Hands Of Time | Ezria

Chapter One

His breathing slowed, as tears streamed from Aria's hazel eyes. "No, Ezra don't you dare close your eyes!" She yelled, clutching his warm hand, which was slowly transforming cold.
He then smiled weakly, but understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.
He brought his hand up to her soft cheek and stroked it, his fingers turning into a blue-ish shade.
He managed to whimper out a small sentence, one sentence that Aria would keep with her for the rest of her life.

"There are all kinds of love in this world, but none of the same love twice," he whispered, taking his final breath.

Three years earlier

"You're wicked!" Aria Montgomery squealed as the love of her life tickled her waist, failing to stop. He smirked as his tickling and teasing hastily turned into caressing and kissing. "And why am I wicked?" He replied, looking carefully into Aria's gorgeous, hazel eyes. Ezra enjoyed looking at beautiful things, such as stars and galaxies, but nothing compared to Aria Montgomery. Aria was the love of his life, his rainbow that came after the rain. His everything.
"You're wicked simply because you have this power of making a simple girl fall madly in love with you,"
she replied, interlocking her fingers with his as she layed on his stomach. He kissed her lightly on the top of her head, and squeezed her warm fingers softly. "Really?" Ezra chuckled. She nodded, batting her eyelashes.
Ezra wrapped his tense arms around Aria's tiny body. They both slipped into an intimacy from which they will never recover. He fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things he'd believe in , even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. He loved her and it was the beginning of everything. And as he drowned himself in these thoughts of love and luster for Aria, a shocking and sinister pain rushed through his body. A pain in which he had never experienced before. This pain seemed to take over his whole body, as his eyesight became drained and blurry, and his legs turned to jelly. He squeezed his hand, forgetting Aria's hand was interlocked with his, and as she whelped in pain, he controlled the utter sting racing throughout his body.
He shut his eyes and bit his inside gum, and he was sure he could taste a small amount of blood. He gained back his eyesight, and he glanced upon Aria, who was sucking on her fingers. "Aria, I am so sorry," Ezra whimpered, inviting her back in for another hug. Although she was slightly angry at him for hurting her severely, she didn't hesitate. She collapsed into his arms once again, and set her eyes upon his. She touched his earlobe, and as she felt him shudder, she left a lingering kiss on his right cheek. He smiled, and sleekly placed his lips upon hers. As they kissed, they both felt intimacy, passion and complete love for eachother, and this was one of the very many reasons Aria Montgomery fell in love with Ezra Fitz.
"I wish this could last forever. You know, me and you. We could move to Europe together and read poems and roast chestnuts on an open fire," She started. This was another reason why Ezra admired Aria. She was big on happy endings. She had always loved big weddings in novels and films. She dreamed of her perfect white wedding since she was four years old.
"Nothing lasts forever," Ezra whispered back, only realizing how sinister his comment sounded after reflecting on it. Aria went silent, and Ezra nourished her hands with his. Nothing lasts forever. The three words repeated in his mind, and he couldn't believe how true they were. Ezra hadn't got much time left. That was what he thought. He just wished he would be able to spend another year or two with Aria. But he himself knew that wasn't possible.
"And as I love happy endings, you seem to hate them," Aria said after a while, lifting her head off his chest. He raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"I don't hate them. I just don't like seeing people getting their hopes up. But I promise, we will have a happy ending. And we can move to Europe and write poems and roast chestnuts on an open fire," He replied, caressing her shoulders. He could feel her smile, her smile was a smile that could make the whole world stop for a moment. It was a rare smile. One that you would only witness once in your life. And Ezra was lucky he had witnessed it, for he was grateful he had a girl like Aria.
And Aria was grateful she had Ezra.
"Think positive," Aria said, giggling. Ezra cracked a smile, and kissed her head. "Always," he replied.
Aria and Ezra had an unbreakable relationship. Ezra had always been a hopeless romantic, and Aria had always been a positive thinker.
"You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest and most beautiful person I have ever known - and even that is an understatement," Ezra whispered, leaving a subtle kiss on Aria's shoulder.
"Hey mr love, mr big love ,big love," Aria teased, as she brought his hand up to her lips and she slightly kissed his fingers. And as they were both lost in love, Ezra seemed to forget that this would never last. They were never deemed to have a happy ending. But of course, he couldn't tell her that. He should, but he just couldn't. Their time was limited, and Ezra wanted to use that time thoughtfully, he wanted his last moments to be full of love, not fear and anger. He didn't want to worry Aria, that was in fact the last thing he wanted to do. He loved her too much to hurt her.
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