THEY – BEACH EPIS—CHAPTER

Ocean’s waves rolled back and forth, edges clashing against rocks of the steep cliffs. Sandy beach had already found itself full by the time 8 rolled around, and even more so by the time Aya, Emma, Jared and Tyson arrived. Aya and Tyson slept through most of the two-hour drive, and were currently yawning while overlooking the mass-populated beach.

“… I already hate this.” Aya grunted lowly.

“You and me both, babe.” Tyson said.

“Call me ‘babe’ one more time and I’ll show you how gay men feel.” Aya said.

“Enough flirting you two!” Emma exclaimed excitedly. “Let’s go find a spot while Jared parks the car! Come on!”

“… okay.” Aya and Tyson replied in unison with barely audible voices.

After about a fifteen minutes search, during which Jared regrouped with them as it was apparently easier to find a parking spot than a spot on the beach, they had finally found a small, slightly isolated corner underneath a thick, solitary tree growing out of the stone platform next to the sand. While Jared and Emma unpacked, Aya and Tyson did their best not to fall asleep under a comfortable shade.

“… told you we should have taken a nap back at our place.” Tyson grumbled as he took out a bottle of water from his backpack and drank some.

“Go and get hit by a bus.” Aya said.

“Why a bus of all things?”

“You watched Brooklyn 99?” Aya asked.

“Yeah.”

“All of it?”

“Yeah.” Tyson said. “Oh, right, Gina got hit by a bus.”

“And she lived,” Aya said, forcing a weak smile on her face. “But she was in excruciating pain for a long, long while.”

“Oh, you want me to survive? That’s so sweet…” Tyson mumbled, forcing a smile on as well.

“Alright, we’re all set!” Jared exclaimed as he suddenly pulled Tyson onto latter’s feet. “Let’s get you woken up!”

“You’re not going to drag me into freezing water—and he’s dragging me into freezing water! Find me a fire mage for when I return Aya!! Wait for me!!” Aya looked away in embarrassment, pretending not to know him, while Emma chuckled lightly, sitting next to her.

“Should we go look for a fire mage then?” Emma said, causing Aya to glare at her for a moment.

“Ugh, shut up.”

“Ha ha, oh, wow! You look really good!” Emma exclaimed as Aya took off her dress, revealing a black bikini underneath. “Ty doesn’t need no fire mage, just your hotness!”

“… are all people from your town like that?” Aya asked. “You know, full of blunt, jaw-dropping complements?”

“Yeah…? I mean, all of us practically grew up on beach,” Emma said. “So it was ingrained in us from the very early age to point out who looks good in bikini and who doesn’t.”

“… damn,” Aya exclaimed softly as she glanced over Emma’s body. “Is there a place on you that doesn’t have a muscle?!”

“Blame Jared,” Emma said, sighing. “Gym is basically our second home.”

“Hey, you know what would be fun?” Aya said, suddenly smirking.

“Huh? What?”

“Take a stroll down the beach,” Aya said. “While I observe how many guys put on their shirts in shame.”

“… you’re terrible…” Emma said, stiffening her laughter.

“No, I’m serious! Do it!”

“I’m not going to fucking do it! We’re not on a fashion show!”

“Tsk.”

“Oi, don’t go clicking your tongue at me! You should take a stroll down the beach,” Emma said. “So I can see just how lucky Ty was to grab you first!”

“It’s not fun if Ty isn’t here to wreathe in jealousy.” Aya said, smiling.

“… you really love him, huh?”

“… uh, I do, but, out of curiosity, how’d we come to that following my sentence?” Aya said as she stretched lightly.

“Whether you realize it or not, your voice becomes much gentler when you’re talking about him. Strangely, though, not when you’re talking to him.”

“Yeah, but then again, whose does? He’s really a pain in the ass.”

“Kinky.” Emma said, winking.

“… ah, right. I remember when we first met,” Aya said. “You told me you enjoy some ass play.”

“Hey!!”

“Was it rabbit’s tail?”

“…”

“So it was a rabbit’s tail,” Aya said, smirking. “No, no, I get it. No need to be embarrassed. I mean, whenever Ty wears only tank top, I don’t know why, but it takes everything I’ve got not to just jump him dead.”

“… ooookay, deviating slightly from the creepy and mildly disturbing topics--”

“Hey!!”

“--can I confine something in you?” Emma said, lowering her voice as she drew closer to Aya, former’s eyes beaming slightly.

“… is this the part where you propose an orgy? Because the answer is no.”

“No!! You idiot!!” Emma exclaimed, hitting Aya gently on the shoulder. “No… it’s, uh… I… I think Jared’s gonna propose during the trip.”

“EH?!” Aya exclaimed, shocked, as her jaw slowly grew agape.

“I know, right?! It’s insane!! But…”

“…”

“Aaah, don’t make me say it!! It’s embarrassing!”

“If it’s embarrassing to you – YOU, Emma freaking Reynold – how is it not embarrassing for me?!! Besides, how can you know he’s gonna propose to you?!”

“I found a box in his pocket last night,” Emma said. “I didn’t open it, but I’m fairly certain it’s a ring box. And, you know, we’ve been talking about it recently… a lot. You know, moving back home, opening a shop or something… so, I don’t know, timing just fits.”

“… and you’re gonna say yes?” Aya said, arching her brow slightly.

“Of course I’m gonna say yes!! What the hell else would I say?”

“Uh, something like ‘No way in hell. Are you nuts? Go kill yourself’.”

