The World On My Back

A very uneasy silence permeated the air between them as Cael and Val slowly climbed their way upward. Neither of them had spoken much to the other ever since the incident earlier that day, both of them seemingly lost in thought or perhaps trying to forget what they had just seen.

Cael gulped as he steadied himself against the guide rope, hopping slightly to get over a particularly deep indentation in the slope. He tried his best to keep his gaze forward but couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to just a few hours ago.

The way her skin had glistened, the way her violet hair clung to her back and shoulders, the shape of her hips and legs…

And of course, the scream.

Cael bit his lip, trying his best to keep a neutral expression. He knew that it must've been mortifying for her—that by itself would take some getting used to considering how casual she'd been about her nudity before—but at the same time, he couldn't help but both inwardly laugh at the situation and also feel a little bit of schadenfreude.

She looked so cute, so flustered and embarrassed. The way her eyes had widened and her mouth had hung agape in shock, how her entire body had seemed to tense up like a spring, the embarrassed 'I can't believe this is happening' look on her face… it was almost like payback for all the times she'd unknowingly flustered him.

But then his mind flashed back to her body, and his face flushed.

"Damnit, damnit, stop thinking about it Cael, don't be a creep. She's probably super uncomfortable too, so just forget about it," he muttered under his breath.

"C-Cael? Did you say something?" Val's voice sounded from behind him. He glanced back to see that she had one of her hands cupped behind her ear. Her eyes darted to his for a second, but then quickly dropped along with her arms. "U-um, I was definitely not eavesdropping or anything. It was just, um, I was worried that—"

"I'm so sorry!" "I'm very sorry!"

They both spoke in unison, their words overlapping each other. They blinked at each other for a moment before Cael turned his head to cough.

"W-wha?! B-but you were the one that was wronged, so why are you apologizing to me?" Val said, flailing her hands about.

Cael shook his head and gestured at her. "Uh, no? You were the one who was wronged here. I was the one who accidentally walked in on you, a-and I didn't look away immediately."

"But I should've told you I'd be trying out the bath crystal!" She countered, her eyes pleading and desperate. "If I had just done that, you wouldn't have been caught by surprise, and we wouldn't be in this mess at all!"

"And I should've called out to you before I got close—" Cael sighed stopping himself. "Erm, never mind. It's not a competition. Let's just call it even."

"O-okay." Val's voice softened, and her shoulders sagged slightly. Her golden eyes darted from rock to rock beneath them before adding, "Um, d-did you at least like what you saw?"

"Wha—?!" He sputtered, nearly slipping on a patch of loose stones and falling backward. He barely managed to stay upright as his hand latched back onto the rope. "H-huh? What are you talking about, Val?"

"I-I'm just trying to gauge your opinion of my body," she said with faux-confidence as she continued to climb. "S-since we're romantic partners now, I'd like to know if it meets your… standards."

His brain stopped working for a second. "M-my what?"

"Y-yes, I'm not sure if I explained this to you yet, but from my reading, people in relationships tend to have preferences. And, um, while I know you've seen me multiple times from when I was still… ignorant, I'd like to know if you were able to at least, erm, appreciate it. That is the right word, right? Right."

Cael's face flushed. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. "I, uh, um. W-we can talk about that later. I mean… you, uh, you are very attractive and all that. But… well, we're sort of climbing out of this place right now."

"R-right, right." Val nodded, her cheeks turning red as well. "We will need to have a discussion on this matter at a later point about our attractions. I'll make sure to have a list of your features that I find appealing by then."

Cael's mind blanked. A list?!

His body suddenly felt much heavier than before as he tried not to think too much about what that entailed. It'd probably be best if he didn't, since he was liable to slip and fall to his death otherwise.

No, instead, he needed to focus on getting out of the cave alive. After that, they could talk all they wanted about… stuff. They would, uh, figure things out. Probably.

Yeah.

He shook his head and narrowed in on the path ahead.

It'd been about an hour since they'd finished gathering as many crystals as they could carry and decided to return back up to the surface. They'd already made it past a majority of the downward slope they'd first taken on their way down, and the rest would be more or less a gentle incline until they were outside again.

Still, it'd probably be another two hours or so left. Progress was obviously a bit slower going up than it had been going down, and there were still a few sections they needed to watch their footing on. He'd hate to fall backwards here, especially when he was carrying a backpack full of crystals and tools.

He could only hope that the rest of the hike was fairly uneventful, and that they could get home safely. After all, he'd had more than enough excitement for the past twenty-four hours, and he was pretty sure his heart would give out from embarrassment if anything else happened—

"EEP!"

Cael turned his head to the source of the sound, and time slowed as he saw Val tripping backward. She'd stepped on unsteady ground, and it had given way beneath her feet.

Without even thinking, his body immediately twisted around to grab her arm, and he thankfully found purchase. He leaned back to counteract her downward momentum and used his other hand to grip onto the guide rope.

"Crap!"

The fibers of the rope snapped taut before its slight elasticity kicked in. The combined weight of his and Val's body, the crystals, the pack, and gravity all combined to try to pull him over the edge before overcorrecting in the opposite direction.

*CRASH*

They slammed backward against the slope, and Cael felt Val land hard on him. The wind left his chest, and his butt stung from the impact, but the pain didn't register. He just held Val to him, his arms wrapped protectively around her waist as they slid down a few centimeters and came to an abrupt halt.

