This is my entry for the fanfic contest @restartheartvn is holding, Ezra, Sammy, Blaire, and the setting of Little Daea belongs to them!
Anyone under 18 should not interact with this fic or their game, as there are sensitive subjects involved in game that are inappropriate for minors. Thank you!
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June in the sleepy seaside town of Little Daea was the busiest of the year in Morgan Dust's little friend group. Everyone planned their own events through the month, but that didn't stop anyone from attending the ones planned by the town as well. This would be Morgan's third year dating Ezra, and he had planned something special to mark their third pride together.
Of course, in classic Ezra style, Morgan had no idea what to expect from this date. He had only given them one thing to go on, a text this morning that read-
"Be sure to wear your walking shoes, Sugar~"
With the assumption that Ezra could be taking them anywhere, Morgan dressed comfortably and made sure to slip into their comfiest pair of sneakers. They dabbed a small amount of lavender oil behind their ears and inhaled deep, the floral scent already dry on their skin. After a final check for essentials, Morgan shouldered their backpack and set out, a pep in their prance with thoughts of the raven-haired golden retriever waiting for them.
The walk to Ezra's meeting spot was a quick ten minute stroll to their local town park. Before long, Morgan saw a familiar curly-haired figure standing in the center of the park and couldn't help but smile. Morgan stopped short of Ezra, admiring the way he looked in the sun. He was wearing the sunglasses they had gifted him for last year's birthday, the sight made their heart beat harder in the depths of their chest.
As if he could read minds, Ezra looked over to see Morgan, a megawatt grin slowly spreading across their full lips. Morgan couldn't help but return the sentiment, bounding across the space left between them and launching into Ezra's waiting arms. They spun around for a moment in the embrace, the pair practically giggling. In their excitement Morgan failed to notice the way Ezra breathed in their scent, almost drinking it in while he nestled into the crook of their neck.
Ezra pulled away long enough to cup Morgan's face in their hands and pepper kisses across every inch they could find before Morgan erupted into another fit of giggles and squirmed free.
"Ezra Galverton, you are the cutest person, but I insist you stop before my heart explodes!" Morgan laughed and looked up at their paramour, who stuck his tongue out with a wink in response.
"How could I resist kissing such a wonderful face, sugarsnap?"
The deep pitch of Ezra's voice was smooth and velvety, the perceived purr to his words drove Morgan mad, but judging by the look on his face Ezra already knew that. Morgan looked up into lavender hued eyes and stood patiently on their tiptoes, lips pursed for a kiss. Ezra let out a throaty chuckle and cupped Morgan's cheeks, softer than before, and closed the gap.
They'd kissed almost every day for three years now, but neither of them had grown tired of the fire that enveloped them or the butterfly swarm that came to life in their chests in the moments before. Morgan had once called that feeling home in a sweet moment shared between friends, and again months later to Ezra themselves.
"Well," Ezra had pulled away just enough to see Morgan's face, still holding them enough to satisfy the need, "We should start our outing before we miss anything." A sly grin spread across his features knowing the suspense was almost over. Morgan nodded dutifully and linked their arm into the crook of Ezra's, allowing them to lead the walk a few blocks away to the steps of their town gardens. Pride banners hung from the roof and cascaded down the pillars, a soft breeze fluttering through the fabrics. As they walked closer, Morgan noticed the chalkboard at the door advertising a light show, and their brow rose inquisitively as they examined the conveniently small amount of information on the program.
The lobby was clean, and the only sign of anyone having been at the desk was a quiet stream of music emanating from old plug-in speakers nestled behind the desktop, barely visible to anyone passing by. The decoration was plentiful, a mix of framed botany displays on a large maximalist wall to their left stood out to Morgan, who styled people's spaces during their time off. The staff had arranged some of their dried flowers in the colors of a handful of identity flags, Morgan's eyes were drawn to the bright yellows and purples of the non-binary arrangement, their face lit up in comfortable joy. This place felt safe and warm, Morgan was almost certain Ezra had done extensive research to make sure they would feel this way.
"Oh look!"
Ezra exclaimed with a happy hum, pointing to the arrangement of light pink and blue wildflowers surrounding delicate white buds. The arrangement was fresh, and propped into a beautiful vase that stood front and center on the visitors help desk.
