I carefully helped Lapis step out of the car. She leaned against me when her feet hit the ground to regain her balance. I let myself snicker quietly.
"Lapis, be careful," I said. "You're gonna hurt yourself."
"Sorry," Lapis replied. "I just have some extra weight on the front of me."
"That's fine," I said. "Just walk one step at a time. You've gotta take care of two people instead of just yourself now."
"Three people," Lapis responded. "You too. We take care of each other."
I kissed her nose, and she smiled sweetly. Good. She was content.
I brought her inside and barely noticed my mom following behind us. I grinned.
"What took you so long to get out of the car?" I asked. "Did you get stuck in the seatbelt?"
"No, I was looking for my phone!" Mom answered.
"Alright," I said. "Let's just go. Larimar thinks we're crazy enough already."
We walked into the house. It was quiet, as usual, but it seemed slightly less quiet than it normally was when I walked in. That could easily be explained by Lapis's absence. After all, she lived temporarily with Mom and I, and soon, hopefully, she'd live permanently with me.
"Dad!" Lapis shouted. "Dad!"
His scent became stronger. He was approaching. He smelled like Lapis did, but not as floral and more of what most humans would consider "manly." I wondered if he had any abilities against vampires.
"There's my girl!" He exclaimed. "Not so little now. I guess you're my big girl now."
He wrapped his arms around his much shorter daughter. I stifled a laugh. Their height gap was bigger than Lapis's and mine.
"How is life with Peridot?" He asked.
"It's actually pretty great," Lapis answered. "It's not much of a change from our old life. At the moment, we're staying with Yellow. I'm not sure if there are any plans for that."
"I've been thinking about it," I responded.
"Oh, that reminds me," Larimar said. "Your mother brought your old baby clothes with her when she came to your wedding. She asked me to give them to you."
"Oh no," Lapis replied. "She didn't bring the ones with the ducks, did she?"
Larimar chuckled. "You bet she did," he said. "And she also requested that I 'show Lapis and her wife some wonderful baby pictures.'"
"Oh boy," Lapis responded, looking away.
"Hey, it's a parent-to-child thing," Larimar said. "Plus, you'll be embarrassing your kid with her baby pictures when she's older, too."
"While we're on the topic of the baby," I replied. "You didn't happen to explain why she's possible to Azure, right?"
"Right," Larimar said. "Trust me. Your secret is safe with me."
"Old Larry isn't much of a talker." Mom elbowed me in the side. "I've known him since high school. He's very quiet and rather concealed. He's definitely someone you can trust."
I nodded. "I decided a long time ago that I trust him," I replied.
I saw Larimar smile out of the corner of my eye. "You guys are stalling," he said. "We need to look at these baby pictures."
"No!" Lapis exclaimed, her cute face turning tomato red.
"I think we should," I said, grinning.
"Peri!" Lapis whined.
"Come on," I replied. "It can't be that bad." I poked her nose. "Let me make you a promise."
"What promise?" Lapis asked.
"I promise that when we look at those pictures, the world won't end," I answered.
Lapis rolled her eyes. I could tell that she was trying to be angry, but I saw a smile creeping onto her face.
"Alright," she said. "Just don't laugh."
"To make it fair," Yellow replied. "I'll show some of Peridot's baby pictures too."
"Oh, geez," I murmured.
"See?" Lapis asked.
"I think I do," I answered.
We walked to Larimar's bedroom. That's when I realized that I had never actually seen his bedroom before. It was painted a very natural blue-gray like the clouds that often covered our home's skies. It was a little depressing. I felt like I could feel personal sadness. It was like Larimar had never gotten over Azure. Like how Mom had been showing more of her sadness ever since I was informed of my real mother's, Blue's, existence. They both missed their love. I subconsciously pulled Lapis closer to me. I wouldn't let her feel the same misery.
Larimar walked up to a chest of drawers and opened one of the top drawers. He dug through it and pulled a pile of tiny onesies out. Lapis immediately hid her face in my chest. The sudden cool touch, which wasn't quite as cool—she was blushing, I assumed—surprised me.
"Here they are," Larimar said. "Lapis's old baby clothes."
"Don't make me look at them," Lapis replied in a voice that was muffled by my clothes.
"Lapis," I whispered. "Remember what I promised?"
"Right." Her angelic voice was still muffled by my clothes. "It won't end the world."
Lapis shyly pulled her head away from my chest and turned to face her father. Her face contorted at the sight of the tiny onesies. I saw the one that she had mentioned. It was baby blue with yellow ducks all over it. I found it quite adorable. I could only imagine a tiny, chubby Lapis wearing that. The thought made me chuckle.
"Well, I guess we won't need to buy baby clothes now," Lapis said, taking the onesies and trying her best to fake a smile.
"We appreciate it," I added. "We're really glad you're helping us out. Right, Lapis?"
Lapis turned to me. Her fake smile turned to a genuine one.
"Yes, we are," she said. "Sorry if I was being a pest there."
"You're fine," Larimar responded. "It's my job to embarrass you. Now that you have a wife, it's even more fun."
