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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"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.

"Yeah, it's not too bad a view," he says, shifting into a sitting position and shaking out his hands and arms. His legs feels tired, his back's a bit stiff and there's sweat coating his hair and shirt but he feels great. Exhilarated and alive.

But, he's watching her watch things and he can't help but smile warmly, gently. This made the whole thing worth, the strain and the pain. Seeing her look so happy and pleased with herself.

"How are your hands?"

"Kinda sore," she says honestly, but when she opens and closes her hands in front of her, it's not the same sore as the first time. It's like she's building the calluses and muscles she needs for this sort of thing. There are still red marks where she thinks she might blister a little, or the skin will peel away, but it won't prevent her from playing guitar or piano and that's the most important thing.

"But okay," she adds, grinning over at Jason. "Not so okay I would say no to some nice guy rubbing them for me, of course."

She has to tease him after everything she'd said earlier. She can't just let it go by without a comment. Whether or not either of them had meant for it to be anything at the time, it had still been something.

"Well, there aren't any nice guys around so what about me?" Jason asks, reaching for one of her hands. He pours a little water over them, rubbing it in to clean any dirt or scrapes she might have picked up before he starts slowly kneading the muscles in her wrist and palm first.

"What about your legs? How are they?" he asks, glancing down at said legs. "Not shaking or anything?"

"Very funny," she teases, sticking her tongue out at him as he takes her hand and gently begins to knead the muscles. It feels really good and she relaxes into it, closing her eyes and just enjoying the feeling of Jason's hands on her skin. Her legs don't feel too bad, she thinks her arms did most of the work, but after a second she cracks open one of her eyes and grins at him.

"My legs are okay, but I'm not gonna protest if you wanna rub them, too," she tells him and she's still kind of joking, but not completely. She likes when Jason touches her, however that happens. His hands are warm and rough against her skin and even with something as innocent as this, it sends little flashes of heat through her that she enjoys.

"Let's take care of your hands first and then we'll seem," Jason says, sounding almost coy. Her legs probably got a good workout but he knows that her hands and arms are what took the brunt of the climbing. He rubs at her shoulders, rotating them gently to make sure her muscles don't lock up.

"We're running out of rocks," he tells her, looking at her from underneath his eyelashes. "Have to climb a building next time."

He wasn't serious.

"Hm, or a very tall tree?" Beth asks in return, feeling more and more relaxed by the moment. She likes the way he's looking at her right now, the dark of his eyes, the way his lashes look against his cheek, and she just watches him as he rubs her shoulders, then stops him, reaching for his hands.

"Someone should do you, too," she says, then realizes how that sounds and tries to correct herself. "I mean, someone should rub your hands. I should rub your hands. Not someone." There's no one else here, obviously, and even if there were, she wouldn't want another person to be the one doing this. He's her boyfriend and Beth doesn't know whether or not she's jealous with Jason -- she hadn't been with Curtis, she'd only ever felt a sort of smug pride when other women looked at him -- she still doesn't want to share him.

Jason can't help but laugh quietly at the accidental innuendo. Though he wants to tell her that he's fine, that his hands are fine, he can't resist the opportunity to be touched so he hands them over without an argument.

"There's no one else here to rub my hands except you," he points out, unable to help himself. "I don't think anyone's going to climb this rock just to get a shot at my now dirty hands."