Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Wilderness ❯ Climb ( Chapter 7 )

 

Wilderness

By Dentelle_Noir

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, duh. Don't you find this as redundant as I? I hope so.

 

Warning: Eventual yaoi. Man bashing.

 

NOTE: I'm giving Wilderness a bit of a re-haul and edit! Mostly from the middle on arethe larger changes, but the earlier chapters have more format and minor wording changes. Look for new chapters soon, though!

 

 

Chapter Seven: Climb

 

Hardly anyone was around, not Wufei, or Quatre's father or a good many predominate people were absent form the few people he could see. Then Quatre noticed Jane climbing up the rock face leading to a grassy plateau above the beach they came into. She got up in about five minutes. Pretty high, but not incredibly so, they would say. A little lower and less steep that the wall climbs back at the main lodge. And they expected him to get up there when he couldn't even make it two feet off the ground back at the main lodge! Fat chance there.

 

The group continued to thin, it already only having a few people not already up top, where he figured everyone else was. He must've really taken a while getting out of the boat.

 

He was the second last tourist on the ground when he realized Milly was looking at him expectantly. The other man was older, yet still more able than he was, and was gripping the first lip of the rock and waiting for Milliardo to pay attention. Milly held the rope keeping him from falling. He had tied thought the ring in the harness and threaded up to a pulley hanging above the cliff and then to another pulley on the ground near Milly's feet then to Milly's stable hands hoisting him up as he not-so-nimbly climbed.

 

But at least he got past two feet! Heights + Quatre = BAD! BAD! BAD!

 

When he was halfway, and going, Milly turned to Quatre then to the other harness lying in a heap by his feet. He wasn't supposed to put in on and climb that, was he?

 

"Good! Now hoist yourself over the ledge. Great!" And with Milly's commands, the man was over and being helped by one of the strokemasters to un-harness him.

 

"You're Up, Blondie!" Milly called with forced cheerfulness. He had probably been doing this for at least half an hour or more and was tired after the long day. Quatre couldn't blame him for not being the most cheerful right now. "C'mon." He prompted again, a bit less enthusiastic.

 

"I can't climb that." Quatre said, almost hiding in the thick folds of Wufei's sweater, the cuffs hiding all but his pale finger pointing to the wall meekly.

 

"Don't be silly, it's smaller and at an angle less than the beginner one at the lodge. If you could climb half that one, you can make this easy!" Milly said again, almost as if he'd rehearsed the line a number of times. He probably had.

 

"I couldn't climb the wall at the lodge. I got a foot off the ground and couldn't go any further. I fell off and they let me stay off."

 

Millardo's fake smile fell, bewildered. "What do you mean you couldn't climb that? You have to or they don't send you out here. You have to graduate the training to be able to be out here." He stated so matter-of-factly Quatre didn't want to break his bubble.

 

But he had to. "Ummm. No one told me anything about graduating or anything. I couldn't do the wall. I fell out of the canoe. I let my fishing worms free. And I'm still here."

 

Milliard just starred, jaw agape in disbelief.

 

Thinking hard to come up with a solution that didn't involve burdening Miliardo he tried, "Is there a path or something I could walk up. I can hike pretty well," As long as there are no Disney squirrels, "And I actually have an alright sense of direction if you'd believe it."

 

Milliardo looked the rocks above him, and then to Quatre, eyes still not blinking yet. He opened his mouth looking slightly defeated, but was cut off.

 

Behind Quatre a deep warm voice spoke cool and ordering, "No. There is no trail. It's a climb. You can do a few feet."

 

Quatre turned to come face to neck with Trowa right behind him, the warmth radiating off his body a dead giveaway to his proximity. "I can't really. I'm a screw up. I'm not outdoorsy. I just can't do it." Quatre responded, very embarrassed of his shortcomings in front of a Forest Ranger that was so incredibly handsome.

