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“Are you sure you don’t want one of us to stay behind, dear?” Belinda asked, hand worriedly checking Peridot’s forehead, “You feel really hot.”
“I’m fine, mama.” Peridot said, a little weakly, “It’s just a little bug that’s been going around class. I already took medicine for it. Plus, Lapis and her parents will look out for me, I’m staying with them, remember?”
“Yes, but you are our responsibility, not theirs.” Continuing to fret, Belinda ushered Peridot to the couch.
“Come on, Beli.” Yvon sighed, coming into the room hauling two suitcases, “If the kid thinks she’d fine, she probably is. This isn’t the first time she’s gotten sick.”
“Yeah, mama, I can handle this. You and mom just go and enjoy your trip.” Peridot hastened to reassure.
“You make it sound like this is a pleasure cruise, but it’s just for work, I don’t have to go if you need me.” Still not convinced, Belinda hovered uncertainly.
“I’ll be fine.” Peridot stressed, “Conference or no, it’s Mexico. You two go, have fun, and get some time alone together.”
Belinda studied her daughter for a long moment, “If you’re sure.”
“I’m fine.” Peridot insisted.
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“I’m miserable.” Peridot whined into Lapis’s pillow, face down in her girlfriend’s bed, “My head is gonna explode.”
Lapis gently stroked her back, eyebrows scrunched with worry, “And you already took something?”
“Before I left.” Sighing, Peridot pulled herself into a sitting position and reached down beside the bed where she left her backpack, “I’ll take something again in a few hours.”
She began to pull books and binders out of her bag while Lapis watched incredulously, “Why don’t you rest? You don’t need to do homework right now, it’s Saturday.”
“I can’t slack just because we’re hanging out.” Peridot pouted.
“But you can slack because you’re sick.” Lapis pointed out.
“I’ll just worry about it if I don’t get it done.” Dismissively, Peridot waved her hand, leaning back against the pillows and propping her book on her lap.
“Hey.” Lapis called seriously, waiting until Peridot looked up at her, “Don’t push yourself or I’ll make you stop. You’re sick, you should be taking it easy and trying to get better, not make it worse.”
Peridot regarded her for a long moment, then a soft smile tugged at her lips, “That’s fair. You have my permission to keep me in check.”
Giving a happier smile, Lapis murmured, “Love you.” Then brought her hand to her lips, kissing her fingertips, before reaching over and pressing those same fingers to Peridot’s mouth.
“I love you, too.” Peridot returned, pecking Lapis’s fingertips gently.
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Hours later, there came a loud knock on the door and Lapis’s father burst into the room without waiting for an answer. Her parents had never been ones to care about personal space, regularly in and out of rooms no matter the state of dress of the people inside. Lapis had gotten used to conversations with her mom with one in the shower and the other on the toilet or the only thing keeping her dad from walking in on her at inopportune moments the well used lock on her door.
Since her and Peridot had started dating, they only seemed to get more nosy and Lapis could never tell if they were trying to stop them from making out or trying to catch them in the act to have ammunition for teasing. With her parents, it could have gone either way.
When at Peridot’s house, it was much easier for them to get away with hanky panky and Lapis knew it was because Yvon had made it clear that Peridot was to talk to her about any of that kind of stuff before making any rash decisions. It probably should have bothered her that Peridot’s parents would know so much about their sex life, but since neither was even at that point, yet, Lapis wasn’t worried about it.
Besides, Yvon had made it clear that if Lapis ever had questions, concerns, or wanted advice, she was just as open to listen to her as she would be Peridot. It was weird, but, oddly, kind of cool. Lapis felt too embarrassed to talk to her own parents about that kind of stuff, despite them all sharing everything else with each other, so it was nice to have options.
At Lapis's house, there were to be no locked doors with Peridot over. At least, not when they were in the same room, a fact Lapis's father used relentlessly to bust in on them when things were too quiet. He was a naturally loud, boisterous man with a big belly laugh that matched his huge frame, but he was a teddy bear at heart.
So Lapis's found it easy to glare at him when he came to call them down for dinner. “Shh! She just got to sleep.” She looked up from where she was watching her girlfriend nap, her chin propped on Peridot's chest.
Both Lazuli's froze as Peridot shifted uneasily, throwing an arm across her face, flushed with fever even in her sleep. Once she settled, they relaxed again. Peridot was on her back, Lapis on her belly and draped across her torso gently.
“She's running a fever, so I made her lay down.” Lapis's explained quietly as Ron approached on tip toes.