"The staff here really went out of their way to do all this, huh?" He whispered to Morgan with an appreciative tone, probably pleased they were enjoying themselves so quickly.
Before Morgan could say anything, a small wisp of a man came hobbling into the lobby, loudly pulling his chair from the desk and falling into his seat with a loud sigh. His fluffy white hair stuck up around his head and peeked over his computer screen, the sight was equal parts amusing and adorable in that strange way older people became cuter with age.
Taking a few steps to their right, Morgan crossed their arms and leaned against the help desk, peering atop the counter to get a better look at the new face. Large bug eyes met Morgan's dark greens, startling them into standing straight. The employee had oversized glasses with the thickest lenses either of them had ever seen, from his spot by the decorations Ezra exchanged a cautious look with them, but Morgan decided to speak up.
"Good morning," a pause, eyes frantic in their search for a name tag, "Bartholomew, oh wow." The biblical slap to the face took them by surprise, and at the mention of his name the old man smiled like Morgan was his long lost relative. He sat up in his chair a bit, beaming at them with such joy Morgan almost found it uncomfortable.
"Good morning, friends!" Bartholomew said loudly, including Ezra in his greeting despite the deafening silence coming from their end. "My name is Bartholomew, but you can call me Bart. I own these gardens and I am always happy when young people visit!" He took a shallow breath and continued, "Are you two here to see the lights? We have another show in 5 minutes, and so far only you two have shown up! Lucky for you, the tour is self guided and you don't have to listen to my rambling much longer." A hearty chuckle from Bart warmed Morgan's chest. They hadn't been too comfortable at first, but Bart seemed like a genuine person and had greeted them very respectfully.
Ezra wrapped his arms around Morgan's shoulders, taking over this encounter the moment Bart mentioned the lights.
"Ah. Yes, I have pre-ordered tickets for the next full timeslot." Ezra pulled two folded pieces of paper and slid them across the counter with the arm that wasn't wrapped fully around Morgan. The warm grip was comforting, but what Morgan couldn't see was the dry look on Ezra's face as Bart scanned over the sudden dynamic shift, and then the papers Ezra had slid onto his desk.
"You two are all set, head through the glass doors to your left, oh, and happy Pride!"
Bart sent Morgan off with a cheery smile and a small wave, which Morgan returned with a smile of their own. From their spot nestled into Morgan's dark hair, Ezra watched Bart smile at Morgan until they passed through the glass doors.
Unbeknownst to Morgan, a second shift in energy brought Ezra back to his happy-go-lucky attitude from before. Lacing their fingers together to continue this walk, and to ensure Morgan wasn't left behind if they got too enthralled with something to keep up, Ezra followed the small steps up and led them into the garden's indoor greenhouse.
Humidity blasted the both of them the moment the second set of doors opened, breezing past them in a sticky greeting not many enjoyed. Ezra's face screwed in disgust, while Morgan closed their eyes and took a deep inhale of all the different smells around them.
"It's beautiful, everything is so well loved here!" Morgan's voice was soft, but the joy in their words was unmistakable and it gave Ezra an extreme boost in both current mood and confidence in their ability to read Morgan. They watched as Morgan bounced from plant to plant, eyes wide and sparkling anytime they swiveled around to info-dump about the different things growing carefully tailored in the dirt around them.
Ezra's heart beat hard in his chest, one of the few lights of his life enjoying themselves to the fullest extent doing something he planned for them was the best feeling. They followed along quietly, having given up on getting a word in edgewise long ago, simply nodding and smiling after their jumpy other half.
After a few minutes of exploration, the lights in the greenhouse dimmed and Morgan shot straight up, panic scrawled across their features trying to find Ezra in the sudden low light. Warm hands found Morgan in a quick, fluid motion, rubbing up and down their arms in a show of silent support.
"Shhh, Sugar. You're safe, I promise."
Ezra spun Morgan around so that their back was pressed to him, whispering in their ear when they stopped, hands still firm on their shoulders.
"Now look over that way, by the grouping of snapdragons."
What had once been a dark blob of formless plant life was suddenly awash with soft yellow light, shutting off as soon as it had flashed on. Across the room a bright flare of purple lit up a bed of lavender, another splash of red lit up behind them just as quickly. As Morgan stood back in wonderment, a wide array of plants were highlighted in their respective lights one by one until the room glowed with every color of the rainbow.