 

Milly tuned in and started, "Trowa there's-"

 

"I'll take care of it, Zechs. You go up and get something to eat. I'll make sure he makes it up alright." Trowa cut him off and glared at the older man. Milly shrugged, muttering about stubborn jackasses under his breath and began to clamber up the side. Without a rope or anything!

 

Trowa took a few steps and stooped down to grab the harness on the ground. Quatre swore its thick yellow straps were swinging menacingly; he knew Trowa was going to make him wear it and take that wall on.

 

"Please don't do this. I can't do it. Ask anyone; they all saw me fail utterly. Had a good laugh about it too. I can't do this, Trowa. Please don't make me." By now, Quatre was in begging puppy-dog mode; he was desperate for another way. He was already the laughing stock of the group; he didn't need to add more fuel to the fire. But Trowa looked awful determined, crouching despite the wince from the action to put the harness at Quatre's feet level.

 

"Step." And as ordered, Quatre did, stepping into the harness with lip trembling. "Step." and he stepped into the other side too. Quatre was whining now, his throat creating a high pitched quiet warble in protest, yet hw still hadn't moved to help, or to hinder. Trowa straightened, pulling the harness up with him, and tightened the sides to Quatre's slim waist, finally bringing his eyes up to the tearing baby blues of the blonde begging him silently not to make him.

 

He would've fell for it too; he almost had, that little child's whine almost crumbing all his will that very second with its sound. Stupid kid for making him so ga ga over him. But then he saw the "please don't make me" look on him while he did as told, and his resolve stood firm. This kid needed to toughen up.

 

Where was the Quatre that told him he'd take his own sweet time getting out of the boat? No, this side scarred the hell out of Trowa, because he knew that he would do as was told. Even though he was this afraid. With that attitude, what else would he do, just because someone bigger or in authority told him to? That was a disturbing thought, just looking at the cherub-faced beauty. He had to find a way that wasn't just pulling an un-fighting boy up behind him.

 

"Quatre. To get up there, you have to climb. If you don't you will be stuck down here all alone for the bears to eat you. Big bears." He lied though his teeth.

 

"I'm going to hold on to you, so I promise, you won't fall, and you are going to get yourself up that cliff. You can do this. If you don't you'll get left behind and stuck out here where no one can get you" He lied again. But really, he had to instill the edge of fear in his story if he was to motivate the boy.

 

Quatre sucked back a breath, and shuffled closer to the looming wall of rock and grass towering over him. From his spot it looked further than the stars, just like an impenetrable fortress. Hell, he was waiting to see the vultures circle overhead.

 

"Put a hand onto the rock." Trowa goaded, rather forcefully, grabbing the belay rope.

 

A little sniffle, then Quatre's voice came muffled form the rock in front of him, "You said you'd hold on to me." he accused softly.

 

Mentally blinking, Trowa reviewed what he had said. Opps. He had said that. He meant he would be holding the rope, he was just thinking he'd like to be holding onto the boy. Now he was expected to fulfill his side of the bargain. Hold the belay rope, and hold him at the same time. He could until he got far. So he secured his fingerless leather gloves and twisted the rope around his torso to grip it one handed, and placed the other hand on the boy's left hip, himself directly behind the blonde so that their clothes shuffled against each others.

 

Steadying his own breath, Trowa turned himself into professional mode, dictating the moves as he had to hundreds of others before, "Now just grab on to the first grip and put your foot on the stone. Lift with you feet and hold with your arms." But damn it, the words came out as they should, but Trowa's breath was catching just feeling the boy move beneath his light hold! Blondie was WAY too young for him, anyway! Damn his libido screaming how adorable he was!

 

Quatre raised his other foot off the ground and practically lay against the rock, clinging for all he was worth as his other foot found a grip mere centimeters off the ground. Trowa would've rolled his eyes if it wasn't for the very real look of fear in the boy. It was actually kind of pathetic, really. If Quatre stood on Trowa's shoulders he would be able to reach the ledge, it was hardly worth pulling out the belay rope for.

