They were currently sitting in Blue's room after school had ended. Lapis had taken off the jacket she always wore, exposing the numerous cuts on her wrists and lower arm in general. Blue was pissed, not at Lapis, but at the people around her, Lapis' mother especially. She really didn't seem to care, and that was infuriating to Blue.
Blue gently grabbed Lapis' paws, holding her wrists up with a soft sigh.
"There's so many fresh ones..." She whispered, stroking a paw over the marks. Lapis shivered,
"Yeah... Nobody really seems to care..."
"Maybe they just don't notice... I mean, you do wear that jacket all the time... You have thick fur, I mean, you really don't need it."
"I feel like I do... I've... I told my friends from Aquarip, they... They just don't care. They told me I deserved it."
"Are you- Oh my gods they're scumbags. Lapis, you don't deserve this, not at all. You're a great elemental, and I know you could be happy without all the abuse and neglect in your life. I want to help you, but I can't help if you won't let me."
"I do want help... I want to die, but I hate feeling like that... I-I should've done it sooner so you didn't have to deal with me, I-"
"Lapis no! I would never call being your friend 'Dealing with you', I love being around you! I know you're a good elemental, you've just been hurt so many times you don't trust anyone, I don't blame you! I want you to promise me next time you feel like hurting yourself you'll call me! I don't care what time it is, I want you to call me so I can help!"
"Blue, I... Okay, I guess..."
"Thank you... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I'm just really concerned for you..."
"It's okay... I'm glad you... You do seem to genuinely care... I haven't gotten any red flags from you yet..."
"I hope you never do, because I would never hurt you. I know that's what everyone says, but I know what it's like... I actually used to really struggle with hating myself. I-I still do at times, I hate being who I am, I'm so afraid, but... You make me feel less afraid, I guess. I've had so many people tell me I'm too caring and... I don't know, needy? Easily attached? I don't know, they didn't like me... I just wanted to show them I cared, ya know? I really like being around my friends..."
"Do you have any other friends?" Lapis asked.
"Well, I have Jaz and Peridot."
"Jaz...?"
"Yeah, his real name is Jasper, but we call him Jaz just because he likes it. Now... May I ask when you first cut yourself?"
"... I was about twelve... I was on an online forum, I-I'm pretty sure it was a Depr support forum... I was looking for ways to cope with it and made a post about it... Someone PMed me saying something along the lines of 'You should cut yourself, it'll make you feel better'. I looked up what he meant, and... I took my chances. It wasn't a solution, but a distraction, and... It helped, or so I thought. I only later realized it causes death rather frequently... But I just couldn't stop myself..."
"Lapis..." Blue hugged her, nuzzling her neck softly. Lapis sniffled a bit, sighing shakily, clearly trying not to cry. "It's okay to cry, Lapis... I'm not going to shame you for it. It'll make you feel better, go ahead, let it all out..."
She did. She didn't care anymore. If Blue betrayed her she'd be done with life and just give up. If someone who pretended to be as good as Blue betrayed her she'd be convinced there'd be no good people left and she'd be better off dead.
After a good ten minutes of outright sobbing, Blue left Lapis alone so she could get her some water. She didn't want her to be dehydrated, especially since she was a water elemental. Her gills would likely need a little water anyways, even if her throat wasn't dry.
"Here, I brought you some water..." Blue said, handing Lapis the glass. Lapis took it and downed almost all of it in one go, leaving only a little left for later.
"Th-thank you..." She said quietly. Blue offered her a small smile,
"Of course, Lapis! Now... Are you ticklish?" She asked. She saw Lapis visibly tense up, her entire body stiffening.
"I-I uh... No..."
"Lapis, you're a terrible liar, but if you don't want me to tickle you, I won't." She said with a slight smile. She knew Lapis was uncomfortable, so she tried to lighten the mood a bit with humor. Her cheeks tinted gold and she managed to choke out,
"I-I wouldn't mind if you did... B-but you have to be gentle with me! My uh... My uncle... Was really bad about that..."
"Oh gods... Okay, I can do that. Any particular spot you'd like me to start with?" She asked. Lapis sighed softly and nodded,
"Y-yeah, but I-I'd have to lay in your lap..." She said quietly. Blue smiled and crossed her legs,
"Go ahead~." She chirped gently. Lapis took a deep, shaky breath, before wiggling over to Blue and laying in her lap. "Tell me when you're ready and I'll start, and say 'Pineapple' when you want it to stop."
"A-alright..." She sat for a moment, before saying, "R-ready...!"
Blue began slowly tracing a claw over the water Dranda's belly, watching her break into cute, happy giggles, with a little snort here and there. God, Blue was in love with Lapis' laugh. Tickling was one of her biggest 'fetishes', but it wasn't really sexual for her, at least, not all the time. She just liked it, and hearing Lapis' wonderfully adorable laugh was music to her fluffy, round little ears.
"Aww, look at you~," Blue teased, smiling a bit wider as Lapis' golden cheeks grew more vibrant. Lapis didn't respond with much, instead nuzzling into Blue's ribs, her cute little giggles still flowing from her muzzle. Blue started getting a bit more playful, sliding her paw down to her ribs, eliciting a precious little speak from Lapis.
"N-nahaha! N-nahahat the rihihibs~!" She squeaked.
"You didn't forget the safeword, did you~?" Blue teased her some more, reaching a wing down to her hind paws, which were lightly kicking in the air, and gently began to brush her feathery wings against her sensitive little paws. Drandas have no paw pads, but even still, Lapis' paws were ticklish, even to such soft, gentle feathers against her thick fur.
"Ahahahaha Bluhuhue~! N-nohohoho~!" She tried to pull her paws away, but really, she was loving every second of this. Being tickled by someone she genuinely trusted was nice, especially when they had a safe word in place and it was all just for fun. Blue wasn't getting off to it as far as Lapis knew, so it was all good, clean fun.
After another minute or so, Lapis cried out the safe word, and the light tummy tickles turned into gentle rubs to ease the after-tickles. Lapis still couldn't help but giggle for the next thirty seconds, smiling up at Blue.
"Thank you, Blue... For being so good to me... I don't know why you were so persistent, but I'm glad you were..."
"I was persistent because I saw someone who needed a friend but was afraid to get one because they'd been hurt so many times. I followed my instinct. I hate seeing another living being in pain..." She said, giving Lapis a brief little tickle again just to lighten the mood a bit.
"I'm glad you did, really I am... I better be getting home soon, my mom doesn't like when I stay out too late without warning."
"She gives a shit now?"
"Actually... I just wanted to get out of here without hurting your feelings. I'm very tired and need a nap, but I get uncomfortable sleeping in someone else's house, no matter how much nicer it is than my shithole."
"Oh... Fair enough. Maybe some other day you could sleep over?"
"Maybe. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course! See ya!" She said as Lapis packed her things and left.