Snapdragons, lavender, tulips, and all sorts of colorful things exhibited under the spotlights reflected across every glass surface placed around the room, a prism of light slowly forming tiny rainbow droplets that cascaded across every inch of the gardens. A slow melody began playing from the tinny speakers in the corners of the room, a piano arrangement that lent to the whimsical air and brought a wave of strange nostalgia over Morgan.
Ezra held Morgan tighter to their chest, a pure and wonderful feeling creeping through his heart and blossoming into an unadulterated moment of absolute peace. Morgan couldn't sit still, however, and grabbed Ezra's hand to spin around the small footpath in a goofy attempt to lead a dance with their much taller partner.
Their dance went on for the duration of the fluorescent rainbow lights, completely forgetting the whole point of a light show in favor of dipping and spinning one another around this lush garden of pride. A light sheen of sweat covered their faces, Morgan's normally straight hair curled tight around their cheeks in the humidity. Peachy blushes smeared across both of their cheeks, Morgan's freckles dark around the flushed skin. The shorter of the two laughed out loud, and then offered Ezra a ridiculous bow when the lights faded out and flickered back to the soft white glow they'd had before. The pair stood together a moment longer, chests heaving from the workout that comes with carefully dancing in a small area. Morgan straightened to their full height and clasped their hands behind their back, smiling up at Ezra, lovestruck look in their eyes.
"This was beautiful, Ezra. Thank you for planning this for us." As they spoke, they rocked back and forth on the balls of their feet, flustered by their feelings for the hundredth time today.
"I'm so happy you had a good time, sugar." Ezra beamed, admiring the handiwork of their date in the forests of Morgan's eyes. If anyone's eyes could literally sparkle, Ezra would bet money on his Sugar possessing that talent.
Morgan stood on their tiptoes to ask for a kiss, but before Ezra could oblige, a familiar voice rang out in the small greenhouse, startling them both out of their shared smooch-driven focus.
Standing in the doorway to the exhibit's outdoor exit, looking very pleased with herself, was Blaire. Shortly after, Sammy's petite frame came into view beside her, a small frown on their face.
"Blaire, I told you not to interrupt their date." Sammy sighed, and smiled sheepishly at the confused couple. Blaire cackled and crossed the room to squish Morgan and Ezra into a trademark bear hug. Morgan giggled, returning the hug immediately. From her spot squished between them, Blaire tried to ask something, but it came out muffled and wrong, which only made Morgan laugh harder. Ezra gently pushed Blaire back, Morgan stifling another giggle as Blaire took an exaggerated inhale for breath.
"Say again, Blaire?" Morgan tucked a flyaway curl behind their ear, the damp strand sticking dutifully to the rest of their dark red curls. Ezra followed the motion, bright lavender eyes almost glued to it. He swallowed hard as Morgan's fingers slid down their neck in an absent-minded manner, unaware of the effect it had on him.
Blaire nodded thoughtfully in Morgan's direction, a smile still wide on her lips. "I was asking if you two wanted to come with us to get some lunch, we haven't decided where to go yet, but the usual spot has a drag show later we wanted to see!"
Morgan glanced up at Ezra, whose mood couldn't be read very well after the sudden appearance of their friends. He was smiling, even closing his eyes to think about Blaire's query; but Morgan was an overthinker and made a mental note to run the bubbliest of bubble baths for them later tonight.
Blaire smiled and pulled Sammy closer, the latter having been standing by the door watching the scene unfold until then. Sammy let out a small disgruntled noise at the pull, but made no effort to resist either. They readjusted themselves, taking a tiny step to the side for a bit more room to stand.
Ezra stared at the three of them, all looking up with various different emotions, all waiting for an answer.
Morgan looked on with support, probably thinking something along the lines of "I just want Ezra to be happy."
Sammy looked on politely, uninterested for the most part, but their eyes flicked between Ezra and Morgan a few times in some train of thought that Ezra would have to work out later.
Blaire stood inches from Ezra, staring into his soul with the fervor of a small child trying to bully their parents into an amusement park with just their eyes.
Ezra took in the three of them for a while, and just when the suspense was too much for Blaire, Ezra dissolved into a fit of laughter.
