prompt: “You say ‘i love you’ too much. Say something else instead.”
pairing: Lapis Lazuli & Amethyst

by: RadioWrittenHeart

~

They had stolen Greg’s van, again. He was probably going to be pretty lax about it, like always, but still. It was nothing but Amethyst, Lapis and the empty roads of Beach City. They had driven to the edge of town, parked on the side of the highway. The radio was cranked up, spilling out some sort of alternative rock music into the twilight evening. And with the driver’s seat and shotgun leaned all the way back, Amethyst and Lapis were together.

Just so.

Nothing more, nothing less.

They were still familiar strangers, but something felt right in their metaphorical hearts. As she always did, Amethyst acted without thinking, and she said it, letting the three words echo in the van.

All of the other times, Lapis would accept it, accompanied with a blush or a laugh or a smile…

...this time, none of that.

She turned on her side, to stare at Amethyst sincerely. “Is that all?” she asked.

“Wha?” Amethyst mumbled, prying one eye open.

“You love me,” Lapis said nonchalantly. “Is that it?”

“Well,” Amethyst trailed off. “Yeah.”

Lapis folded her arms and leaned on them, a few strands of her short hair falling in her face. “Is that a term humans made up?” she mused. “It seems terribly overdone.”

Amethyst knew that sometimes Lapis could get a little deep, but whatever she was getting at now… it was too late.

Nonetheless, despite lack of response, Lapis continued. “I’m thinking out loud here, but it’s all they say. As if that’s the only way you can let someone know that you care for them. I know I’m new to all of this, and so are you by some standards, but,” She trailed off. “Explain to me to the justification of it.”

“Um,” Amethyst stopped, going still and quiet for a second.

Lapis’s small thin hand stretched out, gently tracing the curvature of Amethyst’s gem. Instantly, Amethyst returned the favor, cradling the whole top portion of Lapis’s back as she pulled them close for an embrace. They both fell in the space between the seats, on the floor of the van. There was a moment’s hesitation before lips met in an open-mouthed kiss, a rarity for Lapis to do so suddenly. Intertwined in the sweetest of ways, ambiance of soft rock music as their background, the stars above them…

Once they parted, it seemed that was what got Amethyst to get it.

“Your eyes,” she blurted out. “Your eyes are, like, really pretty, Lapis. I don’t know if they’re gold or blue or white, but they make me feel safe. They’re one of my favorite things about you.”

A breath she didn’t need got caught in her throat as she easily straddled Lapis, laying her down.

“And your wings. They’re perfect, and, like, totally impossible.”

“Amethyst,” The name felt sacred on her lips, now that they were so intimate.

“Your voice. It’s, like, if you could hear stars - or something. I don’t know, it’s just perfect for you. It’s so chill. A-and, Lapis,” Amethyst felt everything get stuck in her throat, and she began placing kisses along Lapis’s neck. “If you don’t want me to say I love you, then let me say that I really,” She punctuated that word, and every repeat of it, with a kiss. “Really,” kiss. “Really,” kiss. “Really like you.”

Lapis chuckled, curving up into Amethyst’s form. “The feeling is mutual,” she murmured, tracing her fingers across Amethyst’s gem.

“And even if you’ve been through so much stuff, you’re still strong. Like I’m the muscle but you… you’re a different sort of strong. You balance me out, you know?”

Lapis took these words in deep - drowning, swimming in them. Her eyes became wide, her smile watery, and everything about her being was shaking. Amethyst was about to question, if she were not pulled into another kiss, one that made her melt and tasted like the saltwater her love had risen from.

“I-is that better than ‘i love you’?” Amethyst said, with a soft laugh.

“I think I understand what it means now,” Lapis whispered.

“So… what do you want me to say?”

Lapis’s eyes darted up. “I love you,” she replied gently.

Amethyst’s laughter suddenly exploded, and she nuzzled Lapis, right between her neck and collarbone. “Gosh,” she said softly. “When you act like a dork. Add that to the list.”

They spent the night together, and not together, simply with one another. As Amethyst dozed off, Lapis made her own list.