Laying a huge hand on Peridot's forehead, he grimaced, “She's burning up. Did she take something?”
“Yeah, just before she laid down. She was trying to do homework still, before I made her stop.”
Sucking his teeth, Ron sat on the edge of the bed, “That kid, no wonder she gets sick, she's always working so hard.” He paused, “Do, uh, her parents push her like this?”
“No! No, it's nothing like that.” Lapis reassured, “But they are both kinda workaholic and I think Peri picked up on it. They try to get her to relax, too, but they're just as bad.” She gave a small, amused huff, “Honestly, I've pulled all of them to dinner more than a few times over the years.”
Ron’s big hand moved to tousle Lapis’s hair, earning him another glare, “You’re a good kid, watching over your girl like this. Even before you started dating you were always taking care of her.”
“She was always taking care of me, too.” Lapis smiled, looking at Peridot gently. Her hands came up to brush some hair behind Peridot’s ear as she talked, “She never let anyone pick on me in school and she always made sure I got my homework done and helped me study. I’m only getting the grades I am now because of her encouragement. In return, I make her relax.” She shrugged, turning back to her dad, “It’s give and take. Plus, we get to collab on some pretty cool art pieces.”
Laughing lightly, Ron grinned, “That’s a relationship; art collab pieces.”
Lapis giggled and carefully extracted herself from bed, “I’ll come down to dinner and let Peri rest, then bring her something later.”
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When Peridot woke next, it was dark outside. She sat up with a curse, looking around frantically, “Lapis?”
“I’m here.” Lapis answered, from across the room, coming around the side of the lounge chair she’d been reclining in. “You okay?”
Peridot visibly relaxed, “Yeah. Just out of it.” Here stomach growled loudly, “And hungry.”
“I can heat you up some dinner.” Lapis offered as she approached the bed, leaning to press her lips to Peridot’s forehead. She held them against Peridot’s skin for a moment and hummed, “You still feel warm. Here,” she grabbed a thermometer and thrust it into Peridot’s hand, “Use this, I’ll be back with food and medicine.”
Obediently, Peridot stuck the thermometer under her tongue, watching the door as her girlfriend exited. The thermometer beeped and she glanced at the display; 99.8. Sighing, Peridot slumped back against the pillows; her fever had at least gone down a whole degree. She amused herself by trying to calculate what that would be in Celsius while waiting for Lapis to return.
She’d just been eyeing her backpack on the floor next to the bed when Lapis returned, a tray in her hands filled with various, clanging kitchenware. Peridot sat up higher, feeling her mouth water at the heavenly smell wafting from her girlfriend’s offering. “You’re a goddess.” She breathed, watching a flush run up Lapis’s face.
“That is the correct response.” Lapis giggled, settled the tray in Peridot’s lap and then going to the other side of the bed to sit next to her. She leaned over to snag the thermometer, frowning at the last temperature reading. “Medicine first.” She scolded as Peridot picked up a spoon.
“But your mom made poi.” Peridot whined, but set down her silverware anyway and taking the two capsules Lapis had set out, “And salmon!”
“Only because she knows how much you like it.” Lapis teased, watching as Peridot spooned the first bite of poi into her mouth and moaned at the taste.
“I can’t get enough of it.” Peridot said between bites, “My moms think I’m crazy; they went to Hawaii on their honeymoon and tried some and both hated it. You and I should go to Hawaii together someday and have a food tour or something. Oh, then maybe the Philippines! Double the interesting foods to try first hand.”
Lapis snort giggled, “You finally gonna try some Balut?”
Peridot made a face, “I like my fowl to be either less developed or more developed. Besides, I’m not sure I’m brave enough to eat something with that much of a face left.”
“Yeah, it’s an acquired taste. Mom and I were never too keen, but dad grew up on it.” They fell into a comfortable silence as Peridot gulped down her meal, then settled back against the pillows with a sigh.
Lapis leaned over and pulled the tray away to be taken downstairs later, “How are you feeling?”
“Hot, sweaty, dizzy.” Peridot closed her eyes, feeling Lapis take her hand and squeeze gently.
“Why don’t you take a cool shower, change into some light pj’s, then come cuddle with me?” The suggestion made Peridot’s eyes pop open, finding Lapis looking down at her with such a sweet expression that she nearly melted. “I’ll take care of you.”
Peridot had never felt more certain of anything a human being had ever told her in all her life than she was at that moment. She let a smile spread across her face, having to fight the urge to kiss her girlfriend right then. “I know you will.”