 

But Quatre was trembling all over, clutched to the rock as soon as his feet were off the ground. He couldn't laugh at his terror because everyone was afraid of something, all anyone would have to do it threaten the Hospital, and Trowa would be a quivering mass of nerves.

 

"Okay, now raise your hand to another grip, raise your opposite foot to another ledge, then grip and pull again." Slow and steady wins the race. And right now the race was to just get the blonde to the top of the rocks before the next morning.

 

He made it a few feet just following the soft-spoken directions of Trowa, only inches at a time. After nearly five minutes of climbing, Trowa was just starting to find it difficult to keep his fingers on Quatre's hip, his eyes at the level of Quatre's knees.

 

"And step." Trowa voiced, letting his light grip slide gently off the boy's clothes as he took that last inch out of reach.

 

Almost immediately, Quatre clung deeply to the wall, his whole body taught and trembling and whining in his throat again. "Don't let me go. I'll fall. I can't DO this. I can't do outdoorsy things. I just can't do this stuff. I'm going to fall and break my wrist and never be able to play violin and I'll be even more of a laughing stock. Please tell me there is another way. You promised you wouldn't let go." Everything fell from the terrified blonde in nanoseconds, Trowa barely catching it all, but the last part rang through the air with the boy's sobs.

 

He had been doing alright until a second ago! Trowa decided then and there he would climb up with the boy, just to give him that confidence. It was a good thing Trowa was an expert climber, one was not to try his methods at home.

 

Securing the belay line through one of the D-ring carabiners he always had in his belt and getting a good hold of the line in his hand, he took a step onto the ample ledge easily and brought himself up the few more feet he needed to be able to touch the boy's hip again while griping the hold with his one left hand. It was a pain, especially after all he had been through the day before, but seeing the instant relaxation of the boy the second he made contact had him bare the aggravation with a smile. Like he could ever say no to that angel.

 

"Take a grip, good." He continued to coax the boy up further, painfully slowly for Trowa, who could've done the rock in three steps and a jump.

 

So to make the climb less horrifyingly dull, and get the boys mind off his fear, he tried to start conversation. "So, you don't like the woods much." Did he forget to mention conversation was NOT his forte? Well, it wasn't. He wasn't anti-social, far from it in fact, but he enjoyed quiet time and let those that wanted to talk, talk.

 

Good thing Quatre seemed gifted at it. "No. No I don't. I hate it out here. I mean I like to look at trees and stuff, but I can't stand being out here! I hate the bugs, and the cold water, and the stupid 'look at me I'm sooo good at this' guys prancing around laughing their asses off at me because my hot dog caught on fire or because I fell out of the canoe and had to wear a pink life jacket. PINK! I can handle rose, or purple, salmon maybe, but neon Barbie pink? Who even bought that! It's horrible. I should've fell in the raging river just to "accidentally" lose it so no one else would have to endure that horror."

 

Quatre stopped his rant at the deep chuckle from beside him. Looking over, Quatre saw Trowa a bit below, but mostly beside him, smiling gently. "Then why are you out here if you hate it so much?" Trowa asked before even realizing he was, in fact, conversing!

 

"My dad." Quatre's voice filled with even more distain than earlier, his gripping and pulling on the rocks coming more heated and aggressive. Trowa had to think it was about time he got a good pace, but whatever.

 

"Here I was, stupid gullible Quatre, thinking he wanted to spend time with me, get to know me a bit. We hardly see each other; even in passing in the halls of our rather large house we don't see each other. So when he told me we were going on this wilderness trip, just us, I figured he wanted to get to know me. I knew I would hate it, but I went anyway, just so he'd be happily. Like I said. Stupid me. All he wanted was to bug Mr. Chang, the head of the company he wants to land a contract with, and I was just convenient to show a "family-oriented" business. Yeah, right. Family oriented my foot!" With that, Quatre kicked at a loose stone on the ledge he had his foot as he hauled it up high and onto the next ridge, positioning his arms and other hand and pulling.

