Every ounce of me wanted- needed… I twitched uncontrollably in the chair, my face burning. I could smell her inside. Faint, but just enough to unsettle me. Her heat came unexpectedly, as well as the new feelings it seemed to create in me.
Amethyst kept looking over at me with pity, knowing it was hard. My body betrayed me. I felt ashamed for feeling this weak and uncontrolled of my own body. I could feel the twinge of heat in my stomach, the new unfamiliar wetness between my legs, and the sweat that fell unwelcomed down my face.
I couldn't bring myself to leave, and I justified it by saying I shouldn't go far from Lapis. She was probably scared, and in pain. I didn't know much about heat. It was more or less a rumor back in era 2. I only knew some gems went into heat, and some went into rut, and it compelled us to breed; even though that way of making gems hadn't been done since toward the end of era 1.
Suddenly I looked up, catching a more powerful whiff of the sweet, drawing scent of Lapis. The door had opened just a bit, enough for Garnet to exit and sigh.
"I made her as comfortable as possible. We will just have to wait it out." She looked toward me. "Being viable, Peridot, it would be best if you stayed at the temple for a bit. Shouldn't be more than a week." She looked back at amethyst. I'll come check on her every other day to make sure she is still locked in okay. Atleast little homeschool is far enough that any other viables won't smell."
She started off toward the warp pad, and Amethyst quickly ran over to grab my hand and pull me along. My whole being screamed to stay, but I shook my head and shakily followed while my twitching got worse. The scent faded as we went, and disappeared as we warped back into the temple.
Steven was on video call with Connie, and looked up, smiling. "Hey guys!" His expression fell to worry when he saw me. "Uh… peridot?"
I looked up and forced a smile. "I'm gonna be staying int the bathroom again for a few days okay? Okay. I'll just. Do that now." I scrambled off to the right, ignoring the looks I got. The shame sank in again. With the door closed and locked, I made my way to the sink, looking at myself in the mirror. My gem had apparently been glowing slightly, and faded to normal just as I looked. My face was a darker green, and I was almost disgusted that I allowed my body to react this way.
Lapis didn't deserve to be thought of as something like that. It felt so wrong, to not be able to stay calm and Control. I had always been in control of myself, if nothing else. And I had lost that.
And poor Lapis… I didn't even know the effect of Heat on a gem. I had heard groans of pain and whimpering, before the sweet scent took me over.
I shook my head, turning on the cold water quickly and splashing it over myself as much as I could. The heat on my face did not fade, and the wetness I was too afraid to touch. But I felt calmer, if only a bit, before I turned the water off and stumbled to the tub, curling up and closing my eyes, trying to focus on anything else than my scary desires.
I woke up on my back in the tub, looking up blankly at the ceiling. I sat up, looking around at the dark bathroom. I remembered when I lived here. When lapis left. I had missed her so much. She felt so guilty for leaving me.
Lapis.
I left her this time. While she was hurting and helpless. So I could hide. How ironic and cruel. I wonder if being alone made her feel safe or more distressed. Would it give her more pain?
I thought about her time in the mirror. Alone. Afraid. Awful.
I shifted, standing and stepping out to sit on the edge of the tub, twitching a bit again. Garnet had said something about being viable. I wasn't familiar with that term. But I guessed that it meant something about being the other half to making a gem in the case of heat. Was I going into rut? Or was that different?
