<div style="text-align: center">《 Ezra 》&amp;《 Tobias 》<br/>
<i>Location: Inside ⇢ Outside Abendblume Main Building<br/>
Addressing: Wesley, each other</i>​</div><br/><br/>Ezra did not speak another word. He didn’t have to, because there was not a single argument to be made against Hannah once she brought up Hale. For a second, Ezra wondered why he didn’t think of that, why he didn’t connect the dots, but he guessed in a way… maybe he had. Maybe he wouldn’t have guessed that Hale would have him excommunicated from the Abendblume compound, but he did assume karma would catch up with him eventually. Hannah was right - he was being punished for committing adultery.<br/><br/>Hannah plucked an empty duffle bag from the ground and gave one last biting statement to her husband before stomping from the room. Presumably to throw a bag together to send Wesley away for the night.<br/><br/>Ezra watched her disappear, leaving just himself, Wesley, Armando, and a few of the guards. Some filtered out, receiving instruction from Armando to move onto the next task at hand. Brian’s body. He had completely forgotten about the man, as terrible as the circumstances were, he felt that he was dealing with something far worse. Ezra wondered, for a second, if Brian got off easy. Why had his name been on the list? What crime or wrong-doing had the man committed that had Hale wanting him out?<br/><br/>Armando departed after providing a few words of wisdom. Ezra and Wesley stood at opposite sides of the room. He wondered if they were both thinking of embracing one another once again, but afraid of what might happen should Hannah catch a second wind. Thinking better of it, Ezra set his duffle bag on the bed and turned back to his dresser drawers, their contents unceremoniously dumped on the floor.<br/><br/>“I’ll miss you, Ezra.” Wesley murmured, standing with his hands in his jean pockets, thumbs poking out.<br/><br/>Ezra grabbed a small batch of folded shirts and glanced just over his shoulder. Enough to see Wesley in his peripheral, but not enough of a turn to make eye contact. “I’ll miss you, too.” He swallowed and set the shirts in the duffle before turning back for more items. “Please go, Wesley. Fix things with Hannah.”<br/><br/>He packed a few more of his belongings, staying silent and focused. Eventually, he did turn to face the door, finding that Wesley had slipped out without saying another word. That was how Ezra had preferred it, but that didn’t mean that the pain didn’t radiate in his heart and head. His throat felt thick and his face hot, but he didn’t allow himself to sit with his emotions. He needed to pack and get out.<br/><br/><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fcoolsymbol.com%2Fcopy%2FHorizontal_Bar_Symbol_%25E2%2580%2595&amp;hash=71a1131d87b981169fc069c09906525b" href="https://coolsymbol.com/copy/Horizontal_Bar_Symbol_%E2%80%95" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">―</a><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fcoolsymbol.com%2Fcopy%2FHorizontal_Bar_Symbol_%25E2%2580%2595&amp;hash=71a1131d87b981169fc069c09906525b" href="https://coolsymbol.com/copy/Horizontal_Bar_Symbol_%E2%80%95" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">―</a><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fcoolsymbol.com%2Fcopy%2FHorizontal_Bar_Symbol_%25E2%2580%2595&amp;hash=71a1131d87b981169fc069c09906525b" href="https://coolsymbol.com/copy/Horizontal_Bar_Symbol_%E2%80%95" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">―</a><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fcoolsymbol.com%2Fcopy%2FHorizontal_Bar_Symbol_%25E2%2580%2595&amp;hash=71a1131d87b981169fc069c09906525b" href="https://coolsymbol.com/copy/Horizontal_Bar_Symbol_%E2%80%95" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">―</a><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fcoolsymbol.com%2Fcopy%2FHorizontal_Bar_Symbol_%25E2%2580%2595&amp;hash=71a1131d87b981169fc069c09906525b" href="https://coolsymbol.com/copy/Horizontal_Bar_Symbol_%E2%80%95" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">―</a><a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fcoolsymbol.com%2Fcopy%2FHorizontal_Bar_Symbol_%25E2%2580%2595&amp;hash=71a1131d87b981169fc069c09906525b" href="https://coolsymbol.com/copy/Horizontal_Bar_Symbol_%E2%80%95" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">―</a><br/><br/>Tobias