[#086] Never Say Never (FAKE)

[badly_knitted]

Theme Prompt: #086 – Once In A Lifetime
Title: Never Say Never
Fandom: FAKE
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 799
Summary: Despite once saying this was something he never wanted to try, when the opportunity presented itself, Ryo couldn’t let it pass him by.



“You want to climb a mountain?” Dee stared at his lover as if he’d grown an extra head. “Are you outta your mind?”

“Well, we’re here, and a group of people are going. They asked if we’d like to join them, so I thought…” Ryo trailed off with a shrug. “Why not?”

“Weren’t you the one told me a couple years back that mountaineerin’ was the one thing you never wanted to try?”

“Yes, but that was then. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Dee, an opportunity to try something I’ve never done before. Besides, it’s only a small mountain, it’s not like I want to scale Everest. These people know what they’re doing, they’ve been coming here for years. They know every inch of the rock face we’ll be climbing. We were talking last night on the terrace, after you dozed off, and it sounded… fun.”

“Fun? Now I know you’ve lost it!” Dee wasn’t afraid of heights any more than Ryo was, but clinging by his toes and fingertips to a sheer rock face for no other reason than to look at the view from the top before climbing back down wasn’t his idea of fun.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“Nice of you to give me a choice. Look babe, if this is about you hangin’ from that roof by your fingertips a few months back…”

“It’s not. I won’t say that wasn’t scary, because it was, but the chances of something like that ever happening again are practically non-existent. It’s just, I don’t want to get back home and wind up regretting not even giving it a try. If I don’t do this now, I might never get another chance.”

“But what if you fall?”

“I won’t; I’ll be roped to several very experienced people, I’ll be fine. You can watch from below.”

“Yeah, think I’ll pass on that too.” Watching the man he loved with all his heart attempting something so dangerous would probably give him a heart attack.

“You’re okay with me going though?”

“No, but I’m not gonna stop ya if it’s somethin’ ya really wanna do. Just please be careful, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

“When d’you start out?”

“In about an hour. It’s quite a hike; you could come with us as far as the base of the mountain, wait there until we come down. The climb only takes a few hours.”

“Sure, okay.” It would mean he’d know immediately if anything happened and be right there when Ryo came back down.

The hike itself was pleasant enough, but as the mountain loomed closer Dee grew increasingly nervous. “You sure you wanna go through with this?”

Ryo smiled. “I’m sure. Stop worrying!”

Like that was ever gonna happen. Dee watched as Ryo got into a safety harness and was clipped securely to the ropes.

“See you when I get back!”

“I’ll be here. Just whatever ya do, don’t let go.”

“I won’t.”

Despite what he’d said earlier, Dee watched; he couldn’t help himself. His heart was in his mouth every time it looked like Ryo was in trouble, but gradually the figures creeping up the mountainside grew smaller and smaller until they were barely visible.

Time had never passed more slowly. If Dee had still been a smoker he would have gotten through a couple of packs easy. As it was, he ripped blades of grass to shreds and resisted the temptation to bite his fingernails the way he had when he was a kid, before Mother had put a stop to it. A quarter for every day his nails remained unbitten, and a quarter taken away for every time he chewed them. He’d bought Mother a box of chocolates with some of the money.

The day wore on, the sun slowly making its way across the sky, until late in the afternoon, someone shouted, “They just reached the final descent!”

Dee looked up, and there they were, inching their way downwards from one barely visible handhold to another. He said a silent prayer for Ryo to reach the bottom safely, and some forty-five minutes later his lover was rappelling down the final stretch. The moment Ryo’s feet touched solid ground, his legs gave way and he fell on his butt. Dee was beside him in seconds.

“You okay, babe?”

“I’m fine, just tired.”

“How was it?”

“Terrifying. Exhausting. There’s a reason they tell you not to look down. It’s fine from the top of a skyscraper, but a different matter when you’re clinging to a vertical cliff.” He smiled wearily at his lover. “I’m glad I did it, but never again. I hurt in places I didn’t know I had.”

Dee grinned. “Carry ya back to the hotel?”

“Tempting, but I’ll walk.”


The End