a_littlefaith | (no subject)

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jason

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Beth doesn't really know what the plan is today, but she's not worried about it either. Whatever they end up doing, she knows she and Jason will have fun. They always do when they get together, and she's looking forward to being able to try climbing another rock.

This time around, she dresses more carefully for the excursion. She wears shoes that are tighter and a little smaller, better for climbing the rock face. She's wearing a pair of exercise tights and a tank top, because she knows it's going to be warm, and Beth isn't usually one for working out a lot, but she'd bought these clothes just for this. She wants to be prepared. She wants Jason to be proud of her.

All she knows for sure is that she's meant to meet him at his place and they'll go from there. She has a water bottle, a little backpack with some snacks, and she's purposely not letting herself think about what they might do after they climb a rock.

Because she very clearly remembers their conversation at the beach that day. They haven't talked about it since then, but she's pretty sure they had both been talking about two things at once and she's excited. Nervous and excited both. Maybe tonight won't be the night, but maybe it will. She's not going to get ahead of herself, but she's not going to count it out either.

"Hey," she calls out when she's close, expecting him to probably be out in his garden. "Jason?"

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"You won't fall," Jason promises already leading them out the door and down the street. The walk isn't too far but it's enough that he locks the door and grabs an extra bottle of water.

"I won't let you fall, I promise. Plus, you did fine last time and that wasn't easy," Jason tells her, nodding. "Trust me."

"I do," she says and it's as simple as that. She does trust Jason. There have been plenty of moments when he could have turned his back on her and he hadn't, moments when she knows someone else might have run away and never looked back. It's not that Beth thinks he's perfect or even that he's told her everything, but he doesn't need to. Things have a way with coming out in time.

"That's good, though," she adds with a grin. "Carl'll be real mad if you let me fall and I break somethin'. Then he'll have to take care of Judith and me."

"If you fall, which you won't, I'd help take care of you as well," he promises, looking over at her as they walk. He'd also feel incredibly guilty and awful but he'd absolutely be there to help take care of her.

"You're not going to fall though," he says and squeezes her hand. "You'll be attached to me so if something should happen, we'll both go down."

"Oh," she says, giggling. "That makes it so much better. We'll both end up breakin' an ankle and neither of us will be able to go get help for the other."

She knows that's not going to happen, she knows Jason wouldn't let it, and she knows she's stronger than that, too, but she can't help it. It's sort of funny, thinking of the two of them stuck like that. The way it'd be funny if she were to be watching it in a movie, knowing it's not real.

"You're going to be fine," Jason murmurs, giving her hand a squeeze and tugging her closer to the edge of the woods. "You're going to make yourself overly anxious before we even get there. You're going to be fine."

It wasn't that big a rock. A challenge but nothing out of either of their skill levels. "I promise. Trust me, we'll be there soon and then you can laugh at how easy it is."

"I'm not anxious," she protests, still laughing. "I just think it'd be funny, the both of us falling off the thing."

Beth has never been especially prone to worrying or anxiety, she thinks it's part of being the youngest child, and knows she was lucky in that regard. Her family had always been there to take care of things for her, to make sure she was safe, and she knows she's not careless, but she just doesn't have the same level of anxiety she's seen in others.

Which isn't to say she doesn't worry. She just likes to think she worries about things that need worrying about.

Jason just looks over at her fondly before they enter the forest. He makes small talk with her for the rest of the walk and then, before too long, they're standing in front of the rock. It's nestled against a cliff but still big enough to stand on its own. The face isn't sheer but it's steep.

"What do you think?"

"It's perfect," Beth says, coming to stand at the base of the rock, letting go of Jason's hand to press her fingertips against it. It's pretty steep, but she's excited about the challenge, and she really doesn't think they're going to fall. Jason knows what he's doing and maybe she won't be as distracted this time, trying to sneak glances at him while he climbs.

Or maybe she'll be more distracted because she doesn't have to sneak.

Taking off her pack, Beth sets it down on the ground, then turns to Jason.

"Okay," she says. "Suit me up. It'll be easier this time, you won't have to worry about touchin' me the wrong way." She's teasing him, but she knows the entire situation had been a little awkward for them both the first time around.

Edited 2018-08-04 16:26 (UTC)

"I -- didn't worry about that," Jason says, red straining his cheeks as he reaches for the harness and gloves. He bends down to help her into it and to better hide the blush that he was currently sporting.

"I worried about making sure you were safe and secure," he tries, making a face and pulling the harness up her legs until he was standing again and smirking at her. "Besides, I doubt I was the only one."

"You can be thinkin' about more than one thing at the same time," she points out with a teasing grin, rising onto her toes to press a quick kiss to the tip of Jason's nose.

"And you weren't," she promises. "The only one."

At the time she had been worried she was doing something wrong somehow, that she was thinking the wrong thing, about to ruin a friendship, or maybe just betray herself by thinking something she shouldn't. She'd felt so tangled up and confused, but she isn't confused anymore.

"I can't, it's impossible for me," Jason tells her, tightening her into the harness and then plopping her helmet onto her head so he can get it on while he gets himself into his own gear.

"I think of one thing and one thing only. If I try to think of more than that, I explode."

Look at that, he has a sense of humor! Kind of. Deep down. It's there.

"I don't believe you," Beth says in a sing-song voice as she adjusts her helmet, then clips it securely under her chin as he gets himself into his own harness. She admittedly doesn't know quite the right way to do things, but she still steps forward once her helmet is in place and reaches for Jason's harness so she can help him get it secure.

"But now I kinda want to see if I can make you think of a bunch of things and explode," she teases. "Y'know, metaphorically. It'd be a real disappointment for you to literally explode so soon into the day."