I picked up the onesie with the ducks on it and examined it. Lapis watched me look at it, then at her, then back. I looked down at her again. She was very short. The onesie was a bit smaller than some of my old baby clothes.
"You were a small baby, weren't you?" I asked.
"Mom told me I was six pounds and five ounces," Lapis answered.
"I figured," I replied. "No wonder you ended up so short."
Lapis shoved me playfully and stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. I smiled at her and gave her the onesie. She didn't have much of a reaction to it this time. She had finally figured out that it wasn't the end of the world.
"That's all for baby clothes," Larimar said. "That should keep you two from heading to the store for a while. Now onto our next chore."
"Uh oh," Lapis whispered.
"Baby pictures," Larimar said.
Lapis hid her face in my chest again. I took my chance to kiss her head before gently pulling her away.
"It's not the end of the world," I said. "You'll be fine."
Lapis turned around as her father approached us with a handful of photos. He placed them all on the bed for everyone in the room to see. Lapis tried to hide again, but I kept her away. She had handled vampires. What was so wrong with baby pictures?
"Dad," Lapis whined. "Why?"
"Come on, they won't kill you," Larimar replied. "Plus, you were a cute baby. I'm sure you'd be a sight to see."
I was the first to take a step towards the bed with Lapis desperately trying to push me back. Her efforts failed, and she ended up hooked around my arm. I stifled a laugh at the sight of the defeat in her face. All of this just to keep me from seeing baby pictures. I looked at the photos on the bed, just barely letting a gasp escaped. Larimar wasn't kidding. Lapis was indeed a very cute baby. She had the same ocean blue eyes, but they took up twice the amount of space on her face. Along with the same eyes, she also had the same pink flush of blood in her cheeks. She was precious. Part of me wished I could go back in time and hold her. I would love to hear her singsong laugh from a baby.
"This is embarrassing," Lapis said, taking her chance to hide her face in my chest again. "You're trying not to laugh, aren't you?"
"No, I'm actually not," I replied. "You were a precious baby. I kind of want to hold baby you."
Lapis looked up at me. Her face was flushed. I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. I admired the cool touch of her lips more than the touch of others. Of course, I only had one other example to compare it to, but I could surely say that I despised the other. We pulled away, and Lapis laid her head on my chest. She wasnt hiding this time. Just resting. I sighed contentedly. She was happy now.
"Alright, we've seen enough of Lapis now," I heard Mom say. "It's time to see the other baby."
I looked back. It was going to be pictures of me as a baby now. The main thing I knew about baby me was that I apparently never skipped leg day. Every time Mom got me out of the bath, I was off and running. That was, of course, when I was old enough to know how to do so.
Mom pulled a collection of photos out of her purse and gestured for Lapis to come to her. Lapis approached her skeptically and took a glance at the pictures. Her eyes lit up, and she let out a little giggle. Finally, I was convinced to see the photos myself. They really were quite entertaining. There was one of me in a high chair with chocolate frosting smeared all over my face. My love for chocolate never left me, that was for sure.
"She was so cute!" Lapis exclaimed in a squeaky voice. I felt my face burning more than usual.
"She really was," Mom replied. "Look how messy her hair was! It was always such a pain to brush. The sad thing was that it wasn't even that long."
"Look at all of the little bows in her hair," Lapis said.
I didn't understand why my face was burning so much. Was I embarrassed? Was I flustered? What was I feeling?
Lapis looked over at me. She nodded to my mom and approached me, her cheeks flushed with their usual shade of pink. Her human shade of pink.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"I'm not sure," I answered. "I feel like my face is burning."
Lapis stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. Then she smiled.
"You're just a little embarrassed," she said. "I was too. After all, baby pictures are quite the embarrassment, but they're also pretty cute." She snickered. "I'm nowhere near as chubby as I was when I was a baby."
I couldn't stifle the chuckle that came out of my mouth. "I could probably stretch your baby cheeks pretty far," I replied.
"Exactly," Lapis said.
I carefully squeezed her cheek with my fingers. Immediately, her face flushed with red. I couldn't help laughing at her reaction.
"Peri!" She exclaimed, covering her face and failing to cover her smile.
"You're too cute!" I responded.
Lapis wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in the crook of my neck. I placed my hand on her back and kissed her cheek. I loved her so, so much. Everything about her was amazing. Even vampires couldn't compare to her. No vampire had the sparkles in her eyes that she had. No vampire could blush like she could. No vampire could blush in the first place.
"Lapis," I said, picking her up off of the ground.
"Yeah?" She responded.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" I asked.
"All the time," Lapis answered.
We were silent for a moment. I could feel our parents' eyes on us. Mom's were approving. Larimar's were as well, but not quite as much. I smiled. I was a werewolf, and I couldn't exactly help that. I couldn't help my imprint on Lapis either. I was glad that Larimar at least trusted me enough to take his position of caring for his daughter. I loved her more than anything else in the world.
"I love you," I whispered.
Lapis smiled. "I love you too."