Her Smile- A Lapidot Human Au Fanfic

First date on a budget (Fluff)

     She laid there, Peridot in her arms becoming increasingly exhausted. She held her tighter and rested her head against hers, closing her own eyes.

In two hours, Lapis woke up, seeing Peridot still asleep. They were still holding each other with their heads pressed together. She slightly tightened her grasp on Peridot, hugging her a little tighter. She then reached over to the nightstand for the basket that rested atop it and took out another blanket and placing it over them, but feeling Peridot shaking, tears forming in her closed eyes. She could tell she was probably a nightmare, so she shook her awake.
     She shot up with a gasp and fallowed by hyperventilating. She looked tense as she looked around at her surroundings, breathing a sigh of relief knowing where she was. She still seemed shaken with tears streaming down her face. She then looked at Lapis, throwing herself then into a hug with her, crying into her shoulder.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Lapis asked running her fingers through her hair.

"I had another nightmare" she sobbed, gripping tighter onto Lapis.

At this point, Lapis could imagine what this one was about if it caused her to wake up shaking and a sobbing mess. She gently began to move upper half in a slight rocking motion, rocking the small girl in her arms.

     Peridot took a sigh, evening her breathing and closing her eyes contently until she completely composed herself. Finally, she looked up at Lapis with some tears still in her eyes, but not looking fully sad.

"Why? Why is it that almost any time I fall asleep now, I get nightmares?" Peridot asked.

Lapis wrapped her arms around her back And pulled her into a hug. Not so much a tight hug, but more a delicate one.

"What happened to you was.. traumatic to say the least. It's natural for your mind to be still trying to fully process that," Lapis replied.

"It still hurts."

"It does," Lapis replied playing with Peridot's hair. "You know, you mentioned going on a date yesterday. I don't exactly have the money to take us out, but we could get a bunch of pillows and blankets, make the futon extra comfy like a bed, order pizza and watch some movies? Maybe even cuddle if you're comfortable?"

      "That sounds great. All of it,"

Lapis smiled warmly.

      Later in the evening, Lapis could see Peridot had gotten distracted, finding it the perfect opportunity to set up the night. She gathered pillows and blankets from the different baskets and her bed to build a medium sized blanket nest. It seemed childish, but right now, it was the kind of reassurance they needed; to feel free from worry. The past week had been horribly stressful, being the rape incident.

     Once she finished, she went on her laptop on the desk by the window and went to order pizza. However, when she was scrolling the options, she saw a special offer on the website that read "Sleepover Pack" which came with a bunch of candies that you'd expect from a stereotypical 8 year old girl's sleepover. She chuckled at the convenience, pressing order. She then went to rent a Fandango movie, choosing very carefully, minding Peridot's triggers, and her own. She chose two comedies and a thriller to watch that night being sure to avoid movies with any sexual references. This was a date night, not the panic room.

Lapis POV

After I ordered some movies and Pizza, I went to Pinterest to find an easy yet neat design for the blanket haven I planned to build as the location of our first date. After scrolling for a good tutorial, I found a step by step with a really pretty outcome that looked more than easy. I got started building for about an hour until it was completed. I brought my Laptop in and placed it in the middle of the spacious haven I made out of blankets, pillows and couch cushions, and plugged it into an extension chord. As a final touch, I took the fairy lights out of the jar on my bedside table and strung them along the walls of the blanket nest.

"Hey, Peridot, could you come over here for a second?" I asked crawling out of the fort.

     She looked up from her book to notice the large structure made from pillows, blankets and chairs.

     "Woah! Did you build that?" She asked wide-eyed. I nodded, smiling a little.

     "Yeah. Remember that date I mentioned earlier? Well, maybe we could do that tonight?" I asked shyly.

     She nodded eagerly, placing a bookmark in her book, closing it and placing it on her bed. She got up and walked over to the entrance, kneeling down to get to eye level with the interior.

     "You can go in if you like," I told her as she crawled in. Looking around, she could see the enclosing yet spacious inside and seemed excited. I couldn't even begin to describe how amazing it felt to see her so happy. Then, I saw her smile. It wasn't as big as it normally was, but it was still a smile that would knock me off my feet. I loved to see her happy. It still has the same effect on me. It makes me feel as though everything is alright. However, even when she's not smiling, she's still the most beautiful creature there is. I walk over to sit next to her and place a small kiss on her forehead, causing her to blush and giggle, throwing her arms around me. We talk for a bit until I hear the doorbell.

      "That's the food I ordered," I told her crawling out for a second. I came back with a pizza brand bag in my hand and a tray with two soda cups, water condensing on the outside of the cups.

I kneeled back down, setting the food and drinks in the tent, and glanced back over at Peridot, who had laid down on some pillows and blankets, looking at her phone. It appeared she was cuddling a blanket she found on the ground. I didn't blame her, it looked soft. When she heard me walk back in, she looked up from her phone, startled at first, but looking at me and instantly relaxing.

"I got the food," I told her opening the bag and stacking two pizza boxes atop each other and placing a box of breadsticks at the top of the two. Then, I took out the bag of popcorn and took it with me to the kitchen to put in a proper bowl so it won't spill. I went back in, neatly placing it next to the boxes. I placed the soda cups side by side on the other side of the boxes, making everything neatly arrayed being I only spent $15 on this entire date.
I wanted to still make this a proper date nonetheless, even if we can't go to a fancy restaurant or a movie theater like most first dates would go.
I neatly placed the candy boxes evenly around the boxes, making some overlap. I then took the M&M's and Airheads Bites into the kitchen, opened the boxes and placed the contents into two separate bowls. I took them back and set them next to the candy boxes on either side of each other. The small haven was all set up, and I felt satisfied.

I sat down by the laptop, powering it on and signing in. I opened to the files and loaded the first movie. Peridot must have noticed me loading the laptop, since she put her phone down and came to sit next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. I started the movie and pulled her into my lap.

She leaned her back against my chest, relaxing into the embrace. She reached over the laptop, grabbing the top two boxes, a pizza and breadsticks box. She opened the breadsticks box, taking out a breadstick and offering it to me. I smiled at hit, taking the greasy stick and taking a bite of it. I smiled at the flavorful taste, chewing the food. She took one herself and took a bite. I lowered my head to rest on top of hers, and massaged her palms in my hands.

We snuggled together as the movies played on my laptop. After two movies and a whole box of pizza, breadsticks, and a box of M&M's, Peridot fell asleep in my arms. I laid her down in the corner of the small fortress and placed blankets over her sleeping body, keeping her warm and comfy. I cupped her cheek, stroking it with my thumb. I laid on the other side of the fort, wrapped myself in a blanket and fell asleep in the warm, safe haven.