Work Text:
“Do you like this skirt?”
Cora looks up from her phone as Lydia spins in place.
“Sure.”
Lydia continued on as if she hadn’t been answered, “I’m not sure I like the way it bunches in the back.”
Cora squints slightly, “Didn’t you already try that one on?”
Meeting her eyes in the mirror, Lydia blinked blithely at her, “This one is periwinkle.”
“So?”
“And that one was violet.”
Cora counted to ten in her head like Derek had instructed when her anger started to get the better of her, “Lydia, it’s almost nine. Can we please go now? We have school tomorrow.”
Lydia pinched her face as if she was gearing up to fight her on it but instead walked back into the dressing room to change back. There was muffled shuffling as she gathered her purchases, before she exited the small room and walked toward the nearest cashier.
“Thank you.” Cora tried to leave out the lingering traces of agitation. She understood Lydia’s growing cabin fever. It was the reason they had ventured out in the first place.
Lydia exchanged idle pleasantries with the cashier as she rang her out, Cora’s eyes scanning the almost empty shop before coming back to Lydia and “Mandi” as her name badge stated.
Lydia turned and offered a bright smile, “Maybe next time we can get you a cute skirt or something.”
Cora scoffed and gestured toward the exit, “No thanks.”
***
The Emory board scritch-scratching away intermittently was the only sound in the small room. Cora was curled in the blue arm chair, her eyes closed. It felt peaceful. It was the most relaxed she’d felt since returning from South America. Lydia blew a puff of air. At her foot, Cora assumed, considering she hadn’t moved from the position she had been in when she started filing the toe nails on that foot. Glass clinking together made her startle from her relaxed state.
“Sorry,” Lydia breathed, apparently startled when Cora had, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Cora cleared her throat, “I wasn’t. Just relaxing.” She settled back in the chair.
Lydia looked like she wanted to say something, but was holding back. Cora waited, watching as she held three small bottles of nail polish in her cupped hand.
“I’m thinking Coral.” Lydia set all but one of the bottles back on her bed and re-positioned the pink toe separator, before opening the chosen bottle.
Cora closed her eyes again, snuffled against the onslaught of the chemical smell.
A few minutes pass in relative silence.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“Non sequitur much?” Cora replied.
“What? I’m making… small talk.” Lydia answered, her vocal rhythm falling between painting strokes.
“What’s yours?” Cora opened one eye to peer over at Lydia, before opening both and focusing her attention for her response.
Lydia looked up, pausing in her work, a smirk appearing in the corner of her mouth, “Ahh, but I asked first.”
“I asked second.”
“I asked second,” Lydia mocked quietly, returning to her polish, “Purple and pink, and shades thereof,” she gestured to the room at large with her free hand before returning her glance to the werewolf, “You?”
Cora shrugged a little at that, “Blue. Dark blue.”
Lydia put the finishing touches on the last toe before stretching her leg out in front of her then sweeping it around to touch her heel to her carpeted floor. She hobbled carefully the four steps to her dresser and started rifling through a large compartment in her makeup carrier, “Dark blue, huh?”
“Yeah?” Cora replied confused as to where she was going with this.
“Ah!” Lydia let out a delighted squeak.
She shook the bottle in her hand and advanced on Cora, “I could do your nails next. If you’d like?” She held the bottle out to Cora for inspection.
Cora looked from the bottle to Lydia’s face and back before arching an eyebrow at her, “Why?”
Lydia tossed the small bottle to her, knowing she’d catch it effortlessly, before turning on her heels and returning to her perch on her bed to paint the nails on her other foot.
“I don’t know. Could be fun.”
“But, why?” Cora pushed, spinning the small bottle in her hand slowly.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Lydia muttered.
“I’m so—“ Cora started, stopped, and took a deep breath. “It’s just, the chemicals. It’s incredibly strong. Stronger than humans realize. The smell makes my head fuzzy. Also, I’m just not a fan of wearing nail polish.” She looked down at her nails and concentrated on the change, her nails lengthening and then retracting back, “It’s just not really a priority for most born weres.”
Lydia stared for a moment before hurriedly shutting the bottle she had open in her hand. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t thought about that. Heightened senses. I should have realized. Wow.”
Cora smiled at the babbling girl, “Don’t sweat it. You didn’t know.”
“But I should have. I should have thought about that. We’ve been here, what, a couple weeks now? I should have asked. I should have known.” She started gathering up her polish supplies and dumped them in a pile in her organizer. Shaky hands moved around bottles trying to make the drawer of the organizer close, but it kept snagging on lids or bottles. “How did they all fit before?” She started slamming and shoving at the bottles and the drawer, trying to force it closed, before a hand closed over her wrist.
Lydia flinched back, covering her face and jerked back to free her captured arm.
“It’s okay-Lyd-Lydia, it’s okay!” Cora tried to snap her attention back to her.
Lydia crumpled in on herself, hands shielding her face. Cora could hear her frantic heartbeat and Lydia’s labored breathing. This wasn’t the first panic attack she’d watched Lydia experience, but she wished it would be the last. Cora wrapped her arms around the red headed girl’s waist trying to help ease her to the floor, and knelt in front of her.
“Lydia, you have to let me help you.” She started rubbing soothing circles into her back.
She seemed to be trying to hold her breath, but then took huge gulps like she couldn’t get enough air. Soon her breathing started evening out, though hiccuping occasionally, and Lydia’s heart rate returned to normal.
“Boy… am I tired…of those.” Lydia gasped out. She sniffled and tried to discretely wipe the tears from her eyes.
“It’s okay.” Cora mumbled.
Lydia looked at her face for the first time since it happened, “No, it’s not. I’m tired of being afraid.” She sniffled, hating how pathetic it sounded. “I’m tired of the tiniest sights and sounds setting me off. I’m tired of you having to babysit me, as I’m sure you are, too-“
Cora could hear her starting to work herself up again, “Whoa. Whoa. Let’s just hold up a second.”
Lydia took a few gulps of air and leaned her against her bed.
“I’m just… tired.”
Cora felt the weight of her distress and frustration coming off her in waves. “How about this. Let’s get some tea and then we can take a nap. How’s that sound?”
Lydia rubbed at her eyes again, before taking one last deep breath, “Okay.”
“Okay?,” Cora repeated, standing and putting a hand out to help Lydia to her feet.
“Okay.” Lydia parroted. She held on to Cora’s hand a moment longer than necessary, squeezing the other girl’s hand minutely before letting go and allowing her to lead the way.
***
Lydia trailed after Cora into the bedroom, watching as she ran a brush through her hair one more time before slipping the hairband around the lot of it in a neat ponytail.
“You know, you should let me braid your hair some time.”
Cora threw her a look over her shoulder as she circled the bed, “Really?”
“Yeah. Really,” she answered, a small smile gracing her face as she pulled back the duvet on her side. “I haven’t played with someone’s hair since middle school.”
“So, wait… are you playing with my hair,” she asked, pulling back all the layers of covers and kneeling on her side, “or are you braiding it?”
Lydia had slid onto the bed, sitting on the mattress cross-legged, “Why can’t it be both?” She let her hands cup the other girl’s knees, her thumbs rubbing the knobby end before running her hands up her thighs.
Cora cupped her face reverently before leaning in and planting a lingering kiss on her lips, “Sounds good.”
***