Always With You (Caejose)

On the Edge (1/2)

...Joseph POV...

Faint light drifted over the horizon, casting a warm glow to the waves crashing on the beach.

Which was a good thousand feet below me. And which looked very, very small from up here. I shifted my grip, easing my cramped hands from the chain before twisting my fingers through a link higher up. Slowly, I stretched a leg, making sure to keep the other wrapped firmly around the chain.

A low grating sound echoed, and a tremble came down the chain. I stiffened, swearing softly as I quickly gripped it tighter. Hamon crackled, and I sucked in a deep breath as I was suddenly wrenched up, the weight on the other side dropping sharply off the cliff.

My left hand slipped in the process, breaking free from the chain. I swore, clenching my legs around it as I was lashed up, whipping against the sky. A quiet scream loosed from my throat, though the chain slowly settled, swinging from side to side.

A few moments later, the chain next to mine swung up, the man clinging to it seemingly unbothered as he spun, blond hair shimmering in the light of the morning sun. His face was peaceful enough that he could be asleep, headband waving lightly in the cool breeze as he twirled.

I mumbled a few curses his way as I shifted myself again.

Show-off.

I risked a glance down. The weight was nearly at the bottom. As soon as it hit the sand, my chain would run out- leaving me to catch the pole holding it. Otherwise...

I swallowed thickly as I considered the drop, fingers tightening in the links.

Caesar was wrenched up again before I was, his eyes springing open to track the weight. I watched it as his slid the whole way, hitting the sand with a final thud that I heard a solid ten seconds after the impact. He jumped off at the last moment, lean body flipping through the air before he landed on the pole, crouching. The length of chain he had been clinging to moments before slammed into the pole, shaking the whole thing. Caesar managed to stay on it, moving with the motion of the wooden post before turning to watch me with those sharp eyes.

I appreciated that he at least waited for me to finish before heading off. He barely moved, eyes tracking my weight. A small smile slipped over his mouth- more of a smirk than anything else. I swallowed thickly as he murmured something, lost by the wind. I felt a shift in the chain, and I glanced down to see the weight sliding off that final ledge. I eased my grip from the links, unwinding myself from the chain as I whipped up that final bit.

I let out a scream as I was wrenched up again, letting go of the chain.

My body hit the pole with a solid thud, the foundation shaking at the cliff as it hit me right in the stomach. I yelped as I began to slide, hands scrabbling against wood to find a grip. The end of the chain smacked into the pole with enough momentum to send me flying.

I knew nothing but air around my body.

Until a sharp Italian curse echoed through my ears, and I slammed into something hard and warm.

Caesar.

And in the next breath, I was falling.

Pain screamed through my arm as I was suddenly wrenched to a stop. I rose my head from the beach dizzyingly far below to meet a pair of sharp blue eyes the color of the ocean.

Oh, he was pissed.

One hand grasped the chain, his hamon crackling against his as he held on, one foot braced below it.

We were a few feet down, his hand wrapped around my wrist.

"You're so clumsy," he said in that irritated accent. "I give you five minutes before Wammu kills you- and that's just because he'll talk."

I locked my hands on the chain with a,

"You could at least give me ten. I talk too."

His gaze down was narrowed, laced with annoyance. I countered it with a bright grin, enjoying the view as I followed him up the chain.

He pulled himself over the pole, reaching down to haul me up behind him. I scrambled up as he stood, facing Lisa Lisa.

She watched us, lips thin. The smoke from her exhale drifted along the wind. She dropped it, then looked between us.

"Breakfast after you return the weights to their original positions."

"WHA-" Caesar elbowed me in the chest. Hard. Hard enough that all my breath blew out at once and I choked for a few moments before I was able to draw in another one- the mask restricting it. By the time I managed to regain use of my lungs, Lisa Lisa was far enough away that I wouldn't be getting out of it.

"Damn it, Caesar-chan," I snapped. He gave me a sharp glance, taking up a position on top of the pole, reaching down to grab the end of the chain. I let out a long groan. "I'm never going to eat at this rate."

"Make one more complaint," he threatened, though cut off with a weak wheeze as he hauled up the first link. I glanced down at my own, then up at him. If he was struggling that much, then I was going to have hell.

I let out a long breath, though began the slow process.

A half hour and a half dozen stomach pains later, I glanced over at Caesar. His eyes were closed, the wind whipping his headband against the air. I took a deep breath, surprised to realize that I was ahead of him.

"Caesar," I started, "are you getting tired?"

He opened one eye to look at me, lips flattening. I rose both brows.

"I'm beating you."

He glanced down at my weight, blinking in surprise. I was nearly half way.

He didn't say anything, and I drifted off into silence, distracted by the burning of my muscles and the concentration required to keep a grip on the oil-slick chain.

Almost an hour later, there was a loud click at the base of my post as the weight slid into the holding. Caesar froze, having made almost no headway. He blinked, distracted enough that the chain slipped through his fingers. He caught it with a vicious curse, though not before it slipped almost a hundred feet down. He stood there, staring at it for a long few moments, an expression of such deep disappointment settling across his face. He looked almost hopeless. I took a deep breath, easing my hands from my chain. It stayed. I stepped from the post, onto the cliff. Caesar said nothing, face determined as he hauled up another few links. His gloves were slick with oil, the same as mine. I stepped onto the grass, relief shooting through me. I bent over, filling my lungs. My stomach grumbled at the thought of food-

I glanced back at the blonde Italian, lips thinning. I couldn't, in good conscious, leave him here. I blew out a breath. 

He stiffened as I stepped onto his post, freezing. 

"What're you doing?" He snapped. "There's not enough room-"

He froze as I eased my arms around him, gripping the chain below his hands. 

"I don't need your help," he shot, trying to turn to face me. "I can do this alone."

I hauled it up, pulling it another few links. Hesitantly, he adjusted his grip to it. 

"The faster we finish this, the faster I can eat," I said in reply, voice easy as I pulled it up. He hauled it another few links, putting out a rhythm that I matched.