"You two are not good actors, by the way," they said between wheezing laughter. Ezra had spotted them duck back outside during their dance, and when they first arrived at the gardens, they'd been spotted trying to hide behind a particularly sparse bush.
"I saw you twice today, but I wanted to see what you had planned, so I left you alone." A few tears fell from his eyes, wiped away on the sleeve of his sweater.
Blaire protested loudly while Sammy hid a smile behind their hands, clearly amused by Blaire's friendly shouting. Morgan smiled at the group, grabbing Ezra's hand in theirs and turned toward the exit.
"Let's figure out what we want to eat outside, poor Mr. Bart would probably appreciate that." Morgan laughed again, covering their mouth with their free hand. Ezra felt their heart skip a beat at the sight, Morgan was almost too cute for their own good sometimes.
"Oh sure, it is gorgeous out today." Blaire had an appreciative expression, but a quick pull of sunglasses and a sigh from Ezra made the group laugh.
"I wouldn't mind walking to the beach after, and I'm sure B̷̹͌ļ̴͘ȏ̵̥s̷̜͝ş̴͘o̸͔͗m̶̧͆ wouldn't mind either~" Sammy's words sounded a bit wrong, but Morgan chalked it up to the dance exhaustion and didn't dwell on it too long.
Blaire and Sammy led the walk out, each individually talking about something different from the other. It took no time at all for them to exit the room, but Morgan had stopped a few times down the path to admire their favorite plants. After a few stops, Ezra waved their friends out, calling after them about meeting up outside in a few minutes.
The same walk from before, ripe with more information from Ezra's favorite plant nerd, took about ten minutes before Morgan almost jumped out of their skin mid sentence.
"Oh shit, Ezra we were supposed to walk out with Blaire and Sammy and I totally forgot!" Morgan scrambled to their feet and laughed through their time constraint anxiety.
Just before they left the greenhouse, Ezra pulled Morgan back into a tight hug. He ran his hand through their hair, holding their head against his chest. Morgan reciprocated the affection, their anxieties melting into a happy squeak that escaped their lips at the gesture.
"I love you, sugar." Ezra breathed into their fuzzy hair, nose tickled by the flyaway strands.
Morgan burrowed further into the embrace and felt a knot form in the back of their throat. Their eyes misted fast at the sentiment, but they usually did when reminded that Ezra really loved them.
"I love you too, Ezra." Their voice came out strangled and emotional, causing Ezra to pull away in concern. His eyes darted across Morgan's features, brows furrowed in a worried expression until he noticed the watery smile on Morgan's lips. Ezra felt quick relief wash over their tense shoulders at the realization of these emotions being positive and smiled.
"I'm glad you love me that much, sugar."
"It's impossible not to fall in love with you, Ezra." Morgan felt the hot tears spill over their lashes and chuckled when Ezra wiped them away with a soft brush of his fingers across their cheek.
The space between them grew short as Ezra bent down to place a deep kiss on the warm skin of Morgan's forehead, the freckle scattered skin of their nose, and finally the salty wet skin of their lips. The kiss was not nearly as long as either of them would have liked, but right at the apex of the butterflies Morgan's stomach growled in an audible attempt to remind them about lunch.
"Let's join up with our friends, yeah?"
"If you insist, sugar. I'd have been perfectly happy to take you home after that one." Ezra winked and entangled their fingers with Morgan's before sighing dramatically in a playful show of resistance.
"I for sure owe you a nice bath, cutie." Morgan teased, pulling Ezra out the doors to the greenhouse and back into the beautifully decorated garden lobby. "For now, I want to demolish a plate of stuffed french toast and walk to the beach~"
Ezra shook their head and smiled at the tease, mentally promising to get them back for it later. "Alright," Ezra paused to hold the front door open for Morgan, watching them bounce down the stairs before following close behind, "but I want half~"
Morgan feigned shock, placing a hand over their heart and another against their forehead in a dramatic show. From behind them Blaire yelled for their attention and Sammy stood a few paces behind her smiling at the scene. The four met up and started walking with no specific destination in mind, voices a loud and jubilant echo through the quiet streets.
The sun was high in the sky over Morgan's sunny seaside town, and as the group made their way through town Morgan sent a silent thanks to whatever force in their life that brought them here.
Little did they know it was a force closer to them than they'd ever imagined.
#AWESOME!!! #BEST