He shrugged. “I’m glad you came with her.”
Taking another small sip of his beer, he sighed. He remembered some of how Kyrie and his mother was back then. “She didn’t like me after a while, I think. I remember this anger towards me,” Ezra described as he reached up and making his fingers like claws coming at him. “Then I think she had nothing to do with me.”
Then Ezra blinked while taking a long sip from his bottle. “You did?” There was an echo of that promise they’d made and of their kiss in the fort. Tears welled up in his chest again, but did not reach his eyes. He reached out his hand again to Fitz and smiled as he caught his eyes. “That’s...great.” He himself hadn’t come out. In the years since he started his life in Seattle, Ezra had kept to himself mostly - working through the amputation and learning how to be with a prosthetic leg. It seemed to create a barrier along with PTSD. He didn’t have anyone close to lean on for support.
“Kyrie was her pet project, anyone who wasn’t her took second place.” Or at least that’s how the woman acted.
Fitz nodded slowly, taking Ezra’s hand. “Yea. I-“ went to a lot of clubs. Slept around a lot. Resisted real intimacy as much as possible. It was as if he couldn’t let anyone in who wasn’t Ezra. Well, until Ben. Again that guilt ran over him. He loved Ben, was it because he was the first willing body who he could reveal himself to? Or was it real. He wanted it to be real. The idea he’d been using Ben crushed him. So, why did he feel guilty for holding Ezra’s hand? And why hadn’t he told his friend about his boyfriend yet?
“I may have been a bit wild.” He chuckled. “Though the lead at group therapy and the VA thinks I may have been masking.” He shrugged. “I was having fun. And glad I did because coming here- the last few years… definitely dull in comparison.”
“There was only first place,” Ezra nodded as he remembered just how sad Kyrie was. He had written down memory flashes of how dark and superficial his mother was then.
Ezra smiled as his hand was taken. He gently curled his fingers around Fitz’s hand once more. “Well,” he smirked, “You weren’t tame..at least from what I’ve been able to remember so far.” A little joke. “I’m glad you had fun.” A part of him was said that he couldn’t have been there to partake in Fitz’s fun. His free hand went to his right thigh, slowly running his fingers over the lip of his prosthesis. He hadn’t let anyone touch it aside from doctors, physical therapists, and prosthesis fitters. Who would want to have anything fun to do with a guy with one leg and a stump?
His thumb moved along Ezra’s hand as he felt his heart race a bit. “I don’t know if I’d call it ‘fun’, but it was different. And I wasn’t that bad.” He laughed. Fitz had maybe overcompensated in high school a bit. He had dated sort of, girls of course, and probably insinuated to his teammates he’d done more than he had. Ezra always knew the truth though.
“What about you. What have you been up to all these years?” He asked, moving the topic from himself. Fitz wanted to enjoy their reconnection a little longer before he shared the other man in his life.
Did part of him hope that Ezra would make a move? If he remembered? Guilt stabbed at him for the thought.
Ezra grinned and winked. “You’re were awesome.” He snickered, acknowledging that he remembered their kiss. The Frenchman was a magnet for girls and guys alike in high school, but he focused more on his studies and hanging out with Fitz. Yes, he always knew the truth. And wasn’t there a joke going about them being attached at the hip?
“Physical therapy. I’m a photographer now. I have...had?...a small business in Seattle. Pretty much a quiet life aside from regular road trips to Tacoma for checkups and I guess they were seeing if and what I remembered from before.” Ezra frowned. A hint of anger crossed his features, guilt as well.
“Ces bâtards ne voulaient même pas que je m'en souvienne. Enlève ce dont je devais me souvenir.. [Those bastards didn't even want me to remember. Took away what I had to remember you by.]” Ezra growled softly. Then he got out of the arm chair to sit down with his back to the arm chair and took a long sip of his beer. If only he could have woken up ‘alive’ and remembered who he was right then.
It was funny, for as long as they’d been friends, Fitz had never really learned French. Small phrases he knew due to repetition, but he got lost in actual conversations. His mind had always been one to grasp more the practical (like being an electrician or a soldier) than the intellectual. “Hey, it’s okay. It’ll be okay.” Even though he didn’t know what he said, he knew the tone. Kyrie got that way when she got upset too. Fitz set his bottle on the table and moved around to sit next to Ezra, a hand slipping around his shoulder. “You’re here, we’re here. That’s what matters now. We have a second chance. I’m sure things will come back eventually. But nothing can break our family.” Since that is what they were in spirit.
Funny enough Ezra never lost his accent or ability to speak his native language. The brain was a complex thing. He was breathing hard through his nose until Fitz reassured him, sitting down beside him and slipping a hand around his shoulder. “Yeah,” he breathed a placed his beer on the table. Turning towards his best friend, Ezra looked into Fitz’s eyes as he thought about the promise they made. He wanted to be back to who he was before that bomb exploded and tore away his life and those he loved.
