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Peridot was debating on the topic for her next assignment when she heard a sharp knock on the door. She jotted down her latest thought on a piece of scrap paper and went to see who it was. She unfastened the deadbolt and opened the door partway. As she predicted, it was her roommate, Lapis, “ She probably forgot her keys again, ” Peridot said to herself, she smirked, “ typical Lapis. ”
It wasn’t until she saw a drop of blood hit the floor did she recognize a problem. Peridot’s face fell.
“Peri, please let me in, I kinda have a situation ,” Lapis said, her voice unusually grainy. Peridot jumped away from the door as Lapis limped inside.
“Lapis? What the *** happened to you???” Peridot asked, frantically jogging after her.
“Gimme a sec,” Lapis replied once they reached their shared bathroom. She shed her coat to reveal a deep gash on her right shoulder and countless bruises elsewhere. She quietly wet a washcloth and placed it on the laceration, hissing as the cold cloth made contact with her skin. She placed the toilet seat down and sat down, leaning back with a sigh.
“Are you ok? Can I do anything?” Peridot was very anxious over her friend’s condition, “I’ll get you some painkillers and run a bath, does that sound ok?” Lapis slowly pitched her head forward, grimacing at the soreness in her neck and the blood that dripped down her lip.
“I’ll be fine Peri, but some ibuprofen and a bath sound great.” She made a move to get up but was stopped by Peridot.
“Wait here, I’ll get everything,” She chirped and rushed out into the kitchen.
“ Huh, ok. I guess that’s cool, ” Lapis thought, “ she deserves an explanation though... ”
Lapis waited in the bathroom until Peridot came back, balancing a cup and a few different pill bottles in her arms. “Ok, so I’m not sure which ones you usually take, so I just brought all of them.” She set down each bottle and turned them so Lapis could see the labels without standing up. “Which one and how many?” Peridot asked while turning on the tap to fill up the glass.
“Two Advil is fine, thanks Peri,” Lapis smiled as Peridot handed her the water and meds. She quickly took them and lifted up the rag from her shoulder to check the damage. It wasn’t looking so good; the bleeding had stopped for the most part, but it looked messy, she might need stitches.
“Um, can I help you with,” Peridot gestured to Lapis, “all of this...?” Lapis snickered at her remark.
“Do I look like I’m in a position to say no?” Lapis replied, her whole body hurt, but Peridot being here was definitely bringing her mood up. Peridot smiled wide at Lapis’s compliance, “ Holy ***, am I delirious, or is she cute as hell? ” Lapis probably would’ve blushed if there wasn’t blood slowly draining out of her nose.
“Great! The bleeding from your nose seems to be stopping so let’s go ahead and disinfect that ,” Lapis replied by dropping the cloth from her shoulder and letting Peridot evaluate the nasty gash. “Hm, ok, I think if we keep it clean and properly bandaged then it should heal up fine... unless you want to get stitches?” Peridot asked, her voice muffled from under the sink where she was looking for the first aid kit.
“No, no of course not. I think I can take care of it...” Lapis was touched that Peridot cared enough to help her, plus, she wanted to keep her hospital trip record clean.
“Cool,” Peridot replied, pouring some rubbing alcohol on a clean rag, “this is going to sting—a lot—are you ready?” Lapis grimaced but nodded, “Okay, One, two-” Peridot pressed the rag to Lapis’s cut, she groaned in pain and folded into herself slightly, biting her lip. “ ***, ” Peridot thought, “ that... was unreasonably sexy... ” Despite the blush taking residence on Peridot’s pale face, she continued to work fast in an effort to not put Lapis in any unnecessary pain.
Peridot gave the wound one last once-over and lifted the rag to see what she should do next. She grabbed the Neosporin and began to dab it in a couple of different spots, jumping slightly when Lapis cleared her throat, “So, um, I guess you wanna know how this happened huh?” She fiddled with her lip, a nervous tick she’s had since her freshman year, but immediately regretted it when she came back with bloody fingers.
She wiped them on her pants and Peridot laughed, “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, Laz, but you can if you want.”
“Ok, I think I want to...”
“Whenever you’re ready Lapis,” Peridot smiled, preparing a gauze wrap.
Lapis took a deep breath, “Alright, uh, you remember Jasper, right?” Peridot grit her teeth at the name, her anger going from a one to an eleven; that was the bitch that causes Lapis to have panic attacks, one of the main sources of her suffering.
What the *** did she do this time.
She took a deep breath before replying, “Yeah, of course, did she- did she do this? ”
Lapis hesitated, but nodded, “She caught me on the way home... I think she thinks we’re together. Stupid ***ing whore... She probably would’ve done worse, but I managed to get away.”
Peridot was relieved and dismayed at the same time, “ Why would she think we’re together? Has she been watching us? Would Lapis even want that? ”
“Peridot, are you ok?” Lapis looked worried, maybe she shouldn’t have said anything...
Peridot snapped back to attention, “Oh- yeah, yeah I’m fine. Are you? Like emotionally?”
Lapis smiled, she didn't deserve this wonderful, cautious girl in her life, “I think so, thanks Pear.”
She reached for a damp washcloth to clean her face while Peridot re-organized the first-aid kit, “Do you still want a bath, Lapis?” Peridot said when she finished.
Lapis thought for a second, “Yeah if it’s not too much trouble, I’m really sore.”
Peridot nodded, “Of course not, I’ll start the water and put a towel in the dryer so it’s warm for when you get out.”
Lapis was going to thank her but was soon drowned out by the bath spout.
Once Peridot left to go attend the dryer, Lapis leaned over to see if the water was at an acceptable temperature, and it absolutely was, “That’s... actually perfect, I guess Peridot pays more attention than I give her credit for.” She thought, her already high respect for her roommate increasing tenfold.
“ Oh, wait, I guess I need to get undressed... ” She shrugged, skin was skin, they’re both girls (gay girls but still), it’d be fine. ‘Sides they’ve walked in on each other plenty of times.
By the time Peridot returned, Lapis was struggling to get her shirt off; she quickly walked over and helped her. It was much less awkward than she would’ve thought.
That was... until Lapis unclipped her bra.
If Peridot wasn’t blushing before she sure as hell was now, Lapis was quite attractive , “Uh, um, do you want me to stay in here with you? Or I could leave now if you want? Just, uh, let me know if you need anyth....ing,” Peridot’s brain did a backflip as Lapis removed her pants.
Even Lapis was blushing now, “ Hey if you’re going to have to opportunity to strip in front of your crush, might as well take it, right? ”
She cleared her throat for the second time that night, “Uh yeah, you can stay if you want...”
Peridot nodded as Lapis took off her panties and slipped into the water with a moan, the warmth already doing wonders for how she was feeling. Peridot quickly sat down on the cool tile, mostly in an attempt to cool the warmth pooling inside of her, but she also wanted to be close to Lapis.
Only God knew what Jasper could’ve done.
The two girls stayed like that for a while, they laced fingers at some point. Everything was still, even if just for a moment.
Eventually, though, the water became cold and it was time to get out. Lapis leaned forward to quietly drain the water and got out of the bathtub, with Peridot’s assistance of course, “Wait here, I’ll go get the towel and some fresh clothes for you.” Lapis nodded and sat down on the toilet seat.
Peridot soon returned and wrapped the warm towel around Lapis’s shoulders with a smile, “There you go. Also, I brought you one of my hoodies since I know you like oversized clothes,” Peridot said, unfolding said jacket.
Lapis felt like she was going to cry, Peridot was so sweet and no one had ever taken care of her like this before.
That was it.
She loved Peridot.
She had to thank her.
So, naturally...
She kissed her.