They are standing on soft sand and there's clear water around them, the waves hitting not higher than their ankles â Faye looks breathtakingly gorgeous, Asher decides. She's giggling and pointing at some rocks she found and he doesn't know what makes this moment different than any other they've experienced on this very beach before, but he feels it. He feels something tugging at his heartstrings when he looks at her, he feels sad and he feels happy and it's so overwhelming that he's not really aware the words leave his lips until she looks at him. "Faye, I love you," it's soft and he doesn't have to wonder if she heard it because she looks at him, oddly keeping a straight face even though a smile eventually creeps up her lips and for a moment he believes that she might feel it, too â that every second of hesitation meant her brain going overdrive until she found a suitable answer. He wonders if it sounded like a confession or more like a reminder. I love you, I love you, I love you. Her eyes are bluer than the sea and her skin is as golden and as smooth as the sand and he realizes they belong here. Every second apart from each other means exhaustion and every inch of them feels alive when they're here. Her smile turns into a grin and Asher feels like he can't breathe before she replies, "I love you, too, fuckhead," she pauses for a second, "You know that, right?" Asher knows. But as far as he's concerned, she doesn't mean any of it in a 'more-than-friends' way. His mind goes blank for a second before he nods, a smile resting on his lips. "Yeah," he replies, "I know," He loves her so much, more than he can describe, but this is just how things are. He still doesn't know what made this exact moment different than the rest, he isn't sure it really that different than any other moment spent with her. But they're here and they're okay and he feels her fingers softly tug at his' when she finds another rock she wants to show him. Asher doesn't really think about it before he pulls at hers' in return, lacing them together. It feels like being home.Â