“Yea. Of course.” Fitz smiled. Despite everything, it felt good to have him back. He took in a breath, those feelings swelling up. He remembered that day. Just a kiss, but a kiss that held a promise of so much more. Passion and ease, more charged than any he’d had to that point. There was a chance something more could have happened, but they’d held back. Their fort was no place to try that sort thing. But they weren’t in their fort. They were together again. I love you. And I don’t know if it’s more than- you know. When we get out… service had been important. The towers had just fallen and their country needed them. But now...
“So,” Fitz moved and stood up, snagging his drink as he paced away a bit. He felt a buzz of nerves. “Any idea what you’re gonna do now that you’re here- if you’re gonna something? Kyrie works at the diner. I’m sure it’s just to make enough to get enough food for the two of us. She’s too sweet. I’d do more- if… I existed here.” He rambled a bit, trying to shake that intense feeling he felt off.
When we get out… Holding back - that was what Ezra was doing, had been doing. His free hand clenched into a fist, deep down angry that he couldn’t just snap his fingers and have every single memory, pneuance about his life back in place. He felt incomplete, ghostly still. But things took time like it did with learning to walk again but with a prosthetic. There were psychological hurdles there now.
His eyes followed Fitz, feeling that moment fade with the distance his friend made. “I don’t know. I’ve found I’m still pretty good at cooking. I doubt there needs to be a photography business,” Ezra replied as he reached back for the seat of the armchair before pushing himself up to stand. He didn’t want to think about this island or figuring out how his life will be on this island. Yes, he will decide on a job and give most of the funds to Kyrie and Fitz. But right now, all Ezra wanted to think about was Fitz and how they had promised. Picking up his bottle, he took a long sip and set it back down on the table before wiping his eyes.
“Maybe Key can help you get a job at the diner.” Fitz offered as he stopped pacing and faced Ezra.
“Maybe,” Ezra nodded as he maneuvered and walked over to Fitz. A part of him was angry he was being treated so delicately, like eggshells. Maybe something had happened, had changed even further than what Fitz had let on. But another part of him understood. Yet there was that frustration.
Fitz looked at Ezra with a small smile. “I really missed you.” He said, a tear finally falling from his eyes. God, it still felt like a dream. He’d dreamed of Ez so many times over the years, especially since being in the island. He almost felt silly now having ‘talked’ to him on occasion, believing his spirit could hear him. Turns out he’d been talking to nothing.
That smile, those words, and that tear made Ezra sniffle. He had seen Fitz in dreams and flashes of memory not knowing who he was but knew the man was someone important, someone he cared about deeply. Now he was here and maybe Fitz’s “talking” brought those remembrances to Ezra. “There are feelings right now where bits of memories are still missing.” He spoke softly as he stepped up to his best friend and wrapped his arms around him.
Fitz buried his face into his shoulder in the embrace. Eyes closed as he just felt, held the other man. He really was there. It felt familiar, nice. And another person who knew him- or used to, could again.
He turned his face to Ezra, there was so much temptation to follow those old feelings. He felt himself linger, lean in slightly. Ben! Fitz pulled back quickly, almost like a snap. “Sorry, Sorry.” He said wiping his face. “I-“ He shook his head, he needed to be honest. “I know it sounds strange for someone who doesn’t exist on the island, but… In sort of seeing someone.” Guilt stabbed in his chest. For Ben, not having been upfront right away. For Ezra, having moved on and not being available to see what might be there.
Ezra bit back tears as he held Fitz securely. He turned his head a little to breathe in the other man’s scent, recognizing it immediately. The dark-haired man almost let out an audible cry. Fitz was the one who was missing from him, his best friend who loved him. Could they pick up where they left off?
He was close to pressing his lips to Fitz’s ear when Fitz pulled back so quickly. Ezra pulled back, his embrace loosening as if he had caused his friend pain. He had accidentally shocked someone with residual lightning after harnessing it once. But he soon realized he hadn’t. “No need…” Ezra began and stopped as he too a half-step back from Fitz to look at and listen to him as he explained. Then his arms gradually fell to his sides. There was a moment of sadness in his eyes and expression, but he quickly gave Fitz a smile to mask the building pain. “That’s good, Fi.” The sensation of needing to be alone washed over him. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t come here.
He felt a few years fall from his eyes again. “If I had known… I never would have. But I didn’t and he’s a really good guy. I love you Ez, I’ve always had. Your my best friend. But, right now, that’s where…” Fitz swallowed. “It’ll have to stay. I really like Ben. Y-“ Ezra would like him too, he wasn’t the normal type of person he’d befriended, more intellectual than Fitz’s jock friends had been. But he was good natured and cared about people. And he’d cared for Kyrie. That was important. “I should have said something sooner… I’m sorry.” His head lowered a bit, feeling that shame.