rounded onto the landing and found Ezra standing in the foyer with duffle bags at his feet. He looked uncomfortable, anxious and fidgety. Tobias descended the final flight of stairs and came upon him, reaching to grab one of his bags. He had managed to fit his and Rachel’s possessions into three duffle bags. Kennedy's things took up two. It was more than they would need or would make sense to carry, but at least it would give Rachel the freedom to pick through her things and decide what she wanted for herself.<br/><br/>The counselor reached for one of the bags. Ezra was tall and muscular, but something about the way he stood there made Tobias want to help him. His fingers barely brushed the strap before Ezra reached to pick the bags up from the ground. “I’ve got it.” Ezra grumbled, fitting his arms through the straps.<br/><br/>Ezra took off once he had all of the bags loaded, walking away without as much as a word.<br/><br/>Tobias followed after, dutifully, catching up with the man as he hurried down the front steps and stepped into the grass. He fell into step beside him, sneaking glances at Ezra as they walked.<br/><br/>“Do you want to talk about it?” He couldn’t help it. Tobias knew there was something wrong. It was written all over Ezra’s features, no matter how intently he tried to mask his feelings. Sometimes Tobias wondered if he had a super power. He often got people to tell him what was bothering them, even cry a few tears with their head on his shoulder, without anyone else realizing something was up.<br/><br/>“Talk about what?” Ezra snapped, feeling anger bubble inside him. His years working on the border made him cool and collected, but this was different. It felt like Tobias was baiting him.<br/><br/>“I don’t know.” Tobias responded, shrugging while his soft eyes found the sharp edge’s of Ezra’s. “Whatever is making you upset. We can talk about it.”<br/><br/>Ezra felt a sarcastic laugh bubble up. His jaw clenched and he gripped the strap that stretched across his chest. “There is nothing to talk about. Just drop it, okay? Trust me, there will be plenty of other people that will line up to share their every worry and<i>thought </i>to you once things settle down.”<br/><br/>“What happened here?” The counselor reached up and gently tapped Ezra’s freckled cheek with his fingernail. His skin was tinted pink, the remnants of a deeper red that was fading away with time.<br/><br/>Ezra felt Tobias’ finger on his cheek and reached to shove his hand away, gripping the collar of his shirt in his fist. “You know the gun I handed your sister? Well, I am really good at using it.” He felt the man’s breath puff out onto his face, his expression cool as if this happened frequently. “Fucking touch me again and you will be having a very, very intimate conversation with me and it. Okay? Great.”<br/><br/>He stalked off and made it a few steps before he huffed and turned around. Tobias stood still, allowing physical space to fall between them before he bothered to bring up the rear. He had hoped that Ezra’s bark was worse than his bite, and oftentimes Tobias really enjoyed being bit, but he also wasn’t interested in finding out if Ezra was a man of his word.<br/><br/>“I know you are trying to help.” Ezra said after an additional moment of silence. “I shouldn’t have threatened you like that. I just…” He sighed and carded his hand through his hair. “Can we just move on and get back to the girls. Please?”<br/><br/>Tobias raised his hands, palms out. “Consider it dropped.”<br/><br/>The guard nodded and turned again on his heel, resuming his path without waiting for Tobias.<br/><br/>“You know, that was kind of sexy.” Tobias commented as he followed after the twin, again toting his duffle bags across the yard. “I don’t think that anyone has threatened me in a way that actually made me feel concerned for my life.” His words were light-hearted. Tobias was pretty good at lightening the mood when he recognized the need. "You really should channel that, Ezra."<br/><br/>He grinned when he heard Ezra chuckle, punctuating the response with a raised middle finger.