[Drabble] Adventerous!Salome & powered_otaku

[sweetsalome]

        “Cliff diving, in Acapulco?”  Hiro gives her a look as if she’s lost her mind, it’s not an uncommon look, but she still gets frustrated when she gets it. 

        “It’s not like I am asking you to walk across hot coals, plus we’re with a group!”  Oh yes, the local who looked like a bum but was highly recommended by one of the hotels in town.  That really doesn't make him feel better about the situation, especially not after the waivers they have to fill out.

        “Hey, I ate the intestines when we were in China,” she reminds him, leaning over to take a peek off the side of the cliff at the crashing waters below them.  Grabbing her, he tugs the blond back to stand beside him, on solid ground.

       “Yes, but pig intestine will not kill you!  This could kill you!”  He was pained to even have to explain this to her.  “I do not understand why you are surprised at my response.”

Turning to him, she puts her hand on her hip and gives him a very serious look.  “I’m not going to die, I’m going to live to be a thousand years old,” for some reason the number keeps going up when she speaks to him.  “And you are too, which is why it’s perfectly safe to jump.  Nothing can go wrong.”

 “That’s not even logical; do you know how crazy you sound sometimes?”  But she is grinning, and despite the death jump in front of him, he manages a slight smile as well.

The trainer explains how to correctly jump, and that there would be a boat that would collect you after you surfaced.  After joking that he had never lost a person . . . yet, he asks the group to form a queue.  When there was only one other person in front of her, Salome begins to get a little nervous. 

Turning to Hiro, she sighs and takes him by his shoulders.  For a long time she doesn't say anything, just looks deep into his eyes as if she is searching for something.  Grinning she leans up and kisses him quickly, “I’ll see you at the bottom, okay?”

Before he can say a word, or pull her back, she steps away and disappears off the edge of the cliff.  The instructor motions for Hiro to come forward, as he moves he seriously wonders what possessed him to go along with this idea.  There was no turning back now, and at the signal, he jumps.

Comments

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro tries not to scream all the way down, but it's not easy. For a moment he gets to fly, not quite like Nathan, but, still, it's a taste. He hits the water, lets it fold over him. He tries to peer around in the salt water, but with all the people churning it up and without his glasses, he can't see much. Once the downward momentum is gone, he boldly strikes for the surface.

He looks around for the boat and sees a pale blur against all the water. Squashing the desire to teleport over to it, he swims for it. As soon as he reaches it, he clambers up the ladder and onto the boat.

"Yatta!" he cries when he sees Salome grinning over at the side.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Laughing, she drops the towel she was using to dry off and runs over to him. Flinging herself at him, she tackles him, knowing full well that he'll catch her, or they'll go over the side of the boat. Either one is perfectly fine with her.

"You did it! Wasn't it great?!" She can't stop grinning, her tan cheeks still flush with excitement. From the jump or him, it was hard to tell.

"I told you we weren't going to die," she reminds him before kissing him soundly.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro staggers a bit when she collides with him, but he manages to keep them from going over the side, though it's a near thing.

"I was flying!" he beams. He's getting water all over her as he hugs her.

"I know I should trust you on that," he says shyly when he stops kissing her. "You are always right.

"Let's do it again!"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"I KNOW I saw you! It was totally amazing!!" Her smile is nearly bursting off her face it's so big. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath before playing with his wet, black hair.

"I'm not always right, I just don't think we're going to die any time soon." Letting go of him she nods quickly, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Really?! Okay! Lets go!"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He tips them off the boat into the water. They're underwater for a moment, then they and a lot of water are at the top of the cliff back a bit from the remainder of the jumpers so that no one thinks it odd they're back so soon.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

She sputters, spitting the salt water out as she clings to his shoulders as she regains her footing on solid ground. "Have I told you how handy that is?" Brushing hair away from her face she tugged at his arm, urging him back toward the edge of the cliff.

"Would you like to go first this time?"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Sure!" He waits until the others clear, then heads back for the top of the cliff. He jumps off, just as he did the last time without any of the fear. Again, there's the sensation of flying just before he hits the water. Of course, it's the reverse of what Nathan does - only landing, never taking off. At least he's got a more forgiving landing strip than the first one Hiro saw him land on. When he resurfaces, he looks up to see if Salome is still at the top.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

She watches him, her heart racing when she sees him go off the cliff. Walking up to the edge she looked down at the water, her head swam at the height and she pulled back. The first look always petrified her. When she gets the go ahead she closes her eyes and walks off the cliff.