“I’m glad you found him,” Ezra breathed. He wiped his eyes. “Don’t be sorry. I would have wanted you to go on with your life and find someone to love.” He reached over and gave Fitz’s left shoulder a firm patting. Inside he was sad and a little broken-hearted - but he hadn’t regained all of his memories. Maybe it would be better if he went back to the apartment the government had arranged for him. Kyrie and Fitz had moved on. “If...if it would be safer for Ben to come here to see you, then he can.” Who was he to stand in the way?
He placed his hand on Ezra’s. “Thanks, I’ve made sure his place is secure. It’s sort of what I’ve gotten good at doing. All the work setting up security systems have paid off. It’s how I can be me here.” He gestured around slightly. “You should keep staying here. Take the spare room. Kyrie needs you close and it’s safer here.” And Fitz could guard them both when he stayed over.
He reached out and placed his hand behind Ezra’s head, in a comfortable, bonding move. “And we’ll help you remember who you were, no matter what it takes. And we’ll get to know who you are now. Just… it would probably be better to limit how many people know you’re Kyrie’s brother. I’ll make sure Kyrie knows. But ‘Levi’ should remain. We don’t want to give the government any excuse… secrets are valuable here. Keep your government housing. Make sure you’re seen there on occasion, but stay here at night. They shouldn’t have any reason to be watching you, but we don’t want to give them a reason to.”
Maybe his time as a cat, his time in the Faction had him paranoid. But he liked to think it wasn’t paranoid as much as cautious and strategic. “We’ll have to come up with a reason as to why you’re hanging out with Kyrie a lot- if anyone asks. Maybe cousin will work.” Fitz started to pace a bit as he tried to come up with a plan. “That would be less suspicious than brother back from the dead. She’s dating this guy named Jakob. I don’t trust him.” Though the man hadn’t actually given him a reason not to trust him. The perfect guy could be dating Key and he’d probably still not trust him. “I think he’d buy cousin okay.”
“We’ll see how things go,” Ezra nodded. He could tell when Fitz had changed focuses. Who wouldn’t when things got intense? He would stay here for Kyrie, but he might spend some time at the apartment. Right now was not a good time for him to plan things in his mind.
He breathed at Fitz’s bond move. That was something the both of them did when they kissed in the fort. It was also something he wanted to do when they met up again in Afghanistan, but refrained so they could keep their secret. There was still that pang of disappointment and upset. He felt like a ghost again. “Okay,” he nodded at keeping up with his new life’s identity and now as Kyrie’s cousin. Ezra was going through with most of Fitz’s suggestions. But he needed to get through this evening’s honest revelations.
“Then I don’t know if working with Kyrie at the diner would be best. May be too coincidental.” He offered and sighed, frowning at little.
“Not if she gets you the job. Puts a word in with the owner.” Fitz laughed a little. “It’s not like the prospects… are…” Did he have any skills that could be useful in the facility? Could he ask his friend to get intel from inside for him? He had the military training, unlike Ben (which is why he’d never asked him before). But no. Pulling Ezra into the Faction, putting him at risk so soon as he gotten him back. He couldn’t do that. “That varied here. The options are limited.”
Maybe if Ezra could remember their friendship more, with the charge between them not the strongest emotion, things would get easier.
“Maybe,” Ezra grinned, pushing his emotions down. “Yeah. No photo studios in a mall for family portraits,” he added. The island and its complications were still too new for him.
Pulling away, he picked up his beer and finished it off. “I think I’ll go to bed early. Tomorrow i will plan out a routine between here and the apartment, see if Kyrie will put in a word.” Ezra avoided any prolonged looking his best friend in the eye. Sleep would do him some good.
Fitz nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you around.” He said, moving to clean up the bottles. “Sleep well.”
He’d been planning on staying there that night, but maybe returning to Ben’s for one more night was best. After he showered and shaved that was. At least with Ezra there, no one would question Kyrie having any male items in the house.
Handing off the bottle, Ezra nodded. “Thanks.”
Outside in the gradually darkening sky, the clouds had gathered over the house. Now light rain began to fall, softly pitter-pattering on the roof and trickling down the window panes.
Ezra turned and went into the bedroom Kyrie had given him, closing the door and turning off the light. Out of habit, he sat down on the foot of the bed and took off his left shoe then his prosthetic and moisture-wicking sock off his stump. He placed the sock across the top of his prosthesis and crawled under the covers. Tears would fall on his pillow as he clutched it. A few minutes he fell asleep alone.