 

"AND," he continued pulling himself again, Trowa actually having difficulty keeping up with the determined blonde one handed, holding his line and still a little hazy from his head wound. "And, since his slip shot of a son isn't manly enough, he needs to go out in the woods and do manly thing to be more rugged and tough. But, Of course, he doesn't have time to do these manly rugged and tough things WITH me. Oh no. He has the money to pay other people to put me through hell. He actually said that! He said before he would put me in military school, but it would take away the creative part of me that will "make me a great leader someday in the far, far future". He actually said that too!" Quatre finished with a huff that sent his sweat soaked bangs out of his eyes and to the side. His arms and legs ached from the strain he was putting them through. But truthfully, he didn't care one lick. He was pissed right now. Ready to show his father just who he was talking to!

 

"Now grab onto the tree right there, and pull yourself up and onto your butt and slide back." Trowa interjected to the blonde's rant. With a victorious smirk Trowa watched him do as asked and Trowa followed behind to take a seat right beside the blonde at the top of the cliff and let his feet dangle over the edge just as Quatre was doing.

 

"But do you know what's the worse?" Quatre began, his eyes searching around for his captive audience to his bitching. Then he spotted him, leaning against a sturdy, thick tree truck, head just tilted enough to let the dying sun splash off his cinnamon hair flying about in the wind and breathing deeply. But the most captivation sight was the smirk, as if he knew something Quatre did not. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to drool or slap him form that look. "What?" He accused.

 

"If you're going to say the worst part is that you can't do any of this 'Outdoorsy' stuff, then I suggest you take a good long look around," the deep and soft tenor goaded, almost lovingly, for Quatre to look.

 

And Quatre did. His jaw slowly dropped, eyes scanning the treetops and sun passing quietly behind the folds of leaves and the acres of nature before him. Then he turned, and scanned the clearing behind him, the other group members mulling around setting up the night's camp and some munching loudly in groups holding the Styrofoam plates. Then his eyes panned down the drop his feet were currently dangling off of, and he dashed back form the ledge as quickly as he could to the chorus of Trowa's laugh.

 

"I told you that you could do it. All you had to do was get your mind off of what everyone else said you couldn't do." Trowa dropped those pearls of wisdom and stood, taking the rope from his carabiner and beginning to clean up the area.

 

Throat dry, Quatre quietly took off the harness, and helped by pilling the stuff around into the box just like Trowa, and mulling over what he said. There was no way he could do these outdoorsy things. He knew it. But he did do it, though, didn't he?

 

Shuffling the thoughts into the back of his head to worry about later, he and Trowa finished up the packing as quick as they could.

 

Finally done, they began to the line of vacationers waiting for food, Wufei grabbing the spot in line directly behind Quatre while Trowa took a spot beside Quatre, not really in the line to say. Turning, face bright and sparkling; Quatre beamed to Wufei, despite his sour look, "I made it up the cliff! In all my almost eighteen years of life, I've never actually done anything like that and succeeded!" he raved, not noticing Trowa's look of surprise, then a grin he quickly concealed.

 

Quatre was not sixteen after all.

 

The next few steps were taken and Quatre turned to grab the next plate from the worker with the logo T-shirt out of the Cherry red jeep. Then he flew around for a double take.

 

There was a road leading from where the jeep was parked right down the cliff though the bush, not straying far from the route they took. But his confusion quickly turned to anger.

 

"There WAS a trail, wasn't there!" Quatre turned outraged blue eyes on to Trowa, who was just about to step out of reach. "You liar!" He vented, not really that mad, just a little surprised Trowa had him going for so long. Curling his fist, he punched Trowa's arm as hard as he could muster, only moving the broad shouldered boy a bit, but making his chuckle break out into an all out laugh that caught the entire groups attention.

 

"You're horrible!" Quatre raged with a grin.

 

"And you're absolutely beautiful." Trowa commented with a shrug and quickly ducked behind the jeep to help the other men serve the sandwiches and chips, completely avoiding Quatre's wide mouthed look.