The feeling of falling scares her half to death, the impact, the sinking into the watery grave is what makes this all worth it to her. There's nothing to feel, to hear, it's like a rolling black out for her brain and for a minute she's tempted to stay there. But she doesn't, she kicks her legs hard and comes up for air just as her lungs are about to burst.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro swims over to her, still with a huge grin on his face. His stroke is lazy, conserving his strength. "I am glad you recommended this! I would never have tried it on my own."

He begins to swim towards the boat, keeping up with her. For him there is no fear now. He likes the sensation of falling. He wonders if he should do it again and teleport in the middle of it to see what happens.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Mmmm . . ." She makes a noise, but no words, not for a few more stroke. Turning her head she finally stops to fix her top and to actually speak. "I wouldn't have done it without you. I was scared at first. But I like the idea of trying new things, next time, we'll do something you want to do."

Grinning she grabs the boat ladder and hauls herself up on to the boat. Looking over at him, she smiles brightly, wringing out her hair.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Honto? You did not seem at all scared. I followed your lead. I guess being scared together is better than being afraid separately. Have you done snorkling? Perhaps we can do that. Look at all the pretty underwater creatures."

He climbs up the boat ladder, grabs a towel and begins to briskly dry his hair, then himself. When he's done, he sits on the towel on the bench and pats his lap for her to sit on if she wants.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Oh, well that's because I fake it pretty well. Fake not being scared that is, you just have to realize the ending and then it won't be so scary." She dries herself off as she speaks, and then takes a seat in his lap when he offers it to her.

"I think that would be a lot of fun, I've been snorkeling lots of times, but never here. We can do that next if you'd like!"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

His arms go around her waist as she sits on his lap. He gives her a bit of a squeeze. "I had never thought of that, visualizing the end. It would certainly make things a little less fearful."

"I was actually going to ask you where the best snorkeling was, but I have not seen the underwater creatures here either so we will see them together."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

At the squeeze she laughs and wraps an arm around his shoulders and look at him. "I figure there are four outcomes to any situation. Rewarding, breaking even, bad, and death. Really, they aren't all that bad."

Nodding, she smiled brightly and looked over at the crystal blue water. "We'll find a place on the island and go from there."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I am always amazed at how you can handle such things so well. I love seeing the world through your eyes." His own eyes are shining in delight.

"That sounds like a good idea. Perhaps there is a place near our drop-off point."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Laughing she shakes her head before giving him a shy look. "Really? Do people think differently then me? I mean how could they? Life is wonderful, and beautiful! No matter what happens you can always find something good in it." It's pretty amazing when people don't understand that.

"Then we could get some dinner? Ohhh we could have dinner on the beach."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"A lot of people do not see the world that way. Some of them only ever see what is wrong with the world, not what is right with it. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I see it the same way, but it never lasts for long. And I never feel that way when I am with you."

"Dinner on the beach sounds very good. I think there are a few that are even over the water."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Her fingers make slow passes through the damp hair on the back of his head. "I think that's why I like you, because you see what's right, even if you start feeling overwhelmed. Everyone does, you know, even me. The trick is not to let it get you down."

Her eyes widened and she grinned widely. "That will be sooo cool!! I've never had dinner over the water before. May we go?!"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He nods in agreement. "People forget that. Which is a pity. It would make people happier if they did remember."

Hiro nods. "I remember we went to a place in Greece like that when I was little. The water is usually very clear so you can see the fish swim by."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"I think, it should be our mission to help them remember. What do you say?" There was a moment of pauses before she continued. "I don't know *how* but just that we should."

"So it will be like dinner and snorkeling all rolled into one!" She bounced a little in his lap. "Oh I am so excited!"

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Is there not some saying that says something about acts of random kindness? We could just randomly do something nice for someone."

He hugs her a bit to make sure she doesn't fall off his lap. "Do you want to go snorkling or just be entertained at dinner?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"That would work too! I am sure there are a lot of people that need just a little kindness to perk up their day. You've got the best ideas."

Sitting a bit firmly on his lap she shrugged her bare shoulders. "It's up to you, I chose this and now you get to pick what we do next."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Especially after work. People usually feel so frustrated after work."

"We snorkel first, then watch them again at dinner? Do you like that idea?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Maybe back rubs after work, that would be great, relax people after a hard day at work."

"Love it," she declares as the boat pulls up to the main land. "We'll find a boat to take us out to the reef."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Ooh, backrubs are very nice. And most people would not refuse them. I know I would love one after a hard day's work. See, you have excellent ideas, too!"

He waits until the boat has pulled up to the dock before he slides his arm under her knees and picks her up as he stands, then sets her on her feet. "I am sure there are many boats that go out to the reef."