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Riley was sitting in the cozy kitchen in Ezra’s shop. They were grateful for the warmth of the house, when it was a miserable, snowy day outside.
“And this should help with your headache,” Ezra continued, handing a steaming mug of something to them.
They went to take a sip, before realizing it was probably still burning hot.
“Thank you,” they told him, grateful.
He took a seat across from them, “Of course, I’m happy to help.”
He folded his hands together, face pitching into one of concern, “How have you been feeling, other than the headaches?”
“Those come and go, but I’ve just been feeling restless. I haven’t slept well since I’ve come here either,” they admitted, “And everything has just been weighing on my mind. I know I was called here to help solve this and fix whatever is going on, but I’m getting more questions and no solutions at every turn.”
He reached across the table, taking their hand and squeezed it once. The contact set sparks alight across their body.
“You’ll find the answers, I’m sure of it,” he told them gently, “I’ve seen your determination, and you have people who want to help you every step of the way.”
They met his eyes, heart jittering in their chest, “People like you?”
His gaze dipped to where their hands met in the middle of the table, expression warm, “Yeah. People like me.”
Ezra gave their hand a final squeeze before pulling back. They missed the contact already.
They took a long drink of the mixture he gave them. They couldn’t quite pinpoint the herbal flavours, but it wasn’t unpleasant, and warmed them up on a cold winter’s day. The cold was starting to seep in, and they shifted, trying to get warm.
They figured they should head back home soon. They had been selfish in their desire to head to the shop. The headache cure was appreciated, but they were truly seeking the company of the owner.
“I should probably head back to the Wolf,” they said, unenthusiastically, “Thank you for this, Ezra.”
“Of course,” he told them softly.
They thought they caught a moment where he seemed to want to stay something else, but was quiet.
They reached the door, tossing on their coat and scarf. Ezra unlocked the door for them, but when he opened it up, the weather had gotten significantly worse. The wind was howling, sending driving snow that created a blanket of white they couldn’t see five feet past. A blast of icy cold air blew its way into the shop, and they winced.
“Oh, not looking forward to that,” they let out a long sigh, doing their scarf up extra tight.
Ezra shot them a glance, “You can’t possibly go out in that weather.”
They hesitated, staring at the icy blizzard before them.
“Uh, you should shut the door.”
He seemed grateful, needing to fight against the wind just to do so.
“I—The Wolf isn’t that far,” they were mostly trying to convince themselves.
“No, no,” he shook his head, “You should stay, I don’t mind. You can wait it out here.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” they asked.
He nodded, “You’re always welcome here.”
Their heart surged and they sucked in a breath.
“Thank you.”
He glanced at the door, rubbing his arms to warm up, “Do you want tea? I feel like it’s gotten colder in here.”
They grinned, “I’d love some.”
Riley was back sitting at the table, trying to ignore the ache in their chest as they watched him pour two cups of tea.
They couldn’t lie, they had been reluctant to leave to begin with, so they certainly weren’t complaining about the change in their plans.
He set their cup in front of them, and they nursed it, grateful for the warmth it provided. The wind was howling and it was getting colder by the minute.
They were worried about their trip home, and when exactly it was going to be. It had already been late in the day when they had stopped by, but the winter storm didn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.
“I’m so lucky to have met you,” Riley said, staring into their teacup, “I…was really worried about coming to Lunaris and what I might find here. But with you and Finn as the first people I met, it made me feel so much better. For me, it’s just been going from job to job, but this has raised the stakes so much because of what I’m trying to protect.”
They met his gaze, not quite sure where all those words had come from.
“So, I just wanted to thank you. For welcoming me. And—” they laughed ironically, glancing at the door, “And for being my literal port in the storm.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, “You’re sweet.”
They took a hurried sip of their tea, forgetting it was still hot and wincing as they burnt their tongue.
The wind shrieked outside, and the cold began to permeate the house, seeping in through drafts. Riley shivered, holding the cup of tea closer to try and warm up. Ezra didn’t seem to be faring much better.
The witch got to his feet, going over to his couch where he pulled up a blanket thrown across it, “Here, you can use this, it’ll help you keep warm.”
“You should have it then,” they protested, “I’m alright.”
He gave them a look that told them that he didn’t believe them.
“Do you have a spare?” they compromised.
A funny expression flashed across Ezra’s face for a moment that they couldn’t quite read. He shook his head.
“This one is yours, if you want it.”
Riley took a deep breath, “We could share it?”
