Comfort

A Lapidot Drabble

A/N: Because it's Lapidot Tuesday, I think I'm going to write some cuddling nerds. This fanfiction is rated T for safety (considering Lapis is nude in the beginning portion and there's some swearing), but don't worry, it's not going to delve into NSFW territory (not even suggested). It also takes place in a human AU, in which Lapis was a civilian prisoner of war for a few years.

Lapis Lazuli awoke from her nap with a gasp, sitting up quickly and causing the water around her to splash against the inner walls of the pristine white bathtub, a small amount of the liquid spilling to the floor. She gripped at the edges of the appliance, struggling to slow her breathing to a normal amount. She felt sick and as though the walls around her were closing in.

This had not been the first flashback that the young girl had faced, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Lapis's mental state had certainly improved a lot in the two years since the war had ended, but she doubted she would ever be truly at peace with the tortures and darkness she had faced head-on in the enemy prisons.

Of course, one of the things that came along with a flashback was a subsequent panic attack. Her chest was tight and she couldn't breathe. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Eventually, she closed her eyes and focused on breathing, as Peridot normally had her do when she was getting particularly bad. In, two, three, out, two three. A rhythmic pattern as she focused on the water around her, trying to imagine the ocean lapping against her bare tanned skin. This worked, somewhat, but it left her fairly exhausted.

She barely noticed that the water had turned cold until she noticed that she was shivering. How long have I been in here? She thought to herself silently as she stood, grabbing a nearby towel and using it to dry herself before pulling on her dark blue robe and aggressively ruffling her hair with the towel. Once she had dried fairly decently, she gingerly tiptoed out of the bathroom.

It was even colder in the hallway. Summer was giving in to fall, it seemed, and with it came chillier weather; probably didn't help much that it was nearly seven -

Oh, shit, Peridot was probably home by now. Lapis had chosen to opt out of college for now, considering her mental state wasn't really ready for any strangers to come into her life, and she had trouble responding to even those she really trusted. Her living with her girlfriend was for two reasons; one, her parents had gotten a little visit from Child Protection Services when it was found that her state was getting worse due to the way they had treated her, and two, she responded best to Peridot out of anybody.

The eighteen year old quietly hoped that the other girl was asleep (or at least playing her video games) as she made her way down to the bedroom they shared. However, luck was not on her side; the nerd was reading a book and frowning as she made little markings with her green pen.

Peridot's head snapped up as soon as Lapis appeared in the doorway, and she sat up quickly, completely forgetting about the book. "Oh, thank God you're alright, I was starting to get worried, I've told you not to take baths when you're home alone, the doctor said-"

She rolled her eyes a little and walked over to the dresser, pulling on panties and a nightgown and not really caring that her girlfriend was in the same room. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I handled it fine, just fell asleep for a little while."

"And did you have a flashback?"

She frowned, avoiding the question by just laying down in bed and staring at the ceiling. Hopefully, Peridot would just give up and go to being an 'MLG,' as she tended to put it.

"Lapis..."

The tone was stern, yet pleading, and the girl in question couldn't help but nod a little in answer.

The nerd sighed and carefully wrapped her arms around Lapis, making her feel safer almost immediately. She nestled her face into the other girl's shoulder with a shaky sigh.

"... How bad was it?"

"On a scale from one to ten?"

"Mm."

"... About a seven."

The grip on her tightened a little and a heavy sigh came from her lover. "And you managed to calm down by yourself?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

"No. That's great. Anything you wanna do to celebrate?"

She thought a moment, pursing her lips and tilting her head, before answering. "Cuddles, ice cream, and then I kick your ass at Halo?"

"Sounds good to me. But I can't promise the last part."

Lapis snickered. "Oh, just because I took a few-year break you think you're suddenly better than me?"

A devilish grin appeared on Peridot's face. "I don't think, I know."

"Bring it, Peridork."

"You're on, La-piss."