Janis Sarkisian x Cady Heron Oneshots

Lipstick Clouds and Jellyfish

Trigger Warning for brief mention of implied self harm/scars. Some protective Cady and fluff!

***

"But are you sure it's safe?" Janis mumbles as she rubs in the sunscreen on Cady's back.

"Don't forget under the straps, and yes Janis, millions of people go to the beach every year and pretty much everyone is fine!" Cady tries to reassure her girlfriend who has not stopped asking about her safety for the entire drive from the Heron's new beach house to the shore.

"You said PRETTY MUCH everyone is fine so I still could maybe possibly get eaten by a shark. Or stung by a jellyfish. Or get pulled into the waves by a riptide, right Caddie?" Janis turns Cady around to face her.

"Babe I don't even think that there are any sharks in North Carolina besides little harmless ones who are more concerned about running away from you than eating you," Cady says as she pulls Janis into a hug, kissing her forehead softly as she pulls away. "Are you sunscreened?" Cady asks, knowing that pale little Janis would be sunburnt in an instant.

"Yeah, there's not much to sunscreen, but yeah," Janis solemnly states. She's wearing a long sleeved black rashguard and athletic Nike Pro shorts that cover almost her whole thigh. Cady wishes that she didn't know why. Instead of making a comment, she takes Janis's hand and walks her out of the parking lot, down a ramp and on to the sand, dragging two chairs, an umbrella, and a cooler behind her.

"Why are you so scared anyways?" Cady inquires. "You can tell me. I love you!" Cady squeezes her hand and smiles.

"You have to promise you won't laugh at me." Janis bites her lip nervously.

"Okay. I won't,"

"I've... I've never been to the beach. My parents never really had extra money for a vacation to one of the great lakes, let alone the east or west coast, especially after the accident. I haven't strayed far out of Evanston and Chicago. I'm scared of crabs and fish and sharks and waves and all that," Janis says. Cady raises her eyebrows.

"Never?! Shit, you should have told me! I understand why you're scared. I'll protect you" at this, Janis links her arm in Cady's and they finish setting up their umbrella and chairs.

"Thank you. Can we... not run into the ocean yet?" Janis asks timidly, staring into the miles of blue ripples that lay before them.

"Yeah. Sit with me," Cady replies, laying on her towel and motioning for Janis to set hers next to her.

***

After half an hour, Janis has fallen asleep with one hand in the warm sand and Cady wakes her up with a gentle kiss. Janis wakes with a start and almost swats her away before realizing that it's just her girlfriend standing before her.

"Ah, sorry! Beach anxiety. Could have been a crab..." Janis looks around her nervously.

"Sorry Jan! Didn't mean to startle you. I'm just getting hot, so I was going to go swim and didn't want to leave you. Want to come?" Cady asks, thinking the answer will be no.

"Okay Caddie. I can't go on forever being afraid of the ocean I guess," Janis takes the hand that Cady has offered, and they walk towards the waves. Janis's breath quickens and she starts to sweat. "My heart is pounding..." she mumbles.

"Hey babe! It's okay! I've got you." Cady wraps her arm around Janis's back and walks through a small wave crashing and before Janis knows it, they're bobbing in the waves. Cady still hasn't let go of Janis so they float together, Cady making small talk so that Janis won't get nervous.

"Look at that cloud! It looks like a lipstick tube!" Cady exclaims.

"Only you would notice a damn lipstick-shaped cloud Caddie," Janis giggles.