His lips twitched up into a smile, “If you’re alright with that, that sounds nice.”
They nodded, a little lost for words.
They sat on the couch as he draped the blanket over the two of them, and they nestled in. Every point of contact they felt with him—their shoulders brushing against each other, his thigh against theirs—it was overwhelming. They were so close to him, but just not close enough.
They tried to sneak a glance at him, but he was already watching them with a fond gaze.
“Is this alright?”
They smiled, “Yeah,” More than.
Ezra was very warm, and being curled up next to him under the blanket was more than enough to shake off the chill.
They took a quick sip of their tea, now that it had a chance to cool off.
“I remember the first winter I moved here, we had a storm just like this,” Ezra said beside them, “We—Finn, Alkar, and I—were at the Wolf when it hit, and…”
They continued to listen to him tell stories, just absorbed in the sound of his voice. It melted worries about the snow and the case away for even just a moment. They told a few light-hearted ones from their days in the Hunter Academy, delighting in the feeling of making him laugh, and feeling their heart flip in their chest every time they did so.
Ezra pulled the blanket tighter around them both, getting in closer. They could feel the heat radiating from him, and were drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Meeting his eyes, they felt utterly entranced. Then—his gaze dipped down towards their lips, before swiftly making eye contact again. Riley’s mouth felt dry. Did they just imagine that? What if it didn’t mean what they thought it meant?
“I…should see if the storm’s calmed down,” they were mentally kicking themself.
Ezra nodded, carefully untangling them both from the blanket.
But when they reached the door, opening it carefully, a blast of cold air entered the shop, along with a decent amount of snow that had been piling up. It was blocking the door. They’d been heading out with snow up to their thighs if they braved the storm now.
“Shit,” Ezra blinked, waving a hand to whisk up the snow with magic, and shutting the door firmly closed.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back to the Wolf tonight. Ezra, I hate to impose on you again—”
He held up a hand, “You aren’t imposing, I don’t mind at all. I’d much rather you be here and warm and safe.”
“Thank you, I’m in your debt.”
He took their hand, squeezing it once, “You don’t owe me a thing.”
Riley made a mental note to pick him out something nice from the market next time they were there.
But a yawn quickly overtook them, covering their mouth with a hand. Exhaustion was starting to creep in.
“I’ll take the couch again, if that’s okay?” Riley suggested.
He frowned, “It’s going to be really cold, you should use my bed instead.”
“I’m not going to take your bed from you, where will you sleep?”
They were getting déjà vu from the blanket. There was a long pause.
“We could share,” he offered, eyes darting to the side, “To help keep warm.”
Completely practical. Riley felt as though their heart was trying to escape their chest by beating its way out of it.
“Okay,” they managed to squeak out.
They found themself sitting on the edge of his bed, staring around his room. It was warmly lit, and Riley suddenly had a longing for something that hadn’t had in so long—a home.
They could hear Ezra getting ready in the other room, and they weren’t quite sure how they were going to do this. As much as they had tried to stay on task and focus on their job, they had been harbouring feelings for the Witch pretty much since the moment they laid eyes on him.
Focusing on their immediate predicament, they let their hair out of its bun, letting it fall down their shoulders. Riley went to place it over on his dresser, where one of the drawers was cracked open. They didn’t want to snoop around, but something did catch their eye.
It was a blanket, folded neatly up. He did have an extra one then. They didn’t need to share the one—although Riley was glad that they did. The realization that he had come up with a convenient excuse to cuddle with them was making their face and ears burn.
“Riley?” Ezra asked, coming into the room.
“Ezra, I really need to tell you something—”
“I’ve been meaning to say—”
They both talked over each other, and shared a laugh. Riley gestured to him quickly.
“You go first,” they told him.
They silently cursed themself. It had been a while since they had been in a relationship, or in this sort of position at all. They felt horribly out of practice with what to say, what to do with themself.
But lucky for them, they had an angel looking out for them.
Ezra glanced up at them, “I just wanted to say—and I know it hasn’t been long, but even the first night I met you, I knew then you were something special. I just didn’t know how much you would mean to me.”
He stepped towards them, reaching out a hand that they took gladly. His grip was stronger than they expected when he squeezed their hand.
Carefully, he brushed a strand of hair out of their face, tucking it behind their ear. His fingers just ghosted against their cheek, and they shivered. His lips were parted. He was so close to them now, one hand still in theirs.
“Can I kiss you?”
