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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"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."

Holding carefully to the rock, Beth tilts her head back so she can look up the rest of the way and it's a little daunting, but not disheartening. She can do this. Even without expecting too much of herself, she really thinks she can make it, especially with Jason going first and showing her where to grab.

"I'll be okay," she says, looking back at him. "I think I can do it."

Her arms had hurt after the last time, but what had surprised her were the muscles in her torso, the ones in her rib cage, under her shoulders. And those aren't hurting yet. Those are the muscles she knows she needs for another push.

Jason eyes her steadily for a few seconds, trying to make sure she isn't just telling him what she thinks he wants to hear. When he sees nothing but pure grit and determination in her eyes, he leans forward and presses a light kiss against her lips.

"We're almost there," he promises, nodding. "And then you can rest and I'll rub your arms."

"I like the sound of that," Beth says, grinning when he kisses her. She gives the water back to him, then carefully rolls her shoulders, testing out her muscles. She really does feel good, just like she'd told him, and she thinks this might be the sort of thing she could really get used to doing regularly.

"Where next?" she asks, then points without waiting for Jason to answer. While she doesn't think she's ready to go first, she thinks she's spotted the safest way up and she looks at him as she points.

"There? That looks... I can see good places to get your hands and feet in. Would you try there?"

"Good. Soon enough you'll be planning the routes," Jason says, putting the water away before he turns himself back towards the rock. He wipes his hands, spreading the powder on them and untethers himself so he can start climbing again. His muscles tremble, his legs shake but he's never unstable.

He climbs, sweat dripping into his eyes and in the span of a few long, calming breaths, he's gotten to another stopping point. He rests his head against the rocks, taking a breather before he glances down at Beth.

"Okay. I'm ready for you."

"You think so, huh?" she teases, but she sounds a little distracted, visually mapping her path again. It's not the sort of thing she can very well memorize, but she's doing her best, and once she thinks she knows where she's going, she starts.

It is harder this time, but she's determined. And trying to look at her route beforehand helps, she thinks, even if she wasn't sure if she would remember it all. It takes her longer than it took Jason, but he's an expert on this and she's just starting out.

By the time she reaches him, she's breathing hard and sweating, but she's beaming, too.

Edited 2018-08-11 19:03 (UTC)

"Almost there," he tells her when she's level with him again. The final portion of the climb isn't as hard as the previous few but he knows they're also tired so it could be harder than it looks.

He reaches for her hands again, checking to make sure she hasn't split skin or hurt anything that might handicap her in the final push.

"Still feeling all right?"

When he reaches for her hands, Beth lets Jason check them, knowing he won't let her go on unless he's sure they're being safe. Her hands certainly hurt, but the calluses she has from playing guitar are helping her in this, the skin already thick and tough where it needs to be. Her palms might blister, but only a little, she thinks, and only because those calluses haven't developed yet, but they'll get here.

"Feelin' great," she promises him. "Let's do this. We're almost there."

"You're not feeling great. I'm not feeling great," Jason says quietly, rubbing her hands and nodding. "I'm tired and my arms are hurting but we're going to get there."

He let her hands go and then untethered himself so he could start the ascent. There's a burn in his arms, shoulders and he scrapes a hand against some sheer wall before he sees the top and scrambles over.

Breathing hard, he takes a few moments to lay there before he shifts his body around and looks down at her. "Your turn!"

"I am feelin' great," Beth answers. There's a big difference between a bit of physical pain and not feeling good. Her death still haunts her, still reminds her of everything she might eventually lose, and so Beth takes joy in as much of life as she can. In this moment, despite her sore, trembling muscles, she feels amazing.

She watches Jason go up and over the edge of the rock at the top. Her eyes track his path and then, when he tells her to come up, she begins her ascent.

It does take longer, just like he said it would, but she finally makes her way to the top and heaves herself over the edge. Collapsing on the ground, she lies there for a moment, her eyes closed, her cheek pressed to the dirt, breathing hard and smiling.

"Just stay where you are for a little bit," Jason encourages, moving around beside her to grab some water and some cream for her hands and arms. The exhilaration of reaching the top is there but so is the throb and burn of exertion.

Sliding until he's beside her, Jason smiles down at her and presses a kiss to her cheek before pulling back and offering her water.

"Congratulations. You did it."

Beth grins as she pulls herself into a seated position, then takes the water from Jason. "We did it," she corrects, giving him a gentle nudge, because she knows without his help she wouldn't be here at the top. He's better at this than she is and he's patient with her, a good teacher, someone she's happy to follow when it comes to something she doesn't know.

"Wow," she says, having caught her breath, able to look down at the view they can see from here. It really is beautiful. Darrow can be so hard in so many ways and it's taken a lot of things from her, but it's also given things to her, too, things she never would have imagined possible.

She probably never would have climbed a rock in Georgia, that's for sure.