Val's face was buried in his chest, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. "C-Cael, are you alright?"

"Yeah," he croaked, his lungs aching as he took in a deep breath and let it out. "Are you?"

"Y-yes, thank you…" she said, her voice muffled. She shivered slightly, and her fingers clung to him with an almost desperate strength.

The tension started draining from his body before he noticed Val cradling her ankle. His pulse spiked. "Val, are you—"

"I think I hurt my leg when I fell. It hurts when I try to put any pressure on it."

Cael's face scrunched up as the gears in his head began turning. "Val, can I see?"

"Y-you want to touch my legs?" she squeaked, the corners of her mouth quirking upwards.

He exhaled sharply before nodding. "Val, please. This is serious."

"O-oh, yes. Sorry." She hid herself behind her hands. "Go ahead."

Cael braced himself before gently pulling off her footwear to take a look. There were no cuts that he could see under the dim light of their crystal, and nothing looked broken. However, he could feel that the ankle itself was burning hot to the touch.

"Do you think you can walk on it?" he asked.

"…No." She shook her head after a brief moment. "At least, I don't believe I can for long. It definitely hurts to try to stand on it."

"Okay," Cael nodded, his mind racing. He could maybe carry her, but there was still quite a distance left. Plus, the packs would weigh them both down significantly.

He could also leave his pack here, but that would mean leaving behind the crystals they had collected, and that would completely nullify their trip.

For a moment, there wasn't a single sound save for the drip of water in the distance and their labored breathing.

He inhaled deeply, steeling himself for the stupidly dangerous thing he was about to do.

"Alright, I'm going to carry you."

Her eyes went wide, and she clutched one of her hands to her chest. "B-both of us, with the packs? A-all the way up?! Are you sure?"

"No, but I'll manage," he said firmly. "It's fine, I'm athletic enough… I think."

She suddenly clutched her hands together in front of her mouth. "I-if you're absolutely sure." Her voice was only slightly audible despite the quiet. "…But if you feel tired or we're in danger, just put me down, okay?"

Cael nodded before standing up, and his knees wobbled unsteadily as the full weight of his backpack bore down on him. He awkwardly shifted it around so that it was hanging from his chest instead, and then crouched down, beckoning Val to climb on.

"C-Cael, what are you doing?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Uh, I'm going to give you a 'piggyback ride'."

"Is that what that's called?! A-are you absolutely certain about this?"

He sighed, and a faint smile touched the corners of his lips. "Yeah. It'll be easier for me to carry the both of us with the packs in this position. Just wrap your legs and arms around my body."

"B-but…" She trailed off fidgeting with her fingers. "Being carried in your arms is one thing, b-but this… I'll be riding you like a mount!"

Cael's mind blanked. He tried his best not to think too much about what that implied.

"Val, please. It'll help distribute our weight and stuff—be easier for me." His cheeks flared up as more implications Val was still likely too innocent to understand danced rampantly through his head. "I'm not trying to be weird or anything, I swear."

She sighed and relented, silently wrapping herself around his body like a koala. Her arms snaked their way to his chest, while her uninjured leg propped itself through the loop of his left arm.

"O-okay. I think I got it," she muttered as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Her face was pressed against his neck now, her warm breath tickling his skin and soft breasts squashed against his back.

"Yep." He gulped, trying his best to ignore the sensations that were running through him right now. "I'm glad."

"Y-yes." She paused for a moment, her voice barely coming out.

"Well, let's keep climbing." Cael's heart thumped wildly in his chest, but he did his best to calm himself. They could freak out about this later.

Step by laborious step, he continued their trek upward, his legs and body protesting with each motion. Regardless of the sting of his muscles or the strain on his soul, he wouldn't let Val get hurt. Not after everything they had gone through to get to this point. So he kept on pushing.

The hypersensitivity of their situation was quickly lost on him as sweat dripped past his brow, and his focus honed in solely on their escape. All the while, Val's quiet breathing slowly steadied him, giving him a sense of calm.

Yes. It would be difficult, but if he just kept his eyes on their goal, they would definitely make it—

"…Cael?" Her gentle voice whispered hesitantly in his ears, interrupting his thoughts. "I might have a confession to make."

He just nodded as he kept trudging upward. "What is it, Val?"

"I, um…" her words pattered out, and she nestled further against his back. "I'm very sorry for injuring myself. I was too distracted by… something. I feel absolutely horrible."

Cael let out a strained chuckle. "Val, it was an accident. Don't feel bad—"

She interrupted him again. "N-no, it might've been an accident, but there was an avoidable cause." She took a deep breath, and he felt her heart hammer against him as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"…I'm sorry for looking at your butt."

"…"

It took every single fiber of willpower in his body for Cael to not burst into a fit of hysterics right then and there. Laughter, mortification, flattery, embarrassment—they all ran around his insides, smacking into his heart and making his head spin.

He had to clamp his jaw tight to prevent a whimper.

"I-I see," he finally said, his voice cracking slightly.

The awkward silence was back in full force—no, much more potent than before.

The single lone brain cell that was left rattling in his head desperately shook as it tried thinking of something—anything to break this new, even more suffocating tension.

"… Well, at least I know one thing that'll be on the list."