It was nearing eight and he still had to put his little boy down. Ezra Fitz was thirty-three years old and he married the love of his life, Aria Montgomery. They had an eight year old son named Rick and they were expecting another child in just a few months.

"Come on buddy, let's get you to bed" Ezra said. Rick groaned lightly, annoyed by the fact he couldn't stay up late. He had been overly happy today. A little bit more than normal, but it hadn't been a burden. Aria had to work late, because she taught evening classes as well, so the company had been more than a pleasure for Ezra. Ezra ruffled his hands through his son's dark brown curls in a joking manner. Rick had changed into his pajamas rather quick and was brushing his teeth now. He was humming to a song. A song he probably made up right that moment, because Ezra had never heard it before. He never made up a song or even hummed when he was brushing his teeth. He hadn't even known it was possible to both hum and brush.

"What got you so overly happy today?" Ezra asked. His curiosity got the better of him after watching his son for a little while. Rick spat the toothpaste out and he rinsed a little before leaving the bathroom.

"Nothing" He said almost chuckling when he passed Ezra.

"Oh right. Nothing" Ezra said while he followed his son to his bedroom. It was just across the hall. The room wasn't too big or too small. The bed was in the middle of the room. It was probably a little bit too big for an eight-year old, but Rick had a lot of plush animals collected on his bed, so he barely fit in his bed himself anymore.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me. Mommy isn't home, so I won't tell her if you don't want me to" Ezra tried again desperately wanting to know what was going on by now, because the kid was still smiling like an idiot. Normally, he whined about his bedtime or he was too tired to even whine about it. This time covered neither of these two options and that had never happened before.

"Okay. Only if you promise" He answered holding his favorite plush penguin closer to him.

"Your secret is safe with me" Ezra answered trying not to sound too enthusiastic.

"There is this girl…" He started unable to find the right words to say next.

"So we are having a real man-to-man talk here?" Ezra joked trying to make it a little bit easier for Rick to talk about his crush.

"Dad, don't interrupt me" He said chuckling a little bit. He rested his head against his pillow that stood up against the wall. Ezra took a place on the far end of the bed and he took his shoes off.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but please go on" He said still untying his black leather shoes.

"Her name is Sara and she is really pretty. She always has these long blonde braids and she always wears a really girly dress and" He said trying to continue, before Ezra interrupted him yet again.

"Rambling already? You're definitely my son, boy" He said chuckling at the many memories he had from when he was a little younger. After he first met Aria, he couldn't stop talking about her. Hardy went nuts. There had been multiple times where they went to a bar together and just talked. He just kept talking and talking and talking. After a few hours, Hardy literally fell asleep. And that didn't happen just once. He had to drag him home, because when Hardy slept, he slept and nothing could stop him from sleeping.

"Dad!" Rick said again a little bit annoyed by the fact his dad had interrupted him.

"I'm sorry. Go on" He simply stated trying to be a better listener.

"Well, she's in my class. Miss Jenny asked us to work in couples for this new assignment and we were the only ones left without a partner. We need to draw something we have learned from our parents and we will start tomorrow" He said the happiness in his voice more evident than ever.

"What will you draw?" Ezra asked with a happy and sincere smile. Something Rick had learned from his parents. That could be like, everything. Aria and Ezra had learned him to read and write. But they also taught him French, because they believed learning a second language at a young age had lots of benefits. There were also those other things like swimming, bicycling and ice skating. Ezra was the one to encourage his son to enjoy these sports as well. And now, their same son was in love or at least, that was how you could describe it.

"I haven't even thought about that yet" He said his smile decreasing a little bit, but it was still very much there.

"Sara might have an idea" Ezra stated after he thought for a little while with his son.

"Let's just hope she does" He said with yet another smile. It looked rather funny, because he was missing one of his tooth. He still looked very much like a copy of Ezra, but of course a mini-version. The thing Aria always said when she left her two men home alone; take care of mini. Afterwards, she would kiss both of their cheeks before leaving the house.

"How does it feel to be in love? You probably feel like a real man now" Ezra suggested after they had both been silent for a little while.

"I don't know how to describe it really. Guess my school isn't good enough to teach me the right words. How does it feel with you and Mommy?" He asked giggling a little bit after his own joke.

"I don't think there are words correct and valuable enough to describe how much I love your Mommy. My school probably wasn't that good either" He said stretching his legs a little before settling them on the bed.

"Daddy, will you tell me a story?" He asked taking his socks off of his feet. He curled his legs up and looked at his father with the widest eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Which story do you want me to tell?" Ezra answered his son, getting off of the bed to grab a book out of the small bookshelf in the corner of the room. They were all children's books. Fairytales, bedtime-stories and a few children's books for Rick to read.

"No, not one out of the books. I have already heard all of those at least ten times" He answered motioning for his father to sit back on the bed.

"Do you want me to make a story up?" Ezra suggested unsure of what his son wanted from him.

"No, I would like to hear a real story. One that really happened" He said still looking at his father with pleading eyes. This was one of his signature looks. The look always came around when he wanted something really badly. It had been there since he was little when he wanted attention or food.

"How about the story about my first love?" Ezra tried again. He pushed a few plush animals to the other side of the bed, so he could sit on their place properly.

"It probably doesn't have a happy ending, because it didn't last. Can you tell me about you and Mommy?" He asked coming a little bit closer to Ezra.

"You are much too young for that story, boy. It's a really complicated story" Ezra said not wanting to tell his son about his at first illegal relationship with his mother. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell him, but he just wanted to wait a little longer. Aria and he would tell their children the story together when they would understand.

"I want to hear now, Daddy. I can't wait that long. Please, Daddy. Please" He pleaded again. He came closer and closer to Ezra, most likely determined to hear the story. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He had to hear. Not tomorrow or next week or even in five years. Now.

"I can't tell you without Mommy, now can I?" He expressed trying to give his son a tolerable reason not to tell the story tonight.

"But I told you about Sara. It's only fair for you to tell your story. Please, Daddy" He said resting his small hand on his father's bicep.

"It's already getting late. Let's sleep, okay?" Ezra tried again, looking at the alarm on one of the shelves on the other side of the room.

"If you won't, I'll tell Mommy that you were the one who took that first piece of the cake last week" He said with a wicked smile on his face. This was the look he always had when he knew he had won.

"So you're blackmailing me now?" He said trying to contain his snicker.

"Exactly" He said, his smile growing even larger than it had been the whole day. This one looked almost creepy, because it was that broad.

"Okay. I'll tell you the story" Ezra finally said unable to keep his son waiting any longer.

"Finally!" Rick said crawling back to his beloved plush animals.