"Are you challenging yourself to make my head explode?" Jason asks, reaching for his helmet and tightening it on his head before he moves towards the rock so he can get the rest of their tools ready.

"But then I wouldn't be able to do -- " He trails off, blushing and shaking his head at himself. Shouldn't have said that, didn't want to ruin it. "I wouldn't be able to walk you home later."

"That'd be terrible," Beth agrees. "If you couldn't walk me home. Guess I'm just gonna have to leave the head explodin' for other days."

Not that she really wants to go home after this. She's trying not to get ahead of herself, but it's hard not to when Jason looks like he does, when he blushes like that, when he's so sweet to her. He moves to the rock to get the rest of their equipment ready and she can see the flex and pull of his muscles and she sort of just wants to put herself between him and the rock.

That'd probably make it hard for him to get set up, though, so she settles for standing close by.

"When we're not climbing a rock," Jason says, smiling over at her. And when they weren't possibly planning on some other things for later. If that was going to happen, he wants to make sure he's completely clear headed for it.

Clearing his throat, Jason looks over and asks, "Do you want to do it like last time? I climb, tie myself off and then you climb to me? Work for you?"

"Yeah, I think that'll work best," she says, looking up at the rock, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. "If that's the safest way to go about it. I'll trust you when it comes to all this stuff."

And she thinks it makes sense, that way she'll be able to see the path he takes, too, and follow him up. He'd told her not to call him the boss, but he is. Right here, looking up at the rock face, there's no question of it in her mind. She trusts him to do this properly because he has the knowledge for it.

"I'm ready," she tells him, clapping her hands together lightly, then stretching her fingers. "If you are."

Jason peers up at the rock and then reaches down to put some powder on his hands before he passes it to her. While she's doing that, he steps closer and gets his first few grips. It's definitely a bit of a challenge especially at the start but he pulls and grits his way up a few feet until he's about six feet up. He ties himself off and then swing himself around to look at her.

"All right, time to come after me," he says, a residual sentiment from their first time climbing a rock.

Beth uses the powder on her hands and then watches Jason as he climbs, taking note of where he puts his hands and his feet, then steps closer to the rock. She has a few false starts, moments when she thinks she's got it, but it's harder than the last time.

Eventually she finds herself. Finds the right path. She pulls herself up, focusing on not exerting too much energy by keeping her arms long and straight when she can. And it takes her longer than it did Jason, but eventually she makes it up to where he's waiting for her. She's breathing hard by the time she gets there and there's already sweat trickling down between her shoulder blades, but she grins at him breathlessly.

"Easy," she teases, when it obviously hadn't been.

"Uh huh." He reaches for the water bottle strapped to his waist and passes it over. "Hope you feel that way when we reach the top."

It wasn't a hugely long way but they weren't even halfway there yet. It was going to take some time and a lot o energy.

"If you ever do need to stop and turn back, just tell me. I'm not going to say anything about it," Jason reassures her. "I don't want you to push yourself too hard."

"When we reach the top, I'm gonna collapse while you rub my arms again," she answers with a grin, then takes a sip of the water he's offered her before she passes it back.

She doesn't think he would judge her if she needed to turn back, but she knows she would judge herself. That's not a good reason to push herself too hard, not when she relies on being able to use her hands, but she wants to do this. She'll be safe, though. She wants to be safe.

"Don't worry about me," she promises. She kind of wants to kiss him, but this isn't the best place for it. "I'll let you know."

"I'm going to worry about you," he chides, taking the water and putting it back. He gives her a reassuring smile and then starts up again, climbing a little further than he had previously. His own arms are straining and his legs are trying to make up for the extra pressure.

When he gets to a good stopping point, he ties off and twirls around to look at her.

"This one's a steep climb. Take it slow."

It's not that Jason makes it look easy, but there's still something about the way he moves, the strength in his arms and she can't help but stare. It's different from the last time, though, she's allowed to stare now. He probably expects it, at least a little, the way she lets her gaze drift over him as he climbs and she's partly watching his path, but partly just watching him.

It's a nice view.

"You look good doin' that," she calls back when he tells her to take it slow. She's listening to him, she is, and she isn't going to do anything foolish, but she can't help but give him that little compliment.

Without waiting for an answer, she begins to climb. It is more difficult than before, her arms are burning, her thighs shaking, but it's a good feeling, too. And it does take her longer than it took him, but eventually she's right there beside him, breathing hard, looking triumphant.

"You're much better at this than you give yourself credit for," Jason tells her, trying to ignore the slight dusting of red on his cheeks from her compliment. He passes her the water again and reaches for her other hand so he make sure she hasn't shredded her skin or anything like that.

"How are you feeling?" Jason asks, gesturing for her other hand. "Are you okay? Do we need to stop her for a few moments and get some energy back?"

They're almost halfway there and while the next bit is still tough, they've made it through one of the rougher parts of the rock.

"Yeah," she says, exhaling slowly, trying to catch her breath as she leans back against the rock. "I think I need a minute."

She feels amazing. Like she could do absolutely anything if she tried hard enough, but she knows that's at least partly due to her adrenaline and pushing herself too hard would be a bad idea. So they can rest for a few moments, drink some water, get their bearings. That's the smartest idea by far.

"I feel good, though," she tells him after a moment, exhaling slowly and then smiles over at Jason. "My arms are all shaky, but in a good way. I like it."

"We've got one or two more pushes," Jason says, peering up and leaning back against the rock. "Are your arms okay enough to do that?"

He knows she wants to try and he knows she'll push herself past her limits but he has to keep checking, make sure.

"Be honest with me," he says, moving closer to her and catching her eyes. "I mean it."