“…”

“… I’m just saying.”

“Don’t,” Emma said, sighing. “Wait, do you think I should say no?!”

“I never said that.”

“But that’s what you were implying!!”

“I wasn’t implying anything!!”

“Yes you were!!” Emma exclaimed.

“Did I ever strike you as a type to imply rather than outright say stuff?!!” Aya exclaimed back.

“… now that you mention it…”

“… ugh, sorry for being so weird about it,” Aya said, sighing lightly. “It’s just, you know, you’re my friend and, I don’t know, marriage is a big step. I never had to have this conversation before with anyone so it’s just, you know… new…”

“… no, I know. Trust me, I’ve never been this nervous before in my life!! Not even when I was two weeks late!”

“For what?”

“…”

“…?” Aya looked at her confused for a moment before it dawned on her. “Oh, late late. Wait, how the fuck are you more nervous now?!!”

“I don’t know!! That’s the thing!!”

“You’re just--”

“YOU ARE GOING TO WHAT AND YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!!!!” a sudden shout from the ocean startled half the beach, including Aya and Emma who immediately lowered their heads as the voice was all too familiar to both of them.

To understand the context, let us go back a few minutes into the past. After Jared shoved him into the ocean, Tyson relaxed and slowly got accustomed to slightly chill water as the two swam further out to where there were no people. Both were rather experienced swimmers, having learned when they were barely four, so depth mattered little to both of them. As they reached roughly thirty meters mark away from the beach, they paused and lunged on their backs, letting the waves slowly carry them.

“… aaah, I never realized I missed swimming this much,” Tyson said. “We should have never gone to the mountains.”

“Mountains?” Jared asked.

“Never mind.” Tyson immediately closed that line of questioning, shivering for a moment. “So, what’s up with you? How are you these days?”

“Me? Oh, I’m great!” Jared said, smiling.

“You don’t say…”

“How about you and Aya? I heard you guys were fighting a lot recently.” Jared said, a tinge of worry in his voice.

“… ugh, we’ve been fighting a lot since the day we started dating,” Tyson said. “It’s just that recently we stopped giving shit about public appearances, so college just became another one of our playgrounds.”

“Wait, so everything’s good with you two?”

“Hm? Yeah, better than that actually,” Tyson said, smiling lightly. “Much, much better…”

“… I’m really happy for you two.” Jared said.

“I know.”

“I mean, with your track record, you seemed to be heading for the Eternal Bachelor title.”

“Hey!! What do you mean track record?!” Tyson exclaimed.

“I mean, come on Ty,” Jared said, smiling. “You never dated anyone seriously before, and seemed far more interested in the next WoW expansion rather than finding a proper girlfriend.”

“… but I just wanted to see whether they’ll ever tackle the Lich King storyline again…” Tyson mumbled under breath.

“… yeah, and as fascinating as that may be, aren’t you glad you finally decided to get serious with someone?”

“… for some reason I’m sensing some undertones in that sentence.” Tyson said as he jolted up from his back. “Where is this convo heading and will I like it?”

“… can I confine in you?”

“Oh boy…”

“But you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially Emma.”

“… you cheated on her, didn’t you? You definitely cheated on her, you bastard! How could you?!!”

“Wait, what?! No, no, of course I didn’t!!” Jared exclaimed. “Why the hell would I ever cheat on the love of my life?! No, what I was getting at if you would have used your brain to figure it out,” Jared continued, not allowing Tyson to interject anymore. “Is that I’m going to ask Emma to marry me this week, and I want you to be my best man.”

“…”

“Ty? You there?”

“…”

“Okay… take your time.”

“…”

“… getting there buddy?” Jared said.

“YOU ARE GOING TO WHAT AND YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!!!!” Tyson suddenly shouted into the sky as though his brain finally recovered.

“… yeah, announce it, be louder. I don’t think ninth fucking circle of hell heard you.” Jared said, sighing, as he shook his head. “I was fairly certain Emma already knew, but now I’m one hundred percent certain she does. Thanks for ruining the surprise, asshole.”

“… fuck, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry… but… but you dropped a huge bomb on me out of nowhere!!” Tyson said as his cheeks blushed red due to embarrassment. “Couldn’t you have mentioned it before the trip?! Rather, why the fuck did you invite Aya and me anyway?! Wouldn’t it have been more romantic with just the two of you?!”

“… you’re our best friend, man,” Jared said, smiling lightly. “We grew up together, moved to city together, and you’ve been with us through everything. I really wanted you to be with us here to celebrate.”

“…”

“… wait, are you crying?”

“Goddammit!! Why do you look so cool right now?!” Tyson exclaimed as he furiously wiped his tears.

“… so, you know, what do you say?”

“Of course I’ll be your best man, you idiot!” Tyson exclaimed as he suddenly leapt over and hugged Jared. “It hurts me that you even had to ask! Congratulations, by the way. You guys really are perfect for each other.”

“… thanks. And, you know, thanks for getting us together.”

“Nah, it was all you, my man.” Tyson said. “All you.”

“… thanks.”

“…”

“… so, uhm, maybe you should stop hugging me,” Jared said. “I didn’t propose to you.”

“Oh shut up. This is a beautiful moment between two bros,” Tyson said. “Enjoy it.”

“…”

“…”

“… you just don’t want me to see you cry, right?”

“Shh… I said enjoy it. In silence.”

“… ooookay.” Jared said as his lips curled up into a big, gentle smile.