Their heart skipped a beat.
“Please,” their voice broke in desire.
Ezra stepped in, his hand winding around to press against the small of their back. His lips were so soft against theirs, and he tasted sweet. It was easy for them to get lost in the feeling of him, settling a hand on his waist, and running their fingers through his hair.
He deepened the kiss, both arms around them now and all other thought was driven from their mind. He placed another kiss on the corner of their mouth, and drew them in for a tight embrace. They could feel his shoulders shake with a quiet laugh.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” they admitted, whispering in his ear.
He hummed in agreement, “Good.”
Pulling back, they saw his eyes sparkling in the light of his room. The affection in his gaze for them was sending them reeling. Fuck, they wanted to kiss him again.
He didn’t leave them waiting long, already pulling them in for another kiss, holding their face with both hands.
This is one way to keep warm, they thought in mild amusement.
As they caught their breath, they realized he smelled sweet too. As if he had been baking earlier and the scents clung to him.
He rested his forehead against theirs, and Riley realized they were grinning like a fool.
“Oh, and what was it you were going to tell me earlier?” he asked, gaze and tone playful.
They laughed, taking both his hands, “Nothing important.”
“Really? I’d like to hear it.”
They glanced down, still feeling shy, and then feeling silly for feeling shy—considering they had just made out with the man.
“Just that I’m head over heels for you,” Riley shrugged casually, trying to deflect their very real feelings that had come to a boiling point.
He pressed a kiss to their cheek, their forehead.
“And that…” their voice cracked again, “And that it was so hard to be so close to you, but still too far at the same time. That I care for you far more than what I bargained for. And the thought of being in bed with you was too overwhelming to not say something beforehand.”
“Are you alright with it?” he checked.
Riley nodded, and leaned up to kiss him. It made their heart flutter, even if they were still tentative. They couldn’t quite believe it was happening, and that it felt so easy. They could feel his lips twitch up into a smile.
He led them towards the bed, both of them climbing in. They had quite forgotten the cold weather outside, but they were immediately grateful for the warmth once they got under the comforter.
They turned over, staring right in Ezra’s eyes, who had been watching them fondly.
They couldn’t quite believe their eyes—to be in the bed like this with him right next to them, looking at them like that …
“Thank you,” they whispered with a hoarse voice.
He nestled in close, an arm winding around their waist. His eyes darted away.
“I might have been a little selfish in wanting you to stay tonight,” he admitted.
“That’s okay. I’m so glad I did.”
He brushed his thumb against their side, leaning in to kiss them again.
Still held in his arms, Riley turned over, their back against his chest. They felt him press a kiss against their shoulder.
The blizzard outside quickly forgotten, Riley fell into the best sleep they had since they came to Lunaris.
The next morning, they woke to an empty bed.
They blinked groggily, unsure of their surroundings, before everything came flooding back. Riley sat up in bed, taking in the room and their memories of the night before.
They could smell something good coming from downstairs, and they made their way down.
Ezra was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. They saw bacon, eggs, and toast, and the kettle whistling for tea. Again, they were struck with how much they longed for someplace to call home.
“Good morning,” he told them brightly, as they stayed on the last step of the stairs.
They still couldn’t quite believe the events of the night before, and took a cautious step into the kitchen.
“Morning, has the snow cleared at all?”
Ezra glanced towards the door, “It’s piled pretty high, but at least it’s stopped coming down. I’ll help you clear a path out.”
“August can’t fault me for being late when half the town is buried in snow, right?” they asked mostly to convince themself. Ezra shot them a look, and they laughed.
He took the bacon off the heat, plating it with the rest of the meal. He handed it to them.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do all that,” they felt a surge of affection.
“Nonsense,” he waved them off.
“Thank you. You’re so good to me,” they said in an almost whisper.
They placed it on the table, looking back at him. They couldn’t stop thinking about the night before.
Reaching over, they clutched at the front of his shift, gathering the fabric in hand as they leaned up and kissed him. He was quick to respond, wrapping his arms around them and kissing them back with a fervor they hadn’t expected for so early in the morning.
They broke off, still resting close to him. He raised a hand, brushing his thumb against their chin, cupping their face in hand. They leaned into his touch. They couldn’t stop smiling.
“What?” he asked them, joining them in a smile as he kissed the corner of their mouth.
“Nothing. I’m just happy,” they admitted, and truly meant it.
As they sat down to eat breakfast, staring up at Ezra, they felt like they were floating above the earth.